UMASS/AMHERST 312066 0308 1405 8 IVE COLLEGE EPOSITO .i.>i.iau>iii;iiiiiiiuiiiiuiiiiiiiiliiiiiiliii;ii:!,:;iilii;ii!liiiliilill.liii!ilil. LIBRARY OF THE ^'\ MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE SouRCE-.S-DlW^e XxLTXaS.-.. SPEClAi COLLECTI' arARCJ^VES JfuK^ THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER; A MONTHLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, AND THEIR KINDKED ARTS AND SCIENCES; EMBELLISHED AND ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS' " AGEICULIUaE IS THE MOTHEE WHICH GIVES FOOD, GROWTH, WEALTH, AND MORAL HEALTH TO OUE COCMET." SIMON BROWN, EDITOR. FREDERICK HOLBROOK AND HENRY F. FRENCH, ASSOCIATE EDITORS. VOLUME V. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, QUINCY HALL. 1853. p, INDEX TO THE FIFTH VOLUME. A. Acre, two, what can be raised on, 16 ; how to lay off an, 462, 529 ; and a quarter, product of . . . Accounts, farm Africa, newspapers from Aged, kindness to the Agriculture, Mass. State Board of, 19, 51, 91, 116, 2S4 ; a chemical art, 45 ; German, 304 ; Hawaiian, 307, 313; in New Hampshire, 367 ; in France, 388 ; wants of, 394 ; national Agricultural, meetings at the State House, 59, 97, 122, 140, 146, 163, 171, 188, 193, 217, 230, 236; exhibitions for, 1853, 149; mass meeting at Concord, 149, 178 ; at Rocking- ham county, N. H., 183 ; education Page 552 229 75 150 656 219 Page Alders 358, 384 Almanac, the Old Farmers' Alum • Ammonia ....... Analyses, of oyster and clam shells, 229 ; of muck and marsh mud .... Anger, folly of ..... . Animals, susceptibility of, to atmospheric changes, 23 ; wild, domestication of, 39 ; cruelty to, 314, 478 ; kindness to Ants and aphides Apple, Hunt russet, 17, 29 ; new source for good, 22 ; as food for stock, 36, 41 ; sops in wine, 44 ; Northern Spy, 51, 80, 225 ; Min- ister, President, Mother, Jewett's Fine Red, or Nod Head, Red Cheek, 90; crab, 113, 158 ; a new, 148 ; ijreserving, 182 ; summer and autumn, 304 ; Mayflower, 314 ; insect destructive to the, 383 ; what sweet are best for stock, 421 ; northern, 442 ; russets Architecture, rural Arctic regions, vegetation of . Ashes, 310, 340; of peat, as a manure, 423; of anthracite coal ..... Atmosphere, uses of, 277 ; action of, on the roots of plants, 311 ; its effects upon animal life August, appearances of 652 85 406 455 294 485 269 523 99 89 499 462 345 Axe-making 433 B. Barn, 78 ; cellars 373 Barnstable County Society, officers of . .75 Beans, error in growing 773 Bees, honey, the food of the, 27 ; experiment ■with, 62, 65 ; how to feed, 160 ; look at them, 220 ; and honey, 294 ; moth, protec- tion against, 341, 401 ; and hive, 405 ; keeping, practical, 431 ; at war . . . 475 478 407 Birds, and insects, 42 ; convention, 67 ; vocal machinery of, 92 ; of New England, 78, 113, 221, 291, 299, 442, 565; the Pewee, 190; spare the, 275, 475 ; migration of Book of reference, a valuable, 10 ; agricul- tural, 196 ; a rare and pleasant, 357 ; a queer old, 397 ; unworthy Bones, bone-dust, 25 ; burning, 93 ; for ma- nure, 174; dissolving, 274; and sulphuric acid 551 Borer, peach, plastered up, 95 ; history of the, 128; the currant, 268; variety of, 308; mountain 454, 544 Bread, how to toast ..... 197 Brunswick, New 216 B udder, an hour with 396 Budding and grafting .... 222, 412 Buckwheat 304 Bugs, rose 353 Butter, 72; making, 360, 363 ; milk and . 409 Bull, Ayrshire ...... 417 Burns, how to cure 575 Cabinet, the farmers 261 Calendar, for January, 9 ; February, 57 ; March, 105 ; April, 153 ; May, 201 ; June, 249; July, 297; August, 345; September, 394 ; October, 442 ; November, 490 ; Dec. 537 California, vegetation of ... 20, 654 Canada, debt of, and average crops, per acre, 21 ; West, season in . . . . . 475 Capitol, improvement at the .... 458 Cart, one-horse farm tilt . . . .561 Carrots, great yield of, 11; for horses, 141; against English hay, 183 ; value of . . 277 Catalpa, a new ...... 462 Cattle, remedy for choked, 145, 212 ; beef, 272 ; live and dead weight of, 309 ; doctor- ing, 363 ; communication of ideas among, 387 ; market at Manchester, N. H. 436 ; gnawing bones ...... 484 Cedar and spruce, to propagate . . . 575 Celery, on raising, 60, 148, 159 ; earthing up 425 Cement, a good 571 Charcoal 321 Chemistry, how can it benefit the farmer, 205 ; agricultural, 447 ; what it may do for agri- culture 452 Chelmsford Association, officers of the . . 39 Chemist, state , 333 Cherries, fine ....... 368 Cheese, an aged ...... 562 Cliina, a residence in, 381 ; schools in, 479 ; animals of 485 INDEX. Page] Churn, the, 157, 160; Clark's excelsior . . 192 Circular, from State Board of Agriculture, 604 ; to the friends of agriculture in Massachusetts 44 Cisterns, illustrated 305 Clover, seeds for an acre, 149 ; white, 62 ; living in . . . . . • • 320 Climate of countries 336 Coal, against sinews 485 Cob meal and hay 639 Cooking and digestion 34 College, N. Y. State Agricultural . . .355 Corn, sweet, 139; sheller, 47; music of a sheller, 165 ; Stowell's evergreen sweet, 165 ; comparative merits of, 172; culture of, 51, 191, 214 ; growing and hilling, 38 ; a query about, 68 ; topping, 74 ; cobs, 77 ; flat vs. hill culture, 330 ; fodder and stalk cutter, 335 ; hoeing, 381 ; tall . . . .468 Cow, Ayrshire, 110; milch, treatise on, 175; cooked food for, 197 ; Guenon on the milch, 209 ; used for plowing in Savoy, 243 ; ima- -gination in, 250 ; and oxen in Portugal, 284; apples for, 294; milch, 101; soiling, 329; and tar, 356; shedding milk, 363, 380; ' holding up their milk, 371 ; garget in, 415 ; a good one, 525 ; Alderney, 645 ; to cure warts on, 546 ; lice on .... 562 Connecticut river, a trip to ... . 490 Crayons, how to make 197 Cranberries, 134, 191; culture of, 409, 493; inquiries abou^ 477, 545 Cricket, the climbing 448 Crops, why they lodge, 276; food for, 416, 419 ; in England, 432 ; prospects of the, 436,519; and the season, 460 ; in Washing- ton county, R. I. 479 Curculio, discovery about the, 372 ; to destroy the 479 Cultivation', true mode of . . . .316 D. December . 34 Delafield, John .... . 551 Discoveries and improvements . 437 Dog, mysterious conduct of . . 44 Dollar, mark, the .... . 121 Door, yards . 87 Draining 301, 350 Dress . 532 Drought, the, 351 ; action of, on plants . 403 E. Earnings, save your 198 Editor at home again ..... 145 Effort, benefits of, associated . . . .193 Egg, a large, 306 ; found in the middle of an elm, 408 ; how to preserve . . . .513 Elements, organic ...... 69 Engines, garden and fire . . . .404 Ergot, in grain 359 Farming, difficulties of New England, 13, 35 ; prejudice against, 46 ; in the East, 96, 106 ; Chinese, 110; interests neglected, 119; ex- perimental, 127, 259, 471, 310; good, 211 ; in Maryland, 226 ; tired of, 283 ; in Missis- sippi, 294 ; productive, 331 , inconsistencies • in, 332 ; Southern 494 213; front, a number Farm, model, 241 ; accounts, G7 ; work for the century, 70, 72; State pauper, 311, 337; George Patterson's Farmer, important to the, 49 ; libraries, 64 ; clubs, constitution for, 76 ; improvidence of the, 84 ; practical facts for, 99 ; the progres- sive, 100 ; the New England, 142 ; Monthly for March, 154; with two ideas, 187; club, Concord, 197, 244 ; Framingham, 216 ; Monthly, for April, 263; for May, 290; chapter for a nice old, 313 ; important to the, 320 ; Monthly, for June, 327 ; for July, 384 ; what he most needs, 364 ; the thrift- less, 402 ; Monthly, for August, 428 ; three kinds of, 498 ; Monthly, for September, 500 ; festivals of the, keep pure, 506 ; Monthly, for October, 555 ; for November . Factory, imperishable potato .... Fairs, list of, in 1853, 414; agricultural, at Westminster, Vt. 495 ; Worcester county agricultural, 502 ; Framingham society, 505 ; Norfolk county, 505 ; Essex county, 507, 527 ; Hillsborough, N. H. 508 ; Graf- ton county, N. H. 509 ; Middlesex county, 514; Franklin county, 522; at Northamp- ton ..... Feeding, teams Feed-cutter, cross-cut Feet, cold, consequences of . Fence, live, 118, 226; cost of, 303 ; front yard, 358 ; farm, 574 , one ..... Fertilization, cross Field, book, the pictorial Fields, old .... Flowers, cultivation of. 111, use of Food, equivalent value of different kinds Forests, 185; destruction of . . . . Fowls. — See Poultry. Fruit, gathering and preserving winter, 24 ; for Northern cultivation, 95 ; hardy, for the North, 121 ; cultivation of, 217 ; how to raise every year, 242 ; immense supply of, 276 ; hints on thinning, 334 ; to keep birds from pecking, 339 ; indigenous, and improv- ing, 351, 359; of Iowa, 460; exhibition of G. Gardening, good effects of Garden, short chat in, 550 ; the Garget, 384, 400 ; in cows, 415 ; < the Gas, restorative . . . .- Georgia, agricultural show in Gold vs. hay ..... Good management vst bad Gooseberry, the .... Grasshoppers .... Gras?, a new, 162 ; native, 185 ; seed, sowing, 83; seed Grafting, 182 , on the thorn, 224 ; cloth, 273, 288 ; old trees, 314 ; curious device in - . Grape, Allen on the, 196 ; new seedling, 274; special manure for, 359 ; summer pruning of the, 407 ; the, a healthy fruit, 432 ; frost- proof ......•• Grapery, the cold Grecian farmers Guano, use of, 12, 14, 25, 30, 100, 148, 155, 160, 218, 254 Gypsum, great field of Page 511 542 481 626 256 383 82 . 576 . 360 . 174 426, 442 . 368 . 245 . 451 559 246 567 for 436, 496 . 373 . 560 . 560 . 130 48, 243 519, 528 406 448 562 208 266 628 630 IV INDEX. H. Page 246 246 379 402 206 Happiness, matrimonial .... Harmony, family Hay, cubic feet in a ton, 46 ; caps for . Haying, improvement .... Hedges ...... Hen and rat, battle between, 414, *484 ; lime water for ...... Highways, a beautiful feature Hingham, elms cut down in . Hill, manuring in the .... HUlsborough County, N. H., Agricultural So ciet3% officers of Hive and honey bee ... . 208, 405 ±loc horse, 325 ; the wheel, 353 ; the wheel illustrated Home, that is my, 68 ; how to secure and be independent .... Honey, taking it, 240 ; and bees *. Hopper, Isaac T Hops Horse, remedy for bots in, 13 ; glanders in, 85 '; and man, 87; cost of keeping, 102; hoe, 325; careful use of the, 326; practice of shoeing, 372 ; English, 442 ; exhibition of, at Springfield, 480, 497, 531 ; the Arab, 525 national exhibition • . . . Horticulturist, the, 64 ; exhibition at Concord 361 ; at Lynn ..... Hotbed House-keeper, thoughts and doings of a . Houses, plastered, 232 ; a paint for brick, 244 farm ....... Housewives, New England . Husbandry, difficulties of New England Husband, an English woman's opinion of 86 404 121 176 39 401 568 294 532 91 Huskii ^ Hydraulic ram 547 442 161 52 50 156 106 390 442, 529 . 52 I. Island, Melville 572 Implements, agricultural, 126, 564 ; and ma- chines . . , . . . .271 Insects _ 262 Inoculation . . . . , . .412 Iron, marbleized 53 J. Johnston, James F. W, notice of his elements, &c 447 K. King, Wm. S. address at Vermont State fair, 108, 215 Labor, misapplication of farm . . . .119 Lake, Wm. G 90 Lamp, an extraordinary . * . . .53 Land, richness of, 58 ; laying to grass, 330, 387, 410 ; much labor on little, 384 ; stub- ble, 428; in Maine, 495; meadow, 510; subdivision of ..... . 574 Leaf, importance of, to the plant . . .351 Lectures, winter, 22, 39 ; agricultural . 48, 563 Lice, to kill on cattle, 141; on swine, 145; on house rores 293 Libraries, farmers' ...... 167 Lime, 25, 544; superphosphate of, 76, 148, 265 ; shell, 159, 214, 274, 573 ; from gas-works 389, 455 Lime-water for hens ..... 86 Lunar and stellar influence . . . .318 Lyceum, lectures 16, 34 M. Pag« Machines, mowing, 395, 416, 457; for cutting corn in the stalk, 476 ; sewing, 531 ; hay and corn-cutter 574 Machinery 559 Manua Loa island, eruption in . . . 399 Manure, to load by horse power, 125 ; for swamp land, 165, 170; special, 204, 223, 268 ; to preserve, 303 ; nature and consti- tuent i^rineiples of, 322 ; will it pay to pur- chase, 421 ; cow, value of, 424 ; table of, 553; a new 571 March, calendar for . . . . .105 Markham's Farewell to Husbandry . . 40 Martyr, the little .• 630 Meadow, a prolific ...... 413 Meal, cob 251 Measures, household 390 Mechanics, agricultural ..... 354 Melon, great yield of, 30 ; to protect . . 341 Meteorological . . , . . . 4ol Mignonette, history and culture of the . . 375 Mill, saw, the first, 336 ; grist, improvement in 513 Mildew, to prevent ..... 157 Millet 157, 203 Mind, sympathies of, with the body . . 456 Milk, raising and selling, 27 ; business . . 62 Milk, trade, 108 ; trade of, in New York, 166 ; and butter 409 Milkmen and farmers, convention of . 63, 82 Mole, is he a devourer of vegetables ? . . 362 Moth, the 361 Mount Airy Institute 319 Mowing machines .... 395, 416, 467 Muck, 58 ; composting with, 61, 340, 341, 354 ; analysis of 455, 500 Mud, a shower of, 244 ; meadow . . 500, 570 N. Newspapers, influence of, 173 ; benefits of agri- cultural, 213 ; they don't take the, 73 ; African 75 New Hampshire, inventors of, 31 ; officers of State Agricultural Society, 39 ; agriculture in 367 Notes by the way 425 O. in Massa- Oats, time for sowing Old fields .... Onion worm, 326, 400 ; crop . Orchards, plowing of, 29, 312, 340 chusetts .... Order in every thing Ox and horse labor, comparison between, 73, 282, 287; to feed, 314; education of . Oyster and clam shells, analysis of P. . 184 426, 442 . 461 340 333 229 425 Paint, rough for farm use .... Palmer worm, 339, 354, 362, 369, 370, 374, 383, 405, 408, 436 Parsnip, culture and value of . . .367 Pastures, old, 191 ; neglect of . . . 524 Patrons, patronage 258 Patterson, George, his farm . . . .511 Patching and darning ..... 129 Pauper farm. State ...... 311 Pea, fodder, 116 ; and experiment with the . 415 Peaches, how to dry, 422 ; curled leaf in, 450 ; the original 525 INDEX. Page 553 541 477 158 Pear, Bloodgood and Rostiezer, 144 ; on thorn stocks, 176; Vicar of Winkfield, 177; skin- ning a tree, 184 ; Beurre d' Anjou, 225 • a monster, 40; cultivation of the, 422; the Tyson, Dearborn's seedling, and the' Os- born, 480 ; Nouveau Poiteau, 529 ; gather- ing and keeping Pigs and turnips •...*' Piaster .' .' 240 310 Plants, soot for, 190 ; house in winter, 28 • ' niode of supply of, 323; hilling, 349; action ot drought on, 403 ; spontaneous Pleasures, rural • . . . Plow, plowing, how they used to, 69, 158*, 202 * more about, 210, 278 ; sod and sub soil, 282^ oo! ' ^^^y ^'*^ *^^ Sreat, 309 ; trial of, 325 ; effects of, deep, 356; what kind of, for Plnt/°''^f^'/,^^'^"" • • • 520,546 ir'lum trees, black knots on, 26; diseased, 47; 80, 108 ; warts on, 262, 292, 376, 378 ; Smith's Orleans Pork, profit on . . , | ' ] Posts and stakes, 208 ; duration of, 256*; set- ting, 303 ; thrown by the frost, 341 ; setting fence, 363, 384, 389 ; hitching . . Potash, water • • . . Potatoes, feeding them to the cows, 112; rot in, 160, 433 ; interesting experiment with, 169; experiments with, 235; crop, 303; how the water boiled away from them, 385 ; harvesting, 396; diseased, 399; blast on, 436 ; application of tan to, 454 ; crop, 461 ; disease in, 469; factory, 481; rot, remedy Poultry, profits of, 12, 89 ; a to destroy vermin on . Practice and theory Premiums, agricultural, 176 ; 43 ; at Middlesex fair . Press, a wonderful printing Prices of produce . Pruning . Page 448 72 424 50 511 ■are brood, 145 ; . 397 315, 337 at Framingham, 524 531 485 544 R. Radishes and turnips . - Radish, horse Railroads, effect of . , .* ] Rain-drop, fable of the . Rat and hen, battle between . ! Reaping and mowing machine Recipes for the sick, 149 ; variety of Records, keep exact Ridging and draining Rockingham- county fair, N. H. '. Roller, the Roots vs. hay, 168; depths of, 45*4; botanic divisions of .... Rose bugs •..'.,'' ^ye . . . .1 206, 342, 37, 281 525 459 388 414 449 390 94 301 445 428 463 353 157 Sheep, Silesian merino ewes, 129 ; shearing festival, 210; Spanish merino ewes, 273, 316, 421 ; fall care and feeding of, 531 ; for mutton 5g9 Shrubs, indigenous . . . . 351, 359 Sink, wash from the 283 Skin, sheep, to cure with wool on . • . 234 Society, Wisconsin State Agricultural, 23 ; U. S. Agricultural, 30, 92, 109, 135, 173, 412 ; Bristol County Agricultural, 111 ; Massachusetts Horticultural, 191 ; Frank- lin County, 269 ; Hampshire, &c. 86 ; Frank- lin, 86 ; Hampshire, 86, 563 ; Town Horti- cultural, 335 ; Massachusetts Agricultural, 409, 434, 544 ; New Hampshire State Agri- cultural Soil, power of, to retain manure, 71 ; analysis of, 93, 125, 324, 418 ; tempering the, 267 ; productions of the Soot for plants ...... Sorrel, what it indicates . . . ! Spade vs. fork ...... Squash, the marrow, 190, 419, 509 ; to protect 341 Spring, a southern, 158; welcome to, 204; work ........ 232 Spruce, how to propagate .... 575 Stable, warm, 184; ventilation of, 276; ma- ^ "ure ....:... 341 tetate, farm •...,.. 272 Stockhardt's field lectures .... 190 Stock, stabling, 24; cutting fodder for, 117; sale of Earl Ducie's, 413 ; native and im- proved, 458 ; small and large . . .527 Stones in land 330 Strawberries 160, 245, 302 Surfaces, laying out 39 Swallows, migration of, 397, 410, 484, 519, 528, 529, 540 Swamps, draining of 350 Swine, raising, in Mississippi, 50 ; feeding sows 421 Sycamore, the 553 Sylva, North American 332 476 324 190 211 523 T. S. Saddles Safe, the salamander . . ', Saleratus ... Sandwich Islands ..'.'. Sap, circulation of . Schemes, new and untried *. Science, a co-worker, 554 ; in farming .' ^'i^f'J'%,^f^'^' Westboro', 317, 334. Scythe, fastenings . . , ' • • Shelter for stock ..."'*' Shoveldom ...'*"' . 87 . 128 383, 426 . 398 312, 380 . 286 418 572 265 420 238 Tan, bark Timber, change of, from clearing land*, 35; durability of, 45 ; Kyanizing, 341, 363 ; preserving ....,,. Theory and practice Thistles, Canada, 389 ; how to destroy . Thorn and quince stock Thought, bits of • Tomato, the, 398, 430 ; drjing the Tools, good, 211 ; for the boys Transplanting ...... Travel, sketches of Traveller, the young Trees, washes for the surface of, 72 ; old apple, 75, 254; the chestnut, 86; from seed, 88; cultm-e among, 89; dwarfing fruit, 120; thorn and quince stock for pear, 143 ; wash for, 185 ; ornamental, 185 ; and shade, 235 ; experiment on, 251; the pine, 279; fruit, 280 ; peach, 92 ; manuring fruit, 93 ; apple, large product of, 306; grafting old, 314; trimming the pine, 339, 374 ; apple girdled, 365; apple killed by potash; 374; inocu- lation of, 412; fruit, effect of high culture on, 379 ; value of, 414; depth of roots of, 454; anewcatalpa, 462; forcing the growth of, 463 ; destroying, 478 ; extraordinary site of a, 494 ; on setting young, 496 ; a prolific pear, 497 ; fraud in fruit, 529 ; transplanting and grafting 262 388 315 574 58 170 464 389 227 251 54 546 VI INDEX. Troop, Alexander Turnips and radishes, 281; crop, 302, 330; and grass seed, 406, 455 ; and pigs U. United States, wealth of V. Valley, poisoned Vegetable economy, 312; reproduction . Vegetation of the Arctic regions Vehicles, housing and painting farm Ventilation ....... Vermont State Agricultural Society, 400 ; State fair Vines, to prevent bugs from eating, 341, 402 ; summer pruning of the grape W. Wages of farmers and others .... Walks, to make good Walnuts, Persian War Warts, how to cure .... 368, Watering ....... Weather, warm, advantage of, 13, 16; the Webster, Daniel's, mansion .... Weeds, 316 ; investments in, 329 ; white, 356, 364 ; a new Weight of farm products per bushel Wens, bone 197, Westborough, farm at Wheat, what kills the, 452 ; culture of, 456 ; why don't the farmers of Massachusetts raise, 464, 541 ; winter .... Winter, a Siberian, 21 ; lectures, 22 ; a mild . Wives, farmers' Wood, destruction of Words, pleasant, from down East . Worm, the core, 109 ; the onion, 326, 400 ; the palmer, 339, 354, 362, 374, 405, 408, 436 ; the apple Page 649 541 239 483 The American Crab Apple Silesian Merino Ewes . Bloodgood and Rostiezer Pears Remedy for Choked Cattle Forcing Vegetation ; Hot Bed Vicar of Winkfield . Grafting Clark's Excelsior Chum Emery's Reaping and Mowing Machine bined .... Guenon on Milch Cows . Beurre d'Anjou Pear Brush Seed-sower 456'*pian and Description of a Primary School 89 164 40 482 407 243 400 545 384 399 278 415 435 366 285 204 253 475 144 77 451 358 453 Yarrow, or wild camomile Year, the new 281 9 Z. Zinc, sulphate of 228 ILLUSTRATIONS. Hunt Russet . Bull, " Earl of Seaham ' Canker Worms Vegetable Cutter . The Urbaniste Pear Steaming Apparatus Bull Rings The Long-stem Apple The Garden Royal Apple En house in Exeter, N. H Spanish Merino Ewes Phelps's Bee Hive .... Monamet Sweeting, Golden Sweeting Watering Pot, Water Carrier, Garden gine . . . r Cisterns .... Yellow Siberian Crab Apple Fancy Lop-ear Rabbits . Application of Wind as a Power for raising Water French Buck Matchless Sliding Pruning Shears, Garden or Hedg Shears, Grass-edging or Border Shears The Black Tartarean Cherry A Wheel Hoe May's Victoria Currant . Thorough-bred Ayrshire Bull, Prince Albert Budding and Pruning Knives Earth or Road Scraper . Atkins's Automaton Self-raking Reaper Deep TiUer, No. 77 The Tyson, Dearborn's Seedling and Osborn Pears . Muskingum Pear . Horse Consternation Seckle and Louise Bonne de Jersey Pears Alderney Cow One-horse Farm Tilt Cart A Number One Fence . POETRY. Page 113 129 144 145 161 177 182 192 206 209 225 241 257 273 289 293 304 305 321 337 353 369 377 385 401 401 417 433 433 449 465, 467 480 497 513 528 554 561 57» Harvest Hymn Corn Song . . , TThe Farmer . A Song for the Million . Plowman's Song Harvest Hymn Commonwealth of Bees Winter Sports Autumn and Winter The Flowers . The Milkmaid and the Banker Love all . Wait a while . The old Green Lane Morning Speed the Plow The Farmer's Song The Farmer's Daughter The Seasons . The Happy Farmer The Sabbath . The White Clover . A Lesson in Grammar . 15 21 117 186 253 36 41 54 95 326 349 372 400 424 431 451 460 468 477 482 493 519 532 INDEX. Vll CORRESPONDENTS. A. , Page A. D. 2d . . 76 Abbot, J. . 89 Artisan • , . 99, 232 Agricola . , . 110 A Reader, 263, 290, 327, 348, 430, 502, 555 A Subscriber . . 247. 340 A Subscriber . , . 399 A. F. . ^ . 414 A. W. 0. , 415, 436 A. . . , . 424, 457 A. S. . . 480 A Looker-on . . 505 A Young Reader , . 245 A. S. K. . 306 B. Brown, Wm. C. Basset, Wm. F. B. F. R. . Brigham, Otis . Burt, L. . Benchley, J. H. Brown, Silas, 127, 173, Bachelor , . Barker, Bowen B Brooks, J. Burnham, G. P. B. M. . Bull, E. W. , B. L. . Boyce, Jonathan Buckland, D. . Branch, T. C. . Bates, S. Brown, Isaao . Bryant & Co. . Battery & Aldrich . 22 24, 64 . 160 . 256 . 121 . 363 310, 373, 443 158, 210, 254 159, 274 170, 404 . 204 . 337 . 354 . 361 . 462 . 496 . 529 . 384 . 528 . 529 . 573 . 641 C. Cooke, L 11 Clark, Samuel .... 40 Cutter, B. F. . . . 48, 206 Camp, E. .... 50 Clift, W. . . 60, 165, 455 Currier, F. H 61 Comings, A. G,, 68, 101, 187, 202, 250, 376, 498, 525, 557 . 78 . 243 . 244 . 157 . 176 . 273 . 275 . 278 368, 546 . 523 . 160 . 341 . 384 . 529 . 529 Collins, J. H C. AV. A. Cross, Oscar S. Clarke, George B. . Conant, B. T. . Campbell, George C. P. B. . Chandler, J. G. Cruickshanks, George Churchill, Wm. G. . C. H. R. C. s. Colby, George J. C. E. . C. H. . D. C. . Darling, Noyes, Mrs. 12, 58 109, 269, 576 Page D. H. L 118 Dike, Solon . . 158,494,560 Davis, J 208 Durand, L. 258, 271, 406, 410, 415, 419 Doolittle, Jonathan . . . 279 Davis, Ichabod Dimon, John D. H. 2d D. F. D. . D. F. G. 366 421 293 436 528 245 E. E. A 160 Everett, Joshua S. . . . 217 E. C. L 158, 259 Essex . . 338, 371, 399, 573 Eddy, Henry . . . .341 E. G. C 389 E, N 671 E. S 341 .f. French, Henry F., 13, 70, 117, 156, 205, 330, 339, 347, 395, 492 Fowler, S. P. 46, 78, 113, 221, 291, 299, 444, 566 Fowler, H 240 Far East . , . .268 Fiske, H. M 287 Fay, Peter . . . .308 Ferry, L 382 F. B. B 400 Fry, D 452 F. B 478 Glen Goodrich, C. . Goldsbury, John Green, George B. Green, J. S. Griffiths, J. G. N. . G. F. N. Gilson, Josiah . 570 224, 469 . 572 . 182 . 308 . 359 . 245 . 529 . 629 H. Hersey, Edmund ... 63 Holbrook,F. 211, 232, 335, 355, 467, 520 Horticulturist . . . .224 Hubbard, R. B. 92, 227, 263, 302, 428, 511 H. D. W. Hill, Jabez Hills, 0. V. . Hooker, S. E. . Harris, T. W. . Hanford, A. G. Hagar, A. D. . Hatch, J. Holman, Ansel H. S. . J. H. & Son J. N. P. J. . 116, 176 . 119 . 304 314, 402, 436 . 370 . 379 .388 . 409 . 509 389, 400, 563 J. R. i, 72, 86, 223, 312, 337, 409, 434, 442, 476, 482 J. H. R. . . . 333, 394 J. S 117 J. F. C. H. J. D. J. W. J. A. J. W. J.J. J. D. J. H. J. F. J. C. J. . J.N. J. T. J. W B. S. . J. . H. *. M. W. .P. Kilbnrn, A. Kyle, F. Page 143, 148, 159, 226, 351, 425, 436, 464 . 479 . 530 . 19T . 160 . 160 .384 . 436, 528 . 436 . 629 259, 401, 402, 471 . 303 . 646 . 574 67 155 Lackey, Andrew L. L. R. Lake, W. G. . Lee, J. . L. R. . L. S. H. L. W. C. Lake, J. Lyman, Benj. F. Lyman, David L. E. . L. T. . M. Mansfield, R. . Mclntire, Rufua Mandell, Walter M. A. R. Many Matthew, L. . Mann, G. W. . M. F. D. Merrill, John M. M. . M. . Mason, F. W. . Meg Merrill, D. 2d M. A. P. Nemo N. 0. . 529 . 24 80,91 263, 565 . 122 . 175 . 365 369, 479 . 639 . 416 . 400 . 160 . 12, 213 . 80 . 88 . 90 . 214 . 215 . 227 . 130 . 190 268, 321, 611 . 280, 463 . 374 . 426, 430 . 511 . 436 460 One who has much to learn P. Peasant Bard . . PhUlips, M. W. P. 51, 89, 112, 241, 278, 413, 425, Painter turned Farmer . Powers, Samuel L. . Packard, D. W. C. . Proctor, John W. . Perry, Matthew A. 332, 351, Pepperell Pierce, Wilder Poor, Henry . Pratt, Minot . 349 . 15 . 50 306, 409 433, 454 . 59 . 262 . 117 183,190 553,554 , 353 . 552 . 456 . 496 Till INDEX. R. Page Raymond, George S. . . 109 Reynolds, Joseph, 111, 185, 197, 281, 447 Ransom, Cephas . . .119 R. H. H 141 Rennet 5G2 Richardson, Addison . .148 R. P 363 Richardson, N. A. . . . 448 Root, Spencer .... 477 R. M 478 S. S. B. Stevens, Ambrose Siedhof, Charles Slade, G. B. . S. Flint, jun. . Subscriber Stetson, Benjamin S. G. E. . Stearns, Isaac S. W.iun. . • S. W. . S. G. B. . Scott, B. S. F, . . 18 . 34 42, 95 . 47 . 84 . 84 . 240 375 408, 424, 452 . 159 . 384 . 303 . 165 125, 142, 176, 319 Page Stone, Richard C. 128, 308, 341, 362 Stow, H 568 ShurtlefF, S. A. . . . 134 Subscriber up North . .212 Seabury, r. P. . . .494 T. T. A. S. . . 27,272,316 Tuttle, W. D. . . 30 Thomas, N. J. . 86 Taylor, John . 216, 358 Tenney, S. 191, 415 Tenney . . 419 Todd, A, 310, 314 T. S. F. . . 314 Thompson, James . . 625 T. H. C. . . . 389 Upham, Zenas 52 V. Varney, L. . . 83,235,475 Veritas ..... 468 W. W. R, C. W. J. A. B. . . 38 W. B. 50,167,261,286,363, AVhittier, Richard . Willard, Benjamin . W. II. B. Wilcox, John . Watson, E. P. W. D. B. . 104, 312, Wilson, M. A. W. N. S. W. K y . Ward, J. D. . W W. C. B. Walker, G. S. . W. B. W. Winchester, Horace H. . Y. Young, Farmer Young Wool Grower Page 26 , 74, 360 404, 460 . 72 88, 162 . 238 . 265 . 139 396, 492 . 281 . 358 . 366 . 397 . 495 . 519 . 527 . 160 . 364 191 316 * 16, 93, 269, 461, 522 DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. VOL. V. BOSTON, JANUARY, 1853. NO. 1.- RAYNOLDS & NOITRSE, Proprietohs. Office Quincy Hall. SIMON BROWN, Editor. FRED'K HOLBROOK. i Associate HENRY F. FRENCH, \ Editors. THE NEW YEAR. Charles Lamb, in his volume of "£'Z/«," says, "Every man hath two j^irthdays ; two days, at least, in every year, which set him upon revolving the lapse of time, as it effects his mortal duration. The birth of a now year is of an interest too wide to be pretermitted by king or cobbler. No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that fi-om which all date their time, and count upon what is left." It is proper, then, to make it a pausing place, from which to look at events which have passed, as well as to summon before us something of the probable future. Proper, standing on this point and contemplating the por- tion of our days that has mingled with the untold years which have rolled away behind us, that the heart should be touched, and awakened to new emotions of gratitude. In the sombre December afternoon, with barren fields, and leafless trees around them, how many witness the setting sun, with the mental exclamation, "Shall I behold thee again, descending with the dying year!" or start at the solemn peal of the bell as it rings out the old year. Lamb says he never heard it "without a gathering up of his mind to a concentration of all the images that had been diffused over it for a past twelve-month ; all he had done or suffered, per- formed or neglected — in that regretted time." But the lapse of time, well employed, should be no cause of regret. We hail the corn and fruit harvests with joy ; they are no more of special ap- pointment than that we ought to become ripe with good deeds and fruits and be gathered home our- selves. The sum of human duty is to act ivell our part — this done, the lapse of years and the trial of life should fall on the heart as the soft rain on the flinty rock; it makes an impression, to be sure, but so silent and gradual as to be almost imper- ceptible. It is no idle uttering of the heart, when we say that we wish all ".4. Happy New Year.^' If in the association which has grown up between us, you have enjoyed the reading, as we have the gathering, of these pages, the connection has been a most happy one. You have constantly strength- ened us by timely words of encouragement, by the constant communication of your experiences, and theories and deductions from them in your farm ope- rations, and by the most liberal, substantial, and prompt aid in the pecuniary affairs of the estab- lishment. Your writings, many of them fresh from the experiments of the fields, have given these columns their chief value, and they must continue to do so, or they will lose that directness and force which they have already attained by your judicious aid. But with more experience in the great art, with a better knowledge of the wants of the farm- ing community, we shall draw from our own stores and the recorded wisdom of the fathers in the art, with untiring apphcation. Not feeling strictly confined to agricultural books, papers, or discus- sions for illustrations, we shall feel justified in col- lecting from the busy walks of commerce, the me- chanic shops or laboratory of the chemist, such helps as will elucidate the subjects before us. Waifs from the wayside will be gathered in, wheth- er straying from our own political or religious pa- pers, or wafted across the Atlantic from the ex- perienced flirmer in the old countries. Among the favorable changes which have taken place in the estimation in which farming is held, as an occupation, there is one of much importance, and which is calculated to draw into it many ear- nest and inquiring minds, and thus soon to pro- duce distinguished men. It is, that Agriculture now has a litei-ature. Some of the pleasantest books that have been issued for a few years past have been upon the subject of agriculture and its kindred branches. The83 works have required more patient research and investigation, and more of the higher powers of the mind to produce them, than almost any other kind of literature. They certainly stand side by side with the best works orr' astronomy and geology, and as far surpass in merit 10 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan and value the millions of volumes of the current literature, as the skilful cultivation of the earth is of more importance than the skilful playing of a game of foot-ball. Without going back to the an- cients, who seem to have been well-informed in terra-culture, but as a general thing, knew little of the atmospheric influences upon crops, or of the importance of mineral manures, we will mention a few of the modern writers who have devoted their thoughts to the cultivation of the earth, and add- ed dignity, grace and interest to the pursuit. Sir Humphrey Davy's lectures on agi-icultural chemis- try were commenced before the Board of Agricul- ture in England as early as 1802, but never pub- 'lished till 1813, and to this day are scarcely known to one in a thousand in this country. Loudon's voluminous works are monuments of learning as well as of usefulness. Johnston's agricultural chemistry, Boussingault's Rural Economy, Ste- phens's Book of the Farm, and Rogers's Scientific Agriculture, are full of the most useful and prac- tical information. But there is another, and if possible, still more attractive phase in the literature of agriculture, of which Duncan's Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons, and Hunt's Poetry of Science, are representatives. While the first class enters into the great laws and operations of Nature, showing us how to subdue the wilderness, gain fertile fields, and cover the hills with flocks, the latter analyzes these laws and illustrates the goodness and wisdom of God in the beautiful arrangements of His creation. These show the Poetry of the great art ; and to a mind un- tainted by morbid sensibilities, they have an inex- presssible charm. They uni-avel a thousand mys- teries in the grass of the field, or the trees of the forest, — in the drop of water that hangs and trem- bles on the petal of the flower, or the rugged rock on which it is soon to fall. They show that in agricultural employments there is room for the ex- ercise of all the high and noble feculties of the mind. If the vocation has become one of drudgery, it is because the mind is slavish and dull, and not that the subject is not endowed with all the inher- ent qualities of beauty and grandeur. To the stu- dent, this class of literature will possess many pleasant attractions, more than compensate for the unpoetic part of farm work, and draw numbers away from the crowded professions. This is a fea- ture full of encouragement. We do not mean to say that heretofore agricul- ture has had no literature ; for even among the ancients there were a few who seemed to embrace within their compreliensive grasp most that is known -to us now. But that in this age the sub- ject has been brought into well-defined and scien- tific principles, which are becoming widely-diffused among the masses who are occupied in the cultiva- ^on of the earth. At no period has there proba- bly been more active minds engaged on any topic, than may now be found on the subject of farming, including all its various branches. For the next half century, at least, it promises to be the popu- lar profession ; and as our national safety and con- tinuance depends on our being an agricultural people, producing within ourselves, as far as pos- sible, the means of supplying our own wants, we are glad to see the young and zealous engaging in its healthy and jennobling pursuits. And -while we urge upon them, the more modern literature of the farm, we would by no means exclude the Georgics, the writings of old Cato, Columella, or those who have occasionally appeared and written on the subject since. With regard to new plans in the prosecution of our enterprise, we have scarcely a suggestion to make. The New England Farmer is already es- tablished on a firm basis. Its publishers will spare no reasonable expense to make it hereafter what the farmer needs, in doctrine and spirit, and in such a becoming style in its appearance as shall do no discredit to the great improvements in the Art of Printing. We have no important changes to announce — we contemplate none. Our Associate Editors will remain in the harness and fill their parts with their accustomed promptness and ability. One fact we will mention before we close this, our first talk with you in the New Year. Out of the thousands of communications, (sometimes amounting to scores in a day) which have been re- ceived during the past year, in relation to all the business of the establishment, there has not been one finding fault with our course, or ordering a dis- continuance from motives of ill-will or dissatisfac- tion. The mantle of your charity has fallen over our errors as silently as the night-dew upon the flowers. And now may He who sustains us, each in his position, grant us another year of usefulness and kindly intercourse wdth each other. A VALUABLE BOOK OF REPERBNOS. Some of the characteristics of the Monthly Far- mer are, — 1. The elegant manner and convenient form in which it is printed ; making a handsome volume for the library when bound. 2. The expensive engravings which illustrate the stock, plants, fruits, flowers, machines, build- ings and fences which are described in its columns. 3. The absence of long catalogues of premiums- and programmes, which are only of temporary in- terest. 4. Its articles sjiring from leading principles in the art of agricultui-e, and will, therefore, be as valuable to the learner any future year, as at the present time. 5. Its writers are nearly all men of practical acquaintance with the business of the farm. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 11 6. Some of its writers are men of profound learn-' ing in the various arts and sciences, and particu- larly in chemistrj'^, in its relations to agriculture. 7. The matter which has been collected and printed with so much cai-e, is made easily availa- ble l)y a full and accurate index to the articles, and to the illustrations and names of correspon- dents ; so that no time is lost in referring to any- thing which has been presented during the year. These are some of the characteristics which stand out prominently in the work, and must be marks for commendation by every reader. For the New England Farmer. GREAT YIELD OF CARROTS. Gent. : — I wish to call your attention to the statement of Dr. Cook, of Wendell, in relation to his manner of raising carrots. He stated to me when sowing them that he should do great things in the carrot line, but I had entirely forgotten what he said, until I saw his statement in the Re- public. We di,> not consider the town of Wendell one of our best towns for good land, by any means ; on the contrary, we regard it as a I'ough, hilly' town with a good deal of poor land. LUCIUS cook's statement. The subscriber, a member of the Franklin Coun- ty Agricultural Suciety , submits the following state- ments relative to the cultivation of a patch of car- rots raised by hiia the current year. Said carrots were raised on Wendell Hill, in said county, on the place whereon said applicant now lives. The exact quantity of land was three- fourths of an acre, and the number of bushels, or baskets, six hundi-ed and fifty-one ; and the num- ber of tons, sixteen. This number of tons was as- certained l)y weighing four or five loads on the hay scales, as they w^re drawn from the field, and di- viding the sum of their weight by the number of bushels or baskets, and finding them to average fifty pounds. The land on which these carrots were raised had been mowed for eight years prior to 1850, when it was planted with potatoes, nearly all of which were destroyed by the disease, and were not worth half the cost of harvesting. In 1851 the land was planted to corn, which was much damaged by worms, and afterwards set out to Ruta Bagas, which grew well and yielded a fine crop, but having no animals that would eat them except horses, they were kept through the winter in a cellar, and then thrown out for manure — the entire crops on the land not paying the ex- pense of cultivation by one-half. On or about the 20th of May, 1852, the land was sowed in drills 18 inches apart to carrots, by a machine bought of Mr. Wm. EUiot, for the sum of three dollars and twenty-five ce^ts, the land being first prepared by deep plowing with a common plow, then raked and levelled — about thirty loads of horse manure being spreadon the land before plowing. The labor of preparing the land, sowing the seeds, cultivating and harvesting the crop, 1 contracted for at the commencement, for t\\Qs,\xmo? seventy-five dollars, which seemed to me and others as an extravagant price, but as some stonj were to be removed in the job, I consoled myself with the belief that I might stand it "just this onee." The crop has just been liarvested. As ti) the value of the carrots I have always be- lieved tliem worth as much as oats, by the bush- el, to feed to horses, which are the only animals I keep. Four or five tons of them I have sold at from $12 to $15 per ton; at $12 I could sell them all any day, and the sum would amount to $192. Add to this four dollars, a sum for which 1 sold the tops as they lay in the field, and four more dol- lars which [ hope to get as premium, and tlie sum would amount to .$200. Deduct from this $75 paid for lal)or, and $25 more for the cost of seed and my own Care and skill — the lastbeinj; a cliarge I make from habit — and it will leave $100 as the net income from the three-fourths of iin acre. Wendell, Nod. 15, 18-52. L. Cooke. THE SEASON. On the 5th of Dec. last year, the ground had been frozen fi)r several days, and had thawed but slightly during the middle of the day, so that all about this region of country the roads were hard, and nearly as smooth as plank roads. The 6th was bright and pleasant, but cold. On the 7th it rained a little. The 8th was moderate. On the 10th the roads Avere still smooth, and locomotives could have run finely on the common roads. At sunrise on the 11th, the thermometer stood at 12° above zero. Sunday, the 14th was pleasant ; it commenced snowing early Monday morning, and about 5 inches fell during the day. Tuesday, the 16th the sleighs Tvere running briskly. On Wednes- day, the 17th, at Concord, 20 miles from Boston, one thermometer in the village stood at 20'^ be- low ; another, a little north of the village, at 17^^, and one noi'th-west on higher ground at lO'^ be- low ! There were then deep snows, good sleigh- ing and stern winter weather for many weeks. This year, on the 5th, the weather was mild and pleasant; the farmers were plowing, making wall, getting out manure, clearing meadows, and doing any of the autumnal work of the farm. The grass was green in the fields, where many cattle were grazing, and young cattle were still supporting themeslves in the pastures.* A drizzling rain fell during a portion of the day, and similar weather prevailed until the 8th ; that day w^as bright, warm, and beautiful. So were the 9th and lOth. On the 11th, there was a heavy fall of rain with east wind. It cleared off during the night, the wind hauled into the north and Sunday, the 12tb, was a cold, bright morning with a clear, bracing atmosphere. Monday was damp and cool in the morning. At one o'clock it began to snow, and continued until dark, but only about half an inch fell. Tuesday, the sun rose clear, but it was not warm enough to tl^w the snow. Wednesday, the 15th, was the coldest day up to that date. On the Tansies, or Lady's Delights, were in bloom in our garden, and in the vicinity we heard of rose bushes in full leaf with perfect blossoms. 12 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. morning of the 16th the thermometer stood at 10® above, a little before sunrise. Last year, it will be observed, it stood at 10, 17 and 20° below, at dif- ferent points within a circuit of a mile, at Con- cord, Mass. For the New England Farmer. THE USE OF GUANO. Mr. Editor : — As Peruvian Guano has been used in New England only to a very limited extent as a fertilizer, and as every scrap of intelligence upon tlie subject is now of great interest and im- portance to the practical farmer, I send you for publication the following extract from a letter re- cently received from a gentleman in Virginia, who has very successfully used that article on the old, worn-out lands in that State. What is necessary to restore the exhausted soils of Virginia, is, mu- tatis mutandis, equally necessary to the same soils in Massachusetts ; and as it regards the expense, guano, at fifty dollars the ton, is actually cheaper than manure at six dollars the cord. The extract which follows explains itself. WaUham, Dec, IS52. d. c. "You ask, is guano the best and most economi- cal manure for hay and garden vegetables?" My own trials of it have chiefly been on the field crops of this region, namely, corn, wheat and clover. The effects of it on those crops are most admira- ble, as well as in permanently improving the soils. I have also applied it to ray garden, and have used it as a top dressing to herdsgrass, but I cannot say that the effect on the grass or garden vegeta- ble was very marked. Some friends of mine, how- ever, have described its action on' garden vegeta- bles and on timothy as most excellent, and I liave no doubt it is so. I suppose if a new garden is to be made on poor land, it would be necessary to use vegetable ma- nures as well as guano, to get the soil into the best state for culinary vegetables, or in fact for any kind of crop. Guano is composed chiefly of the azotised compounds and phosphates. A good, rich soil contains, in addition to these ingredients, tlio organic matter of vegetables. I find my fields con- stantly improving, as the growth of clover and all kinds of grass and weeds is promoted by guano. "We have in this part of our State various soils, namely, sandy and gravelly loams, stiff white clays, and the red clays. On the hard and gravelly loams, and on the white clays, the effects of gua- no are truly admirable, and also is on the pale red clays. On the dark red clays, I have been in- formed that its effects have not been so marked. If you wish to use it as a top dressing to grass land, you had better mix it with ground plaster of Paris, in the proportion of one part of plaster to two of guano. This tends to fix the volatile am- monia, and also furnishes a small quantity of lime to the soil. When applying guano to any crops at the time of planting, it should be plowed or har- rowed in, two or three inches in depth, and should be broadcasted, and may be in quantity from one hundred to three hundred pounds to the acre. My own belief is, that gua«o is the cheapest fertilizer, and the greatest boon ever conferred on a poor country. I doubt if it will ever fail on any poor lands, and think that you will not err in ap- plying it to any such." For the New. England Farmer. PROFITS OF FOWLS. Mr. Editor : — There has been an increasing in- terest.taken in the subject of poultry, for the last few years. I have watched with interest for a re- sult which is now realized, viz., that native fowla are more profitable than otlier breeds. There have been many statements made of expense and in come from a stock of native fowls, invariably showing a profit; whilst I have never seen, if me- mory serves me right, but a single statement of fancy breeds, and tliat gave a loss. I saw in your paper of December 18, an account of the farmers' uiccting in Concord, showing conclusively that poultry raising and egg-producing is profitable. I, too, would cast in my mite to serve the common cause. The following is the account with my fowls one year, commencing Dec. 1, 1850. On hand, 4 roosters and 74 hens and pullets, worth 50 cts. each. They consumed 41 bushels 12 qis. northern corn... $-35, 99 Do. 31 bushels 21 (jls. flat corn 22,16 Do. 200 Ho. scraps 3,32 Interest on the worth of fowls '.^,31 Less worth of fowls at close of year 10,.' 0 Expenses S;74,3I Income— 742.5 doz. eggs, at 15.5 per doz ...115,84 ■ Fowls sold ., 9,56 Income $125,40 Sublnict expenses 74,31 Actual profit S51,0!) Which leaves $1,28 gain on every dollar invest- ed. It also shows a gain on each fowl of G5.5 cts. Commenced the year 1651, Dec. 1, with 76 fowls, worth 36 cents apiece. They consumed 501 bush, corn, at 81 cts per bush. $11,26 Do. 13b Ills, scraps, at 16 mills i)er lb 2,11 Interest on the worth of fowls 1,64 Less worth of fowls at close of year 8,91 Expenses $53,05 Income— 3741^ doz. eggs, at 165 cts per doi 01,65 Fowls sol J 20,35 Income $82,00 Subtract expenses 53,05 Profit $28,95 Which leaves $1,02 gain on every dollar invest- ed. It also shows a gain on each fowl of 38 cts. ]My gain this year has been less for the reasons which follow, viz. : I killed off the best of my fowls, one-third part in March ; and again I lost by accident pei'haps two dozen. So tiiat upon the whole this year shows the business to be as pro- fitable as the year before. I rejoice that this subject is receiving due weight in New England, — that fowl breeders are count- ing up the cost, and find in the result a handsome profit. I trust that the fairs this coming year will be ornamented with the native biddies, and that they will be allowed to take the first place in the county shows, as they certainly will at their own- er's interest table. R. ^Mansfield. West Needham, Dec, 1852. Grizzly Bear I — All who are desirous of seeing a specimen of the productions of that famous world, California, are advised to go and see the grizzly bear, now on exhibition at 19 Charlestown Street, Boston. The bill states that Lis actual weight is over 1"00 pounds ! 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 13 REMEDY FOR BOTS IN HORSES. For many years past I have used a simple rem- edy for hots, and am almost disposed to call it "an infalli'ile remedy," sure enouo;h. But I can say, with truth, that I have never known it fail if ad- ministered at the commencement of the attack. Drench freely vpith sweet milk and molasses, (su- gar or honey will do) well shaken together. Con- tinue it, a bottle full every fifteen or twenty min- utes, according to the severity of the attack, un- til the animal becomes easy ; then give a quart bottle full of strong salt and water, followed soon after with a quart bottle of Castor oil. It is worse tlian idle to give anything with the view of killing the hots in a horse. The only plan IS to convey them oS"; a sweet drench is tlie thing ; they seize upon it with avidity, and in a little while will fill themselves, increasing at least one-tliird in size. In .salt and water they will lie perfectly dormant for days together, hence the ad- vantage in its preceding the oil. Whenever tlie bota attack a horse they will always be found at the neck of the throat, where a sweet drench is thrown immediately amongst them the moment it is swallowed by the horse. It is a great mistake to suppose that they are hid in some secret recess where medicine cannot reach them, and quite as great a one to suppose that a sweet drench will not divert tlieir attention from the horse. — Sou/h- ern Cultivator. ADVANTAGES OF WARM WEATHBR. The autumn rains and continued mild Aveather have already materially aided the farmer in sup- porting his winter stock. If the weather should continue moderate until the first of January, we think there will be as much fodder on hand at that time as there was on the first of last January The Granite Farmer of the I5th states that "young cattle and sheep have not required any feeding, and a good portion of the sustenance of other stock has been obtained from the fields to the present time." At a recent agricultural meeting at the State House, at Concord, N. II., Gov. Martin, in his ex- cellent opening remarks, stated that the hay crop of thatState, in 1848, amounted to 680,000 tons, — which, at the average price of that year, $10 per ton — would give as the value of the crop $6,800, 000. The present year he estimates there is a de- ficiency, compared with 1848, of at least one fourth, 170,000 tons, which at $15 a ton, will give a loss to the farming interest of the State of $2, 550,000. Bat this would only be a fact if the weather were the same under the same disparity in the amount of fodder, for alow temperature de- mands more nutriment, and of course more fod- der. Therefore, the mild weather has been con- stantly decreasing this apparent loss, by a con- stant saving of hay and grain. Some idea of, the immense saving by the mild weather may be had from the following statement from the Granite Farmer. The editor says — "Being at Hillsborough, the other day, we were informed by several very intelligent gentlemen that the amount of hay saved daily in that town v/as at least 40 tons. Last year, it became 'necessary to feed cattle some 45 days earlier tlian this sea- son, but to give the advantage against our esti- mate we will say it v/as 30 days. This, then, would make a saving over last season in one town of 1200 tons, which at f|kl5 per ton, would make $18,000. In this county, there are 31 townSj equal at least to 20 of the size of Hilleboro', and equivalent to it in an agricultural point of view. In the county, then, we have saved $360,000. Es- timating that the ten counties in the State are equal to seven of the size of Ilillsboro', and we have saved in the whole State $2,520,000— a sum nearly equal to the deficiency named by the Gov- ernor." In Jefferson county, N. Y., according to the N. Y. Farmer, it is estimated that the saving in that county alone is one hundred tons of hay per day ! For the New En!;laiui Farmer. peculiar difficulitiss of nsw engIjAnd farming. Extract from the address of IF F. French, before the York Co. Agricullural Society, Maine. V'ANT OF SYSTEJIATIC -ATTENTION. The great and leading difficulty in the way of successful husbandry, in New England, is the want of systematic attention to it, as a business, resulting from a want of confidence that it is sufficiently profitable, a want of accurate knowledge of its principles, and a want of pecuniary means and of other f\icilities, to pursue it to the best advantage. Agriculture, thus far, in America, has hardly been conducted as a business requii-ing tlie same care, and skill and training with other pursuits of life. The first settlers of our country, indeed, were in no position to pursue it Avith system. Their first endeavor was to protect themselves from the savages upon the coast, — their next, to clear away with steel and fire the grand old forests, and de- posit in the virgin, fruitful soil, the seed, which gave them without much subsequent care, a boun- teous return. Generations passed away. The lands had been cleared, and the crops which could be obtained without skill, and with smallest labor, had been gathered. The best lands of nearly all New Eng- land, by this exhausting process, which cleared whole forests for the ashes of its noble trees, or for timber, then, of scarcely more value than its ashes, have thus been passed over. The first fruits have been gathered. The first stage of progress in the new country has l;)een fin- islied. Tlie earth will no longer yield to man her fruits, without labor — aye, and intelligent labor — labor joined with a knowledge of the principlesof husbandry. We, who would ?iow gain our daily bread from the soil, must do it, not only by the sweat of our brow, but by the travail of our brain also. SKTLL, EDUCATION AND CAPITAL NECESSARY. It would be strange, indeed, if a business, m- volving the most complicated processes which philosophy and chemistry have revealed, should be the only one that could be successfully omducted without skill, without education, without capital. 14 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. citizens. Yet, looking at the outside of our com- munity, there would seem never to have existed so fickle, so changeable, so whimsical a people. This is especially true, of their occupations. Look where you will, in city or country, a Yankee is al- Men study years to gain a knowledge by Avhich to weave a fabric which shall cover human naked- ness, and .slielter their bodies from tlic heat and cold. Yet "behold the lilies, how they grow" — "even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these," and yet the art of the husband-| ways progressing. He is always seeking a change man brings him in close contact with the hidden! for the better. Wq \\t\.s x\o conservatism. To-day processes of nature, which give the lily and tlicj he is a laborer in the field, holding tlie plow, or violet their color and their fragrance. Every| mowing. The next time we meet him, perhaps bursting s,^f>d and every springing Ijlade of grass, he is a clerk in a store, or a conductor on a rail- evcry opotdng bud and every perfumed flower and ripened fruit, is carried step by step to perfection, by principles as eternal as those which govern the courses of tlie sun and the stars. Every process of vegetation depends, for its results, on laws fixed and immutable as the sv\relling of the ocean's tide or tiie motions of the revolving earth ; and with these principles and laws, the husbandman who road — then perliaps the editor of a western news- paper, and nest a member of Congress. Taking this hasty glance at the American citi- zen, one would take him for a sort of icandering Jew — a person possessed with the very spirit of unrest. But this, as I have said, is not, after all, so much an e-ssential element of liis character, as the result of his peculiar position in the woidd. easts ills seed into the ground is constantly at! The American is born, where the people of the Ce work. And shall he alone, of all, who would at-! lestial Empire imagine /Ary are, in the middle of the world. But he is fenced in by no Chinese wall, by n J State or municipal embargo upon his move- ments. He is not born the heir of a title, and of vast entailed estates, upon which he must, of course, spend his life, bound to maintain the digni- ty of a long line of illustrious ancestors, and to help the queen keep her other and more humble sub- jects in their proper places. He is not fettered by legal enactments, which require him to submit to a seven years' apprenticeship, before he can exer- cise any mechanical art, nor is he born a serf upon the soil of a lord, doomed to grow up in an igno- rance which binds him to a position of dependence and servitude more firmly than chains and fetters. On the contrary, he finds himself, at early man- hood, witliout property, without rank or title, without wealtliy friends to aid him, dependent on liis own strong arm, and In-ave heart for his for- tune. He is intelligent, educated, and thoroughly imbued with the spirit of liljerty and equality, which he has drawn from his mc^ther's breast — lias cauglit from his father's lips — has breathed in the air which has been Avafted from Bunker Hill and Lexington and Concord. He is bound to no soil, but to that of his country, and his country is bounded on the east and on the vrest by the ocean. He knows wliat is passing everywhere. The press pours out her stories of tlie fertility and in- exhaustible productiveness of the West, and of the wealth gained almost in a day from the mines of California. Steamers and railways can bear him, sooner than a single crop can be gathered from his native soil, to the teeming valleys of the western rivers, or the gold-bearing shores of the Pacific, lie meets daily in the streets friends who report to him tales of suddenly acquired wealth — truth stranger than fiction — stranger than the eastern tales of genii, and the wonderful lamp of AUad- din. What wonder, that to a young and hopeful licart, thus invited by prospects of wealth more dazzling than fi\iry tales have pictured, as he sat (m his mother's knee in childhood, thus lured by Syrens, singing of easily acquired ric}ies,of a brief period of excitement and danger followed by a life of ease and leisure — what wonder that he be- comes dissatisfied with the slow degrees by which iiis fijrtune must be patiently wrought out in his native State, that he esteems the cultivation of the soil of New England a hard lot, and desires to try his fortune nearer the setting. sun. tain to us'iful ends by well adapted means — shall he n/on'^, in this great laboratory of nature, work blindfolded? It is true that many of her curious combinations of form and color, many of her mys- terious workings in all her various departments, are now, and will ever be, beyond the power of human learning to fathom ; but that is a poor rea- son why we should neglect carefully to observe her systematic course, and as far as may be, turn it to practical account. KNOWLEDGE IS TOViTKR. Let the farmer realize that to him, as to others, knowledge is power; that tlie time has come when the same discipline, and system, and adaptation of uieans to desired ends, is as necessary to Ins business as to that of the mechanic, the merchant and the lawyer, and agriculture will at once rise from'tlie position of a mere manual labor, to the dignity of a noble science. When we undertake to fiiUow out the inquiry, ivhy agriculture, in New England, has been, to such an extent, neglected — trht/ so little of sys- tematic attention has been l)estowed upon it, we shall, perhaps, lie surprised to oliserve how many of the reasons result I'rom the peculiar character of our political institutions, from the almost un- bounded liberty of action secured to us as citizens of a republic. Tliis sentiment of an old poet has been often quoted with approbation : '■For forms of goveintnciit let fools contest. Thill which is l)est i.diiiiiiistercci is best." There is certainly but very little poetry in the lines, and I think less of truth than poetry. In deed, it is interesting to observe, as we trace the diiferences, even lietween the laws of the liberal government of England and those of this country, how every principle of our Constitution influences every act and thouglit even, of our citizens, who are unconscious, perliaps, of the distinctions. Up- on tliis topic I sliall Jiave occasion presently to re mark further. THE YANKEE PROGRESSIVE, r.UT NOT ST.\CLE. As a prominent obstacle to systematic husband- ry may be mentioned, the want of stnhilily in the habits of our pmp/c. I say a want of stability in the habits of our people, for instability is certainly not a trait of New Enghuid character, but on the contrary steady pi.n'severanee witli grc'it- energy and activity, are the marked characteristics of our 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 15 He is restrained by no considerations of the ad- vantages of a quiet rural life, for no young man yet, ever had much fear of temptation, or doubted his ability to pass unscathed through its furnaces, thougli seven times heated. And so, many of our most enterprising young men forsake their native land — some to re-appear on fir distant shores, an honor to the State which gave them birtli, leading with New England spirit the grand enterprises of moral and political pro- gress— some to return by and Iiy, successful be- yond their hopes even, in their pursuit of foreign gold — simie to wander back heart-broken and worn out by disease and want, their only hope to lay their weary bones in New England soil — many, alas ! how many to fall by the wayside in the dreary land of strangers, witli no friendly voice to cheer them on their last dark journey, or to bear back a son's or l)rother's farewell to dear friends in their loved and far-oflF home. TRIES THE SHOE BUSINESS. Besides the inducements to emigration so pow- erful at times as almost to depopulate whole villa- ges in our eastern States, we have another cause of constant change. IMany who remain among us, after a short experiment on their farms, abandon the cultivation of the soil as too laborious or un- profitable and adopt some other business. It is the most common thing in the world, when, for instance, the shoe business takes a sudden start, to see scores of young men, who never be- fore had an awl or last in their hands, leave their farm employment, and congregate together in some little seven-by-nine shop, making, after a week's apprenticeship, each about half a dozen pairs of what are appropriately called sale shoes. These young men, crowded together inhot and un- ventilated apartments, cramped over their benches without active exercise, soon show in their pallid faces their mistake, and when the business fails, as it does, I believe about once in five years, they look about tliem for means to mount another round of "young ambition's ladder," and select another occupation. Perhaps a profession is nest tried, for the world is open to all in this free land. Any citizen of good moral character, that is to say any man who has never been convicted of sheep-stealing, has a right by statute, in most of the New England States, to be admitted to practice as attorney at law, and any man who can buy, borrow or oth- erwise come by an old horse and a box of pills, may practice medicine, and as to pi-eachinff, many people among us seem to believe, as Dogberry said of reading and writing, that it "comes by natur" and not by education, and that the less a preach- er studies, the more he gets by inspiration. All these brilliant paths are open to the aspir- ing youth, and so the profession of the law is crowded with men who have no higher idea of their practice, than as as a game of sharps and quibbles and money-getting — who involve everybody who consults them in lawsuits, and who bring reproach and odium upon the]very name of their adopted pro- f-'ssion. And the quack doctor has even a bet- ter, because a less observed field of operation. If he has wit enough to deal only in brown bread pills, a fair proportion of his patients will of course recover, and if he ventures with ill suc- cess into more dangerous experiments, he has only to sympathize with the surviving friends, walk demurely at the head of the funeral procession, while, like the good man we read of, though in a different sense, "his works do follow him," and the green grass soon covers all traces of his error. SHAMS AND QUACKERY ENCOURAGED. One effect of tliis perfect freedom for every man to do as a business, what seems good in his own eyes, is manifestly to encourage all sorts of shams and quackery, but still this freedom is in accor- dance with the spirit of our government, and is productive of more good than evil, on the whole. Often, worthy and Ijrilliant exceptions are found to the course which I have so freely denoted, and the importance of keeping down all appearance of an aristocracy, except nature's aristocracy of true genius and genuine nobility of soul, will outweigh, in the end, the evil consequences to which I have referred. The particular effect of this facility of change up- on the agriculture of our States, as has been sug- gested, is to disturb and prevent anything like a regular and systematic course of husbandry, the absolute necessity for which is so apparent. For the New England Farmer. HARVEST HYMN. RESPECTFULLY IXSCRIBED TO THE FARMERS OF THE "NEW ENGLAND FARMER." BV THE PEASANT BARD. Air — "JDundee." O Tiiou, whose wisdom decks the sod, And loads wilh fruit the bough ! We tliank Thee that the farmer's God Peculiarly art Thou. Thine aie the seasons as they roll ; Thy years, how dread they seem ! From age to age is Thy control, Deilic and supreme. When vernal skies and southern airs Make green the sunny slope, We turn the glebe with gleaming shares And cast the seed in hope. When Autumn pours her solemn light Upon the fading fields, Our garners filled to crowning height, Show what Thy bounty yields. Do Thou to us Thy grace impart, Who on that bounty live; The incense of a grateful heart Is all that we can give. Gill, Mass. OUR JANUARY NUMBE3R. We shall send this number to several gentle- men who have never taken the Farmer, and ask them to give it an attentive examination, and if approved, to aid in enlarging its circulation. If its present readers believe with us that it is of greatly more value to every farmer than its cost, will each one exert himself to forward us one or more subscribers for the coming year? During the last year we have sent out over six hundred thousand copies of the New England Farmer. — Shall that number be doubled in 1853 ? If you say so it can be done, and its value shall increase with its circulation. 16 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. For the Neiv England Farmer. \ plants, asparagus in abundance, -celery , (of splen- LYOEUM LECTURES. did quality,) together with almostevery other kind Mr. Editor .—The notice from the Committee ^ ^<^g^t^^'« *« ^^ ^^"°^ i*^ the catalogue. His of the Board of ^\griculture, in relation to this mode of difiFusing information, is worthy of careful attention. There is scarcely a town or village in the community, where two hundred persons can be assembled, that has not its course of lectures, on some toj.ic or other, during the Avinter. In some of these, the topics are designated by the managers ; but more generally by the lecturers themselves, — and with little connection or order io the arrangement. Such miscellaneous discours- es, with no definite purpose in view, may amuse for the time ; but they never can be so instruc- tive, as a well arranged series of lectures, on a par- ticular suVject. What topic can be of more uni- versal interest than the culture of the soil 1 Al- though all may not engage with their own hands in tilling the ground ; still, all do engage in the consumption of its products, and it will be difficult to find any, high or low, male or female, vfho would not receive benefit from attention to these subjects. If the community should manifest a disposition to encourage such lectures, without doubt, comjje tent lecturers would soon appear ; for in this, as in most other branches of business, there are al ways those who are quite as ready to work with their heads as with their hands. As suggested by the Committee, perhaps the season is too far ad- vanced to admit of full courses the coming winter; nevertheless, three months would be ample time, for hnlf-a-dozen lectures. And I hesitate not to say, that half-a-dozen lectures, well prepared, on agricultural subjects, would leave a more lasting and useful impression, than any course of Lyce- um Lectures that have ever come to my knowl- edge. I am happy to know that the intelligent citizens of the county of Worcester have taken up this subject in earnest, and already engaged the services of Prof. Mapes, who has the reputation of being in himself a complete library of useful knowledge. * TWO ACRES. The twenty-sixth meeting of the Germantown (near Philadelphia) Farmers' Club was holden at the house of Philip R. Freas, on the 23d Nov. He is the editor of the Germantown Telegraph, a warm and active friend of agriculture, horticul- ture, &c., and the originator of the club. Though his whole plot of ground comprise less than two acres and a half, yet he manages to produce upon it, in perfection, a little of everything. Those who are sighing for more land will do well to read his statement carefully, and inquire whether it would not be wise to cultivate their present acres better, than to add to their number. The repor- ter at the meeting states in the Telegraph that during the present year there was cut two tons and a^quarter of prime hay; there were patches of turnips, carrots, parsnips, beets, cabbages, (three kinds) onions, peas, frcyole and half a dozen other kinds of beans ; salsify, lettuce, okra, corn, (StoweU's Sugar, and Adams') ; potatoes, pump- kins, (three varieties,) squashes, tomatoes, egg fruits consist of melons, six kinds of cherries, five kinds of plums, peaches ; twenty-eight varieties of select pears ; twelve varieties of apples ; red, white and black currants ; gooseberries, blackber- ries, and four varieties of raspberries, grapes, &c. &c. In the garden and mansion yard, there was a very choice collection of flowers, among them many select roses and rare vines. The ornamen- tal trees consist of five varieties of the fir ; the Japonica eryptomeria, the Deodar cedar, the Irish yew, and the American arbor vitae ; the European linden, the sugar and silver maples, the English and mountain ash, &c. &c. In addition to these, there was a number of beautiful Polish fowls — black, white and spangled — and pea fowls, in the barn-yard — a fish pond in the garden — and a large number of choice fancy pigeons at the house. In all this there is an ex- cellent taste displayed. We noticed that thehonse and offices were lighted with gas, warmed with a heater, and supplied with water from the public works. Baths, hot and cold, have for years been supplied by a reservoir on an elevated back build- ing, holding .some fifteen hundred gallons, wliieh has also furnished pure, soft rain water for various parts of the buildings. In the garden is a small green-house, excavated in the ground, say to the depth of three or four feet, framed up at the sides, raised a couple of feet above ground, and covered with glass. In this en- closure or pit, the usual shelves are arranged to receive the pots ; and we are assured by Maj. Freas, that it is the best possible provision for flowers and almost every description of plants in winter. Roses, particularly, flourish in much greater perfection. During the whole of the last unusually severe winter, but a single delicate night blooming jassamine was at all injured by the frost. This green-house requires no artificial heat. In the hot-beds, we found cucumbers and cauliflow- ers up, lettuce heading, and spring radishes full grown. We may truly say, in regard to the "Telegraph Farm," that it is a farm in miniature; but in comfort, convenience, and taste, without any large pretension to mere costly elegance, it is a pattern "plantation," and would, in the full- growing season, affjrd compensation for a visit from any of our ponderous farmers. In a word, it is in the strict sense of the word, a home. d^" Tuesday, the 28th of December, was one of the mildest winter days we remember ever to have witnessed. The thermometer stood at 60 in this city, from 1 to 4 (j'clock P. M., and the showers, during the day, seemed more like June than De- cember. 1853. ISEW ENGT:,AND FARMER. 17 HUNT RUSSET. Tiikft it all in all, for productiveness, fur the des- sert, kitchen, for the home market and for expor- tation, and for its heaut^' of form and coloring, the HuxT Russet, we tliink, excels any other apple in New England, and stands at the head of them all ! We say this considerately, after all the opportu- nities we have had of testing apples, and helieve this to be the opinion of some excellent judges of fruit who have hail occasion to compare this with many other varieties. The first governor of Massachusetts, VVinthrop, purchased a tract of land for a plantation, and upon which he intended to reside, on the north- west bank of the river, in the beautiful town of Concord, about eighteen miles, and nearly west, from Boston. The land gradually' rises until it reaches a height commanding a pleasant view of the subjacent (^untry, including nearly all of the village, and the broad meadows on the banks of the river,, then probably covered with forest trees. Owing to some doiuestic affliction, as was supposed, the governor never entered upon this land as a resident, and sold it to a gentleman from England, by the name of Hunt, whose descendants in a di- rect line own and occupy a considerable portion of the land at the present time. It was this purchaser of the land from Governor WiNTHROP who introduced the apple portrayed above. From inquiries which we have made among the descendants of old Deacon Simon Himt. it ap- pears that tlie tree originated and occupied a site near the highest point of land in the tract. This land is now owned and occupied b}' Capt. Nathan Barrett, one of the largest and best farmers in that ancient town. We have repeatedly visited his farm, examined his trees and their products, and believe that he entertains the opinion we have expressed of the Hunt Russet. He puts up sev- eral hundred barrels of apples this year, and among them a large portion of this favorite. So far as we have been able to trace the history of this apple, we believe that all the trees of this variety now growing in New England sprung from the tree planted on tlie old Indian Hill in Concord, by Mr. Hunt. We are inclined to think that the Hunt Russet is identical with the apple described by Cole, Downing and Thomas, as the English Russet. The reader will observe that our engraving answers Mr. Downing's description of the Englisli Russet which we copy below. He says the "stalk is rath- er small." In the engraving above the stalk is rather large, but is true, as the waole poitrait is, to life. The fruit, (as Downing says of the English^Rus- 18 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan, set) is of medium size, ovate, or sometimes coni- cal, and verv regularly formed. Skin yellowish- green, nearly covered with russet, which is thick- est near the stalk. Calyx small, closed, and set in an even, round basin, of moderate depth. Stalk rather small, projecting even with the base, and pretty, deeply inserted, in a narrow, smooth cav- ity. Flesh white, tender, with a pleasant, mild, slightly sub-acid flavor. The tree is a little slow in coming into bearing, but once producing fruit, bears every year; is hardy and of handsome shape. We have seen the ap- ples two years old, fair, plump and juicy, kept on a shelf in the cellar with no extra care whatever, and have kept them ourselves a year in good condition. It bears a high price in the market, selling quick at $5 a barrel in the market last spring, and is rapidly gaining the popular favor. The above is the opinion wo have formed of this fruit from raising, using and comparing it. But we advise no one to adopt our opinions without careful inquiry and investigation for themselves. For the. New England Farmer. THE SEASON OF 1852 AT WILMING- TON AND VICINITY. BT SILAS BROWN. Messrs. Editors : — It often happens in the sum- mer, in the time of drought, that an accumulation of clouds at a distance indicate an approaching shower, but on a nearer advance, they split and, display at the right and left and disappoint tlie anxious expectants of a refreshing fall of rain. It is not uncomuum, in a dry time, for a succession of such illusive showers to wend their way over the dusty and tliirsty earth without any regard to the fasting and prayers of poor sinners below. The town where I formerly lived was visited by two or three drj' summers in succession, and tlie promising appearance of showers followed by the split in the clouds extremely annoyed a neighbor by causing liiin such scanty crops ; he considered his farm to be located right under the "crack in the clouJs," as he called it; the whim wrought upon his mind so forcibly that his only remedy was to Si.dl and purchase in a more fortunate place, vphere clouds were not subject to such rents as to hold no water. In this vicinity we have been highly favored with sliowers of rain through the euuimer ; instead of the splitting of the clouds and passing by us on either or both sides, nebulous frag'uents have collected into dense bodies, di- rectly over us and poured down their contents in a profusion of rain. After an uncommon cold winter and backward spring that destroyed a large proportion of youmr fruit trees in this neighborliood, the weather changed suddenly the 5th day of May to very warm, which continued till the 9th and gave incip- ient vegetation a fine start. Fruit trees of vari- ous kinds begin to blossom the 22d day of May uncQiumonly full, which had an elevating effect upon the one who v/as so unfortunate as to be troubled with the depressing effect of the "Hlues." We had frost (m the mornisigs of the 19th and 20th of May, too early to injure cranberries and other fruits ; June 3d, a great shower ; Gth and 12th, frost on low land which was supposed to be the cause of the scarcity of cranberries this faW, the tender shoots that produce the fruit were just starting from the old vine at that critical time ; 14th, very warm ; 15th, light thunder shower in the morning; IGth and 17th, extreme heat, and shower at 5 P. M., 17th ; 18th, soaking rain in the morning; 22d, thunder shower commencing at 9 A. !M., which lasted all day and supplied us with a drenching rain, while at 10 miles distance hut very little fell, and the spectator, at that dis- tance, could see the clouds congregating and dis- charging their contents in great profusion in some particular localities, while others continued dry ; 25th, slight shower and cooler; 29th, grows dry ; 30th, shower, warm and growing time; July 2d, soaking thunder shower, A. M. ; 8th to 14th, ex- treme heat, and top of ground di-y ; 14th, soaking shower ; 15th and 16th, warm ; 17tb, rainy; 19th- to 25th, warm and good hay weather; 26th, drenching rain from N.'E. ; 27th, to August 1st, good hay weather; 5th, great rain from N. E. and cool; 7th, rain; 9th to lltli, cloudy, but little rain; 12th to 14th, good hay weather ; 16th to 18th, cool nights ; 19th, warm and dry ; 20th, sudden change, wind to N. E., and cloudy and dry to 26th, then a fine shower ; 29th, a drenching N. E. storm, which lasted to the end of the month, when the fate of the crops was decided fur the season. The first hard frost was on the morning of 30th September. There has been a good supply of fall feed, a fiivorable circumstance to those wh« have not a full supply of fodder, as well as to the pro- ducer and consumer of butter. Early potatoes wei'e "small^," indurated and glutinous after be- ing boiled jt owing to the extreme heat in July; The late ones were much better and afiln-ded us an average crop. Chenangoes and long whites, two of the best old varieties, were the only ones which showed the symptoms of the regular epidemic rot, while different varieties growing from seed derived from Vermont were sound. Cranberries and peach- es scarce. Apples abundant ; corn and rye an average crop; all kinds of garden roots and vege- tables never better ; upland hay good ; meadow hay very light. The f irests, the ornament of our hills and worn- out lands, were not behind our cultivated trees and plants in progressing, for the purposes of lumber and fuel. The fall, thus far, has been rather cool and cloudy, but we have had a plenty of rain and a good supply of water in our wells, a greater an- tidote to sickness than "rum and tobacco too." There have been more biles and fewer fevers than commonly fall to the lot of mortals by the way of afllictions and mercies, as many of nacan tastify, the past season ; it is possible that tlie former may be a preventive of the hitter. Pro^donce has not stinted us in any of tlie good things conducive to health. and comfort, for which we have reason to elevate our minds in gratitude to that great Being who directs the courses of the cl-iuds, gov- erns the destinies of the crops and shews such fa- vors as the rewards of industry. s. b, Wilmington, Oct., 1851. 1^ A gentleman just returned from California, states that Baldwin apples have been selling by the barrel at an average of twelve and a half cents 1853, NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 19 «ach. At retail, applea sometimes sell as high as fifty cents each. ^' You need not postpone set- ting that apple orchard any longer, Mr. D, STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Met, Web.nesdav, U&c. 1, 1S52. Col. Wilder presented the Transactions of the Michigan State Agricultural Society, for 1851, from its secretary J. C. Holmes, Esq., and the Transactions of the N. Y. State Seciety., for 1851. ■from B. P. Johnson, Esq., its Corresponding Secre- tary. He also presented packages of seeds from Professor Fowler, one of which the Professor had received from the Messrs. Gijibs, seedsmen to the Royal Agricultural Society, of England, and the other from Mr. James Cuthbert, an eminent seeds- maR, in Liverpool. The thanks of the Board were voted to these gentlemen, and the Secretary direct- ed to send them, and the N. Y. and Michigan so- cieties, copies of our State Transactions. Mr. Proctor submitted the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted. Whereas, in the Providence of God, the late Hon. John W. Lincoln, of Worcester, a member of this Board, has been removed by death, at a pe- riod of life when many more years of useful labor might have been hoped from him : — Resolved, That the industry, integrity, and zeal in the promotion of every commendable enterprise, which marked the character of the deceased, have impressed us with the highest respect for his mem* ory. Resolved, That, we heartily sympathize with the Society he reprefonted, and with the friends of the deceased, in the hiss sustained by the death of this worthy man ; and in token of respect, direct that this expression of opinion he entered upon our records, and a copy thereof forwarded to the rela- tives of the deceased, and to the Society he repre- sented at this Board. Col. Wilder, from the committee to nominate a Secretary, made the following report, which was adopted. The Committee to whom was referred the nom- ination of a permanent Secretary of this Board, respectfully report : That the names of several dis- tinguished persons have been presented, and their qualifications have been under consideration of the Committee. The Committee regret that they have not been able to agree upon a nomination, and they respect- fully ask for further time. In consider;ltii.>n, however, of the fact, that the Annual Abstract of the Returns of the County So cieties, and the Report of this Board must soon be put in ciiurse of publication, the Committee recom- mend that the present Secretary, pro tem., Hon. Amasa Walker, be requested to make up the com- pilations of the Agricultural Transactions of the Coiniuonwealth, for the year 1852, together witli the report of this Board, and to perform such other duti ;s as are incumbent on its Secretary. Mr. Lawton was requested to report on the Ilousatonic Society. The Secretary was directed to make up in small packages, the seeds presented by the Messrs. Gibes and Cutubert, and distribute them to such members of the Board as will make thorough trial of them, and roport their experiments in detail to the Board. Mr. Walker then reported on the Norfolk Soci- ety. He was also directed to take measures to secure a report, from the several societies not heard from, by requesting those who had that duty as- signed them to report at the next meeting of the Board. At the meeting of the Board in July last gentle- men were appointed to visit the several agricultural Exhibitions in the State, and report upon them to the Board. These reports now being in order. Mr. Proctor reported on the Berkshire County Society. Dr. Reed, reported on the Hampshire Society. Col. J. W. Lincoln, having deceased, to whom was assigned the Hampshire, Hampden, and Frank- lin Society, it was voted that Gov. Boutwell be requested to make a report upon this Society at the next meeting of the Board, he having been present at the exhibition of that Society. Mr. Walker reported on the Worcester West Society, and was requested to report on the Mid- dlesex Society, no report being presented from that county. Mr. French, from the committee to nominate three members of the Board, as representatives to the General Board of the United States Agricul- tural Society, reported the names of John W. Proctor, of Essex, Henry W. Cushman, of Franklin, and Simon Brown, of Middlesex Societies, and they were unanimously elected. The Board then adjourned to meet at 3 o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. The Secretary presented the resignation of Mr. James S. Grennell, (Mr. G. having left the State,) from the Franklin County Society, which was ac- cepted. On motion of Mr. Smith, the Secretary was di- rected to notify all the members of the Board of the time of the next adjournment. Mr. Walker reported upon the best means of promoting the interests of Agriculture in the State, by public lectures. He thought, as a prominent means, that familiar lectures before the Lyceums in the towns would effect an immediate and prac- tical benefit. The report was referred to Messrs. Walker, Proctor and Hitchcock, to recommend individuals to lecture on agricultural subjects when applied for Co the Board. Dr. Reed reported on the importance of estab- lishing Farmers' Clubs in each town in the State. The reports made were full, instructive and in- 20 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. teresting, and upon several of them animated dis- cussions arose. There seems to us to be prevailing in this Board a spirit determined to progress in the riglit way. Every man takes the laboring oar himself, vrhile the fjforts of all are directed to a single point, — the true principles and practice of agricultural im- provement. They are not the efforts of a nevrly- awakened love, or tlie proselyte's zeal, to glitter like ephemera in the morning sun, and then grow cold and die, but the well settled convictions that the labor of the farmer is often misdirected, so that its true reward is not obtained ; that the na- ture of the soils he cultivates and the operations of the great atmospheric ocean which surrounds him and feeds his crops, are so little understood as to leave him incessantly laboring in doubt and un- certainty as to the modes of culture which he adopts. So far, there has been an earnestness and energy exhibited in the Board which promises important results ; and these, whatever they may be, will become common property, as the trans- actions of the Board and the State will annually be published. We only give the details of business, leaving the reports, &c., to speak for themselves when distributed. VEGE5TATION IN CALIFORNIA. At a meeting of the Farmer's Club at the rooms „ of the American Institute, in New York, severalf^^*:* g^'^"^^" ^J ^^^- I^aac Brannan, at San Jose, gentlemen spoke of the wonderful productiveness of the soil and vegetables which spring from it. According to the information derived from Mr. Shelton, almost every variety of fruit appears to flourish with very little attention in California. The apple, pear, peach, apricot, quince, plum, nec- tarine, pomegranate, fig, grape, and olive, are now growing there in the greatest perfection. It is the firm conviction of Mr. S. that no country in the world surpasses California in the production of these fruits. Mr. S. appears to regard the production of onions as the most astonishing. They grow very larp'e and mild there, and are eaten like apples. Mr. Horner raised about 50,000 lbs. on one acre, and they were worth about $20,000. General Vallyo raised 80,000 lbs. on two acres. Mr. Shelton said that he had seen a field of onions, averaging a pound wt. each. Fifty of them would weigh from two to four pounds apiece. Potatoes also grow to a very large size, some of them weighing three pounds each — and have to be cut up in order to boil them well — 125 pounds had been obtained from five stalks. Mr. Horner had raised from 250 to 300 bushels of potatoes per acre, with out "manure . i\Ir. Dyer said that he had seen radishes in Cal ifornia as large as his arm, and perfectly free from strings or hard fibres. Mr. Shelton stated that these radishes were fit for table in thirty-one days. He represented that lettuce grew there in great variety, and are very fine — some of them attaining the size of a man's hat, and weighing from three to four pounds each. At San Francisco he had seen the tomato growing all winter. Grapes con- sidered to be far superior to the Catawlia ; from one to seven pounds on a stem could be raised with very little trouble. He had seen branches weigh- ing upwards often pounds each. Mr. S. stated that there were no less than twen- ty varieties of clover growing there. The white clover grows three feet high. In answer to some questions asked relative to procuring ice, Mr. Dye said that their supplies had been principally obtained from Boston, and sold at from 10 to 12 cents per pound. Frozen snow or hail had also been obtained from the mountains packed in gunny bags and blankets. This was sold for the same price as the Boston ice. Mr. Shelton has brought with him about a thou- sand specimens of pressed flowers, grasses, trees, &c., also a colored drawing of a great variety of native flowers of great beauty, which are deserving the attention of florists. He has likewise present- ed to the American Institute about 200 varieties of flower seeds from California. On land owned and cultivated by Mr. James Williams, an onion grew to the enormous weight of 21 pounds. On this same land a turnip was grown wdiich equalled exactly in size the head of a flour bai-rel. On land owned and cultivated by Thomas Fallen, a cabbage grew which measured, while growing, 13 feet 6 inches around its body ; the weight is not known. The various cereal grains also grow to a height of from 5 to 12 feet ; one red wood tree in the valley, known as Fremont's tree, measures over 50 feet in circumference, and is near- ly 300 feet high. * Added to these astonishing productions are a weighing 63 pounds ; carrots, three feet in length, weighing 40 pounds. At Stockton, a turnip weigTiing 100 pounds. In the latter city, at a dinner party for twelve per- sons, of a single potato, larger than the sizaof an ordinary hat, all partook, leaving at least the half untouched. !Mr. Dye corroborated the statements of Mr. Shelton, and related some additional intei-esting particulars. He had noticed in the San Jose val- ley, which is 78 miles long, and GO miles across in the widest part, a particular sweet kind of wild clover, which the natives eat with great relish. So thick was the growth of this clover, that when the dry season of the year comes, he has seen thousands of acres covered with the seed of the bur clover to a depth of two inches. On this hap- py provision of nature, the cattle feed during the dry season. Mr. Shelton showed some specimens of this seed, of which he had collected thi-ee bush- els on 18 feet square. He had collected sixteen varieties of clover, of which he exhibited specimens. The blossoms of some are very rich. He formed a boquet of clover-tops alone. He had exhibited some of these specimens in San Francisco, and they had been very favorably noticed by the papers. One variety called the "Mammoth Shelton Clover" was ver^- large. The roots covered a space of 8 feet, and tlie stalks grow to a height of 10 feet. In ^laraposa county there was a large growth of acid clover, of which the natiws made drink, re- sembling our lemonade. Mr. Dye said that the trees in California were very different from the varieties bearing the same name here. 1853, NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 21 Rev. Mr. Fitch remarked that the dry season begins in June, and continues to November. It rarely occurred, during that time, that they had any rain ; neither were there any dews. In refer- ence to the certainty of the dry season being unin- terrupted, Mr. Shelton related an instance in which he had seen hundreds of acres of barley and oats which had been cut down, and let lie in swaths on the ground for two months, without injury. Mr. Dye related an instance, near Sacramento city, where three crops of wheat were taken, without any second plowing or sowing; — the first crop pro- duced 50 bushels to the acre, the second 30 to 40 bushels, and the third crop from 20 to 30 bushels. He considered that there was as large a proportion of arable land in California as in the State of New York. Mr. Shelton stated that Horner & Beard had inclosed four leagues (4,400 and odd Acres to the league) with an iron fence. He had walked one fenced field of 8 miles. Mr. Shelton said that he had frequently in his room one dozen heads of cabbage, weighing from 50 to 60 pounds. One, a perfectly solid head, weighed 56 pounds, and was seven feet in circum- ference. He gave an instance of a spruce tree, 300 feet in height, and 50 feet in circumference. Of grapes, in California, ]Mr. Dye said they were as good as those grown in this State. He did not think they were indigenous, except in the moun- tain districts, where he had met a small, sour de- scription. Rev. ^Ir. Fitch said that the arable land was about one-third in proportion. It was an erroneous opinion that vegetation could not go on without irrigation. Without irrigation, they could, at all times, have one crop in the year ; and where irrigation was introduced, vegetation went on throughout the year. He had seen three crops taken in the year. The oats grew wild, high and thick, on the hills, and in the valleys. Mr. Shelton exhibited a California potato, over a year out of ground. They grew to a very large size, and were sweet and floury, when boiled. In speaking of vegetables. Rev. Mr. Fitch remarked that the vegetables of California were very supe- rior for eating to those grown here. There, he could make a meal of a turnip, or on potatoes ; here he could not eat much of either with impuni- ty. The beet was very fine, growing to an extra- ordinary size, and was sweet, and uniform in color to the centre, unlike the large beet grown here which is often stringy. tility by any in the States, crops so much less ? Why, then, are their 13^ We notice by an article in the Canadian Agriculturist, that the public debt of Canada was $4,635,999, on the 1st of August last. By the same paper we observe that the aver- age crop of wheat, per acre, in Upper Canada, is nearly 15 bushels; barley, 21, rye, 12; peas, 15 ; oats, 26.^; buckwheat, 14.;|; Indian corn, 24 ; potatoes, 64; turnips, 212. In Lower Canada, where the acre is about one-seventh less than in Upper Canada, the average crop is of wheat, 7 bushels; barley, 15; rye, 8; peas, 7; oats, 15; buckwheat, 10 ; Indian corn, 18; potatoes, 60 ; turnips, 95. This average is much less than that of our hard, rocky New England soil. A portion of the soil n Upper Canada is probably not surpassed in fer- CORN SONG. BY JOHN O. WHITTIER. Heap higk the farmer's wintry board ! Heap high the golden corn ! No richer gift has autumn poured From out her lavish horn ! Let other lands exulting glean The apple from the pine. The orange from its glassy green. The cluster from the vine. We better love the rugged gift Our rugged hills bestow, To cheer us when the storm shall drift Our harvest fields with snow. Through vales of grass and meads of flovyera, Our plows their furrows made, While on the hills the sun and showers Of changeful April played. We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain, Beneath the sun of May, And frightened from our sprouting grain The robber crows away. All through the long, bright day of June, Its leaves grow bright and fair. And waved in hot midsummer's noon, Its soft and yellow hair. And now, with Autumn's moonlit eyes, Its harvest time has come, We pluck away its frosted leaves. And bear the treasure home. There, richer than the fabled gifts Apollo showered of old. Fair hands the broken grain shall sift, And knend its meal of gold. Let vapid idlers loll in silk Around their costly board; Give us the bowl of samp and milk. By homespun beauty poured. Where'er the wild old kitchen hearth Sends up its smoky curls. Who will not thank the kindly earth. And bless our farmer girls ! Then shame on all the proud and vain, Whose folly laughs to scorn The blessings of our hardy grain. Our wealth of golden corn. Let earth withhold her goodly root, Let mildew blight the rye, Give to the worm the orchard's fruit, The wheat-field to the fly; But let the good old crop adorn The hills our fathers trod; Still let us, for his golden corn. Send up our thanks to God ! A SIBERIAN WINTER. A traveller in Siberia, during the winter, is so en- veloped in furs that he can scarcely move ; and under the thick fur hood, which is fastened to the bear-skin collar and covers the whole face, one can only draw in, as it were by stealth, a little of the external air, which is so keen that it causes a very peculiar and painful feeling in the throat and lungs. The distance from one halting place to another takes about ten hours, during which time the trav- eller must always continue on horse-back, as the cumbrous dress makes it insupportable to wade 22 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. through the snow. The poor horses suffer at least as much as their riders, for besides the general ef- fect of the cold, they are tormented by ice forming in their nostrils and stopping their breathing. — When they intimate this, by a distressed snort and a convulsive shaking of the head, the drivers re- lieve them by taking out the piece of ice, to save thein from being suffocated. When the ice ground is not covered by snow their hools often burst from the effects of the cold. The caravan is always sur- rounded by a thick cloud of vapor ; it is not only living bodies which produce this effect, but even the snow smokes. These evaporations are instant- ly changed into millions of needles of ice, which fill the air, and cause a constant slight noise, i-e- sembling the sound of torn satin or thick silk. Even the reindeer seeks the forest to protect him- self from the intensity of the cold. In the Tun- dras, where there is no shelter to be found, the whole herd crowd together as close as possible to gain a little warmth from each other, and may be seen standing in this way quite motionless. Only the dark bird of winter, the raven, still cleaves the icy air with slow and heavy wing, leaving behind him a long line of thin vapor, markiing the trace of his solitary flight. The influence of the cold extends even to inanimate nature. The thickest trunks of trees are rent asunder with a loud sound, which, in these deserts, falls on the ear like a signal gun at sea ; large masses of rocks are torn from their ancient sites ; the ground in the tundras and in the rocky valleys cracks, forming wide yawning fissures, from which the waters, which were beneath the surface, rise, giving off a cloud of vapor, and become immediately changed into ice. The effect of this degree of cold ex- tends even beyond the earth. The beauty of the deep solar star, so often and so justly praised, dis- appears in the dense atmosphere which the inten- sity of the cold produces. The stars still-glisten in the firmament, but their brilliancy is dimmed. — Travels in the North. For the New Enfcland Farmer. WINTER LECTURES. BY WILLFAM C. BROWN. The New York Tribune of the 4th inst. has an article on Popular Lectures, in which occurs the following paragraph : — "We would suggest the propriety of leaning less on scholars and persons of literary habits for the de- livery of lectures, and of valuing more highly the in- culcations of practical men. If our most intelligent and cM.p;ible artisans, our best instructed and most successCul farmers, our prominent and scientific in- ventors, could oftener he induced to assume the lec- turer's platform, and give the people of their own and the neighboring townships the best results of their studies and experience, the lectures would be more useful, and, ultimately, mure^ popular than they now are." Here is a suggestion worthy the consideration of all perscms interested in the delivery of lectures during the winter n\ontlis. This custom has be- coiue so prevalent, and bids so fair to become uni- versal, that it deni-.mdsthe earnest inquiry of good men, how popular lecturing shall be conducted, so as to secure the licst results to the pui)lic. If meclianics and farmers were called upon to de- liver lectures, such a call would prove a powerful Incitement to the work of preparation, and the knowledge obtained under such circumstances, con a>nore, would be vastly more valuable than mere school learning ; and it would not be long before lecturers, self-taught, intelligent and practical, would multiply on every hand, and still the in- crease be less than the demand for them. The la- bor of self-preparation would become infectious ; and we should behold the novel and wonderful sight of whole communities cheerfully engaged in studies of a character every way calculated to ex- alt and dignify the human mind. It would be diffi- cult, if not impossible, to make an estimate of the vast amount of good which would flow from this. Vicious and trashy amusements of every kind would gradually fall into disrepute, as they already have, to some extent, principally through the in- fluence of popular lectures. There can be no doubt, that there is a great amount of talent in our farmers and mechanics ly- ing dormant. We can conceive of no course bet- ter adapted to arouse and develop this talent, than the one suggested. Its development would prove a blessing to the nation, not to be estimated by gold and silver. We should soon find men of gen- ius, intelligence and eloquence springing up all over the country,, and their example would prove a powerful stimulus to the younger portion of the- community. Such lecturers as we have described, would not be very likely to choose abstruse and metaphysi- cal, but practical and useful subjects — subjects suited to the tastes, capacities and pursuits of the great body of the people, who, in a government like ours, should always be first considered in all projects of enlightenment and improvement, for in them dwells the sovereign power. Such lecturers, also, would be less expensive than professitinal men, and this would not only en- able cities and large towns to have more lectures^ but would enable small towns, now without them, to establish every winter, a course. The Tribune speaks of one of the results of pop- ular lectures, which we think of the highest im- portance. We cannot do better than to copy the pai'agraph : — "One of the good results of popular lecturing is its tendency to assemble the entire movable popula- tion of a village, or rural township, and, make tliem better acquainted with, and more kindly diposecl to each other. If lecturing did no other good tliau this, it would be of great value. Our division into reli- gious sects, tends to alienate and estrange us from each other. . The lecture-room nmst become the So- cial Exchange — the place where acquaintances are made and friendships cemented; and we would sug- gest the expediency of a general agreement to assem- ble from half an hour to an hour prior to the com- mencement of the lecture, for the purpose of social intercourse and general conversation." A New Source for Good Fruit. — ShouM our present liquy the diffusion of knowledge by printing and circulating agricultural statistics and general information. And this, after all, is the main point — the diffu- sion of knowledge among the masses of the people. Thei-e has been for centuries, enough of agricul- tural knowledge estant, if generally appreciated and practiced, to change this wildernessof a world into almost a paradise, but that knowledge has been confined to a few — formerly, before the art of printing, necessarily to a very few, and always to this day, to a small portion of the community. The reading, thoughtful farmer may obtain this knowledge, and he has obtained it to a great ex- tent, and its effect has been manifest in his suc- cess in cultivating his land. But now, at this time, the majority of the fax-- mers, even of New England, have not access to the knowledge which is printed and published. — Many of them take no agricultural paper, and have a jealousy of all teachings except the traditions of the elders 1 Now the first object in view, is to overcome pre- judice against scientific farming, to make every farmer understand that he has much to learn, and to put into his hands the results of the experi- ence of other men, and to draw out of him, for the benefit of the world, the observations of his own experience. This object can in no way be more readily accomplished, than through societies of this kind, and we regard a National Society as in- dispensable to bind together as a Union, the agri- cultural talent and interest of tl e whole. Into such an association, where all parts of the country are interested,all the results of a thousand experiments may be brought together — through it, all the theories of a thousand speculative minds may be tested, and their fallacies exposed, and their benefits made manifest. The great desideratum is to bring the minds of men in contact, to compare theories and results, to publish to the country whatever valuable con- clusions may be attained. The Constitution of this Society provides for the admission of Life Members on payment of twenty- five dollars, and of general members on payment annually of two dollars. Each member will receive, free of cost, a copy of the journals of proceedings, and of all other matter published by the society. We trust the farmers of the country will enter Into this matter with spirit. It is true tliat calls are made, constantly, fur aid to County and State societies, but no interested member of any soci- ety will give this as an excuse for not joining the United States Society, for every such man will feel that he has already received the worth of liia mo- ney from such sources, and will lodk upon such payments as the best investment of his funds that can be made. The charily that begins at home, has the appro- bation of those even whose charity goes never be- yond home, and the most penurious man is willing to pay his money for what is of more than its value. We advocate no charity in this instance, but we invite^all good citizens to join in a good cause for their own advantage, and for the advantage of their fellew-men, believing that all who, upon either consideration, are induced to render their aid, will find ample reason to be satisfied with the results. Measures, we are informed, will soon be taken to procure members throughout New England, and we trust New England men will show a New England spirit in the enterprise. INVENTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. We copy that portion of it which relates to stock kept in Rockingham County, from the Exeter News Le«er ofDec. 6, 1852. The number of horses returned for the present year was 4,889. Of these, Deerfield had the largest number, 3G8 ; Derry had 278 ; Portsmouth had 240 ; Exeter, the fourth in the list, had 228 ; Londonderry had 220 ; and Northwood 212. No other town had over two hundred. Gosport had none and New Castle only 9. The number of cows, oxen, and other neat stock kept in the county at the time of taking the in- ventory, was 26,934. Of these Deerfield had the largest number, 1974; next comes Derry, 1300; Candia had 1246 ; Londonderry, 1200 ; Notting- ham, 1153 ; Northwood, 1079, no other town had over one thousatod. Exeter had 777, Epping 972, Portsmouth 682, Kensington 800, Hampton 842, Hamptonfalls 834. No other town had less than three hundred, except Gosport, which had none, and New Castle 51. The whole number of sheep in the county was 13,820. Deerfield had 1345 ; next comes Epping, 954; then Nottingham, 897; Brentwood, 672; Raymond, 670; Strathara, 695 ; Northwood, 634; Chester, 619. No other town had over five hun- dred. Exeter had 390. A Beautiful Art. — Our attention was attracted, a day or two since, by the beautiful appearance of a carved picture frame irf the window of ^lessrs. W. & S. B. Ives' Bookstore. Upon closer inspec- tion and upon inquiry, we learned that what had seemed to us to be carved work, was in reality a very beautiful imitation, manufiictured of scraps of leather, and skilfully colored and varnished. Tlie work was done, as we arq|ipformed, by a lady of Lynn, I\Irs. !Moody, who is willing to give in- struction in this really beautiful art, if a class can be formed. It is a very pleasant and easy kind of labor, and is peculiarly well adapted for females. — Salem Observer. <^' An exchange calls getting out of bed on the 31st of August, «*the last rose of summer. 32 NEW rn(;l\nd farmer. Jan lif 'r#*'^ ' 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 33 For the New England Farmer. BULL— EARL OF SEAHAM. JIr. Editor : — I observe in your May number a portrait of the bull Eaul of Seaiiam that I select- ed in England, and jointly, with Col. Sherwood, imported. This portrait was taken and engraved for the later national Magazine, but was by its proprietors condemned, and I had hoped not to see it in print. In two inip')rtant points it does the bull groat injustice ; it gives him the coat of a hog, and feet too small to walk with, even to stand upon. I send jon another likeness of the bull, that at least represents a coat of hair, (giving assui;ance of good touch) and feet upon which he can stand and witli whicli he can walk. Seaham was sliown at the New York State Ag- ricultural Show held at Albany, in 1850, and won the first prize for two year old Short horn Durliam bulls, beating Mr. George Vail's jjulls Fortune (by his Bates bull imported Wellington) and Eclipse by liis prize bull I\Ieteor. In Oct., 1850, he was shown at the fair of the American Institute in the city of New York and won the first prize for Short horn bulls two j^ears old and upwards. In September, 1851, Seaham then three years old, won the first prize for Short horn bulls three years old and over, at the Show of the New York State Agricultural Society at Rochester, beating Mr. L. G. Morris' prize bull Lamar tine, and a num- ber of others. Earl of Seaham, is of a distinguished family, known as the Princess Tribe. For style, quality and milk, it is, in my opinion, the best in England or America. My cow, imported. Princess I., last year at four years old, gave on dry feed with meal for two months, twenty-one to twenty-three quarts of rich milk, and in Ma}' and June on grass twenty-three to twenty-six quarts a day ; and this spring on hay, turnips and four quarts of meal has given twenty-four quarts per day and made 13 pounds and 9 ounces of butter in one Aveek. My heifer imported Princess IV., this spring on hay, tur- nips and 4 quarts of meal, at her first calving has given twenty-two quarts of rich milk." Col. Sher- wood's cow imported Red Rose, at four year's old, witli her second calf, made 60 pounds and 4 ounces of butter in 30 days ending the 15th of June, 1851 , and 47 pounds and 11 ounces in August, amid all the drouglits of that month. During five months she averaged as much in milk and butter as dur- ing tiftse sixty days. All the cows of this Princess tribe, now import- ed that have calved, are good milkers, and I know that Mr. Stephenson, their breeder, has not a mod- erate milker in his herd ; they are all good milk- ers both in quantity and quality. I add the pedigree of Seaham, that his long- continued high breeding may be seen : Earl of Seaham, (10,161.) K^aw; calved April 21, 1848; bred hy John Stepliensnii, Tsq., Wolviston, county of Dur h:im, England; imported 1650, by A. Stevens and .1. M. Slier- wfidil; got by EaO of Antrim, (10,174;) d^m, Primrose, by N.ipier, (6218;) grandam, Rose Ann, by liellerophon, ('illfl;) great grandam, Rosette, by Uelvedere, (1706;) gr.gr. gran- dam, Red R.-'se, by Waterloo, (2816;) gr. gr gr. granrlam, Moss Rose, by Baron. (58;) gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam, Angelina, (bred by Sir Henry Vane Tempest.) by Phenomenon, (491;) gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam Anna IJolevne, by Favorite, (2'2;) gr. gr gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam, Princess, (bred by Robert Col- ling,) by Favorite, (252;) gr gr. gr. gr. gr..gr. gr. grandam, Urighteyes, by Favorite, (2.')2;) gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam, Brighteyes, (Jired by Alexander Hall,) by Ilnbback, (••n9;) gr. gr. gr. gr.gr.gr.gr.gr.gr. grandam, Jirighteyes, by Siiowdon's IJull, (612;) gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam, IJeauty, (l)red by Thomas Hall,) by Masierman's Bull, (422;) gr. gr. gr. gr. gr.gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam, Duchess of Alholl, by Flarrison's Bull, (292;) gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam. Tripes, (bred by C Pickering,) by the Siudley BnlJ, (626;) gr.gr.gr.gr.gr.gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. gr. grandam', bred by Mr. Stephenson, of Ketton, in 1739. (See 9th vol. Herd Book, |iages 65 and 526.) This tribe had been in possession of Mr. Stephen- son, of Ketton, and his father, of Acklam, as far back as 1684, and prior to that in the possession of the Aislal)ies of Aislabie, and Studley, as early as 1600. The celebrated bull llubback was of this family, his grandam being bred by j\lr. SteplTen- son, of Ketton, and by him sold to Mr. Hunter, the breeder of llubback. For seventy years prior to 1765, in which year Mr. Hunter bought Hub- back's grandam, Mr. Stephenson, his father and grandfather, had kept no other cattle than those of this tribe. You mention the deficient milking qualities of Short horns in general. This is true as to some. Yet it has been the result of such treatment as must ever ruin the milking capacity. Taken as a race, no breed ever equalled the Short horns as milkers in point of quantity, and none ev- er excelled them in quality, when giving as much in quantity. Milking has always been their char- acteristic. Many breeders not desiring the milk, have bred their herds for beef only, and have lost this quality, yet that was not the fault of the race. Evei-y prize won for years at the New Y''ork Agri- cultural Society Shows, has been carried off by Short born cows, never by a Devon or Ayrshire. I differ with you as to Devons and Ayrshire. All the persons within my knowledge, save one, who have tried the Ayrshiresin this country, have aban- doned them. Mr. Prentice, of Albany, has bred them for years, and at present does so, solely. He claims for them great excellence in this re- spect. On the other hand Mr. Colt, of Patterson, who imports from the best sources in Scotland, has abandoned them as indifferent, and he has for years pursued the production of milk with great skill and care. I might add other names to the list of those who have tried and rejected the Ayr- shires as worthless. Experience has shown that in America they are miserable feeders (they are so in Scotland) and indifferent milkers. The cli- mate is too hot for them. I am told that Mr. Gushing, of your State, near Boston, has aban- doned them, and he imported at large expense and tried them fully and fairly. I am a breeder of Devons, and an admirer of them, deeming them one of the best races of cat- tle in the world. I have been an attentive observ- er of them for twenty-two years, and have seen them in thousands both in England and America. As a race, they have never had a milking char- acter, and the most of Devons are now worthless or only moderate as milkers. The great mass of those now and formerly to be seen in this country were and are moderate animals in many respects. They had and have thin narrow backs and chines ; flat ribs and bad crops, sinking behind the shoul- der ; short stiff hair, thin on their hides, and no undercoat, readily admitting the rain ; hides thick and hard and as a consequence they are bad hand- lers ; bad ])riskets, narrow and receding, with leathery chops and heavily dewlapped necks ; thin plates, with bagging paunchy bellies. If to this 34 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. be added, that the mass of Qevon cows in this country are and have ever been raodefate milkers and hite in maturin;^, I think there can hardly be any thing worse. It is true, that many of these animals, bad in point of form, were good in point of milk. But aniTnals to be good, should be good in everything ; they should milk well, they should feed well and should niake level and well pointed carcasses of beef. Now there are Devons that are all that good cattle shpuld be, are milkers, feeders and have abundant substance, just form, light offal, long mossy or fnrry hair, -with thick undercoat, mellow hid^is, and admirable touch, and of early maturity ; although there ai-e such, they are far from numer- ous. In 1850 I imported a number of Devons, select- ing them from the best herds in Devonshire, Eng- land. Among the number is the bull now owned by the Messrs. Hurlbut, of Winchester, Conn. I invite the breeders and admirers of Devon to see him. They will find him what a Devon should be ; and he came from a dam, who is as remarkable for milking power, as she and her son are for form, style and substance. They are the reverse of the picture I have drawn above of bad ones. I import- ed several heifers and two bulls, besides Messrs. Hurlbut's, and I selected them as meeting my re- quisitions, and in them I can show early maturity, broad backs and chines, round ribs and full crops, clean throats, and broad deep briskets, and straight bellies with level carcasses. My three year old heifers have milked, with first calves, 18 and 19 quarts of milk, and a two year old, 16 quarts. These animals came from the best sources in Devonshire, ■ viz., the Messrs. Quartleys, Davy & Merson. The Devons are pre-eminently the race for all New England, and should fill it everywhere. The right ones, weight for wei^^ht, can equal any for the pail, for slaughter ; and concededly can excel all others for the yoke. But let New England breeders see that they get the proper ones. Pos- sessed of such they can produce as much beef, milk and butter from a given quantity of land, or food, as with any other race of cattle, and on light land more. But to do this, they must change nine- tenths of all the Devons now in the country. I think the spirit is awakened that will ere long ac- complish this, and I for one shall rejoice in it. But this will be delayed or defeated if the belief be in- duced that now the Devons are as a race in Amer- ica either good in carcass, or abundant in milk. They are, as a race, neither, and the sooner this is understood the sooner will improvement commence, and the more rapidly will it progress. Ambrose Stevens. Nevj York city. December. — "Old Mr. December" has arrived. lie has nipped off the days at each end, and stuck the pieces on to the nights, probably by way of revenge on lovely June, for having done the very reverse. We are inclined to think it is a good move with both. The days are so cheerful and pleasant in blooming, leafy, hopeful June, that if we cannot have more of them, it is well to have COOKING AND DIGESTION. A mixed diet of bread, meat, and vegetables, is better than any of the three alone ; meat satisfies the appetite more completely and for a longer time than either of the other two ; and, if a choice must be made between bread and vegetables, the bread should be chosen. Most kinds of game are easy of digestion. Eoast beef and mutton are the most easy of digestion of all butcher-meats. It is a fact worth remembe\ing, that roasting and broiling are the modes of cooking meat which best suit the stomach ; this is proved by a comparison of the time required for the digestion of different sorts of food. Thus, beef or mutton roasted or broiled, rather -underdone, are digested in three hours — Hours. Pork, broiled 3J Sail pork, broiled 44 I'ork, rOHsiPd 5i Salt beef, cold, boiled 4J Soft eggs 1 10 3 Hard boiled, or fried eggs 1} Venison, broiled. . . .♦ IJ Veal, broiled 4 Veal, fried 4^ Heart fried 4 Rice 1 Milk, boiled 2 Bread 3^ Fruit and vegetables require from two to four hours, according to quality and mode of cooking. rotatocs roasted and baked, and raw cabbages, are digested in two hours and a half; but boiled pota toes need another hour, and boiled cabbage with vinegar, four hours and a half — Family Econo- mist. LYCEUM LECTURE. We had the pleasure of listening to a lecture from Dr. J. Reynolds, of Concord, before the cit- izens of that town, on W^ednesday evening, the 8th inst. His subject was Vegetable Chemistry. — He first spoke of the wonderful and beautiful pro- cesses going on around us, all acting harmonious- ly for a common end, and thus proclaiming their common origin. To the careless observer all ap- pears to be a conflict of elements — but the student of nature disTJOvers unity in diversity, beauty in de- formity, &c. Uniformity is the great law of na- tufe. Art, by varying the circumstances under which the laws of nature are excited, may vary the result, and on this important fact rests the hopes of the farmer. Work, work, is the great law of life. When living beings cease to work, the life that is in them goes out. Place a seed in the earth, and its oxygen goes to work ; its root- lets strike into the earth, and its plumule into the air, and these are the sources through which its nutriment is to be derived. The under surface of the leaves, studded with little mouths which stand open to drink up the carbonic acid from the atmo- sphere, is the source from which tlie frame of the plant, the woody fibre, is obtained. He spoke of the analogy between the embryo plant and animals, them made longo_r by robbing the nights;— and Lj^^^ after arriving at a certain stage of maturity, the days are so chilly and cheerless m December, ^, f i. j • ii • 1. -^^^f f,.,^,v, with the flowers all killed, the leaves all fallen and they are prepared to denvc their nutriment fiom birds all fled, that it is no matter how short they bodies in contact with them ; also of the formative be. — Maine Farmer. process, the most important in vegetables. Nature 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 3$ never makes mistakes. The blade of wheat nev- er produces a kernel of rye ; the pear on a quince stock produces pears. The leaves are the labora- tory of nature — they prepare the sap for the va- rious products of vegetation, and perform the of- fice of lungs. Water and ammonia are decom- posed in the leaf, and oxygen and nitrogen thus obtained. The mineral kingdom, he said, furnish- es nutriment to the vegetable, and the vegetable to the animal. Carbon is the most abundant ma terial used. Carbonic acid when not mixed with a due proportion of air is fatal to animal life ; but from this poison is elaborated by the leaf, the very food by which all life is sustained. He then spoke of the abundant supply of carbon in the immense coal beds and in primeval vegetation. He then briefly spoke of th'e influence of the solar light. Sunlight is the motor engine by which the vegetable machinery is kept in motion. Oxy- gen the great analytical power in nature ; its afiin ity for certain substances occasions the most intense and ceaseless activity, of which he gave examples. He then made some general remarks upon the modes of cultivation — soils and plants suited to each— elements needed for rapid development easiest and cheapest modes of supplying them, and closed with some observations upon a proper education for the farmer. The lecture was highly interesting, instructive and useful, and among the best we have ever lis tened to before that Lyceum. We do not hesitate to recommend it to those wanting a lecture for ly- ceums, farmers' clubs, or any gathering where the practical and useful is preferred before the miser- able speculations so frequently uttered in these so cial gatherings. FARMING. If one-half the zeal, energy and expense that blots so many gazettes with low and coarse abuse, setting the whole community by the ears for the vain and paltry purpose of a few demagogues and office seekers, were bestowed on the advancement of agriculture ; if the people were half as ambi- tious to improve and beautify their fields, as they are to settle the affairs of the nation ; and half as angry with thistles, thorns and poor fences, as they are with their political opponents, who pro- bably wi.sh as well to the country as they, we should have more productive fields, less complaints of poverty, more ability to be chai'itable and munifi- cent, and abundantly more good feelings. From Pittsburg to New Orleans the son plows as his father did before him, and the great mass of far- mers are as stationary in theory as they are in practice. Nine in ten believe at this moment, that book farming is the mere useless, visionary dream- ing of men that know nothing about practical ag- riculture. We would tell them that England is the gar- den of Europe simply because almost every acre of the ground is cultivated scientificallv, and on principles which have been brought to the test of toll them that New England, of whose soil and climate tliey are accustomed to think as consigned, by Providence, to sterility and inclemency, is the garden of the United States, only because the in- dustrious and calculating people do not throw away their efforts in the exertion of mere brnte strength — but bring, mind, pain, system and ex- perience to bear upon their naturally hard and thankless soul. On every side the passing traveller sees verdure, grass and orchards in the small and frequent en- closures of in)perishablerock, and remarks fertility won from the opposition of the elements and nature. After an absence of ten years, on our return to our country, we were struck with this proud and noble triumph conspicuous over the whole region. The real benefactors of mankind, as St, Pierre so beautifully said, are those who cause two blades of wheat to mature where one did before. The fields ought to be the morning and evening theme of Americans that love their country. To fertilize and improve his farm, ought to be the main object of the owner of the substantial soil. All national aggrandizement, power and wealth may be traced to agriculture, as its ultimate source. Commerce and manufactures are only subordinate results of this main spring. We consider agriculture as very subsidiary not only to abundance, industry, comfort and health, but to good morals and ultimately even to religion. We shall always say and sing, "Speed the plow." —Rev. T. Flint. CHANGE OF TIMBER FROM CLEAR- ING LAND. There are few things connected with the nat- ural history of trees or plants more surprising or that has occasioned more speculation than the changes that not unfrequently take place in the growth of timber after clearing, from what it was before that operation. So inexplicable is this change in many instances on the commonly re- ceived principlesfof vegetation, that it has been ad- duced by the believers in the doctrine of sponta- neous production as one of the strongest support- ers of their system. We think, however, that sin- gular as the phenomena may be, its solution can- not requii'e a supposition so unpliilosophical. In the Southern States, where the timber is prin- cipally pine, when that is cleared off, a growth en- tirely different, and composed of such as was un- known to the place before it, springs up ; and this when cut offis not unfrequently succeeded by new varieties, or perhaps by a return to pine. Lands covered with oak and chestnut, or such timber as shoots up from the stumps of cut trees, do not change the timber except in a small degree ; it is on those lands covered with timber that requires to be propagated by seeds that this change is most apparent. Everybody must have noticed in what numbers a species of wild cherry will spring up where the forests are cut down, or are propagated by winds, though that particular kind is rarely or never found growing in the unbroken forests. More than thirty years since, a part of our farm was cleared of its timber, a dense growth of ma- ple, basswood and elm. A small piece of per- haps half an acre was separated from the rest by I narrow ravine after being cultivated three or four years, and part of it planted out as a nursery the most rigid and exact experiment. We would lof fruit trees ; it was left to itself. It was soon 36 JSEW- ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. covered with young trees, which were suffered to grow unmolested, and there are now on this small spot, white oak, black oak, butternut, white pop- lar, common willow, walnut, hickory and black cherry, of all varieties, of which not one was grow- ing near at the time it Avas cleared, and most of them not within three-fourths of a mile. An ex planation we leave to others. — Warren Journal. HARVEST HYMN. DV ALONZO LEWIS. We thank thee, God of Harvest Home ! for what thy love be- stows, For all the varied Providence that from thy bounty flows; We thank thee for the vernal showers that fertilized the ground; We praise thee for the genial suns that all man's labor crowned; We thank thee, God of Harvest Home ; for all our wealth of grain; , For the tall wheat whose waving mass like ocean filled the plain. We thank thee for the fruitful yield of bright and yellow corn; Whose golden heaps luxuriously our fertile fields adorn. We thank thee, God of Harvest Home ! for all thy fruit so fair, The apple, with its yellow cheek, the ripe and mellow pear; The downy peach, the luscious plum, the purple clustered vine. And the bright show of radiant flowers that in our garden shine. We thank thee, God of Harvest Home ! for more than we may tell; We thank thee for the fragrant hay that fills our barns so well ; We praise thee for the varied gifts that form our harvest feast, And the choice store of healthful roots, sweet food for man and beast. We thank thee, God of Harvest Home ! that while in other lands Pale famine stalks and sweeps away their fever stricken bands, Our homes are blessed with health and love, with plenty and with joy. While social and domestic peace yield bliss without alloy. We thank thee, God of Harvest Home ! for all that we par- take; Then let our hearts with gratitude, their hymn of praise awake; And when our day of labor past, death's harvest hour shall come. May all our souls, like ripened fruit, be safely garnered home fed for the next week on potatoes. This course was continued through several weeks — the food of each pig being changed every week. The result was, that the apples proved to be fully equal, or somewhat superior to the potatoes. In this in- stance the apples were mostly sweet, and they, as well as the potatoes, were nearly in a ripe state. On another occasion Mr. W. experimented with sweet, compared with sour apples, in various ways. He found that when they were fed raw to swine, the sweet apples were preferable — the animals ate them better, as the sour apples seemed to make their teeth sore ; but when both were cooked and mixed with meal in the way above described, there was no difference in tlie gain produced by an equal quantity of each. It should be stated, however, that all the apples used were of palatable kinds, nearly ripe ; and that unripe and ill-flavored ap- ples are known to be less relished by stock, as well as less nutritive. It is probable, also, that when sour apples are eaten raw, and in considerable quantities, the animal may take into the stomach too large an amount of acid, which may tend to derange the digestive organs. This objection would be chiefly obviated by cooking, and the saccharine fermentation, by which the pulp loses much of its acid, and becomes nearly sweet. It does nut ap- pear from analysis, that the amount of actual nour- ishment is much greater in sweet than in sour ap- ples. Mr. Wingate practiced fattening swine for sev- eral years, on food composed principally of apples. The animals attained good weights, and the pork was solid and of excellent quality. In other in- stances, we have known apples fed raw to horses, cows and other stock through the winter, with much advantage. For using in this way sweet apples would probably be best, and they should be such as will keep till spring. They may be stored in a cellar under the barn, or in the bottom of the hay mow — a proper place having been left for that purpose when the hay was put in. They will be more likely to be injured by heating than by freez- ing. They will seldom freeze in such a situation as is mentioned ; and if they should be touched by frost, their nutritive properties will not be much lessened, if they remain in a dark place, and where they will thaw slowly. A peck of apples a day, fed to a cow, has been found to add more than a quart to the daily quan- tity of milk, beside greatly increasing its richness, as well as improving the condition of the cow. The effect of apples is equally favorable to other stock. Horses fatten on them, and their coats as- sume the brilliancy which hardly any other food will give them. For all stock they answer a sim- ilar purpose as vegetables, in preventing costive- ness, which is likely to ensue from the exclusive use of dry food ; and in this way, and by the nu- triment they contain, they contribute much to the animal's thrift. An impression prevails that apples will dry up the milk of a cow. This idea has been imbibed either from the effect produced on a cow by eating a very large quantity of apples at once, by which surfeit and fever were brought on, or from the trial not being properly conducted till the animal had become habituated to the food. The ill effects at- tributed to apples would have occurred with any APPLES AS FOOD FOR STOCK. The late Payne Wingate, of Hallowell, Maine, made some experiments in feeding pigs with apples compared with potatoes. Both the apples and potatoes were boiled, or rather stewed, separately, and about four quarts of oat and pea meal mixed with eacli bushel, at the time the cooking was fin ished — the meal being intimately incorporated with the potatoes and apples while they were hot, and the mass left to ferment, slightly, before it was fed to the pigs. Two pigs of the same litter, and as near as prac- tica))le, of the same weight, were taken ; one was fed for a week on a given quantity of the cooked potatoes per day, and the other on the same quan- tity of apples. At the end of each week the pigs were weighed, and the food was reversed — the pig to which potatoes had been given, was fed with other rich food, as any kind of grain, potatoes, or apples, and the one which had received apples, was] other vegetables. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 37 A fair average product of an acre of orcharding, in good bearing condition, may be estimated at two hundred to three hundred bushels a year ; and at this rate, we doubt whether so great an amount of animal. nourishment can be obtained from the same extent of land, in proportion to the expense, by any other crop. We should not hesitate, there- fore, to recommend the cultivation of apples as food fo.r stock. THE ROCKINGHAM FAIR. Pursuant to notice, a meeting was held at the Town Hall in Exeter, for the purpose of forming a County Agricultural Society, on Thursday, the 28th day of October. The meeting was organized by the choice of Henry F. French, Chairman. Wm. H. Hills, Clerk, pro tern. After some discussion touching the general ob- jects of the meeting, a committee of three was raised to report a Constitution. After a short adjiiurnment the Committee made their report, and an interesting discussion upon the several articles of the Constitution as reported followed. The Constitution as finally adopted is as follows : CON STITUTION. 1. This Society shall be styled "The Rocking- ham Fair." 2. Its object is the improvement of Agriculture, Horticulture, and the Mechanic Ajrts in this Coun- 3. Its officers shall be a President, four Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Treasurer and three Trus- tees, and a Collector for each town. 4. The President, Secretary and Trustees shall constitute the Executive Board, of which the Presi- dent shall be Chairman, and the Secretary, Clerk. This Board shall by a major vote manage and con- trol all the affairs of the society, and adopt all such measures to promote its objects as they think proper, subject, however, to the direction of the society, at any regular meeting, and to its by- laws. 5. The President, Secretary, and Trustees, shall be elected by ballot, at the annual meeting. All other officers shall be appointed by the Executive Board, except such as may be elected at the annu al meeting, in such manner as the meeting shall direct. 6. The Secretary shall keep a -fair record of all the transactions of the society, and of the Execu tive Board. The Treasurer shall keep a correct ac- count of all money received and expended, and shall give bonds as the Trustees shall direct. Their records shall be, at all times, open to the inspec- tion of any member. 7. The annual meeting shall be held in the Au- tumn, at such time and place as shall be appoint edby the Executive Board. 8. ^Members shall be admitted, on such terms as shall be, from time to time, prescribed, and the society may assess such members not exceeding one dollar year, each. 9. Any person paying five dollars at one time to the Treasurer, shall be a life member, and shall pot be liable to assessment for five years. 10. The foregoing articles may be altered, at any annual meeting, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. A committee of ten was then raised to report to the meeting in the afternoon a list of officers to be balloted for under the fifth article, when the meet- ing adjiurned to two o'clock, P. M. At the afternoon session, the last named Com- mittee made their report, and an election of offi- cers took place under the Constitution, and the following gentlemen were with almost perfect unanimity elected for the ensuing year : Henry F. French, of Exeter, President. Joseph T. Gilman, of Exeter, Secretary. James Pickering, of Newington, "1 y- JosiAH Bartlett, of Stratham, 1 Presi- Mosfes Eaton, Jr., of S. Hampton, | jg„/e David Currier, of Derry, J WinthropH. Dudley, of Brentwood, ^ Thomas J. Melvin, of Chester, > Trustees. John M. Weare, of Seabrook, ) After this organization, the Chairman gave no- tice that he had received the names of seventeen gentlemen from Exeter, who desired to become Life-members, under the 9th Article of the Con- stitution, and gave their names. Two other citi- zens of Exeter added theirs on the spot, when gentlemen of other towns followed the example, until fifiy-tliree members bad subscribed, — thus raising a fund at once of $265,00. A suggestion was made that measures be taken forthwiSi, to raise a fund of $5,000, by the ad- mission of Life Members, to place the Society be- yond the chance of failure. The whole matter was left with the Executive Board. It was voted that the publishers of all papers in the county and also of the Granite Farmer, be re- quested to publish the proceedings of the meeting, and the meeting adjourned without day. The following is a list of the members who have already joined the Society as life members. The whole number is eighty-three. At a meeting of the Executive Board in the evening, Retire H. Parker, of Exeter, was appoint- ed Treasurer. Exeter.— 3. T. Gilman, H. F. French, Nath'l Gilman, Jeremiah Robinson, Retire H. Parker, Nath'l Gordon, Jos. G. Hoyt, Isaac Flagg, D. W. Gorham, John Hoyt, Grin Head, Daniel Melcher, Wm. P. Moulton, Wm. Conner, Geo. G. Smith, J. W. Odlin,.R. F. Goodwin, J. H. Shapley, Amos Tuck, John F. Gould, Sam'l B. Clarke, S. W. Lea- vitt, A. P. Blake, Abner Merrill, Wm. Wadleigh, Charles D. Towle, Jos. B. Flagg, A. S.Thayer, A. W. Lovering, Charles Conner, Thomas Conner, John P. P. Kelley, E. S. Durgin, Geo. Gardner, Asa Jewell, Wm. B. Morrill, S. W. Dearborn, J. 0. Long, John Sullivan, E. H. Valentine, Joseph L. Cilley, John Dodge, C. T. Bunker, Samuel H. Ste- vens, Timothy Tilton, S. H. Piper, Joshvia Getchell, Jacob Carlisle, Jewett Conner, Daniel F. Hayes, Edmund EUiot. Stratham. — Josiah Bartlett, J. H. Diraan, Frank- lin Clark, J. B. Wiggin, John E. Wiggin, Geo. Wingate. Kingston. — Gideon Webster, William Webster, J. M. Bartlett. Danville. — Wm. Hoyt. South Hampton. — Moses Eaton, Jr. Newmarket.— B. B. Tuttle. East Kingston. — James M. Sanborn, R. ^ • Currier. Plaistow.— Levi B. Tucker, Wm. H. Hills. 38 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. Kensington. — Joseph Brown, Stephen Brown. Chester. — Thos. J. Melvin, S. F. Learnard. Derry. — David Currier, Richard JMelvin. Brentwood. — Winthrop H. Dudley, T. S.Robin- son, Frederick Robinson. Hampton Falls. — Geo. H. Dodge, John W. Dodge, Wells W. Healey, John Weare, Jos. H. Weare, Jos Cram. Hampton. — Robert F. Williams. For the New England Fanner. A FARMER'S FIRESIDE TALK— GROW- ING CORN— HILLING UP. - Now that the hard work is through, the corn in the crib, "the deposits removed" from the barn yard to the old field, and the turf, mulch and scrapings hauled and spread into the cattle yard, we have leisure for a little talk among ourselves ; and as I have come over to spend this evening with you, Mr. Brown, by the fireside, I want to talk with you about corn. That, I think, is one of the best crops that I have commonly raised on my poor fiirm, and I want to get at the best way of working it. I follow the old plan. I work now pretty much as they have worked corn in this neighborhood, as long as I remember. I am one of those, as you know, who havn't thought much of science, in farming business, and havn't believed in the benefits of book farming; but I like to talk with my neighbors and find out whose way is the best. When I was up to the fair, a few days ago, I heard a man, he v/as a stranger to me, talking some about corn. He had a good deal to say against hilling up and topping, in particular. He talked as near as I can recollect, about in this way. "'One of the great troubles against which the English farmer has to guard, is too much wet. — The climate of England is a very moist one. To prevent injury from this excess of moisture, the English farmer hills up his vegetables, in some cases, or in others, makes a ridge, which serves of course to shed the water, in some measure, and thus preserves the crop from too much excess of wet. Our fathers, when they came from Eng- land and made farms in this country, did not know is not only absolutely essential to the sprouting of the seed, but it furnishes ammonia to the plant in its aftergrowth, and in this it does the same office as the manure." "Well," says I, "neighbor, I don't know as it is going to raalii so much difference ; but I should'nt like to raise corn without hilling up ; and I don't believe it can be done either, so as to come to any thing. Why corn couldn't stand up, unless itwas hilled. It grows in such a way, throwing out roots to the side of the stalk, and these roots will be above ground and have nothing to hold to if they are not hilled." "Have you tried that?" said he. "No, I have not," said I. "Well, if you try it, sir," said he, "you will find it to be a mistake. The corn which is raised in the Southern and Western States is about dou- ble, or more than double, the weight of that which we raise here. It grows ten to twelve feet high, and the stalk is nearly or quite double in size to ours ; and in the West, they raise that kind of corn without hilling, and it stands up well. There are commonly a great many roots bare where they put out from tlie stalk, but they get hold of the ground, and there is no trouble ; and that in alight soil, too. "Itis abadplan,too,"saidhe, "to coverthe roots of anything too deep. The roots must have air. While they are pushing into the ground and draw- ing nourishment from that, they draw it too, at the same time from the air, and if the roots are covered too deep, they will be smothered, and the growth of the plant checked. I have seen farm- ers cover three inches, and then hill up five or six. Now it is quite deep enough to cover from one to two inches ; and there should be no hilhng over this in our climate. The hoeing should be only to kill the Aveeds and to stir the ground ; and when stirred, the ground should be left as flat as pos- sible around the corn, so that the water should not be shed from it, and never more than two inch- es over the roots. In this climate, dishing would be better than hilling." He said it was some years since he had raised corn. Since he had lost his wife, and having oth- the great difference in the climate, and inconsid- T^" business, he had let his f:\rm. He used to raise erately, no doubt, followed the same course here, that they had there. When, after some trial of the climate, they came to perceive that this was the opposite of that of England, and that here the farmer had to combat the drought, as he had there the wet, they had already become fixed in their mode of cultivation. And you know when a farmer has got fixed, it is easier to get out a load- ed wagon that is hub up in the mud, than to un- fix him^ espeeially if he is one of the English or Anglo Saxon breed. Our crops hero seldom suffer from too much moisture, but they frequently are injured by drought ; sometimes wholly destroyed by it. Now there cannot be a question that hill- ing up aggravates the drought. Hilling or ridg- ing sheds the water, and turns it away from the roots, and when the rain is a liglit one, it will fre- quently wholly prevent the roots from feeling it, whileif^not hilled up, the wet would go to the roots. Now moisture is of^as much benefit to the roots as manure is, especially in the early part of the sea- son, before the plant begins to take in moisture by the leaves, which is not till near midsummer. It corn in the old fiishioned New England way. But if he ever tried it again, it would be in the way he spoke of. He had a good deal to say, too, about topping corn. Some of it, I have heard before, and some of it T never heard before. What he said about the ear being nourished by the leaves, from the air, and not by the roots from the ground, seemed to me to be curious. But it would take a considera- ble time to tell all he said about this ; and as I want, after I have heard what you think about his ideas of planting and hilling up, to talk about some other things, some neighborhood matters-, I will not now say anything more on corn at present. I should like to know what you think about this hilling up, for it did seem to me to be reasonable that heaping up the ground about corn as I and my neighbors do, must have the effect to turn off the rain fi-om the roots, — and we never have too much rain,, that's a fact. We hardly ever get so much rain as the corn wants ; and some years it gets pretty well pinched by drought. I want to know what you think of this, and I shall be iq 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 39 again this week, another evening, anid I will then tell you what he said about topping. Essex, Nov. 30. w. J. a. b. . Remarks. — Well, I think you got hold of an in- teresting "stranger up there to the fair," whose notions about corn are very good. Don't fail to call as you propose, for I shall be impatient to talk with you again about these things. LAYING OUT SURFACES. A few simple rules are oftentimes convenient to those who are not conversant with surveying opera- tions, and a writer in the Wesicrii HoriicitUural Revieio has communicated to that work some very go»d ones, some of which we copy, and to which we add a few others. To lay out an acre in a circle. First fix a centre, and with a rope as a radius, seven rods, three links and three-eighths long, one end attached to the centre, and kept uniforml}' stretched, the sweep of it at the other end will lay out the acre. For one quarter of an acre, a rope three vods and fourteen links will be the right length. For one-eighth of an acre, a rope lioo rods and thirteen links will be enough. Triangles. — If you wish a triangle to contain just an acre, make each side nineteen rods, five and a half links long. A triangle whose sides are six rods and twenty links long each, will contain one-eighth of an acre. To lay out an ellipse or oval. — Set three stakes in a triangular position. Around these stretch a rope. Take away the stake at the apex of the tri- angle, which will be where the side of the oval is to come — move the stake along against the rope, keeping it tight, and it will trace out the oval. A square, to contain an acre, or just one hundred and sixty rods, should have each of its sides just twelve rods, ten feet and seven-tenths long. To draw an oval of a given size. — The long and the short diameter being given — say twenty feet for the shorter, and one hundred for the longer — divide the short diameter into any number of equal parts — say ten — and from each point draw a line parallel to the long diameter ; then divide the long diameter into the same number of equal parts, (ten) and from each point draw a line parallel to the short diameter. Then draw a line from point to point whei-e each corresponding line cuts the other, on the outside, and' tiiis connecting mark will de- scribe the oval or ellipse required. — Maine Farmer. Winter Lectures. — The particular attention of the reader is called to a communication in another column on this irflportant matter. We agree with the writer in all the positions he takes, and should be glad to be instrumental in calling the attention of curators in every town'in the State to this sub- ject. There is a foolish notion prevailing, that Ly- ceums must be supplied by professed lecturers,who, alone, are qualified to amuse or impart instruction. Let tho jnerchant, the mechanic, the farmer or sailor take the platform in turn with^those who have, heretofore, almost exclusively occupied the ground, and the world will grow wise quite as fast. OFFICERS ELECTED. Of the N. IL State Agricultural Society for 1852-3 :— President— v. P. P. WooDnuRV, Bedford. Fice Presidents— lohu H. Steele, Hillsboro' County; A.B. Clossnn, Grafion; Austin Coibiii, Suilivan; David BufTunrj, Cheshire; Samuel Dean, Belknap; Levi Bnrtleit, Merrimack; Samuel Bean, Carroll; .Joseph Cilley, Rockingham; William Haile, Strafford; Jehu P. Pitman, Coos. Executive Committee— H. F. French, Exeter; John VVad- leigh, Meredith; Thomas H. Leverett, Keene; N. B. Baker, Concord; Wm. Tenney, Hanover. Secretary— i. S. Walker, Claremont. Treaswrer— Frederick Smyth, Manchester. .... C Daniel Clark, Manchester. ^'"'"'"■*~ I Brooks Shattuck, Bedford. Hillsboro' Agricultural Society, N. H. — At their late annual meeting, this society elected for President— HtLOOKS Shattuck, Bedford. Vice Presidents — i. M. Tyler, Pelham; Hiram Munroe, Hillsboro'; Jonathan Russell, Mason; C. E. Potter, Manches- ter. Recording Sccretari/— Moody Hobbs, Pelham. Corresponding Secretary— A. G. Comings, Mason, Treoswrer— David Stuarl, Amherst. Chelmsford Association. — At the annual meet- ing of the Chelmsford Farmer's and lilechanic's Association, the following persons were elected as its officers, viz.: Presideni-'Dr-. J. C. Bartlett. rice President— Capi. Asa Hodgman. Secretary — E. H. Warren, Esq. Treasurer — loseph Reed, Esq. Executive Commiltee—ioseph Warren, Jr.-., Sewall Park- hurst; Charles T. Bird; Charles Proctor; F.S.Sawyer; E. P. Spalding; David Peiham. DOMESTICATION OF WILD ANIMALS, Among the animals over -which God has given dominion to man, and which are fitted for domes- tic uses, there are several on this continent wait- ing to be subdued, and brought into service. We are glad that public attention is to be directed to this subject. The agricultural portion of the re- port of the Patent Office for the present year, con- tains an elaborate article upon it, from the pen of Prof. Spencer F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Insti- tution, and the proposition to publish one hundred thousand copies for distribution having prevailed in Congress, the people will have in their posseS' sion the necessary information, and can hardly fliil to give it their earnest consideration. The an- imals, as we understand, which are particularly named, are the moose, the reindeer, the elk, the buffiilo, the sheep and goats of the Rocky Moun- tains, and the antelope. The reindeer, as is well known, is an animal of great speed and endurance, and the moose adds to these qualities immense strength. These animals are found along our northern frontier, especially in Maine, and are so perfectly adapted to the climate and the country, that they may be regarded as indispensable to the full development of the high latitudes of the con-, tinent. The reindeer would be of greater service in the British possessions than with us, but the moose might be introduced throughout our north- ern States with very great advantage. Fully equal to the horse in weight, they are more cheaply fed ; their strength is greater, and their speed is fully twice as great. Added to this, they are usefulas an article of food. Domesticated, all their native qualities would be improved. They would attain larger size and finer form, as well as increased 40 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. strength and speed. Their horns could be re- moved by the same process which would temper t'le fero( ity of the male. On branch railroads a m )ose would draw a car with ease at the rate of fifteen to eighteen miles an hour, and on plank roads they might be driven with ease from twelve to fifteen. Over our Western prairies, they would fly as on the wings of the wind. They have been used in the high latitudes of Europe, and the ac- counts of their fleetness are almost incredible. — Indeed, in one case at least, their use was forbid- den by law, because criminals once mounted upon them, were utterly beyond reach of their pursu- ers. It is believed that even the generation taken wild, can be rendered as docile as other domestic animals. In the more southern latitudes of our country, the elk can be used for similar purposes. The elk is smaller but not less fleet, and though feebler for draft, would be found perfectly fitted to scour the prairies and plains of the southwest. The buffalo which is disappearing before the march of civilization, is more profitable for beef than the ox, more powerful for draft, and travels at greater speed. The milk of the female yields a larger proportion of cream. The skin is of equal value, and the hair can be woven into coarse fabrics. The process of introducing this animal into use has already commenced. They are do- mesticated in considerable numbers in Kentucky and Missouri, and can be used in every latitude from our northern to our southern frontier. The Rocky Mountain sheep furnishes no wool, but is valuable for its mutton, which is regarded as superior to any other which is known. This animal is very large, the best speciTnens weighing from three hundred to four hundred pounds. Do- mesticated, its size would be increased, and its quality improved. The antelope is much smaller, and would be valuable for the same use — as an ar- ticle of food only. The Rocky Mountain goat whose home is in the clouds, furnishes wool of more excellent quality than the finest cashmere — a fact sufficient of itselt to justify every exertion to bring it into use. AH these animals (besides varieties of the deer species, which we have not named) belong to the undeveloped resources of our continent and our country. They wait, as blessings of divine Prov- idence, to be appropriated and used by man. That the suggestions of science will in time be reduced to experiment and success, does not admit of doubt. Attention cannot be called to such a sub- ject in vain. We need an Agricultural Bureau at Washington, and appropriations by the general government to enable it to perform just such ser- vices as are here named. Such services are for the common benefit, for the common wealth and comfqrt, and would command common concur- rence. It is time that farmers demanded of the government an interest in their affairs, and that the government should reduce to success experi- ments which are too large for individual enter- prise.— Watchman and Rirflector. A Monster Pear.— INIr. Edward Gould has raised in his garden in this city, the present season, some Bartlett pears, wliich in size go a little beyond any fruit of the kind we ever heard of. One of them measured a foot in circumference, lengtli- wise, and ten inches transversely, and weighed 11 3-4 ounces. Another weighed 19 1-2 ounces. — Portland Adv. For the New England Farmer. ON VENTILATION. Mr. Editor : — I see in a late number you have made some remarks on ventilation. No one that is sane can for a moment doubt the consequences that follow from having their rooms inclosed near- ly air tight, which must be the case, after blocking up the fire-place, and with no other means made use of for ventilation. We need not wonder that so many die of consumption. Look at the coun- tenances of the people, especially females, and one must be convinced, that a foul atmosphere is the main cause of their debility. 1 have been much about large stores in cities and large towns, and 'tis all the same. I find almost all the young men and females have the same sallow and unhealthy countenances. The same evil is in dwelling-houses, whether occupied by rich or poor. I have been in many cooking kitchens at hotels, that are much fre- quented by the wealthy, and they little dream what a place is used; it is called a kitchen, but from want of ventilation, is often a horrible place, and all from want of knowing how to ventilate. Nothing is more easy than to ventilate rooms, large or small ; and nothing is more conducive to health. The present system ruins, without their knowing the cause, the health of thousands of young peo- people. Very many of these ill-ventilated rooms, are the dwellings of the poor tailor, and dress-maker, and of other sedentary occupations who make the beautiful dresses for the ladies, and the superfine for the gents ; and we need not wonder if some vir- ulent disease at times makes its appearance ; and when it does take place, we complain, and say it is the will of Providence, forgetting that nature's laws have been violated. Samuel Clark. April, 1852. MARZHAM'S FAREWELL TO HUSBAN- DRY. We continue below two or three extracts from the old book, Mai-Jiham^s Farewell to Hvsbandri/, to which we recently alluded. The part of the work from which we quote now treats of the orchard and garden, and is printed in the old English black let- ter. The first extract we make is of the "distance of trees," and the second, from the poetry of the work, in relation to the honey bee. DISTANCE OF TREES. I know not to what end you should provide good ground, well fenced, and plant good sets ; and when your trees should come to profit, have all your labours lost, for want of due regard to the distance of placing of your trcQ^. I have scene many trees stand so thicke,.that one could not thrive for the throng of his neighbours. If you doe marke it, you shall see the tops of trees rubd off, their sides galled like a galled horses backe, and many trees have more stumps than boughs, and most trees no well thriving, but short, stump- ish, and evil thriving boughs : like a eorne-field over-feeded, or atowne over-peopled, or a pasture over-laid, which the Gardiner must either let grow, or leave tli£ tree very few boughs to beare fruit. Hence small thrift, galls, wounds, diseases, and short life to the trees : and while they live greene, little, hard, worme-eaten, and evil thriving fruit arise, to the discomfort of the owners. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 41 To prevent which discommoditie, one of the best remedies is, the sufficient and fit distance of trees. Therefore at the setting of your plants you must have such a respea, that the distance of them be such that every tree be not annoiance, but an helpe to his fellowes ; for trees (as all other things of the same kinde) should shrowd, and not hurt one another. And assure your selfe that every touch of trees (as well under as above the earthe) is hurtful. Therefore this must be a general rule in this art : That no tree in an Orchard well or- dered, nor bough, nor Cyon, drop upon, or touch his fellowes. Let no man thinke this impossible, but looke into eleventh chapter of dressing of trees. If they touch, the winde will cause a for- cible rub. Young twigs are tender, if boughs or armes touch and rub, if they are strong, they make great galls. No kinde of touch therefore in trees can be good. COMMONWEALTH OF BEES. When I had view'cl this Common-wealth of Bees, ObserC'd their Lines, their Art, »nd their Degrees: As; how, beside their painefuU f^ulsar ones. They haiie their Prince, their Captaines, and their Drones: How they A^ree; how temji-ratly they Feed; How curiously they Build; how chastly Breed; How seriously their Bus''nesse they intend; How stoutly they their Common-good defend; How timely their Prouisionx are prourded; How orderly their Labors are diuided; What Verlues pat' ems, and what grounds oi Art, What Pleasures, and what Profits Ihey impart: When these, with all those other things I minde Which in this Booke, concerning Bees, I finde: Me thinkes, there is not halfe that worth in Mee, Which I haue apprehended in a Bee, And that the Pismere, and these Hony-flies, Instruct vs better to Philosophize, Than all those tedious Volumes, which, as yet, Are leaft vnio vs by nieere Humane-wit. For, whereas these but only Rules doe giue: These by Examples teach vs how to line. For the New England Farmer. APPLES FOR FATTENING STOCK. Mr Editor : — I do not pretend to be much of a farmer, but a kind of Jack at all trades. As there is so much difference of opinion, however, as it re- gards apples fed out to stock, I will give the result of my experience. I had a cow that w^s 12 or 13 years old last spring ; she had a calf one year ago last April ; she has been milked every day since, till the 28th of Nov. last, which was the day but one before I killed her ; her time would have been out to calve Feb. 14, 1853. All the extra feed I gave her besides apples, was 7 bushel baskets of what is termed cow corn in the ear ; I was 35 days a fattening her, and there was one week in the time that she gained 32 lbs. ; she was pronouncec^ by good jildges to be as good beef as they had seen this year, I have not eat any better this two years. Yours, J. N. p. Georgetown, Mass., Dec. 6, 1852. A Hint. — Many large limbs have fallen from the trees in the woodlot. If you have a spare day before snow falls to cover them, go through your lots and pick up what is worth saving, and which if left till covered with snow would be lost. II you cannot do it yourself, invite your poor neigh- bor to do it for himself. Better it made his fami- ly comfortable in the cold winter approaching, than that it rotted on your land. POULTRY RAISING. At a recent meeting of the Concord Farmer's Club, the questi(m being, "Is the raising of poul- try profitable?" Mr. James P. Brown said lie had entertained the opinion that the raising of poultry could not be made profitable among the farmers in Middlesex county. Ilis sons, however, having a different opinion, a year ago he proposed to sell thom all his poultry, and purchase of them what eggs and chickens he wanted for the family, upon the condition that they were to keep an accurate account of expenses, and make a trua return to him at the end of the year. Before coming in to the meeting he had called upon them for a return up to this time, the period including nine months, and the following is their statement : Had on hand, March 1, 1852, 26 fowls, valued at $10,00 Cost of keeping, consisting of corn, meal, potatoes and meat 19. 65.. $29,65 Received for 32 pairs chickens sold 28, 3 For eggs up to Uec. 1 19,31 . Have now 62 fowls worth 33 cents each 27,33.. $74,67 Expenses 29,65 Profit in 9 months $45,02 He had seen from day to day how the fowls had been taken care of, and after reading this state- ment, had changed his opinion, and now believes that poultry may be profitably raised in Middlesex County, by bestowing upon it the same attention that is given to other farm stock when well taken care of. These fowls were plentifully supplied with such food as is accessible to all who usually keep them — corn, oats, meal, potatoes, and occasional- ly fresh meat, such as the plucks of sheep, or the flesh of young calves, many of which are killed at the age of three or four days by those who are sell- ing milk. Mr. Jacob B. Farmer said a few years ago he thought he knew something about fowls, but re- cently had almost come to the conclusion that his knowledge was not to be relied on. He had often found as much clear profit from a single hen through the winter as from a cow. Had frequently got $1,50 per bushel for the grain fed to them, and had received as high as $2,40 a bushel. They should be kept, he said, in a dry, warm place. During the last year his fowls had been diseased, and he had received no profit from them whatever. When he had made a profit it was from the native breed. Mr. C. W. GooDNOW said he had been thinking of Mr. Brown's profits on a single hen, and that they would be about 500 per cent, on the invest- ment. He thought Mr. B.'s opportunities for keep- ing fowls very advantageous ; his own advantages were not so good, but he thought they aff )rded a fairer opportunity to get at the actual profits than where they are running on the farm. He had on- ly an acre or two of garden, and was obliged to keep his fowls within somewhat narrower limits than the farmer does his. By careful experiment 42 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. he had ascertained that each hen requires one bushel and a third of grain in a year, which he thought would not be at a less average cost than $1,33 a year; — then how shall he find his profits ? Would she afford liim twelve dozen eggs in a year? if so, she would pay cost, but nothing more ; in all j his experiments, which had been many, ho had not been able to derive a profit from them, beyond the keeping of some eight to twelve, which num- ber would provide mostly for themselves while the ground is open. Mr. Simon Browx related some experiences in which he had realized larger profits from the in- vestments made in his poultry than from any other item on his farm. Dr. J. Reynolds said he knew a lad who, five years ago, began to keep poultry. He was the son of a widow. He bought five or six hens, raised chickens, and sold chickens and eggs. He fed largely upon fresh fish. He now has a flock of some fifty hens ! has purchased a cow, repaired his little barn, clothed himself, assisted his mother more or less, and is now, from the sale of his milk and the produce of his poultry, quite a thriving young man, accumulating a very pretty capital. Fresh fish is found, near the sea shore, a cheap and excellent food for poultry. For the New England Farmer. BIRDS AND INSECTS. ARE BIRDS USEFUL IN DESTROYING INSECTS^ ESPE- CIALLY CATERPILLARS? Nobody will deny, that truth defends itself, and that it, if hidden for a time, will break forth the more powerfully and shine brightly, illuminating the night of ignorance and error. Siill it takes, sometimes, not j/ears, but centuries, to dispel error, and he who should confide in the hope of an im- mediate acknowledgment of what is true, would be very much disappointed. History teaches but one single lesson, viz: that kobody cares about ITS LESSONS. Not long ago, somebody doubted the usefulness of birds in destroying insects ; lie was briefly an- swered ia tills paper. One should think, that even a man who never examined the stomach of a bii-d belonging to the Finch tribe f. i. — I need not al- lude to the insectiverous birds; their name being sufficient proof — could for a moment be uncertain, with what kind of food they rear their young. Nothing is needed but eyes to see; there are, how- ever, hbnd who ivill not sue. Nature is always and everywhere alike herself. Finches, f. i. are Finches in America, as well as in Europe and Africa. They may differ ever so much as spnies, but they do not differ in t'leir general char.if'ter. They live on grain and insects in Amer- ica ; tliey feed on insects and grain all over the globe. There is a sparrow — Fringilla, now pj/rgita do- meslica-r-iiii common ia Europe, especially in Cler- many, and in more than one respect so trouble- some, tliat he is persecuted by everybody ; and as he wis thought to be very injurious to fields and gardens, the different governments made the law, that each male individual of age had annually to deliver a certain number of sparrow heads, vary- ing, in different States, from 6 to 12. After this course had been pursued for many years, people began to complain about the scarcity of fruit. There were sections of the country, where the sparrows had been entirely exterminated. Such parts suffered the most, and, instead of the former abundance, their trees yielded no fruit. Although I was then very little interested in Natural Historj', yet this fact arrested my atten- tion, especially as I read in a French journal, a remark of a French naturalist — I believe it was Cuvicr — that the sparrows reared their young with nothing but insects ; -and that they were leanest in the season of harvest, and fattest in the spring. This struck me as very curious; for whenever I saw thousands of sparrows, united in one flock, falling upon the corn-fields, I imagined that they were devouring rye, wheat, barley, etc. I conclu- ded to ascertain this by a direct experiment. In the fillowing winter (ISiZ-l) I procured sixty living sparrows. Having made two enclnsures in my study, I put twenty-five sparrows in each, ten 1 caged. All had plenty of sand, brick-dust, hme, etc. I fed twenty-five of them on different kinds of grain ; such as wheat, rye, oats, buck-wheat and the like. Not one of them lived Imger than six loeehs ; they all died of consumption of the stomach. Twenty-five of them I fed on grain,' boiled meat and meal worms. The ten in the ca- ges I fed wholly on either worms, or boiled eggs or meat. All of them lived six months in captivi- ty ; they were plump and fat, and were set at lib- erty in the spring. In the following summer, I took several young sparrows of various ages from their nests, killed them and examined their stom- achs. I never found anything in them but insects and loorms ; and having, moreover, convinced my- self concerning the condition of the sparrows in the spring, suDUTiier and fall, and that, in the summer and fall, their stomachs contained chiefly insects and very few grass seeds, hardly ever grain., I be- gan to write in periodicals and to address the gov- ernments directly. As I had a great number of witnesses, all of whom were as much surjirised at the unlooked for results of my experiments as my- self, I had the good fortune of restoring the poor sparrows ta their lost reputation, at least, in that province of the kingdom of Hanover in which I lived. The above mentioned law \vi\s abolished, and the sparrows remained unmolested. My experiments were conclusive. There is but one way to refute them, i. e., to show by experi- ments that mine were wrong. Bat such experi- ments are connected with some trouble, and this trouble is not paid for in casli or good notes of hand. Notlong ago I showed on what sea-shores as];taragu8 does not grow, and where I found it wild. Since that time I received a new edition of Lcnz's Natu- ral History, 5 vols., a book which, if any, deserves a translation into the Enwlisli. Its author asserts that asparagus grows wild in Germany, adding that it is found in sandy places. Supposing now, my statements are wrong or incomplete, nothing is ne- cessary but to show, on uihat seashores asparagus grows. To resort to a chemical analysis in order to settle that questiim, is too curious an advice to ba followed. Yet somebody gave it. Cuarles SiedhoFs 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 43 PREMIUMS AWARDED AT THE FRAMINGIIAM C^TTLR SHOW IN SEP- TEMIJER. We have not been able to obtain the awards of the several committees till very recently. It is now 80 late that we publish the substance only, without giving the remarks in full made by them. The Committee on Plowing with single ox teams a^vard the first premium to Abner Haven, Jr., $3.00; second premium to I. S. Wheeler, 2,00; third to J. Johnson, Jr., 1,00. The committee remark that " they have felt some embarrassment in coming to an. award on account (if the use l)y the competitors of two kinds of plows — the double share and the single share, and tliey would respectfully recommend that the double shares be considered a separate class of plows, and premiums offered accordingly." • "Your committee beg leave to make honorable mention of tlie work performed by the double team of Wm. Buckminster, Esq., as being of the first class — and althcmgh he did not contend for a pre- mium, your committee would have given him a gratuity liad we been supplied with funds." Note. — Premiums were offered for single teams only. John Wenzell, > Committee James Ienton, J mium of $3,00 to Franklin Mason ; second of 2,00 to Gilbert Childs ; third of 1,00 to Jolm Clark. In behalf the Committee, John Clark. The Committee on Colts award to Josiah Gibbs first premium of $2,00, for three year old colt. To Addison Belknap, the second premium .$2,00 for a two year old colt. To Josiah Gibbs the third premium for the best yearling colt, l.OD. Gilbert J. Guilds, '\ J. G. Banister, > Committee. NaTHL. Pl'LSIFER, ) The Committee on Spring Pigs award to Ezra Dyer, $2,00 ; to Abner Haven, Jr., 1,00; to Abiel S. Lewis, 1,00. Joseph Fuller, '\ Joel EdjIands, > Committee. Elifh; Hastings, ) The Committee on Drawing and Backing report that they award the first premium to Cyrus VVool- son, $3,00 ; second to Col. Wm. Hastings, 2,00 ; third to John Johnson, Jr., 1,00. Moses Edgell, '\ Francis Cooudge, > Committee George Bcllard, ) The Committee on Plowing with Horse Teams award the first premium to Col. Wm. Hastings, $3,00; Sf^cond to Buckley Moore, 2,00; third to Harrison Eames, 1,00. F. A. Billings, Committee. F. A. Billings, \ H. R. D.VNIEL3, > P. B. Davis, ) The Committee on Bulls report that there was but one offered for premium — and they award the second premium of two dolL'.rs to Dana Warren James Brown, for the Committee. The Committee on Heifers report first premium to Col. James Brown, $2,00 ; second to Joel Ed- mands, 1,00 ; third toS. S. Lewis, 1,00. Note. — Names of the Committee not sent to us. Tlie Committee on Steers report that but one pair was exhibited to them. This was a pair of twins, by a young lad, Sylvanus Phipps, the son of Joseph Phipps. John Johnson OuED Win WiLLARD INSON, ^ nter, > Committee, Haven, ) The CoTTimittee on Calves award the first pre- mium of $2.00 to J. Johnson, Jr. ; second to Col. James Browii, 1,00 for heifer calf; and third pre- mium of 1,00 for heifer calf to Obed Winter. Buckley Moore, Chairman. The Committee on Horses award the first pre- The Committee on Breeding Sows award the first premium of $2,00 to A. S. Lewis, for his two Suffolk sows. Second to C. K. Woolson, $1,00; and they recommend a gratuity to Dana Warren for three breeding pigs. J. S. Wheeler, Joseph Daniel l^HEELER, \ PniPFs, \ Committee, , Parmenter, ) The Committee on Cheese award to Capt. Adam Hemenway the premium of $2,00. Dexter Esty, HoLLis Hastij INGS, J Committee. The Committee on Bread award the first premi- um to Mary E. Cloyes, 14 years old. Second to Miss Moore, daughter of Buckley Moore, 11 years of age. Third to Miss E. S. Phipps, 13 years old. Fourth to Miss Adeline Kilburn, 14 years old. J. W. Brown, J. VV. Brown, \ C. C. Esty, > Committee. Otis H.\stings, ) The Committee on White and Brown Bread award the first premium of $1,00 to Mary Sulli- van. Second of 75 cents to Mrs. George Eames. fhird of 50 cents to Miss Mary Hyde. Fourth of 25 cents to Mrs. Dana BuUard. S. Whit.ney, ^ S. 0. Daniels, > Committee. Newell Clark, } 13^ The attention of the reader is called to the portrait of the beautiful animal in this number, and to the description of two or three of our popu- hir breeds of cattle drawn with a free hand by Mr. Ambrose Stevens, of New York. Mr. Stevens has fed great experience with stock and has given his opinions in that straightforward and unequivocal manner as to leave no doubt of them on the mind of the reader. We neither endorse or deny -what he says, but leave each person to come to his own conclusions. A free, but kind, discussion of the merits of the various breeds, of cattle must result in benefit to the firmer. So far as our own experience goes, tlie best milk- ers in our stall, including richness and quantity, have been those where the "Short Horn" blood 44 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. was prevalent. For the yoke, we have never seen any cattle excel the Devons on the farm of Mr. French, at Braintree. TO THE FRIENDS OF AGRICULTURE IN MASSACHUSETTS. The undersigned, a committee appointed for the ' purpose by the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, beg leave respectfully to call your at- tention to Public Lectures as a means by which much information may be diffused and interest ex- cited in the community on the subject of agricul- ture. Such lectures are, at the present time, one of the most powerful instrumentalities for the ad- vancement of any branch of knowledge, or any measure of reform. Numerous voluntary organizations existing in all parts of the Commonwealth under the name of Lyceums and similar associations, afford easy and available opportunities for presenting the subject of agriculture to the people under the form of pop- ular lectures. It is felt by those to whom the interests of ag- riculture in this State .are now more particularly entrusted, that these opportunities ought to be improved, and that measures should be taken by those friendly to the object, to bring the subject before their respective Lyceums, and other like clubs or institutions, and thus secure lectures on Agriculture, Horticulture, Pomology, and kindred topics. A majority of the people in nearly all the towns in this Commonwealth are directly interested in these subjects, and it is believed feel desirous of information in relation to them. It would seem, therefore, that some of the lectures annually given before these various popular societies should be on agriculture, in some of its various departments. The Committee are aware that it is now late in the year, and that arrangements for lectures for the season have already been generally made, yet they do not on that account feel it less their duty to call attention to the subject, in the hope, that although but few lecturers should be secured for the present winter, early and effective arrange- ments will be made for the next. Should lectures of a practical character be wanted, applications may be addressed to the " Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, Boston," with whom, at the request of the com- mittee, the names of several gentlemen have been left, who will perform the service. Amasa Walker, ^ John W. Proctor, > Commillee. Edward Hitchcock, ) Office of the Slate Board of Ai^ricuUure, Boston, Dec.S, 185i2. MYSTERIOUS CONDUCT OF A DOG. The editor of the Green Mountain Freeman, published at Montpelier, Vt., gives the following item of personal experience : To the many remarkable anecdotes related of the dog, we have one to add from our own person- al experience. When just starting in our profes- sion, we slept for a short time alone in our office, much disliking to do so, because we were occa- sionally subject to severe fits of the incul>us, or night-mare, from which we used to depend on oth- ers to arouse us. One day, our door was beset by a small, red, stranger dog, that seemed singu- larly intent on entering. We drove him away twice ; but lie as often returned and manifested the same earnest desire to come in. Being some- what surprised at this, and knowing that no one who could be his master had been there that day, we at length opened the door, and by words and gestures invited him to come in. Joyfully avail- ing himselfof the liberty, he entered ; and, with- out seeming to look round for any one, quietly lay down under the table, where he remained un- til bed-time ; when we tried to make him go out. But he absolutely refused, and, being struck with the singularity of the animal's conduct through- out, we concluded to let him remain for the night, and after procuring some food for him, retired to our bed, which was in a small adjoining room, the entrance to which from the office, we always for the sake of better air, left open. Some time during that night, we were, visited by a frightful fit of the nightmare, from which, though perfectly conscious, we probably should never have come out without assistance. At our first groan, the dog bounded to our bedside, an(t commenced barking. Finding this did no good, he mounted the bed, and barked in our face. Failing in this, also, he stript down the bed clothes, and fell to pawing our chest, more and more furiously, till he tore the skin, which in- stantly broke the horrid spell ; and we arose with a feeling of gratitude for the interposition, as we could never help viewing it, more intense than any we remember to have ever experienced. We would have gladly always kept the dog, but the next morning, when we opened the door, he passed out, and, as if his mission was ended, trotted away, never to be seen by us again. 1^ Editors favorable to the above requested to copy. object SOPS IN WINE. This is the name of a delicate little apple which should be found in every garden ; ripens gradually from the first of August to October. The skin is smooth, crimson in the shade, stained and striped with purplish crimson in the sun, and covered with a delicate bloom. Flesh white, with stains of a pinkish hue, firm, crisp, juicy, and of a pleasant sub-acid flavor. It is known under several names. Sapsavine, Shropshire-vine; by Knoop, Rode Wyn Apple ; by Kenrick, Sapson, and by Ray in 1688^ Sops in ^A^ne. In ancient times it appears to have been a cus- tom for those who were betrothed to wear some flower as an external and conspicuous mark of their mutual engagement. Spenser, in his " Shepherd's Calendar," 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 45 " Bring coronatitms and sops in wine Worn of paramons." Sops in ivine, says Brand , were a species of flowers among the smaller kind of gillittowers or pinks. How the name came to be applied to apples it is difficult to tell, but not any more so in this case than in that of numerous other varieties. DURABILITY OF TIMBER. The piles driven at the AVoolwich Dock yards, thirty-seven years since, and prepared by the pro- cess of Mr. Kyan, are perfectly sound, while sim- ilar piles not so treated have required renewal twice during that time. This Kyanizing of tim- ber is performed by immersing it for, a time in a weak solution of corrosive sublimate. Could not the same advantages be availed of when setting posts for fences? Suppose the posts l)e entered in the ground butt- end up, and a small augur- hole of half an inch in depth in the upper end, in which might be placed a small quantity of corro- sive sublimate, and then the hole plugged. Should any moisture be resident in the stick, (and no de- cay can occur without it,) would not the corrosive sublimate be slowly dissolved and carried through every pore of the wood, and if so, would it not add materially to the durability of the wood ? We should like to see this tried, and would like to live long enough to report fully upon its effects. — Worki7iff Farmer. CANKER-WORMS. i& Our old friend and correspondent, Dea. Fowler, of Danvers, who is untiring in his attention to the cultivation, and the enemies, of fruits and fruit trees, has sent us a small bottle containing sever- al grubs of the canker worm. He says, in a note, "I think it would be well to call the attention of your readers to the tarring of their trees at this time, as a great many grubs or female canker Worms are now running." In accordance with this timely hint we copy from the 2d vol. of the Farmer , -page 401, some re- marks made by Mr. Fowler in that volume, and which we accompany by engravings of the male and female grubs, the worm, and the insect in its pupa state. Dear Sir: — I hardly know what to say in re- gard to the canker-worm. I am inclined to think the old mode of the application of tar around the body of the tree, on strips of cloth, canvass, or gunny-bags, six inches wide, and fastened around the trunli, is as good a mode to prevent the grub from ascending the tree, as any other that has yet been found. My mode has been to use tarred cloth ; the tar, when thick, I made thin with oil. I stuff hay, cotton, or sea-weed between the tree and the lower edge of the cloth, to catch the drip of the tar ; this serves likewise to tire, perplex, and perhaps entangle the grub, l^efore it gets to the tar on the cloth. I think, if the tar is properly and seasonably applied in the spring, it will prove effectual. But some, on the contrary, think that tar must be applied in autumn, say the first of No- vember. From a close observation of the canker- worm, I am inclined to think but few of the eggs deposited in the autumn are hatched in the spring ; as only a few males ascend in the fall and winter, most of the eggs prove barren. The cloth should be taken from the trees as soon as the grubs are done running, and the tar, should there be any, scraped from the trees. Yours, S. P. Fowler. For the New England Farmer. AGRICULTURE A CHEMICAL ART. Mr. Editor : — Dr. Justus Liebeg, in his work entitled "Organic Chemistry of Agriculture and Physiology," says — "Carbonic acid, ammonia and water, yield elements for all the organs of pilants. The atmosphere and the soil offer the same kind of nourishment to the leaves and roots. The for- mer contains a comparatively inexhaustible sup- ply of carbonic acid and ammonia ; the latter, by means of its humus, generates constantly fresh carbonic acid, while, during the winter, rain and snow introduce into the soil a quantity of ammo- nia sufficient for the development of the leaves and blossoms." The air by which the gi-owing plant is surrounded, the soil which is the medium of its roots, the fluid by which its food is dissolved and rendered appropriable by those roots, the decom- posable animal and vegetable matters which em-, body its aliment, and the entire vegetable organ- ism itself — its roots, stalk, branches, leaves, buds, blossoms and fruit, together with its sap or circu- lating fluid, are chemical compounds. Of these, the common air is perhaps the most simple in its composition, yet in this we find a number of ele- ments, viz : oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbonic acid, and ammonia, together with certain other principles which are perhaps incidental, but which, no doubt, have their appropriate spliere of action in the great circle of vegetable reproduction and life. AH these are of a strictly chemical cliarac- ter, and are characterized by energies and affini- ties equally ample and sublime. To illustrate this remark, oxygen, or vital air, combines with nitro- 46 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. gen in fine proportions of relative weight or meas- ure,- besides forming a part of the atmosphere which is the prime sustainer of both animal and vegetable life. , It .also unites with hydrogen in two proportions — fonuing, in one instance, water, without which no vegetable can be produced, and with carbon, with wliich it forms two compounds — carbonic acid, a principle of vast utility in the nutrimental economy of plants, and without which no vegetable substance could be made to grow. Let us, for the sake of greater j«rspicuity, exam- ine, chemically, the substance of that valuable and important fruit— the apple. We will take, f jr thia purpose, the Tolman tweeting: — Pulp. Epidermis. Percentage of water 84.75 t>i 20 1)0. dry matter 15 25 38.80 Do. ash .• 0,2G -. . . 0.72 ho. ash calcined on dry matter. 1.70.5 1.956 Percentase of water and dry matter. Percentage of water 81 .52 Do. dry matter 18.48 Composition of the Ash. With Carbonic Acid. Carbonic acid 17.62 Silica 1 43 Phosphate of iron 1.82. . ... Phosphoric acid 11.51 Li cue 4 05 Magnesia 1 4f) Potash 34.34 So.la 15.77 Chlorine 1.71 Sulphuric acid 5.44 Organic matter thrown down by liiirate of silver 4.20 Without Carbonic Acid. ..1.750 ..2 227 . 14.0r3 . .4 9.56 -.1.786 .4.^.016 .19295 ..2(;92 ..€ 656 99.35 ...5.139 101.000 One more instance, that of hay, will suffice. One hundred parts of hay, dried at 212'^ — 116 2 parts dried in air, are found by analysis to contain Carbon 45.8 Hydrogen 5.0 O.Kvgen 38 7 Nitrogen 1.5 Ashes. 9.0 100.0 16.2 water. The formation of manures is a chemical process. and the action of chemical laws is recognized in every department of husbandry, from the time the seed is l)uried in the soil, and its starch is trans formed itito saccharine matter — the primary indi- cation of generative life, till the mature fruit falls. a completed result, perfect in all its development.^ and parts, to the ground. The history of this sci- ence is curious. It was once Ah'hcmy, by the prac- tice of which, its deluded professors attempted the attainment of unlimited powers of self-reward. It ,is tr.iceable to the earlier physicians of Arabia, amimg whom it first took root, and who consumed their lives in the laborious but vain eff.n't to "fix mercury'" which they believed to contain the "germ of all curative influences," and to be the "b.isis of all other metals." They had recourse to many ingenious experiments to "catch the fly- ing bird of Hermes," and to discover the "Univer- sal Elixir," wljich was to confer upon the possess- or the power of transmuting base metals into gold, of prolonging indefinitely, the period of human ex- istence, and of investing mortals with the beauty and bloom of unfading youth. Such dreams, how- ever, have long since been dispelled, and the sci enco of chemistry turned to purposes of practical usefulness and utility. n. d. w. ErAY—CUBIC FEET IN A TON. I observe you allow 1,000 cubic feet for a ton of hay, by measure. In Vermont, our hay, according to bulk, may be mure weighty. A godd portitm of it, either in stack or mow, 20 by 20 feet square, (me foot thick, will weigh a ton ; that is 400 cuV^ic feet. Of our lighter meadow hay 500 feet are al- hjwed for a ton. There is awide difference in the weiglit and value of hay in diffdrent seasons. This* year, the same quality and bulk is much heavier than last, and the increased intrinsic value in the same number of pounds in this year's production. Our State will produce only about half a crop of hay this season. Grains look well, and the root crops of all kinds never looked better. Potatoes are uncommonly fine, and if free from rot, might be quite low in price. The farmers in the nortliern part of New York have also planted an unusual quantity of potatoes — from 10 to 100 acres in one field.— S. W. Jlwett, Middlebury, Yt.— The Plow. PROGRESSION. David T. Stevens, of Lewiston Falls, Maine, gives notice that he will visit " any or all the towns within the limits of their Agricultural So- ciety, the ensuing winter, and lecture on tlie sub- ject of Agriculture.." That's the true way, friend Stevens, to arouse the masses to a sense of the importance of their vocation. We have urged this practice for years, but the helpers are still few. Mr. Stevens recently read an Address before the West Lincoln Agricultural Society, which we have perused in the Farmer and Mechanic, pub- lished at Lewiston Falls, and which abounds in practical suggestions and forcible illustrations. Among the clergy may be found some of the best farmers and gardeners in the couiitry ; and in connection with their good examples on the soil, they are performing a noble work with the tongue and pen in their respective parishes, and through the agricultural journals. PREJUDICE AGAINST FARMING. [E.vtrHcled from W. 11. Seward's address at Rutland ] Nature has left all the human faculties in one sense incomplete, to be perfected by general edu- cation and )>y training tor special and di.~tinct pur- suits. She lias left those faculties not hss incom- plete and without more adaptation, in the farmer's case than in any other. Her laws are general, inflexible. Erutes only have perfect instincts. .Man can be nothing, and indeed can do nothing at all, but ])y tlie guidance of cultivated reason. Notwithstanding aduiitted differences of natural capacity, and of tastes and inchnations, it is never- theless practically and generally true that success, and even distinction and eminence, in any voca- tion, is proportioned to the measure of culture, training, industry and perseverance brought into exercise. So he will bo the best farmer, and even the best woodsman or well-digger, as be will be the best liwyt-r, the gi'eatest la^ro. and the great- est statesman, who shall have studied most widely ■md profoundly, and shall have labored most cure- fully and most assiduously. There is another prejudice even more injurious 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 47 than that which I have thug exposed. The far- mer's son is averse from the father's calling. He does not intend to pursue it, and is always look- ing for some gate hy which to escape from it. The prejudice is hereditary in the farm-house. The farmer himself is not content with his occu- pation ; nor is the farmer' s wife any more so. They regard it as an humble, toilsome, and laljori- ous one ; they continually fret about its privations and hardships, and thus they unconsciously raise in their children a disgust towards it. Is not this frequently sol Is there a farmer here who does not desire, not to say seek, to procure for his son a cadet's or a midshipman's warrant, a desk in not at all exempt them from the practices of in- dustry ; and that notwithstanding the current use of the figures of speech, "wearied limbs, sweating brows, hardened sinews, and rough and blackened hands," there is no avocation in our country that rewards so liberally with hesilth, wealth and jionor a given application of well directed industry, as does that of the farmer. If he is surpassed by others in other pursuits, it is not because their avocations are preferable to his own, but because, while he has neglected education and training, they took care to secure both. When these convictions shall have entered the farm-hcmse., its respectability and dignity will be the village lawyer's office, a chair in the physi- confessed. Its occupants will regard their dwell- cian's study, or a place behind the counter in the ings and grounds not as irksome scenes of humili country store, in preference to training him to the labors of the farm ? I fear that there is scarcely a farmer's son who would not fly to accept such a position, or a farmer's dauglitcr who would not prefer almost any settlement in town or city, to the domestic cares of th-e farm-house and the dairy. Whence is this prejudice 1 It has come down to us from ages of barbarism. In the savage state, agricultural labor is despised, because bravery in battle and skill in the chase must be encouraged ; and so heroism is still requisite for the public de- fence in the earlier stages of civilization, and the tiller of the soil, therefore, rises slowly from the condition of a villain, a serf, or a slave. Never- theless, ancient, and almost universal as this preju- dice is, I am sure that it is unnatural to mankind, in ripened civilization, such as that to which we have arrived. Of all classes of society we have the least need of hunters ; and we employ very few soldiers, while the whole structure of society hinges on the Agricultural interest. A taste, nay a pas- sion for Agriculture is inherent and universal among men. The soldier or the sailor cares little for learning, mechanics or music ; but the solace of his weary watchings and his midnight dreams, are recollections of a cottage home. The mer- chant's anxieties and the lawyer's studies are prosecuted patiently for the ultiuiate end of grace ful repose in a country seat ; and lunatics, men and women, are won back to the sway of reason by the indulgence of labor in the harvest field, and the culture of fruits and flowers in the garden of the Asylum I know that frivolous persons, in what is called fashionable society, who sleep till noon, still con- tinue to depreciate and despise rural pursuits and pleasures. But what are the opinions of sue! minds worth ? They equally depreciate and de spise all labor, all industry, all enterprise and all effort; and they reap their just reward in weari ness of themselves, and in the conteu)pt of those who value hum.an talents, not by the depth in which they ai'e buried but by the extent of their employment for the benefit of mankind. The prejudice, however, must be expelled from the farmer's fireside; and the farmer and his wife must do this themselves. It is as true in this case as is the more practical one which the rustic poet had in view : — "Tlie wife loo, must hushsnd, as well as the man, Or farewell, ihy husbandry, do what thou can." Letthem remember that in well constituted and highly advanced society like ymirs, iutellectu- al cultivation relieves men from hibor, but it does ating labor, but as their own permanent home, and the homestead of their clnldren and tlieir pos- terity. Affections unknown before, and new born emulations, will suggest motives to improvement, embellishment, refinement, with the introduction of useful and elegant studies and arts which will render the paternal roof, as it ought to be, at- tractive to the young, and the farmer's life har- monious with their tastes, and satisfactory to their ambition. Then the farmer's sons will de- sire and demand education as liberal as that now chiefly conferred on candidates for professional life, and will subject themselves to discipline, in acquiring the art of Agriculture, as rigorous as that endured by those who apprentice themselves to other vocations. DISEASj • For the New England Farmer. 3D PliUM TREES. In reply to the inquiries of your correspondent "W. R. C," I would say, there are various opin- ions in reference to this malady or disease of the plum tree. I am very well satisfied, from personal oliservation, that the circulation of the sap has nothing to do with forming the wart, so prevalent in many sections of the country. But a disease probably arising from an insect that works its pas- sage into the vei'y heart and pith of the twig, or branch affected. I observe that this insect ascends upwards, and in order -to exterminate its ravages, the branch should be cut at least one foot below the wart, and as much farther as is found necessa- ry, until you come to sound, healthy wood and pith, even if the whole tree goes in consequence. Then burn the cuttings. lam satisfied that if one tree is left to destruction, that the disease is as con- tagious to the remaining ones c's the 3-enow8 to a peach orchard. 1 have many standard plum trees and many in nursery rows, all of which are in a sound, healthy condition ; it has always been my practice to watch earel'ully this disease, and cut Ireely, sparing no imperfection of wood. I have seen plum trees not fifty rods apart, some clean and round and others literary covered with black warts ; therefore no one will presume that locality has much to do with the disease. G. B. Slade. Somcrsei, Dec, 18<52. Corn Shelleu. — The Pennsylvania Farm Jour- nal; published at Westchester, says a macl ine for shelling corn was presented at their late State Fair, that, worked by one horse, had shelled, and was warranted to shell 80 bushels o"corn per houi ! 48 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. VEGETABLE CUTTER. When hay is selling at $20 to $25 the ton, it becomes the farmer to cast about him and see whether any unusual methods can be practiced to save fodder, or to feed out what he has with more economy. Plants feed more readily upon flnely comminuted manures, as they impart their juices more readily, and in this form may be mingled more generally throughout the soil. So cattle re- ceive the nutrient jjroperties of their food with greater ease when divided into small particles by our agency. It then requires less mastication, im- parts it properties quickly and leaves the creature opportunity for rumination and rest. Beside this, it is a matter of economy. Corn-stalks divided by the cutting machine and mixed with meal or shorts, will be mostly consumed by the cattle, and will impart considerable nourishment. But roots are more difficult to be eaten without being divided than the grasses or corn-stalks. Given whole, they are a perplexing, laborious and dangerous fodder. The above engraving represents a machine which will obviate all these difficulties and also prove economical. The cutting wheel is made of cast iron, faced on one side, through which are inserted three knives like plane-irons. These cut the vegetables into thin slices with great rapidity, and then by cross- knives they are cut into strips of convenient form and size for cattle or sheep to eat, without danger of being choked. The pieces after being cut, lie loosely and anglingly together, and can easily be taken up by the animal. The machine is capable of cutting so rapidly as to leave no olyectlou to it on that account. For the Tfew England Farmer. GOOSEBERRIES. I have cultivated the Avild gooseberry for several years, and find that there are a great many varie- ties of them ; some of which have thorns and oth- ers do not, and some have fine thorns and very tliick, others have large, stout, sharp ones. Some are good growers and bearers, while oth- ers are neither. I have two varieties that I think maybe very valuable, one of which I found in this town ; the bushes gr<)\v large and bear heavily, and almost entirely thornless. The other, I found on the farm occupied by Mr. Fabyan, at the White Mountains. The fruit is large and sweet ; the bushes have large thorns, bear abundantly, and are great growers. The bushes of this variety grow larger than I ever saw any other kind — I have seen them six feet high. Yours, &c., B. F. Cutter. Pelham, N. H., Nov. 6, 1852. . AGRICULTURAL LECTURES. The attention of the reader is particularly called to a circular in this paper from a committee re- cently appointed by the "Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture," on the sulyect of agricul- tural lectures. Although a large proportion of the population of our State is engaged in agricultural pursuits, we have no knowledge that half a dozen lectures upon the topics in which the farmer is most interested, are delivered in the course of a year. Why is it that this important class and in- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 49 terest has been so long overlooked, leaving the ground to be occupied by a species of fungus liter- ature, lialf imaginary and half infidel ? It is high time there was a change in the matter and style of the lectures, now so frequent among the people, and we therefore thank the State Board of Agri- culture for these timely suggestions in relation to this great interest of so large a portion of our cit- izens. For the New England Farmer. IMPORTANT TO THE FARMER. Mr. Editor: — Of all the plans yet proposed for the advancement of agricultural science among far- mers, there has none yet been presented which to us seems so likely to effect the object as the one recently proposed by the State Board of Agricul- ture, of sending lecturers to address lyceums and farmers'' clubs on tlie suliject. Wiiat the present circumstances of the case re- quire, with regard to agricultural science, is, that farmers as a body should be led to see its impor- tance, and the advantages which would result from its application. This, a few may learn from their own practice and observation ; a few more may be led to appreciate it, from the facts they find laid down in agricultural publications. But the great mass of those whose chief employment is the cul- tivation of the soil, do not see, much less read, such publications, because they do not believe in them. What successful practice may have done for them, they will try again, and under like cir- cumstances will probably meet with like success. Should circumstances, however, vary, either in the nature of the soil upon which they operate, or in the capricious fluctuations of the season, both which, to some extent, may be regulated by fixed laws of the farmer's own application, they become nonplussed, and are ready to denounce all obser- vation as the chief of vanities. It is the want of practice and observation that becomes the precur- sor of failure, and the absence of scientific knowl- edge that leads men to declaim against it. But let scientific lectures on agriculture be car- ried into the lyceum or club room, and you carry them within the reach of all — those who are al- ready wise in their own estimation, and those who sit meekly seeking for wisdom. Let a stranger go to give these lectures and all will be sure to be there, to see how the man looks, what he has to say, and very possibly some will go to confute all he says. No matter, they will all be there, and then is the time, and that is the place, to unfold the sub- ject in all its attractions of thought-inspiring, pleas- ure-giving, profit-yielding influence. All may not, to be sure, derive equal benefit from these lectures, yet all will gain something — some very much. If the father does not feel particular interest, John or Tommy may get an idea that will sprout and grow wonderfully, and finally become a headful of ideas, flowing out and flying over the land. It may be that half a dozen Johns and Tommies will be there, and each and all, get inoculated with that love of science which only can be satisfied by constant draughts on her deep, pure fountains. If so, the commonwealth will soon have the solid capital (the capital of intellect) necessary to es- tablish and sustain what her wisest and best sons liave long wished to see in successful operation, — an agricultural school. Produce the scholars, and such a school must, in the order of things, come into existence. Produce the scholars, such schol- ars as have capacity to learn, and a disposition to gratify that capacity, and the existence of such a 8i!hool will be a healthful and growing one. Let one such class of scholars graduate and scatter to the north and the south, the east and the west, to the hill-top and the valley ; and there let their knowledge flow out in living works of improvement, and such a school — more, many such schools would become permanent fixtures in the land. And then, what a glorious land this of ours, which we now call "the glory of all lands," would be ! A land where the plow-boy, instead of "whis- tling for want of thought," with eye beaming with intelligence and heart expanding under surround- ing influences, would be all thought, all action. lie would learn that the natural world has trea- sures even beyond his imagination, rich beyond his conception, — beauties that he never dreamed of, wonders that have never been explored, system and order and perfection the most lovely and sub- lime, all his (jwu, scattering their treasures plen- teous as dew-drops in his path, while he is labor- ing to cause the earth to give seed to the sower fur future harvests, and bread for the eater when he fainteth. We do not think it a visionary Idea, in any way, to suppose that a few such lectures as the Board of Agriculture propose, sprinkled over the common- wealth, would be the means of starting one or more agricultural schools. We think it the surest method that can be" adopted to bring such schools into speedy existence, for the very nature of such lectures would point to the advantages that such schools would afford, as truly and as fixedly as the needle points to the pole star. It is not until men see and feel the advantages which are likely to result from a specified enterprise, that they will embark in that enterprise. And such lectures must surely be the key which will open to the pub- lic mind the advantages of such institutions. Another advantage would be, the tendency to re-model these lyceums and render them more in- teresting in their nature, and more important in character. Many of them, as they now exist in our country towns, can hardly be said to be of any avail, from the fact that they are not managed in a way cal- culated to insure success. Debating is, to a great extent, the order of their exercises, and the top- ics introduced are enough to confound wise heads and strong minds. Yet on these subjects, mere school-boys will toil and tug, labor and contend, and one party is sure to come off conqueror — very likely on a subject with whose merits, he is, after all, as ignorant as he is of the physical structure of the most distant planet. It has hitherto been an objection to these institutions that the aspirants have reached too far, and grasped at too much, and hence, have failed of securing any thing sub- stantial. If they will familiarize themselves with common topics, which every day present them- selves for investigation, until the mind becomes familiar with them, they will increase in knowl- edge faster, and of course become more fit for more far off things and those requiring deeper research. These lectures will have a tendency to turn the channel in the course of proceeding, and call the 50 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. mind in from its wanderings on the distant and unavailing, tu the home-born and practical things, whiefi, more than all others, demand the atten- tion of men. We see still other benefits arising from this course of sencHng forth lecturers on agricultural science, of which we name one more and close. It is an old maxim, that like produces like, and upon this principle, we can see no objection to tlie belief tliat in every Ij'ceum or club, to which the board shall send a lecturer, one, two, three, per- haps more, young men will set tliemselvea to work in earnest to become lecturers in their turn, and thus a regular succession or course be given during the continuance of the meetings. Don't cringe, young man, at the idea, and say you can't do it. Others, whose capacities were not a whit superior to yours, have done it, and a young American far- mer, especially a Yankee Hxrmer, ought to blush if the idea crosses his mind that he cannot do what others, under no more favorable circumstances, have done. Young men ! supposing you try. What if you do take some of the natural sciences (they aU belong to the flirmer) that you are not familiar with, and as you study, with nature for your teacher, bring the result of your researches and lay them before your fellows. Thus you may learn, and by learning, become a teacher, a lecturer. And your success may encourage others to adopt the same course — beneficial to themselves, encour- aging and salutary to others. Young men ! Again we say try. The leisure of winter, the beauties and availability of science, the culture of the intel- lect, the dignity of your nature, everything, all things invite to it. Try it, and in due time a suc- cess, cheering and honorable, will be sure to crown your labor. ^v. u Elmwood, Dec. 20, 1852. PIG RAISING I^r MISSISSIPPI. Some of our Suffolk pigs have got out into Mis- sissippi, and as they seem to have met with a kind reception and find themselves in pretty tall feed, the following letter, from a correspondent to whom we had sent several pigs, describing the manner in which they are turned to grass there, will amuse by the contrast which it affords between our mode of preparing the porkers and theirs. On my way home I found the pigs, and must express my thanks fitr your prompt attentions ; the sow is a treasure. I have bought many hogs, and have been feeding them, man and boy, some 30 to 35 years, and I never yet saw a hog which I think will suit this country like this. Two planting friends came here to-day to see them, and both of them think as I say. The boar is good enough, but not so fine in his points. I have now under my immediate care 11 young sows and a boar, nearly as old as the one you sent, and though good hogs, they don't look at all well now by the side of yours. Many of you ice-bound folks if at my hog-house, would be iu(Juced to envy even my hogs one thing — sweet potatoes. I am cooking about 20 bushels daily, and such potatoes as you buy by the pound. I have 72 hogs up flitting, fed with boiled meal, hasty pudding, with pumpkins, and with boiled potatoes and meal, food changed. I cook 3 bushels of meal at a time, and then about 10 bushels of potatoes, giving hogs a feed of raw potatoes, and a little raw corn, merely to get them not to tii-e on cooked food. I think I will kill some 25 head which will run from 175 to 275 — these be- ing even larger than is always safe in this latitude. I have now growing as a pasture for hogs 10 acres in clover, oats and barley, intending to turn my brood sows and pigs tlicreon, say January, which I suppose will keep tliem until oats are ripe, about June 10. To-morrow I turn my young sows and hogs into a 10 acre potato patch, from wliich we are now digging. In tlie same field, T have about 15 acres of oats, up well, about 1 acre in clover, sown last December and now several inches high; this pasture will keep them near 2 months. I suppose you know not our winter oat ; we can thus have a pasture all year. I also sow barley, but rye will not do w(A\. After trying it many years, even sowing down 20 to 50 or 70 acres in the fall, for pasture, I find I have to buy seed about every 3d year, as it seems to almost run out. My plan is, sow on cotton or corn land, without the plow, graze all winter and plow in, in the spring — reserving enough for seed. This spring I turned under over 80 acres. I had some 20 acres sown down with oats and barley mixed, for hog feed principally, and will continue until I have sown 110 acres — intending to plow all under next spring, except perhaps 20 acres. I am, dear sir, yours with respect, M. W. Phillips. For the New England Farmer. FARM HOUSES. Mr. Editor : — Being about to build a f\irm house, I have concluded to build of strips, or tim- ber, sawed 4 inches wide and 1^ inches thick, fas- tened together by nailing from one piece to another, and carrying up all the walls and partition togeth- er ; the walls to be 1^ story high and plastering on the inside of the walls for a finish. I wish to inquire of you, or some of your subscribers, if the outside could be plastered or finished with concrete or hydraulic cement, and then painted and pen- ciled in imitation of granite, so as to be durable. If so, how to be put on, whether to put on a coat of plaster first or not. Plastering on the outside of buildings is generally not durable ; but I should think that concrete might be. An answer to the above inquiry will be thank- fully received by a subscriber. E. Camp. Chelsea, Vt., Dec. 14, 1852. Rejiarks. — Some of our readers undoubtedly possess the required knowledge, and we hope will communicate it. POTASH WATER. The editor of the Farmer and Planter, publish- ed at Pendleton, S. C, in cautioning people to use all alkalies with great care when applied to fruit trees, says ; "Two springs since we killed some young trees by applying too liberally a solution of one pound of pearlash and one pint of soft soap in three gallons of water. A very dry spell fol- lowed the application, and hence not being washed ofiF, the caustic liquid turned the bark of several trees quite yellow, and much injured those that es- caped." 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 51 For the New England Farmer. STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Editor of tiik N. E. Farmer : — Gentlemen — As your paper lias noted with more distinctness, than any other, the action of the jMassachusetts Board of Ao;riculture ; and as the important question of selecting a permanent Secretary of the Board, re- mains to he considered ; I beg leave to give you a few brief minutes of a conversation that I Iiadwith an intelligent friend to the cause as to the qualifi- cations (h'liiandcd in the office. He remarked, that the persim selected sliould have much knowledge of the details of a farmer's life, in order to secure the confidence and good will of the farmers themselves. He sliould be a scientific agriculturist, to some extent, at least, in order to raise and elevate the farming community ; not by any parade of science, which would soon bring' him into contempt; but by combining and speaking intelligently of the vast amount of facts, which would naturally come to his knowledge. He should be easy and approachable in his man- ners. He ought to possess great facility, both in writing and speaking, to meet the demand of an extensive correspondence, and to respond to the numerous societies now coming into being, in which opportunities for dning good are constantly afford- ed, lie ought to be able to act as a mediator to conciliate the prejudices which still exist to some extent, in the minds of the fanners in relation to their more weidthy neighliors ; and in the minds of men of wealth, in relation to the operative farm- ers. He should be willing to devote himself, body and mind, assiduously to the work ; and divest himself entirely of all the obnoxious isins of the day — either in politics or religion. The question is, where can such a man be found? If a young man is to be selected, he must have time for preparation, time to visit Europe,* and other States in our own coun- try, before he enters upon the duties of the office. In the opinion of this gentleman, it would be more creditable to the State to select such a man and give him this privilege ; than to attempt to mould one into form who has not now these qualifications ; and is too far gone to acquire them. If these sug- gestions shall be deemed by you pertinent to the season of the New Year, they are at your service. January 1, 1853. SPLENDID FRUIT. We have received from Mr. G. W. Lake, of Topsfield, a box of the most perfectly shaped and beautiful Northern Spy apples that we ever saw. Mr. Lake will please accept our hearty thanks for producing such valuable fruit. We also have be- fore us a box of the same apples sent us from Rochester, N. Y. These specimens, one grown where the apple originated in western New York, and the other in the cold New England climate, will satisfy all, we think, tliat the Northern Spy may be successfully raised here. INIr. Lake's are larger, fairer, and much higher colored than the western apples. The Northern Spy keeps better than the Bald- win, and its flavor is equally as good. Will Mr. Lake inform us whetlier these apples grew from scions set in (ild trees, or from budded or grafted nursery trees, and what his opinion is as to its bearing properties, hardiness, &c. *If I (Jo not mistake, the late Prof. Norton of Yale College was selected and sent abroad for ruialificatioii. Several of the most einiiieiit professors in our colleges have been thus cho- sen. Such is the st^te of society among us, and such are the limited means of most young men, that every one feels it an incumheni duty to prepare for some definite purpose. As this is a new object, it is not to be expected that men will be found ready made. To be sure, President Hitchcock was thought to lie such a man. It is ever to lie regretted, that he did not accent ihe office,— at least, until someone could be found, "worthy and well qualified.'' TO ADVERTISERS. It will be seen by a paragraph in another column that we have distributed, during the year 1852, more than six hundred thousand copies of the New England Farmer-. This fact will show that as an advertising medium for farms, stock, implements, or any of the wants of the farmer or gardener, or for those scehng agricultural employment, it offers advantages unsurpassed by any other medium in the country. For terms see advertising columns. For the New England Farmer. CULTURE OF INDIAN CORN. Often have we heard the remark made by expe- rienced practical farmers, that they did not be- lieve in the growing of one hundred bushels of sound Indian corn, upon an acre of land, when fairly measured. And sometimes we have been more than half inclined to give heed to these as- sertions in relation to our Massachusetts land. Because we have often grown corn on land of su- perior quality, highly manured, with best of care, and not raised so much as one hundred bushels to the acre. In flict, we do not remember to have seen this amount of crop, when fairly dried and measured. Our attention is called to this fiict, by the extraordinary crops reported the present sea- son from the county of Plymouth, where the land is not superior to that of other counties of the State. The supervisor reports the following crops: Calvin Leavitt 122 10-85 bushels. George Wood 102 10-85 " Richard Sampson 96 40-85 " Martin Leonard 94 70-85 " Philander Wood 92 80-85 " William Wood 92 60-85 " Here are six acres, averaging more than one hundred bushels each, "according to the measure- ment,'' if our computation is right. That the gen- tlemen, who viewed these crops, reported truly according to their knowledge, there is no reason to question; — but that they have the same rule of raeasurem3nt, as is adopted in Suffilk, Middle- sex and Essex, we should like to be fully advised. We have seen the fields of corn, when growing in Plymouth county, and thought they did not prom- ise more than we have met elsewhere. But we arc free to say, that we do%ot believe there is any other county in the commonwealth where six acres of corn will be found to have yielded over six hun- dred bushels the last season. If there be any va- riance in the rule of measurement ; this is a fair subject to be examined and made uniform by the Board of Agriculture. ^' Dec. 13, 1852. 52 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. THE HYDRAUIilO RAM. The hydraulic ram is a simple mechanical appara- tus, constructed upon philosophical principles, and is used very effectively in raising a portion of the water from a spring or running brook above the level of its fountain head. The following descrip- tion, it is believed, will be easily understood. Sup- pose a water pipe is laid along down the course ol the stream througli which the water is required to pass. The lower end of the pipe is closed, and near that extremity is an orifice on the upper side which is opened and closed on the inside by a pup- pet valve shaped something like an inverted barrel bung. There is also another similar orifice and valve opening outward from the main pipe, ond into an air vessel. Now let both valves be closed. As there is then no means of escape for the water in the pipe leading from the spring, it is brought to a state of rest. The valve opening inward is loaded, so that its gravity is greater than the pres- sure of the water at rest in the pipe ; it conse- quently falls into the pipe, leaving the orifice open, through which the water immediately begins to rush with increasing velocity, until its momentum becomes such as to push up the valve to its place in the orifice. The momentum of the water sud- denly stopped in its course, is such as to lift up the other valve opening outward into the air ves- sel, through whicii the water ruslies, compressing the air into a smaller compass, until the re-action of the air is in equilibrium with the action of the water, when the valve No. 2 falls back to its place and prevents the water in the air vessel going back again into the main pipe. The water in the main pipe then having no escape, is again brought to rest, whereupon valve No. 1 falls down again by its own weight, and the process is again repeated. From the air vessel a discharging pipe leads off to the upper story of a house, or any other place where the water is wanted, to which point it is driven by the elasticity of the compressed air in the vessel. Of course the amount of water raised, compared to the whole, will be in inverse ratio to the elevation of the discharging point above the fountain-head. The momentum of the blow forc- ing the water into the air vessel when the valve closes, was well illustrated at the time the foun- tain was first put in action on Boston Common, where, it will be recollected, the momentum of the water was so great at the sudden stoppage of the jet, as to burst the pipes and deluge the Com- mon.— Journal. Catiiea' JDepartmint. THOUGHTS AND DOINGS OF A HOUSE- KEEPER. BY FRANCES 1). GAGE. Hi ! ho I hum ! I suppose I must get up ; if I don't Biddy won't get that wasli-fire going in sea- son. But 0, what hard work it is now-a-days to get up. I am old and stiff. Well, well, I'm not so young as I was twenty years ago ; but what of tiiat ? I hope my years have been years of service, and my elasticity has not gone for evil. How beautifully that robin sings upon the peach-tree ; poor felhjw ! it is cold this n)orning, and the snow lies upon his perch ; ])ut his note is as gay and cheery as in the balmy spring morning of last week. The birds never grumble or make discord- ant notes, and they never fail to shake off their drnwsy slumbers with the first beams of sunsliine. Thank thee, dear bird of mine, for thy melodious hint, that it is time to get up ; so away with morn- ing reveries. lla! ha I Ponto ; always ahead of me; good fellow ! And I stooped down and patted his coal- black head, and he fri.sked his joy around me as if we had been separated for a year, instead of only one night-watch. Down, Ponto, down! Let me tie my shoes and go to my work. "Well, Biddy, have you got the wash-fire start- ed in the back kitchen?" "I have, ma'am." "That's right. You night?" No, ma'am ; it was did not get home last too dark intirelv to be For the New England Farmer. WHITE CLOVER. Mr. Editor : — Will you have the goodness to state through your paper, your opinion of sowing white clover seed on our old pastures, Avhere they are smooth and can be harrowed, in order to revive them after the severe drought of summer, or being killed by the severe cold of winter. What is the price of the above-named seed 1 0 Zenas H. Upham. Windham, Vt., Dec. 14, 1852. Remarks. — Will our associate, Mr. Holbrook, reply to these inquiries ? 5^" Georgia flour, of superior quality, is becoming an article of merchandise in Charleston, S. C. wandering up the brae, my love, and so I was say- ing that niver a bit you'd care if I tarried below, barring I was home in season in the morning for the work." Ha, Biddy, that crimson glow upon thy young cheek tells strange tales. It was not the climbing the brae in the dark, all alone, that kept you down at Paddy Evan's. Some loving Dennis from thy own green isle, has tempted thee, and thy eyes are dim with the late night-watch, and the tremu- lous sigh breaks up from thy heart. Thou art hu- man, Biddy, and it is human to love : and maids in the kitchen have hearts as softly impressible as maids in the parlors, and as pure, too, for aught I know. Biddy did not hear my thoughts. "Boil the praties with the skins on, ma'am?" "Certainly, child ; I do not tliink they are ever so nice and sweet as when Ijoiled with the skins on. Wash them nicely, and cut out carefully all the defective parts, and boil them in clear vrater ; but be sure, Biddy, not to let them boil too long — turn off the water as soon as you can put a fork through them easily." "And if the young gintlemen are ni)t ready for them, then whafU I do?" "Let them set in the kettle, on the top of the stove, with the lid tightly closed over theni ; it will not hurt them much to stand a few minutes." The cherry-cheeked maiden went her way as if she had learned something new — and may be she had, for though the boiling of a potato seems to lie a very simple thing, it's not half the girls, or Wi>men either, that take pains to do it right. But I declare those boys are not up yet. "Will!" "Ma'am!" "Come down! it's time you was up. Wake, 1853. NEW KNGT.AND FARMER. 53 John, and Henry and George. Come, now ; don't go -to sleep ajTiiin." "We u'/V/.'" Psli-.iw ! the fellow is so sleepy he does not know whether lie is saying yes or no. I used to he jiist so myself, and I never go to the door to call my own children, but I tliink of my own dear mother that is gone. My mother! — how often I think ol her! When I sweep, when I wash dishes, make bread — even when I turn over the slice of meat in the dish — I think of her and her gentle love, and patient teachings to her wayward child. I, too, must strive to be patient. "Biddy, Biddy ! it's time the meal was over. There, you may t;ike hold of the washing now. I will get the breakfast on the table and attend to these little matters, and give you a helping hand, by-and-bye.'' "And thanks to ye," answered the cherry-lip, "it's not often the likes of ye goes into the wash- tub." Poor thing ! she thinks that her fate is harder than mine, tliough I have two cares to her one — but how thankful I am that I know how to get up in the morning and get breakfast — know how to do it uiyself, and know when it is done right. It is a glorious thing to feel independent — to know that my happiness and comfort, and that of my husband and children, is not entirely in the power of a Biddy, and that if she refuses to butter the toast, or clear the coffee, I can do it myself, and thus save the murmuring and discontent of the household in spite of her. Only think of it, all ye who curl up your lip at the insignificayice of a housekeeper. Insignificance indeed ! Here are fifteen souls under this roof. Suppose Biddy had the washing all to do, and the breakfost to get, too. Bidily would be in a hurry — feel impatient — vexed, perhaps — that she alone was the busy one. The coffee would not be cleared, the pork badly cooked, the potatoes spoiled, &c. Then husband and sons are disappointed, out of humor ; stomachs out of gear, and tempers in unison ; and they go away to the workshop or oiBce, speak harshly to neighbors,' crusty to customers; grow nervous, spoil a job, get into a fret and come home to din- ner in a fever ; look coldly on wife, spurn the ba- by, and grieve all hearts, all because wife or daugliter could not get up early and help Biddy get the breakfast. I'm glad the robin woke me ; glad I know how to work. "Why, girls,. girls, you are up too late ; bless you ! you don't know how much you lose by in- dulging this last half-hour in bed. You must get up early if you would have a full measure of beau- ty— bright eyes and rosy cheeks. I was just think- ing how happy getting up in good season and look- ing to family comforts, will make us all. Only think, Minnie, dear, how nice to have everything right when we all set down to our morning meal — coffee clear, not a biscuit too brown, steak in order, every plate, knife and fork in its place ; smiling faces, grateful hearts, and pleasant mirth, not a complaint, not a murmur, and all go away with the consciousness, sitting like a singing bird among the fresh green leaves of family affection, warbling a sweet melody, that they are loved and cared for. 0 ! if there is a thought that will make a man cheerful, kind, generous, and honest, it is to know that he has a tidy, careful, industrious wife and children at home. If such a man can be loved — Minnie, take down the toasting fork, dear, and toast your pa a slice of bread — never mind the boys, they are young and can eat bread without toasting. Always think of your father, cliild ; look to his comfort morning, noon and night, that the lilessingof his old age may fall upon you. Nettie, love — Ah , Tia ! — here is my baby — 'No ! ' — Yes you are, if sis years have curled your little pate — come, kiss me now ; pretty big to kiss, ;iin"t you ? There, let sister Nettie wash you while mamma takes up the breakfast. Tommy, get the chairs round the table — call the flimily." flletljamcs' JBrpartmnit, ^rts, ^t. An Extraordinary L.aiip. — Among the liyt of pa- tents is one taken out by Mr. E. Whele, for a can- dle lamp of very novel character. The lamp has a dial or clock face, and, as the candle burns, the hands mark the hours and minutes correctly, and a hammer strikes the time. As a chamber light for a sick room, it marks the time, and can be set to strike at any given periods, when the patient ■ requires attention. As a night-light it marks the time on a transparent dial, and rings an alarum at any stated period, and in ten minutes afterwards extinguishes the candle, or will continue to strike every second until the party gets out of bed and stops it ; and, if a very heavy sleeper requires to be roused, it will fire off a percussion cap. As a table lamp it marks the time and strikes the hours, and has a regulator and index, by which may be ascertained the amount of light and economy of consumption of the various makers. And all this is effected with very little machinery, which is of the most simple kind. — Foreign paper. Marbleized Iron. — The use of iron, in its ap- plication to building purposes, seems to be daily extending; its durability of ornament for archi- tectural adornment, without much increasing the cost, recommends it above all other materials. A new application of it has just been made by the New York jNIarbled Iron \Vorks, in the manufac- ture of Marbleized Iron, which has all the beauty and variety of colors that marble itself exhibits. The iron appears ■ to be enameled ; and the choicest kinds of marble fof IMantels, Columns and Table Tops are imitated so closely, tliat the ordinary eye cannot detect the difference. The great advantages of this article are its c/i£a/nie55 — it is produced at about one-third the cost of marble, and in various shapes and forms, according to the taste of the Plu'cha.ser ; its durability and capability of resist- ing a greater degree of heat. Neither acids nor oils affect it, in which respect it has a decided ad- vantage over marble. The beauty and utility of this manufactured ar- ticle will make it a valuable and important sub- stitute for marble. — Boston Journal. m^ The caloric ship is to go into dock at New l^)rk this week, for coppering, and as soon as that job is finished, will iiiiike her engineer's trial trip. Her engines have driven her wheels all day at a speed of nearly 14 miles per hour. U^" Every time you avoid doing that which is wrong, you increase your inclination to do that which is right. 54 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. Bom's Pi-pavtment. WINTER SPORTS. The summer is ended, the autumn is gone, And winter, stern wiuter, is fast coming on — We see him ndvnnciiij;, his step is not slow, His cap and his mantle are covered with snow; His locks and his beard are white with the frost, And forth from his nostrils the Hakes are tossed; He storms, and he blusters, and makes us to quail, And (lee from his pitsence when in such a gale. Yet the storm will blow over, go down with the sun, And then comes the season for pleasure and fun. Though his head is so hoary and visage so grim, There's a smile on his lip, and his eye is not dim; The boys they all greet him with frolicsome joy, With a toss of the cap, and a "Welcome, old boy! Our sleighs are all ready, our skates we will don. And cut up our capers when the ice we are on." And the lads and the lasses for sleigh-rides inclined. With their hoods and mufflers and beaux to their mind, They huddle together in an omnibus sleigh, By the light of the moon they are riding away — The merry bells ringing, while story and song. With clear ringing lanjjhter, come floating along. The stars they look down fro.ni their home in the sky, And winter, stern winter, just twinkles his eye. We enter our dwelling — what comfort is here — The coal burning brightly our spiiils to cheer; The table well spread, with plenty 'tis crowned, And those that we love, they cluster around. Our Father in Heaven, bless basket and store. And give us a heart to remember the poor — While we from thy bounty such blessings receive, O, teach us to feel 'tis more blessed to give. Pousrfikeepsie Telegraph. THE YOUNG TRAVBLIiER. Henry was travelling alone. He had left his parents and home in New York, and was on his way to '-the far west." It was no small matter for a boy of fifteen to take such a journey, with no one to direct and advise him. But he carried with him as a sacred treasure, the counsels of his ]nous parents, and his reUgious principles. "When I paid my fare on the boat," he wrote to his mother, "the captain and I could not make the change ; and we arranged it so that I owed him ten cents. In trying to get change, I went to a man who asked what I wanted with ten cents. I replied, 'To pay the captain a debt.' 'Pshaw!' said he, 'I wouldn't pay — never pay a debt, if you can help it. It's bad policy.' I told him I thouglit it right to be honest ; and besides, I had no idea I should in the end be ten cents poorer fqj paying. I soon got the change and paid the cap- tain. "It turned out tliat ten cents paid saved me six dollars and sixty cents. When in Albany, about twenty minutes before the departure of the train for Buifalo, I recollected that though I paid to BuSlilo, the captain of the boat had given me no ticket beyond Albany. I told the gentleman who gave me the change, and he accompanied me back to the boat. Tlic captain having heard the cir- cumstances, asked if I was the boy that paid him the ten cents. I replied, 'Yes.' 'Well,' said he, 'here is a ticket.' I saw that 'honesty is the best policy,' and felt the value of my father's counsels, and the great kindness of God in giving me such parents." — American Messenger. ^brcrtisiiig Dtpavtment. 33" A limited number of advertisements of an appropriate character will be inserted in the monthly Farmer at the fol- lowing RATES. For one square of li lines, one insertion -SljOO For eoch subsequent insert! n ,50 The above rates will be chaiged for all advertisements, whether longer or shorter. Pure Black fi Fowls. A few |)airs chiiife lilick i>p:ini.=li Towls, raised Irorii stork imported this season. For sale by THOMAS TIIACIIER, .Jr., at the Fulton Iron Fonndrv, South Roslon. Oct. In, 1852. Sm">-.3 AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE AND SEED STORE, qUINCY HALL, OVER THE MARKET, BOSTON. THE Proprietors having recently enlarged their Warehouse, and increased their works at Worcester, would respect- fully invite the attention of Planters and Dealers in AGRI- CULTURAL & HORTICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, GAR- DEN and FIELD SEEDS, &.C., to their stock, comprising the largest and best assortnient to be found in the United Sta'es, which are offered at low prices. Of PLOUGHS — we have the greatest variety of kinds and sizes. Improved Sod Ploughs, for flat furrows — improved Scotch Ploughs for lapped furrows — improved Stubble Ploughs, which are especially adapted to deep tillage, or varying from 6 to 12 inches in depth. Self-sharpening, Hill Side, Sub-soil, Double Mould, Corn, Cotton and Rice Ploughs. Cylinder Hay Cutters, Smith's Patent Lever Gale, and oth- ers. Patent Corn Shellers, with and without Separators. Seed Sowers, of various sizes and prices. Batr.helder's patent Corn Planter, improved. Fanning Mills of various sizes. Horse Powers, Threshing Machines, thermometer Churns, Robbins' patent Centrifugal Churn, Cylinder Churn, Dash Churn, Corn Planters, together with almost every article wanted on the Plantation, Farm or Garden. Illustrated Catalogues sent gratis on application, post paid. RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO Boston and Worcester, Mass., Jan. 1, 1652 tf Choice Fowls. The subscriber offers for sale a few pairs of each of the following breeds of Domestic Fowls, viz : White and Buff Shanghaes, Gold and Silver Spangled Polands, Bolton _ -fj-i Gray and Black Spanish; also, large Virgi- ~V"-ki^!^^7^ nia Turkeys and Bremen Geese. These fowls are all very fine, the spangled fowls beautiful. H H. LITTLE. East Marshfleld, Oct. 30, 1852. tf-l Garden Seeds. WE respectfully solicit the attention of purchasers of GAR- DEN SEEDS to our extensive stock, which we offer for sale. We have all the sorts of Vegetable Seeds that have proved worthy of cultivation; also, Grain, Grass and Flower Seeds. Ali the varieties are raised and selected expressly for our trade, and we do with confidence recommend Ihein to all who desire to procure seeds that will prove true to their names. O" Catalogues gratis, on ai)pIication. RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO., .Ian. I. Over Quincy Market, Boston. For Sale. A few extra large and hundsome Dom- iniques for sale cheap if applied for soon. EDWARD ABORN, No. 30 South Water Street, »j. Providence, R. I. - Dec. 27, 1852. Bound Yolunies. BACK VOLUMES ol ihe NEW ENGLAND FARMER, ele- gantly bound in Muslin, Gilt and Embossed, are now for sale at this office. Boston, March 20 1853. JJEW ENGLAND FARMER. 55 The F«armers' Library. JUST RECEIVED, the following assortment of Agricultural ami Horticulmr.il Hooks, embracing the standard works o( eminent A meritnn and European writers, on the Farm, Ihf Orchard, the Garden, &c. &c. PMCE. $],00 75 1,00 25 1,00 75 50 2,50 75 1,00 Cattle, by Stevens, American Farm Book, by Allen, Farmer's Treasure, by Faulkner and Smith, Dana's Muck Manual, Prize Essay on Manures, by Dana, American Muck Hook, by Browne, Lectures on Practical Agriculture, by .Johnstone, Elements of Scientific Agriculture, by Norton, Piinciples of Agriculture, by Thaer, Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, Agriculture for Schools, by Blake, Catechism of Agriculture and Chemistry, by John- stone and Norton, American Agriculiurist, by Allen, Liebig's Complete Work on Chemistry, Farmer's and Emigrant's Hand Book, by Marshall, Home for all, by Fowler, Book of the Farm, l,y Stephens and Skinner, Cottage and Farm Houses, by Downing, Downing's Country Houses, Rural Architecture, by Allen, Downing's Landscape Gardening and Rural Archi- tecture, Downing's Cottage Residt-nces, Fruit Garden, by Barry, Complete Gardener and Farmer, by Fessenden, Bridgeman's Gardener's Assistant, Bridgeman's Kitchen Gardener's Instructor, American Fruit Culrurist, by Thomas, Gardener and Complete Florist, Florist's Guide, by Bridgeman, New England Fruit Book, by Ives, Youatt and Martin on Cattle, bv S Rose Culturist, Johnson's Gardener's Dictionary, by Landreth, Rural Economy, by Boussingault, American Rose Culturist, Bigelow's Plants of Boston, Genera of Pluits of the U. S., by Gray, 2 vols. GrMy's Botany, Parnell's Chemistry, New England Farmer, by Cole, Ladies' Guide and Skilful Housewife, by Mrs. Abel Hive and Honey Bee, by Richardson, ' Bee Keeper's Manual, hy Miner, Bird Fancier, by Browne, paper 25 cents, Townley on Bees, American Poultry Yard, by Browne, American Poulterers' Companion, by Bement, American Fowl Breeder, by Moore, American Herd Book, by Allen, American Shepherd, by Motrin, Domestic Animals, by Allen, Diseases of Animals, by Cole, Hints to Sportsmen, by Lewis, Dadd's Anatomy and Physiology o ftlie Horse, Mason's Farrier and Stud Book, by Skinner, Management of Sheep, by Canfleld, Yowatt on the Pig, Knowlson's Complete Cow Doctor, Horse Doctor, Guenon's Treatise on iMilch Cows, Treatise on Hot Houses, by Leuchars, Allen on the Grape, Schenck's Text Book, Bteck's Book of Flowers, Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees. For sale at the Publishers' prices bv RUGGLES, NOURSE MASON & Co., Quincy Hall, (over lie Market,) Boston. April 3, 1852. tf* 25 1,00 1,00 75 50 4,00 2,00 4,00 1,25 3,50 2,00 1,25 1,25 2,00 50 1,00 25 50 56 1,25 38 1,50 1,00 25 1,25 12,00 2,00 1,00 1,00 25 25 50 50 50 1,00 1,00 25 3,00 1,00 75 50 1,25 1.00 1,25 1,00 60 25 25 38 1,00 1,00 50 75 1,50 •sliire Stock. about one year old. Jan. 1, 1853. Wanted, a thorough bred Ayrshire Bull, and Heifer, not exceeding two years old. Any person having such for sale, or very likely Calves, will jilease apply to the sub- scriber at this office. O" Also wanted, a fine native Bull, JOHN RAYNOLDS. Com Shellers. TMPROVED YANKEE CORN SIIELLERS, with and with- ± o t separators These machines are adapted to large and on^nr?Ti-"%°'^ '"'7' ^'H ?*'*'" "1"'^'>- -^"J "ot liable to get out of order. For sj,lf-^^yho,e.a!e and retail, over the market, Nov. 27, 1852. ^^GGLE^, NOURSE, MASON & CO. Topsfield lingeries. PREMIUM TREES AND SCIONS. The subscriber respectfully invites his friends and customers (o his large collection of FRUIT TREES, embracing all tie choicest varieties worth cultivation,— consisting of Apple, Pear, Peach, Plum, Cherry and Quince, from three to five years from the bud- thrifty ai.d handsome. Also, about 200 e.xtra size Pear trees, 8 to lO years from the bud, all in a bearing slate, on pear bottoms. Also, about 1500 Pear trees, on pear bottoms, from 3 to 4 years from the bud, very thrifty and of the choicest varieties. Also, Mountain Ash, 'Weeping Willows, Arbor VitsE, Fir Balsam, &c. ' (C? Scions cut to order, from 1500 stundard Apple ar.d Pear trees, many of which are in a full bearing s' ate, and fruited 130 varieties last year,— i,nd delivered free of charge at any of the Depots in Salem or Boston. W. G LAKE Topsfield, Jan. 1, 1653. tf Walnut Grove ]\iirsery. The subscribers would respeclfnlly inform their friends and the public, that they have on hand an unusually large stock of Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Peach, and other Trees. Also, Quinces, Currant.s, Raspberries, Grape- vines, &c., &c. Ornamental Trees, and Shrubs, Buckthorn Plants, &c. &c. Lot of Seedling Horse Chestnut, two years old. Lot of European Sycamore, two years old. Good plants of the new and improved high bush Blackberry the fruit of wlii(h is of enormous size Fine Apple Trees, three to five years' growth from bud sev- en to nine feet high, $25 per hundred. We devote ourselves solely to the raising of trees ; they re- ceive our strict personal attention; we are therefore able to warrant every article true to name. Those who intend purchasing large quantities of Apple Trees are respectfully invited to call before purchasing, and examine our stock, as it is large,and doubtless unsurpassed by any in the vicinity. Trees delivered in Boston free of expense, packed if desired. Catalogues sent to /ios«-;)Oirf applicants. All orders thank- fully received and promptly executed. JAMES HYDE & SON. Newton Centre, Mass., Oct. 23, 1852. 6w*2 Bolton Grey Fowls. The subscriber offers for sale a few pairs of these fHvorite fowls, which may be had by applying, post paid, to him at Dorchester, Mass. GEORGE DORR. Jan. 1, 1653. 4w United States & Foreign Patent Agency. Office, 39 State Street, corner of Congress Street. THE undersigned, late Principal Examiner in the United States Patent Ofiice,at W'astiington, D. C ,oflrers his ser- vices to those about making application for Patents, with the hope that his long official connection with that Ofiice, and his familiarity with its rules and practice, will enable him to give satisfaction to those who may employ liim. Those unacquainted with him are referred to the following testimonials from his late colleagues. SAMUEL COOPER. The undersigned, Principal and Assi>tant Examiners in the United States Patent Office, have for several years been well acquainted with Mr. Samuel Cooper. laieLy a Principal Ex- aminer in this Office; and take pleasure in slating that he is a gentleman of the highest moral character, of unquestioned knowledge in the business and practice of the office, smd that his scientific attainments are such as eminently fit him for the business in which he is about to engage. HENRY B. RENWICK, i „ . . , L. D. GALE, i Pficipal J. H. LANE, ^Examiners, T. R. PEALE, 1 THOMAS T. EVERETT, [Assistant F. SOUTHGATE .-iMlTII, (Eiam'rs WM. CHAUNCY LANGDON,! Boston, Oct. 9, 1852. 3m* Bncktliorn. 1 (\ Ci A A^UCKTHORN, for sale bv iU^UUU JAMES HYDE & SON. Oct. 23, 1852. 4w*'' 56 I^EW EN'GLAND FARMER. Jan. THE FARMER'S 1853 1 ALMANAC. 1 1853 - 2i 6 i ^ A ►ft !aj • 1 1 CO 0 H_ ^_ 1 < ^2 - 2 ;i 4 5 6 Tj 8 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 e-i r^ ■J 1(1 11 12 13 1415 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 'A Hi 17 IS 19 •20 '21 22 17 18 19 2U •21 22 23 ~. ■;o 24 .11 25 20 27 28 29 24 31 ■25 26 27 28 29 30 1 0 3 4 5 1 9 3 4 5 6 > ^ C 7 8 9 10 llil2 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 a 2; V6 14 ir, 10 n I81I9 14 15 10 17 18 19 •20 zo ei 24 ■25 '•26 21 •22 23 2-i 25 26 27 ?§ 27 2n • i • 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 t: (i 7 n 9 10 111 12 4 5 0 7 8 9 10 ;v5 lo 14 15 10 17 is: 19 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 t3 < 20 11 22 2:1 24 25 •iO 18 19 20 21 '22 24 fS * 27 ■■iS •29 HO 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 — 1 '2 1 -; 3 4 5 0 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 10 n 12 1:5 14 15 10 9 10 11 12 13 14 10 c !^ 17 Its lu 20 21 22 23 10 17 IS 19 20 21 22 < 24 ^f) 20 27 2S 2'.l 30 23 24 2o 20 2'i' 28 29 30 31 1 •2 P. 4 5 fi 1 1 ■2 3 4 5 !2; fH 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 6 7 s 9 10 11 12 < 15 10 17 IS 19 20 21 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 < « 22 '!•> •24 25 20 27 28 20 21 22 •23 •24 '25 20 K •29 ;«) M 27 28 29 30 ~ 1 2 3 4 1 2 0 rA 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 O ?1 12 i;! 14 15 10 17 18 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 0 D 19 20 ■21 22 2:> 24 25 IS 19 '20 21 2o 24 J^ •20 27 28 29 30 . 26 20 27 2S 29 30 :;l ^ NEW ENGLAND EARMEE Is published on the first of every month, by John Ravnolds and JotL NouRSE, at Quincy Hall, South Market St., Boston. SIMON BROWN, Editor. FREDERICK HOLBROOK, ? A HENRY F. FRENCH, 3 I ssnciate Editors. CONTENTS OP THIS NUMBER. The New Year Page 9 A valuable Book of Reference 10 Great yield of Carrots— The Season 11 The use of Guano — Profits of Fowls 12 Advantages of Warm Weather 1'^ Peculiar Difficulties of New England Farming 13 Harvest Hymn -Our January Number 15 Lyceum Lectures— Two Acres 16 The Season of 1852 at Wilinington and vicinity... 18 State Board of Agriculture 19 Vegetation in California 20 Corn Song — A Siberian Winter 21 Winter Lectures — New Source for Good Fruit 22 Sound Maxims in Farming 23 Susceptibility of Animals to Atmospheric Changes li Gathering and Preserving Winter Fruit 24 Lime -Guiiio— Bone Dust— Lime in Agriculture 2) Warts on-Plurn Trees— Treatment of Russian Horses 26 Honey Bees— Raising and Selling Milk 27 House Plants in Winter 28 Flo wins Orchards — Apples 29 Great Yield — United States Agricultural Society- 30 Inventory of New Hampshire 31 Cooking and Digestion- Lyceum Lecture 34 Farmuig — Ctiange of Timber from Clearing Land 35 Harvesrili mn— Apples as Food for Stock 36 The Rockingham Fair 37 A Farmer's Fireside Talk— Growing Corn— Hilling up 38 Laying out Surfaces — Officers elected 39 Domestication of Wild Animals 39 Ventilation— Markham's Farewell to Husbandry 40 Apiiles for Fattening Stock— Poultry Raising <* Birds and Insecis 42 Premiums awarded at Framinghain Cattle Show 43 To the friends of Agriculture in Mass. — Sops in Wine 44 Duranility of Timber — Ag iculture a Chemical Art 45 Hay Cubic Feet in a ton— Progression 46 Prejudice against Farming 46 Diseased Plum Trees 47 Gooseberries— Agricultural Lectures 46 Important to the Farmer 49 Pidrauli(; Ram— White Clover 52 Ladies' Department ■''2 Mechanics' Department, Arts, &c 53 Boys' Department 54 ILLUSTRATIONS. Hunt Russet Apple 17 Bull— Earl of Seaham -33 Canker Worms 45 Vegetable Cutter 48 0° Terms, gl,00 per annum in advance. Ijj" All subscriptions to commence with the volume, Jan. 1. The Farmer, U devoted exclusively to Agriculture, Hor- ticulture, and their kindred Arts and Sciences; making a neat volume of 576 octavo pages, embellished with numerous en- gravings. It may be elegantly bound in muslin, embossed and gilt, at 2i cts. a volume, if left at the office of publication. 0= Also published at the same office every Saturday, on a large handsome folio sheet, the NEW ENGLAND FARMER, (WEEKLY,) An Independent Agricultural Family JSeuspnper. The News and Miscellaneous departments under the charge of WILLIAM SIMONDS, will include a full and careful re- port of the news of the Markets, and the news of the week, such as Domestic, Foreign and Marine Inteliigence, Congres- sional and Legislative proceedings, Temperance and Religious Intelligence, and a general variety of Literary and Miscellane- ous matter, adapted to family reading, con prising more use- ful and valuable reading matter than any other Agricultural Newspaper published in New England. Everything of a hurt- ful or even doubtful tendency will be carefully e.\c!uded from its columns. [nr Terms $2,00 per annum in advance. The monthly contains nearly the same matter as the Agri- cultural department of the weekly. [13= Postmasters and others, who will forward fcmr iie'w subscribers on the above named terms, for either publication, shall receive a fifth copy gratis for one year. Jlf AH orders and letters should be addressed, ;;iosZ-;)aici, RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, QiiNCY Hall, South Makket Street, Boston. 03= Postage.— The postage on the New England Farmer, monthly, is U cents per quarter, or 6 cents ver year, to any part of the United Stales, to be paid in advance at the office where the same is received. Interesting to Farmers. THE subscriber has been induced at the request of several of his friends in the farming interest to enter into the manu- facture of SHELL LIME, for farming purpos;es, and is no-w prepared to deliver at any of the railroads in Boston or Charles- town, the at tide in lots of from 10 to 100 barrels at the low pi ice of 35 cts. per barrel, or if taken at the kiln at Medford Street, Charleslown, at 30 cents. Also, for sale, 100 barrels of ThomastonLime, in lots to suit purchasers. Applicition may be made at No. 70 State Street. Boston, or at the Kiln, situated on Gould's Wharf, (so called) Charles- town. JAMES GOULD, Agent. DIRECTIONS FOR USING. Place a layer of meadow mud of fiom 10 to 12 inches, then put on lime from 2 to 3 inches. Dissolve the salt in water, throw the liquid on to slack the lime, then another layer ol mud, or peat, and so on alternately until the heap is from 4 to 6 feet in height. Proportion, 4 barrels of lime and one bushel of salt to the cord of mud; the salt nii.'ied with the lime forms the muriate, and this mixture forms the valuable compound; this by decomposing the humid acid which is contained more or less in all meadow land, forms the muriate of lime — one oi the most soluble substances, and if mi.\ed with other volatile manures, prevents the escape and fixes the ammonia, which if i.xed with lime alone would evaporate and render it value- less. (jj= The shell lime made into mortar, with three barrels of sand to each barrel of lime, will make a cement of better qual- ity than the best of Thomaston lime, for cellar walls or stone woik of any kind. Nov. 6, 1852. 3m Pure Suffolk Pigs. The subscriber has now on hand pure blooded Suffolk Pigs for sale. Purchasers ordering them from a distance for breed- ers, may rely on getting the best patterns of the breed, carefully selected from dif- ferent litters. J. L. LOVERING. Cluechee, Vt., May 29, 1852. tf ^^00^:^^® FAf^ DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KIXnTDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. VOL. V. BOSTON, FEBRUARY, 1853. NO. 2. RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, PsorRiETOr-s. Office. ...QuiNCY Hall. FRED'K HOLBROOK. ^ Associate •BROWN, Editor. npivnv p pniriv-.MjJr? ' HENRY F. FRENCH, 5 Edi'iors. CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY. Thfe Saxons called Februnry Sproul-hele, because in this month kele-wurto began to throw out whole- some young sprouts, which were the chief winter- wurte for the sustenance of the husbandman in those days. The "kele" being the well-known kale of the cabbage tribe. The Saxons also called this month "Sc)lmonath,"' which means "pan-cake month," because in the coux-se of it, cakes were offered by the pagan Saxons to the sun; and "Sol," or "soul," signiliedyboc? or cakes. Well, there is some difference between to-day, and the times when those old sun-worshippers lived. They would be horrified to see us eat the cakes which they offered perhaps as a propitiatory sacrifice, and then jump up and light our pipes by the sun ! Notwithstanding, we think eating the cakes a more rational use of them than sacrificing them to old Sol, who looks as though he had not only a plen,ty of good cakes, but roast beef too. We hope, therefore, our people will eat thejr cakes themselves, and grow lusty upon them, maugre the Saxons, and their sun-worship. Striking changing have taken place in the busi- ness of the country, and have broken up some of the pleasant old customs of the rural districts, and which are mourned over as "halcyon days and scenes never to return." Clare, in Jais Shepherd's Calendar, written many years ago, describes tlie gatherings of farmers in old England much as the farmers still collect in many places in this country. He says : — "Now musing o'er the changing scene, Farmers behind the tavern-screen Collect; — with elbow idly press'd On hob, reclines the corner's guest, Reading the news, to mark again The rise of beef, or price of grain. Pufling the while his red-tipt pipe. Or telling stories, over ripe. Yet, winter's leisure to regale, Hopes better times, and sips his ale." Once, the country roads, all througli New Eng- land, were jubilant with merry bells and voices through the winter months. Then the moun- tains and vales poured forth their hardy son?, seeking distant markets for the products of their summer's toil. Lines of box sleighs filled with beef, pork, mutton and venison, cheese, butter, and honey, were impelled by fleet and powerful horses, skimming the plains and threading the valleys and presenting a most animating scene. There were taverns in those days ; and in the cheerful light of their log-fires, after night had set in, gathered the hardy sons of the mountains. Here they fortified the "corporeal man" from their boxes of cold roast fowl, apple-pies and dough- nuts, and while the storm blew furious without, they grew warm with sympathy, and with the log Sre within. And now this scene reminds some one of a be- nighted traveller, who lost his way in the moun- tains, and, but for his faithful dog, had perished in these lonely regions. He tells the tale, — and then each, in turn, relates his story of some peril- ous adventure amid the snowy mountains in the winter. And there was "flip" and "sling," in those days, and these went round sometimes, with the "merry tale," until the travellers wei'e "unco' glorious." But as their pitchers grew light and the flame decreased, their eyes grew dull, and one after another their heavy tread might be heard approaching the bed, "Where ihortals the sweets of forgetfulness prove." All this was a part of their Farm Work for February. Now how changed the scene ! Through yon- der valley comes a strange looking monster, emit- ting smoke and flame, plunging into drifts and scattering them like chaff from its path, and bear- ing along to market, in its capacious storehouse, the products of an hundred fiirms ! It comes at all times, and seasons — laughs at the elements, and makes night hideous with its unearthly screams, its gleaming eyes and fretful jar. And this is the way the locomotive does this part of the Farm Work for February in 1853 ! 58 NEW EJfGLA^D FAflMM. I'Ea- But there are other things which the locoiaotive cannot do. A part of the farm-work of this month, IS, to read a great deal froio the best books which treat of your particuhir business. There are plen- ty of books, two dozen of which would be sufficient for a whole town. Among them are Davy's Agri- cultural Chemistry ; The Muck Book ; Rural Economy ; Bridgman's Young Gardner's Assist- ant ; Fessenden's Complete Gardener and Farmer; Nash's Progressive Farmer ; Buel's Farmer's Com- panion; all Downing's works ; Harris's Work on Insects Injurious to Vegetation, and others, which you will find referred to on reading these. It is as important for the farmer to read these and other books of similar character, if he means to understand his profession, as for the lawyer to read Coke upon Littleton, or Blackstone. This reading is an indispensable part of his farm em- ployment, or amusement, and will help to increase his crops as he understands the principles of growth in the plants he is rearing. Then another important duty to be attended to in February, is, to see that your ehildren are reaping the largest possible benefit from their at- tendance at school. Feel interested yourselves in the studies they are pursuing ; converse with them often, and impress on then* mrnds the impor- tance of close application and studious habits, while young. They will catch vigor from your kind inquiries, and climb the "Hill of Science," pleasantly in your company. When these duties are well discharged, a neiv pleasure will be found in looking after the stock and poultry, in sledding the fuel and timber, in preparing the farm implements, the plow, harrow, yokes, carts, hay-wagons, rakes, scythes, &c. Then the fencing materials must be collected for the hill or river-lot, the posts morticed and rails split, or stones drawn when the snow is thin. Save every moment from spring labor by drawing out as much manure as possible before the ground is soft, and other caress-press upon you. AVhat results have you arrived at in your ex- periment of cutting fodder for your stock? lias not your bay of hay reminded you of the widow's cruse and meal barrel, by holding out beyond any former time'! Make your experiments as exact as possible and keep accui'ate accounts, so that your neighbors may have the benefit of them. Bear in mind that scions must be cut before the sap moves, and when cut, place them in a damp, cool place, so that they shall not shrivel. If you have trees that actually need trimming, do that, too, before the sap moves. Use sharp tools and leave every wound smooth a,nd in a workman- like manner. Are your accounts all settled for 1852? Unset- tled accounts arc not pleasant subjects for medita- tion in the beautifvil fields ! The time draws nigh when spring work will de- mand all your attention ; so let us be up and do- ing-, and ready for "old Sol" by the time he has? warmed the soil aufSciently to receive the seed. Fof the New England Farmer. THfi lllOHKrESS OF LAND PROPORTIONED TO THE QUAHTITT OF STOCK KEPTy Mr. Editor : — Whatever may be said of the im- portance of guano, bone-dust, poudrette and othef natural and artificial fertilizers of soils, it cannot be doubted that, with respect to the great majori- ty of farmers, they must depend, principally if not entirely, on the manures they make upon their own farms. Purchased manures of all kinds are always expensive, and will rarely be o1)tarned to any considerable extent. It behoves the farmer, then, to manufacture all the manure he possibly can, in his own various laboratories. He must keep his cattle o.nd swine constantly at work, and by supplying them with the requisite materials, he m.'^ always make them self-sustaining animals, by the quantities of manure they will create. And as one important means of enriching his farm, he should lieej) as much stock as he can and keep them well, for the law of progress in the case is, that keeping all Ite can will give him the means of keep- ing more. By observing this law, his means ac^ cumulate, and his ability to keep more is continu- ally increasing. It is on this principle that some farmers, in the lapse of a single decade of years, convert a desert into a garden, and on the most stei'ile soil rear up around <^hem a luxuriant vege- tation, and a riehnesa of scenery which "Shen- stone might have envied." While writing these lines, and in strong corroboration of the doctrine here laid down, the following paragraph in a Eu- ropean work fell under my notice, and quoting it endeth this chapter^ "The real source o-f the great fertility of the great Lombardian plain is now known to be its high cultivation. In the triangle included between Milan, Lodiand Pavia, each side of which is little more than twenty miles in length, there are, it is estimated, not fewer than 100,000 head of cattle, 100,000 pigs, and 25,000 horses, in addition to the human population-. It is to the immense supplies of manure, solid and liquid, obtained from these sources, and not to the refuse of the towns them- selves, that the richness of the soil is mainly attri- butable." D. c, Waltham, Jan. 21, 1858. * For the Neiu England Farmer^ MUOK— THORN AND QUINCE STOCK. Messrs. Editors : — I intend in the spring to set- an orchard of early peach and other choice early fruit trees, — my land is a hill of moderate eleva- tion, the soil is rather better than the term "sandy or gravelly knoll" would imply. I have plenty of peat or muck, but not enough that has been ex- posed a sufficient length of time to the atmosphere. I should like to be advised througli your valuable paper, or otherwise, as soon as convenient, what I had better mix with nearly green muck to make it suitable to apply to such land, and for such pur- poses, (a.) Is tlie thorn as good as the quince to graft the pear into? We have plenty of them around us growing wild and thrifty. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 59 Any advice or remarks in regard to the above, would be very gratifying to me, and I doubt not it would to many others. Yours, Painter, turned Farmer. Milford, Jan. 17, 1853. /Remarks. — See article in another column on "Composting with Muck." {a.) If you must use "green muck," mix with iime. In another heap, try unleached ashes. If you can procure tanner's scrapings, try a heap with those. But nest August throw out a heap 'of the mud that shall give you fifty cords in ad- vance, and keep it good from year to year. Will some person who has had experience, an- swer the question asked above, whether the thorn is as good as the quince to graft the pear into ? IiEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS, First Meetings— Tuesdav Evening, Jan. 18, 1853. In accordance with the custom for several years past, those members of our Legislature and others interested in agricultural matters, assembled in the Representatives' Hall, at the State House, on Tuesday evening, for the purpose of forming them selves into an Agricultural Society. The meeting was called to order by Amasa Walker, of North Brookfield, and H. H. Cook, of Berkshire, appointed temporary chairman, and W. W. Hill, of Boston, Secretary ;)ro tern. Upon taking the chair, Mr. Cook announced the meeting as open for business. At the suggestion of Mr. Brown, of the N. E. Parmer, the full organization cf the society was postponed until the next meeting, and the time devoted to an informal discussion. This course was adopted on account of the absence of the Secretary of last year, with the records ; and many gentlemen who have heretofore taken part in the meetings, which rendered a permanent organization inconvenient. Mr. Brown suggested as a topic for discussion, a resolution setting forth the importance of the agricultural interest in this Commonwealth, and the need of a greater diflFusion of agricultural knowledge among the people. He then went on to remark that in mechanical and manufacturing pursuits we find those interest- ed combining for the purpose of mutual benefit. If their business becomes depressed, or meets with new developments, they immediately come togeth- er to consult on the causes of the fluctuation and changes in their callings, and take such measures as wisdom dictates. Not so with the farmer He has overlooked the advantages of this combination and has relied solely on his individual knowledge and intelligence. _If a man is to follow the sea, the law, or the ministry, he should and does prepare himself by af course of study for the profession in life which ho has chosen. But is it so with the farmer? He reads but few of the numerous agricultural books which exist in our libraries, acquires little scientific knowledge, and consequently makes but little pro- gress in his calling,— falling into all the errors of those who have preceded him, ^d striking out but few new improvements. Mr. Walker concurred in the resolution offered by Mr. Brown. Agriculture is a very important interest in the Commonwealth, and much more so than is often supposed. Not only the farmers proper, but many mechanics own and cultivate tracts of land, and derive much of their income from this source. This fact calls for the dissem- ination of agricultural knowledge, and this knowl- edge must be carried to the people by means of agricultural associations. It may be asked why we need more information than our forefathers ? There are three stages in agriculture. The first is when the land is first cleared— then it is rich and fertile, and requires no artificial manuring. The second stage is that in which the soil becomes partially exhausted, and the farmer has to put into his land the manure which his own resources furnish him, and this suf- fices for a time. The next and last stage is when he is obliged to raise larger crops than his ordinary manure will enable him to do. We have reached this stage. Now, the question comes up, how is the farmer to increase his amount of manure ? In' order to answer this question, science must be con suited. Science must inform us what ingredients are necessary to replenish the soil, and enable us to produce the desired crops. The speaker had himself experienced this want of information, and had sought the aid of scientific men with success. He believed that nine-tenths of the farmers in the State were devoid of this important informa- tion. ■ What we want to know is, what we can do to bring back to productiveness our worn out lands. Mr. Weld, of Topsfield, believed that we must call science to the aid of agriculture. He wanted clearer knowledge as to the manner and extent of applying artificial manures. What proportion would be profitable? He had applied 100 bushels of ashes to the acre in moist, upland soil, and thought that amount necessary. He wanted sci- entific men to conduct experiments, and then make full, complete and honest statements in rcTjird to the modus operandi. ' Mr. Smith, of Hampshire, related some facts in support of the views of Mr. W. Mr. Walker, of Worcester, said that one great obstacle to the attainment of the object set forth this evening, was the diversity of circumstances appertaining to evils. Experiments that prove en- tirely successful in one part of the country, com^ pletely fail in another. There is no certaiotv 60 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. about it. He did not know how he could get that amount of information diffased throughout the country which is necessary to make a man a suc- cessful farmer. He believed that every farmer must be his own scientific experimenter. Hardly any two agree in their systems, showing that what one man finds to hia advantage may prove unprofitable to another. Every man must study the science of agriculture himself. No general principle can be laid down. What we want to know is how to make farming profitable. If a man has a farm which he can carry on with his own hands alone, he will make little money; but let him take a farm which requires extra help, and his profits will increase, for he will make a profit on his hired labor. We need enterprise'more than we do manure. Mr. Howe, of Southboro', inquired, if in getting a profit on the labor of those he employs, he did not prevent them from ever getting farms for them- selves ? He did not like that kind of enterprise which keeps oth«r people down. The gentleman then went on to say that he had employed ashes on a side hill of moist soil, and saw a great improvement in consequence; and then he applied it to another lot of similar soil and received no benefit whatever. Again, he had a lot of twelve acres, on six of which he had applied plaster to great advantage. He then applied it to the other six and received no benefit whatever. ' Mr. Walker, of Worcester, said in reply to Mr. Howe's question in regard to profit on hired labor, that there were a great number of laborers coming into this country who were without the means and incompetent to carry on fiirming, and were glad to obtain any kind of employment. He saw no harm in making use of this labor in the way he had intimated. Mr. Amasa Walker believed that this failure of experiment might be easily explained. Ptshaps the manures applied were of poor quality, or the season unfavorable to its use. He had once ap- plied plaster to a piece of land, but the first year he could perceive no benefit from it, and came to the conclusion that it needed to be applied the sec- ond year. He didso, yet he could hardly perceive its effects. He could only discover a small, white clover springing up. He continued the application, and was satisfied that it paid well. This, he thought an illustration of the need of more accu rate scientific information. Mr. Rowley, of Egremont, said, he also felt the need of more specific, practical knowledge in re gard to the production of crops, and the proper management of the land. He did not know but that the farmers of the State needed enterpi-ise, but he did not believe that it was the number of acres that he cultivated, that made a man rich The oldsayingis, "a little farm well tilled." He thought there was a lack of system. Our farmers do not, like the merchants, keep an account of the expense of raising their various crops, and thus be enabled to ascertain which were the most pro- fitable. He thought farmers should take more pains to interchange views with one another, in re- gard to their interests. Perhaps one obstacle in the way of improvement is a prejudice against book farming. For the New England Farmer. CELERY. BY W. CLIFT. Mr. Editor : — A correspondent in your Decem- ber num1>er inquires for the best method of secur- ing celery for the winter. As I have cultivated this plant for the .last six years, with very good success , I can give you the results of my experience . It requires more attention than most other vegeta- bles, and the growing of good celery is a much more difficult matter than its preservation. This is the- chief difficulty about it, to attend to its wants often, and seasonably. If you wish early celery you must sow your seed in March in a hot-bed, and put your plants in the trench in June or early in July. If you only care for it late, sow in May in the open ground. Select a moist rich spot for your seed bed, thoroughly pre- pared. The finer the tilth of the mould the better your seed will germinate. An old mat thrown over the bed, or any light covering of grass or weeds, will aid the sprouting. This covering should be removed, as soon as the plants are well up. As soon as the plants are an inch high, they should be pricked out in a bed of rich mould thoroughly prepared. A compost of muck and night soil, or muck and hen dung, is a very good manure for the . bed. The plants should be set in drills, six inches apart, and four inches in the drill. _ You cannot have good strong plants without pricking out. They should be kept free from weeds, and the soil should be stirred once a week until August. The selection of a suitable spot for the trenches is a matter of considerable importance. As celery needs a good deal of water, select a spot as near the watering place as possible. Your soil Jthould be two feet deep, and if there is not that depth of black loam you must prepare it in the trenches, for the occasion ; you may prepare _ your trenches for growing two or four rows, as suits your conve- nience. If for two rows, the trenches should be 18 inches wide, and 18 deep. I have tried various kinds of manure, feathers, hair, night soil, &c. I have obtained the best results from night sojl well mixed with loam of charcoal dust — but I attributed this to the fact that it was used in larger quanti- ties, than to any superiority in the manure. The hogs' hair, though used in small quantities, gave ve^ satisfactory results. But almost any manure will do, if it be thoroughly incorporated with the soil, in the bottom of the trenches. If you use stable dung the trenches should be half filledwith it, and thoroughly worked into the soil with a fork. Junius Smith, in the Patent Office Report, for 1845, gives the following directions for setting out the plants in the trench. "The plants should be trimmed about the crown, just at the top of the root ; all the young suckers taken off, leaving the plant trim and neat, with all its main stalks. With 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 61 a dibble, which should be as large as the handle of a spade, as tlie roots will now be of considerable size, begin at one end of the trench, with your face toward the other, and set in a single row of plants in the middle of the trench, and not less than six inches asunder ; water them well. No teetotaler loves water better than celery. It can- not have too much. The roots of this plant re- quire more room than is generally allowed them, as any one may see when they are taken up for the table. "Earthing up the plants should be delayed until they have attained a good size ; and then it requires care, especially the first time. I always get into the trench myself, and, holding the plant with all its stalks firmly in my left hand, with a short-lian- dled small hoe, draw the earth up around the plant without allowing it to come in between the stalks. When this is done, and the plants thus protected, you may, with a spade, strike off the edges of the trench, and partially fill it. As the plant grows, continue to earth up, and by the 1st of Nov. the plants will be two feet above the level of the earth, and of the size of a man's arm. "Sometimes, particularly if the season be dry, ■celery is liable to l?e attacked by a fly. In that case, you will see the tops of the celery turn brown and wither. The moment that symptom appears, no time is to be lost in calling the doctor, for the whole crop is at stake. The cause of the disease is the sting of a fly upon the leaves. The egg is deposited between the integuments of the leaf, and soon hatches into a small white worm — sometimes visible on opening the leaf to the naked eye, al- ways by the aid of the microscope. If not attend- ed to, the disease descends to the root and the whole plant falls a sacrifice. Amputate every dis- eased leaf, and early in the morning while the dew is on, sift on to the whole of the plants fi-esh slaked lime. One such powdering is generally suf- ficient, but if not, give them another dose, and the first rain that falls will wash the plants clean, and you will probably see them fresh, green, and stretching away toward maturity." As we have never had any diseased celery to doctor, we give this remedy for what it is worth. The disease is probably induced by drought. As our celery trenches stand close by a ditch where salt water flows, we have tried the brine upon them once a week, and found it gave the plants great luxuriance. We have grown plants a yard long. Wherever a garden is near the shore it will be worth while to try the experiment of salt watering. It is a marine plant, and must have salt in some shape in order to attain perfection. Prof. Mapes recommends salt in the compost prepared for it. He advises to put at least three inches of either of the following composts in the bottom of the trench- es. 1st. Well decomposed stable manure, with ten gallons of strong brine made from salt to each hall cord. 2d, One cord of peat, turf, meadow-muck and woods earth, which has been previously decom- posed by the salt and lime mixture, (3 bushels of lime slaked in water saturated with one bushel of salt) with one hundred pounds of Peruvian guano thoroughly mixed ten days before using." Celery is a delicious vegetable, and makes an agreeable variety upon the table during winter. Its use is chiefly 'confined to cities, because it re- quires some little skill to grow it, and gardeners in the suburbs can make it a paying crop. It might be introduced with advantage to every veg- etable garden. As to the preservation of celery, if you live near a market it is best to leave it to the market-man who sells it, buying only as you wish to use it. We have tried various methods of keeping it in a cellar, but have never succeeded well. Prof. Mapes recommended banking it in moist sand, and this will succeed as well as any thing. If you grow the article yourself you can keep it best in the trench- es where it grows. The trench that you design to use first, before the ground freezes solid for the winter, will be sufficiently protected by a covering of seaweed or refuse straw a foot thick. That which you wish to preserve till January and later, should have a little house made over it. If your earthing up is not too high, two wide boards set upon their edges on each side of the plants, and then inclined till they meet at the top, like a letter A, will answer very well. The boards should have a thick covering of old straw or hay, and in mild weather should lie left open at the ends for airing- We have fine celery preserved in this way at this date. Last winter we set a crotch at each end of the trench, put a pole upon the crotches, for the ridge pole of the house. Slabs two or three feet long and about half as far apart, formed the rafters. The covering was of seaweed a foot or more in thickness. It kept admirably till spring ; you can take enough from the trenches at one time to last a week or two. It will keep fresh for that time in the cellar. W. Clift. Stonington, Ct., Jan. 15ih, 1853. For the New England Farmer. COMPOSTING WITH MUCK. Mr. Editor :— I would like to inquire of you or some one of your numerous correspondents, the best method of working muck. I use it in the hog-yard and cow-yard in the summer season, and in the winter in my cow stable, on the plan of Professor jSIapes ; but this requires a great amount of labor. If there is any better way, I should like to know it, as I have a great quantity of muck and wish to work it in the most profitable way. F. H. CCRRIER. M'Indoes Falls, Vt., Jan. 8, 1853. Remarks.— In the first place, we are obliged to our correspondent for his kind expressions in the part of his letter which we have omitted ; and in the second place reply to his queries with plea- sure. There are certainly two or three ways at least, in which muck may be used in large quantities at a very little cost above the labor of digging and carting it. As the first mode, we refer friend CcRRiER to Mr. IIolbrook's plan, given in full in the 3d volume of the Monthly Farmer, page 381. This plan is to fill the drop or sink behind the cat- tle with muck, which was cleaned out and re- plenished every morning. His sink or trench was water-tight. Another mode is to cart quantities of the muck into the barn-cellar in autumn, and scatter it over the droppings each morning. This 62 NEW ENGLAND PARMER. Pek. absorbs the watery parts, prevents in a considera- ble degree the escape of ammonia, and so mixes the whole as to make it convenient to use, if the long litter is not incorporated with it. The bed- ding or litter should be kept by itself, ^nd decom- position aided by throwing into a large heap, wet- ting and overhauling, or perhaps by scattering lime with it. Where there is no barn-cellar the muck may be mixed with the manure as early as possible in the spring, and frequently overhauled. A third method is to pile up the muck and mix with lime, ashes, or guano. When guano is used, let it be with the muck alone. When the muck and lime only are used, Dundonald says, the ob- ject is best attained by mixing newly-made and completely-slacked lime, with about 5 or 6 times its weight of muck which should be moderately wet. By this mode of conducting the process, a soluble saline matter will be produced, consisting of phosphate and oxalate of ammonia, whi<5h will be beneficial on most soils. Mud of any kind should not be plowed in when Tccently dug ; it should be composted with lime or putrescent manures, orKe exposed to a winter's frost, which will destroy its tenacity, and reduce it to a fine powder, that will serve as a valuable absorbent of feculent matter and urine, or it may be spread upon the field like ashes. But if it be plowed into the soil, before it has undergone fer- mentation by the action of salts, or has been mel- lowed by frosts, it will remain in lumps in the Qarth for yearg. without much a,vail. THS MILK BUSINESS. We give below a copy of the petition to be presented to the Legislature as adopted at the great Milk Convention, at Cochituate Hall, in Boston, on Wednesday, the 26th Jan. In addition to this notice copies of printed petitions will be sent to gentlemen in various parts of the State. It is to be hoped that the towns will hold organized meetings, adopt the terms of the petition, sign them numerously and return them to the Legislature, or to the subscriber, who is one of the Committee chosen to receive them. Simon Brown, Boston Jan. 26, 1853. To the Senate and House cf Representatives in General Court assembled. Your petitioners respectfully represent tha.t the Farmers of this Commonwealth are deeply interest ed in the production and sale of 7nilk — that the number of cows kept within our borders is about 150,000, producing annually, a quantity of milk, valued, at the low rate of 3 cents per quart, and al lowing 4 quarts per day to each cow, at the sum of six millions five hundred and seventy thousand dollars ayear — that milk for the markets, is gener ally delivered by the producers in tin cans furnished by the purchasers, said to contain a specified num ber of quarts — that many of such purchasers still continue to use the "ale quart," which is not -recog- nized by the statutes now in force, while others use the wine quart, which is the measure prescribed by law — that great inequality, injustice and fraud, both to the producers and consumers, results from such confusion of the standard of measure — the cans vaj-ying from 8 1-4 to 8 3-4 quarts. Wherefore, they pray, that it may be prescribed by law, under adequate penalties, that no cans shall be used in the delivery or sale of milk, except such as shall be legally sealed by the town or city sealer of weights and measures, and marked with a figure or figures denoting the capacity of such can in quarts by wine measure — with a proper allowance, to be by law prescribed, for the reduction of the bulk of the milk in cooling. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. Fc-r the New England Farmer. ESPERIMENTS—EEE S. Mr. Editor: — Although an entire stranger, yet- the fact that I am a subscriber and constant read- er of your excellent paper, and that I am deeply interested in the calhng which you so ably advo- cate, is to me a sufficient apology for this uncere- monious introduction. Living, as we do, in an age which gives to tne preso an iuuuence so great a& to be almost, if not quite, beyond onr comprehen- sion, it is not strange that we should form a strong attuCiiiiieiit to sucii papers as aGvocate principles' and advance measures similar to our own. Being a lover of nature, and a deeply interested observer of the various robes which she adorns her- self with during the different seasons of the yeai'. you may easily imagine with what unbounded pleasure I peruse such articles as allude to this in- teresting, instructive, and truly elevating subject. The grey and gloomy aspect of winter, the green of spring, with the aunshiise of suinmer, an5 the golden tints of autumn, each, and all, tend to eL evate and improve the mind, and ifrightlyreceivedi gladden the heart and make man a truly happy be- ing. As I peruse the articles of your correspondents I often have reason to regret that farmers do not conduct their farms in such manner as to secure at the end of each year, a knowledge of the loss and gain, not only of each experiment, but of each farming operation. The satisfaction of this is known only to those who have tried it. It is my opinion that not one farmer in five knows how much it costs him to raise a bushel of rye, corn, wheat, or potatoes, nor in fact, any of his produce, yet how important it is, not only to know how much each costs, but how each can be producea the cheapest, and at the same time keep his farm in an improving condition. When an experiment is tried, not one in twenty is conducted in a man- ner best calculated to secure the desired result , for example, a field of corn fertilized with a new kind of manure, is no experiment unless a part of the field is fertilized with a manure, iha fertilizing (jualilies of which are fully known; yet how seldom is this the case, and in fact how often is it the case that the ivhole field is used for an experiment ; and again when the results are laid before the public, the field was manured with thirty loads, leaving you to guess whether they were drawn by dogs, horses or oxen. We ought to have the number of cords, and the price per cord, then we shall haY6 something tangible, iS53. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 63 I am deeply interested in the Honey Bee, and think their habits are as yet but little understood. They are yet in their wild state, but that they can be domesticated to a much greater degree than has been supposed, I have from experience every reason to believe. Should it beacceptabjp, I may at some future time give you the results of my la- bors. For the three past years I have cleared five dollars per year on each svparm. For ten years 1 have not lust a svrarm by the bee moth -, in fact, I have lost only two swarms, one winter killed in a tight hive, and one killed by the ants, which, by the way, are an ins&ct deserving more attention than they have ever j-et received. I am resolved to ■study their habits and ascertain their good and bad^ ■qualities. That they do seme injury I know, — that they do more good than injury, I think an invest! gation will compel us to admit. Hingham, Jan., 1853. Edaiunb Hersey. Remarks. — We shall be happy to receive a con- densed account of your experience with the bees CONVENTION OP MILKMEN? AND FARMERS. A convention of the Milkmen and Parro'ers of the Commonwealth was held in Cochituate Hall, on Wednesday, the 25th Jan., for the purpose of adopting meas\ires to secure the adoption of wine or legal measure throughout the State, and to take such other measures as will promote the interests of the trade. The Convention was quite large, there being three or four hundred present, and among the members were representatives of all sections of the State. The Convention was called to order at 10^ ociock, and Mr. Simon Brown, of Concord, was chosen prGsidcHt, ■On motion of Mr. Barn-ss, of Waltham, the pro- lOeedjngs of the previous meetings at Brighton were read by Benjamin Wellington, of Waltham. Mr. S. G. Wheeler, of Concord., and William S. Lincoln, of Worcester, we^'e eleet&d Vice Presi- dents. Mr. Brown made a few remarks, showing the aecessit;y of carrying out the object for which the Convention had assembled. lie said that in his own town (Concord) the diOerentie of the income from milk as measured by wine or a!e measure, amounts to $18 75 per day. This amount is taken fpom the flirmers wrongfully by the present system, and he was in favor of a thorough reform. In con- clusion he announced the Coavention as ready for b^siness. Mr- WaiTNEF, of Stowe, thought the Conven- tion might aim at too much and accomplish but little. He thought it should confine itself to the one object of securing the adoption of the wine, or legal jneasure. What is wanted is that the can ghall bo by law declared a measure, and it will then be obliged to be sealed. With regulating the price of milk or the washing of cans, he thought the Legislature should have nothing to do. The Con- vention should memorialize the Legislature to pass an act requiring cans to be sealed ; the members should then petition for the aet over their signa- tures; and then petitions should be circulated aijiong the producers, pledging themselves not to sell by other than the legal measure. The gen- tleman stated as the result of a careful calculation, that by the measure proposed, the same quantity of milk which has heretofore sold for $100 will Boli for $122 in wine measure. Mr. HosMER, of Concord, advocated the passage by the Convention of a resolve that they would have the same price by the reduced measure as by the large measm-e. Hon. Setii Sprague, of Duxbury, moved that this Convention concur in the resolutions passed at a former Convention, adopting the wine measure as the standard for milk. Mr. Wheeler, of Concord, said the business of the Conventicm was to regulate the interests of four classes — tlie milk grower, the men who buy it fvoiii the grower, the retailer, and the consumer. The adoption of the v.'ine measure and sealed cang he was satisfied would do this. With regulating the price of milk the Convention had nothing to do. Mr. Spractie argued that no combination to fix the price of milk would in the end be successful, as it would be regulated Iiy the demand. He believed the plan of substituting wine measure would be adopted generally by all producers, Mr. Chafin spoke of the great necessity of hav- ing sealed measures, and adduced as one argument flae fact that bills for milk sold by other than the legal measure could not be collected by law. Mr. Robinson, of Dorchester, thought tiiat if the Legislature refuse to grant the petition pro- posed, that the producers and traders should as- semble and regulate the matter for themselves. Mr. Marsh, of Cambridge, said that lie sup- posed the object of the convention was to adopt wine measure, but it appears that it is to raise the prjpe of milk. He dissented from the charges made against the retailers of milk, in furnishing cans which hold more than they are marked. He be- lieved the whole trouble laid with the farmers them- selves. They themselves reduced the price — when they got a new market in Boston by means of the raiircad^-and now when a pinch comes, they start the movement. He thought some farmers as well as milkmen would be found guilty of certain delin- quencjeg, such as ^'milking the Mack-tail cow," &c- He was awai-e that the farmers did not get enough for milk. In four years he lost in the milk busi- ness $1000, and he now wants to be able to make it a paying business. He did not believe the peo- ple at Boston would refuse to pay a good price for milk if they could have a good article, instead of milk and water. Mr Wheejler of Concord defended the formers, and urged that the fraud in the matter consisted in the retailers furnisliing the wholesale purchas- ers with ten quart cane and paying for but eight. Mr. Nash did not believe the Legislature would act in the matter, because the farmers have the matter in their own hand, and if they say to the purchasers bring us sealed cans, these cans will come into use. Mr. Lakeman, of Charlestown, thought the milkmen who attempted to impose poor milk upon the women of Boston would get his pay as he went along. Mr. Broavn from the Committee to petition the Legislature, submitted the form of petition which had been prepared, and which may found in an- other column. 64 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. ]Mr. Wm. S. Linxolx, of Worcester, advocated the confining the request to tlie Legislature to the aanctioning of a sealed can ; and that the members themselves resolve that they will, after the first of April, adopt the wine n>easLire in retailing. If farmers cannot sell their milk at paying rates they had hetter make hutter of it. A motion was made to amend the resolutions, so as to make the new measure go into effect on the first of April, instead of tlie 1st of February. This was opposed by Mr. Barnes of the Business Committee, as it would allow persons disposed to make trpu')le., time to supply tliemselves else- where. The motion was subsequently withdrawn. After a 1 mg discu.ssion, the resolutions of the former Convention were taken up and adopted sep- arately. The tliird was so amended as to make the time of carrying the new measure into opera- tion the first of February. The resoluti ns were then adopted as a whole unanimously. The Convention then at half-past two, adjourned. — Journal. For the Neiv England Fanner. FARMERS' LIBRARIES. BY WILLIAM F. liASSETT. Mr. Bkow.v : — With your permission, I vHll ven- ture to suggest to your subscribers the propriety of "Farmers" Libraries" in connection with "Far- mers' Clubs.'' The advantage of the latter has been frequently urged in your columns, and I think the former should bo an inseparable accompani- ment to every town club. I know not how many such institutions have already sprung into exis- tence within the extensive circle of your "reading room ;" but I am certain that there are few such in this section, and I think I may safely add, but few permanent public libraries of any kind. I say permanent, because lam aware that school libra- ries have, by legislative aid, been formed in large numbers in various places, but which as far as my information extends, contain within themselves the elements of destruction. They have no provision for the acquisition of new books ; and embracing'a space quite too limit- ed, the few books which they contain are soon read and they then become "old stories ;" and beyond this, which is an item of much importance to the farmer, they rarely contain agricultural works. Agricultural books having comparatively a lim eted circulation, and consequently being more cost ly, I was about to say, places them l>eyond the reach of the small farmer's purse, but experience whispers, "they fill the purse faster than they drain it ;'' well, at any rate, their cost is such as to deter manj^ from obtaining them, and tlius with holding much valuable knowledge which every ag- riculturist ought to possess. Now, every one knows tlie superiority of associ sted over individual action in other matters per taining to the interests of the community, but I have good reason to I)elieve that few realize the advantages to be derived froui it in connection with the sulyect before us, or if they do, they are la- mentably negligent of botli duty and interest. Now I do not wish any farmer to buy any less amount of agricultural reading, either in books or periodicals, but if in addition to your present lit- erary expenditures you would each contribute something to a common fund for common benefit, you juight, in my ojiinion, derive an almost incal- culable benefit from it. Let us illustrate. Suppose forty individuals wished to obtain each two books, which would cost thecf three dollars to each person ; if tliey went on to purchase them separately, they might, perhaps, all buy the same works, and there would be only two different works among the whole ; but let those forty persons unite their funds and the result would be eighty different books of equal value, without making allowance for discount on large purchases which would make the disparity still greater. Perhaps some will say they cannot afford to spare so much money ; that they require every cent to support their families or pay their debts ; but stop a moment, good friend ! are you aware that your duty to your family requires you to sup- ply fi)Otl for their minds as well as their bodies, and is there not some little articles, tobacco or tea for instance, that cost you more than double that sum, and which you would be better without? — Then it is only for one year, and a trifling annual outlay of say fifty cents, afterwards, will swell your librivry to hundreds, and perhaps thousands of volumes comprising every agricultural work of value and histories, biograpliies, and travels enough to furnish a useful and agreeable occupation fbp every leisure moment of yourself and family. ■ Don't hesitate, then, but go immediately and tell your neighbor yo» are determined to have a town agricultural library, and request his assist- ance, vr. F. B. Ashfield, Jan. 17, 1853. Remarks. — Excellent suggestions. You cannot do better, friends, than to act upon them at once. By way of encouragement to the writer, we will say that in some towns the work is already begun. Where town liliraries are already established, the farmers are requiring scientific books upon agri- cultural suVijects ; some of the farmers' clubs are also gathering libraries for their own use. Any town may by statute raise one dollar on each poll the first year to form a library, and twen- ty-five cents a year afterwards, to increase it. The Horticulturist. — This popular periodical has been transferred from Albany to Rochester, and is published by James Vick, Jr., P. Barry, Editor. The price is to be $2 a year, instead of $3, as heretofore, or $4 with colored plates. The January number is illustrated with a beautiful en- graving of the Sheldon pear, and half a dozen out- lines of other pears, with a view of the residence of the late A. J. Downing, and numerous points of interest in the beautiful grounds about it. The number is filled in evei-y respect with useful and pleasing matter, and we heartily commend it to every lady and gentleman of taste in the country. Such a work, widely extended, must have an im- portant iuQuence not only on the general aspect and prosperity of the country, but on the moral condition of the people. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 65 URBANISTE PEAR. The original of the above beautiful portrait was plucked from a tree in the garden of Col. Wilder, of Dorci. ester, and furnished us by hiui as a fair subject to be engraved. In the descrip- tion below, which we take from Downing, it ap- pears that the Urbaniste compares, nearly, in deliciousness of flavor, with "the old Doyenne or Virgalieu." These are other names for the old and favorite St. Michael, a pear better known, perhaps, than almost any other in this region. The above engraving is a very perfect figure of the fruit, and branch on which it hung, and is much more beautiful in its outlines than any represen- tation we have seen in the books. "The Urbaniste is a fruit for which we confident- ly predict the highest popularity in this country. In its delicious flavor it compares, perhaps, more nearly with the favorite old Doyenne or "Mrgalieu, than any other fruit, and adds, when in perfec- tion, a delicate perfume, peculiarly its own. Its handsome size and appearance, and remarkably healthy habit, commend it for those districts where, from neglect or bad soil, the Doyenne does not flourish. The tree is a moderately vigorous grower, and though it does not'begin to bear so early as some of the new varieties, it yields abun- dant and regular crops, and gives every indication of a long'lived, hardy variety. For the orchard or garden in the middle States, therefore, we con- sider it indispensable. With so many other fine sorts, we owe this to the Flemish, it having been originated by the Count de Coloma, of Malines. It was first introduced into this country in 1823. Young shoots upright, short-join ted,grayish yellow. Fruit of medium size, often large, pyramidal obo- vate. Skin smooth and fair, pale yellow, with gray dots, and a|few russet streaks. Stalk about an inch long, rather stout, and inserted in a well marked or rather broad depression. Calyx small, closed and set in a narrow basin, which is abruptly and rather deeply sunk. Flesh white, (yellowish at the core,) buttery, very melting and rich, with a copious, delicious juice, delicately perfumed. Ri- pens from the last of September till the end of November, if kept in the house." 66 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. For the New England Farmer. HONEY BEES. Messrs. Editors : — A subscriber wishes to know why swarms of bees so frequently die in winter — and sometimes in other seasons of the year, with- out any apparent cause. Permit me to reply to this inquiry through the medium of your excellent paper, and I will communicate some truths that nave fallen under my observation during a term of thirty years, During several of the first years of my keeping bees, I fell into the same error so oft- en committed at the present day, by having no ventilator to my hives during winter, except where the bees pass out and in at the bottom of the hives ; the consequence was, I lost many valuable swarms as I supposed, by freezing to death. 1 tried to winter them in the cellar ; the dampness would mould the comb, then the bees would be- come sickly and frequently die. I then concluded to let them stand in the bee house and take their chance. I watched year after year to ascertain what kind of weather affected them most ; I found w^^en there came snow attended with wind drifting around the bottom of the .hives closing the en- trance, such swarms were certain to die by suffo- catiim before morning. I have known several in- stances of a person's losing their entire stock of bees in a single night by suii[i)cation, caused by the snow drifting in around the hive. I have also lost valuable swarms by a few dead bees dropping down inside, closing the mouth of- the hive so as produce sufiocation. My opinion now had become completely changed in regard to the manner of treating bees during winter seasons. I then made a new set of hives with chambers and honey drawers to fit and to ob- viate the difficulty of the bees being smothered in future from lohalever cause. With o three-fourth inch centre bit, I bored a hole through the front side of all my hives about eight inches from the bottom, fixing wires across the hole horizontally inside of the hive at such distances that a bee could not quite get through. This I called the ventilator. The reason why they should not pass out and in at the ventilator is this : — Bees are notorious robbers, and a hive can bet- ter defend themselves, if there is but one point where they can be attacked. I put all young swarms that come out into this kind of hives ; the bees would close up tlie ventilators in summer with wax. About the first of Dec. I would clear out the ventilators with the point of an awl and they would remain open during" the winter. I al- so raised each hive from the bottom board, not quite high enough to allow the bees to ci'eep out, by putting a small wooden wedge under each cor- ner of the hive ; if the snow blew in about the hives closing them ever so tight at the bottom, the ventilators would supply the swarm with sufliclent air to prevent sufTocatiim. I put no straw about my hives — used no quilts to cover them — yet my entire stock of bees would stand the severest win- ter that ever blew. Other bee masters in the neighborhood, who had been in the habit of put- ting their bees in the cellar, seeing how mine wintered, have treated their entire stock in like manner, and have not lost a single swarm. During the severest weather, when the ther- mometer indicated ten, sometimes sixteen degrees below zero, I would examine my bees at sunrise. As the sun shone in through the ventilator, I could see their operations ; they would be close against the ventilator, and as lively as in sum- mer, seeming delighted to breathe the fresli air. Xo cattle, fowls, boys, or anything else, should be allowed to disturb bees in cold weather ; and I believe a good swarm of V>ees canntit l>e frozen to death in a hive well supplied witli comb and honey, rightly ventilated, and nut disturbed, in the cli- mate of Massachusetts. Bees are liable to fail in the warm season of the year from various causes. In the first place, however short-lived the working bees are, the queen, I think, lives to be several years old ; yet the time must come when she will die. If her death takes place in winter, there being no brood comb in the hive, however numerous the swarm, they will not be able to provide anotlier sovereign. (I never knew a hive of bees that lost their queen in the winter, make any effort to supply them- selves with a new queen, except in (me instance.) [See Boston Cultivator, of April 24, 1847.] When warm weather returns, tliis swarm will remain inactive in the hive and dwindle away, till the bees of some other hive step in and take away their honey, or the bee moth takes possession of the hive. I have lost as many as four hives of bees occasioned by losing tlieir queen in winter. — About three years ago, in February, 1 finind the queen on the bottom board of one of my best hives apparently dead. 1 placed her in my hands ; by breathing warmly upon Iier for a few minutes, she was restored to her usual activity. I opened the chamber of the hive where she belonged, re- moved the communication cap and placed her among the bees. In March, I found her again on the bottom board, apparently hfeless. I warmed and returned her to tiiehiveaa before. x\l)outthe first of April, I picked her up a third time, but the vital spark had fled. I examined her through a magnifying glass, and found her antenna; gone, three of her feet worn off; no doubt she died of old age. The swarm remained inactive in the liive till some time in the summer, when tlie bees of another hive took away their honey. Another reason why a hive of bees may run down in summer, is this : — When a hive of bees becomes pretty numerous in the spring, they go to work and erect four or five royal cells ; in each of these cells may be found a young queen ; they all hatch about the same time and send out a swarm accompanied by the old qvecn, leaving tlie young queens in the old hive. If we gt) some morning about eight days from tliis time, and place the ear against the old hive, and hear the young queens piping, (so called) we then expect a second swarm out of the old hive — which takes place from nine to fourteen days after the first swarm. Some- times there will be a tliird swarm. Now it occa- sionally happens that two or more queens go out with second or third swarms ; (I have seen tliree;) when this happens, they may light in two or three different places, each bunch of bees having a queen ; theysliould all be collected and put into one hive. Sometimes all the j'oung (jueens will go out of the old hive with the second swarm ; (oftener with the third swarm;) in this case all the queens but one will be put to death during that day or the night following. Now the old hive being destitute of a queen, and but few workers, will run down in the course of the summer (as described in the case 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 67 where a hive lost their qncen in the winter.) I have lost several old hives of bees in the manner last described. I have said second and third swarms are always accompanied by young queens. Now the younjj; queen in tlie course of a few days goes abroad (It is supposed to meet the male on the wing.) When slve returns, not being accustomed to leave the hive, slie is liable to make a mistake and enter a wrong hive, especially if there are other hives on either side resembling her own ; she is immediately seized and put to death. A few years ago I found one of my young swarms in great commotion just before dark ; they were forcing an entrance into every hive in the bee- houses, notwithstanding the strong exertions made by every hive to keep tliem out. They were mak- ing the greatest effort to enter a hive standing next their own, contending manfully till it was so dark they could no longer see to fly. It required no ef- fort on my part to imagine the cause of all that was transpiring, E;u-ly next morning I v,'ent in search of the lost queen. She had entered the wrong hive where her subjects wei'e making the most diligent search tlie niglit bef)re. After being put to death she was thrown upon the ground beneath the hive. Now this young swarm having lost their sovereign before there was any young in the hive, soon made their abode among the other swarms. I have known other young swarms ])roken up in like manner. To prevent other similar occurrences I have my hives painted different coli)rs, making such a contrast be- tvi'een them that the bees soon learn to know their own. A. KiLBUEN. Luncnhurs:, 1S>2. birds mostly returned to their haunts in field and forest. It was as if a common enemy had been slain, and they were celebrating the event, for tlieir de- monstratiims were joyous ones — had none of th« appearance of funeral obsequies. Tlie species of snake to which tlio dead one belonged, fascinate birds, and thus make prey of them — they break up tlieir nests, devour the eggs and unfledged young ones; — do not these facts furnish a solutl'on of the mysterious and singular gathering? But by what silent and unseen agency did the news go out to all the haunts of these birds in woods and meadows, bush and brier, orchards and gardens, and so soon effect a gathering so nu- merous and incongruous. — Rochester Union. Rem.^rks. — We are obliged to our correspondent for his full account of the cause of death among bees in the winter. It was received last February, and just after we Iiad two or three shorter articles on the same subject, and found it more convenient to insert them. ^Ve are often obliged to defer long articles when they are really much better than some of the short ones which we insert. A BIRD CONVENTION. We witnessed a few years since, a congress, or convention of birds, the character of which was inexplicable, and is unexplained in all ornithological ' works. We question whether Messrs. Audubon or Wilson ever saw the like, for if they had they would have deen quite likely to have made a note of it. Spending some days at a friend's house in Wyoming county during haying time, we were among the mowers, one of whom, with his scythe, cut in twain a large spotted adder, or milk snake, the parts of which he tossed over the fence into the public highway. In a few minutes, birds be- gan to collect upon the fences on either side of the dead snake, and witliin one hour there was a large flock composed of almost every variety of birds of our forest. It was truly a mi.xed assemblage ; sit- ting upon the same r.iil were birds that we seldom, if ever see in so close proximity, twittering, flutter- ing, singing, as if they were having a jubilee. Occasi.inally they would leave the fences, light in the road, and form a hoU iw square, in the centre of which would be the body of the dead snake. The scene continued about two hours, when the FARM ACCOUNTS. At a recent meeting of the Concord Farmers^ Club, the question for discussion being Farm Ac- counts— Dr. Reynolds said, every former would find his advantage in keeping a debt and credit account, not only with his male and female help, but with his cows, oxen, horses, hogs and sheep. He should charge each animal, or each lot of animals, with their cost, the expense of keeping, losses by disease, injury and death ; credit them with their increase, milk, butter, cheese, labor, wool, mutton, pork, beef, product of sales when sold alive, &c. In the same way he should keep an account with each field, charging it with its viilue, taxes, ma- nures, and labor expended upon it, and giving credit for crops and improvements. Thus he would know his profit or loss from year to year ; what crops and what animals are most profitable ; would benefit by his experience and might have ac- curate information for his neighbors. Simon Brown said such accounts might be easily kept : all that was Avanting was an effi3rt to begin. He hoped they would all begin on the first of Jan. Each one might keep such a journal as he pleased. He has for years kept a journal in which he not only kept his accounts with his help and his neigh- bors, but in W'hich he has noted the time when the birds appear and depart, when the blossoms open, when he planted his ground, how much seed h3 sowed, and a variety of incidents of dom'^stic as well as of a philosophical nature. We are creatures of habit ; if we once get into the way of keeping such a record we shall find it easy and pleasant. He also spoke of the moral effect. It would make a man not only a better farmer but a better man, and better citizen, lie would know himself better, as well as the state of his affairs, and would have more courage to engage in the conflicts of life. Elijau Wood, Jr., said he had written much more since he joined the club, than ever before. He devoted at least one'evening a week to writing and reading. It might be easily done if we would set about it. If he raised a good crop he recorded the amount and the mode of cultivation. Farmers 68 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. should keep an accurate account with their dairies. This might be done with more ease than with their crops. He intended to write more than he ever had done, and he would do it for his own improve- ment, if for no other reason. Wm. D. Brown had kept a journal and daybook together in which he noted the day's work, the state of the weather, the state of the season, the times of planting and maturing of crops, of com- menf^ing and finishing haying, and such incidents as interested him at the time. lie wrote some- thing in this book every day — and be thought ev- ery one might steal time to do this. J. B. Farmer spoke of such journals as valuable meteorological registers. Dr. Reynolds spoke of them as historical docu- ments of great interest to posterity. What would he not give for such a record kept by our fathers for 50 years past. They would contain a history of our families and of the town, intensely interest- ing not only to our posterity, but to the future his- torian. For the New England Farmer. A QUERY. Mr. Editor : — In the "Farmer's Fireside Talk" of your Essex correspondent, is the following re- mark: "If the stalk is returned and plowed in, in the full or spring, the ground receives back near- ly the value it has given out. It receives the same kind it gave out ; and I think more in amount of fertilizing matter than from a cord of stable mat- ter.^'' I suppose this last word should be manure, when it irould read "stable manure." It is well known that one crop requires a larger amount of one particular mineral substance than another, and that soil "gives out" to one crop more of this mineral, than it does to another. The latter may require more silex than the former. Now if a crop requiring a larger amount of lime is grown on a field, the soil is pi-oportionably exhausted of lime. Suppose this crop to be corn, and that you wish to return to the soil the lime which it has "given out" to the corn. Certainly you must return the "estover" and "plow it in," or return it in some other way. But I would ask your corres- pondent, or "the man I spoke of," if the manure, liquid and solid, produced by feeding upon the •"estover of an acre," would not return to the ground "nearly the value it has given out" of min- eral matter? Docs not the soil receive in this way, the "same kind" that it gave? I suppose that mineral substances, as lime, silex &c., are not digested in the stomach of the animal, and that only a small amount of them is taken into the cir- culation, but that they pass off in the dejections, and may thus all be returned to the soil, and the "estover" be used at the same time as food for the stock. Is not the "same kind" as certain to be returned to the soil in this way, as though the stalk were plowed in, or burned, and the ashes re- turned to the soil? The estover is, when well cured, very valuable and healthy food for cattle, and if it can be made to feed the stock first, and then feed the next crop equally well, it will be dou- bled in value — a matter of some importance. Jan. 1, 1853. j. r. For the New Em^land Farmer. "THAT IS MY HOME." BV A. G. COMINGS. Many a farmer manages in such a way that neither his sons nor his daughters can take any pleasure in directing the eye of a stranger to the family dwelling, and saying, "That is my home." It is not in the erection of costly and temple- like houses, or ornamenting other buildings with much profitless expense, that "home" is made most beautiful. These costly decorations may ap- pear very splendid at first, but they are of that character which loses beauty instead of increasing it. The mind of youth is reaching forward, and is most pleased with that kind of ornament Avhich every day grows more beautiful. Most men, in l)uilding houses, expend much money in making the house showy. One, two, or five hundred dollars spent in this way is a com- mon item in building. But this is all just "pay- ing too much for the whistle." Such beauty on- ly pleases while it is new. The second look at it has no interest. The eye ceases to behold with pleasure whatever, from its fixed character, be- comes familiar and established. Simplicity, order and neatness, constitute the sum of all beauty, in everything which is of a fixed character. Let the farmer adopt a different course, and plant around his neat and simple dwelling, one, two or five hundred*dollars' worth of trees, shrubs, vines and flowers, and what a world of beauty and attraction it would present. These- are "tilings of life," and their beauty will be progressive. — When the eye of a stranger shall rest upon it, he will exclaim "how beautiful!" and that lovely daughter, whose presence always gives joy and gladness to the home circle, will be happy always, when she thinks "that is my home." And that noble-spirited young man who would have left the homestead years ago, but for these attractions, will feel a conscious elevation of character, a grow- ing greatness, inspired by the objects with which he is surrounded. It is certainly true that the character of men is shaded by the ol)jects which constantly engage their attention and care. There is not another class of men in the world to whom is granted such a privilege of uniting beauty with worth, pleasure with interest, as the farmers. And the most attractive beauty, too, is that which will grow more beautiful and more profitable at the same time. The attractions of home are also full of moral power, and social refinement. The eye of love never sparkles with more brilliancy tlum when it is surrounded by the blandest beauties of natural scenery. Earth affords no happier spot tlian where the throbbing, anxious, hopeful spirit of youth is quieted and satisfied. The farmers of New England may refuse to gi'atify their sons and daughters, by attention to the rural scenery about their dwelliugs, and see their sons and daugliters become "anxious for a trade," and their daughters determined on "g( ing to the factory," or they may see them wedded to home as to an earthly paradise. And taking up this idea of paradise, it is proper to remark that in the scriptural descrijition of Eden"s paradise, as in every vision of poetic thought, the abode of peace and happiness is in' the midst of rural scenery. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 60 It is one of the greatest matters of importance, in relation to society, morality, relii>;iun, or even patriotism, that our young men should be more attached to agriculture and its kindred arts ; to home and its ass jciations. This will never be brouglit about by accusing the young men of be- ing reckless and unsteady. The mind of a noble youth is to be captivated, not chained. To look upon a blighted and leafless tree, and upon a family where the young men have fled from home to trade or speculate, and the young women to the factory, leaving matron and sire to die alone, produces a similar sensation. To carry our agricultural matters to the proper and desirable elevatit)n, we must have a deep in- terest existing in the minds of the intelligent and enterprising sons of farmers. To have our young men attached to home, their beautiful and lovely sisters must be there, and happy in the circumstances which surround them. A home where the girls are not contented, has a cold and vacant air, like an old bachelor's hovel. They fill a large place in th6 world of life. And the very tone with which a young woman says "Tiiat is my home," describes the scenery without and the spirit within that dwelling. There is a growing complaint that young peo- ple are becoming indiflerent to home and parental love. It is of little use to grumble and complain. The remedy is an easy one. Let the young be supplied with well chosen, interesting and in- structive reading matter, every week, and let at- tention be given to the surrounding scenery, ac- cording to the common idea of all ages, and God will bless the bowers and smile on those who dwell happily among them, and age will renew its youthful ji)ys, and the rose and the myrtle will beautify each other, and love and hope and joy shall be there ; while birds shall sing in the spring time, a cooling and refreshing shade be felt in sum- mer's sultry day, a golden harvest be gathered in autumn, and a happy group and a bountiful board within and the merry bells without will cheer up the wintry day, and the good old song of "Home, sweet home," shall warble with melting melod^'. Mason, N. H. How THEY Used to Plow. — In some parts of Scotland, in former times the plows used to be drawn by four horses abreast, and required the assistance of three men. The Itusiness of one man was to drive. For that purpose he placed himself between the middle horses, with his face towards the plow, to guide it straight, and in this position he stepped backwards with the reins in his hand. Another walked behind the horses with a cleeked staff, which he fostened in front of the beam, and by means of it regulated the depth of the furrow by raising or lowering the plow, as occasion requires. The plowman followed with hold of the stills ; and in this formidalile and ludi- crous manner they repeated their attacks on the soil. In harvest, a basket machine was placed on horseback for carrying home the grain ; and per- sons were employed on each side with forks to keep it in a proper poise. It is said that the practice is yet ti) be met with in Galloway. Many practices subsisting even at this day in Ireland are still more ridiculous. Mr. Arthur Young tells us that in Donegal he has actually seen horses plowing by the tail ! — Exchange. ORGANIC ELEMENTS. Vegetation is composed principally of the four organic elements, yet the relative proportions in which they occur in plants, are by no means uni- form. Still they are all alike, equally indispensa- ble to the growth and development of the system; they are by no means necessary in an equal degree. In most crops, when artificially deprived of their moisture, an analysis of the remaining solid parts ordinarily gives from forty to fifty per cent, of car- bon— nearly or quite one-half of the actual weight — while the oxygen constitutes not far from thirty- three per cent., the hydrogen five, and the nitro- gen seldom more than two and a half. This is very nearly the relative proportions in which these organic elements exist in most of the farm products applied for the sustenance of animal life. In one thousand parts their proportions are as follows : — B^S V o* » a <; » o 00 5-c:? w » 3 a S.S 3 »■ AS Carbon, 507 507 494 471 465 455 458 441 [lydrogeii, 66 64 re 56 61 57 50 58 Jxjgeii, 389 367 350 349 401 431 387 439 Nitrogen, 38 22 70 24 42 34 15 12 Ash, 40 28 100 31 23 90 50 1000 1000 lOUO 1000 1000 1000 1000 The quantity of water present in most vegeta- bles is generally large. Exposed to a temperature of 230* fahrenheit, the loss was as follows, viz : — ) parts of Potatoes lost 722 parts of water of Wheat " 166 " of Hay " 158 " of Aftermath Hay " 136 to 150 " ofOats " 151 " of Clover Seed " 112 " of Peas " 66 " So far as regards the form, or state of combina- tion in which carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxy- gen, minister to the growth of plants, I refer the reader to the following extract from a lecture de- livered by Prof. Johnston upon the subject. He says : — "Neither of these elementary bodies is likely to enter directly, or in a simple state, into the circula- tion of plants. The former (carbon) being a solid substance, and insoluble in water, cannot obtain ad- mission into the pores of the roots, the only parts of the plants with which, in nature, it cannot come in contact. The latter (hydrogen) does not occur either in the atmosphere or in the soil in any appreciable quantity, and hence, in its simple state, forms no part of the food of plants. Oxygen and nitrogen, again, both exist in the atmosphere in the gaseous state, and the former is known to be inhaled, under certain conditions, by the leaves of plants. Nitrogen may also in like manner be absorbed by the leaves of living plants, but if so, it is in a quantity so small as to have hitherto escaped detection. The two latter substances (oxygen and nitrogen) are also slightly soluble in water, and, beside being inhaled by the leaves, may occasionally be absorbed in minute quantity along with the water taken in by the roots. But by for the hirgest proportion of these two ele- mentary bodies, and whole of the carbon hydrogen which find their way into the interior of plants, have previously entered into a state of mutual combination 70 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. — forming what are called distinctive chemical com- pounds. Before describing the nature and consti- tution of these compounds, it will be proper to ex- plain, 1" the constitution of the atmosphere in which plants live, and, 2° the nature of chemical combina- tion and the laws by which it is regulated." For the New England Farmer. FARM WORK FOR THE CENTURY. BY n. F. FRENCn. My Dear Brown : — You probably are aware that a bill is pending before the Legislature of New Hampshire, providing for a Board of Agriculture and a Commissioner. Its provisions are similar to those of the Massachusetts Act, the Commissioner being substantially the same as the Secretary of your Board. Again and again, the question has been asked, what is the use of such a Board, and what are to be the duties of such a Secretary or Commission- er ? Perhaps the views of others may differ from mine, as to the reply to these questions. If they do, there is so much the more reason that some one should undertake to be definite, so that a full discussion of the subject may be had, and that we may enlighten the ignorant, and learn from the wise. I propose briefly to suggest some among the many things, that are availing to he done in New England, under the direction of Boards of Agricul- ture for its advancement ; and for the sake of per- spicuity, I will arrange my ideas like an old fash- ioned sermon, under distinct heads. The Secreta- ry or Commissioner should give his early atten- tion— I. To \hQ forrnation of farmer'' s clubs in every town, holding out as an inducement to the mem- bers of them, the idea that they would be especial- ly remembered in the distribution of all publica- tions, whether of the patent office or of transac- tions of the State Board or county societies, and of seeds and plants, which might come under his control. The officers of these clubs would be his reliable correspondents and assistants in all his movements. II. He would deliver lectvres at meetings of the town clubs, or county societies, of a familiar and practical character, and engage others in discus- sions, in the way best calculated to develop the talent and knowledge of the farmers themselves. His lectures would involve the mechanical treat- ment of the soil, as by plowing, harrowing, sub- soiling, under-draining and the like — the chemical treatment of it by manures of various kinds, as guano, the phosphates, lime, salt, and the various composts, as well as l)arn manure — the adaptation of the various kinds of soil to different crops, wheth- er of gi-ain, grasses, roots or fruits. In short, such lectures miglit touch upon any branch of knowledge, whether of a scientific, or practical nature, which might be best adapted to the occasion. HI. He would open a correspondence with all the leading Agricultural and Horticultural socie- ties of this and other countries, with the heads of our Agricultural Department at Washington, (when we get one?) and with distinguished agri- culturists, so as to act in concert with the pro- gressive minds of the world, and be kept constant- ly informed of the attainments of others. IV. He would be prepared with accurate analyses of the various products of the earth, as of wheat, corn, the grasses and roots, as made by the most relialjle chemists, at home and abroad, showing how these products are affected in their constitu- ent elements by the soil on which they grow. He should have, also, analyses of specimens of the various classes of soil, as of the pine plain, the peat and swamp mud — the granite soil of the hills, the alluvial lands of the rivers, and the various clays, so as to give as accurate information as tiie nature of the case admits, of the peculiar adap- tation or deficiencies of each for the growth of par- ticular crops. The range of investigation in this direction is literally boundless, for although nature is ready to disclose her mysteries to the earnest student, new depths are constantly revealed. V. He would institute systematic experiments, upon an experimental farm, which some public spirited man will present to the State, if not oth- erwise provided. He will thus be able to settle many disputed points, which ought to have been settled years ago. VI. He would engage in an agricultural survey of the State, taking, perhaps, one cotfnty each year, in the manner, somewhat, of the surveys made of Seneca and Madison counties, in New York. Such a survey should show, among other things, 1st, The history, political, civil and religious, of tlie county, very briefly. 2d, The geogra-pliy, as the mountains, plains and valleys, with the rivers, canals and water-powers. 3d, The nature and resources of the forests, the value of the several kinds of timber and for what uses. 4th, The cli- mate. The mean and extremes of heat and cold, at different periods, and at the same periods in different years — the days when the injui'ious frosts came latest in spring and earliest in autumn, with a view to ascertaining the best times of planting and sowing, and of gathering the harvest. 5th, The geology of the county; in general its rock formation, and in particular the value and uses of its rocks for building and other purposes, — its min- eral resources of all kinds, and especially its depo- sits of mineral and vegetable manures, as lime, marl, peat, swamp mud and tlie like. G. Statistics of agriculture, as the average product per acre of each crop of corn, wheat, rye, oats, hay, potatoes and roots, — the average cost per bushel or ton of producing them, in the various localities, under common, and under the best cultivation, — a census of the population and how eu)ployed, — the number of all the cattle, horses, sheep and other live stock, in the county, — their value, and the cost and profit or loss of raising and keeping them, — the number of/«r/ns, with their extent ia acres, how much is arable, pasture and wood ; how much good pasturing will suffice for each animal, and on how much worn-out pasture an animal may starve ; the various breeds of stock, and their points of difference and value; the amount of flour, corn, and the like brought into, and soldi from, each town, with a thousand other interesting statisti- cal facts. 7. The botany of the county, with a list of all its valuable trees, shrubs and jdants ; a list of all the noxious weeds, as the white-weed, thistle, witch grass, and the best mode of exterminating them. 1853. NEW ENGLANB FARMER. 71 8. Entomologi/. — Under this ]ioad all the nox- ious insects should be particularly described, such as the wheat Uy, locusts, canker worm, curculio, and the means of preventing their ravages. Dr. Harris's valuable treatise nearly exhausts the first branch of this topic. 9. The natural liislory of animals, especially of those injurious to tlie farmer's interests, with a discriminating tariff of protection iu favor of use- ful birds. 10. The commissioner or secretary would sys- tematically, by means of carefully prepared circu- lars, filled with interrogat(H-ies, and through the best journals, and transactions of societies and by personal enquiry and observation, collect and ar- range all the facts, theories and suggestions deemed useful to the cause, and prepare them in the form of an annual report to the board for publication, and distribution. Here you have, hastily sketched, some idea of my views of the labor to be performed under the direction of a Board of Agriculture. If our friends will continue the subject, and send you their suggestions of such additional matters as seem to them to require attention, I doubt not the Board of Agriculture, whenever established, will treat them with due consideration. Your friend, II. F. FRENcn. POWJGR OF THE SOIL TO RETAIN MA- NURES. BY PROF. J. J. M.^PES, NEWARK, N. J. We propose in our present number to show the power of the soil to retain manures, and the means of improving this property when required. For a long time it was supposed that all materi- als soluble in water would pass downward in solu- tion, and thus be lost to plants — those who worked clayey soils claimed that, because water could not readily percolate their soils, that hence, they were not leachy, and therefore retained manures — while other operators Avith sandy soils argued that ma- nures passed downward and were soon lost to the surface soil. All these positions are false. It is true, that a fair proportion of alumina is valuable to soils and in the absence of carbonaceous matter is absolute- ly necessary for the retention of manures, but it 13 not true that the tenacious property of clay need exist to such an extent as to prevent the freefiltra- tion of pure water before the manures will be re- tained— for many soils which will pass pure water readily, will still retain, from impure water, all its impurities, permitting only tlie pure water to de- scend. Indeed this is true of all arable soils, and if it were not so, the water in all our wells wcmld be unfit to drink from being surcharged with soluble \ organic matter. Even the brown fluids of a barn -yard will not leach downward in the soil,without leaving all the foetid matter in the surface. Dig in an old barn- yard, but a few inches below where the soil has been before disturbed, and it will be found not to have become dark-colored, and not to contain any undue proportion of the soluble matters resident at the surface, but to be like the subsoil of adjoin- ing fields. Aluuiina (clay) has the curious property of re- ceiving and retaining all animal and vegetable substances, and their gaseous products, until ab- stracted again by gi'owing plants, and for this rea- son a free clayey loam will purify water durino- its passage tlirough the surface soil, retaining all the fertiliKing substances originally held in the solu- tion, and permitting the pure water to pass down- ward. Nor does this retaining power cease with organic sul)stances alone, for many of the alkalies are also retained, and all of them to a certain ex- tent. Excess of lime, potash or magnesia will pass down and therefore the chemist finds variable proportions of these alkalies in our well water. This peculiar property of clay was noted by Mr. Teschmaker of Boston , in his public addresses many years since, and in our published addresses before the American Institute, as far back as 1840, the same truths are set forth. Within the last tWo years. Professor Way and other English chemists are claiming this as a new discovery. Alumina is not the only substance in soils which has this retaining power, for carbon in every form has similar properties, and it is not important whether charcoal dust be artificially added, or ex- ist in the soil by the decay of former vegetation or of manures ; for in either case ciirbon is the result, and as such, has similar retaining powers to those of clay. Thus charcoal dust placed for a time near a fermenting dung heap, will receive and retain the gases arising from decomposition, and if placed in the soil will give out these gases again to the roots of growing plants. Privies, stables, &c., are rendered inodorous by the use of charcoal dust. Decomposed peat, turf, swamp muck, &c., are but varied forms of carbon, with some more partially decomposed vegetable matter. The dark color of soils is due to the presence of carbon ; humus, veg- etable mould, &c., are but modifications of carbon. All know that an old and black garden soil will retain nianure longer than field soils, and that a less quantity of manure will act in them, for the simple reason, that the carbon (charcoal,) con- tained in them, and arising from p»revious decay, retains the resultant gases from the decomposition of the manure until used up by plants. ' Let any larmer try the following experiment and lie will be satisfied of the truth of our statement. Prepare four barrels by taking out the upper heads and boring small holes in the lower heads, stand the barrels on end and fill them with the following substances. No. 1. Barren sand with one-tenth the bulk of clay intimately mixed throughout the mass. No. 2. Barren sand with one-tenth of finely ground charcoal dust. No. 3. A dark colored loam or garden soil. No. 4. Barren sand alone. Pour on all four barrels the brown solution from the barn-yard, and it will be found, that the water running out of the bottoms of Nos. 1, 2, and 3, will be colorless and without smell ; while that from No. 4 will be unaltered and as offensive as when placed on the top. The question may now be asked, "if the soluble results of vegetable decay do not filter downward, what becomes of them T' We answer, that resid- ent in the earth's surface, from the combined in- fluences of sun and air, they decay, and take the aseous form ; if the soil contains either clay or carbon, these gases are absorbed by thein, until abstracted by growing plants. But if these sub- tances are not resident in the soil, then the gases rise into the atmosphere, and are absorbed by bet- 72 NEW ENGLAND FARMER, Feb. ter prepared soils elsewhere, or are carried to the ocean and arc thus lost for a time from the land. Let our readers reflect that both the Tegetable and animal productions of the earth's surface are continually decaying, and tliat nothing but the facts we have stated can account for continued fertility. For if the results of decay could filter downward in solution with water, long before this time, the whole amount of organic constituents would have passed below the fertile surface, all our wells would be filled with masses of filth, and both animal and vegetable life would have ceased. The simple facts are, that all organic manures do decay in the earth's surface, and are only lost by rising in the gaseous form, and not by sinking below the toots of plants, and therefore tliey should be plowed under to such a depth that their resultant gases when rising shall meet with a sufficient quantity of alumina or carbon to arrest them. — Journal of Agriculture. For the Ifeiv England Farmer. FARMS— BUTTER. Friend Browx : — I have been fur three weeks past viewing the Farms amidst the hills and vales "of the old Granite State." It is rather unfavor- able at this time of the year, to decide on the fer- tility of the soils ; yet, there are some indications left, to tell something of the land in this vicinity. There are many good /arms in Hillsboro' country ; having large dairies, the land l)eing adapted fur grazing, and a large number of cows are kept by many farmers, sometimes fifty. There is a great inquiry vp here about the best 7nod8 of churning, and what churn is best adapted for use where large quantities of cream are to be churned. Please an- swer these inquiries, and oblige a large number of your readers. Yesterday while passing from iNIa- son village to this place, I was deeply interested in the scenery through which I passed. Standing on an eminence, at the east of this village, the scenery around me was beautiful and grand. Be- low me a river, winding along in its serpentine course, Leaping, and foaming in sportive giee. To find its level In the deep blue sea. At tlie east, the Peterboro' Mountain lay along, filling up the back ground with its walls of Granite and Mica slate. And at the west, the Monadnoc Mountain reared its massive top amidst the clouds of heaven. How the soul seems to rise, (at such times,) in adoration and praise, to the author of Heaven and earth, that ho has given us power to admire his works. But we shall never be fully sat- isfied until we stand on Mount Zion above, and drink in those pure and unalloyed delights. "Where joys like morning dew dislils, And all the air is love " Peterboro\ Dec. 11, 1852. j. k. Remarks. — The common thermometer churn is the best we have ever used where not more than SO or 40 pounds of butter a week was made. The common dash churn is used in Western New York in some of tlie large dairies, moved by dog or sheep power, and is preferred to any other. The barrel and rocking churn are also used. Some like one and some another kind, best. ALKALINE WASHES FOR THE SUR- FACE OF TREES, Almost all the alkalies have in turn been used for this purpose. The trunks of trees have been white-washed with lime, and perhaps this is the worst practice which has l)een cesorted to for the destruction of fungi and insects, and although at the time of its application, the lime is caustic and will decompose parasitical plants, this action lasts but for a very short time. The lime becomes con- verted into carbonate of lime, fills the ultimate surfaces of the bark, and prevents the healthy respiration of the tree ; therefore, trees which have been treated with white-wash, while they present an apparently clean surfiice, are not in an entirely healthy state. Solutions of potash Vihen saturated, were found occasionally to destroy the tree, and this gave rise to its use in the form of soap, which will adhere for a greater length of time, and was found to be less deleterious. One alkali, (soda) however, may be used with impunity, without tlie fear of injuring the bark of any tree ; for, while it causes the rapid decay of the dead portions of the bark, it has no effect upon the living parts. If the body and branches of a tree be wetted with a saturated solution of a good quantity of sal soda, such as we have often de- scribed as Bleacher's No. 1 Soda, it will invariably improve the health of the tree — the inert portions of the bark Avill be softened, and mosses, and oth- er fungi, will be decomposed — the cocoons and ova of insects will be destroyed. During the af- tergrowth of the tree, the decomposed portions of the bark will be thrown off, leaving a clean and healthy surface. No tree can be fruitful, and im- prove in size and figure, unless its bark be perfect- ly clean. The application of soda, made by dissolving one pound in a gallon of water, and applied in spring and late summer, will ensure vigor not attainable without such means, and will do away with the necessity of scraping or slitting trees to prevent their becoming hide-bound. Such trees as have smooth barks, may be rubbed with a woolen cloth one week after the application of the soda, and a shiny smooth surface will be produced. We have a few trees in which the soda has been applied for three years in succession to the point where the branches commence, and it is now evi- dent that the portion of the tree thus treated is larger and in finer health than the part immedi- ately above it. We first saw this treatment at the seat of Robert Rennie, Esq., Lodi, New Jersey. — Working Farmer. For the New England Farmer. A CRACK FROM THE NORTH. There is a profit in pork as well as poultry. The undersigned has recently butchered a swine which had brought a litter of pigs this season worth $30. She was, when butchered, six feet in length, sis feet two inches in girth, and weighed with the rougli fat, six hundred and thirty pounds, at eighteen months old. If any of my brother farmers in Massachusetts have, or can, beat this, this season, I will try again next. Richard Whittier. Grafton, N. H. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 73 OXEN AGAINST HORSES FOR FARM WORK. EXPERIENCE OF MR. GEO. DEWEY, OF UAXOVER, N. II. Horse teams upon the flirm with good rigging make Kuch a fine appearance that many take a great fancy to them. And sucli persons generally manage in some way or other to persuade them- selves that they are much more serviceable and more profitable than oxen. On this subject the experience of our friend Mr. Dewey is well worth considering. First Cost. — In the first place, the cost of a good span of working horses, says Mr. D., is at least twice the cost of a good yoke of oxen. And the wagons, harnesses, and other rigging necessary, will cost more than twice as much aa for oxen ; $32G will not be more than enough to purchase two y<)ung and good working horses, with a wagon, and cart, and rack, and other suitable equipments, while the sum of $100 will provide a choice yoke of oxen, and a cart and wheels, and rack, and all else necessary for them in ordinary farm work. Cost of Keeping. — Then the cost of keeping horses is well known to he considerably more than the cost of keeping o.xen, even if the latter are ever so well taken care of. The blacksmith's bill is sure to be twice as much upon the horses, and then the wear and tear, and breaking of tools will go high- er still. Horses are liable to numerous casualties. They get chafed, lame, sick, or something else, ten times where a yoke of oxen is troubled once. If the horses are at all active and spirited as they should b*, they cannot well be trusted to any but a choice, careful teamster. Besides, hired hands are very apt to make them go sometimes with much more than useful speed. Now and then a horse is unharnessed from tlie plow where he has been hard at work" in the field, and put upon the very top of his speed to the store, a mile or two off, to get a pipe or plug of tobacco, or some such indispensable article. Service Done. — Oxen will do all kinds of farm work well, and many things altogether better than horses. For instance, starting out manure, haul- ing rocks, getting out wood, Mr. D. says that a strong yoke of oxen will do as much as a span of horses, if well kept, and oxen must be well kept to be profitable. Give the oxen the same keeping as the horses and they will follow them in plowing any length of time, provided the furrows be oi equal depth, and they will do this through any weather, except the very warmest. The great fault of those who complain of the slowness of ox- en, and their want of strength and endurance, ie that they do not keep their oxen well. And an- other point'of great consequence is, that the oxen are put to work at a very early age, and before they have had time to gain their proper size and strength. Horses do not so often have their early growth checked in this way. Besides, calves are often so meanly fed that they are greatly stinted by that also. Keeping. — They should be kept so as to be al- ways fit for the butcher. Mr. D. has a farm of 150 acres, 40 of which is in tillage. He uses no other cattle for labor except one yoke of large ox- en. They are so kept and used that they are fit for the Imtcher through the hardest of the work. During the first part of the winter, till March, they get hay in the morning, oat straw at noon, and corn fixlder at night. Later in the season they are fed with a peck of meal per day, with chaffer cliopped hay, sometimes moist^in addition, and a bushel of turnips twice a week. The meal is made from corn and cobs — two bushels of cobs and one bushel of corn on the cobs, and perhaps a bushel in ten or twelve, of oats, are mixed ground to- gether. Cattle do not feed so well on hay or on grain alone, as on a mixture. Vegetables are of great service to make them healthy. When Mr. D. fats cattle he gives them daily a bundle of green corn fodder in the summer and fall till the frost comes, and then green turnips and beets thinned out of the field, and afterwards a bushel of turnips and a peck of meal, like that above men- tioned, till sold. TuE Profit. — Allowing well fed oxen to be just about as serviceable as horses, besides the extra cost in the beginning, the repair of tools, the extra expense of slioeing, risk of lameness and disease, and the great care needful in managing, there are other things that increase the profit of oxen. The manure they make is more valuable. The best kept horses v.ill decrease in value $10 annually, take one year with another, while oxen will in- crease in value. Mr. D. never buys a yoke of oxen till about six years old. If they do not prove just the team desired, he sells them in a year and gets another pair. They will do well till 12 years old. His experience for the last 20 years is as follows : where is presented the first cost of the oxen, the number of years kept on the farm, and the price sold at. And during that time the oxen have been the only team for farm Avork, and have not in all been turned out from labor for the pur- pose of fattening, three weeks during the 20 years. Coat. Time kept. Sold at. $ 72 About 6 years $115 70... " 1 " 95 10.5 " 5 " 9« 70 " i " 98 85 ' 3 " 112 60 " 3 " 110 £0 " 1 " 105 $573 $731 ,..573 Cost Profit $158 Granite Farmer. DON^T TAKE THE PAPERS ! In making an excursion, the other day, a little out of the State, we indulged ourselves as usual, in taking a hasty survey of the farms, buildings, orchards, &c., as we passed along. The glance that may he obtained, as rapidly as one rushes along in a car, is oftentimes a pretty good index to the whole establishment. And we have some- times thought we could write a tolerably correct description of the habits of the inmates of an es- tablishment by merely passing the premises. One homestead we saw, worthy the age when cast-off hats and pantaloons ornamented the win- dows. The house had been erected with fair pro- portions and painted white; the elements had wasted the paint, leaving only patches here and there to indicate its original color, while the fences were scattered in every direction, like a platoon of routed troopers. The barn stood awry, rickety, 74 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. and uninviting, with all the avenues from the barn- yard prostrate. Nothing loth, the cattle had for- saken its gloomy precinct, and were basking in the sunshine on the south side of the dwelling-house — one cow quietly chewing her cud with her nose over the tlireshold of the front door ! All other things about the premises were in excellent keep- ing with this one point. While we wish the oc- cupants much joy in their primitive possessions, we cannot help believing that they do not take the papers — or, at any rate, that they do not take the New England Farmer ! For the. New En^iJand Farmer. FARMER'S FIRESID3E] TALK— TOP- PING CORN. Well, as I was telling you, the other evening, the man I spoke of had something to say about top) ling corn, as well as hilling up. I do pretty much as the way is here, — a few days before the corn is ripe, I cut off the tops of the stalks, and take them in for fodder ; then, in say a fortnight or so, I gather the corn. After that, I cut the bottom stalks fiir fodder. That is generally the way about in this neighborhood. Some though don't cut the bottom stalks but let them stand, and in the spring cut them down with a plow, spHt- ting the hills, as they call it, and then rake and gather the stalks into the stable yard. He says ho has great doubts of the advantage of this plan : and whether there is not more lost to the grain than is gained in fodder. His idea about that is something in this sort, if I can tell it right. "In the first part of the season, in spring and till about midsummer, the sap goes up or ascends, be- ing drawn up by the roots, and it goes up to all parts of the plant. In the latter part of summer the sap goes down. The upward sap, he thinks, forms the stem and leaves of the plant. This it is wliicli gives it growth and expansion. When the sap ceases to go up, it must be because the roots cease to take it up from the earth. The function performed by the roots in the early part of the season is changed. They no longer take up and convey sap to the stem and branches. The descending sap now begins to pass down. The leaves are now formed. The scientific writers up- on the vegetable structure and economy tell us f lat the sap that is taken up by the roots passes into all parts of the plant, and lastly into the leaves; — and that in its passagf through the leaves, it ])ecames changed, and passes again through the plant, a different fluid from that which passed up. The change which is made in the leaf is likened t ) the change which the blood of man undergoes in passing through the lungs. The difference" in fact, between the ascending and descending sap is S3 great,^that there are plants whose sap in the spring when ascending is agreeable and nutritious, and is drank by the people of the country, but af- ter midsummer, when descending, it is acrid, and even deadly poisonous. The inhabitants of the Canary islatids draw off and drink the ascending sap of a species of Euphorbia, a native plant, which is very pleasant while the descending sap is very acrid, and much like the juice of common spurge. Now it is this descending sap that gives whatever is peculiar to any plant. It gives the in- dividuality, or particular property. If a tree has a coloring matter, gum, starch, oil, tannin, or any other peculiar product or property, it is commun- icated by the descending sap. This forms theliruit. It is the sap descending, passed down in the latter part of the season, from the leaves, that forms the corn, and gives to it its nourishing property. My idea of the origin and formation of this new £ap is a little diffei-ent from that of the writers ; or, rath- er, I should state it differently. The leaves of plants evaporate very rayiidly. Some plants evap- orate their whole weight, and even more, in twen- ty-four hours. And as the upward sap and down- ward sap flow at different seasons, I am inclined to think that the last is rather to be considered a new matter, not merely resulting from a change in the upward sap, by the function of the leaf, but that the upward sap is wholly passed off by evap- oration, and that then the action of the root ceas- ing, that of the leaf begins, — and taking in oxy- gen and other constituents of the air, the down- ward sap is rather made anew in the leaf, from these new materials, and then passed over the plant. But I need not say anything about this, because whichever it may be, the effect on the plant is the same. It is the downward sap that makes the corn, — and this downward sap is made or qualified in the leaf, and cannot be in any oth- er part, or by any other process. Now, therefore. If you cut off tlie top with the leaves above the ear, before the ear is ripe, you stop the growth of tlie ear, at that point to which it has attained. It grows no more. It had before ceased to dravT anj' thing from the ground. And if lefrto stand on the stalk a fortnight, it will gain nothing, either in weight or nourishment, but will be exactly the same as if gathered on the day it was topped. — It may sweat or dry on the stalk, as it would in the crib, or perhaps better ; but it gains nothing. This has been proved by weighing. Mr. Testall, my neighbor, weighed some of his corn that had been thus topped, and the same quantity on the same Seld that had not been topped, and found the grain of the topped stalks to be three bushels less in measure to the acre, than that which had not been topped, and the bushel four pounds less in weight, making over another three bushels to the acre. If this is correct, the gain in estovers is just balanced by the loss in the grain — and, of course, whatever the stalk is worth as a restorer of the soil, is the true loss by topping. By thus weighing the topped and the un topped corn, an estimate by approximation may be made of the advantage or loss by the process of topping. And this is the question. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, Worcester county, in a statement made in the New Enghmd Farmer, Dec, 1851, apparently made with knowledge and care, puts the average for a crop of corn in this State at 40 bushels, the value 80 cents, worth of estovei's seven dollars the acre. One, at least, or perhaps two dollars additional cost is incurred in cutting the stalk or topping and binding, per acre. This would make the value of the tops live or at most six dollars to the acre for fodder. Six bush- els of corn more to the acre, at 80 cents, would be $5.00 less 20 cents. If, by leaving the corn un- topped, you gain so much corn, then there will be no advantage in topping. But if the increase of the corn is only a small part of this ratio, or sup- pose, even, it is nothing, is there not as much 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 75 giin by restoring the stalk to the exhausted soil, as by feeding it ? At any farm in this State, a cord of stable ma- nure costs five or six dollars.^ Now by restoring the estovers of an acre, I believe you enrich the acre more than by a cord of manure. You restore nearly all that has been drawn from the soil by the growing crop. The ear, as I said, is drawn h-oin the air, not tlie eartli, and the evaporations of the }ilant are nearly pure water. If, therefore, the stalk is returned, and plowed in in the fall or spring, the ground receives back nearly the value it has given out. It receives the same kind that it gave, and I think more in amount of fertilizing matter than from a cord of stable matter. Of course, if this is so, there is a loss by topping, even without counting the loss of grain." This is about what he said on topping, as near as I can tell it. It is curious to me. Now, wheth- er the man is critically e.xact in considering the stalks to be of more value fur manure than for fodder, is what I can't tell, though I suppose ev- ery one must work that out by his own experience and calculation. But it was the way of coming to it, that took me. In fact, I shall be obliged to think there is something in science, after all. For it was his knowledge of the science of the vegeta- ble growth that led him along to reason as he did, and brought iiim right down to the point. There must be some benefit to a. farmer, to have that sort of knowledge, that is certain. Don't you think so, neighbor Brown. w. J. a. b. Essex, Nov. 30, 1852. Remarks. — Certainly, certainly, friend B.; there is no more doubt on our mind on that point, than there is that tapping the stalk decreases the amount of grain. We have tried both ways, but continue to cut the stalks for two reasons. 1st, Because Ave get on the top stalk a lai-ge amount of the best fodder we cut on the farm. 2d, Because it is so much more convenient harvesting the corn. Officers of Barnstadle County Society. — We are indebted to Charles II. Bursley, Esq., for the following list of the officers of the Barnstable Co. Agricultural Society, elected on the thirteenth of October last. For President — Charles Marston, of Barnstable. Fice Presidents — Enoch Pratt, of Brewster; Walter Crock- er, of Barnstable. Recording Secretary— Charles H. Bursley, of Barnstable. Corresponding^ Secretary — F. W. Crocker, of Barnstable. Treasurer — Frederick Scudder, of Barn.stahle. Executive Committee — Matthias HincKley, George Mars- ton, Nathan Jenkins. Nathan Crocker, Frederick Parker, of Barnstable; Thomas L. Swift, Falmouth; C. B. II. Fessen- den, Sandwich; J G. Ilallet, Yarinoulh; William Howes, Dennis; George Copeland. Brewster; Obed Brooks, Jr., Har- wich; David Howes, Chatham; John Kenrick, Orleans; Jas. H. Knowles, Easlham; P. G. Atwood, Wellileet; Solomon Davis, Truro; Thomas I.nthrop, Provincetown. Old Apple Trees. — There is a bearing apple tree in Connecticut, alive and flourishing, at the advanced tige of two hundred and fourteen years. It is of the English Pearmain variety, and was im- ported in 1G38, by Gov. George Wyileys, and bore good fruit tliis season, on the "Charter Oak Place,'' now owned by Hon. T. W. Stuart, Hartford. Some of the fruit of this venerable tree was pre- sented to the Connecticut Horticultural Society in October last. For more than two centuries have the people been blessed with the fruit of Gov. Wylleys's regard for the welfare of men who should "come after him." Every mtin should set out fi'uit and shade trees, so long as he has the physic- al power to do so, that "future generations may rise up and call him blessed." — Vermont State Journal. PAPERS FROM AFRICA. Through the politeness of Mr. C. F. Dennett, we have received the Cape Monitor, of the 15th Sep- tember, and The South African Commercial Adver- tiser, of Oct. 2, both published at Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. Tiie Advertiser contains a report of a public sale of Merino and Thibet Rams, the Merinos averaging $180 each, and the Thibets $155 each. The Monitor conttiius a report of an agricultural Show and Fair at the Cape on the 14th Sept. , at which matters seem to have "been managed much as they are with us. The premiums on the horned cattle we notice were $25 each. The Advertiser contains an interesting letter, a few extracts from which we give below, which shows what is going on in a portion of the interior of Africa. The Orange River Sovereignty, as you are aware, is situated betwean the Great Orange and Vaal Rivers. Sixteen years ago, before the "great trek" of the Emigrant Boers, it was a "trackless desert," a "howling wilderness" — "a land in which, although thinly populated hj skulking broods of Bushmen, and by the starving remnants of nomadic pastoral tribes, which have been broken up by war and violence, no man permanently dwelt, neither was the soil any man's property ;" — a land in which, for hundreds of miles, the eye was not greeted by the smallest trace of human industry, or by any vestige of human habitation — the wild and interminable expanse ever presenting the same appearance — that of one vast uninhabited solitude. Such was the picture drawn by the well-known traveller, Capt. W. C. Harris, in 1836 — 7, of the country between the Vaal and Orange Rivers. This vast country is divided off into fixrms — I forget the precise number,' but I think somewhere about 1,500, the greater proportions of which are occupied and stocked. The most striking feature in the country is the enormous extent of its flats, covered, after passing Smithfield, with thousands of head of game, com- prising the springbuck, blesbok, hartebeest, quag- ga, and wildebeest — and last, though not least, the "King of Beasts," that noble animal "which sweeps the desert with his rolling eye ! ' ' The pas turage of these plains, with the e.xccption of what the Dutch term the "hoogeveld," or "wildebeeste fiats," which are covered with a sour wiry grass, is principally what is termed in the colony "ge- bruken veld," or a mixture of sour and sweet grass. But what must before the lapse of many years raise this country to a very important position, is the fact thtit it is well adapted for wooUed sheep. The elevation of the country being very great, the winters are cold— the ground being generally c ivered with frost, snows frequent, and the wat- ers— excepting the large running stream — frozen. 76 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. I have ^een ice, half an inch thick, at two o'clock in the afternoon. This keeps the sheep in rather low condition in winter, but the length of staple of the wool is considerably inci-eased thereby. As to tlie quality of the wool, the best proof is that •Sovereignty" wools have realized as much as Is. 3 l-2d. in the London market. Upwards o? fifteen hundred bales have been exported from the last clip, and taking each bale to be worth only £10, this will give a total of £15,000. No better proof can be required of the suitability of the country for sheep-farming. SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME. Our space, this month, is not sufficient to admit of publising the numerous letters we have received from those who have used the Improved Super- phosphate of Lime. In all cases where it was used preceding the spring rains, its results have been truly wonderful. On later crops since the rains of July, its effects are equally great. We have applied it to one field, on which are planted 60,000 cabbages, all of which are in a most flour isuing condition, and fully equal those raised in the richest and oldest soil. Tliis field was plowed in June, being the first time for many years. It was an old pasture, over-run with weeds and foul grasses and entirely out of heart. We applied 250 lbs. broadcast per acre of the Improved Super- phosphate of Lime, and after putting out the plants at the first hoeing gave 250 lbs. more, making in all 500 lbs., at a cost of $12,50 per acre, and we state confidently tliat this will give twelve thousand merchantable cabbages per acre. Those who have used the new manure on grass, wheat, corn, &c., are more than delighted with its effects, while for turnips the results are still more wonderful. It hurries their growth so rapidly, as to force them beyond the fly and ensure their perfection at an early date. — Working Farmer. New Haven, August 24eh, 1852. Prof. J. J. Mapes : — Dear Sir — Allow me here to add one tribute of notice to the many you are doubtless receiving in behalf of that valuable manu- facture with which you have to do, and which cannot fail to prove a valuable acquisition to the agricultural interests of our coimtry. As you well know, I desired you to send me one h ilf ton of the Improved Super-phosphate of Lime which was duly received, and applied to the various crops connected with horticultural operations. Having had an analysis of the soil, I was well aware of the results that would probably follow its application, nor have I been disappointed in my expectations ; all that I could have expected or hoped for has been fully realized. While the ap- plications which I have made were for improve- ment, yet to mark the result, I have not forgotten the value^of experiment in leaving some portions of the crops without the benefit of the application, that I might more fully realize and exhibit its real value. I have applied it to corn, potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, beans, squashes, tomatoes, cucum- bers, melons, cabbages, turnips, itc, &c., &c., including most other vegetables raised for the market, and in all cases I have been obliged to credit it with marked effects ; and notwithstanding the drought, which has hitherto prevailed yet the Improved Super-phosjjhate of Lime hus not failed to show its infliuence, thereby proving what most desire to know, that it is readily soluble and suitable for the wants of plants. While I am unable to give you precise results, as the crops mostly remain unperfected in growth, yet it re- quires no long mathematical demonstrations to show where tlie liberal hand of its application was iliven. But I need not enlarge upon its virtues ; all who have used it, are doubtless aware of its in- fluence, and those who have not, only need try it and be convinced. Amid the improvements which are now gather- ing in behalf of agi'icultural interests, may the recent manufacture of Improved Super-phosphate of Lime take no unworthy place, and find no light esteem in the minds of all who greet agricultural interests with a cheerful hand ; and while I be- speak for it a general reception in our agricultural communities, I feel I am doing nothing more than its merits M'ill warrant, and successful cultivation demand. And may we hail with pleasure the dawn of thatdelightful day, when agriculture shall take science as her guide in the fields of labor, and make it the "Day Spring" of lier energies, im- proving and enriching as effectually the mind as the suil. When this shall come, we shall no longer see hesitation in the use of needful fer- tilizers, but will behold each improvement as a new beam iu the radiant liglit of a glorious morn. Respectfully yours, Solomon Mead. FARMERS' CLUES. We cannot urge upon our readers with too much earnestness the importance of forming clubs for the discussion of all matters relating to the farm Now is the appropriate time — suffer it not to pass unimproved. You will find amusement, im- provement, and capital, in its deliberations, which you cannot now appreciate. Form the club, and )>e determined to take an active part in it, and you will find your thoughts ranging in new and delightful fields through another year. Meet at j'our own dwellings, and thus while you are inter- changing civilities with each other, you will save all expense of hall hire, fuel and lights. The following is a suitable form of a constitu- tion : — CONSTITUTION. Art. 1. — This Association shall be styled The Farmer^s Club. Art. 2. — Its officers shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, who shall be chosen annually by ballot. Art. 3. — The President shall preside in all meetings of the Club, with power to preserve or- der, appoint Committees, and assign topics for discussion. Art. 4. — In the absence of the President, all his powers shall be exercised by the Vice Presi- dent. Art. 5. — The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of each meeting, which shall be read by him at the next subsequent meeting. He shall preserve all reports of Committees, and con- duct whatever correspondence shall be ordered by the Club. Art. 6. — There shall be at each meeting a dis 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. cussion upon a topic previously announced, which shall be commenced by four members designated at the preceding meeting by the presiding officer ; and such other exercises as the Club shall deem proper. Art. 7. — There shall be in the Club twelve Standing Committees : — One on Manures ; Hoed Crops ; lloot Crops ; G rain Crops ; Grass Crops ; Live Stock ; Farm Buildings and Farms ; Farming Tools ; Reclaiming Waste Lands ; Garden Fruits ; Ornamental Gardening ; Fruit and Ornamental Trees. A^T. 8. — Select Committees may be appointed as the exigencies of the Club may require. Art. 9. — Each Committee shall make report in writing, from time to time, as the Club may or- der, and the reports so made shall be at the dis- posal of the Club. Art. 10. — Any person may become a member of this Club by paying one dollar to the Treasurer. Art. 1L — The Annual Meeting of the Club shall be holden on the first Monday of Noverabe;- of each year, for the election of officers ; and all officers to hold over until new officers are elected. For the Neio Vlngiand Farmer. CORN-COBS— BESS. I have been a reader of the IS. E. Farmer for fche past year, and I trust that it has not been without profit. I have tried some of its directions, and particularly those relating to the management of fowls, and have realized a larger amount of eggs this year than any year heretofore ; this I must attribute to the reading of the Farmer. Now I want to ask you a question or two. And first, in regard to corn-cobs. Much has been said in our section for and against their use. Some say that corn ground with the cob is worth as much as its bulk in oats, while others say that cobs are entirely worthless. Now I want to know your opinion in re- gard to this matter ; whether there is any nutri- ment in them or not ; if there is, what is the best manner of feeding them to cattle or swine ? The next question is in regard to E. Jordan's Honey Bee Feed, a notice of which I send you. Now I would like to know how many lbs. of feed will make a pound of honey ? Do you believe that the one dollar invested in this business may, as he says, be made worth ^50 twice told, or is it all a humbug r A. D., 2d. Dudley, Dec. 1852. Remarks. — We have no analysis of the cob, and can, therefore, only speak of it in general terms. Without possessing nutrient properties it may be used to advantage on other accounts. For in- stance, if you find it necessary to feed store pigs on com entirely, for want of less concentrated food, such as potatoes or pumpkins, we have no doubt it would be better to grind the cob with the corn for them. But for fattening swine, the pure meal would be far better. A certain amount of bulk is as necessary as nutriment itself, to the healthy growth of the animal in all its parts. For cattle, fed daily with hay, the cob would be of little or no service ; but deprived of a considerable portion of the hay usually fed to them, the cob would be beneficial. There is considerable potash in the cob, and it may possibly answer some good pur- pose on that account. Fowls flourish finely, fed on cob-meal mixed with scalding water, as a change firom dry food. We know nothing of Mr. Jordan^s mode of feed- ing bees, and of course cannot say whether it is a " humbug " or not. Persons do feed bees advan- tageously,- with West India honey and the com- mon molasses sugar, heated together and strained, at an expense of three or four cents a pound. Seven swarms of bees, to which we fed this com- position, carried off eighteen pounds in two hours, but how much it added to our profits we had no means of ascertaining. There is little doubt but that bees may be aided in their business when their pasturage is short, as is sometimes the case, by a mixture somewhat like the above. But probably not to any great extent, as all that they receive,, must pass through a thorough elaboration in their bodies, and cannot be greatly hastened, as one would a water wheel by raising the gate and letting on a stronger head of water. FARMERS' vvIVSS, We gladly give room to the following extract, ^ and doubt not but that the sentiments therein ex- pressed will agree with those of our readers gen- erally : — The farmers. of this country occupy a position of honor and usefulness. They are the source of a nation's wealth and prosperity, and by their vote and influence can, at any moment, decide its destiny. Farmers' wives occupy a position of cor- responding importance in our own country's his- tory ; they are and have been the mothers of the men whom our nation delights to honor, whose voice of wisdom and warning is heard in our na- tion's councils. Lebanon shorn of its stately ce- dars, would be her sad emblem, were our land be- reaved of our patriotic and heroic men whose ear- ly youth was associated with rural scenes, with woods and streams, and the bird voices that fill the air with melody. But the sweet voice that stilled the cry of infancy, the kind hand tliat led them to the altar of prayer ; the counsels that conducted them in the paths of wisdom, the in- fluence that developed their moral nature — those were the pledges and presages of their future great- ness. The wives of our farmers, wliose thrift and industry have secured for their husbands a com- petency, whose intelligence is the light of the so- cial circle, and whose piety is the guardian of do- mestic peace, are emphatically "the mothers of our men . " A failure in the country — with all the opportuidties of success, away from all_ the moi-al contaminations of a crowded city, amid the free refreshing winds, among all that is pure and poetic in nature, amid all that is suggestive of truth and beauty, and all that is bountiful and beautiful in agricultural pursuits and success— rightly to train up children, should awaken the voice of instruc- tive warning. There may have been no failure in 78 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. accumulating wealth, none in making home beau- tiful and tasteful to the eye ; but the failure has been wlicre it is must fatal, in training the heart and directing the footsteps of childhood. There may have been lavish expenditure to gratify fash- ion and perverted taste, but little care to devehipe the intellect and train the heart. There may have been great expense to teach children to sing, to play and dance well, but none to make them use- ful, virtuous and happy. Hence the failure, and the need of warning. There is tendency in these days of wealth and luxury among our farmers, to imitate the ostentation of fashionable city life. We wage no war against rehnement. We are not averse to the elegancies of life ; but to train up our daughters only to shine in the parlor, to play the guitar and speak correctly tlie French accent, and our sons to despise the honest toil of the hus- bandman, to feel that they must aspire to a pro- fession, if they would become men; tliis is a sin not to pass unrebuked. Our fothers, who laid the foundation of ournation's greatness, were the hum- ble tillers of the soil ; and many who have plowed the field and sowed the seed, have risen to guide the affairs of state, to hqld converse with the muse, or to sweep with a Milton's hand tlie harp strings. Our mothers, whose names and heroic deeds are immortal, cultivated the domestic virtues, plied the loom and tlie needle, and made tlie garments of the men whose names are associated with tlie heroism of the past. We must look still to far mcrs' wives, who are blessed with children, foi the men of strong frames, of iron nerves and he roic hearts, to accomplish our nation's destiny Let them not be recreant to their high trust, 'if they flill, to whom shall we look for the men, and the women, that shall be worthy to steady the ark of God, and train the coming generation for usefulness in the blessedness in heaven. — Anoni/- mous. For the New England Farmer. ON BARNS. Simon Brown, Esq. : — Dear Sir,— -You will please apply one of the enclosed $2, to the payment of one copy of the Nciv England Farmer for one year commencing January, 18-53 ; and the remaining one to arrearages ; and consider me a permanent subscriber while I live, &c. And here let me ask another favor. Will you be kind enougli to describe or refer me to the most approved barn for winter feeding 20 or 25 head of fat cattle or milch cows, as the case may be?_ Having in view a sufficient cellar room for storing roots enough for one feed per day for five ruontlis ; cheapness and durability of construc- tion, convenience and economy in storing and feed- ing ; health and comfort of the animals, and last, the making and saving of manure. Location for the barn is level land on the west bank of the Ohio river. J. II. Collins. Locust Lawn, New Albany, Indiana., \ Dec. 16, 1852. <, Remarks. — Our corrc.-ipondent will find a plan of a barn on page 272 of the Montlily Farmer for 1852, which we consider as perfect in its arrange- ments as any we have ever seen. The description is full and easily understood, and comliines about all the conveniences we can suggest. If your ground is level, make half the depth of your cel- 1 ir below the surface, using wbat is thrown out to- wards wharfing up the drive ways and cellar wall. Have your cellar eight or nine feet deep, and ar- range your leantos and horse stalls so as to gather all the droppings under one end of the barn, leav- ing the other end of the cellar for roots, imple- ments, barrels, lumber, &c. This arrangement will leave the hay over the root cellar, and of course mostly away from the vapors of the ma- nure. By an examination of the engraving, and a careful perusal of the remarks attached to it, you will readily study out the best mode of con- structing a barn. For the IS&w Ens^land Farmtr. BIRDS OF NSW ENGLAND. THEIR PAST AND PRESENT HISTORY. .. .No. 1. BY S. P. FOWLER. There v/aa but very little correct knowledge up- on the subject of ornithology previous to the ap- pearance of the great work of Alexander Wil- S(m, which was fii'st published in September, 1808. It is true that Catesby, Jefferson, William Bar- tram, and Dr. Barton in the southern portion of our union, had written upon ornithology, but some of these works were expensive, particularly that of Catesby, and were seldom seen; Jefferson, who copied from Catesby and Edwai-ds, furnished us with nothing but a catalogue. Mr. Bartram, who was more complete in his history of our birds, described in his travels through North and South Carolina in 1791, two hundred and fifteen sjjecies, and Dr. Barton, in his fragmentary Natural His- tory of Pennsylvania, has furnished us some infor- mation upon this subject. In New England, Dr. Belknap in his history of New Hampshire, and Dr. Williams in his history of Vermont, have each enumerated a few of our birds ; the former being published in 1792, and the latter in 1794. But most of the knowledge of the natural history of our country previous to the nineteenth century, was to be found only in scattered portions, written chiefly by travellers, journalists and civil histori- ans, who possessed very little taste for the study of the natural sciences. The descriptions of our animal and vegetable productions, by some of the early writers, are mere fibles, and are laughable and ludicrous to us, in the extreme. One of the earliest works on the natural history of New Eng- land, was written by John Josselyn Gent, and pub- lished in London in 1G72. It was a book not much larger than the New England primer, and fur- nished with plates, and entitled "New England Rarities." This compared with Audubon's splen- did work on the "Birds of America," shews to the student in natural history, a greater contrast, than he had supposed this country, with all its march of improvement, could ever have furnished. We will now quote from the writings of several au- thors, who wrote upon the subject of our natural history in early times, and, who probably believed that what they had written was veritable truth, and not to be gainsayed. Our first quotation is from the New England Rarities, where the au- thor is describing nothing more or less than our bull frog, and the reader cannot fail to notice, there is not one word of truth in his whole de- 1853, NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 79 seription. He says, "The Pond Frog, will chip in the Spring like SpaiTows, and crokc like Toads in autumn ; iSome of these, when they set upon their breech, are a Fool high ; the Indians will tell you that, up in the Country, there are Pond Frogs as bijr as a child of a year old/'' Our author describes a bird, which he calls the Troculus, and says "it is a small bird, black and white, no bigger than a swallow, the points of whose Feathers are sharp, which they stick into the sides of the Chimney, to rest themselves [their Legs being exceedingly short] where they breed in Nests, made like a swal- lows Nests, but of a glevvey substance, and which is not fiistened to the Chimney as a, swallows Nest, but hangs down the Chimney by a clew like siring a yard long and when they go away, they never fail to throw down one of their young Birds into the room by ivay of Gratitude. ^^ The above relation of the Troculus, is no doubt intended for our chimney svfallow ; and if we can credit any of Josselyn's description of it, we may notice that this bird, very early in the settlement of the country, forsook its natural abode in hollow trees, to seek the habitations of men, and the pro- tection they aiford. We are not one of those per- sons, who entertain the idea that this swallow hangs its nests in our chimneys by a string, as a sailn* does his hammock, between decks, or that gratitude to the owner of the chimney in furnish- ing these birds with a breeding place, prompts them to leave behind them one of their own off- spring. In point of fact, the chimney swallow constructs its nest of very small twigs glued to- gether, and to the chimney by a gum, which the bird secretes from its mouth. This nest is small, and to the young birds crowded, and not being lined is hard and uncomfortable, thus inducing them to leave it, when only a few days old, and attach themselves by their sharp claws to the in- side of the chimney. In this situation they fre- quently lose their hold, and fJiU down the flue, and perhaps flutter into the room. If we must be compelled to believe strange relations in regard to the habits of the swallow tribe, as related by the old writers on Ornithology, with our own ob- servations to assist in guiding us, we should give a preference to those wdiich relate to the torpidi- ty of these birds in winter, at the bottom of our ponds immersed in mud and water. There were a few birds, that early attracted the notice of the first settlers of our country. There were others, to which their attention had been called by the Indians, those close observers of na- ture. One of the birds mentioned by the old wri- ters, was called by the aborigines the Wakon Bird, and is thus described. "The Wakon Bird, as it is termed by the Indians, appears to be of the same species as tha birds of paradise. The name they have given it, is expressive of its superior excel- lence, and the veneration they have for it ; the wakon bird, being in their language, the bird of the Groat Spirit. It is nearly the size of a swal- low, of a brown colour, shaded about the neck, with a briglit green ; its talc is composed of four or five feathers, which are three times as long as its body. It carries this fine length of plumage, in the same manner that a peacock does his. Capt. Jonathan Carver, the traveler through the interior parts of North America inlTGG, says the Naudow- essie Indians, cauglit several of them, wdien I was in their Country, and seemed to treat them as if they were of a superior rank, to any other of the feathered race. Mr. Loskiel, a missionary of the United Brethren among the Indians of North America, speaks of the bird of the Great Spirit— or the Wakon Bird, and describes it nearly in the same language as that used by Capt. Carver. It is difficult at this time, to asd'ertain v/hat these birds were that were seen and described by our travelers, in the Indian Country. They were sup- posed to exist up to the time of Wilson." The description of our King-bird, as given by the old travellers, is as follows. "The King Bird is like a swallow, and seems to be of the same sjiecies as the black martin, or swift ; it is called the King Bird, because it is able to master almost every bird that flies. I have often seen it bring down a hawk." It would seem that the Indians observed tlie cour- ageous and tyrannical habits of this bird, before the arrival of our ancestors, and gave it the name of Sachem Bird. Roger Williams, in his key to the Indiaan tongue, says "the Sachem is a little Bird, about the bignesse of a swallow, or lesse, to whom the Indians give that name because of its Sachim or Prineelike courage and Command our greater Birds, that a man shall often see this small Bird pursue and vanquish and put to flight the Crow and other Birds, farre bigger than itselfe." The generic description of the King bird, as given by our old writers, is inaccurate, the description of its habits is more correct. The Hnmmino- Bird was very generally known by our ancestors, and early attracted notice, and their descriptions of it, are generally correct, with the exception of its size. In Ogilby'sAmerica, published in 1071, the author says, "The Humbird is one of the wonders of the country, being no bigger than a Hormet, yet hath all the dimensions of a Bird, and wings with quills, spider-like legs, small claws : for color, she is as glorious as the rainbow; as she flies, she makes a little humming noise, like the Humble-bee, where- fore she is called the Humbird." The Wild Pig- " eon is mentioned by most of our old writers, and they were vei-y abundant in New England in 1G40; Josselyn says, "The Pidgeon, of which there are millions of millions, I have seen a flight of Pidg- eons in the spring, and at Michaslmas, when they return back to the Southward, for four or five miles, that to my thinking had neither beginning nor ending, length nor breadth, and so thick that I could see no sun, they joyn Nest to Nest, and Tree to Tree by their Nests, many miles together in Pine Trees. I have bought at Boston a dozen of Pidgeons ready puU'd and garbidged for three pence." The AVhip-poor-will was another bird which from its singular note, attracted the attention of our ancestors. It is well known, that it acquired its n:ime Whip-poor-will, very early in the history of our country. The Indians called it muck-a-wiss, the note of the bird striking an Indian's ear and imagination, differently from what it did the Eng- lish. There was a bird described by our old trav- ellers in 1762, and said to be found in our woods, and called by ^lem the Whetsaw Bird. Their de- scription of it wa^ as follows : "The Whetsaw is of the cuckoo kind, being like that, a solitary bird and scarcely ever seen. In the summer months, it is heard in the groves, where it mixkes a noise like the filing of a saw, from which it receives its name." This solitary bird of the cuckoo kind, above mentioned, was no doubt the little Acadian 80 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Teb.. Owl, and well known in Massachusetts. Au(lul)on says it receives its name from the sound of its love notes, bearing a great resemblance to noise pro- duced by filing the teetli of a large saw. These notes, when coming, as they frequently do, from the interior of a deep forest, produce a very pecu- liar effect on the traveller, who not being aware of their real nature, expects, as he advances on his route, to meet with shelter under a saw-mill at no great distarjce. In "Ogilby's Anieriea," pviblished in 1G71, we find our birds, ealied by him common, and peculiar, thus enumerated somewhat after tlie manner of Spencer in his Faery Queen. ' The Princely Eagle, arxi (he so;iri;i» Hawk, Whom in (heir unknown ways theres non can ehaJk — The Ilunjbird for some Cineefis rich ciige more 111, — Than hi the vacant wilderness to sit. The swilt winged Swallow .sweeping to and fro. As swift a.s arrow frnn} Tartarian bowe. When as .\urora's infant day new sprm;^?, When the morning n!0»nliiielongs to the past history of our birds, being very generally believed by orni- thologists previous to the nineteenth century. In our nest communication we shall speaU. of the .brumal or winter retreat of the swallow. Danversport, Jan. 1, 1853, s. p. f. For the New Enirland Farmer. WARTS ON PLUM TRESS. Frequent complaints continue to be made by correspondents of agricultural papers, and others, of the black bunches on plain tvees, and as many inquiries for a remedy. Cutting off the bunches and burning them in the fire is every where pre- scribed as t!iat remedy, and more than tliirty years of personal practice, and observation of the prac- tice of others, enables me to say that remedy is ef fectual. It is easy and simple, though sometimes a little severe on the tree. It may he it is too simple, and that a compound drug of many foreign hard-named materials would be more attractive, the appliciition of which would be ten times the labor that the ready use of the knife requires. If the dt^predation of the curculio could be as easily prevented as the black warts, plums would be vast- ly more abundant than they have been. The last seas )n, however, my plums suffered but little, and my cherries much less t!ian ever Wbfore iTnm tlie bite of the curculio. [ attributed this to the very frequent high winds that prevailed about the usual time that the plums Jind clierriesget their wounds. High winds clear tiie atmosphere of musquitoes and may partially d.)^tlie same of the insects or bugs and millers that sting fruit. Peach and cherry trees suffered much the past season by the great flow of gum. On examination of the bark about where the gum oozed out it wa& found dead, and the v/ood dead or aSected under it. Whether the Sow of tlie gum is caused by r., worm or not I cannot tell, though it appears to me that irritation from this source affects it. Upon, that supposition I use the knife, gouge or chisel to- remove the dead bark with the gtJm, and leave the wood naked to the sound line of bark and wood ; and if done thoroughly the gum ceases to flow — tlie wound becomes dry and is soon covered with the growing wood. I had a young, thrifty cherry,, the Yellow Spanish, several years ago, badly affect- ed and nearly girdled by dead bark, which I re- moved with the gum and to such eztent that I ex- pected to lose the tree. The gam ceased to flow tind the tregjsooa healed over sound and has growii vigorous and large. No gum has till the past sea- son made its appearance. On examination the same state of the bark and wood as formerly ap- peared— the same remedy applied, and thus far with the same good etS>ct. Whetlier the cause b& a worm, or a disease or cancer of the wood, so to- speak, the free use of the knife appears to be the efficient remedy. On peach trees the effect of re- moving the dead bark and gum and leaving the naked wood to the air has had the same good ef- fect, so far as my liuiited experience has gone. Kures McIntire. Parsonsfidd, Me. For the Ne;f England Farmer. NORTHERN SPY APPLS. De.\r Sir : — In answer to your inquiries about the Northern Spy apple, I am not fully prepared to give all tlie information you desire ; but as faz as 1 have been able to test it, I am confident that it will do well with us in our northern climate. — The tree in the nursery is a very strong and hand- some, upright grower, rather long jointed, but as it grows older the head thickens up, making it one of the handsomest trees grown. I have two hun- dred of them set out in my orchard now, five years from the bud. There can be no loss to any man setting an orchard of them, even if they should not tneet his expectations in fruiting, as they are the handsomest growing apple tree I have ever seen, and the stocks would be worth more than any others, to work other kinds of fruit on, being so very thrifty. To have them fruit well, I think they vfant a very strong soil, with high cultivation. The specimens sent were grown upon scions set in young, thrifty Baldwin trees five years since, this being the second year they have Iruited, l^earing about one-half the quantity there would have been of Baldwins upon the same tree. The ap- ple grown with us is much heavier and firmer and keeps better than it does grown in New York. I do not consider it in prime eating until May, and then I think it the best apple I have ever eaten. It will keep well until July. Yours truly, TopsJich/.Jan., 1853. W. G. Lake. Old Farmer's Almanack. — Number sixty-one of this old favorite is published for the year 1853. It is well printed and filled with useful and interest- ing matter, and interspersed with blank leaves, so that the farmer will find it exceedingly convenient. Published by Jenks, Ilickling & Swan, Boston, 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 81 STSAMfi'TG APPARATUS When hay is S20 per ton, and iiU grains pro- portionately high, it becomes the farmer to adopt every measure to economize. We have ah'eady, this winter, spoken of the importance of cutting hay, straw, corn stalks, &c., before feeding it out, and we have thought the subject of steaming of sufBcient importance to justify the expense of an engraving to illustrate the manner of doing it. The description vre find in that excellent work, the American Agriculturist, published by A. B. Allen, N. Y. In some respects steaming is superior to boiling ; it depends considerably upon the amount of food to be cooked. In boiling, the blaze is outside of the kettle and the food inside ; it is, therefore, in continual dan- ger of being burned and much injured, unless some one stands by constantly stirring it. This is not only troublesome and inconvenient, but often adds more to the expenses of cooking, in the time of the person thus employed, than under ordinary circum- stances can well be afforded. Nor do we see how this is to be avoided, unless the kettle be made with false sides and bottom, allowing several inch- es space between them and the true, which space must be kept constantly full of water. This would nearly double the expense of the apparatus, require its being closely watched during the boiling, in or- der to fill the space between with water as fost as it evaporated ; the process of cooking would also be slower in this method, as it would require more heat around a double than a single kettle to bring the water within to a boiling point. If food is to be cooked, on a small scale, boiling may be cheapest ; if on a large scale, steaming is not only cheapest, but infinitely more compact ; for the f)rmer would require a very large, or sev- eral furnaces for diffirent sets of kettles, whereas, the latter may be done with one small furnace, steamer, and pipe, as shown in the cut, with any reasona1>le number of vats or tubs surrounding, in which to steam tlie food. In order to do this, the steam pipe must be made movable with a screw, fliexible, or be composed of some material that when the food is cooked in one tub, the pipe can be turned and inserted into another. We have seen no less than five tubs holding 150 gallons each, surrounding a small steamer, all of which could be filled with food and cooked within twenty-four hours. Three tubs, however, are usually sufficient for a large stock, in which the food of the first may be cooking, that in the second cooling, while that in the third is being fed out. A single per- son may be able to oversee, and efficiently manage all these operations. The furnace, steamer, and tub, are so plainly delineated*in the above cut, that they need no ex- planation. In cooking potatoes and other roots, the tub should have a false bottom perforated with numerous small holes, and set resting on blocks from 3 to 4 inches above the true bottom. The steampipe should enter the tub nearest to the true bottom. The steam is thus introduced between the two bottoms, quickly rises upward, and is even- ly diffused through the whole of the food. While the cooking process is going on, the top of the tub should be kept dov,m as tight as possible, so as to prevent the escape of any steam. In cooking grain or meal, the false bottom must be taken out and the tub filled with water, as the steam heats the water and brings it to a builing point as readily as a blaze or hot coals around a kettle. Steaming is said to do its work more thoroughly than boiling, as it is so insinuating, it easily enters and bursts all the minute globules in the grain and vegetables. Be this as it may, certain it is, that either process renders the food more digestible, and easier assimilated by the absorbing vessels, and therefore more economical. The following table in the Edinburgh Journal of Agriculture, shows very nearly the increase of bulk of different linds of grain boiled to bursting. 4 measures of oats increased to 7 measures 4 " bailey " 10 4 buckwheat or bran 14 4 " maize increased to 13 4 " wheat " 10 4 rye " 15 4 " beans " oj 82 WEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. Boiled food, especially in winter, is much more nutritious, if fed :is nearly blood warm as possible. If quite cold, or, al)ove all, if in the least degree frozen, we doubt whether it is so beneBcial as if uncooked — grain and meal we are certain are not ; for animals will eat tho raw, cold, more greedily than they will the cooked. Stock fed upon cooked food will eat more of it than if uncooked, and lie down quicker to rest. Of course all tl.is is better for them, as they will thrive faster, look finer, and do more work. It is particularly Ijenefiuial to give hard-working horses or oxen, just as much whole- some, cooked food as they can eat, soon after com- ing in at night. Tuiling all day in the open air, man appreciates and knows well the benefit of a warm, hearty supper. Let him remember, then, that a warm mess and abundance of it, is equally beneficial to the animals which a kind Providence has given him as efficient aids in his arduous la- bor. MILK CONVENTION. The milk ^rade has now got to be an important branch of business ; twenty to thirty thousand dol- lars worth being annually carried into Boston from a single town. Like all other business in the out- set, this has been conducted somewhat loosely, and without those wholesome guards and regula- tions which every important business demands. Milk is purchased and sold in very large quan- tities by the can, for a stipulated price, under the general supposition that the can contains eight quarts and no more. The can has, therefore, come to be a measure as much as the half bushel or pock. But upon an examination of these cans it is found that they vary considerably in their capa- city, some containing a gill, and others tl^half pint, more than the quantity sold for eight quarts. It is partly on this account, and partly on ac- count of the low price at which milk is now sold, that those producing it have resolved to have a uniform standard of measure. In order to efiect this desirable end they met in convention at Brigh- ton, on Thursday, the 30th day of December, to take into consideration what ought to be done in the premises. A large number of highly respecta- ble citizens assembled, and were called to order by Wm. IIobbs, Esq., of Waltham, and the meeting was then organized by choosing IMansur W. Marsh, Esq., of West Cambridge, Chairman, and Benjamin Wellington, Esq., of Waltham, Secretary. At this meeting a business committee reported resolutions which were discussed and a portion of them adopted ; and after an animated discussion the convention adjourned to meet at the same place on Thursday, the 6th inst. At the adjourned meeting on the Gth, there was a much more numerous gathering^han at the first meeting ; there being delegates from nearly every part of the commonwealth and from New Hamp- shire. All persons present interested in the sub- ject were invited to take seats and a part in the proceedings. The whole subject matter was dis- cussed, committees were appointed to prepare busi- ness for another meeting, to petition the Legisla- ture, to attend to the procuring of a hall, to adver- tise, &c. Great harmony of action and unanimity of views prevailed throughout the deliberations, with an earnestness and determination of purpose not surpassed by any political convention in the heat of a campaign. Tlie fuUowing resolutions Avere passed with scarcely a dissenting voice. Resolved, That wine measure, that being the on- ly legal measure, be adopted as a standard and uniform measure in the purchase and sale of milk, on and after such time as this convention shall de- termine. Resolved, That a petition be presented to the legislature now in session for tlie passage of an act requiring that oil milk cans shall he sealed. Resolved, That wine measure, as a measure for milk, be adopted on and after the first day of April next. A committee was then appointed to arrange, if possible, with the directors of the various railroads to take passengers to and from this convention at half price. The convention then adjourned to meet in Bos- ton on Wednesday, the 19th inst., at such hour and place as will be designated in the notice of the committee appointed to attend to that duty. OONSEQUENOSS OF COLD FEET. "Life is warm ; Dcalh is cold " If there be one subject that beyond all others demands the earnest attention of the American mother, that subject is the protection of tlie feet of her daughter from the cold and dampness of the pavement. We give it more than usual prom- inence, because the evil is neither understood nor regarded in any other light than a remote contin- gency not worth a moment's thought, when com- pared to the gratification of making an impression on her admirers, by what she imagines a beauti- ful foot. Physiologists have proved by actual experiment with the thermometer, that the central heat of the body, or that of the blood as it issues from its starting point, the left ventricle of the heart, is 101 degrees ; and that at the sole of the foot it is not more than 90 degrees. The great and unchangeable law of the Creator that developes life, is warmth. The egg of the fowl only possesses latent life, till tlie warmth of the mother expands the germ, and gives the heart its first contractile or active force ; without Avarmthit would never assume its organized form nor contin- ue its action ; this gives conclusive evidence of the truthfulness of our motto. Before we speak of tlie influence of cold on the nerves of the feet, and its still more rapid eflect on the circulation of the blood, through the action of the heart, let us consider the value of the great facts we have presented to the reader, viz., the nat- ural decrease of the warmth of the blood in the vessels of the feet, as a probable means of permit- ting the ill effect of cold on these great central organs of life, the lungs, if not prevented by art. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 83 It is conceded by all intelligent observers, that a vi(jlent cliill conmiunicated to the body, is very soon and sensilily fult in the lungs, and that pleu- risies and inllamiuations of the lungs themselves, are the frequent consequences of such exposure. Now, it is known tliat heat or calorie has a ten- dency tu equalize itself in all the various bodies in the univeri-ie : ice itself, only melting, by the inev- itable necessity of imbibing heat, when exposed to it, according to this unchangeable law, it can only exist as ice durinn tlie summer montlis, by interposing between the atmosphere and it, sub- stances possessing a known power of lepelUng heat. Thus it is preserved in ice-houses. "When the earth is colder tlian the body, this law instantly begins to operate upon the feet standiug upon it; and as the body is a producer of heat its safety is secured precisely in proportion to the vigor of health it possesses, or in otiier words, the rapidi- ty with which its blood circulates through the lungs. It therefore follows that the feebler the circulation, the more unable the body is to part with its heat. If you clothe the body warmly, and thus prevent its warmth from transmission to the atmospliere, and interpose a cork sole be- tween the sole of tliC foot and the earth, this transmission of heat is stopped, because cork, wool, silk and cotton are non-conductors of heat. In a woman of ordinary size, there can be no reasonable doubt from the computation of phys- iologists, that half of her blood passes under the feet in two minutes at the least ! so that it will be seen the conducting power of the damp earth must continually deprive the blood of its warmth. The effect of cold upon the nerves is yet more rapid than this. It is known to most persons, that in- stantaneous sneezing is often produced by standing on the cold hearth-stone or oil-cloth ; and the speedy action of damp or cold feet on the bowels, is often painfully evident to many invalids. As- suming the body to be a producer of electricity (and it seems impossible to conclude otherwise,) that fluid is known to be subject to the same law as heat, i. e., to seek a constant equilibrium with surrounding objects. There can be no better con- ductor than the damp earth ; all positively or negatively electrified bodies, not isolated or cut off by a non-conductor, seek an instant equilibrium. Tliis is well known to philosophers, and ought also to be equally so to every intelligent and rational being ; therefore, it must be, that if heat and electricity be not the same thing, still the same danger must be incurred by too light clothing and shoes. Dr. James Murray has as- serted, and he thinks proved, that cholera is ren- dered impossil>le, 1>y is(ihiting the feet by cork soles, and feeding and clothing the body, so as to keep up a high degree of electricity. AH experi- ence has proved that tliose persons most afihcted during both the epidemics which occurred in this city, were those who endured the greatest expo- sure to dampness, and ate the most watery and ill-cooked food ; and what is more conclusive, that they were mostly attacked towards morning, when the atmospheric temperature was lowest. Cork si/les, of proper thickness, are an absolute non-conductor ; and when the leather of the shoe is of good quality, they will prove sufBcient for all the purposes of health till the month of December. By tliat time tlie pedestrian should accustom her- self to a well-made boot with buckskin leggings, made in all respects like those worn by males. Without such protection, she is never safe from the vicissitudes of an American climate, nor from the liahility to disease which will soon destroy her gracefulness and beauty. For the New England Farmer. SOWING GRASS SEED. Friend Brown: — Last summer I inquired, through the N. E. Farmer, what should be done witli land on which grass seed failed to come up in the spring. Inmiediately afterwards, I received a letter from Francis Brewer, of Springfield, Mass., kindly answering the question l)y giving the re- sults of his own experience in the case. And here I will acknowledge my obligation to him for his early reply, enabling me to try the ex- periment this year, so that I can now give the re- sult for the consideration of others. But first I will transcribe a portion of his letter, believing it belongs to the public as well as myself, and there- fore that he will excuse me for the lil^erty I take. Says he, "The month of August istlecidedly the most favorable time in the year for stocking land to grass seed, — first, you are more sure of a per- fect catch of the seed, than when sown with spring grain, and your crop of grass will be free from the stubble which remains, and is unavoidably gath- ered in tlie first crop of hay succeeding the first process. It also furnishes an opportunity of ap- plying those manures, or stinndants, for a suc- cession of the hay crop, which it would be injudi- cious to apply to the grain crop ; and again be- cause you are secured against any loss of expen ses by the crop of turnips, and these I consider im- portant reasons ; and I venture to recommend to you, that you plow your land as soon as practica- ble, have on your compost heap from 100 to 150 bushels of leached ashes, or 100 pounds sifted gua- no per acre, and have it spread evenly, and well harrowed in ; mix 1 lb. of turnip seed with a suf- ficient portion of grass seed to go over the piece one way, sow the remainder of the grass seed in the opposite direction, then with a light roller or with a brush cover the seed, and I will warrant you success." The above was received the 10th of 8th month (Aug. ,) and pursuant to the recommendations con- tained therein, I had 1 J acres plowed the 11th, on which we applied five and one-half cords of barn- yard manure that had lain in a heap all summer, harrowed it in thoroughly, and the loth, I sowed half a bushel of herdsgrass seed, half a bushel of redtop, 8 lbs. of clover, and. Li lbs. of turnip seed and rolled it in. A crop of barley had been taken from the ground, and the seed that shelled in har- vesting, came up and produced a good swarth. All the seed came well, and I found the turnips much too thick. Early in the 10th month we commenced thinning them, and pulled more than one-half of the plants, Avhich gave a large quanti- ty of valuable fodder for our cows. I think the fodder was wo4h more than the cost of thinning, so I have made no account of either. The weath- er being favorable, I thought it best to leave the turnips in the ground as late as it would answer, so we did not commence liarvesting on this piece until the 20th of 11th montli. We took off 142 bushels, or 125 bushels to an acre. The turnips were not large, from want of sufficient time to 84 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. grow in, but they were very good. The market price here is 25 cents a bushel, so the account stands thus: Labor, — plowing, sowing and harve.«ting... $13,00 Manure 15,50 Seed 3,13 S31 ,63 . 142 bushels liiriiii)s, at 25 cts 35,50 larly of those about erecting new buildings. Af- ter reading it, most persons will be convinced that it is better to expend money in planting trees, shrubbery and flowers about a dwelling, than to expend it in making a showy house. Leaving ii nelt profit of $3,87 besides having a fair prospect of a good crop of grass next year, while on a part of the same field which was not plowed, scarcely any grass is to be seen. On that, I intend to sow^ grass seed next spring— a plan recommended by some people. The result of this experiment is entirely satis- factory to me, and I confidently recommend others to try it whenever their grass seed fails in the spring; and my opinion is that it would ))e better not to sow it with grain, for there is always, on dry land especially, an uncertainty of getting a catch of grass seed. If I should try it again, how- ever, and I intend to, I should not sow more than seven or eight ounces of turnip seed on art acre. Will some one who knows give me the analysis of rut;i-bagas, parsnips, sugar beets, and mangle- wurtzel, or the value of each compared with hay? L. Vabney. Friends'' Boarding School, Providence, R. I., 12 Mo. 2lst, 1852. Remarks. — The analyses below were made, of the turnip and mangold-wurzel, by Sir Humphrey, Davy, and of the sugar beet and orange globe man-i gold-wurzel, by Mr. Herepath, a celebrated chem ist in Bristol, England. Roots. Quantiti/ of Nutritive Matter in \i)m parts. Species. Mucil- age or Starch. Sugar. Gluten or Albu- men,. Total of nutritive matter. Swedisli Turnips, White Turnip, Mangold Wurzel, Orange Globe, Sugar Beet, 9 7 13 25J m 51 34 119 106 J 126J 2 1 4 120 H 64 42 136 \m 116} Stephens, in his Book of the Farm, states that the quantity of nutritive matter in the ruta-baga is, in the white turnip from 8 to 13 parts in 100, and in the yellow turnip from llj to 17; so that 20 tons of one crop may be in feeding as 30 tons of another, which is an important fact, and may account for the discrepancies experienced by farmers in feeding stock. We can give no comparison of the value of hay with turnips with sufficient accuracy to be intro- duced here. In a trial at Whitelaw, in England, between turnips, oil-cake and corn, in fattening cattle, the turnips were found to produce one pound of live weight much cheaper than either of the other substances. If such be the case with oil-cake and corn, we can see no reason why tur- nips should not possess the sam» advantage over hay. We have similar results related to us in this vicinity, but our experience has not been suf- ficient to warrant the expression of an opinion. New Buildings. — We call attention to the ar- ticle entitled, "That is my Home," and particu- FoT the New England Farmer. INDEPEND-ENCE OP THE FARMER. jMr. Editor : — Everybody in America wants to be independent. We have lawyers, physicians, mechanics, ministers and formers ; all striving to obtain or secure independence ; and all, in a good degree, feel satisfied with the result of their labors in this behalf. We gl)ry in our political and re- ligious freedom ; all of us. Here, we are all equal, from the President down to the pauper ; if, in- deed, the down hill slopes in that direction, which is a question fairly debatable. But after all, there is no class among us so decidedly independent as the farmer. Look at the minister I Does he dare give utter- ance to sentiments that he knows will l)e general- ly distasteful to his society? Does the lawyer want to displease his townsmen, on whom he may depend for a living ? Or do the merchant and mechanic feel perfectly free, at the commence- ment of their business, when the good will of the community may be considered as a portion of their capital, to take decided positions on the unpopu- lar side? There are many of these classes, to be sure, that feci as independent as the farmer ; be- cause, by success in business they do not feel the necessity of employing this unndy capital, the breath of popular applause. So long as men see that their daily bread, in a good measure, depends on the esteem of their fellows they must be de- sirous of securing it. The mechanic depends in part, and principally, on his skill ; and so of all professions. But they all depend also, in some de- gree, on the good will of others. The farmer also, relies on his skill ; but the opin- ion of his neighbor is not worth a groat to him, so far as his ability to live is concerned. He plants his fields, and the good Lord, who "sends his rain on the just and the unjust," makes no distinction. He waters the fields of the Whig, the Democrat, the Abolitionist, the Infidel, and the pious man, alike. The wildest fiinatic in the country, by suitable til- lage, may raise as good a crop as any one, and sell it as well. But let him attempt to live by preaching, as a mei'chant, or mechanic ; how would he prosper? He would certainly be driven from the pulpit, and most likely starved from his shop. Professional men must study social laws. The farmer depends on the laws of nature. The for- mer are always changing ; the latter, never. Con- sequently, the professional man is often in a di- lemma and hardly knows what to do, for fear he shall offend the popular taste or broach an idea not in fashion. The farmer says just what he pleases ; for it never was yet discovered that it killed his cattle or rotted his potatoes. And the farmer has more leisure time tlian most mechanics or professional men. Or if he has not, it is his own fault. No farmer needs be a drudge, [a.] Ilis flocks in the pasture and his crops in the field are growing while he sleeps. When the merchant or mechanic closes his shop, the income from his business is suspended. But the farmer's income 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 85 is always increasing. He relies on nature, who la- bors for liiin continually, and on nature's God who never slumbers. If a young man wants to engage in business that will insure hiin in middle age the greatest amount of leisure time, there is nothing more sure than farmin'--. If he has an independent turn of inind, let hiiirbe a farmer. If he wants to engage in a healthy occupation, let him till the soil. In short, if ho would ho independent let him get a spot of earth ; keep within his means, to shun the lawyer ; be temperate, to avoid the doctor ; be honest, that he may have a clear, conscience ; improve the soils so as to leave the world better than he found it ; and then if he cannot live happily and die con- tented, there is no hope for him. s. f., jr. Ltjme, Dec. 2S(h, 1852. Reu.vrks. — [a.] ^yesay^otoo. Even if h*lacks capital to manage his farm matters as he would be glad to, he is out in the free sunlight, goes and comes as he will, sustains his health, and calls no man master. AVe thank you, friend "F.," for the utterance of these just thoughts. For the New England Farmer Mr. Brown : — Having been a regular subscriber of your valuable farming journal from the com mencement to the present time, I wish to inquire if you, some of your correspondents, or numerous readers, will describe the, symptoms of glanders in the horse ; also 'prescribe a cure, if any there is. Also the symptoms of horse ail with a cure. Also the best medicine for cleansing the blood of the horse , and you will greatly oblige a Bridgewater, Jan., 1853. Subscriber. Remarks. — The first symptom of glanders in the horse is a discharge at the nose. Eventually pus (matter) mingles with the discharge. If there is a discharge from both nostrils the glands within the under jaw will be on both sides enlarged, and spots of ulceration will probably appear on the membrane covering the cartilage of the nose — not mere sore places, but small ulcers, with the edges abrupt and prominent. As the disease progresses, other symptoms appear. The hind legs swell to a great size, and become stiff, and hot, and tender. The membrane of the nose becomes of a dirty livid color, and the animal loses flesh and strength every day. The disease is almost always fatal. Various remedies are prescribed, but we have little confi- dence in them. Turn the horse to grass, if in the summer, and let him enjoy a pure atmosphere, and if he is occasionally giddy give him a few globules of stramonium. The glanders is the most danger ms disease to which the horse is subjected ; it is also infectious both to man and beast. There is some similarity between the disease termed "horse-ail," and the glanders. The best medicine for "cleansing the blood of the horse,'* is careful attention, proper feeding. and demanding from him only a reasonable service in return. With these his blood will be pure, his spirits good, and he will yield you an annual profit. For a full description of the liorse and his dis- eases we refer yon to Youatt on the Horse, pub- lished by Saxton, N. Y., price $1,25, or to one of Saxton's Rural Hand Books, on Horses, their Va- rieties, Breeding and INIanagement in Health and Disease, by H. D. Richardson, price 25 cents. Or to Cole's Book on the Diseases of Animals, pub- lished by J. P. Jewett & Co., Boston, price 5§ cents. In these you will find full treatises on ev- ery thing relative to the horse. For the New England Farmer. ALUM, The alum of commerce consists of sulph. acid, alumina and potash. Alumina is never found pure in nature except in the ruby an*l sapphire, which consist of crystalized alumina combined with some coloring matter. Alum is the_ basis yf all clay soils, in which it is always combined with si- lex or sand. The purity of the clay used in the arts, depends upon the greater or less amount of sand combined with it. Clay has a strong affini- ty for water, and absorbs and retains it in large quantity, thus rendering the soil in Avhich it abounds, wet and cold. It is very adhesive. Its particles have a strong attraction for each other, rendering the soil firm and compact. Much force is required to plow or work it. The roots of trees and other vegetables penetrate it with difficultv. Hence a strong clay soil is both difficult to cultivate and unproductive. It requires sufficient sand mixed with it to separ- ate its particles, and overcome their tenacity, so that the tender and delicate radicles of plants can readily penetrate them. In a sandy soil, the par- ticles are so loosely attached to each other, and have so little tenacity, that water percolates freely through them, and sufficient moisture is not re- tained to supply the demands of vegetation. _ A mixture of these two elements in suitable proportions constitutes the basis of all good soils. Different vegetables require different proportions of these ingredients. Some require more clay and some more sand, some love a moist soil and some a dry one. Clay has another property also, besides that of absorbing and retaining moisture, which is of immense importance to vegetation. It has a strong affinity for carbonic acid and ammonia, and whenliurned up by the subsoil plow, it rapidly con- denses them from the atmospUere. In light sandy soils, a certain amount of clay is always found, commonly from ten to fifteen per cent. A sandy loam contains from thirty to forty per cent, of clay. A clayey loam sev- enty to eighty per cent. The stiSest clay soils con- tain from eiahty to ninety per cent. It is often desirable to ascertain what propor- tions of clay or sand are found in particular soils. This may be done with sufficient accuracy for all agricultural purposes, by putting a portion of the soil into five or six times its weight of water, shak- ino' it smartly, and pour in the mixture into a deep glass vessel or tube. A common lamp funnel, with one end set upon a ball of putty or clay, wiU 86 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. answer very well. Leave the mixture at rest in the gliss. The coarse sand will soon be seen col- lecting at the bottom. The finer sand will form a second layer, and the clay the upper or third lay- er. By observing the amount of each thus depos- ited, we may ol)tain a sufficiently accurate notion of the proportion of each ingredient in the soil. A good soil must have clay enough to retain the water, the carbon, the lime, the ammonia, and other aliments that minister to the growth of plants, so that they may be found and absorbed by the roots, as they stretch tliemselves among the particles of the soil, feeling after the kind of nutri- ment which they need. At the same time it must contain sufficient sand, to allow the surplus matter to settle through it, or evaporate from it, so that the soil shall not be too Avet or too stiflf. Differ- ent vetjetables, as has been already remarked, re- quire different proportions of these elements. — Herdsgrass is fond of a moist soil, containing a large proportion of clay, wlsile clover delights in a mellow, loamy soil. Rye thrives best in a w^arm, sandy soil, while Avheat requires a stronger soil, with a lar^r proportion of clay. Both require a good supply of lime. The art of mixing soils in proportions, suited to the crops that are to be put upon them, is one of the most important that can engage the attention of the farmer. Whenever Massachusetts shall establish an agricultural col- lege, the study of this subject will demand its share of time and talent. The ancient Italians, as we learn from Virgil, understood that certain soils were suited to certain crops ; but it does not appear that they knew how to supply the elements that were wanting, or to neutralize those that were injurious, by the addition of others, that would combine with them, and form useful, or at least innocent compounds. This is an art that belongs to modern times. It has received but little atten- tion, as yet, in this country. Its importance will be more and more estimated, as manures become more expensive, and more difficult to obtain. Concord, Nov. 9. j. r. OFFICERS OP COUNTY SOCIETIES. The following is a list of the officers of the Hampshire, Fraxklin and Hampden Society, for 1853. President— Vkoii Lathhop, Smith Iladley. Vice Presidents— George W- Hubbard, Hatfleld; William Clark, Northampton; Elisha Edwards, Southampton; George Dickinson, Hadlej ; Christopher Wright, Northampton. Treasurer— H. L. Hinrkley. Secretary— WUlltim O Gorham. Auditor — L. I. Washburn. Franklin County Society. President— Uesrv \y. Cushman, Bernardston Vice Presidents— \SB. Howlaiid, Conway; Zebina Steb- bins, Deerfield. Secretary— H. G. Parker, Greenfield. Treasurer— A. G. Haniiuond, Greenfield. Hampshire County Society. President— Alfred Uaker, Amherst. Vice Presidents — F.dwnrd Dickinson, of Amherst; Linus Green, Hadley; Edmund .Smith, South Hadley; Israel Towne, Belchertown; N. Austin Smith, Sunderland; Samuel Wells. Northampton. Secretary and Treasurer— J. W. Boyden, Amherst. Lime Water for Hens. — Accidental Discovery — During the last season, Kir. Joseph Wilcox, of this town, having occasion to administer lime wa ter to a sick horse, inadvertently left a pail of the preparation in his barn, which remained there for some months, serving as a favorite drink for liis hens. He soon afterwards found that the laying of his hens was apparently increased to a consid- rable extent. Being convicted of the importance of the (to him) new discovery, he has, during the present season, kej)t his hens constantly supplied with lime water, placed in troughs within their convenient access, and the result was an increase in eggs of nearly four-fold tis cumpared with previ- ous experience. lie is willing to share the ben- efits of the experiments witli h.is neighbors if they choose to try it; and hence this publication. The newness of the discovery (tliough it may not now be new to all,) is claimed only asapplicalile to the iiKxle of impiirting tlie lime in this case — its use in another form fn* the same purpose, having been previously understood by many. — Wayne Senti- nel. For the Neiv Enstand Farmer. THE CHESTNUT TREE. Gent. : — Sometime since, I sent to the agricul- tural warehouse in Boston to get some chestnuts to plant, but fiiiled to get them. I can get enough of them at the stores, and wish you, if you will, to inform me if those will answer to plant ; how tliey should be kept through the winter to plant in the spring, and whether it would answer to plant them this winter, if I should catch the ground open. Yours, &c., N. J. Thomas. Eden, Maine, Jan., 1853. Re-marks. — The chestnut, both on account of its timber and the fruit it produces, deserves more attention than it receives. The nuts intended for planting should not be allowed to become thor- oughly dry. Those having been kept in quantity in the stores would probably sprout. They should be kept slightly moist through the winter and planted in the spring. Nature plants them in the autumn and covers witli a thick coat of leaves ; but it is probable that large numbers of those spared by the boys and squirrels never germinate, for want of being placed under favorable circum- stances of light and warmth. It is said that they need protection the first winter, as there is dan- ger of their being killed by freezing. In trans- planting, the next spring they require much the same attention as other trees, but without so rich a soil as is required for fruit trees. In Italy, chestnuts grow to the size of small apples, and are used for food by the peasantry. At a farnfbrs' meeting, in New York, Mr. Rice, speaking of planting chestnut timber, remarked, that he plowed up a tract of unproductive liill side, several years ago, and planted it with chestnuts, in rows four feet aptrt every way. The first sprouts coming up rather crooked and scrubby, he went over tlie field and cut them down close to the ground, which caused new shoots to spring up straight and vigorcms. The trees are very thrifty, completely shade the ground, and grow more and more rapidly as tlie soil becomes strengthened by the annual deposit of leaves. »So well satisfied is he with the experiment, that he is now placing 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 87 other worthless lands in a similar course of im- provement. Emerson, in his "Trees and Shrubs," says the chestnut tree is found on the banks of the Mous- um River, in the county of York, Maine, a little beyond the 43d parallel of latitude, and thence southward, as far as Florida, and in the Western States. It is found in every part of Massachusetts, but does not readily and abundantly ripen its fruit in th.e immediate neighborhood of the sea. ^lichaux says chestnut copses arc considered in France as the most valuable species of property ; every seven years they are cut for hoops, and the largest branches serve for vine props ; at the end of 14 years they furnish hoops for large tubs, and at the age of 25 years they are proper for posts and liglit timber. The chestnut grows well on rocky hills, and other lands hardly rich enough for cultivation. MAN AND HORSE. When a horse does little work, we give him less attention — when mit worked at all, v>-e know that mischief will result, unless he is well exercised. When a horse is hard worked we know it to be impolitic to lead its stomach while suffering from fatigue. When a horse comes in from a journey, a groom knov.-s that its health depends on its skin being freed I'vom the dust and perspiration, and also that the animal can not be comfortable unless cleaned once a daj-. If its food does not agree •with it, tlie groom varies it in quantity and quali- ty or both. No sensible owner lets his horse drink while in violent perspiration, nor do more than rinse its mouth, but will let it drink its fill about an hour before its meals, neither allowing it to load its stomach with liquid either at meals, or when hard work is immediately to follow. This is all sound physiological treatment, drawn from a watchful observation of the effects of a regulated diet and regimen on the health and ca- pabihties of tlie animal. How differently man acts to himself. When he is streaming with pei'spi- ration and giving oi'ders for careful attention to his horse, he will walk into a refreshment or even an ice-cream I His diet is regulated by his tastes and cravings ; the quantity varies not with his exertion or labor, but Avith his palatability. His meals consist ofdishes proportionate to the length of his purse. The times of eating depend on business, fashion, or anything but his physical wants. His drink also is taken according to his inclinations, or according to the society he mixes "with, and quantity or quality vary on/i/ witli his palate and means ! Those who work least, gene- rally fire the richest. The skin of a horse must be kept clean or disease ensues, but the horse's master is heedless of this, and when visited by disease, wonders how it happened ! Surely man is the most inconsistent animal on earth ! Saddles. — The clearest proof of the antiquity of saddles, says Beckmann, is the order of the Em- peror Theodosus,in the year 385, by which those who wished to ride post-horses were forbidden to use saddles that weiglied more than sixty pounds. If a saddle was heavier, it was cut to pieces. Sad- dles in the fifth century, must have been very splendid ; so much so that a prohibition was is- sued by the Emperor Leo I., in which it was or- dered that no one should ornament them with pearls or precious stones. OLD MIDDLESEX. The annual meeting of the Trustees of this county took place at Concord, on the 5th Jan., 1853. They decided that the next exhibition of the agricultural society shall be holden at Con- cord, on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of Oct. next, it being the 4th and 5th days. This society heretofore has occupied but one day in its annual exhibition. The committee of arrangements were instructed to provide accommodations for ladies at the dinner table on the second day of the show. This is another new feature and a most commend- able one, we think, in this old society. The diffi- culty has been heretofore, we understand, that no room large enough to contain more than the mem- bers of the society could be obtained. The Trus- tees propose now to purchase land, enclose it with a substantial tight fence, and erect buildings for the accommodation of the fruits, vegetables, flow- ers, household manuflicturcs, and machinery and implements, where they may all be exhibited un- der cover. This will leave the spacious and beau- tiful hall recently erected in that town to be oc- cupied for the dinner, where some five to seven hundred persons may be seated. In addition to the usual exhibition, a Spading Match has been directed; the premiums offered are five in number, consisting of 5, 4, 3, 2 and $1. A new premium of $10 will also be offered on a single team of one pair of oxen, driven only by those who have already taken the society's high- est premium on plowing. For the New England Farmer. DOOR YARDS. Messrs. Editors : — By your paper, I learn that the Hon. Josiah Quincy, Sen., is still at the good work of giving encouragement to agriculture, by addressing the fiirmers at a cattle show dinner ; and in the same paper, I saw an article in refer- ence to cle.an door yards. More than thirty years have elapsed, since I saw in one of Mr. Quincy's addresses at an agricultural dinner, the following paragraph, which will serve as his opinion at that time. If I do not use the precise words of the venerable author he will excuse me, as I acciden- tally saw the address while travelling in an ad- joing State, i "In viewing the farm we will stop at the door ; far be it from me to enter, for where neatness and economy reign without, the husband seldom fails to be seconded by his companion within. But how is the path ? Is it a pavement inlaid with broken crockery and abandoned utensils of household fur- niture ? Do the thistle, the briar and the worm- wood contend for the mastery along the fence ? — Are the poultry roosting upon the window sills, 88 NEW ENGL.'^ND FARMER. Feb. the geese strutting at the front door or the pig playing puppy in tlie entry? The proprietor of such an ahode may call himself a farmer, but practically speaking, he is ignorant of the a, b, c, of the art, for the first tliree letters of the farmer's alphabet are neatness, economy and order. Ilarclwicic, D.c. 29, 1852. W.^lter JIandell. For tlie New England Farmer. ON PRODUCING FRUIT TREES FROM SEEDS. This seems to many an uncertain business — be- sides they want a quicker way. Others are will- ing to take time to do anytliing the best way, if they could know what that is. Others still go in the beaten track, buy their trees to set of a nur- seryman, and leave it for those who can afford it, to ihiiik and make experiments. While the pomolo- gist observes the uniformity of Nature's operations, in every species and variety of fruit, leaf, blos- som, branch and trunk; fruit, color, flavor and time of ripening, hardiness and productiveness ; learning tlie characteristics of each class and kind " — constantly inquiring for her laws and produc- tions, anddelighted with every new discovery, acts with her, and with safety, certainly and success. Now, Mr. Editor, for the gratification of this class, and the benefit of all, permit me through your columns to share with them tlie pleasure and pro- fit I have derived, as a learner from Nature's teachings. In past years, the country farmer used to select his best apples for eating and market, and make the rest into cider. The pomace was spread from which to r.yse a nursery. Of course, these seed- lings were of the poorest quality. The trees might be hardy and g>Jod bearers, and grafting was re- sorted to, for obtaining choice varieties, by the most enterprising. Still, the best fruit was sold or used for eating, never sowed ; and nurseries still raised from the pomace of the poorer kinds, bud- ding them when small, became at length quite a business as the only way of securing desirable fruit. Not unfrequently, scions o( different kinds were set in one tree. In towns near the mar- ket, (say Boston) more choice fruit was raised, and sometimes a fair seedling was allowed to stand and bear, and perhaps a new and valuable sort ob- tained, say a Porter, by chance. Now supposing (what I cimsider to be certain) that this seedling was from a good apple, perhaps partaking the na- ture of two kinds growing on the same tree or near each other, one earlier than the other and less acid, this would account for its difference in flavor, and time of maturity. Suppose another seedling resembling Baldwins in form and the hab- its of the tree, but fruit of a different flavor, could not this be produced from seed of a Baldwin ap- ple, affected by anotlier whose flavor it partook? I have spoken only of apples ; but I think the principle will apply to different species of fruit trees, standing in proximity, and in blossom at the same time. By mingling the pollen, the habits of the tree and flavor of the fruit may be affected, and thus while some of the original kinds, many of new varieties may be produced from the seed taken from orchards containing many kinds. Let it be observed, no tree can contribute to produce seed different from itself. Good trees ming ling can produce only good fruit. Two trees ming ling cannot produce more than one neiv variety. Sweet varieties cannot produce sour, nor can early apples produce late. Or diSerent varieties of win- ter and sour mingling produce a variety of sweet or early. So it is easy to see why valuable new va- rieties of seedlings may be obtained from, or near our market towns and cities, and the groat im- probability of getting them from tlie pomace of tlie poorest. :\gain,if as I suppose, seedlings far surpass en- grafted trees in longevity, and are certain to have a uniform character, which one budded or engraft- ed may lack (by reason of difference between the stock and scion, especially when one is early and tlie other late,) thci-e are at least two reasons fa- voring the seedling. If great improvements in the haliits of trees are possible, probable, and as I think certain, by combining hardy with delicate trees, — the constant and large bearers with the sparse — those of rapid growth and early maturity with slow, late, &c., as well as the acquisition of new and choice varieties, it would seem to accord with the spirit of the age to attempt it, though like many other discoveries, it might displace ex- isting operations. I might shov.^ the analogy between this and stock breeding and the evidence that "these things are so" — not speculations, and give some tlioughts I have had on ways oi protecting trees from ming- ling, and of obtaining pure seed and choice varie- ties for nurserymen as a business ■which, if de- sired, I will give you in another article. Before closing, I wish to say something about vegetables. For some years, I have been trying to improve some kinds. The first attempt was with sugar beet. Finding the French seed grew more than half out of the ground, and that part was woody when ripe, (tough) of little value, 1 determined, and succeeded in three years to obtain a crop of equal weight, grown under ground, all white and ten- der with small tops. Next I set about a change in my carrots, which, though very large, were very tapering. I am much gratified with my late crops. They hold their bigness remarkably. I would like you to see some selected for seed when I dug them (as I always do) and their size A foot from the top; and to furnish seed, and one carrot from each of three kinds. Orange, Purple and White Belgian, from which to get a plate and ex- hibit in the store and in your journal, that Yan- kees might see the article from which the offered seed was raised. Some years since, in pulling my English tur- nips, (raised from imported seed) though a great ^•ield, they run quite too much to tops with dish- mg crowns. Finding one only, with a small top and small root, shaped like two saucers put to- gether, I preserved it for seed, and the next year sowed what I got from it, among my pota- toes, then beginning to be affected with disease. They mostly died ; but I got 75 bushels of turnips •'true to the seed." I saved and set out 8 bush- els of the most beautiful I ever saw. This was in Springfield. All who saw them admired them, and spoke for some of the seed, which I circulated freely at $1 the pound. Tops barely enough to pull up the single root, not much bigger than a pipe-stem. They were good as handsome. All this goes to encourage me in selecting the best roots and employing the best means possible, for 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 89 obtaining the very best seed, from wliich to secure the reward for the best care and culture of the orchard, field and garden. Yours, truly, Benjamin Willard. Lancaster, Jan. 1, 1853. VflGETATION OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. The soil is always frozen, and merely thaws during the summer a few feet below the surface. But the tiiawing is by no means uniform. In peat it extends not deeper than two feet, while in other formations, especially in sand or gravel, the ground is free from frost to the depth of nearly a fatlioni ; showing that sand is a better conductor of heat than peat or clay, corroborating the observation of the accurate J. D. Hooker, who, after a series of experiments in India, arrived at the same con- clusion. The roots of the plants, even those of the shrubs and trees, do not penetrate into the frozen subsoil. On reaching it, they recoil, as if they touched upon a rock through which no passage could be forced. It may be surprising to behold a vegetation flourishing under such circumstances, existing independent, it would seem, of terrestrial heat. But surprise is cffanged into amazement on visiting Kotzebue Sound, where, on the tops of ice- bergs, her lis and shrubs are thriving with a luxu- riance only eciualled in more favored climes. There, from Elephant to Eschscholtz point, is a series of cliffs from seventy to ninty feet high, which present some striking illustrations of the manner in which arctic plants grow. Three distinct layers compose these cliffs. The lower as far as it can be seen above tlie ground, is ice, and from twenty to fifty feet high. The central is clay, varying in thick- ness from two to twenty feet, and being inter- mingled with remains of fossil elephants, horses, deer, and husk oxen. The clay is covered by peat, the tliird layer bearing the vegetation to which it owes its existence. Every year, during July, August and September, masses of ice melt, by which the uppermost layers are deprived of sup- port, and tumble down. A complete chaos is thus created : ice, plants, bones, peat, and clay, are mixed in the most disorderly manner. It is hardly possiljle to imagine a more grotesque as- pect. Here are seen pieces still covered with lichens and mosses, there a shoal of earth witli bushes of willow. At one place a lump of clay with senecios and polygonums : at another, the remnants of the mammoth tufts of hair, and some brown dust, wiiich emits the smell peculiar to burial places, and is evidently decomposed aniuial matter. The foot frequently stumbles over osteological re- mains, some elephants' tusks measuring as much as twelve feet in length, and weighing more than two hundred and forty pounds. Nor is the for- mations confined to Eschscholtz Bay. It is ob served in various parts of Kotzebue Sound, on the river Biickl.md, and in other localities ; making it probable tluit a great portion of extreme NiH'th- western America is, underneath, a solid mass of ice. With such facts before us, we must acknowl- edge that terrestrial heat exercises but a limited and indirect influence upon vegetable life, and that to the solar r.iys we are mainly indebted for tlie existence of these forms which clothe with verdure the surface of our planet. — Botany of the Voya!j;(: ofH. M. S. ^'Dcraldr For the new England Farmer. ON POULTRY. Mr. Editor : — I keep a few native fowls, ex- pressly for the profit of the eggs ; I raise no chick- ens to sell; and I profess no skill in raising chick- ens. As I am often inquired of whether I get eggs enough to pay the expense of keeping, I thought I would send you a fair statement of the expendi- tures and income of the year 1S52, commencing January 1; and if you see fit to give it a place in your columns, each one may judge as to the profit for himself. Jail. 1, 1852—32 hens, worth 2.5 cts. each $9,75 They consumed 29 bushels of corn 22,09 Do. 4 biiishtl.s huckwheat 2,00 Do. 13 l)ushels,(>f OHis 67 Do. 7i lbs. nieiil : U 4 hens bought in the f.ill 67 Making the ex[ienses S35,41 Income— No. of egi^s sold, 353 dozi-n $54,6) 2 hens raised and killed 33 Hens on hand Jan. 1, 1853—40, worth 25 cts. each..lO CO Income $64,93 Subtract expenses 35,41 Actual proSts ^. . . $29,52 Which bears a profit on each hen of 75 cents and nearly 6 mills. You will see that I make no ac- count of interest on the hens I started with, and I give no credit for manure, which I consider very valuable on my land, — more than the interest on $9,75. And I have given no credit to the hens for the eggs used in a small family. Eggs sell much lower in Berkshire county than in the east- ern counties. I have sold the past year 143 doz. for 12 cts. per doz., and some others for 12.^ cts. Hinsdale, Jan., 1853. J. Aebott. For the New England Farmer. CULTURE AMONG TREES. In a recent number of the Farmer, I noticed an article speaking discouragingly of culture among fruit trees. I was surprised at this, because my own observation has been, that the keeping the ground light, and well pulverized about trees, even as far as their limbs extend, and occasionally dress- ing the ground with some fertilizing substance, improves their growth, and their bearing qualities. So fully have I been persuaded of this, that I have thought their products, in a series of ten years, would be doubled by so doing. I know that a large proportion of tlie apple trees on our farms, stand in the fields or pastures, where the grass grows about them, receiving no culture or atten- tion whatever ; and more tlian half the time, yield- ing little or no fruit. Some trees standing thus yield fruit in abundance. But as a general thinof, those trees which are best cultivated, bear best, both in quantity and quality. So fully satisfied are the dealers of fruit in our markets of this, that they will readily pay from six ti< ten per cent, more, for fruit that grows on cultivated grounds. That trees are sometimes injured by carelessly holding the plow, whereby the roots ai-e broken, and the bodies barked, there can be no doubt. Such culture is not to be commended. This, I think, must have been the kind of cidture condemned by your correspondent from Maine. I presume the same kind of usage, would be equally injurious to vegetables. I know one orchard of forty Baldwin apple trees, 90 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. that yielded more than three hundred harrels of fruit of best quality, the past season ; — and about the same quantity in the season of 1850. The ground about these trees has been kept in a per- fectly pulverized state for a half a dozen years or more, and manured like a garden. Can any one doubt that the proprietor has found the reward of his labor, in the abundance and quality of his fruit? The benefits of such culture is particularly seen, in relation to the Dancers Winter Sweet. When fully cultivated, it yields fruit large, fair and bright ; — when left with the grass growing under and about the tree, the first is dwarfish, spotted, and oftentimes knurly. The same is true, to a great extent, in relation to the Baldwin, both of which, I have often observed. p. Jan. 10, 1853. Remarks. — We fully agree with our intelligent correspondent in what he says above. Some I'e- marks which we have made on the subject of cul- tivating orchards, were with the intention of cau- tioning persons against entering their orchards with large plows and heavy teams and tearing up the earth and roots, as they would those in re- claiming a meadow. Our own practice is to cultivate where the trees are compact, and to dig around and manure those standing in pastures, once or twice a year. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. From Mr. Asa Clements, nurseryman, Dracut, fine specimens of the Winter Green Sweeting, Mother Apple, and Jewett's Fine Red. The first is rather too dry — the other two apples of fine fla- vor and well worth cultivation if they are good bearers. Also, later, a box of fine apples from Mr. Clements, of Dracut. With some good judges we have tast- ed the fruit and do not think his recommendations too high, and so stand aside and let him speak for himself. He says, I send you six varieties of apples. No. 1. Minister, a well known variety in Essex County ; with me, it is nut strong and vigoi'ous in the nur- sery, but is hardy in the tree, and produces enor- mous crops of fair and good keeping fruit. No. 2. Presidrnt. — The original tree is now standing on the farm of Capt. John White, (1 think it is John) in Salem, N. H. It was in a bearing state, when Washington was inaugurated President, and was named for him. I have seen it full of showy fruit twice within a few years. The tree now looks venerable and healthy, and as though it might outlive the people of Pelham, and a large portion of ''the rest of mankind." In the nursery, rather vigorous. No. 3. Mother. — I'his variety I have once only, fruited, and these specimens are a portion of the crop. In my judgment it is one of the best apples extant, and sliould think from appearances quite prolific ; though on that point, the short experience I have had will not enable me to determine with accuracy. No. 4. Jewctt's Fine Red, or Nod-head. — This ap- ple, I have been informed is addicted to the naughty (knotty) habit of growing unfair for two or three years when it first begins to bear, and as far as ray own experience will enable me to judge it sustains that reputation to the fullest extent, albeit it is a fine apple, and worthy of cultivation. Young trees are tolerably vigorous and form beautiful heads, well balanced, between the upright and horizon- tal. No. 5. R^d Cheek. — A local name, scarcely known out of Dracut ; matures immediately after the Por- ter, Oct. and Nov., and fills a space that is almost a vacuum hereabouts so flir as good apples are con- cerned. I had about three bushels which wore the most beautiful in appearance, and 1 had almost said, in quality, of any apple on my fiirm. I cer- tainly sold them better than any other, this sea- son, except the Early Sweet Bough, which always commands a good price on account of its good qualities and early maturity. They grew on one side of an old tree grafted four or five years ago, with three other sorts, on other parts of the same tree. It grows well, and bears ditto ; young trees strong and vigorous, and I regret that through negligence or some other cause, they have been permitted to dwindle nearly out of the nursery. They shall be renewed. » No. 6. Name unknown, a late fall apple ; my father brought the scions from Vermont a few years since. It was there called Red Cheek, which name appears to be a misnomer, as there is seldom any blush upon them, except on specimens much exposed to the sun. Young tr^es hardy and pretty fair growers, and in my estimatio it is deserving a name and cultivation. Please make the best use of the single specimen I send. AsA Clement. Dracut, Jan. 13, 1853. For the New England Farmer. DEATH OF WM= G. LAKE, ESQ. Died in Topsfield, on the 10th inst., Mr. Wil- liam G. Lake, aged 45 years. Mr. Lake was somewhat extensively known, aa a horticulturist and dealer in nursery trees. He had devoted his whole time and energies, for the last fifteen years, to the cultivation of fruit and fruit trees. lie had spared no pains or expense to procure the best varieties for cultivation. He had made himself practically acquainted with the grow- ing of trees, and of performing the various nurse- ry operations. For several years past, his tables at our agri- cultural and horticultural shows have not been surpassed by any otiier contributor. lie had, ibr several years, supplied the vicinity with fruit trees, and sevei'al pares of the common- wealth, the southern parts of New Hampshire, and even the inhabitants of California will soon be gathering fruit from trees sent out by iNIr Lake, and which were raised on the soil of Topstield. JNIr. Lake lias sold trees from 25 cents to 25 dol- lars apiece. He has left on his grounds, (ten acres) between twenty and thirty thousand worked fruit trees from one to four years old, on the bud, for transplanting, besides leaving the grounds sup- plied with standard trees, just beginning to bear limit ; various ornamental trees have had a full share of his attention. The town of Topsfield is indebted to Mr. Lake 185^ NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 91 foi' tliG buHJing up of quite a village, ornamented with a variety of forest trees and shrubbery, where fourt(!en years ao;o, but one single dwelling, and a tall pine tree, relieved the monotony of mossy stone walls that bordered the highway. i\Ir. Lake has certainly left a growing and en- during memorial of his industry, activity and taste. About a fortnight before his death, ho met with an accident on Charlestown bridge, from which he had very nearly recovered, wlien he wis attacked with inllammation of the chest, three days before his death, lie leaves a wife and three children, who, for their great and sudden bereavement, have the deep sympathy of the public. Topsfteld, Jan. 14, 1853. ii. a. r. MASS. STATE BOARD OF AGRICUL- TURE. Wednesday, January 12, 1853. Gov. BouTWELL in the chair. The proceedings of the last meeting having been read, the Secretary read a letter from the Hon. Levi Lincoln, brother of the lamented Col. John W. Lincoln, a late member of the Board, in reply to a letter of con- dolence from the Board. Also, a letter from the Worcester Society announcing the election of Har- vey Dodge, Esq., of Sutton, as a member of this Boai'd as successor of Col. Lincoln. A letter from M. Vattemare was read, acknowl- edging the receipt of certain agricultural documents from Mr. Walker, Secretary of State. Mr. John C. Gray reported on orchards. Mr. Sprague, of the Plymoutli Society, reported on the Barnstable and Bristol Societies. Prof. Hitchcock reported upon the Essex Coun- ty S )ciety. Mr. Brewer reported on the Worcester AVest Society. Mr. Lawtox reported on the Housatonic Soci- ety. Gov. BouTWELL reported on the Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Societies. Prof. Hitchcock read a paper recommending the establishment of Farmers' Institutes throughout the Commonwealth, similar to the Institutes for the promotion of education. The following are the leading suggestions of the paper : — 1. A vast amount of knowledge concerning the principles of agriculture could be imparted to the farmers in every part of the State. It would, in fact, form an ambulatory agricultural school, where the young, especially, would learn very rapidly from the best masters. 2. It would give an opportunity to men well qualified, after looking at the chemical and geolo- gical constitutiim of the soil, to make suggestions to the farmers of the different districts as to im- proved modes of culture. 3. It w )uld furnish a good mode of communi- cating intelligence to the farmers of discoveries and improvements in agriculture, of distributing new varieties of seeds, and making known new and improved breeds of domestic animals. 4. It would probably bring to light new animal manures in different parts of the State by the re- searches of the lecturers, and of the farmers after they were p-it upon the track 5. It would awaken a deeper interest in agricul- tural pursuits, and give them increased respecta- bility. G. Opportunity miglit be given during the meet- ings of the Institute for visiting some of the best conducted forms and gardens in the vicinity, and thus witnessing the operations of scientific princi- ples. Mr. Brown read a report upon the Education of the Young Farmer. Mr. Brewer presented a report on laying down land to grass. Mr. Proctor moved that the subject of electing a Secretary be now taken up. Mr. Wilder, from the committee appointed to present the names of candidates, said he had no written report to make, but would state that the names of several gentlemen had been recommend- ed from various parts of the State, which names he would report if the Board desired it. Mr. Fessenden, of Sandwich, moved that the further consideration of the election of a Secretary be postponed until the next meeting of the Board, and that the present Secretary continue to act until another is appointed. On motion of ]Mr. French, it was voted that when the Board adjourns, it adjourns to meet again on Tuesday, the 25th inst., at 10 o'clock, A. M. Mr. Lawton reported on Indian Corn. Some arrangement was made in regard to the meeting of the several County Agricultural Socie- ties. Mr. Proctor, from the committee appointed to examine the Progressive Farmer, a work by Mr. J. A. Nash, Teacher of Agriculture in Amherst College, made a favorable report, and recommend- ed its use as a reading book in common schools. And at a quarter past G, P. M., the Board ad- journed to meet as above stated. Hops. — Quantity in market at present time for sale, 150 to 200 bales ; will not exceed the latter. Quantity in hands of gi'owers, to come to market, will not exceed 1000' bales, making 1150 to 1200 bales, against about 1000 bales in market, and in hands of growers to come to market, last year at this time. The quantity exported since the 1st of September, will reach nearly GOO l)ales, purchased in this market, a large proportion of which was sent to New York, and shipped fi-om that port. The statement in the Courier 4th inst., and the Boston Shipping List of Saturday, is very wide from being correct, and will have a tendency to mislead both growers and consumers, if not corrected; (whether the statements referred to were made designedly or not the autlior can best answer.) The above statement is correct, and can be relied upon. Sales have been made vv'ithin the last week, of 125 bales at 19a20 cents, first sort. w. b. 92 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. ^' The following remarks by the Hon. R. B. Hubbard, which are copied from the Ploio, the Loom and the Anvil, are interesting inasmuch as they show the doctrine heretofore entertained in respect to the degree of intense cold fatal to the peach bud is erroneous. We have heard other New England authority stating that the peach bud out- lived last winter a degree of cold equal to 2G deg. below zero. We are however by no means inclined to believe in the opinion set forth in this article, that budding (jf itself enervates the health and vig- or of the peach tree. A well-grown specimen of the peach raised by budding is quite as hardy, in our opinion, as a tree of the same sort from a pit. It is next to impossible that it should be otherwise. Some varieties are hardier than others, but the dif- ference in vigor proceeds from causes other than the mode of propagatit)n. PEACH TRUES. For a few years past we have been encouraged in the belief that we could raise peaches in Massa- chusetts— that we should not be always depend- ent upon New Jersey and Delaware for this most delicious of fruits. But the result of the last win- ter has terribly shaken our faith.. I have never known such destruction among fruit trees of any kind. I have been in each of the New England States, and Bnd that the remark is true of all. A large portion of the trees, probably one-third, were killed outright. Of the remaining portion, a moiety came out unscathed, while much the lar- ger part show signs of sickly life, here a bud and there a limb ; of) fruit there will of course be but very little. Many gardeners are discouraged, and say it is of no use trying to raise peaches in New England. Many years will elapse before we shall be permitted to witness such a crop of peaches as last autumn. But I took my pen to submit some queries which have arisen in my own mind touching the culture of the peach. It has been asserted })y writers of distinction, and generally believed, that the peach bud would not endure a greater degree of cold than 12 de below zero. The correctness of this is disproved by last w'inter's experience. In this place, the mercury frequently sank below 12 deg., and three times, as low as 20 deg. Yet, there are some peaches this season. I have seen three trees, standing together on the sunny side of a dwell- ing house, which appear as healthy as ever, and are burdened with fruit ; while nineteen-twenti- eths of the trees in town had not a blossom, and at least three-fifths were killed. In some places, trees standing on the north side of buildings were uninjured, while those on the south side were killed. In tlie hilly towns of vVorcester county, also in York county, Maine, the trees have suf- fered comparatively little ; wliile in the valleys of the Connecticut and Merrimac most of the trees are dead. I notice also that in the same locality the trees which have survived are those which have grown slowly, while those which have made rapid growth, have verified the adage, "soonest matured, soonest decay." Another fact I notice ; the trees which survived are mostly natural fruit. In my garden were twelve trees of budded fruit ; every one died. In the garden of a neighbor near by, with similar soil, were about twenty trees of natural growth, all of which are alive and doing well. From these facts I draw the following inferen- ces : the surest way of raising the peach is the natural way — from the stone. Like produces like in the peach almost as surely as in corn. The natural tree is hardy, even in cold New England, after bearing twenty years. The artificial is al- ways delicate — seems an exotic — a hot house plant, whose life is as a vapor. The growth of the tree should never be forced. If the soil is rich, growth should be retarded, by placing underneath the tree gravel and sterile earth. The observance of these two 'simple rules, I be- lieve will insure us good peaches, and in abun- dance, even in Massachusetts. AVhat say you, Messrs. Editors, to this radical- ism ? R. B. HUBB.^RD. Sunderland, Mass. U. S. AGRIOUIiTURAL SOCIETY. The Recording Secretary, Robert C. Walker, Esq., has issued the following notice, which we take pleasure in placing before the public. "The first Annual Meeting of the United States Agricultural Society will be held in the Smithsou nian Institute, Washington City, on Wednesday, the 2d day of February next, at 10 o'clock, A. M.; the OiBcers of the Society for the ensuing year are then to be elected. The importance of strength- ening in its infancy an Institution which has for its object the promotion of our National Agriculture, it is hoped will secure the attendance of a large number of members. ' ' It is earnestly hoped that all the officers of our County Societies will become members of the Na- tional Association, by sending their names and the initiation fee of $2 by the delegates from their re- spective Societies. This National Association needs now, especially, the countenance and support of those who feel the importance of a more enlight- ened system of agriculture throughout the coun- try. We will not doubt but that the government will ' before long lend its aid to the noble work begun ; not by granting any special privileges to the far- mer— that we do not ask — but by taking such a sure and liberal course as shall promote its own inter- ests and strengthen its own hands. But as the people are always in advance of the government, it is necessary for the present to sustain the great national movement by individual effort. Vocal MAcniNERT of Birds. — It is difficult to ac- count for so small a creature as a bird ujaking a tone as loud as some animals a thousand times in size; but a recent discovery has shown that, in birds, the lungs have seveml openings, communi- cating with Corresponding air bags or cells which fill the whole cavity of the body from the neck downwards, and into which the air passes and repasses, in the progress of breathing. This is not all ; the bones are hollow, from which air pipes are conveyed to the most solid parts of the body, even into the quills and feathers. The air being rare- fied by the heat of their bodies, adds levity. By 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 93 forcing the air out of the body, they can dart down from the gnnitest heights with astonishing velocity. No doubt the same luachiuci-y forms the basis of their vocal power, and at once resolves the mys- tery. BULL RINGS. ly unnecessary, and causes a waste of the nitro- genous parts of the bone. A much better plan is to throw them into dilute sulphuric acid, and af- ter a week draw off the super-phospliate of lime formed by the solution of {tart of the bones in the sulphuric acid, and break the bones — they are ea- sily broken after such treatment, and may then be returned to the dilate sulphuric acid for furth- er solution. We name this for the use of those who are too lar from the large markets to procure phosphate of lime in any other form than as whole bones ; but when the native apatite of Dover, N. J., or Crown Point, Lake Champlain, or the re- fuse bone-black of tlie sugar refiners can be pro- cured and treated with sulphuric acid, its cost will probably be less than that of collecting bones, ex- cept in the vicinity of slaughter houses. — Ibid. "Put not your trust in princes," is good sound doctrine, and we wish to add, as somewhat more in our line, — nor in bulls. These animals may be docile and manageable for years, and then sud- denly become dangerous, and destroy limb and life. A farmer in S. had a fine animal, which he had been in the habit of fondling in the pasture, and who never had shown any vicious propensi- ties ; but upon neglecting these attentions, one day, the bull suddenly turned upon and wounded him so that he lived but a short time. They should never be trusted. The insertion of a ring in the nose is not a cruel process when properly done, — not as much so as the heathenish practice of boring the ears of children. With a suitable punch, a little larger than the ring to be inserted, the cartilage of the nose may be perforated at a single blow, with very little pain. The ring may then be put in place and screwed together, and the wound will soon heal over. In this manner the most fractious animal may be managed with too much troulile. Manuring FRutx Trees. — ^lany fruit trees which have been considered valueless, may l)e recovered by being manured in fall and winter ; and during warm days wlien the surflice of the soil is not frozen, even stimulating manures may be applied, with impunity and covered with earth. Thus Pe- ruvian guano, now applied, will be so divided through the sjil by spring, as not to injure the young spongioles from the roots when they re- sume growth ; whereas, if ap[ilied after the spring growth commences, tlie spongioles would be in- jured. Lime, ashes, and other manures appro- priate to different soils and trees, may be applied in a similar manner. Peach trees should be laid bare to the top of the roots at this season, and the crops of the next year will be materially increased, while the frosts destroy the ova of insects resident in the surface soil. — Workinir Farmer. Burning Bones. — We see some of our cotem- poraries are recommeding the burning of bones to render them easily reducible, by breaking before dissolving them in sulphuric acid. This is^entire- For the New England Farmer. ANALYSIS OF SOILS. Mr. Editor : — A few days since, a young gen- tleman, son of a substantial farmer of tins place, called on me to inquire, where he could go to learn how to analyze soils, and to witness practical il- lustrations of experiments of this kind. I was mortified, not to be able to name any place with- in Jifiy miles, where this information could be ob- tained. I told him that an experimental depart- ment in agriculture was getting under way in connection with the college at Amherst, where this kind of instruction would be dispensed ; but whether students would be admitted for a short time, or on what terms they would be admitted, I was unable to say. I inquired of him, what at- tention he had given to agricultural studies. He said he had read Prof. Leibig's works, and sever- al others, — and took your paper, and read it care- fully,— and knew most of the elementary substan- ces to be found in soils, but did not know their ex- act proportions, or how to ascertain them. He said he had much leisure in the winter months, and should be glad to devote his attention to it if he could find some one to direct liim in so doing. If he could be informed what articles of chemical apparatus Avere needed to proceed in an analysis of soils, in a manner to be relied on, he should like to obtain them ; as he knew several of his associ- ates who contemplated farming as their emplov- ment, and would be glad to possess the informa- tion. I was pleased with the intelligent inquiries of the young man, and placed in his hands such books as I had at command, which I thought would assist him. But books alone will not be sufficient. He will need some experienced hand to guide his experiments, at least for a time. Presuming that he is only one of the many similar cases, within the limits of the circulation of your paper, I thought I would state his case to you ; and hope you will be able to give such advice as will be of service. Perhaps, if you should mention bis case, at the next meeting of the Board of Agriculture, some of the gentlemen thei-e would be al'le to tell something about it. We have had much /alk about agricultural education ; it seemstome almost time to have something besides (alk, — in the form of experimental instruction. * Jan. 3, 1853. Remarks. — Amherst, and the ]\Iount Airy Insti- tution, are the only places within our knowledge, 94 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. where the pupil can receive systematic, scientific teaching. When the Massachusetts Board of Ag- riculture gets through some of its preliminary busi- ness incident to a new organization, we trust the sui'-o'estion of our correspondent will be attended to. For the New England Farmer. FRUITS FOR NORTHERN CULTIVA- TION. Mk. Editor : — Annexed I hand you a list of fruit of sueli varieties as I have in a l)earing state, all in field cultivation, without high brick walls or board fences to protect them. I have fruited eve- ry variety upon the list, and they all do well with me, with the exception of two varieties, whicli T have not so fully tested as I have the others ; — those are the N >rthern Spy and S[)itzonburg. I feel confident the Spy will do well witli us in good cultivation ; and if so, it will prove one of the best late-keeping apples, and should be extensively cul- tivated. The vSpitzenburg is a very handsome, rich flavored and late keeping apple, but it has the appearance of being a poor bearer, but may do better as the tree grows older. I have several other varieties of new fruit under cultivation, which I shall speak of hereafter, if you think the annexed list worth publishing. Yours truly, W". G. Lake. APPLES. Lnte Keeping Winter. Baldwin, Roximry Russet, Rhode Island Greening, Uanvers Winter Sweet, Northern Spy, Spitzenburg. Early Winter. Ilubbardston Nonsuch, Aunt llnun.ih, Sweet Baldwin. Fall. Fall Ilarvcy, Porter, Minister, Gravenstein, Alexander, River Apple, Luscombe, William Hill. Early Summer. Williams' Favorite, Early Sweet Bough, Early Junealing, Bailing Sweet, Red Astracan. PEARS. Bartlett, Beurre Bosc, Fleiui-h Beauty, Beurre Die], Duchess de Angnuleme, Louise Bon de Jersey, Andrews, Vicir of Winkfield, Gloiit Morceau, Winter Nelis, Fulton, Seckel, Rosteezen, BufTuni, Van Mons, Leon le Clerc, St Ghistlain, Golden Beurre, Belle Lucrative, TIrhaniste, Bf urre de Aremberg, Columbia, IJix, Tyson, Beurre de Anjou, Lawrence. CHERRIES. Black Tartarean, Black Ea^le, Knight's K irly Black, Davenport, Yellow Spanish, Arden's White Heart, Large White Bigarreau, American Amber, Early May Duke. PLUMS. Green Gage, Red Gase, Prince's Vellow Gage, -Jmoerial Gage, Washington, Lawrence's Favorite, JefTerson, Black Lnperial, Lombard. Re.\iarics. — The above was sent us by Mr. L.\ke on the 6th inst., and before the ink was scarcely dry, he was summoned from this, to that untried, world, "from whose bourne no traveller returns." Mr. Lake was an excellent nurseryman, and full of devotion to his business, as these, perhaps the last linos lie ever penned, will declare. Thus in the flush of manhor)d and life, one after another are called from this busy and anxious state to that to which each passing day is hurrying us on. May we seek from above help to apply our hearts unto wisdom, and be prepared for the summons, how- ever unexpectedly it may come. For the New England Farmer. KEEP FXACr RECORDS. Mr. Editor: — Some remarks in your paper of the Ist inst. have led me to make the remarks which follow, and wliich if you deem appropriate at the present time, are at your service. Farmers should record with more care than they are accustomed to do, the results of their own ex- perience. When they raise a g(jod crop, they should record the fact, and describe the soil and the mode of tillage by which so good a result waa obtained. If they make a poor crop, they should make a record of this also, and the circumstances which led to it. The experience of the practical farmer is worth more than all the theories and ex- periments of the chemist in his laboratory. Ex- perience at the bedside is worth more to the physi- cian, than all the theories of the Professor in the lecture room. Theories may assert experience. They may give a right direction to the experiments of the practical man, and often enable liim to ar- rive at his conclusions by a shorter path tlian he would without them. But experience, after all, must decide. In the living organization we do not always obtain the exact results from the applica- tion of chemical principles, that we do when ex- perimenting upon dead matter in thg laboratory. This is true in the stomach. Medicines often fail of their expected results, because their action is modified by substances which they meet with in the stomach, or by the vital powers of the system. So in vegetables, the promises of the chemist are not always fulfilled. There are so many varying circumstances connected with temperature, mois- ture, and the constitution of the atmosphere for the time being, which are beyond our control, but wliieh nevertheless, modify the results of chemical activities, that the promises even of a Liehig must be received with considerable latitude — a wide margin must be allowed for the record of the devi- ators from the rigid rule. Theories can only give a general direction to ex- periment. Like theories in medicine and morals, they need to be corrected in their working by ex- perience. But the sciences of morals and medicine are not therefore useless. Far from it, they impart to us the knowledge of certain fundamental princijiles, which are of universal application, but which, in their application to individuals, require the modi- fying hand of experience. The case is precisely analogous in agriculture. The careful hand of in- telligent experience is needed to modify the appli- cation of its theories. For this reason the man of mere science is not the safest teacher, or the surest guide. He may be an accomplished scholar, he may present plausible theories and fine specula- tions, but they may not be applicable in the cir^ cumstanccs under which it is proposed to apply 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 95 them. The man who is to meet the farmer in the walks of every-da)/ life, who is to suggest to him safe and useful experiments, who is to assist his ef- forts, and correct his practical errors, who is to se- cure his confidtnce and be to him a guide and a friend, must be nut only a man of science, but a practical man. He must possess a large share of practical sense, and have occupied a loide circle of ob- servation. The mere Agricultural Chemist, fresh from the schools of Germany, would cost our far- mers more bi/ the fruitless and unsuccessful experi- ments he would sel them upon, than all the advan- tage would be worth, that would result from his teachings. Our farmers would be disgusted with his ignorance of practical details. That fine spirit that is manifesting itself at the present time, especially among our young farmers, needs to be fostered and encouraged. If it is di- rected by a skilful liand, it cannot fail to lead to good results. IJut if an unskilful hand attempt to give it direction, it will bo more than discouraged. It will be changed to prejudice, against all ^ience — which will retard for years, the march of im- proveaient ; like the prejudice which arose against the expensive and impracticable experiments of the gentlemen farmers of the last generation, and whicli has not yet died out of the community, but is still f lund opposing the effijrts of the patriot and the philanthropist f(jr the good of his country and his race. It seems to me, that what is wanted at the present time, is that tlie spirit of improvement and enterprise should be encouraged and strengthened, and the farmers tauglit to unite their efforts, and concentrate their influence for their own and the public good. Prejudice is to be overcome, and a disposition is to be awakened and developed in some practical form, to secure for themselves and their children more and better instruction than they have hitherto enjoj'ed upon all subjects relating to their daily business. When a public feeling has been called forth, and a demand created for more scien- tific instruction — then the farmers will be prepared to sustain institutions that will afford them in- struction of a higher character. But until a larger demand exists, it will be in vain to furnish a sup- ply. Scientific instruction of a high grade will not be appreciated, and if provided before the practical men are prepared for it, it will only serve to put off to a more distant day the very object at which we are all aiming, viz., practical farming, guided by scientific knowledge. completed, furnishing her in the richest manner, at a cost of $50,000 over ordinary ships of the kind. About the first of May he will take on board his sons and daughters and forty or fifty other guests, and sail for London, Copenhagen, Stock- holm, St. Petersburgh, Havre, Bordeaux, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, ]\Ialta, and .such other ports as may be desirable, staying a short time at each port, giving fetes and seeing the lions. The entire expense, which is estimated at more than $200,000, will be borne by the projector. This is about the most extensive plan of a pleasure trip ever yet entertained, and when carried out (which it undoubtedly will be) will be very apt to give Europeans some new ideas of the outside bar- barians of Yankeedom. — Neio York Tribune. AUTUMN AND WINTER. BY FRANCES GAGE. The Autumn is going with its beauty so glowing. And Winter o'er all things is casting its pall; The rose-tree is fading, no longer 'tis shading The arbor of love or the bright water-fall. Tlie dahlias are lopping, the ripe fruit is dropping, The corn-leaves are withered and dry on the stalk; The ring-dove is sighing, the grasshopper dying, The fire-fly no longer enlivens the walk. The forests are changing, the wild birds are ranging To hunt out a home v^here the skies are more clear; The stream deeply flowing, the chilly winds blowing. All tell us that Winter, cold Winter is near. Summer's sweets while we're tasting, away all care hasting, The days of the peach and melon are o'er; Then let us be trying, while Autumn is dying. To lay up for Winter a plentiful store. Work freer and harder, fill the barns and the larder, Then give to old VV'inter, uhene'er he shall come, A welcome most willing; we'll heed not its chilling, If there's warmth round the hearth stone and plenty at home. But while we are cheerful — no c.iuse to be tearful, Let us think of the children of Sorrow :ind Wrong; And give from our treasure, with no stinted measure, Of the good gifts of Heaven to help them along. Ohio Cultivator. Remarks. — We commend the above suggestions to every reader, and especially to those in every State, who have a controlling influence in direct- ing agricultural education. The first thing to be done is, to prepare the mind for a better system by the plainest and most practical teachings — the initiatory steps — and until that can be accom- plished, all higher aims will prove worse than use- less. A M.\GNtFicKNT Pleasure Trip. — A prominen steamboat owner of this city, who has made an immense fortune in steamboating, has devised a novel, most liberal and magnificent plan for dis- bursing some of his gains, lie proposes to rig in the most perfect style, a steamer yacht, now nearly For the New Encrland Farmer. PSACH BORER PLASTERED UP. Having in my garden a very vigorous peach tree, aiid observing that it was very much afiected by borers, especially in the forks of its limbs, I began to cut them out. Still F was afrai Committee. Stephen Reed, ) The work is published by Saxton, the Agricul- tural Book Publisher, N. Y., in his usual good style, — large type, fine paper and handsome bind ing, at 75 cents a copy, and is worth to most far- mers three times as much. The omission of a good alphabetical index is the only fault we have to find with the work. In future editions (for they will soon be demanded) we hope this valuable fea- ture will be supplied. GUANO. With the nature and uses of this substance ev- ery one is familiar. But where and how it is ob- tained, and other facts connected with the sources of supply, are not so well known — and as guano has been productive of considerable public excite- ment of late, a chapter upon the subject may not be devoid of interest. It is a common impression that the discovery of the fertilizing properties of guano has been quite recently made, and that it is only within a few years that it has come into use. This is by no means the case. It has been used by the Peruvi- ans ever since the discovery of America, having been imported by them from the islands on the coast. Humboldt was one of the first who car- ried it into Europe and brought it into notice on that continent. This must have been at least thirty years since. It was at first introduced into this country in 1825, but was not used to any ex- tent, and was soon forgotten. It was not until it was very extensively employed in England, that it was again imported into this country. Even now very little, comparatively, is used here, as will be seen by the following statement of the imports for three years : 1849 21,313 tons. 1850 11,740 " 1851 23,153 " The importation of this article into England, amounts at the present time to not far from 200,- 000 tons per year. Guano is found upon barren islands on the coasts of Peru, Bolivia, Chili and Patagonia. It is some- times met with on the headlands of the coast. — Tliat from the coast of Peru and Bolivia is by far the best, for the reason that rain seldom visits those latitudes. That derived from islands farther south being frequently saturated with moisture, is partially decomposed, and has much of its fertiliz- ing properties washed away. Guano consists of the excrements of sea-birds, intermixed with the bones of fishes, the fleshy parts of which have served them for food, the shells of eggs, and the remains of the birds them- selves— all of which are partially decomposed and mixed together. It accumulates rapidly, first, be- cause the swarms of birds of which it is the pro- duct are numberless, and secondly, because it is very rarely washed by rains. The cfuautity of the deposits on some of the islands is almost incredi- ble. It is stated by Mr. Wilson, formerly British Consul at Peru, that on theChincha islands — not- withstanding more than three hundred tons a year, have been taken away for use in Peru for centu- ries, and of late years many thousands of tons — it is estimated that there is still remaining the enormous quantity of 17,000,000 tons. An official survey of several islands claimed by Peru was made in 1847, from Avhich it was ascertained that there were on them over 23,000,000 tons — enough at the present rate of consumption to supply the world one hundred and seventy years. In some places on the Chincha islands the guano is two hundred feet thick, and it varies from that thickness down to three or four feet. It occurs in successive horizontal strata, each of which is from three to ten inches thick. The lower strata is of a dark brown color, growing lighter towards the surface. No earthly 'matter is found in these vast deposits. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 101 At the time of the first introduction of guano to the world, it was generally supposed to exist only on the coast of Peru and the adjacent islands. But its value stimulated search, and deposits of a similor character were found on the coast of Pata- gonia, and on portions of the coast of Africa. Near the latter the island of Ichaboe was discov- ered to be covered with thi8jvalual)leifertilizcr, from which large quantities were procured. But the island being accessible to the whole world without restriction, there was quite a scramble for the ar- ticle, and the guano Avas soon removed. It has been stated that tlierc were at one time over two hundred vessels loading at Ichaboe. The manner of loading guano is usually to haul the vessel under a cliff, if practicable, or if not the ship's boat, and fill up by means of a chute or long canvass bag open at both ends, and leading from the top of tne cliff to the hold of the vessel or into the boat. The work proceeds with great rapidity when operations have fairly commenced. Boston Jou. For the New England Farmer. EATING THEIR BODIES UP. BY A. G. COMINGS. There are many strange things in this world, and among them it is not a little strange that a people having so high claim to the rank of intelli-i gence and wisdom as the people of New England,! should really, in this nineteenth century, raise! and keep any race or kind of pigs, poultry, or other four legged or two legged animals, which can, being permitted, fall to and most unsparing- ly eat up their own bodies, not leaving ought in gratitude or respect to their reputable owners. But every day reminds us that "Truth is stranger than fiction." Being mindful of the fact that the kinds of ani- mals have been somewhat popular heretofore, and not wishing to incur the censures of any well dis- posed person through any misunderstanding of the subject matter under consideration, it may be permitted that a representation be made, to whom- soever it may concern, to this end and purport, namely, that certain inconsiderate and unprosper- ous persons who have not the fear of poverty be- fore them, do keep, and propose hereafter to keep, for the occupancy and use of their farms, pigs, poultry, and other living things, which creatures have a most vicious propensity and inclination to eat up their own bodies. And, moreover, as in our judgment the interests of all keepers of stock of every kind common to forms, may, consistently with the public safety, submit to the exclusion of all such vicious animals from the farms of New England, this humble prayer is most respectfully addressed and made to the General Court of Com- mon Sense, now in session, and from hence to con- tinue in session in New England, that the said vicious kinds of animals be expelled from among us for reasons which may follow. Wliereas, there has come among us, and to the no small detriment and dishonor of the old yellow hen, which was a faithful friend to those who lived before us, various kinds of ill-looking creatures which claim to be liens, but have none! of the comeliness of the old yellow hen, some of which have their feathers on wrong end foremost, and some do make most unmusical howlings which' are not fit to be called crowings, and many of these do in a manner most unworthy of all praise, and without leaving one praiseworthy egg, cat up their own bodies, it is desirable that these be forth- with driven out of the farm-yard and out of the market-place. And whereas there are that are called cows, some of which may appear very beautiful without, that have become intruders in many of the barn- yards of New England, which do not give milk enough to pay for their daily bread, and, as a consequence do without any restraint eat up their own bodies, it is desirable that these all be re- quired, in all their tribes and generations, as soon as possible, to offer themselves to the butcher and be ready to lie down in quiet. And whereas, also, there are hogs and old horses, dogs and dandies, which all do fixU short of earning for themselves a living, and most of which do eat up their own bodies without modesty or shame, it is desirable that these be delivered to such officers as will duly execute upon each, ac- cording to his circumstances, whatever judgment the public good shall require. ABOUT HENS, Much has been said about the importance of large hens. It is fast coming to be understood and known that the difference between the large fowls and the common fowls which we have raised heretofore, is about this. The large ones will grow to double the weight of the common hens, and with double the weight of body there is three times the weight of bones. The cost of raising a hundred weight of the large kind is more than of a hundred weight of the small kind, and is less saleable in market and less inviting upon the table. Before the large hens can be brought to full size and well fattened, they will much more then eat up their own bodies, in the cost of keeping, under ordinary circumstances. The more such fowls a man raises for market, the poorer he will be. ABOUT cows . Among country farmers there are a great num- ber of cows kept which give milk not more than about eight months in the year, and during this time would not make, on an average, more than two pounds of butter each week. Thus a cow would fall short of making 75 pounds of but- ter in a year. The average price of butter, in the country, is not over 16 cents, taking one year with another. This would give for the butter $12. Add to this $2 for the milk after the cream has been taken off and $1 for the calf at three days old, and you have $15 as the proceeds of the cow for one year. Now for her cost. Call the cow worth $15 to turn into beef. The interest of $15 is 90 cents. (Omit tax on the cow.) Her keep- ing in summer $5. In winter $12. Time and labor in milking and taking care of milk and but- ter, $8. This would make the sum of $25,90 for the yearly expense of the cow, while her yearly income is only $15. Now suppose that the cow would give milk 10 months in the year, and for 25 weeks would make 8 lbs. of butter per week, and for 17 weeks more would make 4 lbs. per week, making in all 2G8 lbs., (which is far below the product of many good cows,) it would amount to $12,88 cents. V7ho will find a difficulty in seeing that one of the cows is a dead loss of nearly $11 in a year, and NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. would eat her body up, under such cu-cumstanees, in less than a year and a half, while the other would give a clear profit of nearly $17 p^er year, allowing the same expense of keeping, occ. iiut makint' $5 allowance for extra expense of interest keeping and tending, and there would still re- main a clear profit of about $12 per year, or the interest of $200, and a difference in the profits ot the two of about $25 per year A good cow, with good keeping, ought to afford 300 lbs. or more of butter yearly ABOUT HO RSES. The old horse that does not earn more than a half dollar per week, the year round, will cost tor keeping and shoeing not less, certainly, than $oU in a year. Suppose him to be worth S20, and see how the gain or loss will be. Interest on ^20 for one year will be $1,20 ; taxes we will ca 1 10 c^nts; cost of keeping and shoeing $50 ; making a total of $51,30. Service of the horse at 50 cents per week, $26. This subtracted from $51 30 leaves a bill against the old horse of $25,30. Ihis is $5 30 more than the horse was worth at the beo-inning of the year. The old horse has eaten his°body up, and is ready to go about doing it again. Pretty soon he will swallow down a calf oravearlincr, or perhaps a small cow, besides eating himself up. Whether farmers will continue to keep such kinds of creatures is a matter tor them to inquire into. As to dogs and dandies, they are generally about as much profit to a farm as the itch is to a family of children. They keep the farmer scratch- ing all of the time, to make a poor hving. ihey are not fit to throw to the hogs, and they eat themselves all up for a breakfast every day they live All the use we can think profitably ot mak- ing of them is to put them into the poultry yard to help the Shanghai roosters to crow. Mason, N. H. illeil)anic3' Department, ^Tlvts, ^c. five hours and three-quarters ! This is the quick- est time ever made over the road. Twenty-five pas- sengers enjoyed this whirling through the air. Bow's Department. A FLOGGING MASTER OF THE LAST CENTURY. HoosicK Tunnelling Machine.— A writer in the Traveller furnishes a long report of the doings of this machine, the substance 'of which is, that though difficulties incident to the magnitude and novelty of the machinery have been encountered, its ultimate success is considered certain by those best acquainted with it. He says : "It may be proper to state that among those who have witnessed these operations, are some of the best engineers and most scientific gentlemen in the United States. They have, without an in- dividual exception, expressed a flivorable opinion of the principle on which its superior excellence is founded, and believe it will not disappomt the ex- pectations of its numerous friends and well-wish- ers The directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company are satisfied that its success is sure, as their expectations are more than real- ized." ^=- Fast Travelling.-The express train which left Boston at 4 P.M. Sunday, with _ the English mails for the South, reached the depot m New lork S quarter before 10 o'clock, making the passage in In the volumes of J^Iiscellanies by De Quincy, iust publisliedin this country, the "opium eater thus describes Bowyer, a teacher, who rebgiously adhered to the doctrines contained in the oldjro- verb, of "Spare the rod and spoil the child : -- "The third person raised to divine honors by Coleridge was Bowyer, the master of Christ a Hospital, London— a man whose name rises into the nostrils of all who knew him with the gracious odor of a tallow-chandler's melting house upon melting day, and whose memory is embalmed m the hearty detestation of all his pupils. Coleridge describes this man as a profound critic. Our idea of him is different. We are of opinion that Bow- yer was the greatest villain of the eighteenth cen- tury. We may l)e wrong ; but we cannot be tar wron^. Talkofknouting indeed! which we did at th? beginning of this paper in the mere play- fulness of our hearts— and which the great master of the knout, Christopher, who visited men s tres- passes like the Eumenides, never resorted to but in love for some great idea which had been out- raged : why, this man knouted his way through life, from bloody youth to truculent old age. Grim idol' whose altars reeked with children's blood, and whose dreadful eyes never smiled except as the stern goddess of the Thugs smiles, when the I sound of human lamentations inhabits her tears. So much had the monster fed upon the great idea ' of 'fioc'o-ing' and transmuted it into the very nutri- ment of his heart, that he seems to have conceived the gigantic project of flogging all mankind ; nay worseffor Mr. Gilman, on Coleridge's authority, tells us (p. 24) the following anecdote : 'Sirrah Til flog you,' were words so famihar to him, that on one occasion some female friend ot one of the boys (vrho had come on an errand ot in- tercession), still lingering at the door, after having been abruptly told to go, Bowyer exclaimed- 'Bring that woman here, and I'll flog her. Novel School Regulations.— A Canadian paper gives the following as the literal copy of the rules tnd rcmlations adopted by the school trustees ot schoollection No. 14, in the township of Nissouri„ Oxford. It is worthy;)f preservation as a curiosity of literature : — , ,, , ^i, "Thou Shalt not lie thou shalt not swear thou Shalt not speak a smoty or blagard talk thou shalt not steal thy neighbor's dinner his mk or handle his books or anything that is his. ,.04. "No whispering no laughing no leaving beats with liberty nor medole with books Slates pens nor ink without liberty no quarreling no lying no Swear- ino- Stealing nor telHng tales out of schools no dis- puting no bad language no fitting no pushing each other in the mud nor in the ditch on the road home . , , "Any children coming without proper books their parents to be no te fiyed by a letter if not punctually attended to shall be liable to be dismissed from school." 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 103 ^lnjcftismg department. (O" A limited n!iml)er of advertisements of an appropriate character will be inserted iu the monthly Farmer at the fol- lowing RATES. For one square of 15 lines, one insertion $1,00 For each subsequent insertion 50 Jty Tlie above rales will be charged for all advertisements, whether longer or shorter. an I wood. Great Offering of Ileal Estate. The subscriber wishes to sell his homestead place well known as the CAT BOW FARM, con- sisting of five hundred acres, over two hundred of which is first quality intervale, and in a state of jiih cultivation, the residue is upland pasturing The farm is beautifully situated in Lancaster, the shire town of Coos County, N. II., on the banks of the Con- necticut River. The location is one of the most attractive and beautiful in New England, the scenery is magnificent, both in summer and winter, and for beauty cannot be surpassed. The river at this place assumes the form of a curve, so that sixty Jive acres are enclosed by nineteen rods of fence. It is but one day's ride from Boston, and is only a short distance from the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad. There are two good dwelling-houses and other necessary buildings on the place. A suilicient quantity of water of excellent quality is conducted to the houses and yards from a never failing spring. lie also offers for sale, a large tract of eighteen hundred acres nearly adjoining the above, mostly covered with timber and of easy access to said river. He will also sell his house known as the "WHITE MOUNTAIN HOUSE" and farm of two hun- dred acres, well and pleasantly situated at the White Moun- tains; has a good run of custom during the visiting season This is a fine opportunity for n good and safe investment. All or part of the above property will be sold at a bargain, as the owner wishes to lessen his care. For further particulars and terms, inquire of the subscriber at Lancaster, or at this office. .JOHN II. WHITE. Jan. 15, 183.3. 3m* 1^ A>TsIiire Stock. about one year old. .Tan. 1, 1853. Wanted, a thorough bred Ayrshire Bull, and Heifer, not exceeding two years old. Any person having such for sale, or very likely Calve-?, will please apply to the sub- scriber at this office. inr Also wanted, a fine native Bull, JOHN RAYNOLDS. Admifiistrator's Sale of a Farm lii Concortl, 3Iass. BY License of the Court of I'robate for (he County of Mid- dlesex, will be sold at Public Auction on S:iturday, March 26th. at 1 o'clock P. M., on the premises; the farm lately owned by Capt. Humphrey Hunt, (deceased) situated in Con- cord, Mass., A a mile from the village centre, on the main road to Lowell— cofnprising about 75 acres of first rate land, well divided, and entirely fenced with stone w:ill, having thereon two wells of excellent water, also, a spring of soft water; is abundantly stocked with fruit trees, mostly budded and graft- ed fruit, and a good cranberry meadow, which yield largely in favorable seasons. Said firm has descended from father to son, since the first settlement of the town to the present time, • and has always been kept in a high stale of cultivation, and is considered by competent judges to be as desirable a farm, both from quality of soil, and beauty of location, as any in the county. Also will be sold about 60 acres of pasture land, situated in north part of the town, and U miles from said farm; also, 5 acres situated in east part of town, known as "Great Field." Likewise, two good cows, small lot of good English hay, one cart, and a few farming tools. Immediately following the sale of the above, will be sold a portion of the household furniture, bedding, est lat seen in our market this sea- son. They were selected for fatting, as they lacked some of the fine points for which Mr. Lover- ing's swine are famoua. The one giving the larg- est weight above was a sow who gave a litter of pigs in September last. The SuSblks which we have frequently obtained for our friends were from this gentleman's stock. Dairy Woman Wanted. — Attention is called to the advertisement for a dairy woman, in the proper department of this paper. Windsor is one of the most romantic, healthy, and beautiful towns in New England, and the opportunity for a skilful person to engage in this business is a good one. PECULIAR DIFFICULTIES OF NEW ENGLAND HUSBANDRY. lEXTRACTS FROM Mr. FrENCH's ADDRESS ] The abolition, in our country, of the rights of primogeniture, and preference of males over fe- males, in inheritance, is another difference between us and England, which operates to prevent the ac- cumulation of large estates ; and so, to render im- possible here the grand and expensive schemes of improvement, of which we read so much in works on British husbandry. By the English Common Law, the eldest son in- herits all the father's i-eal estate. Here every sod and daughter inherits an equal share. There, immense tracts of land are owned by a single individual, and it is his pride to preserve and increase the estate in extent and value through his life, and transmit it to the son who bears hrs title, while the other children are left landless and often dependent. Mr. Colman states that the Duke of Portland, by turning the course of a river, irrigates at his pleasure between three and four hundred acres of land. liord Yarboro' has more than 60,000 acres of land in his plantation. He has 150 tenant farm- ers, and more than 600 tenants in all, and you can ride upon his estate in a direct line thirly miles. One of his tenants said he, the tenant, raised 18,000 bushels of wheat in a year ; and many of the tenants pay a rent of 5 or $6000 a year. barren new ENGLAND SENDS FOOD TO STARVING IRE- LAND. But, while we are amazed at the grandeur of the estates of the English nobility, while we feel thai the vast operations in agricultural improvement practiced there are, from the nature of our lands, impossible with us, we should remember also, that 600 tenants, the happiness of each of whom is of as much value in the sight of Omniscience as that of the lord of this vast domain, are dependent, that one may be great. And we have a right to fell proud, that New England, from her barren hills and small and lialf cleared farms, but a few years since, freighted whole ships with food, as cliarity for starving Ireland, — with food for the tenants even on the estates of English nobles, and that although we have no great estates, we have, on the other hand, enough for ourselves, and some- thing for our hungry neighbors. poverty of new ENGLAND SOIL. The poverty of our soil would be, at once, sug- gested by a citizen of a southern or western State as the one great insuperable obstacle in the way of farming in New England. If, however, we had time to institute a thorough Fine Pork. — We recently noticed a lot of nine Suffolk ho"s at the stall of Mr. Richards in Faneuil Hall Market, weighing respectively 263, 256, 392, 318, 351, 236, 309, 252, and 229, fatted and sentj comparison between the condition of the whole 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 107 population of those fertile regions and our own, we should find little reason to envy their position. I have somewhere seen an anecdote, which illus- trates, iir-a few words, tlie peculiar advantages of the southern mode of agriculture. A planter was speaking of the large quantity of corn, and the nuinber of swine annually raised on his plantation. i'You must grow rich very rapidly," remarked a bystander, "at that rate." "Yes," said he, "I should, were it not for one or two circumstances ; but the fact is, every winter my slaves eat all the corn, and my slaves eat all my swine, and in the spring I have nothing but the slaves left." W'HEAT CROP REDUCED FROM FORTY TO FIFTEEN BUSH- ELS AN ACRE. New England soil may now, perhaps, be proper- ly denommated poor, and this is partly its natural state, and partly induced by an exhausting course ot husbandry. The great and ruinous mistake of American husbandry thus far, has been that of taking icithout giving— o? rohhing the soil of the elements of fertility, and returning nothing to it. 1 his course has been pursued everywhere throuo-h our country, under the false though specious ide°a, ot developing (he resources of (he comUrif. Railroads and canals have been opened. Wheat was developed in New England, until the lands which a century ago, produced abundant crops now produce no crop whatever. It has been de- veloped in the fertile lands of New York, till the average product of whole countries has been re- duced from 40 to 15 bushels to the acre. The re- sources of the soil of Virginia have been developed m the shape of tobacco, till the lands were abso- lutely barren, under their old system of treatment, and Yankee enterprise, with improved cultivation IS just now^ restoring them to fertility, making New ^ngland homes where, as John Randolph said Virginia aristocracy was fairly starved out. THE SAME SYSTEM WILL BRING THE SAME RESULTS IN THE SOUTH AND WEST. Such a robbery of the soil, of the very marrow ot Its system, such a development of the resources ot tlie land, as freights whole rivers and canals arid railways with potash and phosphoric acid, and the other essential elements of growth, in the form ot wlieat, and corn, and cattle, carrying them to large cities, to be there consumed, or shipped abroad and making no return to the soil, will soon bring to a level the fertile lands of the West and bouth, and the hills of New England. ^ The difference is diminishing every day, and the time IS not far distant, when everywhere in the bouth, the West, and the North, the truth will be torced upon us, that we can receive from the soil no more than by intelligent culture we in some way cause to be returned to it, and it depends up- on ourselves whether we shall pursue a ruinous course of husbandry, till our lands are cursed with barrenness, like the tobacco lands of Virginia or whether we shall clothe our hills with traces' of beauty and fiU our valleys with fertility. NEW ENGLAND ENJOYS AN UNSURPASSED CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Yes, New England soil, compared with that of portions of the West, is poor and hard to till, but yet compared with most portions of the cultivated countries of the earth, it yields a fair return for la- bor. Indeed, it yields already, as I have said enough and to spare of the necessaries of life • and if we sit down and soberly make up the ac- count, remembering that no other land on which the sun in his course looks down, enjoys at this moment so much of true civil freedom and "free- dom to worship God" as this New England,— that in no other land are life and property so secure- in no other land is education so generally diffused —remembering too, that God has so ordered it, that pure morality, and brave and honest hearts should ever thrive best upon a rugged soil re- membering too, that here are the graves of our flithers, and here the happy homes of our child- hood. If we consider all thesi? things, we shall still take courage and thank our Maker that our lives have flillen in pleasant places, and that we have, indeed, a goodly heritage. AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS. The want of Agricultural Schools, and of the opportunities for obtaining an accurate scientific knowledge of the true principles and practice of husbandry, is in New England at the present day a singular circumstance to be named as a difficulty in such pursuits. It would seem that we regarded agricultural skill as an instinct of our nature, that we supposed this to be an exception to the general rule, that knowl- edge IS found by studious search for it, and that, like the birds of the air, which a thousand years ago built their nests as skilfully as now, we had by nature implanted in us, as much of a sort of gift of cultivating the earth as would ever be of any advantage to us. _ Men begin, however, to regard this matter in a different aspect, and are getting light enough to make the darkness visible. They begin to feel, that from the fact that farmers live apart from each other, and have not like merchants, and law- yers, and manufacturers, occasion to meet and compare results, and form systematic arrangements for future action, they lose the great advantages of mutual experience. They begin to feel, that to learn from Nature a,lone is a slow and toilsome process— that human life is too short for e;ich individual to work out for himself every experiment important to be tried— that some Board of Agriculture, some Department of Government — some central point somewhere must be established, whereby the results of care- ful and continued observations may be collected, and compared and published to the world. LITTLE PROGRESS IN TW^O THOUSAND YEARS. It is lamenlable to observe, how entirely almost for centuries agricultural experience has been wasted, how little progress has been made, even in 2000 years, in many branches of husbandry. The Greeks and Romans understood, almost as well as we do, the uses of various kinds of ma- nures. We read now-a-days in the Agricultural Reports and journals of the importance of mixino- soils — clay with sand — as if it were some grand discovery of modern times ; yet Theophastus re- commended the same thing twenty centuries ago. Farmers talk about feeding down their winter grain in autumn as a thing worth trying; a practice of which Virgil speaks, as familiar among the Ro- mans. The science of chemistry has indeed opened in modern times a book of Nature's operations before entirely sealed, giving us, if not yet, an accurate 108 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March knowledge of how she curiously fashions bud, and So may the valleys echo with your tones, and the leaf, and blossom, of various form and color, and hills send back the sounds to the remotest parts taste and fragrance from the same air and earth Qf ji^g j^nd. and water — giving us at least some hints of the re- ' suits of her elective affinities — showing us that each rootlet instinctively seeks out the nourish- ment essential to the plant — that the elements' which compose the harvest must be somehow sup- 1 Mr. Brown : — Sir, T noticed in a late number of For the New England Farmer. BLACK KNOTS ON PLUM TREES, plied to the growing crop, and that the ear of corn the New England Far /ner, an inquiry by W. R. C.^ is but a new arrangement of particles of matter concerning the black knots on plum trees, and a every one of which before existed, and that Nature reply by G. B. Slade. So much has been pub- herself, however mysteriously, works with means, \hhed upon the subject, that I can hardly expect and though she fashions anew, never creates. [to communicate anytliing new, yet I feel disposed ^ I to give an account of some of the experiments that THE MILK TRADE. !^ ^;;.^'^ wUnessed. The practice of W. R. C in : cuttmg on the warts as soon as they appear, ana This important business is attracting considera- 1 burning them, is a good one, and the recommen- ble interest. The flxcts elicited at the recent con-;dation of Mr. Slade, saying, "cut freely, sparing ventions have drawn attention to the subject, and,iio imperfection of wood," cannot be improved up- . J , ,, 1 J ion. There IS indisputable evidence that the ex- peopie are surprised at the looseness and uncer- _„ 4.u^t e • t e -j-u^^, ^ .^ . ^ .^ erescences are the work oi msects, for in the ex- tamty in which the matter is conducted. It islperiments made by different members of my fami- just as important to the consumer as to the pro-|ly, two different species of insects have uniformly ducer, that the whole trade should be regulated by been found to inhabit them. One, the curculio, law, as is all other commerce. We trust that'^'" P^^"» ^'^evil; and the other, a small moth, about those who have taken the incipient measures to- i^^^'^^*'^ ^'^ %" ^°'^' ^° H°^*V ^j°f l^^^i^S t'j^ , 1 i- .. -1, , ,• 11, . J appearance 01 copper, watered with brown velvet, wards regulating it, will be active and determined /j^'j^ experiments were made by cutting out a sec- until all those guards andrestraints are sanctioned! tion of the limb containing the excrescence, and by th« Legislature, which are indispensable to a; placing it in a small box or glass partly filled with fair trade in the article. ! moist earth, covering the top with coarse gauze The people of Waltham have backed up iX-,^i^\lo ^^io ^&mit^\v,jin&^v^x^mes<,ji^<,. My daugh- . ,, /-,,., , ,r Iters, m pursuing their experiments, procured a lot action in the Convention by several meetings, atlf^heap glass tumblers and rings of wire that one of which they adopted the following pream-| could be passed over them easily, then cut pieces ble and resolutions. We hope to find this spirit! of gauze large enough to fall over the top, about prevailing in every town in the Commonwealth. | an inph deep,and wound the edge of theguaze over inn i.i.1, ^T-n /-. X- 1 n • -r. I the rino; and sewed it tight, thus makino; the cov- Whereas at the M.Ik Conven ion held in Boston, ^, g,,„°, ^^^ ^asy to l>e°managed. The maggots Jan. 2bth It was voted to adopt wine measure l.^^uld, in a short time, leave the excrescence, apart as a standard measure for milk also to petition 5^ ^^^ th^ oth^r part enter the earth; the Legislature for the passage of an act requiring f.^^^^ ^^e cocoons came the moths above described, all milk cans to be sealed. Therefore i ^j^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^e earth were curculios. Resolved, That we the farmers of Waltham, do; of course, we were exceedingly puzzled to de-' heartily concur with those resolut,ons_ which aim at ,ja,,^l,5,j,ie,,^ere the authors of the mis- a reform much needed, and when carried into effect „i,;^f Or... aon«nr will prove a mutual benefit both to the producer and consumer. Resolved, That on and after April 1st, we will sell our milk by wine measure, and by no other. As it is a well known fact to every farmer that the producing of milk is a money losing business. chief. One season, when the late frosts had de- stroyed the fruits, the black warts were unusual- ly numerous ; we then supposed it must be the eurculio, but more recent investigations have con- vinced me that it is the moth, and that the eurcu- lio takes possession of the spongy excrescence for want of other accommodations. I have come to Resolved, That we ^.^11 take such measures _ as | the above conclusion, from the fact, that the black Trhriarr F^^^'^^er a flur compensation jknots have within threeor /our years almost en- ' I tirely disappeared in this vicinity, while the rava- Address at tue Vermont State Fair. — Through the polite attentions of the author, Wm. S. King, editor of the Journal of Agriculture, we have re- ceived a copy of the Address delivered by him at the late State Fair in Vermont. After a brief no- tice of the object of such associations, and a glance at the offerings on the occasion, the address is principally devoted to the inculcation of scientific husbandry. It is written in an easy and attrac- tive style, abounds with forcible illustrations, and knocks in the head a thousand of the current pre- judices.which exist. Labor omnia vincil, brother King — we shall conquer if we labor and fiiint not. ges of the eurculio are as destructive as ever. Moreover, the excrescences do not appear until the month of July, and long before that time the first crop of curculios have done their work, and undergone their change. The moths must, of course, pursue the habits of all the wood borers, lay their eggs on the bark of the limb, and when they are hatched, the little maggots eat through the bark into the wood and there increase in size until they are ready to go into the chrysalis state, preparatory to their change into the perfect insect. Mr. Slade thinks that lo- cality has nothing to do with it. I think so too, but am convinced that variely has, for I have no- ticed that trees bearing a certain kind of plum were destroyed, or their limbs killed and rendered 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 109 unsightly, wliile other varieties in their immediate neighborhood were left undisturbed. So with the cherry. The Black Hearts would suffer from their attacks, whil« the Honey Hearts and Red Bigar- reaus standing near them would escape. It is there- fore reasonable to conclude, that insects can dis- cover as different tastes iii the woi)d of different kinds of trees, as we do in the fruits they bear. I intended when I commenced writing, to make a few remarks on the habits of ants and aphides, but my article is already too long for the value it contains. But why, may I ask, is the study of en- tomology so much neglected ? Nothing can be more interesting or useful to the lovers of nature, and surely, nothing can be more beautiful than many of the insect tribes, to wit : the moths and butter- flies, for truly has a distinguished writer said, "that nature appears the most beautiful in her smallest works." Yours respectfully, Mr.s. Noyes Darling Neto Haven, Ci., Jan. 31, 1853. Remarks. — It is a sgnificant and encouraging evidence of the interest taken by ourf>eople in t!ie cultivation of fruits and flowers, as well as grains and all other farm and garden productions, to find them replying readily to queries propounded by others. Only two or three weeks since an inquiry was made by one of our correspondents for a rem- edy for warts on plum trees. We have received some half-dozen replies, and among them, the above from a lady, an ardent lover of the farm and the garden. AVhere the inquiries are pertinent and the answers brief and clear, we know of no way better calculated to elicit valuable informa- tion. We welcome our fair correspondent to our columns, and trust "the daughters" will catch the pure and natural tastes which prompt the mother to 'contribute her portion to the waiting world. Well may she inquire why the study of entomology is so much neglected ? It is true that nature presents in her lowly works, some of the most wonderful. Nothing created is more beau- tiful (if we may except a good and pretty girl!) than the spidisr ! Place him under the microscope and look at his eye, his spinners, his feet \vith balls of hair, his plumage, not equalled by the ex- quisite dyes of the wood duck or the burning col- ors of the flamingo! Behold him work, twist his gossamer threads and fill his distaff, set his snares to entangle the unwary fly, or build his house, for- tifying it on ev(?Ty hand, and then you will kindle with a desire to know more of the lowly life which you contemn. Spiders, moths, and caterpillars, will become as loveable as humming birds, cana- ries, or cats, and prove the source of delightful re- search and contemplation. We have»8cattered this seed, Madam, for years, and trust some of it has fallen on genial soil. If the thoughts of the young were turned into the right channels, there would ever be found at hand enough for instruc- tion, and amusement , for all. UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL SO- CIETT. The first annual meeting of this national associ- ation took place at the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, on the 2d of February, 1853, and continued in session through two days and an eve- ning. There were present representatives of the great national industry, agriculture, from more than half the States and territories of the Union. These gentlemen had come from the various occu- pations of life; — the farmer, mechanic, merchant, clergyman, physician and lawyer were there, and engaged with an earnestness and zeal that pre- cludes dou')t of future success. A common pur- pose, and fraternal feeling, animated every breast, l^he main feature — the prosperity of agricultural pursuits — was kept prominently in view, and en- listed the attention of every person present. No fancy schemes or tales of romance were enter- tained or propounded — no assurance of success, only through lab>»r guided by intelligence — no pro- mise that enlightened art should supersede the ne- cessity of scientific knowledge, or that the appli- cation of science should ever make patient and in- structed labor unnecessary. All was accomplished that was expected. Offi- cers vrere elected for the ensuing year, and such arrangements made as were deemed necessary to promote the objects of the society. Resolutions were passed expressive of the sense of the society in relation to the action of the gen- eral government upon the subject of agriculture, and committees appointed to make respectful pre- sentation of them to Congress. In the language of the distinguished President of the society, in the closing part of his address, we say that "cheering prospects are before us. We dwell with pleasure on the bright future." For the New England Farmer. THE CORE-WORM. Friend Brown : — Having seen in your own valu- able paper, as well as in the columns of two or three other agricultural journals, several inquiries made during the past year, touching that pest of Amer- ican apples — the core-ivorm, asking for advice and information as to a remedy or preventive ; and as I have thus far, seen nothing satisfactory to myself in reply, I take the liberty of giving you my own experience in the premises, that you may lay it before your numerous readers, if you deem it of sufficient importance. I send you the information rather than publish it myself, as ours, not being an agricultural paper, it would be less liable to be read by those whom it may benefit, than if published in the New England Farmer. So for as T have investigated the matter, the core- worms of the apples in this country are in no par- ticular different from the piratical apple depreda- tors of France, England, Portugal, and. South America, and are the offspring of a brown miller, somewhat larger than the mother of our common 110 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March moths, which deposits her eggs at night in the dried blow of the apple, when about half grown. In the island of Jersey, a place famous for its fruit, the depredations of the "/)2;?/7m-T<;orm" — as they are there called — is entirely avoided by the farmers placing among the branches of their ap- ple trees, sometime in April, tufts of pea straw, or what is better still, bean stalks, which have been kept through the winter for that purpose. In the cavities of these, the miller deposits her eggs, which in due time becomes a grub, of an al- together diflFerent character apparently, from the apple-bred offsprings of the same miller. Those grubs never enter an apple, and what few of them escape the keen observation of the black hornet or the speckled girdler, find their way to the ground, in which they burrow, lying dormant for about ten months, when they become changed to millers in time for the next crop of apples. I have seen in the island of Jersey, the apples from a tree unprotected by the simple precaution mentioned, literally alive with worms, while those of all the other trees in the same orchard were en tirely free from the plague. I have tried the experiment in South America frequently, with the most complete success ; and as I believe the North American worm is identical with the apple-worm of other countries, I would advise that farmers generally try the experiment. It does not cost much, and if successful, is just as good as a more expensive i-emedy. I am Dear Sir, very respectfully, Geo. S. Raymond. Office JVorthern Light, Hallowell, Me., Feb., 1853. Remarks. — Thank you, friend Raymond, for the above. We shall try it. If it is a remedy, it is one of those simple ones which all may have. For the New Eng-land Farmer. CHINESE FARMING. This oldest and most populous country in the world, if I am rightly informed, has the least sup- ply of cattle of any other nation, ancient or modern, where agriculture has been successfully and sys tematically pursued. How they replenish their soil century after century, in the absence of one of the main sources of producing manures in all other countries, has long been to me a most embarrassing question, and one object in this communication is to solicit some remarks on this subject, from some of your correspondents, who are adequate to the task. I have been told that they have the art of im- parting fertilizing properties to heaps or vaults of earth, which serve as a substitute for the composts of other countries. What chemical agents they employ for this purpose may be useful for us to know. I have seen it stated that all old lime and mor- tar is by them carefully preserved for manuring purposes. This policy I can understand, as I adopted it to advantage long before I read of it among this people, and was not a little gratified thit I had stumbled upon a course which these in- genious cultivators from time immemorial have pursued. The ^-ay I came to think of making use of an article so dry, and apparently dead and worthless, was from seeing how strong a lie it would produce after being soaked in water for a short time. Aa lime was difficult to be procured except in casks, at too high a price for farming purposes, and as I was satisfied my land needed the article, and as a number of my neighbors were making large re- pairs on their buildings, I daily obtained the priv- ilege of removing what no one accounted of any value. I soon carried off hundreds of loads, at first somewhat at a venture. Some of it I left in heaps, mixed with earth for future use ; most of it, however, I spread on the land, lumps, flakes, and all, where they melted away by degrees, in the course of a few years. After this preparation, a much less quantity of other manures was needed for a good production. A Chinaman will sometimes replaster his house sooner than he would otherwise do, for the sake of getting the old refuse for his land. But this can afford but a scanty supply, and after all, the ques- tion comes up, how have the Chinese kept their lands in a productive state, for so many centuries, with so few facilities for enricliing them, which are known to us? The natural richness of the most exuberant soils will in process of time be dimin- ished, and they must be replenished by some fer- tilizing process, or scanty crops will be the portion of the cultivator. . I am aware that rice is the staple article for food in China, as well as in most parts of eastern Asia, for the growth of which I believe manure is not needed, as all rice lands must not only be watered, but overflowed a portion of the year. The /nodus operandi in the growing of this crop I conclude is similar in all countries. The fields in the first place must be entirely level, and they must be ac- cessible to water, which must be let on and off at different times, after the seed is sown. In the southern States, the rice fields are mostly adjoining fresh water rivers, where the tides rise and fall suflBciently for thesupply of the fields. This is the ordinary way of growing rice in this country. But in some cases they lay up water in rainy seasons to be let on when it shall be required. In India I am told this method is usually prac ticed, and in China the same course is probably pursued. As to the growing of the tea plant, I am wholly unimformed respecting the kind of soil or dressing it requires. But a large portion of China is in too high a latitude for the culture of either rice or tea, and the question still returns : How have the Chinese managed to keep their lands in a productive condition for so many centu- ries, with so few cattle, and without the usual fiicilities for producing manures which are common to all other highly cultivated regions? Agricola. Elijah M. Reed, of Tcwksbury, informs us that he is now making butter from his Ayrshire cow, and obtains one pound from four quarts of milk ! She was Tm exhibition at the Middlesex Show in October last, and was then an animal of fine ap- pearance. He did not state to us the manner of feeding in obtaining this product. One cow pro- ducing this amount must be of as much value as two, at least, ordinary cows. 1853. NEW ENGLAND lARMER. Ill For the New En^laKcl Farmer. THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. liV J. REVNOLDS, M. D. Said an excellent and kind-hearted old man to me, one day, on observing some flowersinthe win- dow, "I love to see these about a house. They shew that there is good feeling within, that there is taste, a regard for the feelings of others, that the mind is not wholly wrapped up in love orself." And is it not so ? \V here you see a fine collection of flowers in or about a house, well trained and cultivated, and where you see the daughters, aye, and the sons too, taught to love them and watch over them and protect them from enemies and in- juries, do you not feel assured that the mistress of the house is a lady of taste, that she has an eye for the beauties of nature, that slie has other sources of pleasure besides money and*dress and display ? Do you not feel that she has a soul en- dowed with some of the finer sensibilities of our nature, and that she is developing and cultivat- ing these sensibilities in her children ? Do you not expect to find in the mind of the woman who has a love for these delicate and beautiful oVijects of nature, a nice sense of propriety, a strong and ardent love of truth, and a keen and quick percep- tion of moral beauty? Would you not commit your daughters to the instruction of the woman who possesses a strong love for fiowers, other things being equal, rather than to her who has no taste for their delicate forms, and blushing and al- most speaking beauties ? I have been in the habit of associating a love for flowers, and for the more delicate beauties of nature, with all that is refined and tender and lovely in woman, and indeed, it is because there is a finer tone in the feelings of the female heart, that she so much more frequently than man possesses a keen relish for the modest pearl drops, the bvil- Kant gems, the delicate hues, the rich, blushing tints, the beautiful commingling of light and shade, which the pencil of nature has scattered so pro- fusely around us. Man seizes the bolder and stronger features of the landscape — the noble tree — the lofty moun- tain— the broad expanse — the flowing river — the rolling wave ; but woman instinctively loves the flowers. They speak to her heart, and commune with it in language of their own, of all that is ten- der, and gentle and kind and provident and pa- tient and loving in nature, and she feels that her heart is made better by the sweet communion, and she is inspired by it with strength and patience and fitness for the tasks of life. They are the beautiful and most appropriate instruments em- ployed by her kind Father al)ove to give birth to loving thoughts in her heart, from which over- flow to all around her, gentle words and the sweet chacities of life. There is nothing more fascinating to the heart of a true woman, than the cultivation of flowers. When the fondness for it is indulged, it may be- e©me a passion, and absorb time and thoughts due to other duties. But among our fair country-wo- men, such instances are but rarely seen. The error is_ usually in the opposite direction. Suffi- cient time and attention are not given to this charming pursuit; a pursuit full of beauty and health for the body and of improvement to the mind and the heart. Let husbands and fathers see to it that they never discourage a taste for the cultivation of flow- ers. Rather let them furnish all the facilities within their power. Every wife and every daugh- ter, however lowly her lot in life, may cherish a rose or train a sweet pea or a morning glory. Let no father or husband frown upon such an exhibi- tion of taste and love for nature, as he values a sunny smile, a cheerful tone, a gentle word, and a loving heart. Every farmer can provide the neat border, or the warm sunny patch, (and let him not grudge the time or labor of its preparation) where the modest crocus, the lily of the valley, the sweet violet, and the gay tulip may spring up to meet the coming birds, where the mignionette — the sweet balsam, the pink and the rose may mingle their perfumes at dewey eve, and the rich, ever- varying tints of the amaranth, the dahlia, the as- ter and the chrysanthemum, may recall the more delicate hues and the sweeter blossoms o-f spring. There shall lessons of gentleness, of cheerfulness, of contentment, of love of home, be read by lov- ing eyes, and garnered up with the heart's trea- sures, in the store house of memory, to be repeat- ed around the cheerful liearth — when the wintry blasts and the drifting snows, shall have rendered alike bleak and desolate, the garden and the field. And when the frosts of age shall have whitened the locks and furrowed the brow, the sweet scenes of youth, still fragrant with the breath of flowers, shall gush up from the deep memories of the past. The influence of flowers upon the young heart is never wholly lost. 'You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will, But the scent of the roses will hang round it stiil." Concord, Feb., 1853. J. R. For the New En^iand Farmer. BRISTOL COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SO- CIETY. Transactions for the Year 1852. No publication of this kind has impressed me so fixvorably as this pamphlet of seventy-two pages. The first thirty pages contains the finished address of Mr. Winthrop; which, although it may not guide the farmer in the operations upon his field, presents such general topics for reflection, in a style so chaste, that it will be read again and again with instruction. The farmer cannot fail to be encouraged in his laborious pursuit, when he finds men like Wintlirop, rage,and others, ready to lend a helping hand. Among the Reports in this pamphlet, my atten- tion was particularly arrested, by (me on "Orna- mental and Forest Trees." For thirly years, I have seen premiums oflered on this subject ; l)ut I have never before seen anything, that so nearly approximated to practical utility, as the sugges- tions of this writer. 1 hope they will be era- bodied in the State abstract, and be the means of difl"asing an agreeable shade through all our vil- lages. On jiage 35, I notice Mr. Leonard's crop of corn, yielding more than one hundred husheh to the acre. If such things can be done in the shal- low soils of Bristol and Plymouth ; — shame upon the farmerrs in counties with better soils, who re- main content with crops of half this amount. _Mr. Leonard plowed his land nine inches deep ; might not this operation be one of the reasons of his good 112 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March crop^ nertain am T, when land is thus plowed, and properly manured, it is better prepared to en- counter the drought of August and .September, than in any other way. My particular oljject in taking pen in hand, was to commend tlie neat ap- pearance of this pampldet ; compared with many others I Jiave seen, it is much their superior. Feb. 4th, 1853. ?■ COUNTY AGRICULTURAL. TRANSAC- TIONS. Plvmoutii County Society. — A neat volume of 6^ pages ; the Address was by CoL Pase^ of New Bedford. Bristol Co. Society. — Address by Robert C. AViNTHROP, Boston. Printed elegantly and contains 71 pages. Worcester Co. Society. — In addition to the usual transactions, this volaine contains the re- port of the committee on feeding stock, which we published at length in the Farimr last year. Ad- dress by Prof. Mapes, of New Jersey. We thank the donors, respectively, for these pamphlets, and hope to receive them from each county in the Sfcat-3, as they are valuable books of reference for us tlirough the year. We had re- ceived them from N'urfikand Essex, but they have been taken from oar table. HiLiSBORo', N. H., StK'iETY. — Through the po- liteness of Brooks Shattuck, Esq., we have the Address of Gov. Boutwem^ before this Society on September last. We give a few extracts, all we can find room for at proaeut. Every line of it ought to be spre id broad-cast before the people. We hope to refer to it again. Agriculture is a labori nia occupation, yet it tempts men of alt ages and conditions from marts o-f business, closets of study and palaces of wealth and luxuriance, to its quiet and ennobling paths and pursuits. If your State has not made so rap- id progress in wealtli and ntuiil>ers as some other members of the confederacy, the disparity may well bo setoff by the advantages of an agricultural and mechanical p )pulatiin whose liahitsand phys- ic.d systems eoiTcspond m.ire nearly with the frugality and hardihood of earlier times. Civil- ization is not any where an unmixed good, and though the wealth of cities may encourage a taste for literature and the fine arts, the chief depend- ence must stiil be upon the coasts of tlie ocean and the agricult,uv:il distrirts fir our groat men. Your state it> to Xcv Rnglanl, what Sparta was to Gree.-e. » * *• * Men ar.; u -t r. unpens iti'd so much for the phys- ical streagtii (>f t'leir ar.ii,^, as for the genius and power of t'leir heads. In no country has the igno- rant 1 lb Ter ev .rer, and wit'i a reasonable appr isiiaation to trutli it may be said that in no country has the well educated, industrious man ever been without the means of subsistence. And wherever the mass of lalx)rers aro ignorant, the failure of one branch of bushiess or the loss of a particular crop, is sure to be fol- lowed by distress and famine. But in an intelli- gent community such a calamity is only partial, temporary, and befjre the frosted leaf decays in- dustry and competency return. There is a vitality and confidence and intelligence which enables its posses-sor to rise above tlie ordinary ills of life, ralont and genius are every where appreciated. [n Ireland, a man suited to take charge of a man- ufacturing establishment will command as great wages as in England. But a country can only be truly prosperous v.hen its entire laboring popula- tion is well educated, for there is no employment for which an ignorant man is so well fitted as an intelligent man. It no doubt ha.s happened that the education of the schools, and more especially the education of society, has tainted the public mind with the idea that labor is discreditable. Labor is JionaraMe. It slionld ha so regarded and taught everywhere. Not this labor or that only, but every form and variety which adds to the wealth, or promotes the comfort of society. He only is discredited whom a false pyide has raised above honest industry, or he who is not qualified for the sphere he has cliosen. Parents sometimes express the hope that their children may live with- out work. Hope so no longer, — but hope only that your children may live by work. * * * 111 view of the progress which the human mind has made we may say that there is no limit to its cap.^city. It has not numbered the hairs of the head, but worlds it has Aveighed as in a balance The powers of nature, fiir from being exhausted, are not even known. Nothing is created in vain. Everything we behold in some way will minister to the wants of men. The work of creation goes on. The mountains of rock and the deserts of sand shall yet develope their wealth. The gene- rations and races of men succeed each other, but the earth's capacity is not diminished by their existence. And Avhat a beautiful provision of nature is this, that the intelligent cultivation of the land does not exhaust but enriches it ! Thus a farmer for fifty years may sow and reap and gather into barns, his products annually increasing and nature freely and continually giving nev? pledges for the bounties of the future. • It is only the indolent or ignorant man who exhausts nature. But the farmer as well as the mechanic needs to be educated. TO CORRESPONDBNTS. During the winter season we usually receive lib- eral contributions from our intelligent correspond- ents. Such is the case at present. We are thank- ful for their attentions, and will publish as fast as our space will permit, exercising our judgment as to the most appropriate time for each. Many of you will still find opportunity, during the bluster- ing March, to add to the store for summer use! • 'l"o J. D., Ontario, Ohio. We have known par- tially decayed potatoes fed to cows, without inju- ry, a few at each feed. You can ascertain their value by using them for a time with one or two of your cows. If they are generally decayed, they cannot be of service, and might be injurious. Tast- ing the milk Avill detect an unusual flavor if there is any ; if the milk has it, of course it would be imparted to the butter. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 113 THE AM JRICAN CRAB APPLE. We manifest our appreciation of friend Fow- ler's kindness in sending us specimens of the American Crab Apple, the first we had ever seen, by procuring the above engraving, which is a per- fect portrait. The fjllowing description is from Mr. Fowler. Dear Sir : — I send you some specimens of the species of wild apples, found in the greatest abun- dance in the mor^; southern portion of our union. It is peculiar to this country, being distinct from the common applj we cultivate, this being found in the temperate parts of Europe and Asia. It is indigenous in the Western and Middle States, and] does not occur in Massachusetts. It is first seen in New York, which is probably not far from its northern limits. It would probably be an inter estingtree in the f];arden, being distinguished for its dwarfish habit, its beautiful rose-colored flowers, diffusing a delightful odor all around, and its green fragrant fruit, it can be propagated from seed, or by budding, or grafting it upon the stock of the common apple tree. The fruit, as you will perceive, is small, and very sour, but it is capable of being made into a fine preserve with the addition of su- gar. Yours, &c., S. P. Fowler. Danvcrsport, Jan., 1853. 5^^ Young persons often err grievously, when they suppose certain practices to be safe because others have pursued them without apparent harm. For many men of fair exterior suffer from infirmi- ties known to few. Those who cite their example ■would often be dismayed if they knew tlieir condi- tion. For the New England Farmer. B2RD3 OF NSW SNGLAND. THEIR PAST AND PRESENT IHSTORY. ...No. 2. BY S. P. FOWLER. The belief, that swallows became torpid at the approach of winter, and buried themselves at the bottom of ponds, belongs to the past history of our birds, being very generally believed by orni- tlrologists, previous to the nineteenth century. Mr. Foster, in his " Natural History of Swallows " says, there is perhaps no subject in natural histo- ry, which has more engaged the attention of nat- uralists, in all ages, than the brumal retreat of the swallow. Neither is there any subject, on which more various and contrary opinions have been entertained. ' The reader may learn the interest which the subject of the winter retreat of the swallow l)as excited, when he reflects, that few natural histo- rians, from the time of Aristotle to our days, have omitted the discussion of this subject. It has fre- quently been alluded to, by the ancient bards ; and even poems have been written upon it. In the library of Sir Joseph Banks, is a curious one in Latin hexameters, written in Holland, on the'oc- casion of a swallow being found torpid, in an old tree. In Prussia, and some of the northern coun- tries, was the question of the place of their re- treat considered of so mucli importance, by some naturalists, that persons, who asserted themselves to have found them torpid under water, were put to their oath, or induced to make affidavits, and give written documents, imp(n-ting the particulars of the fact. The periodical journals were full' of the controversy, about their place of retreat ; and upwards of a hundred letters on the subject, were IM NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March ^ published In the Gentleman's Magazine. We will now give the opinion of old European writers on the subject of the winter retreat of swallows. Kaliu thought that swallows generally mi- grated from the teniperatc climates of Europe ; but that those found in the more northern regions, partook of the wintry torpors of some other po- lar creatures. Klein was decidedly of opinion tumn, to distant countries, and return in the spring, or remain with us during the winter, in a torpid state; and that the former opinion has gen- erally prevailed. "When therefore, I acquaint you- that I have adopted the latter, witli respect to the AoM5e swa//oit', you ^ill justly expect that I give you substantial reasons, for differing from sa many, who have maintained the contrary. The ■that chimney swallows wintered in the water, and, late Judge Foster, of Brookfield, a year or twobe- sand martins in their holes, in the Ixinks of the fore his death, assured me, that he saw a certain rivers. linnfcus asserts that chimney swallows pond drained, about the season of the year, when and martins immerse themselves in the water in ] the swallows first appear. The business being ef- winter; but supposes that swifts lay concealed in! fected, and the weather fair and warm, he, with holes, in church towers, and other secure places, several others, observed, a rippling motion in many Pontoppidan gives it as his belief, that swallows parts af the emptied hollow; which on a near in- spent the winter in water ; and asserts that they spection, they found to be occasioned by a multi- are frequently taken out of that element, in large tude of swallows, endeavoui-ing to disengage them- raasses, by fishermen, in Norway and other north- selves from the mud, which was scarcely covered ern countries. Daines Barrington supposed that by the shallow remains of water, the chimney swallow remained during winter, im- I shall now mention some other facts, which merscd in water ; but that the martin lay hid in [render it probable, that this sort of swallows sink cavities of rocks, old towers, and other secluded into ponds and rivers, in the fall of the year, an^ retreats, in support of which opinion, he adduces a great number of facts. Pennant believed that the l)ulk of each species migrated ; but admits that some individual birds may have occasionally been found torpid in winter ; in which opinion, Latham and White, and in fact, most naturalists of their time, appear to have concurred. The earliest opinion, which we have been able to trace, is given by Olaus Magnus, archbishop of Upsal, in Sweden, published in 1555. "From the northern waters," saya the arch- bishop, "swallows are often dragged up by fisher- men, in the form of clustered masses, among the reeds from the bottom." Etmuller, professor of Botany and Anatomy at Leipsic, a century after Olaus, gives his personal testimony to the circum- stance. "I remember," says he, "to have found, more than a bushel measure would hold, of swal- lows, closely clustered among the reeds of a fish- pond, under the ice, all of them to appearance dead, but the heart still pulsating." Baron Cu- vier asserts of the bank swallow, as well au- thenticated, that it falls into a lethargic state during winter, and even that it passes that sea- son at the bottom of marshy waters. In the dissertations read before the Academy of Upsal, the submersion of swallows was received in lie there, benumbed and motionless, until the re- turn of spring. You know. Sir, that my house i& near a large river. This river is, in many parts, shallow, and has a muddy bottom. A former neighbour of mine, a plain, honest and sensible man, now deceased, who lived still nearer the river, used frequently to say to me, as the warm weather came on in the spring, "it is almost tima for the swallows to come out of the mud, where they have lain all winter." He repeatedly as- sured me, he had, in the autumn of many years, seen great numbers of them, on one day only in each year, and nearly about, but not always on the same day of the month, sitting on the willow bushes, [which, by the way, they are not wont to roost upon at other times] on the borders of the river, a little after sunset ; — that they seemed as if their torpitude had already begun, as they would not stjr from the twigs, which, hj the weight of the swallows, were )>ent down almost to the water; and that although he had never seen them sink into it, yet he had waited till it was so dark, that he could not discern them at all; and doubted not of their immersion, any more than if he had been a witness of it; fur he had never observed any flying about afterwards, till the return of spring. He added, that if, as be Sweden as an acknowledged fact. Such were the 'wished, I would carefully look for their resurrec- opinions entertained by many of the distinguished jtion, he believed it would not be in vain. Altho' naturalists of Europe, in regard to the retreat of , I paid little regard to it, for some years, yet I swallows in winter. We may add that in Germa- j followed his advice at length, and watched for ny, a reward of an equal weight in silver, with their appearance several seasons, as carefully as I the birds thus found, was publicly offered to any could. I have not indeed beheld them rising out of one, who should produce swallows, thus discovered, the water; yet I and my fixmily have, in more under water, but as Frisch informs us, nobody years than one, seen, at the proper time in the ever claimed the money. The subject of the tor- spring, A'cry large flocks of them, in my own, and pidity of swallows, has attracted the attention of; in my neighbour's land, so near the margin of the naturalists, in our country. We find an article] river, that from that circumstance, the appearance on this subject, in the 1st Vol. of the Memoirs] of ' of their feathers, and their being unable to use the American Academy, page 494, entitled, "A their wings as at other times, we concluded, they Letter on the Pietreat of House Swallows in Win- [ were newly emerged from the water. When they ter, from the Honourable Samuel Dexter, Esqr., to attempted to fly, they could not reach above eight the Honourable James Bowdoin, Esqr. , Pres. A. A. Dedhain, June 3d, 1783. Dear Sir : — Among more important liranehes of natural history, with which you are conver- sant, ornithology cannot have escaped your notice. I know it has been a prol)lem among naturalists. or ten yards, before they settled to the ground, and then might be drove about, like chickens. -- They appeared unwilling to be disturbed, and, if not frightened by some noise or motion, would cluster together, seeming to want to rest them- selves, as if feeble, or fiitigued. They were not whether certain species of birds emigrate jn au^' ^"t^^^ly recovered from their stupor.-there was 1853- NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 115 a viscous substance on and about tiieir wings, or they were too weak to fly away. In addition to the foregoing, I can a.^sure you, on the most cred- ible testimony, that there have boon more instan- ces than one of a pickerel's being caught in tliis river, at the season of the coming of swallows, with one or more of those birds in its l)elly. I am, with the sincerest esteem., Sir, your most -obedient servant, Samuel Dexter. Doct. Williams, in his History of Vermont, Vol. 1st, page 140 says, that at Dauby in this State, the inhabitants report, that swallows were takcB out of a pond in that town some years ago. A man was engaged iii the winter, to procure the roots of the pond lily, for m.ediciraal purposes. — Among the mud and roots, , which ho threw out, several swallows were found inclosed in the mud; alive, but in a torpid state. The account is not doubted among the inhabitants; but I have not the testimony of any person who saw these swal- lows. It has been doubted by some able natural- ists, whether it is possible for the swallow to live in such a situation. I saw an instance, which puts the possibility of the Hxet beyond all room for doubt. About the year 1760, two men were digging in the salt ma;rsli in Cambridge, Massachu- setts : on the baiik of Charles river, about two feet below the surface ef the ground, they dug up a swallow, wholly surrounded and covered with mud. The swallow was in a torpid state, but be- ing held in their hands, it revived in about half an hour. The [-.lace where this swallow was dug up, was every , 1853. The meeting was called to order by the Secre- tary, Mr. Walker, who stated that the first busi- ness of the Board was to elect a chairman for the ensuing year, when John H. Clifford, Governor of the Commonwealth, was unanimously elected Mr. Gray presented copies of his essay on or- chards. The reports of several of the County Agricultural Societies were presented to the Board. Mr. Wilder presented a dried specimen of a plant covered with seed, which he had received from A. n. Ernst, late President of the Cincin- nati Horticultural Society. The plant is the Cajanus JIavus, near allied to the Lupines. -The seed was introduced into the country two years since by one of our ships, which found a Japan vessel in distress, from which the crew, with part of the stores, were taken and carried into San Fran- cisco. This seed was among their provision stores, and a small quantity was brought to Alton, Illinois, by Dr. Edwards, and grown by Mr. John H. Lea, a careful horticulturist of that place. The plant presented grew in Cincinnati last summer. Mr. Wilder read a statement from Mr. Teschemaker, which describes this new plant as follows • "Shrub erect, pubescent, native of the East Indies, Am- boyna, Japan, &c. The seeds are good to eat, and when young, very delicate. "The Cajanus JIavus or Pigeon T^ea, is cultivated in most tropical countries. In some parts of the West Indies it serves as a fence to sugar planta- tions. In Martinique, the seeds are generally pre- ferred to peas. In Jamaica, they are much used for feeding pigeons, and are there called the Pigeon pea, and the whole plant with its seed is much es- teemed for fottening hogs and cattle. "The round seed,when soaked for about an hour in hot water, .takes exactly the form and appear- ance of the common white bean ; it gets very ten- der and is good to eat, being quite mealy ; it is oily, and this accounts for its quality of fattening cattle. It is doubtful to me whether there is length of hot weather enough to ripen the seeds here, and at all events it would not stand the winter — but if the seeds ripen well here it might be made an an- nual produce." The seeds were distri]>uted among the mem- bers. Mr. Wilder also presented an Essay on Educa- tion by Dr. John Si'arr, of North Dartmouth, Mass., which was received and ordered to]:)e placed on the file of the Board. Mr. Page reported on the Franklin and Plymouth County Societies. ^Ir. Nash reported on the Hampden County So- ciety. Mr. Sprague read a report upon Neat Cattle. A committee on Publication was appointed, con- sisting of Messrs. Walker, Wilder, Proctor, French and Page. Mr. Proctor read a report on the Culture of Vegetables as farm products. Mr. French reported' on thorough draining and subsoil plowing. • The Secretary, Mr. Walker, read the annual report required by act of the Legislature, and which is to be laid before that body. The committee appointed to nominate a suitable person to act as Secretary of the Board, reported the name of Charles L. Flint, Esq., of New York. The vote was taken by ballot, and Mr. Flint was elected, and the Secretary was directed to no- tify him of his election. Messrs. Walker and Smith were elected a Com- mittee on Accounts. The paper of Dr. Hitchcock upon the forming of Farmers' Institutes, and the resolution of Mr. Nash, upon the subject of a State Chemist, were referred to a special committee consisting of Messrs. Proctor, Brown, Hitchcock, Nash, and Walker, the acting Secretary, to be reported on at the next meeting of the Board. And after an arduous session of about nine hours, the Board adjourned, sine die. For the New En inland Farmer. PEA FODDER. It is generally believed by farmers, that the haulm of the pea crop is, if not wholly, very nearly valueless as an article of food for stock. — Such, however, is not the fact. I have made a fair and impartial trial of pea fodder as a feed for cows, and find that it possesses high value for this purpose. lyast June there was on my fiirm a small tract of land, on which there grew nothing but red sorrel, and which I could not prepare properly for a more exhausting crop, as I had pre- viously appropriated all my manure t6 other crops. Not wishing, however, to let it remain entirely idle, and being desirous of limiting, as far as cir- cumstances rendered the result practicable, the growth of the sorrel, I had the land carefully plowed, and after spreading a few bushels of lime and plaster on the surface, previous to har- rowing, sowed it in peas. As soon as the vines had podded, and about one-half of the pods were filled, I had the crop carefully mowed and made in a bright day, turning them frequently to ensure the benefit of the sun's rays, and throwing them into small bunches at night, in order to prevent the deteriorating efiects of the dew and rain. On packing them away in the barn, a small quantity of salt was sprinkled over a part of the mass, but 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 117 I think without any essential advantage to the fodder. It appeared to me, indeed, very much like adding perfume to the rose, but the suggestion having been made by a neighbor, I was induced to make the trial. I did not perceive that the portion of the crop which received the salt, was any more acceptable to the cows than that which had none. It is true the animals were liberally supplied with salt in its natural state, a bos being kept full in the yard during the winter, and to which they had, at all times, free access. It is possible and quite probable that, under a different method of treatment, the salted fodder would have been preferred. By permitting the peas to ripen, and threshing them, the value of the straw or haulm will of course be materially lessened for feeding purposes; it will be dry and unsucculent, and unless there be warm and very dry during the later stages of its growth, there will be an unsa- vory taste, and a very unpleasant smell engen- dered, which it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove. But when cut in the man- ner presented above, the dryest vines may be used as food. The most economical method of using them, however, is to prepare them by chaffing, and mix them with meal and other sapid viands. Rasped roots make an excellent accompaniment, and if used constantly on the farm, will aid, very essentially in effecting a profitable appropriation of much that would otherwise be lost. FoT the New England Farmer. THE FARMER. BY D . W . C . PACKARD. O, noble is the farmer's lot, — That man of giant frame ; Ilis big heart knows no sordid spot — No vices dim his fame. His brow, it wears no bloody bays. Nor springs his fame from Death ; But quickening Nature bears his praise Upon her balmy breath. His hand, it is an honest hand, And brown it is with toil ; Then let the farmer take his stand, The sovereign of the soil. The forests bow to meet their lord — The waving fields rejoice ; By countless herds he is adored — The ruler of their choice. Then let the farmer take his stand, The sovereign of the soil. And every lip in every land Shall bless the farmer's toil. y. Bridgewater, Jan. 7, 1853. For the New England Farmer. A YOUNG FARMER. Gent. : — I am G years old; I send $1,00 for the N. E. Farmer, monthly. Yours, j. s. New Market, N. H., Jan. 13, 1853. Remarks. — If we can find our way to the hearts of the young men and women, and to those of the children, even, we shall feel sure of success. If they become imbued with the right spirit and doc- trine, the next generation will be right. We are often encouraged with applications similar to the above, and earnest inquiries from the youn* in- terested in agriculture. For the New England Farmer. CUTTING FODDER FOR STOCK. BY HENRY F. FRENCH. "Do you think it will pay to cut fodder for stock V is the question often proposed . The gen- eral impression among well-informed farmers seems to be that it ivill. The report from the Worcester County Society on feeding stock, published in the N. E. Farmer of July and August, 1852, seems to have been taken as conclusive on the subject. So far as the opinions of that committee are concerned, they are entitled to great respect, as are the opinions of many persons named in their report. A premium had been offered for "the best ex- periment in determining the advantages or disad- vantages of cutting hay as food for stock," and it is to the experiments offered for the premium, that I wish to call attention. However correct may be the conclusion of the committee, from all their premises, it seems tome that the experiments themselves are far from sat- isfactory as evidence of the profit of cutting ^ood hay, or any fodder that cattle will eat up entirely, uncut. -Before analyzing the results of those ex- periments, I had the impression that a great sav- ing in the quantity of food actually consumed was made by cutting it ; but those experiments, as published, show that the cattle on lohich the trials were made, consumed a very little more cut, than uncut hay, in the same number of days. The conditions of the trials were in part as fol- lows : — "The trial to be made with at least two animals — the time of trial to continue at least eight weeks, divided into periods of two weeks each. One animal to be fed with cut, when the other is fed with u7icut hay, and the feed of each to be changed, at the expiration of each two weeks." Four experiments are reported. The first by Mr. Demand, on two cows not in milk, both ex- pected to calve in about two months. The result is briefly this. Cow No. 1, gained in the eight weeks, 61 lbs. She gained 38 lbs. on cut hay and 23 lbs. on uncut. She ate 611 lbs. oi cut and 563 lbs. wncwi hay. Cow No. 2 gained in all, 59 lbs ; on cut hay 26 lbs.; on uncut 33 lbs. She ate 560 lbs. oicut, and 586 lbs. uncut hay. Mr. Demand's two cows then ate in the whole time 22 lbs. more cut than uncut hay, and gained 8 lbs. most on the cut hay. Calliag the hay worth $10 per ton, he lost eleven cents'°worth of hay. Calling the weight gained, worth four cents per lb., he gained 32 cents' worth of weight. So, on the whole, he got 21 cents for the trouble of cutting the fodder of two cows four weeks, which, considering the wear of the ma- chine, is rather poor pay. One cow, it seems, gained most on cut, the other on uncut hay. The second experiment was made by Mr. Dodge on two steers. The near steer gained in the 8 weeks, 50 lbs. weight. He gained 55 lbs. on the uncut hay, and lost five pounds on the cut hay. He ate 447 lbs. cut, and 469 lbs. rincut. The q^ steer o-ained in all, 80 lbs. He gained 75 lbs. on the cut, and 5 lbs. on the uncut. He ate 469 lbs. cut, and 480 lbs. uncut hay. 118 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March On the whole, Mr. Dodge gained Z3 lbs. of hay, worth 17 ccntg, and 10 lbs. weight, worth 40 cents, making in all 57 cents for the trouble of cutting hay for a yoke of steers 4 weeks, or about two cents per day. In each of the foregoing experiments, it will be seen, that one animal gained most on the cut, and the other on the'Mncut hay. They seemed to lake sides on the question with considerable decision. The third experiment, by Mr. Lincoln, gives a better result for the hay-cutter. Ilis cow Beauty gained in the 8 weeks 125 lbs. She gained 100 lbs. on the cut hay, and 25 lbs. on the uncut. She ate G85 lbs. cut, and C68 lbs. uncut hay. His cow Chernj gained in all 35 lbs ; 30 lbs. on the cut, and 5 lbs. on the uncut hay. She ate 464 Ihs.cut and 402 lbs. uncut hayin all. The two gained 100 lbs. more on the cut than on the uncut hay, in the whole, and ate about Vd lbs. more cut than uncut hay. Upon our former estimate, Mr. Lincoln gained four dollars' worth of weight, and lost but 9 1-2 cents' worth of hay. This result alone would indicate that it pays to cut the hay. As to milk, Mr. Lincoln's cows gave 22 lbs. more milk on the cut, than on the uncut hay, an item of some 30 cents more to be carried to the credit of the hay-cutter. The results were not, however, uni- form as to the milk, for Beauty gave 45 lbs. more on the cut hay, and Cherry about 23 lbs. more on the uncut. Tho, fourth experiment, by Mr. Hawes,was with a yoke of oxen. The near ox gained in 8 weeks, in all, 12G lbs. He gained 120 lbs. on the cut, and G lbs. on the uncut. He ate 1078 lbs. of cut and 1028 lbs. o^ uncut hay. The off ox gained, in 8 weeks, 104 lbs. He gained on the cut hay 17 lbs., on the uncul^llhs. He ate in the 8 weeks, 1028 lbs. cut and 1078 lbs. uncut hay. On the whole, the two gained 44 lbs. most on the cut hay, and ate precisely the same quantity of cut and uncut. The results here, again, were different, in the two oxen. One gained the most on the cut hay, and the other most on the uncut. One ate more cut than uncut, while the other ate most of the uncut. Mr. Hawes extended his trial longer ; but the results give no new light on the subject. By my former mode of reckoning, he gained 170 cents' worth of weight in his oxen, by cutting their fod- der four weeks. On the whole, the results of these experiments are not very satisfactory. They are lacking in uni- formity, in almost every particular. They should be repeated, and it seems to me, under different regulations. Two weeks is not a term long enough, for each kind of food. The food of tliis week may make ihQ fat of next week. Cows, heavy with calf, are likely to gain in weight, on almost any food, and their weight could hardly be expected to vary rapidly by change of food two weeks at a time, except as their bowels might be full or emp- ty. It is proper to say, that all the cattle re- ferred to received other food, either roots or meal, during the experiments, so that it must not be in- ferred that the quantities of hay above stated, are alone sufficient food for such animals. Having glanced, thus, at these experiments, I will suggest wliat seems to me the most reasona- ble views on this subject. I cut all my fodder for my horse and cows, this winter, not because I sup- pose that there is any nutriment added to a lock of hay by cutting it into inch pieces, nor because Nature has in general furnished animals with hay- cutters of their own, insufEcient properly to masti- cate their food. Horses have powerful grinders, and usually chew their hay sufficiently. An ex- periment reported in the Patent Office Report for 1851, at page 71, shows, that the food of a horse, fed on tincut hay, was equally exhausted of its nu- tritive properties, in passing through the animal, as when fed on exit hay. Ruminaling animals, if they swallow their food hastily, may chew it over again at their leisure, and this seems to be a very innocent and becom- ing recreation for a cow that has nothing else to do. The advantages of cutting fodder, I appre- hended, are these : 1st. Working cattle and horses thrive better on cut fodder, because they eat it in less lime, and have more time for rest. And besides, they are not so liable to lose their breakflist, by the oversleeping of the teamster. 2d. Old animals, whose "grinders are few," can eat chopped food more readily. 3d. Chopped hay can be readily measured, and the animals receive a more regular allowance than when fed with long hay. 4th. No hay will be ivasted by over-feeding, as your boys will be too lazy to cut more than is need- ful, whereas common hands will always fill the rack more or less, if they pitch the hay to the ani- mals. Lastly, and most important of all, if we have corn stalks, buts, fresh hay or coarse clover which cattle will never eat entirely up, such fodder may be passed through the hay-cutter, and they will eat it much more readily. At the present price of hay, (about twenty dollars a ton,) grain is cheaper than good hay for cattle. By cutting coarse fodder into a box, moistening it, and add- ing a small quantity of meal, or shorts, much may be consumed to advantage, that is usually thrown into the fyard for manure. No good fiirmer will be long without a hay-cut- ter. Whether it be worth his while to chop all his hay or not, may be doubtful, but he will every year find occasion for its use, for one or more of the reasons already suggested. This matter of chopping fodder is another of the thousand, that needs careful investigation at the hands of Boards of Agriculture, and upon our anticivaled Model Farms. h. f. f. For the New England Farmer. LIVE FSNOES. Mr. Editor : — Will you or some of your corres- pondents, please give, through your paper, some information upon live fences ; dead fences are be- coming expensive in this part of the country, and we wish to know if live fences are cheaper, and if so, what is the best kind; where the seed can be had ; at what price ; the time and mode of planting, and the whole mode of operation, and you will oblige, d- h. li. Hollis, N. H. Remarks. — Will some of our correspondents reply to the above ? The subject is becoming of more and more importance as the railroads are ex- tended through the country, and the population and building increases. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 119 For the New England Farmer. FARMING INTERESTS NEGLECTED. Mr. S. Brown : — I have read with pleasure, and I trust profit, the Farmer the past year. In this vicinity there has been little done beyond what the fathers and grandfiithers used to do in the farming line. There is not a subsoil plow in this town, nor have I ever known any of our farmers to plow more than six inches deep. The farming in- terest is far behind what it should be. There is a great deal of poor, Avorn-out land in this region of country, and few are doing but little towards im- proving their forms, while the greater part are just living from hand to mouth, as the saying is. Farm- ing is so unprofitable, that most of our young men seek some other employment for a living, and those that choose to farm it for a living, are in most cases driven to the necessity of hiring out several years to get something to buy land with ; and then they must go to the West where land is cheap, or go without a farm, (a) The reason is, that those who have land which could be spared as well as not, hold it so high that it would take quite a fortune to buy a farm here. The south half of Woodstock numbers about thirty less families now, than it had in 1800, that were then farmers. The Avestern fever has carried off a good many, but the worst feature is, their lands have fallen into the hands of the rich, or those who will keep them at all hazards as long as they can get enough from them to pay the taxes on the land, unless they can get an extravagant price for them ; this is the reason why Vermont does not keep her population good, and increase, (i.) There are, at the present time, some signs of reform ; if nothing more, some are inquiring if there cannot be something done to restore our worn out lands. There are but few that have any faith in what they call book-farming ; Ave have no farmers' club, and only a few interest themselves enough to take or read an agricultural paper. But the great work must and icill go ahead ; necessity ,will bring our farmers to the work before long, or they will have to abandon their lands. I had no thought of Avriting but a very few lines when I set down. It will give you, at least, some- thing of a picture of what is, and has been, doing here in relation to agriculture. Enclosed is $1 for the Monthly for 1853, and with my best re- spects to you, dear sir, and your coadjutors. I hope you may all enjoy a long, useful, and happy life, and that through your instrumentahty and the spread of scientific truth, thousands may be turned from ignorance to knowledge, and prove blessings to their race. I should like to ask Avhat time to cut those fruit sprouts to be stuck in a potato before planting, and how long before planting, or whether they must be planted immediately after cutting, (c.) Cephas Ransom Woodstock, Vt., Jan. 15, 1853. Remarks.— (a.) Certainly. The young man who wishes to purchase land must first earn the money to purchase with, unless he is otherwise supplied. It is just so Avith the merchant, and mechanic. But they take a different course, — they hire cash, or start upon credit, and if they succeed in busi- ness, pay up, if not, they fail. So many of our best clergymen and lawyers, having the stamina in them, and being determined to "go ahead," obtain the means of acquiring an education partly by teaching and partly by loans or credits. The young farmer, in this respect, stands on as favora- ble ground as others. (b.) In this particular, other professions have great advantages over the young farmer. There is no monopoly in learning, none in carpenter's or other tools ; but the evil complained of by our cor- respondent often operates injuriously to the growth and prosperity of a town. There can be no ques- tion, it seems to us, but that small farms and hif^h cultivation are the most profitable for all. (c.) Last spring we made the experiment of inserting scions in potatoes and setting the latter in the ground. The suggestion was made in some foreign agricultural work. The potatoes grcAv and gave us a small crop, but none of the scions lived. One experiment, however, is not a fair trial, and as the cost is very trifling, we intend to try again. Cut the sprouts or scions about the first of March, and keep them moist on the bottom of the cellar, and set them as soon as the ground is warm in the spring. FARM LABOR— ITS MISAPPLICATION. It is no uncommon thing to hear farmers com- plaining of the small remuneration they receive for their labor, when compared Avith that received by other classes of society. I have been led to re- flect upon the subject, and have come to the con- clusion, that if these complaints are well founded, it must be because our efforts are not put forth sys- tematically ; because they- are not governed by intellect — in a word, because, like Cyclops, we are content to "go it blind." I find that labor is the most expensive item in the management of a farm, and I presume this will be admitted by all practical men. NoAv, whenever, and wherever the amount of manual labor can be lessened either by more judi- cious application, or by the substitution of machin- ery, the profit of the farm must be increased. We see the manufacturer continually upon the alert to adopt means, whose end shall bo the saving of la- bor, and consequently the increase of his profits. Now, farmers of the State of Maine, cannot we profitably abridge human labor, in many of the operations of the farm ? Cannot we produce fifty bushels of corn on an acre, with an outlay of three- fourths of the labor usually applied. Cannot we harvest our hay, and grain, Avith one-fourth less expense, by the (substitution of machinery,) than Ave now do. In a Avord, hoAV many farms are there in the State, on which the same amount of crops might be annually raised, as at present, with three-fourths of the outlay of human labor? IIow many thousands, (might we not say mil- lions,) are annually lost to the State, by the inju- dicious application of the motive poAver. Let far- mers think of these things ! Let them remember that if they would not ahvays be like Issachar, "a strong ass crouching down between tAvo bur- thens," they must rouse up and use their 2>i/e//cc^5, as well as their "huge paAvs" and brawny shoul ders. 120 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March That it is possible to make as great an advance upon the present mode of agricultural practice, as has been already effected in manufactures, by the substitution of the spinning frame, and power loom, for the handloom and wheel of "auld lang syne ;" I fully believe, judging from the testimony which has been adduced, I cannot but believe, that the man who cuts 40 or more tons of hay in a season, on a tolerably smooth bottom, jwould find his in- terests promoted, by the use of one of the im- proved mowing machines. The cost of one is about $105, as I learn. This will cut its'lO or 12 acres a day, as much as 5 or C men ordinarily mow, at a cost of as many dollars, exlusive of board, and the latter item be reckoned at less than 25 cts. each per day. Then we think it will be fair to as- sume that the expense of mowing ten acres of good grass with the scythe, will average in the State twelve dollars and a half. Now, everybody knows that during the hay harvest, labor is scarce as well as dear ; and there- fore, those who have considerable hay to cut, be- gin at least one w^eek before the grass has attained the state most fitting ; and they continue haying at least one week after this period has passed. — Perhaps, it will be a safe calculation, if we assume that those farmers who cut 48 tons of hay, cut 10 of it at such a period in the season, (either before it has attained maturity or after that period has passed,) that one-half of its nutritive substance is lost. Assume that this ratio will hold good, with farmers in this State, generally, and we have a loss in the hay crop of one-sixth, just because it is cut out of season. If I have assumed too large a per centage of the crop as being cut at an improper season, the read- er can readily perceive the error, and make the proper estimate himself. According to the above assumption, the farmer who cuts 48 tons of hay, by a loss of one-half of the nutriment contained in IG tons, actually wastes 8 tons ; wastes it just as much as though he pitched it into his barn yard, instead of into his hay mow. These 8 tons would be worth, ordinarily, $6 a ton, to feed to stock ; amounting to $48 loss an- nually." Would it not be good policy for the far- mer to stop this leak ; if it can be done by em- ploying machinery, which never sweats, never tires, even though the sun pours forth its hottest rays. Some will bo ready to answer in the affirm- ative, provided the machinery will work well. The statement was sent forth to the world, that at the great trial of those machines in New York, last year, some two or three of them did work well on a rather rough bottom, and a light crop, (only about half a ton to the acre) of wire grass, which every farmer knows to be one of the most difficult to cut. I need not mention the saving, effected in the substitution of horse labor for manual, in raking, because the subject is familiar to all. For four years past, we have raised annually, from 75 to 130 bushels of Indian corn, averaging about fifty bushels to the acre, which has been produced without manure in the hill, it being all spread upon the land when first carted from the barn, and turned under with the plow some 8 inches. Sometimes I have re-plowed the land in the spring ; at others, not. The land which I have thus treated, has been river interval and light loams, and gravels. Another great misapplication of labor is, in cul- tivating two acres of land to produce the crop which should be obtained from one. If we assume that thirteen days labor are required, in plowirg, planting, and hoeing an acre of ground in corn, it necessarily follows that, if, for want of proper manuring, we are obliged to plow, plant, and hoe two acres to raise fifty bushels of corn, which might be raised on one, we have thrown away thirteen days labor ; as effectually misspent it, as if we had spent the thirteen days in transporting a brick from the back door to the pig pen, and then back to the door again. How many farmers are there who prefer loaning money at interest, rather than apply it to the cul- ture of their farms ? Who plod on the "old way" of the boy who put a stone in one end of the bag, to balance the grist in the other? If we would make farming a good business, we must economise our labor. Jabez D. Hill. Maine Farmer. DWARFING FRUIT TREES. The French have a method of cultivating dwarf fruit trees, or trees which have been stultified, by a certain process, which their writers describe as follows : — "Young trees are to be treated in the following manner. If there are more than three shoots on the plant, reduce them to that number, and shorten each to three, four and six eyes, according to their strength. The following season, reduce the num- ber of leading shoots to six,- and shorten them to three-fourths of their length, and spur in the re- maining shoots. The tree should be managed in every respect in this manner, until it has attained the required size, which of course depends upon the fancy or convenience of the owner, or conduc- tor of the garden. I make a point of letting the trees take their natural form of growth, as far as the system described will admit ; for I consider it of little consequence what shape is given to the tree, provided my end is attained ; that is, to make every branch, as it were, a long spur, with bear- ing buds from the extremity to the base." It is asserted by both French and English wri- ters, that treea so stultified are not so much ex- posed to injury from high winds, that they pro- duce better fruit, bear earlier and more abundant- ly, and occupy less space. Dwarfs are also pro- duced by innoculating on stocks of small growth. The apple is often innoculated on the Paradise or Douciu stock, the peach on a slow growing plum, and the pear on the quince. We have seen large pears on trees not more than five feet high, the tops of which were not possessed of sufficient strength to sustain their weight of fruit without the assistance of props. This is a common result where some varieties of the pear are set in quince stocks. The writer above quoted says : — "Two or three years' trial of this method only, might possibly deter many from a continuance of it, in consequence of the young Avood which will 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 121 be produced yearly at first and from the apparent difficulty of getting rid of the superfluity. But that inconvenience will be utterly surmounted if the foregoing instructions are attended to, and the continuance will be the possession of both healthy and fruitful trees." For the New England Farmer. HARDY FRUITS FOR THE NORTH. Mr. Brown : — As fruit raising is becoming a fa^ vorite pursuit, the question arises, what kind of trees shall we select to set, what varieties best for market, Avhich the most hardy, and best bearers ; what kind of soil and location best suited to the different varieties of trees, &c. These are all very important questions to be investigated, before setting an orchard. But as the different varieties of fruits vary in different climates, locations, and soils, we cannot adopt any general rule. For in- stance, the Esopus SpUzanburg apple, so beautiful when grown in its native soil on the Hudson River valley, becomes poor and insipid here. The Bald- win, so delicious in New England, becomes an or- dinary fruit in many of the western States ; this seems to be the case with many choice varieties, more especially of pears than most any other fruits. Every well-established fruit-grower is aware that certain fruits 'succeed in one place and fail in oth- ers ; and that the same sorts are more likely to succeed in contiguous districts, than in such as are widely separated. But as a general rule, the known native fruits of any country, are best adapt- ed to that country; and why? because out of many thousands of seedlings, they have been se- lected as the best fitted to that soil, or peculiar re- gion ; experience shows them the best adapted to it ; but there might have been many others among those thrown aside, better adapted to other parts of the world. This opinion is proved by the fact that some foreign fruits are actually better here than in their native locality. Still there are some kinds well adapted to almost all climates and soils, and those are generally our hardiest varieties. From our experience of locations and soils, we believe high lands or swells, are generally pre- ferred to valleys, and a good loam soil, — as hills are less liable to early and late frosts. I have had some experienee"in fruit and trees, and having ob- served them carefully for many years, I will name a few varieties that prove hardy and good in the climate of this region. Summer Apples — Red Astracan, Sops of Wine, Williams's Favorite, Early Joe, Sweet Bough, Golden Sweet, and Bemis Sweet.- Autumn — Fall Pippin, Gravenstein, Jewett's Fine Red, Porter, Maiden's Blush, Jersey Sweet, and Pound Sweet. Winler — Baldwin, Blue Pearmain, Hubbardston Nonsuch, Red Canada, R. I. Greening, Seek-no- further, Northern Spy, Peck's Pleasant, Tolman's Sweet, and Ladies' Sweet. Summer Pears — Bartlett, Doyenne d'Ette, Iilad- eleine, Osband's Summer and Tyson. .4?y that trial to be, by horse power, $-14 23, and by steam power, §30 75, making a difference in favor of the steam power in ploM'ing tiie twenty- four acres, of $13 48. We can hardly realize that it will ever be of practical use in New Eng- land. After the most judicious selection of a plow, the work will be quite likely to be badly executed, unless the principles of draft are understood. "So great is the difference between an awkward and skilful adjustment of the draft to the plow, that some workmen with a poor instrument have suc- ceeded better than others have with the best ; and plows of second quality, sometimes for this reason, have been preferred to those of the most perfect construction." Perhaps the object of the Massachusetts State Agricultural Society, in instituting the plowing matches at Brighton, was principally an improve- ment in the breed of vrorking oxen. Yet so slow were the competitors in those honorable and use- ful contests, to allow of any deficiency in their an- imals, and to lay upon them the stigma of defeat, that they were led to most searching examination into the structure of their plows, to which they were not willing to charge it. The result, there- fore, has been successive improvements in the plow. A geueral impetus has been thence com- municated to the whole art of agriculture. Im- provements and inventions have abounded. New implements have been invented, old ones improved, and thus a better tillage has been produced, and greater ficilities in harvesting have enabled the fanner the better to save his crops. Another indispensaWe implement upon the farm, and one of great practical utility, is the harrow. This instrument naturally follows the plow in farm operations, and although scarcely less important, in the service which it renders, than the plow itself, has not seemed to obtain that attentiori which it deserves. Indeed, while constructed io the manner in which are most of them now used, they will gain few golden opinions from intelligent men. Their great objection lies in their weight. They are too heavy and are moved too slowly. In order to pulverize the soil thoroughly and leave it in fine and delicate tilth, it is necessary to use a light harrow, with sharp teeth, and to move it quickly over the ground. "If we examine a field one half -of which has been harrowed by weak, in- efficient horses, and whose pace was consequently sluggish, the other half by an adequate strength and swiftness of animal power, we shall find tho former will be rough and unfinished ; the latter comparatively fine and level, and conipleted in what would be called a husbandry-like mannQv .' ^ On meadow sward, that is filled with roots of small bushes and coarse grass, alight harrow with sharp teeth, moved rapidly over the surface, cuts the roots apart and brings up the fine, light soil, ad- mirably prepared to receive grass seed ; while a heavy instrument, slowly moved, would turn up innumerable sods, and do little towards pulveriz- ing the surface. "Many would be surprised, who have never made the experiment, at the amount of reduction of which seed harrows, at least, are capable ; and where land is clear, to see how effective very light small toothed harrows^ may be 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 127 made." In an experiment made between a pair of wooden harrows, and a pair of iron ones, con- structed alike, although the iron ones were twenty pounds the lightest, yet they worked decidedly better and steadier then those made of wood. It seems to he requisite to have the desired weight in the most compact from ; the instrument per- forms its work easier and better, while it is more conveniently handled by the operator. The horse rake, in its various forms, has proved itself of great service. One patented by a Mr. Delano, of Maine, has been considerably used in this State, and is scarcely excelled by any labor- saving machine in use on the farm. Its teeth act independently, thus adapting itself to all surfiices, and the operator rides as he rakes. The process, of raking is rapid, thus enabling the haymaker to leave his spread grass to the benefit of the sun, until a late hour in the afternoon, and frequently to get it in on the same day in which it is cut. It is cheap, simple in construction, and dura- ble. A horse-mowing machine, and a machine for spreading swaths, are implements much wanted, and are inviting subjects for the inventive genius of some of our citizens. For the New England Farnif.r. EXPERIMENTAL FARMING. BY SILAS BROWN. Messrs. Editors: — This will compare with ex- perimental religion ; no religion is genuine but ex- perimental religion ; and so it is with farming. Our greatest theorists in both, sometimes run into the regions of moonshine and are deceived by trusting to reflected light. The chemist may analyze the soil on my farm and discover the deficiencies which are required to constitute a good soil, and point out the ingredient or ingredients which are wanting, theoretically, and I go to work practically, and lind my land un- productive as before ; or he may analyze the soil in one situation, and find it totally deficient of an element which abounds plentifully at a little dis- tance from the soil analyzed. Many of our farm- ers have soils varying every few rods, and what would prove a suitable ingredient in the manure for one place would be worthless applied to an- other. AVe dug a well a few years ago for the accommo- dation of my barn animals ; after removing the soil at the surface, we entered a quicksand which con- tinued to the bottom of the well, and proved so troublesome by flowing into it and filling it up, that I had a new one dug about 50 feet distant from the other ; there, after removing the soil, we came upon hard, compact clay gravel, which con- tinued to the bottom, and was pecked up at a greatly increased expense over digging the first well ; liere was an illustration of the change of soils worth noticing. In this neighborhood the changes from clay to sand may frequently be seen ; bricks have been made within a few rods of a sandy soil witliout the least appearance of clay. Thus analyzing soil in any one location will not truly represent the different locations on a farm, or point out the different ingredients required to en- rich them, and after all, the only thing to be relied on is the practical application of different kinds of substances to the soil, and decide experimentally which is best. All farmers know that clay witli sand, or mud with sand, will improve the soil, but it is very difficult for farmers to go into critical analyzations of soils, even by the help of a chemist, but with doubtful success. It appears to me to be a difficulty approaching an impossibility, that the best practical chemist can give directions to the farmer how to prepare his manure to suit his different kinds of soils, and fit them to produce different kinds of crops, with any precision. The farmer, after all, hap got to learn by a fair trial and accurate observation, how to enrich his land and fit it for any particular crop. As a general rule, in the application of manure, perhaps it would be the best way to follow the ex- ample of the poor traveller, who got destitute of money and was obliged to exercise his wits to pur- sue his journey, and understanding the gullibility of "poor human nature," he concluded to make an attack upon it in its most vulnerable part, and pronounced himself a doctor ; he soon found a pa- tient and promised a cure ; (a matter of course with certain benevolent people who have a single eye to the benefit of others, and a double one at the contents of their money purses ;) the next thing was which way to go to work to do it. At length he hit upon a plan like one who suddenly awakes from a revery, and with true Yankee shrewdness, he went out into the fields and gathered every kind of herb that came in his way and said it was very strange if some one among them would not be a suitable remedy for the disease of his patient. I believe, with the limited state of our knowledge, that in the preparation and application of manures, the better way would be to make a compound of every substance, vegetable and mineral, which would have a tendency to benefit any kind of soil, and like the doctor's prescription, it would be very strange if some of the ingredients should not prove of the right kind. Wilminglon, January, 1853. Remarks. — This is the common practice, friend B., and one to which we are obliged to resort for want of an exact knowledge of what each particu- lar crop needs. We have no doubt a great deal of medicine is administered in the same way. A mix- ture is given, that something in it may hit, where a simple article would have been better, had the disease been thoroughly understood. In manur- ing from a compost heap made up of all sorts of materials usually collected on the fiirm, do we not apply from it certain substances already abounding in the soil, and which the crop does not need? It seems to us, therefore, that analyses, although only approximating the truth, are better than an indiscriminate use of manures. A Compound Solar Microscoi-e has recently been commenced in the citv of New York, by Pro- fessor J. Hinds, formerly of Salem, N. Y., capa- ble of magnifying olrjects 17,450,000 times. 128 I^EW ENGLAND FARMER. Marce For the New England Farmer. HISTORY OP THE BORER. Mr. Bkowx : — The insect wliich propagates this destructive worm usually lays its eggs in the month of June or July, and they are hatched in the fol- lowing month of August or Septemljer ; immedi- ately the maggots penetrate the bark, eating the pulpy part next the wood. The latter part of Sept. they are not more than 1-lG of an inch in length, and are easily removed, being usually found with- in an inch of the top of the ground. It requires keen eyes to discover them, but it may be done in young trees by observing a little roughness where the maggot enters, and a slight discoloration of the bark at tliat particular spot. By the last of November, slight cuttings may be seen through some very small punctures in the bark. At this season, the worm will be found about 3-lG of an inch in length, and to have eaten in the soft bark and pulpy sap-wood, a space as large in ai-ea, as a middling sized bean. Up to this time they have done very little damage, and are easily removed with a sharp pointed knife. Early the next spring they commence their course downward, working in the last year's sap- wood, directly under the bark. This year, their depredations are most destructive, working main- ly below the surface of the ground. I have known four worms half girdle a tree four inches in diam- eter, eating most of the sap-wood on one side, and running their path together in various directions from the top of the ground to the junction of the roots. In the Nijvember of the 2d year they are about 3-4 of an inch in length, and may almost al- ways 1)6 found below the point where they first en- tered the bark, and rarely ever beneath the wood, but in the sap-wood beneath the bark, which is usually discolored, but not broken. The next spring they turn upwards, following up some chan- nel which they have previously made, until they are about as high as tlie point where tliey first en- tered ; they then eat inward, in a direction not usually straight, mainly upward, and rarely ever more than an inch into tlie solid wood of the tree. Here they remain the third winter of their life, and are about an inch or an inch and quarter in length. The next spring they turn their course out towards the bark, and when nearly through the wood,about the 1st of June, they are transformed to a perfect winged insect, which soon eats directly out through the remaining wood and bark, leaving a round hole about 1-4 of an inch in diameter, and usually from six to ten inches above the place of enti*ance. I have on the 5tli of June taken from a section of tree which it had spoiled, a perfectly formed in- sect, with aT)out the same thickness of wood as of bark to cut through to effect its liberation. Thus they generally occupy nearly three years in the circle of life ; I say generally, as I have some evi- dence that they are not entirely uniform, a few making the circle in two years. I have been induced to write this sketch of the borer, as most accounts of the insect which I have seen, describe its course upward, and only upward, whereas, its most destructive operations are later- al and d(jwnward, during its second year, and least liable to observation, as cuttings are rarely seen, its operations being at and beneath the sur- face. Of the means of prevention, or destruction, I have treid the following : A mound of ashes round the tree only drove the insect to deposit the egg;? just alxjve them. A wash of spirits of turpentine, or strong ley, is not sure, although it will kill the eggs; yet some of them may be hatched, and when once within the bark any wash leaves them un- harmed. A newspaper or wrapping paper wowid around the tree and fastened there, is a perfect security. I have tried it for twelve years and never have had a tree infested that was thus secured — and it is (mly through my neglect, since I first tried it, that I have been troubled. When they are in or under the bark, a sharp-pointed knife is the only sure instrument — remove them the first autumn or next early spring, if possible. This can be done only by close observation. After they have struck in- to the wood and are working upward, I destroy them by introducing a sharp wire, or a very small sponge fastened to the end of a small wire dipped in spirits of turpentine, v/hich, if it touches them, is certain death, and I believe it is if the hole is wet with it. In looking for borers in the month of October, which is perhaps the best month,! advise, that when one is found, be careful to look for more in the same tree. I have usually, when I neglected to paper my young trees, found borers in perhaps one in six, and from those taken out, from four to twelve, showing that a quantity of eggs is usually deposited on one tree: Yours, Richard C. Stone. Sherburne, June 10, 1852. RESULTS OF ACCIDENTS. Some of the most useful inventions owe their existence entirely to accident; such, for instance, as the accidental discovery that Plaster of Paris was a non-conductor of heat — a peculiarity to which our "fire-proof safes" are entirely indebted for their usefulness and popuhirity. The discovery was first made in this city in 1830, by a mechanic, who carried on various branches of smith-work in Eld- ridge Street. Having occasion to heat some water, he took a cast-iron vessel in v/hich plaster of Paris had been used, and to which some had adhered, forming a crust or coating on the inside of the kettle from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in thickness ; he poured in water and put it over a fire, with a view of heating the water sufl!iciently for his purpose ; to his great surprise, after remain- ing in some time, he found that no change had been made in the temperature of the water ; he blew the bellows, rendered the fire still hotter, and was still more surprised, after a long lapse of time, that the water did not become warm ; he left the water on the fire, and went on with his work. Returning after some hours, he found the water had only become a little tepid ; on this he laid various combustible substances on the fire, but still no effect was produced. Being somewhat puzzled to account for so strange a state of things, he next day instituted a scries of inquiries, the result of which was the invention of the celebrated "Salamander Safe," for the privilege of manu- facturing which, Mr. Wilder, of this city, pays the discoverer, S. C. Herring, $25,000 a year. So much for having an accident in the family, and properly taking advantage of it. — iV. Y. Dutchman. t853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 129 SILBSIAN MEeiI«50 BWES. The above engraving represents a group of Silc- sian jNIerino Ewes, owned by Jlr. George Campbell, of Westminster, Vt. He purchased tliem in Prus sian Silesia, in the spring of 1851. In a letter in the October number of the Wool Groiver, Mr. C. says, " tliese sheep are descendants from the far- fimed Infantardo's flock, so much admired in Spain, some fifty years ago, and as far as my knowledge extends, they are now the only flock of this variety that liave been preserved in their pure state, to the present time. " The proprietor of this flock imported the origi- nal stock from Spain, m 1811, and since that time, has given his own personal attention to his sheep, and by this means has been able to still further improve them, especially as regards the quality of wool, which has been increased in fineness, without diminishing the weight of fleece. It is believed that very fe*v, if any, sheep in the country at the present day, will produce more pounds of wool, according to cost of keeping, than the Silesian Merino. For the shape of the sheep, I will refer] you to the engraving, as it is a faithful copy of a daguerreotype ; and to convince you of their har- diness and strong constitution, I need only to refer you to the circumstance, that one ewe of this flock lived to be 21 years old. The skin of this sheep was carefully stuffed and placed in the sheep-fold, where it now stands with quite a life-like appear- ance. I mention this fact merely to show that the gentleman takes an interest in his flock. "My Silesian Ewes suckled lambs during the winter, which every one knows will lessen the fleece at least one pound per head. They were thor- oughly washed and sheared as soon as properly dry, shearing an average of 41bs. 5 1-2 oz. per head. Bucks of this variety, when fully grown, will shear from 6 to 10 lbs. of well washed wool." A GOOD EXAMPLE. It was recently stated that James M. Whiton, Esq., had given S20 to the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society, but the purposes for which the donation was made were not stated. In the report of the Committee of Needlework, at the late fair at Meredith Bridge, the suggestion was made that "large quantities of embroidery and expensive work were ofiered for premiums, and but little needlework which was of practical utility." Act- ing upon this suggestion, Mr. Whiton sent the $20 to the officers of the society, with the request that it might be offered in premiums for the best speci- mens oi patching and darning. This is truly prac- tical, and the New Hampshire girls will now have an opportunity of showing their skill in a descrip- tion of needlework of far more importance and in- terest to the hard-fisted yeomanry of their native State, than fancy quilts, embroidered ottomans, tapestry, &c. We imagine that those excelling in this new department will be in great demand to grace the homes of the young farmers of New Hampshire. We are glad to notice this provision for the award of premiums for excellence in those acquirements which will fit the daughters of our farmers for the practical duties of life. Many who can tastily embroider an ottoman, it is to be feared, would be completely at a loss to know how to neat- 130 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Maech ly darn the heel of their father's stockings, or sew a patch upon his homespun pantaloons. The ex- ample of Mr. Whiton, in offering a premium for patching and darning is worthy of imitation by all our agricultural societies. — Boston Journal. GOOD For the New England Farmer. MANAGEMENT VS. BAD MAN- AGEMENT. The last garment was mended, neatly folded, and placed in the drawer on Saturday afternoon, when Mrs. Lee took her knitting, for there were a few spare moments just now. Mr. Lee enters, and is speaking of his new neighbor, Mr. Prentice. "Ah! Stranger things have happened, Ellen. Why, don't you remember how, through bad man- agement, Major Simes lost his farm and all his property. Prentice has bought another plow, a subsoil, they call it, that's the third he has bought since he came here. I rather think he will 'im- prove himself out of doors' one of these days, as old Col. Durgin used to say, when people talked to him about improvements on a farm. Why, Ellen, Prentioe spends more for tools in a year, than you and I do for clothes in twice that time ! "But, as I said before, I really think he is a fine man and means well ; but you see he has begun at the *big end of the horn,' and if he is not amaz ing careful, he will come out at the 'little end This being 'more nice than wise' on a farm, don't pay. That farm will have to be sold again, and if are talking so fast, I cannot wc should have it, why, as I said before, 'twould wise,' Now, boys, out and see if you cannot help But we have wandered from our story — and now the sound of merry voices upon the bridge tells us that school is out ; and now the boys come rushing in, and with their voices raised to th? highest pitch, one exclaims — "^lother, there is going to be a great thunder shower, wont father's hay all get wet V "0, mother, why didnH ftither buy that 'horse raker Mr. Prentice has bought it and is raking now with it ; his black horse goes complete in it — there, hark ! don't you hear it, mother? don't it make a queer noise? Mother, what teas the rea- son father didn't buy it ? I wish he had — George Prentice said father engaged it a week ago, and the man brought it for hira, but he concluded not to have it, this afternoon ; so INIr. Prentice has taken it on trial. I think his old one might have done for him. See, they have finished, and it will be in before the rain comes." "Wouldn't I like to see our Nelly harnessed in that rake, making such nice rolls of hay in our smooth field !" "Here comes sis, — she is always behind us boys — she has so many last words for the girls, that one would think every Saturday was the last day of school." "Yes, but I guess you don't know that father has sold Nell, and got a strange horse ! Look quick, pa is leading him into the stable now." "Nell, gone — gone — she was the kindest crea- ture in the world ! 'Tis too bad — I declare it is ! " "Children, you have said enough; why, you get a word in edge- be no stranger than many things we have known "Well, Jerry, I don't know what we should do with it, for don't we have as much as we can do now?" "Yes, but if It has to be sold, it's handy to us, and if we have good luck, I mean to show you a 'pocket full of rocks,' half-a-dozen years hence, without going to California, either. One must in- vest money somewhere, and I believe land is as safe as any thing." Mr. and Mrs. Lee were, in "Yankee parlance," very ^'clever folks.'" At the death of his father, Jerry being an only son, inherited the homestead ; and now, a dozen years from that time, we find him comfortably settled, with four bright-eyed boys, and little Ellen, the much-loved pet of the whole household. Was INIr. Lee a stingy, crabbed man ? By no means; was he cross to the children? Ah, no — a kinder father, you nor I don't often see. And now, with this farm productive, easily- worked, and everything apparently favorable for success, what is to hinder Mr. Lee from having that "pocket full of rocks," to pay for that farm if it is sold? AVe mean the "Nelson form," that Mr. Prentice bought last spring. Mr. Prentice was not "brought up" on a farm,but in the city ; and having acquired a snug little for tune, he chose to buy a small place where he could "sit under his own vine and fig tree ;" and then he never found it easy to banish from his mind the few happy days of his boyhood, which were spent on his grandfather's farm. That dear old man — "peace to his ashes," how kindly he smiled as he patted the curly-headed boy, and said, — "If Billy lives, he must have a farm, and not always live with brick and mortar, dust and heat." father rake up his hay, for the shower will soon be here." And now as the three boys, rake in hand, are scampering for the hay field, let us sit down qui- etly with little Ellen, the pet of the household, and after mother, we mean INIrs. Lee, has closed the windows so that the rain may not come in, she will join us. It was a hot day in August, the thermometer at ninety degrees ; but as Mr. Lee remarked in the morning, "a capital hay day." "Now, Ellen," said Mr. Lee to his wife, on the Monday previous, "I am going to, (by the way, 'I'm going to,' was a very frequent expression of Mr. Lee's, a sort of watchword, that begun and ended many excellent plans,) I am going to get additional help and finish our haying in short me- ter. If we have fine weather, I wont be behind- hand this season. And then I'm tired seeing you work so hard. I suppose Prentice will finish Sat- urday night ; I will be up'with him, and Ellen, I believe I shall buy a horse rake, although I do not think much of new-fangled notions about farming ; yet ril venture to buy this and see how it works ; so if it holds fair by Saturday night, you may ex- pect to see my hay in the barn." " Well, it's just my luck, Ellen," exclaimed Mr. Lee, as after changing his wet garments and tak- ing little Ellen upon his knee, he seated himself with the rest of the family in the front room. — "How it pours — it is all for the best, I know, but I can't help thinking, if Prentice had half a dozen tons of hay out just fit for the barn, it would not have rained so. Well, he has been a lucky dog about his hay, this season, if he don't manage so saving as some. Scarcely a load wet any — none to do any injury, and here I've had two-thirds of 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 131 mine I slia wet, and I fear a good part of it spoiled ; but 'nt fret, I never did andl sha'ntbegin now." "Father, what is that horse's name, you have got?" A sharp Hash of lightning accompanied by a tremendous peal of thunder, prevented any reply; but little Ellen was not so easily satisfied without an answer. Upon the question being re- peated, j\Ir. Lee whispered in the child's ear, while he gave a half anxious, inquiring glance at his wife, — "I don't know, dear, but don't you say any more abnut it, now, Ellen dear ; now mind pa." "I will, pa ; but you will tell me ab(nit it, and what you let Nell go for, as soon as it is done rain- ing, wont you father?" The truth is, ^Ir. Lee, like all sensil)le people, found it quite satisfactory to himself, to be able to give a good reason even to his children. But now he would rather talk with Mrs. Lee alone than to be questioned by the children. Ah, Jerry, you well know, or you may know if you will only look at matters candidly, that you forgot for the moment what your old grandfatlier used to say to you, quite as often as you wished to hear it, "never give up a certainty for an un- certainty." And now as you look out at the heavy masses of black clouds, that with the strong east wind give indication of a long storm, you don't care to acknowledge to yourself even, that if you had "let well enough alone," your "best hay" would now have been nicely stowed away in your barn. You don't want to let Mrs. L. and the children know that the vicious animal you have ex changed kind Nell for, despises a horse rake, and will have no more to do with it, than you with a subsoil plow. As the music of neighbor Prentice's rake resounded in your ears this afternoon what were your feelings? I fancy you felt something as you would have done, were you doomed with pinioned hands to listen to the music of your near- est neighbors, and those neighbors Avere — musqui- toes ! But we will let it all go, as Jerry said to him- self; we'll let it go, as the money which you saved to pay for that rake, and to pay for this week's hired hands, has gone to pay the difference in value between a kind family horse, and as vi- cious and good for nothing an animal, as you will often find on a farm. "But hark ! what is that rumbling noise," ex- claimed George. "It wasn't thunder, no; ah, it's the stage just come over the bridge." "I know somebody's coming here — it don't come this way for nothing. Let us all run for the front door ; it is going to stop here — who can it be com- ing here in the stage coach ?" "Umph ! think I don't know," exclaimed Bill, "it'ssomebodymade a mistake;" and he wasabout to rectify the same, when an exclamation of joy- ful surprise and recognition from the father pre- vented him from so doing. ' 0, it is Aunt Fanny," exclaimed every one, as the coach door was swung open and Mr. Lee and the driver assisted a grave-looking lady to alight. A warmer and more hearty welcome, Fanny Lee never received after a long absence, not even when she liad -upon that same threshold, been clasped in the arms of her own dear flither and mother. Long years had no power to dim the affection of that brother for his only and orphan sister. Fan- ny was, as we have said, Jerry Lee's only sister, and while withher brother, she inherited from her mother a large share of "good nature," she also possessed much good sense, or as Aunt Judy used to say, a "dreadful sight of discrimination." Be that as it may ; yet we are sure that Fanny, reserved and quiet as she was, exerted a silent, but powerful influence wherever she moved. Iler hand seemed to shed abroad order, regu- larity and peace, and under her eye everything found its proper ;place, and everything was done at the proper time. As Jerry said to his wife, "Fanny has such a pretty way with her, and then she ahvays had, and then she sees into anything so quick ; 'tis true, she makes no noise or palaver about it. But did you mind how quick she noticed my wet hay — and also that the Pren- tice field was all clear 1 One word from her is enough, although she never twits one about one's bad luck." No wonder the children loved Aunt Fanny, for she was a capital story-teller. "Done reaping! done, all done," exclaimed Bill, as entering the kitchen he tossed his cap on the hook, "and now if Aunt Fanny would like it, father says we may all go down to the oak pas- ture. Are you rested. Aunty? over a week since you came." Aunty was rested, but of course she well knew the children would enjoy the walk quite as well when haying was over, to say nothing of the additional pleasure of having Mr. Lee's com- pany. "All ready, Aunt Fanny, all ready for that walk! Father says W3 must be quick, for that good for nothing horse wont stir an inch, and father says we must walk all the way ; but it is so pleasant we wont mind, will we, Aunt Fanny," said little Ellen, as she placed her little warm, soft hand in Fanny's, and with father and the boys before, pi'O- ceeded down the hill, and over the bridge. And now as little Ellen leaves Aunt Fanny, and joins the boys in their search for berries, let us follow the brother and sister. As they past the old moss-grown and dilapidat- ed school house, memories come rushing back — days of their happy childhood ; and now, seated on a rock, beneath a wide-spreading oak, as Mr. Lee recounts one by one his plans for the future, and his bright hopes of success, why did that sis- ter remain silent, till urged by Mr. Lee to give her opinion in regard to the matter 1 "I reckon you don't think much of farm- ing,' Fanny. You've been down south, where la- bor is disreputable and degrading, and I guess you, with all your New England sense, can't shake off this feeling in a minute. Nothing strange, though, but I tell you Fanny, farming is the best business in the world, if well followed." "Well 7nanaged." "Yes, sister, I calculate if you come to see us half a dozen years hence, to show you a little of the profits of farming — there, do you see at the foot of the hill, those men digging that deep ditch, there in the Nelson swamp ?" "Yes, what of it?" "Nothing, only that is what I call a fair speci- men of folly, or mismanagement. Money thrown away. Would you believe it, if I were to tell you that the clearing of that piece of land cost Pren- tice two hundred dollars, and I think sixty more, at least, will be expended in draining it. Money out of pocket. I longed to tell him better when 132 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March he told me this, but then it would have been use- less ; well, some must buy their- experience, dearly, too. "Well, Fanny, I wouldn't say it to every one, but 'it is an ill wind that blows good to no one.' That farm will have to l)e sold again, no two ways about it. _ I don't want it exactly, that is, I don't need it; it may do for one of the boys — it's han- dy, say, what think of it, Fanny?" "Brother, mine, did I ever differ from you, need- lessly, foolislily ? Your attachment to this home of our childhood cannot be strongct, or more en- during than mine. "Often as I have reclined beneath the beauti- ful dark cypress of Alabama, have my thoughts wandered back to this very spot ; yes, often in imagination, 'have I been seated upon this rock, be- neath the branches of this widespreading oak, where were passed many hours of our fresh and happy childhood, and affection's long slumberings have been recalled in all their purity. And how has my bosom yearned towards home ! You need but to go where I have been, to see what I have seen, to know the true dignity of labor. Where sucli pleasant homes, where such pure hearts as here in New England? You have but to see as I have seen, the effect of sloth, indolence, exemption from labor and care, to appreciate your own highly-fa- vored position, that of the 'tiller of the soil.' "But brother, I must speak plainly ; beware, lest in avoiding what you consider a useful ex- pense, you commit a greater error. No matter if you do not put the cash in your pocket, if you make a free and happy home for your own fiimi- ly, if with pure and loving hearts you find and cherish what money cannot buy in this selfish world, true happiness, then be content. "But do not suppose for one moment, that mo- ney uselessly expended in improvements, or rather supposed improvements, for may be I shall differ from you there, is the only evil to be avoided. — There is an evil, greater than all the ditching and pubsoiling of which you have been speaking. It is an improvident, careless, neglectful way of far ming, which brings misery and want in its train 'He that dealeth with a slack hand,' you know the rest of it, brother. "By the way, have you thus far been success ful in your plans — have your expectations been re- alized—do you know how you stand — what is your yearly income 1 ' ' "0,'well, ahem, Idon't'exactly know, now ; but then 'I am going' to reckon up one of these days, and then I can tell ; but then you must know, Fanny, that keeping accounts, &c., on a farm, is what one can do or not, just as one chooses ; its well enough, though, if one has plenty of time to do everything, no harm perhaps can come of it, then, but hang it, (excuse me sister) if I would have the name of my wife's keeping books or ac- counts for me if 'twas never done. They say Mrs. Prentice assists her husband in such matters." _ "1 shall begin to think quite highly of this Pren- tice family, if I remain here through the season, I suspect," replied Fanny with a smile. '_'0, I have nothing against them, save perhaps a little prejudice ; it's their management, I speak of," said Mr. Lee. "Now, Fanny, don't you remember Major Simes? Well, he undertook to manage something after this fashion ; he bought new-fivshioned tools of all descriptions, drained all his low lands, grafted his apple trees, and tried all sorts pf book farming, took I know not how many agricultural papers, and what was the end of it, do you re- member, Fanny?" said Mr. Lee with a trium- phant smile. "Yes, I remember it all, and do you remember when we children went to school, how the tools and machines all lay 1)y the road side, piled and covered with snow — wliat strange flintastic forms they were ; how the gates Avere off the hinges, fences down, and the cattle traversing tlie fields, breaking the young fruit trees, the well sweep broken, and the pole with a tin pail fastened on the end to draw with! "Do you remember how you used to snow-ball the house where no smoke issued from the chim- ney, on your way to school in the morning, with no fear of a remonstrance from its inmates, who seemed to care for nought but 'a little more sleep?' Do you remember how 'his grafts' died for want of care? and again my memory is not at fault ; if Major S. reaJ agricultural papers, you and I know he never paid for them ! "Yes, Jerry, I remember all these things, and it was not booh farming that ruined him, it was down-right — shall I say it, brother, shifllcssness ; not a very pretty word, is it? If the Major had united habits of regularity, industry and economy, with energy, his book farming could never have harmed him ; but, alas ! all these important requi- sites were wanting. "As well might you suppose that the locomo- tive which is now flying past us in the distance, would reach its destination with its burden of liv- ing freight, at the given time, safe and sound, with- out wood or water, and the constant and unwea- ried care and oversight of man, — as to think far- ming, with the most complete tools to work with, and correct ideas of their use, can be made a pro- fitable or useful employment without a systemat- ic arrangement of one's affairs with skill and pru- dence, and the same order which is requisite to render any other business prosperous. "In truth, brother, I do not believe it is a mo- ney-making business ; but that is of little conse- quence ; do not teach your children that money- making, is of the most importance, but tell them by your example, that 'money is nothing, that greatness is nothing, thai goodness is the real jew- el in the casket,' and learn them to cherish it well. And brother, let me again speak plainly, do not let cares press too heavily upon your wife. You may not have noticed as I have, that Ellen is look- ing quite care-worn ; believe me, brother, 'tis not time alone, that has deepened and widened the furrows on her pale brow — hard work, brother — hard work" — How long the conversation would have contin- ued, we know not, had not the sound of merry voices and the lengthening shadows told tl)em it was time to return. As they neared the house, Mr. Lee was accost- ed by a man awaiting his return. "I called for to settle up that little account Avith you, 'squire; shouldn't be particular, but I talk of going away, and I thought 'twould be handy to pick up enough so as not to be put to it for money to pay my ex- penses, ye see — thought 'twould be well enough to 'square off.' " "Well, yes, ahem; how much is there due, Mr. W.?" 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 133 "Have you looked over your account, 'squire?" "No, not lately." "0, well, your books will tell, I suppose." "I believe I didn't put that on the book, (be careful, Jerry, you have no book) but I made a minute of it on a piece of paper. Do you remem- ber any thing of a piece of bluish white paper, with figures on it, motherV "I have seen several such pieces, and I will bring them to you." Mrs. Lee left the room and soon returned with a handful of bits of paper, but the desirable one was not in tlie parcel ; the cliildren were now called in — they had been hav- ing a fine frolic with Aunt Fanny, removing an ox- sled, which the last snow of March had left as an ornament near the front door. "I wish you'd mind your I was going to move that myself," said Mr. Lee, with some impatience; he did not say when, but he would have done it, I dare say, the first good sledding. "Children, come in, and tell me if you have seen anything of a piece of blueish-white paper round, with figures on it. George, do you know any- thing about it ?" "No, sir — but I will look where you say." "Well, take all the drawers out of the secreta- ry, move ever3'tliing and see if it is there. Wil- liam, you go and look in all the table drawers, while I look in my pockets." The drawers were emptied of their contents, and after, with much satisfaction, spying all the wonders, the children returned from their fruitless search. They final- ly concluded that it was no where to be found. — Fanny Lee thought she perceived a gleam of satis- ftiction light up the half-shut grey eyes of the vis- itor, as this conclusion was settled. "We must fix it the best way we can," said Mr. Lee, as he took down pen and ink from the shelf. "I guess we can fix it," said Grey Eyes. "I cal- culate to do what's right always." At this mo- ment, to his great relief, Mr. L. remembered put- ting some figures upon the cellar door, and those might be the very ones ; he at once proceeded to the door ; but wo to the housewife who erases figures in house-cleaning — there were no traces of chalk now. "What have you for a bill again^ me, Mr. "Why it amounts to eighty-four dollars." "Zounds! Mr. W., you are surely mistaken, surely." "Well, well, you know you've something agin' me that has got to come out on't." "Yes, yes, but how you can have charges against me, to that amount, is more than I know." 'Now Mr. W., just read over the various items, as you have them." jNIr. Lee was perfectly sure many of these were unjust, but as he had nothing to bring forward to disprove the same, and as W. agreed with him on his own side, he was not a little perplexed. "Wall, I guess you had better settle it now, Mr. Lee — I am, you see, uncommon particular about my business — keep things square and fair — posted up, and always sure my dates are right." "les sir, but I have those very same charges of yours, somewhere, on a piece of paper, and I am ■positive, sir, you have charged me thirty dollars more than you agreed. All I ask of you, sir, is to let tlie matter rest where it is, until I find that paper." "You see, Mr. Lee, just now I am fixed. I am going away, and I felt obliged to leave my busi- ness with a lawyer, but I hated to put to trou})le an upright man like yourself, so I rode over fnjin town a purpose, to save you from any hard feeling. I want you to be satisfied." Mr. Lee was fully aware that he was now in the hands of a "Shylock," but he had not a particle of proof to bring against his demand. "I'll tell you what I'll do, Mr. L.— I'm short, and must have the cash, but I shall be round here about a week or so, and if you find your account, bring it over fo me, and I'll pay you back the mo- ney if I'm wrong ; ain't that fair enough, Mr Lee? I call myself putty ginrous there !" Very reluctantly, Mr. Lee paid the demand, and as his visitor was stepping into his wagon, he again says— "A week hence if you find any flaw, I'll fix it right for you — good-day sir." For. several days Mr. L.'s spare time was spent in fruitless search for the paper, until one stormy evening, he took from a peg in the kitchen an old hat, which he had ceased wearing ; and there, tucked away under the lining with several others of considerable value for company, was the identi- cal paper, soiled and worn, so as to be hardly readable. It plainly proved, as Mr. Lee was before con- vinced, that he had overpaid it by thirty dollars. Early the next morning he hastened to the vil- lage to rectify matters with W. ; but true to hia character, "Old Gray Eyes" left for the West, as he intended, the very night he received the mo- ney. He was, as Dickens says of Mr. Smallweed, "a two-legged, money-getting, species of spider, who spun webs to catch unwary flies, and retired into holes until they were entrapped." Knowing the careless business habits of Mr. Lee, he succeeded in his purpose, with but slight difficulty. "I am unlucky," said Mr. Lee, as he returned "but I will let it go, and say nothing about it." For a moment only, a tear glistened in Fanny Lee's dark eye, as she gave the parting word and kiss to her dearly beloved brother and his family. A week after Fanny's departure, a box arrived containing presents for the children. "Why, what is this queer thing?" exclaimed Billy, as his father was reading the letter. The "queer thing" was a neat mahogany writ- ing desk, containing a day-book and ledger and some little memorandums to be filled. "Why, this is father's present,'' said Mrs. Lee, as she read the letter which her husband passed to her while he examined the desk and its con- tents. "This, my dear brother," said Fanny in the let- ter, "this present, please accept, and if well used, it may prove a sort of leather-patch upon your pocket; and should a kind Providence permit me to meet you and yours, years hence, may I find it well filled." Six years — how rapidly do they pass, and_ yet how many events may be crowded in a briefer space of time. Six years have passed since Fanny left the old homestead, and now a bright, blazing fire burns on the hearth, and the family are seat- ed round it, all but Mr. Lee and Fanny, Avho were busy writing at a table, a little back. The chil- 134 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mae en dren — how happy they look — Mrs. Lee sits in the easy chair trying to smile, but 'tis a sad smile. "Well, Fanny," exclaims Mr. Lee, "I never should have thought it, how thankful 1 am you have come." (Aside to Mrs. Lee.) "Isn't it time for the children to go to bed mother?" "Yes, eight o'clock, good night." The two eldest Avere per- mitted to remain a short time longer. "As I was going to say, Fanny, I don't know what I should have done if you had not come. I did not think it was half so bad, but I never had the heart to look difficulties fairly ijj the face as you have. Well, it is better to know tlie worst, even if one can't see one's way out of trouble — but I declare, I can't see where it has gone, I am sure you've been prudent, Ellen, and worked hard all the time, but I don't know but farming is poor business, after all." "Let me see your books, now, brother," said Fanny, "perhaps it is not so bad asyou suppose." "0 dear ! Fanny, I may as well tell the whole, I have never made a mark in those books — I meant to, but I put it off and off, and finally I let it go." A look of sorrow, accompanied with a deep sigh, was Fanny's only reply, and as she sat, and with a clear head reduced his tangled affairs to order, he exclaimed, "Fanny, you would make a capital lawyer; there, I didn't mean to say so, for I hale lawyers, cheating rascals ! Ah, they have got more out of me than they ever will again !" "Why did you meddle with them, then?" "I — I didn't, but you see others — " A tittering and whispering between the boys caused the father to leave the remark unfinished. "What pleases you, William ? What are you laughing for?" "Nothing, only I was thinking Aunt Fanny would make a better lawyer's ivife.'' It was now Fanny's turn to smile, and blush too. "Eh, I guess I know something — George Pren- tice told us about it !" "About what?" exclaimed Mr. L., with un- feigned surprise." "About Aunt Fanny — how she is going to mar- ry his uncle, Mr. Prentice's brother, a lawyer !" Aunt Fanny was still busy, and it was thought best for the boys to go to bed. "Why, Fanny, why didn't you tell us about this before," said Mr. L., as the boys left; "I never dreamed of such a thing !" "As you did not think much of these neighbors, when I was here last, perhaps you will object." "I always said Prentice was a fine man; I only thought — but no matter now, what I thought. To tell you the truth, sister, everything he puts his hand to prospers. If I had anything to do with now, I would manage this farm as near like him as I could, for I believe he is a safe man to follow. But I want you to tell me just what to do — you see just how my affairs stand — my indebtedness is so much; I did think of moving in town and taking boarders, but it would bo too hard for Ellen, we could not afford to hire help. What would you advise me to do, Fanny?" It is none of our business how matters were set- tled, it is enough for us to know that Mr. L.'s af- fairs lucre adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties, and Mr. L. remained on the farm ; and if for a short time the family felt the pressure of poverty, it only bound them closer together. "Sweet are the uses of adversity." 'Tis true 'twas rather late in the journey of life, to learn to "stop and know what link in the chain was lost;" but Mr. L. did conquer difficulties, and learn, though late came the knowledge, that diffi- culties are not impossibilities. Mr. heeborroived^h. Prentice's "subsoil plow," the next spring, (bad management that borrow- ing,) but then it is "all in the family" now, and Mr. Prentice takes some pardonable vanity, in speaking of "my sister, Mrs. Prentice." Mrs. Lee is in feeble health, but Ellen is a good deal of help, and saves her mother many steps, and Mr. Prentice is never tired saying, "she is just like my sister, Mrs. Prentice." One thing more — Mr. Lee would as soon "let the sun go down on his wrath" as to neglect to open aud shut that writing-desk, and see that all was right there, before the clock tolled the hour for retir- ing. M. F. D. Brentioood, N. H. For the New England Farmer. CRANEBRRIES. Mr. Editor: — Cranberries have not only be- come one of our indispensable articles of food, but are also an article of commerce. In 1852, in Mas- sachusetts alone, there were more than ^50,000 worth sold, to be exported to California, besides a much larger quantity exported to England and other countries. That being the case, it behoves those who have bogs or upland suitable to their culture, to improve it to the best advantage, in raising this most delicious fruit for culinary use. It is now five years since 1 have turned my atten- tion to this suljjcct ; I have experimented consid- erably, and find that cranberries will grow on al- most any soil ; but the best in low meadows, where but little grass grows. I have succeeded best where it is not plowed summer or winter ; where the soil is deep, and before draining it was swim- ming meadow. I mean when you walk on it, on the turf, it would sink from one to two feet, and then rise again when the weight was removed. — My best cranberries are in a meadow where it was impossible to go on it with a horse. In 18-18 I drained the meadow by ditching, so as to make it solid, and took care in mowing not to injure the vines ; this has increased the fruit from about 2 bushels to 50 bushels. My hay is in less quanti- ty, but in much better quality, on the same mea- dow. I have raised cranberries this year on dry, san- dy pasture, in wet, springy swamp, on hillocks, also on the best of mowing land. I have no doubt that cranberries could be cultivated on any soil, with proper care and attention. They may be propagated by roots or seeds. The best way is to select the best kinds, and take up with a spade, a turf that contains plenty of vines, and dig a hole and put it in where you want it, and tread it down hard with the feet ; then throw on one or two shovels full of sand or gravel, taking care to make the surffice even, and not quite cover the top of the vines. This should be done in the fall, or early in the spring. The first season they will spread almost to meet, if they are put four feet apart, and the next year they will produce fine fruit enough to pay charges and trouble. T'hey will continue to increase if you keep them well provided witli a slight coat of sand or gravel every fall or winter. 1P53. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 135 The vines are easily obtained if wanted, of either the hirge pale kinds, the oval, or the round or flat kind, which is mucli the richest, as well as the greatest bearer with us, and of a dark red color. S. A. SllURTLEFF. Spring Grove, Jan., 1853. UNITED STATES AGRICUliTURAL SOCIETY. The First Annual Meeting of the United States Agricultural Society was holden at Washington, on the 2d of February 1853, at 10 o'clock, in the Lecture Room of the Smithsonian Institution. The meeting was called to orber by the Presi- dent of the Society, Marshall P. Wilder, Esq., of Massachusetts. Tlie States and Territories of the Union were called in the usual order, and members present gave in their names. It was found that mem- bers from the following States and Territories were present, viz.. New Hampshire, INIassachu- setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- ginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, AVisconsin, the District of Columbia and Minnesota. The Chair requested that all reports from State Societies to this Society be sent to the Correspond- ing Secretary. Prof. Mapes, of New Jersey presented speci- mens of the Japan pea, an account of which we have recently given, as it was presented at the State Board of Agriculture, on the 25th January. The President then delivered his annual address. It represented the prospects of the Society to be highly flattering ; such as should inspire every member with encouragement, and a determina- tion to do all he can towards the furtherance of the great ends of the association. It alluded suc- cessively to the subject of the appointment of members of the National Board of Agriculture ; the printing and publication of the Journal of the Society, the first of which, consisting of 14-4 octavo pages, is already in the hands of most of the members, and a second will be shortly issued ; the opening of correspondence and co-operation with distinguished agriculturists and local associations all over the United States, which the President thinks should be extended even to trans-atlantic nations, and the assistance of the General Govern ment solicited in regard to it. The address acknowledges the advantages at- tending the central location of the headquarters of the Society in Washington, and notices in hand- some terms the courtesy of the Directory of the Smithsonian Institution in granting to the Society the free use of their hall. The Society, must how- ever, look around and secure the permanent use of a public building or offices in some existing edifice for the Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer, for the preservation of the records and of the agricul- tural seeds and products which are now or may be hereafter acquired, and also for an agricultural ibrary, museum, and cabinet. It will be necessary soon to employ a perma- nent Secretary with a salary, whose time and tal- ents will be wholly devoted to the interests and business of the Society. The Treasurer, also, will have to be suitably compensated. The President submits whether, for the pay- ment of officers, the printing and publication of the journals and transactions, postage, and other necessary and contingent expenses », some aid may not be obtained from Government — "Either," says Mr. Wilder, "as a grant in furth- erance of our objects, on the same general principle as many of the State Governments bestow their pat- ronage upon the agricultural societies within their territorial limits, or, if Government would so direct, as a consideration for the performance by this Soci- ety of the duties of the Agricultural Department of the Patent Office. "The sum now expended by Government in that branch of the Department, if placed at the disposal of this Society, would enable us to collect, through our auxiliaries and corresponding bodies, the most reli- able statistics and the most recent and valuable in- formation, and would also enable us to publish the same and to distribute it, through the members of this Society, and of the hundreds of kindred local associations acting in concert with us throughout the country. ' ' In the course of allusion to what has been and might be done for the Society by private munifi- cence, the President stated that — "A gentleman of fortune, Hon. Samuel Appleton, of Boston, whose name is honorably associated with various philanthropic and charitable enterprises of our age and nation, has the honor of commencing worthy action in our behalf by a donation of one thousand dollars. Several other distinguished gen- tlemen have subscribed liberally to our funds, in the form either of donation or of life-memberships, a de- tailed statement of which will hereafter be submitted and published in the Society's transactions." The following are the concluding sentences of the President's Address : — "A brighter day has begun to dawn. It is within the recollection of many that the first Agricultural Society was organized in the United States ; indeed, it is not fifty years since the establishment of the Horticultural Society of London, the first institution of the kind in the world. This was soon followed by kindred associations in France, Pennsylvania, Mas- sachusetts and other places. Agricultural and Hor- ticultural Societies, and Farmer's Clubs, spring up as by enchantment throughout our country, all zeal- ously engaging in the work of improvement. While we rejoice in these favorable indications, and in the cheering prospects before us, we are re- minded by the absence of those whom we have been wont to meet on similar occasion, that the Destroy- er has been among us. They involuntarily rise up before us, and their valuable services claim our 'grateful remembrance. AVhen we were last assem- bled in this city, the 'Farmer of Ashland' lay upon the bed of death, and has since been borne with dis- tinguished funeral honors, amidst a nation's sorrow, fir hence to the sepulcher of his fathers. The great Landscape Gardener and Rural Archi- tect of America, upon whose genius the goverment depended for the laying out and adornment of the 136 I^EVV ENGLAND FARMER. Mar cu public grounds sun-ounding these premises, and who did so much to elevate the standard and improve taste in the rural arts, conveniences and refinements of life, was numbered with the victims by that aw- ful disaster upon the waters of the Hudson, on the 28th of last July, which agonized the hearts of so many American citizens. The cause of scientific Agriculture in this country, has sustained a great loss by the death of one of its most distinguished and promising professors — a gentlemen, who, though young, had already made many valuable contributions to Agricultural litera- ture, who had no superior of equal age, and from whose future labors much was anticipated. Down- ing and Norton ai'e no more — both cut down in the midst of life and usefulness. One of the distinguished representatives of the Es- sex Society of Massachusetts, the Hon. Judge Mack, of Salem, who was present and participated in the organization of this Society, a rnost worthy gentle- man, and who filled with honor and integrity various stations in life, has also gone to his rest. The 'Marshfield Farmer' is also numbered with the mighty dead. He was a farmer, — the son of a farmer, and the noblest production of American soil ! His majestic form, his mountain brow and expressive countenance, his deep, yet melodious voice, his whole person eloquent in every step and act, are bright Yisions on which we delight to dwell. AVe fondly cherish the remembrance of him as he appeared in this assembly at the organization of our Society, and in the cordial manner in which he salu- ted the worthy representative of the immortal Wash- ington, the 'Farmer of Arlington.' We love to think of his subsequent reception of us at his hospit- able mansion in this city, and of the close of his elo- quent address, and especially of his friendly benedic- tion : 'Brother farmers — I shall remember you, and the occasion which has called us together. I invoke for you a safe return to your homes. I invoke for you an abundant harvest; and if we meet not again in time, I trust that hereafter Ave shall meet in a more genial clime, and under a kindlier sun.' Gentlemen — Cheering prospects are before us. I dwell with pleasure on the bright future. I seem to see this Association enrolling among its members thousands of our intelligent yeomanry, and whether from the North or the South, the East or the West, all banded and leagued together as brethren by a common interest ; a State Society auxiliary to this in every Commonwealth, — County Societies, Far- mers' Clubs, Agricultural Schools and Colleges, each drawing from its own peculiar section and re- sources the means of information and improvement, and all with united purpose and harmonious action, both disseminating and receiving aid from one another, and thus illustrating the power of voluntary associations under the fostering care of goverment, and tending to make ourselves and our beloved na- tion the most intelligent, enterprising, yirtuous, happy and powerful people on the earth." On motion of Nath. P. Causin, Esq., of the District of Columbia, it was Resolved, That 5000 copies of the President's an- nual address be printed for distribution, first to members of the Society and then to such other per- sons as the Executive Committee may approve. Gen. Rusk, of Texas, in seconding Mr. Causin's motion, spoke handsomely of the address, and thought that its circulation would do much good, and materially tend to further the objects of the association. J. D. Weston, Esq., of Wisconsin, moved the oUowing resolution, which was agreed to Reaolved, That so much of the President's address as refers to the co-operation of this Society Avith the General Goverment in the diffusion of agricultural knowledge, the distribution of seeds, plants, &c.,be referred to a committee of three, with authority to report to the Executive Committee of the Society at such times as may suit their convenience. The committee finally appointed by the Chair under this resolution consists of Messrs. King, of New Yoi'k, Browx, of Mass. , and Medary, of Ohio — the mover having at his own request been ex- cused from serving. The Society generally seemed to think Gen. Rusk eminently fitted to occupy a place on this committee ; and appeared desirous that he would accept one. In reply to numerous expressions of this cliarac- ter, Gen. Rusk acknowledged the compUment in- tended him, but thought, as a member of Congress, he ought not to bo on the committee. He hoped to serve the Society in Congress in liis legislative capacity, but if he accepted this place on the com- mittee, it might be said to him in Congress that he was but fighting for his own bantling. The following resolution, by Mr. Kixg, of New York, from the committee to which was referred the recommendation of the President's address as to funds, &c., was adopted: Resolved, That the Executive Committee be re- quested to make immediate application to Congress for that portion of the money now annually appro- priated to the Patent Office for the preparation of the Agriculturrl Report and the collection and distribu- tion of seeds, with the veiw to the performance of the same work by the United States Agricultural Society. On motion of Dr. Elwtn, of Penn., it was voted that a number of copies of the President's address, when printed, should be placed at the disposal of the Smithsonian Institution for distribution. The same gentleman moved for a committee of one from each State to nominate a list of officers for- the current year, which motion was adopted. A motion of Mr. Smith, of the Dis. Col., for the Society to hold an exhibition in connection with the Metropolitan Association, was referred to the Executive Committee, as also the subject of the connection of the Society with the Smithsonian In- stitution, respecting accommodations, and the sub- ject touching a Permanent Secretary. That con- cerning agencies received the same disposition. Upon the question of joining the Crystal Palace Association in their intended exhibition at New York, an animated discussion arose. The gentle- men who took part in this discussion were Messrs. Roberts, of Pa., King, of N. Y., and King, of R. I., Calvert, of Md., Brooks, Brown, Poore, French and Reed, of Mass., McAllister, A. B. Da- vies, Landry, Watterston, Dis. Col., Mapes, Judge Chatfield, of Wis., and Medary, of Ohio. The discussion was finally closed by the adoption of the following resolution of Mr. Brown, of Mass. Resolved, That this Society do not consider it ex- pedient, in its infancy, to enter into an arrangement 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 137 with the Directors of the Crystal Palace, at New York, in relation to a public exhibition ; and that the Chair appoint a committee of three persons to inform the committee from that association accord- ingly- The committee appointed under this resolution are the President of the Society, Brown, of Mass., and Medary, of Ohio. It was resolved, on motion of Mr. Poore, of Massachusetts, that when this meeting adjourn it adjourn to meet to-morrow morning, at 9 o'clock. The Chair appointed Messrs. French, of INIassa- chusetts. King, of New York, and Calvert of Mary- land, a committee to audit the Truasurer's ac- counts. The following preamble and resolution were of- fered by C. B. Camt:rt, Esq., of Maryland, and made the order of the day for to-morrow at 10 o'clock, A. M., viz: "Whereas the cause of agriculture requires that its greal interests should be represented in the councils of the nation : Therefore — Resolved, That Congress be memorialized to estab- lish a Department of the Government, to be called the Department of Agriculture, the head of which department, when established, shall be a Cabinet oflBcer. And then, on motion of Mr. King, of New York, the meeting adjourned. SECOND DAT. The Society met according to adjournment, yes- terday morning, at 9 o'clock, in the lecture room of the Smithsonian Institution. It was called to order by the President at 10 o'clock, when it was found that, in addition to the States and Territo- ries present the previous day, Minnesota was now represented. The order of the day being the resolution of Mr. Calvert on the subject of memorializing Congress to establish an Agricultural Department of the Government, with its head a Cabinet Officer, was then taken up. It was, however, laid on the table temporarily, to receive the report from the Com- mittee on Nominations. After some discussion, this too was laid on the table, in order to consider the report of the Com- mittee on Amendments to the Constitution. The sections of the constitution in question were then successively read, and in several cases amended. -.The following is the substance of the principal amendments passed : The Executive Committee was increased from five members to seven. The Recording and Corresponding Secretaries to be considered as ex-officio members of the Execu- tive Committee and the General Board of Agricul- ture. In the absence of the President of the Society, the Executive Committee shall elect its own chair- man. Four members present shall constitute a quorum of the Executive Committee. The future annual meetings of the Society shall be held in Washington, on t\\Q fourth Wednesday of February. Mr. Wheeler, of Massachusetts, proposed a re- duction of the fee for life-membership from §25 to $10, with two dollars entrance money and one dol- lar annual subscription. This reduction he thought would bring many members into the Society who might be excluded by the present terms. This opinion was favored by Mr. Brooks, of Massachu- setts, and by Professor Mapes and Dr. Weston, so far as regarded life membership, but was strongly opposed by Messrs. A. B. Davis, Jones and Cal- vert, of Maryland, Roberts, of Penn., and Reed, of Mass. The Society finally determined not to make any change now. The order of the day, on Mr. Calvert's resolution, was then taken up, but temporarily laid aside to consider a resolution moved by jMr. Brown, of Massachusetts, which was unanimously adopted, as follows : Resolved, That the thanks of this Society be ten- dered the Hon. Samuel Appleton, Thomas H. Per- kins, Josiah Quincy, Robert G. Shaw, and others, who have so generously contributed to its funds, and thereby increased the ability of the Society to diffuse agricultural information throughout the coun- try. The following gentlemen were then proposed as honorary members of the Society, the proposition being warmly received and adopted, viz. : 'Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Samuel Appleton, Thomas H. Perkins, Josiah Quincy, and Robert G. Shaw. Mr. Calvert's resolution being read, he said that he had waited for some one else to take the initiative in this matter : but, as that had not been done, he had nothing to do but to act for himself. The object sought in the resolution was a primary one of the Society. The only question to be asked in relation to it was, will a Government department of Agriculture benefit the farmers of this country ; will it maintain, protect, and advance their varied interests and all the other interests dependant upon theirs ? If the answer was in the affirmative, nothing remained to be done but to go straight to the mark, and vote unanimously a pe- tition to Congress for its establishment. It would do no longer to connect this great matter with party politics ; no longer would the agriculturists of the United States be nose-led by political parti- sans. Commerce has its representative and pro- tector in the Cabinet in the person of the Secreta- ry of the Treasury ; so had the army, so had the navy; then why should agriculture, an interest greater than all the rest put together, be excluded ? Four-fifths of all the wealth, power, numbers, la- bor, and elements of strength and greatness of this country were agricultural, and it had no repre- sentative in the Executive branch of our Govern- ment. Measures hostile to the farming interest may arise in the Cabinet and be recommended to Congress, and as at present constituted they could not be resisted. This question had indeed much 138 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March to do with politics in its higher and proper sense, but in the lower and meaner one, nothing what- ever. Let any one refer to Noah Webster's DIct tionary, and they would be convinced of this. Last year a bureau of agriculture would have satisfied gentlemen ,|jbut that day is gone by ; what is want- ed now is a full department, with a full Cabinet Minister at its head. All the Presidents of the United States have recommended such a depart- ment, and the time had come to establish it. Ue hoped the meeting would be unanimous in its vote on this subject. Mr. French, of Massachusetts, said he was one of those who would have been once satisfied with a Bureau, but he now called for a Department, and he proceeded to advocate a Department, as proposed by Mr. Calvert. [While Mr. F. was speaking, the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Interior entered the room, when the members rose to their feet, and so remained until the President was seated.] Professor !M\pes said his friend from RIaryland had stated the outline. Had he gone into detail, the fact that four-fifths of the people were allied to agriculture would be made more strongly to ap- pear. In some districts of the United States one hundred bushels of shelled corn to the acre were raised, but the average was only thirty bushels. This last proportion ought to be and could be greatly increased, and the land restored to fertility. In the State of New York twelve and a half bush- els of wheat per acre was the average ; formerly it was thirty. Ohio once gave an average of thir- ty-fiye ; she had now sunk to fifteen. To restore the decreasing fertility and wealth of our fields all over the Union, was a measure deserving the serious attention of our Government. Therefore let us have a Department. Farmers are a busy class ; they have not much time to think or to compare notes with their fel- lows at a distance. Thus improvements did not trtivel fast. A town or a county was often the limiting area of the knowledge of a great improve- ment. !Much knowledge useful to all was thus lost to the generality. For instance, there was the fact that eighteen and a half pounds of cooked corn meal would produce as much meat and mus- cle as fifty pounds uncooked. But farmers would not believe this without endorsement from a known and respectable source. In almost every county in the Union some one man was celebrated for his crops ; but, notwithstanding they were before the eyes of his neighbors, they would not believe him as to his own accounts of his success ; they would ascribe to him some secret plans, or something more than appeared. The farmers, as a class, were incredulous. It was necessary to bring the force of fashion to bear upon them. When men of talent, learning, and wide iulluence lent respon- sibility to statements, farmers would believe, but not till then. Much labor was necessary to open the eyes of the people of this country to these things. Hap- pily, within a year or two, we had taken a better view, and the result was, that the improvements for a single year were worth more than the gold returns from California could be in a century. At the port of New York, British ships would come and fill their holds, on their return voyage, with American bones, carrying away the chief con- stituent of the fertility of our fields, phosphate of lime. And this helped us to understand why, when our fields were parting with their invaluable constituents, the fields of England had raised their crops from fourteen bushels per acre to fifty-one bushels. Let this be stopped ; let us understand what these things mean ; let our people be put on their guard against these insiduous attacks on our very vitals ; let the Government have a Depart- ment presiding over this branch of our national store, and we shall not be likely long to waste our own strength and vitality by tamely yielding them over toothers. [Applause.] The resolution of Mr. Calvert being then put to vote, it was unanimously adopted, as follows : Resolved, That Congress be memorialized to estab- lish a Department of the Government, to be called the Department of Agriculture, the head of which Department, when established, shall be a Cabinet officer. The report of the nominating committee being nest in order, the officers for the next year were elected by ballot. [At this stage tlie President of the United States and Secre- tary of the Interior retired, the members all standing until they had left the room.] The following are the gentlemen elected to the respective offices of the ensuing year : — PRESIDENT, MARSHALL P. WILDER, of Massachusetts. VICE PRESIDENTS, Ezekiel Holmes, of Maine, G. W. Nesmith, N. H. Frederick Ilolbrook, Vt. B. V. French, Mass. Josiah Chapin, R. Island, S. D. Hubbard, Conn. Henry Wager, New York, James .1 Mapes, N. Jersey, Fred. Watts, Pennsylvania, C. P. Holcomb, Delaware, W. D. Bowie, Maryland, G. W. P. Custis, Virginia, Henry K. Burgin, N. C. John Witherspoon, S. C. P. M. Nighliiigale, Georgia, Richard Jones, Alabama, Alex. H. Befiues, Miss. A. B. Roman, Louisiana, Samuel Medary, Ohio, Robert Mallory, Kentucky, M. P. Gentry, Tennessee, Joseph A. Wright, Indiana, S. A. Douglas. Illinois, R. Atchison, Missouri, T. B. Flournoy, Arkansas, J. C. Holmes, Michigan, Baker, Florida, T. J. Rusk, Texas, W. F. Coolbaugh, Iowa, A. C. Ingh;ni, Wisconsin, Homer. California, J. H. Bradley, Dist. Col., S. M. Baird, New Mexico, H. H. Sibley, Minnesota, Joseph Lane, Oregon, Jos. L. Hayes, Utah. EXECUTIVE COJDIITTEE, C. B. Calvert, Moses Newell, J. A. King, Arthur Watts, A. L Ehvyn, Richard Peters. J. D. Weston. Joseph C. O. Kennedy, Corresponding Secretary. W. S. King, of Rhode ix\a.niX, Recording Secretary . William Selden, Treasurer. Whilst the ballots were being counted, the Vice President of the Society, G. W. P. Custis, Esq., of Arlington, addressed the meeting with great unc- tion and effect, detailing in a most interesting way 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 139 his agricultural experience, and the incalculable benefits conferred upon him and the whole farm- ing interest of Virginia by the genius and industry of Edmund Ruftin. If ever a conqueror merited a Avreath, then did this conqueror of ignoronce, big- otry, and agricultural desolation. After hand- somely alluding to Mr. Fillmore, now shortly to retire from the labors of office, to go back to his farm ; to his country's father and friend, the Far- mer of Mount A'ernon ; and to the farmers and sons of farmers whose hearts and arms gave suc- cess to the revolution, Mr. Custis concluded with the sentiment of "Speed the Plow," and may health, happiness, and glorious success attend the Society and its efiForts. [Cheers.] The President of the Society acknowledged the kindness of Mr. Custis's remarks, and reciprocat- ed by wishing him, on behalf the Socjety, in re- turn, all the blessings of health and prosperity. Professor Mapes moved that Edmund Ruffin, of Virginia, be elected an honorary member of the Society. Carried unanimously and with applause. Dr. Reed; of Massachusetts, offered a resolution, which was passed, as follows : — Resolved, That the subject of lectures before this Society at its future meetings, and the selection of lecturers, be referred to a select committee of five of whom Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Insti- tution, shall be chairman. The committee appointed under this resolution consists of Professor Henry, and Messrs. Wilder and Reed, of jMassachusetts, Calvert, of Maryland, and the Corresponding Secretary. It was made the duty of the Corresponding Sec- retary to notify all members of their election, and if any decline, the Executive Committee may ap- point others to fill the vacancies. A paper written by Professor Booth, of Phila- delphia, on the inadequacy and inability of chem- ical analyses of soils in the present state of the science, was read. Professor Mapes hoped it would not be placed among the transactions of the Society, as he dif- fered with its able and learned author on the sub- ject, and believed he could successfully disprove his positions. There was evidence on every hand, both in England and America, that chemical anal- yses had done the greatest amount of good to ag- riculture. The Society having understood, at length, that the paper of Professor Booth was not before the Society, under his sanction, it was withdrawn, to be placed under the control of the gentleman who first produced it. Resolved, That a circular, in the name of the So- ciety, be addressed by the Corresponding Secretary to the various Agricultural boards and Societies in this Republic and in other lands, requesting, if con- venient, copies of their reports already published, with an exchange of future publications. The Treasurer's report was then handed in. On the meeting of the Society on "Wednesday morn- ing there were $182 G2 to the credit of the Society ; since then this had been raised to $1,920 G2, which was their present wealth. [Cheers.] The meeting then adjourned to meet again at 7 P. M. THIRD AND CONCLUDING SESSION. The Society met, pursuant to adjournment, at 7 o'clock P. M. on Thursday, to hear the lecture of Professor Mapes on "Fertilizers." This very able gentleman, and practical agriculturist, en- chained his auditory for about an hour as very few living men could do on such a topic. He spoke without "notes, but such is his fund of information and intelligence that possibly his extemporaneous addresses excel the generality of written effusions on these subjects. After the addresses, the Executive Committee met and transacted much business respecting ar- rangements and agencies for the collection of funds, for the publication of the Journal, for which origi- nal papers were promised by Professor Mapes, Mr. Calvert, Dr. Arthur Watts, Dr. Elwyn, and Jos. C. G. Kennedy. The committee requested a copy of the Address of Mr. Custis for publication. Professor Henry was elected an honorary mem- ber of the Society. After the transaction of business of minor im- portance, the Executive Committee adjourned sine die. For the Neiv England Farmer. SWEET CORN. A correspondent of the New England Farmer, among other pertinent questions, asks, "How does sweet corn affect the soil on which it is raised 1 has it been tried as food for stock ? and if so, with what success r' We have had some little success- ful experience, for the last five or six years, in raising sweet corn, for the table, and for fodder ; and that experience has taught us that sweet corn exhausts the soil just about in proportion as the stalk is larger and more nutricious than the northern yellow corn. The kind of sweet corn we have raised grows about eight feet high, the ears eight or ten inches long, large white and plump kernel, and ten rows to the ear, the pith of dark red color, and is called the Evergreen Sweet Corn. The seed was procured from Ohio some eight years since. For fodder wc sow it in drills, three feet apart, and drop the kernels from six to ten inches apart. The yield of fodder the last year was at the rate of seven tons to the acre. Our horses and cows leave the best of hay to luxuriate upon sweet corn stalks, well cured, and run through the straw cutter. The stalks of the sweet corn are large, and recfViire much care in curing to prevent mould. They should stand erect in the barn, or wherever sheltered, and en- joy the benefit of air. Cutting the stalks as near the ground as possible, we leaned the tops of two rows together, leaving here and there a stalk un- cut, and tying from ten to twenty stalks together 140 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March near the top, to prevent falling. In this manner the stalks dried rapidly, and gathering them be- fore the heavy and late rains, we have not lost a pound of fodder. Sweet corn should be planted, or sown in drills, or broad cast, (if any prefer,) at the same time that common corn is planted. The richer and deeper the soil, tlie more sure and abundant the crop. We have about a bushel of sweet corn for seed, and can accommodate a few early applicants with good seed, if it be wanted, at the rate of fifty cents per quart. E. P. Walton. Montpelier, Vt., Jan., 1853. LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Fourth Meeting— Tuesday Evening, Feb. 8, 1853. The fourth meeting of the series was held at the State House, on Tuesday evening. Hon. Seth Sprague, of Duxbury, was called to the chair, whereupon the sulyect of discussion for the eve- ning was announced, as follows : — "The ]>est method of breaking up and pulver- izing soils, and the depth of this process best adapted to ordinary cultivation." Mr. Howard, of Boston, read a letter from Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, (who was unable to be pre- sent) submitting some remarks in relation to this subject. Pulverization of soils he regarded as the basis of cultivation. However large a plant may be, its extreme rootlets will be of the smallest pos- sible dimensions, and consequently the soil should be loose and free, in order to present no obsta- cles to their growth. Plowing, of course, is the most efficient means of stirring up the soil. As to the depth of plowing, agricultural societies seem to fix upon six inches as the standard, which Mr. Proctor thought was founded on the system of using only one yoke of oxen in the operation. He was of opinion that larger teams should be used and plowing carried deeper, say to 9 or 12 inches depth, especially when the soil rests upon a hard pan. He knew of no crop that would not grow better when the soil is stirred to that depth, than when plowed six or seven inches. Addition- al manures will convert the gravel and sand which may be thrown up into good soil, in a few years. Mr. Sprague thought there might be a question in some places as to the best instrument to be used in preparing the soil for cultivation. Plow- ing is the only mode which the farmers of this country can use. He alluded to the improvements which have been made in the plow in this coun- try, and to the fact that an American plow had carried away the highest prize at the World's Fair, in London. This event demonstrates the fact that the farmers of this country possess the best plows that the world can produce for preparing the soil for planting. Mr. Sprague thought there was a great lack of skill among our farmers in the art of plowing. The plow should be made to run just such a depth, and the furrow slice proportioned to the depth. The soil is better pulverized when this precision is gained. Plowing, as a general principle, should be deep. But it depends upon circumstances as to whether or no land should be plowed deep. Subsoiling some lands, if they are not properly drained, makes them more capable of retaining water than of raising good crops. He spoke of the clod-crushers, an implement used in England, made like a roller with teeth or pikes to break the clods in pieces, which is valuable on some kinds of land. Hon. Am ASA Walker spoke of the importance attached in England to a thorough pulverization of the soil, a fact which he said was strikingly in- dicated by the great number and difierent kinds of plows which they used. At the manufactory of Ransom & Co., in Ipswich, Eng., he had seen 107 different kinds. Some of these had 5-4 di -erent mould-boards, and some 40 shares. There were one thousand different patterns of plowshares. All these modifications were intended to meet the requirements of the various kinds of soil. The complement for one farmer is generally twenty- five plows. But, for all this pains-taking, we have the best plows. The speaker enforced the neces- sity of a thorough breaking up of the soil, as be- ing essential to the thrifty growth of all agricul- tural production. Mr. Sheldon, of Wilmington, recommended the use of the Michigan subsoil plow for breaking up grass lands. The depth of plowing he believed should be decided by the judgment of the farmer. Some varieties of land need to be plowed a great deal more than others. This should depend in a great measure upon the amount of manure that will be bestowed upon the soil. If plowed deep, it requires more dressing than if plowed shallow. We, however, seldom plow deeper than we ought. He thought from seven to nine inches was deep enough to plow on common land. Mr. Shel- don also alluded to the benefit arising from skil- ful plowing. He believed there was a great sav- ing in plowing straight. It makes much better finished land. Mr. Darling, of Leominster, said that in plow- ing, regard should be had to the use which is to be made of the land. If he had a piece of grass land which he wanted to use for corn, he would plow it in the fall about three inches deep, and leave it for the frost to work upon and finish. Frost will tear it completely in pieces. In the spring if he were going to plant in furrows, he would harrow it, spread on his manure, and then cross-plow it. By this mode not a particle of turf is left on the ground or in it. He had never seen anything so efiectual as this for pulverizing the soil. Mr. CoLLAMORE, of Pembroke, inquired the na- ture of the soils which Mr. Darling had treated in this way. His experience had been that on a 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 1-il loamy, sandy soil, plowing in the fall was inju- rious. ]Mr. Darling replied that they were generally a light, mellow loam, on the hills the soil was clayey. He believed that tlie system he describecrliad been found to apply equally to the clayey as the other kinds of soils. JMr. Walker was of opinion that common sense must be applied to this matter of plowing, as well as to everything else. A gentleman of his acquaint- ance had lieard a great deal said about deep plow- ing, and determined to try it upon a field of light soil, underneath which was a very coarse gravel. Plowing deep, he brought this to the surface, cov- ering up the natural soil, and consequently lost the use of his land. With such soils the policy should be to draw up the sand or gravel little by little, and gradually convert it into a soil by the applica- tion of manure. In a few years a soil may be in- creased from six inches to a foot in depth, and thus doubled in value, for it will grow double the crops. Mr. Sprague was confident that fall plowing in dry, sandy land, was injurious. He had a large quantity of land with a loose, sandy subsoil, and he believed that the quicker it was planted after being plowed, the better. But not so with lands having a hard subsoil, which will not let the water down, and which may bring up vegetable substances beneficial to plants. Col. Faulkner, of Acton, said the depth of plow- ing should depend on the nature of tlie soil. He cultivated eleven acres of land, which is unusually infested with rocks and stones, so much so that he almost despaired of reclaiming it. On the pro- duce of this amount of Lind he keeps ten cows, a yoke of oxen, and two horses, besides selling two to five tons of hay annually. His mode of cultiva tion is this. The land is jilowed as deep as possi- ble. In May he plants with potatoes, and after removing the crop in the fall plows again. In May of the next year it is plowed and harrowed twice, and then sowed with millet, which yields a crop equal to a ton and a half of hay. About the middle of August manure is spread over the stubble left by the millet, the land plowed and harrowed twice, and sowed down with timothy and red-top a,lone. Not less than sixty loads of manure are applied to the acre, and the land lasts seven years, generally yielding two to three tons of hay to the acre. ^Ir. F. said he could raise much better potatoes by using plaster and salt, mixed together, and none of them had decayed since he tried it. Mr. Small, of Truro, said he plowed his corn land about five inches deep. It would not answer to plow deeper, on account of a want of manure to vitalize the dead earth brought up by plowing deep. But if there was no lack of manure, it was no mat- ter how deep land was plowed. On the Cape, they always found they could raise good corn^when they could bring their land over to a sward. Neat cattle he considered the best means of accomplish- ing this, fur after they take the feed off the grass, there is nothing so beneficial to the land as the manure, both solid and liquid, which they leave up- on it. Mr. Sprague thought farmers were generally in too much haste to get their seed into the ground, and did not take sufficient pains to get the soil permeable, and in proper condition. Mr. SuELDON asked leave to make some remarks on the subject discussed at the last meeting, viz., the importance of agriculture to the well-being of the State as compared with any or all other in- terests. He illustrated his views by comparing the different professions, as farmers, mechanics, &c., to a tree, of which the farmer formed the trunk, the other classes the branches, and the la- boring men who serve them all, the roots. He il- lustrated at some length the results of a separa- tion of the various classes of society, and the ab- solute necessity of mutual assistance and depend- ence. Mr. Sheldon then went on to remark that much was said about protecting the farmer, that the government had done nothing for him, &c. In his view, the protection the farmer needs, is good free schools, that they may feel when they are grown up that they need not be ashamed to get up at these meetings, and speak in vindication of their own cause. He believed that every manufactory started, and every mechanical pursuit opened, af- forded protection to the farmer. Some pertinent remarks in relation to the pul- verizating of soils were made by Rev. Mr. Trask, of Fitchburg, and at 9 o'clock the meeting ad- journed. For the New Ensland Farmer, CARROTS FOR HORSES. Friend Brown : — Do you recommend the feed- ing of carrots to horses on the same score that you do to cows? I know that the opinion obtains in many sections that they are paramount to al- most any other kind of grain. Yet this practice has to my knowledge been attended with very se- rious results. ]Mr. Holbrook has often recorded his views with regard to the carrot — its culture, and that for which it was best adapted, but if I mistake not, he has never introduced the horse in this connexion. k. n. n. Remarks. — We have used carrots for horses with the best results, for years, and believe them to be excellent feed for any stock. To Kill Lice on Cattle. — H. Mudgett, in the Prairie Farmer, says that a small quantity of dry slacked lime rubbed into the hair of cattle will de- stroy all lice. If a remedy it is a cheap and easy one. 142 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March For the New England Farmer. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Since the est:il>lish)iient of this paper, by Mr. Cole, I have Ijeen a constant reader of it, first in its book form, and latterly as a weekly paper. A few days since, I concluded to take the monthly, as the tiles of the weekly, Avhich I have carefully preserved, are much less convenient for reference. Well, the January number, after having been stitched into a cover and the leaves cut, now lies before me, having been looking it over. By what can the progress of the world be more strikingly illustrated than by this same New Eng- land Farmer J In 1274, less than six hundred years ago, a single copy of the Bible cost about $1G0, although the standard of value was so dif- ferent then from that of our times, that the ordi- nary price for a day's work by a common laborer, was three cents, — that of a bushel of wheat ten cents ; so that a Bible was equal in value to about 300 barrels of flour ! And only about 400 years ago, a man in England gave a load of hay for a single leaf of St. James' Epistle. So say the re- cords. Now, in 1853, half a bushel of wheat will pay for twelve numbers of the Farmer, each con- taining reading matter equal to a volume of some 135 pages of ordinary book printing. A single pound of butter will buy four times as much read- ing matter in Boston, A. D. 1853, as the whole yearly salary of the king's physician Avould, in London, A. D. 1359. Yet some people who really would be glad of the Farmer can't afford to take it! But these reflections are carrying me away from my purpose, which was to take a bird's-eye view of the January Farmer, the first number of the monthly I have seen since the weekly was com- menced. Here then it is. Hold it up. ^^ New England Farmer,'''' — something patriotic and ven- erable in the very name. A pretty frontispiece, — a farmer casting seed upon the well-plowed field, surrounded by his flocks and herds, implements, sheaves, fruit, poultry, bee-hive and farm-build- ings, while in the distance the steeple of the meet- ing-house, where he publicly worships God, and the dim outlines of the school-house are seen, rest- ing against the dark form of the " everlasting hills." Then follow names of proprietors and ed- itors. AVhat a trio occupy the editorial "chair," representatives of three States. The farm of the principal editor lies in a town that was visited by a party of "Good old English Gentlemen," who strolled into that neighborhood on the 19 tb of April, 1775, but who took so little flincy to the agricultural advantages of the section, that they did not stop long enough to make a very thorough analysis of the soil. One of the assistant editors is experimenting upon the soil of the Green Moun- tain State, the other upon that of the Granite State. Let us now look a little closer at the re- sult of their labors, as exhibited in the sheet be- fore us. We will take up the articles successively. " TAe New Year.''' — Reflections on the past, sug- gestions for the future. "A Valuable Book for Reference. ^^ — Eight char- acteristics of the monthly Farmer. ^^ Great Yield of Carrots," in Wendell, cultiva- ted by Mr. Cook. Clear profit of $100 on three- fourths of an acre. Detailing particulars of state of land, mode of tillage, price of crop, &c. Infor- mation well worth a ride of a half-day for any farmer to obtain, who don't hold to "Books." By the way, Mr. Cook, why not charge manure 1 Out hero it is worth $7 per cord. ^'■The Season." — Comparing the present with the last. Very acceptable facts, as everybody talks of tne weather. "T/te Use of Guano." — Information in relation to its use in Virginia, by one who had tried the article on worn-out lands in that State. The same information might jiave been given to each one of your many thousand subscribers, by letter! ^'■Profit of Fowls." — An apparently honest ac- count for two years with some 75 biddies, show- ing a profit of about 50 cents a year on each hen. Every body likes to read such accounts ; very few have patience to make them. "^4 Remedy for Bots in Horses." — Don't sound quaekish at all. '■^Advantages of 'Warm Weather." — Estimate to show that two and a half millions of dollars will be saved in fodder alone by the mild winter, in New Hampshire. Is not the "wind tempered to the shorn laml)?" '■'■Peculiar Diff cullies of New England Farm- ing."— Want of system, skill, education, capital, &c., discussed. Comments on some Yankee hab- its,— going West, to California, turning preacher, doctor, ]\lember of Congress or shoemaker ! A spicy article. But are not some of the best homes in the land enjoyed by shoe-making farmers of Massachusetts ? '■'■Harvest Hymn." — Alas, how many of us need to alter the last two lines, thus : The incense of a grumbling heart, Is all that we do bring. '■^Lyceum Lectures." — Endorsing the proposi- tion of the State Board to employ lecturers on Ag- riculture. Can't help saying I have little faith in this project. This lecturing, is it not an attempt to build a sort of "royal road to knowledge." They have to dig for gold in California ; so must we dig for knawledge. That's the price, and it cannot be bought any cheaper. But lectures may stir the waters and open the way for something better. '■'■Two Acres." — Grand good hints to those of us who have so much land that we are too poor to cultivate any of it properly. Almost persuaded to sell a part of mine first chance, and then see if I can't do something worth while on what is left. " J?P(i Russet»" — Its history and character, with a fine picture of its fruit. When some people get hold of a kind of fruit, or any other thing that sells well, they feel inclined to keep the secret to themselves. Not so the correspondents and edi- tors of the Farmer. '■^The Season q/" 1852 at Wilmington and Vicin- ity."— By Silas Brown. Everything from his pen is "twenty-four carets fine." ^^ State Board of Agriculture." — Proceedings, Dec. 1, 1852. Vegetation in California." — Lots of tough sto- ries. To think of eating onions, like apples, when they weigh twentj'-one pounds apiece, almost brings tears to one's eyes, without looking at spruce trees 360 feet high, or solid cabbages seven feet in circumference ! Yet Mr. Shelton tells of many such things. ''Crops i)i Canada," ''■Whittier's Corn Song," "A Siberian Winter," are short, pithy articles. *^ Winter Lectures." — A suggestion to sulisti- tute practical men for professional lecturers consid- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 143 ered, and a sort of tea-party or pic-nic of half an hour or so, recommended to precede the lectures, by which the sharp corners of unsociability may be rubbed oif. Pity 'tis laboring men cannot be induced to try their hand in literary efforts oftener than they do. The preparation of one address would do any of us more good than the mere lis- tening to a dozen much better ones, by others. "S(;7«u/ Maxims in Fanning.'" — Old hints here, to new reformers in our line. '•^Susceptibility of Animals to Atmospheric Influ- ence.''^— Curious fiicts stated on this suliject. Some of them, at least, familiar to the wcatherwise. "Gathering and Preserving Winter Fruit.'''' — One of those practical articles, which I value just as highly in print, as I should if the words fell from the lips of the fruit-grower, liimself. My own experience corroborates the principle that "warmth occasions rapid decay;" but how shall a warm cellar be made cool ? "Lime, Guano, Bone-dust." — "Lime in agricul- ture." Scientific facts and suggestions. Inter- esting for farmers' use, or ought to be, inquiring what they shall do to improve the soil. " Warts on Plum Trees." — Inquiry for a remedy — none found. "The Way Russians Treat their Horses.''^ — An article that should be read by all rough,' profane Yankee teamsters, till they are ashamed of the treatment this noble animal receives at the hands of some of them. "Honey Bees." — Facts about these patterns of industry — such as, that bees secrete honey, as cows do milk, not cull or gather it, as people suppose they do, from flowers. "Raising and Selling Milk." — The dark side of the business, by a Westboro' man, who seconds the motion for a Milk Convention. "House Plants." — Girls, this is for you. "Plowing Orchards." — This article certainly "plows" a deep furrow into the prevailing notions on the subject, and reverses Mr. Cole's teachings. Hope we shall not have to change our practices in agriculture, as often as ladies do their taste in bonnets. Still we like to hear all sides. Was it not the "pruning closely" — words that make me shudder — and not the "plowing often," that caused the disease 1 "Apples." — Cautions as to new varieties, and remarks on certain qualifications essential to first rate fruit. "Great Yield." "United States Agricultural Society." — First meeting, character and objects. "Inventory of New Hampshire," "A Beauti- ful Art," and the Last Rose of Summer, bring us to the "Bull — Earl of Seaham," who occupies the last page of the first half of the January Farmer. And here I must stop, — with my design of reviewing the whole number, half accomplished ; although I have expended twice the labor that I thought the whole would require. Just look at the articles enumerated — practical, scientific, humane, — j'ct they constitute but the one-twenty-fourth part of a whole volume, i. e., four cents worth. And here I wish to make a remark or two upon the weekly Farmer, in which the agricultural mat- ter occupies about one of its four pages. First, as to the liberality of the publishers. Most publish- ers of weekly papers think it all they can afford, to pay one editor. If it is a religious paper, and edited perhaps by a clergyman, whose hands are full of professional duties, he is required not only to write and select the matter of a religious char- acter, but also, to "keep the run" of secular af- fairs, from the "doings in Congress," to the latest railroad "accident." The same is the case with political, literary and agricultural papers general- ly. No wonder he fails in some one or more points, when so many tilings are attempted hy one man. The agricultural editor has other duties than those of his editorial sanctum. He should attend agricultural meetings, fiiirs, cattle shows, &c. , &c. Not only this, he ought to go among the farmers, visit them in their fields, houses an(J barns ; beside managing his own farm. Without meddling with the miscellaneous department of the paper, he has plenty to do. Who then shall attend to that? the boys in the printing office? Messrs. Raynolds & Nourse think not. They hire a man for this purpose. And may the invest- ment be as profitable to them as it is advantageous to their readers. The weekly Farmer, as to mis- cellaneous reading, condensed, yet comprehensive news items, I regard as a model paper. Here, there is a place for every thing, and every thing is always in its place. But the amount of labor, re- search, and tact necessary to keep them so, week after week, is, I apprehend, generally underrated. The labor of an author — one who "makes pieces out of his own head" — is far better appreciated than that of one who strips facts, thoughts and inci- dents of their unnecessary verbiage, or clothes them in simple attire and arranges them in order for reading or reference. Yet, to the success of a public journal, the faithful performance of the du- ties of the mere editor is not less important than those of the author. With such journals, to collect the results of the practices of the best farmers, and the suggestions of the most learned and scientific men in the land, — with most of our highest Universities open to all, for such partial course, if desired, as shall enable students to pursue any branch that may be thought to have particular bearing upon their oc- cupations, is there need of changing the New Eng- land system of common education, to that partial system which would establish one college for the flirmer, another for the merchant, and so on? Winchester, Jan., 1853. s. F. For tlie Ifew England Farmer. THORN AND QUINCE STOCKS FOR PEARS. "Is the thorn as good as the quince to graft the pear into?" No. You ask why; I will give some reasons why I think they are not so good. The thorn when taken from the woods has but very few fibrous roots, and I have found that they were very slow to throw out roots in the nursery ; I have transplanted and after two years grafted them, and the scions would grow very well the first year, and some the second, but die the third ; I have pulled up those that have thus died, and found that they had no more fibrous roots than when I set them out. Of quite a lot that I have tried, I have not got one left. They are as lialile to be attacked by the borer as the quince, and it is almost impossible to find them in tliis vicinity free from this nuisance . I have known cases where 144 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March the pear has been -worked on the thorn with suc- cess ; I have also known tlie quince worked on the thorn six or eight feet high, but this is no advan- tage. The quince, it is well known, has a great many small roots, and will live and flourish where not one in ten of the thorns will live. Quince stocks come cheap, and would prove cheaper in the end than the thorns if they could be had free of expense. My advice is, for dwarfs, try quince stocks instead of thorn. j. f. c. n. Newton Centre, Feb. 1st, 1853. Remarks. — This advice is from a practical nurse- ryman, who speaks what he knows. A MILD WINTER. Up to the 12th of February there had been no eleighing in this vicinity Avith the exception of a few days in Boston and its immediate neighborhood. Pansics, or Heart's Ease, have been in blossom throughout the winter, in our garden at Concord, but without the delicate perfume which they give out in the summer. Farmers have been enabled to perform various kinds of labor which will considerably facilitate their spring work, so that if the April weather is favorable we may look for an unusual amount of sowing and planting for the coming season. Plov.-ing was going on as we passed through New Jersey last week on our return from Wash- ington ; and the peach trees ivere in blossom on the eleventh February at Baltimore. The air to-day, (the 12th) is as soft as the first of May ; overcoats hang on their pegs, and win- dows are open on the sunny sides of houses. As the sun is up earlier and remains longer, the prospects of the ice-dealers grow fainter for a crop of that pellucid article. The roads are heavy, and locomotion slow off" of the rails, while the skaters and sleigh-riders do not sing praises of such weather half as cheerily as do those who find it a little difficult to get coppers to purchase coals. The prognostications of the almanacks have not all failed. The old Farmer''s Almanack has hit it to a T. Of the days 9, 10, 11 and 12, it says— " Quite mild for February.'''' Who can doubt its inflxUibility hereafter^ Success to the Old Far- mer's Almanack; and don't forget it in haying time ! A Splendid Pear. — At the room of Col. Wil- der, 1 Pearl Street, we saw the other day a spe- cimen of the Belle Angevinc Pear, grown with eleven others on the same tree at St. Germain, France, which weiglied when green thirty-four ounces ! Its height was eight inches, and circum- ference fifteen. It was purchased and presented Mr. Wilder by Geo. D. Parrish, Esq., of Phila- delphia. It was preserved in alcohol, and in per- fect condition. BLOODGOOD AND ROSTIEZSR PEARS. The Bloodgood is a very highly-flavored pear, and deserves a place in every garden among the early fruits. It was brought into notice about the year 1835, by James Bloodgood, a nursery- man, at Flushing, Long Island. The sort was brought to that nursery as a new variety, without a name, and Mr. B. was never able to trace its history further. The tree is rather short jointed, with deep reddi.-li brown wood, grows moderately fast, and bears early and regularly. The fruit, like that of all early pears, is better if ripened in the house. It surpasses, says Downing, every European va- riety of the same season, and together with the Dearborn's Seedling, another native sort, will supplant in all our gardens the Jargonelle, and all inferior early pears. Fruit of medium size, turbinate to obovate. — Skin yellow, sprinkled with russet dots, giving it a russety look on one side. Calyx strong and open, scarcely depressed. Flesh yellowish white, buttery and melting, with a rich, sugary, highly aromatic flavor. Ripe from the 25th of July to the 10th of August. The RosTiEZER, which is the smaller outline, is supposed to be a German pear, and is likely to prove a capital variety. It bears abundantly. Fruit of medium size, oblong-pyriform. Skin a dull yellowish green, with a reddish brown cheek, and whitish dots, light russet. Stalk very l ng. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 145 nearly two inclies, irregular, slender, set with very little depression. Calyx open, but little sunk. — Flesh juicy, a little coarse, but very melting, sweet and delicious, with a rich perfume. Ripe August and September. AT HOMS AGAIN On returning from our late attei;d:inceupon the first annual meeting nf the United States Agricul- tural Society, at Washington, we find an accumu- lation of communications, inquiries, new books, papers, &c., upon our desk which could not nil be noticed in the brief space of a week, but wliich shall receive respectful attention at an early mo- ment. We beg leave to utter new expressions of thankfulness for these favors — these sure indica- tions of progress and improvement among the thousands of our readers. Our last year's volume was increased some one hundred and sixty pages to make room fn* the con- tributions of our friends. But this increased space will not sufficiently accommodate their increased activity of mind. The occupation has now a litera- ture ; farmers have broken down the partition walls that long separated them from the world of letters. Wi^-^ their new modes of culture they have found new modes of expression, and are con- stantly furnishing the agricultural press with clear, and cotnprensive statements of their operations. Such contributions are ah'eady giving tone and character to these publications, and will prove of essential benefit to every inquirer in the art. Our visit at the metropolis was a pleasant one. Its direct object being accomplished, a few days were devoted to friendly interchanges among old and dear friends, and in conversation with gentle- men from various parts of the Union. One day was most agreeaVdy spent on the plantation of Mr. Calvert, in Maryland, in looking at his one hun- dred milch cows, his new and unique barn and sheds, and other matters of interest. These may form topics of remark hereafter. In returning, a day which will long be remembered, was passed in a visit to the Caloric ship Ericsson — that beau- tiful structure, and wonderful embodiment of man's genius. We went among the depths of her ma- chinery, examining the finish and nice adjustment of its parts, and kindled with enthusiasm as we believed that upon bidding she must "walk the water like a thing of life." An hour or two at the "literary emporium" of the Harper's closed the day. Now, again at our post, not only your written favors, but your faces, kind readers, we shall be glad to see. The interest in which we are engaged is a common one, and each must "magnify his of- fice" as best he may. To Kill Lice on Sv.-ine. — The N. Y. Agricultor says that sour, warm buttermilk, well salted, and rul)bcd upon the backs of swine, will destroy all the vermin there. A "Q Fis: I Cattle Proban REMEDY FOR CHOKED CATTLE. We were not aware, until quite recenlly, that there is an annual loss by the choking of cattle which amounts to a very serious item in the commonwealth. On raention- iug the subject lately, a gentleman informed us of several instances of quite recent occurrence, some of which proved fatal. Having a cow in the habit of get- ting choked, we 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 b; 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 I 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 English books. For the New Ensland Farmer. A RARE BROOD. Mr. Editor : — I have been interested in the accounts published in your paper, relating to Fowls, their treatment, profit of keeping, &c. I have a few of several varieties, but having lately commenced farming, have no rcsw/Zs to offer as yet. A fact, however, has come under my observation, which I think may not be uninteresting. A neigh- bor of mine has a hen which hatched last spring, 146 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Ma in one brood, twenty-nine (29) chickens, all of which she raised during the past season. She is large, and I should judge a native, with a cross of the Cochin China or some other large breed. Sheldon, Vl., Jan., 1853. Novice. liEGISLATIVB AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Fifth Meeting— Tuesday Evening, Feb. 15, 1853. The fifth meeting of the series was held on Tues- day evening, at the State House. The meeting was called to order at quarter past 7 o'clock by Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, and Hon. Am.\sa Walker was called upon to preside. Upon taking the chair, Mr. Walker announced the subject for the evening's discussion, as fol- lows— "The comparative value and profit in the culti- vation of grass, grain, and vegetables, as farm pro- ducts." In opening the discussion, the chairman re- marked that he was very unexpectedly called up- on to preside, and was entirely unprepared to speak on the topic of the evening. He observed, how- ever, that the agriculture of Massachusetts had entirely changed witliin the last twenty-five years, in that the opening of railroads, affording rapid communication from all parts of the country, with Boston, the great market of the State, had given a new value to different articles of farm production. We now have to compete with the West, with which we are in direct connection. By next fall, cattle, and almost all agricultural products, will be brought here from the Western Reserve, in Ohio, whereas twenty-five years ago we had a market which was essentially our own. From this change of circumstances, of course our farming must change also, and we must turn our attention to the cultivation of those crops in which we can compete successfully with those sections of the country which share our markets with us. And in doing this, reference must especially be had to the cost of transportation entailed upon these foreign pro- ductions, for in the ratio of this expense is the ex- tent of our protection, and advantage over the foreign producer. As for instance the expense on certain articles in proportion to their value, — the greater the expense on this value of course the more chance we have of profitable competition. Are there not some products which we can get sooner to market than our competitors, and also some perishable ones which cannot be profitably transported long distances? In deciding what ar- ticles to raise, much depends upon the judgment and circumstances of the farmer. Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, said he would not re- commend the exclusive application of the lands of a farm to either grass, grain, or vegetables, be cause each is in a measure useful. lie then pro ceeded to institute a compjirison of the relative va lue of those crops, first taking up that of grass, grown for the making of hay, and this because the grass grown in pastures is more of. a natural production. lie thought it could not be doubted, however, that our pastures might be greatly bene- fited by proper attention and renovation. The main objects which the farmer has in view are to secure the means of feeding their stock, and their families, and to produce something which will sup- ply them with cash. As a general thing the hay crop on well conducted farms does not much ex- ceed one ton to the acre, and lands devoted to it cannot be estimated to yield more than $20 net income to tlie acre, with a very moderate allow- ance for the necessary fertilizing agents. Of the grain crops, Indian corn, all things considered, is the most valuable. The average of this crop throughout the State does not exceed 40 bushels to the acre, though on lands fairly manured and in good condition, .50 bushels would be a fair crop. But the general value of corn cannot be stated higher than $40 per acre ; and allowing $20 for extra manure and labor, the net income of any kind of grain lands will not exceed $20 per acre. Of root crops, carrots, beets, and turnips, are the most profitable for feeding stock. Carrots require much care in pi-eparing the soil, but yield abund- antly. From 12 to 20 tons to the acre are fre- quently raised, and they are valued by men.of ex- perience at half the worth of English hay for horses and neat stock. Mr. Proctor had no doubt that lands properly managed would yield double the value in carrots that they would in grass or grain, and the same is true to a certain extent of beets, turnips and pars- nips. He believed carrots to be the most valuable crop the farmer could raise ; but they can be grown only on good soil, with thorough tillage and liberal manuring. The land should be plowed at leas^ nine to twelve inches in depth, well pulverized, and sown in rows 14, 16, or 18 inches apart. They can be cultivated with less uncertainty than any other crop, and the speaker knew of no insect that operates to destroy them. Estimating 10 tons as a fair crop, at $8 per ton they would yield $128; and deducting $68 from this for extra labor and manure, it leaves a net profit of $60 per acre, — more than double that of grain or grass crops. Beets, perhaps, would be nearly as profitable as carrots, and they are quite as flivorablc for cattle ; but they cannot be grown for several successive years on the same soil, and leave it in good condi- tion. At the end of two years some rotative crop is necessary, and no crop will grow advantageous- ly after them. With carrots there are some crops that will grow better after thera — onions, for in- stance. He had known a crop worth $200 per acre to be raised on land which had been used for carrots. Mr. Smith, Senator from Hampshire County, 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 147 said that in his section of the State the crops raised were those best adapted to stock feeding, as they were not located near enough to markets that would give them good prices. Hence they chose such crops as would most benefit their lands, and looked to their stock for their income. Root crops were but very little cultivated. Broom corn is cultivated with great success ; it affords a good deal of feed for cattle. Many have gone into the cultivation of tobacco ; it requires double the manure of ordi- nary crops. The general average of corn is about 40 bushels, though sometimes, on particular pieces of land GO to 80 bushels are raised. Ilis system of cultivation was a rotation of crops, plowing up green sward, putting on ten or twelve loads of manure, and getting therefrom GO bushels of corn to the aero ; then plant in September with rye and get 30 bushels ; and then sow it down and get 2 tons of hay — all by one dressing of manure. In reply to an inquiry, as to whether broom corn can be grown 12 or 14 years in succession without ex- hausting the soil, Mr. Smith stated that he did not think it did ; he Iiad a piece of land he had plant- ed with it for .30 years. The cost per acre of rais- ing tobacco he stated to be about four times as much as that of Indian corn. He also stated in reply to inquiry that he considered his thirtieth crop of broom corn from the same land as good as the first. It averages 600 to TOO lbs. of "brush" to the acre, and is worth 3^ to 12 cents per hun- dred ; G cents is a fair price. From a well ma- tured crop, 10 bushels of seed can be obtained from a hundred weight ; and it is as good for feeding out as oats. Mr. Rowley, of Egremont, said the farmers of the southern part of Berkshire were turning their attention considerably to grass crops, and from having no market near at hand, their products were fed on the farm. Much attention was paid to the improvement of grass lands by manuring and underdraining, which latter operation it was considered caused an increase of one quarter in the yield of clayey, wet lands ; $10 is the average mar- ket price for hay in his locality. Of grain crops, corn is considered the staple production, and more of it is raised than of any other crop. The average yield is 50 bushels. The corn is cut in September and stacked. He considered an acre of corn fod- der equal to an acre of grass. Wheat, for the last two seasons, had been cultivated with great suc- cess. Mr. Rowley stated that a neighbor of his had gathered from a field of 15 acres 282 bushels by measurement, and 313 by weight, it weighing G4 lbs. to the bushel. Tliis, however, is more than an average. If put down at 20 bushels to the acre, at $1,25 per bushel, and corn at 40 bushels, at G2i cents, we find that each amount to $25 — while in addition to the corn we have the fodder. The cost of seed for corn 25 cents, of wheat $3, per acre, and then a little addition for liming the wheat, to be reckoned with which is the straw. He consid- ered the corn crop the most profitable. It is best adapted of any kind of grain for feeding. !Mr. Rowley stated the system in his locality to be thus — "We mow the most of our lands,— all that we can — we crop the rest, and fill our yards with stock from the West — cattle, sheep, horses, &c., and then we feed our grain during the winter season. Living nearer New York, Brighton and Boston, we have the advantage over the western country. With daily communication we can ascertain the condition of the market, and we can run our pro- ducts quicker than tliey can." The speaker stated that he had had but little experience in root crops ; they failed him entirely last season in consequence of the drought. He related an instance of extraordinary yield in carrots in the town of Monterey, which come before the County Agricultural Society. It was judged by the committee that the yield would reach 1800 bushels to the acre. The soil was cold, clayey, and wet. He stated in explanation that the estimate was based upon a measurement made about the 20th of September by the committee. One row was dug as a part of a rod, to reckon from, and that row measured at the rate of over a thousand bush- els to the acre. ' This was after a severe drought, and as the fall rains were tlien coming on, the committee were of opinion that the crop would double before it was gathered. No accurate measurement had been rendered to the committee. The speaker stated in conclusion that he believed that 50 per cent, of the actual profits of farming in southern Berkshire, came directly or indirectly from raising Indian corn. Mr. Walker inquired of the last speaker the cost of bringing corn from Chicago. Mr. Rowley replied that he could not tell ; but the millers of Berkshire furnished western corn for about GO cents. Col. Faulkner, of Acton, said he had paid 50 cents a bushel on wheat from Chicago. Col. F. also desired information in regard to the use of guano as a manure, and in some remarks on the subject gave it as his opinion that many farmers spread their manure over too much ground. He incidentally stated that the value of the milk brought over the Fitchburg railroad into Boston the past year, at 4 1-2 cents per quart, was $146,5G0,20. Mr. Howard, of Boston, said that in using plas- ter with guano, the former should be in a state of solution, in order to retain the ammonia of the guano. If dry, a combination of the sulphuric acid with it would not take place and the ammo- nia would evaporate. It takes a large quantity of water — 70 to 1— to render plaster sufficiently solu- ble to form available combination with the guano. I\Ir. Proctor moved that the following be the 148 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March subject for cHi-cas.sion nest Tuesday evening, in liau of the subject in ordei- for that evening : "The expediency of establishing in the several counties of the State, Farmers' Institutes, and the most useful form of such organization." Mr. Proctor explained that the object was to establish something similar to the Teachers' Insti- tutes novf existing under the Board of Education. The subject is now pending before the Board of Agriculture, and was suggested by President Hitchcock, who, it was probable, might be present and address the meeting next Tuesday evening The motion was carried, and at 9 o'clock the meet- ing adjourned. For the New England Farmer. A FEW REMARKS ON RAISING CEL- ERY. Mr. Editor : — I saw an article on celery in the last number of the Farmer for January ,with which I cannot fully agree, though in most respects good and true. Your correspondent quotes fi'om the Patent Office Report, which says: "As the plant groVvs, continue to earth up," &c. Now, my experience is that it should not be hoed up at all, until within four ivQeks of the time you intend to dig it, if early celery ; if late, it requires longer, as it does not blanch so fast when the weather becomes cool. Last season I tried both ways, and the result was, that that which was earthed up at different times as the plant advanced in growth, was some of it very rusti/, and all of it more or less so ; while that which was not hoed up at all until within four weeks of the time I dug it, was entirely fi-ee from rust, blanched up twenty inches, and as white as snow. From these fiicts, as well as the testimony of others, and all previous experience, I must say, I think the prac- tice of earthing up at different times is a very bad one ; and I would advise all who h-:ive been in the habit of hoeing up as recommended by your cor- respondent, to try the plan I have recommended above, and I am satisfied they never will return to the other. j. f. c. h. Newton Centre, Jan. 1, 1853. For the New England Farmer. A NEW APPLE. Gents. : — I send you by bearer, a few apples of a variety which my father has growing upon his farm, and fur which he knows no name. I would like to have you try them, and tell me if they are a variety which are grown to any extent in the N. E. States. I do not know of any like them ex- cept in this place. The tree is a good grower and an excellent bearer in even years. The fruit is uniform in size and color, will keep as well as a Baldwin, and is preferred to Baldwins by all who have eaten them. I sold the fruit this year high- er than other fruit. I ought to have sent the ap- ples before this ; they are a little past the prime. Respectfully yours, Addison Richardson. East Midway, Feb., 1853. Remarks. — This apple has been kept a little too long, but is a good one still. It has a striking similarity to the Red GilUflower, but does not agree in all particulars sufficiently for us to pronounce it identical. It is a much better apple than many now under cultivation. We know of no fruit like it. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. Mr. Samuel Blodget, Acworth, N. IL, has an apple of six years' growth. Three inches from the ground it is 13 1-2 inches in circumference ; and 5 inches from the ground 10 1-2; 15 feet and 7 inches in height. Bore the (jt!i year five and a half pecks of apples ; the tree bears common fruit, and has had no cultivation. Large Hogs. — Mr. Joseph P. Gould, of Mid- dleton, slaughtered a hog on the 27th Jan. which was but 20 months old, and weighed 651 pounds. Messrs. Blood & Bent, of Faneuil Ilall Market, havejust received of Mr. Joseph Jameson, of South- boro', 4 hogs which weighed, respectively, 723, G07, 513, and 506 pounds ! Also, from Mr. Jonas Cutter, of Weston, two hogs which weighed 567 pouuds each ! To J. K., Bradford, Vt.— There can be hardly a question but that guano will materially increase your corn crops on the interval lands you mention, if you apply it during a gentle rain, or in such a manner as that it shall not give off its fertilizing properties. If you sow it broadcast let it be dur- ing a moist day ; if you put it in the hill, mix with five parts of moist loam, on the morning of the day in which you intend to apply it, thorough- ly pulverizing the lumps of guano and incorporate them with the loam. On a portion of the gua- noed land, make some experiments with ashes, salt, lime and plaster, and note the results. Say a few rods only of each. On a few rods apply ashes, on a few, salt, and so on. It will be clear to you, we think, on reflection, that your land abounds now in vegetable matter, but that by long cropping, and no manuring, the mineral pro- perties are expended. Friend Brown : — Dear Sir, — Can you or any body else, tell us how to make hard water sof if you can you will oblige a subscriber. There is a New Hampshire girl in New York City, who has been offered |20 per week to go to London and learn tlio girls how to use the sew- ing machine, and her expenses in a steamer going and coming all borne — God bless her. d. «. Lebanon, 1853. From two to four ounces of sal soda dissolved in a barrel of water is usually sufficient to soften it. This is a very cheap salt, and is one of the principal articles used in making the famous wasli- ing fluid so much in use at present, and sold at the shops at from 20 to 50 cents a gallon. L. H., Burlington, F/., describes a steer raised and owned by Jacob Perkins, of that town. At one day old, it weighed 1241-2 lbs. ; at 30 months, 1853. NEW EI^ GLAND FARMER. 149 1,737 lbs . ; and at four years old, 3,135 lbs. It has not been fatted, althougli its girth is 9 feet and 3 inches ! LIME IN AGRICULTURE. Mr. Nesbit, principal of the Agiaciiltural and Chemical College, Kensington, England, in a lec- ture on the use of lime, says: "Pure limestone consists of 22 parts of c;irbonic acid and 28 of lime. When the limestone is lieated in t!ie furnace, the carbonic acid is driven off. and pure lime is left be- hind, if the limestone itself is pure. Lime, how- ever, that is not perfectly pure, ho says, is best adapted f )r agricultural purposes. Those varieties that have in them phosphate of lime are most val- uable ; and those which contain Silica in a soluble state, sulphate of lime, and gypsum, are also valu- able : for these impure limestones convey to the soil other constituents besides calcareous matter." Mr. Nesbit sums up his remarks by saying, "Lime can be used beneticially upon soils which have been little stirred, little exposed to the air, upon soils containing organic matter, upon new snils, or upon those which contain naturally or artificially a certain amount of organic matter, and upon heavy clay soils it acts best ; but if used ivithout maraire upon arable soils from which crop after crop has been taken, lime will not restore fertility There is an old and true proverb, "The use of lime without manure Will always make the farmer poor." As to the quantity of lime to be applied, Mr. N was in favor of applying it in small quantities fre quently, rather than in large quantities at long in- tervals. The application of lime to grass lands is producing very striking results, not only on mow ing, but on pasture lands. Agricultural Exhibitions for 1853. — The fol lowing is the order of the Annual Exhibitions of the County Agricultural Societies of Massachu- setts for 1853, as reported from the several socie- 'ties to the State Board of Agriculture. Worcester Coimty Society Sept. 21 and 22. Norfolk County Society Sept. 27 and 28. Essex County Society Sept. 28 and 29. Ilousatonic Society Sept. 28 and 29. Worcester West Society Sept. 30. nristol County Society Oct. 4 and .5. Middlese.x County Society Oct. 4 and 5. Berkshire County Society .Oct. 5 and 6. Plymouth County Society Oct. 6. Franklin County Society Oct. 6 and 7. Barnst ible County Society Oct. 7. _ Hai7ipden, Franklin and Hampshire do.. .Oct. 11 and 12. Hampden County Society Oct. 18 and 14. Hampshire County Society Oct. 25. Agricultural Mass Meeting. — The people of Middlesex county propose to hold an Agricultural Mass Meeting, at Concord, early in March, to dis- cuss the general interests of agriculture, dine to- gether, and incite each other to a more systemat- ic and intelligent mode of cultivating the soil. W« hope this "ball will be put in motion," and /ol- lowed by every county in the Commonwealth. Cables' !Depai-tment. RECEIPTS FOR THE SICK. Sugared Orange.— Select the lightest colored oranges for this purpose, as they are more acid than the dark. Peel off the rind and .slice them, laditiidinally or cross-wise, about tlie eighth of an inch in tliiekness. Strew over them some powdered white sugar, in the proportion of a teaspoonful of sugar to each slice. Let them stand fifteen min- utes. They are very palatable in fevers as they serve to cleanse the mouth and keep it cool. Sugared Lemons, No. 1. — These may be prepared in the same manner as the sugared oranges (see above,) only they should have a tea-spoonful and a-half of sugar to each slice ; as they are more firm than oranges, they require to stand longer to be- come perfectly impregnated with the sugar. They are better to stand about an hour before they are to be eaten. The white skin should be carefully peeled off, as it imparts an unpleasant bitter fla- vor when permitted to remain long in the sugar. These are very grateful to the sick and feverish. Sugared Lemons, No. 2. — Select fine large lem- ons. Peel off the outer skin and as much as pos- sible of the white skin. Cut them in slices lati- tudinally ov round the lemon, about the eighth of an inch thick. Sprinkle *them with white pow- dered sugar, a tea-spoonful of sugar to each slice. Let them stand three hours, then strain off as much of the juice as possible from the lemons, put it in a pauce-pan over a slow fire, and as soon as the juice begins to simmer throw in the slices of lemon. Let them cook five minutes, take them out and pour the syrup over them. Should the lemons not prove sufficiently juicy to melt the sugar entirely, a little water may be added. — National Cook Book. Clover Seed for an Acre.— Mr. NicnoL, in the Rural New Yorker, thinks six pounds of clover seed sufficient for an acre. TIED DOWN AT HOME. A friend of ours, living not far from Pontiac, was importuned one pleasant day lately, by his wife, to take her a sleigh riding. The gentleman, being a man of business, plead his engagements, when the wife replied with the old story, and that she must be tied down at home. The husband rejoined that if any person would furnish him with clothes to wear and enough to eat and drink, that he would be willing to be tied down at home. A few days after, the gentleman came earlier then was his custom, and being fatigued, lay down upon the sofa and fell into a sound sleep. His wife took some cords and slyly tied liis hands to- gether— served his feet the same way and made him fist to the sofa. She then set a table, with all that the house afiRjrded, and placed an extra suit of clothes within his reach. This done she started to pay a friend a visit. Upon her return late in the evening, she found her subject of do- mestic discipline as she left him, except that he was wide awake, and very mad. "What on earth does all this mean?" says he. _ ^ ^ "Nothing," quietly remarked his wife, "except the consummation of your earthly wishes — enough to eat, drink, and wear, and to be (ied doirn at home!^^ That couple were seen sleigh-riding the next day. — Detroit Advertiser. 150 i\EW ENGLAND FARMER. March Bon's Pcpirtmcnt. KINDNESS TO THE AGED. My young friends, let me claim your kindness for the old. They are well entitled to your sym- pathy. Through this bright world they move mistily, .and though they rise as soon as the birds begin to sing, they cannot hear the music. Their limbs are stiff, their senses dull, and that body which was once their beautiful abode and their willing servant has become a cage and a heavy clog. And they have outlived most of those dear companions with whom they once took sweet coun- sel. "One world deceased, Hnother born, Like Noah they behold, O'er whose white hair and furrowed brows, Too many suns have rolled." Make it up then as well as you can. Be eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. On their way to the sanctuary be their supporting staff, and though it may need an extra effort to convey your words into their blunted ear, make thateff)rt ; — for youth is never so beautiful as when it acts as a guardian angel or a ministering spirit to old age. And should extreme infirmity or occasional fretfulness try your patience, remember that to all intents you were once the same, and may be the same again ; in sec )nd childhood as yji first, the debtor of others "patience and tenderness and magnanimity." — Hamillon''s Royal Preacher. Encouragement for the Lowly. — Gideon Lee said late in his life, "I remember when I was a lad, living with my uncle, it was my business to feed and water the cows ; and many a time, long before light in the morning, I was started off in the cold and snovr, without shoes, to my work, and used to think it a luxury to warm my frozen feet on the spot just before occupied by the ani- mal I had aroused. It taught me to reflect, and to consider possibilities ; and I remember asking myself, Is it not possible for me to benefit my con- dition ?'' Mr. Lee reflected to some purpose. From a poor boy he became one of the wealthiest men in New York, and Mayor of the city. ^^'The following, from the Haverhill Gazelle, may serve to exercise the arithmetical abilities of some of our school boys. It can be done, as we have seen it demonstrated : — A Puzzle. — The following sum or problem was given to a boy by a gentleman who offered him $50 if he would do it within six months, .at the same time assuring him that it could be done, and there was no "trick," or "catch," about it. Take the nine figures, digits, 123 4 56789 and also the 0, and add them together so that they amount to just 100 — using them all once and but once. Thus, for instance, take 7 and the 0 and they make 70, and then to the 70 add all the rest of the figures, not used in making 70. We have made 99, which is the nearest we have come to it. If any one will let us know how it is done, we will inform our readers. 5^" Dicken's Household Words maintains that in seventy years we have but about fifteen for labor He deducts the remainder for sleep, eating, amuse- ments, &c. [Editors and printers excepted.] O" A limited number of advertisements of an appropriate character will be inserted in the rnonlhly Farmer at the fol- owiiig RATES. For one square of 15 lines, one insertion $1,00 For each subsequent insertion 50 Q^" The above rates will be charged for all advertisements, whether longer or shorter. Yaluable Potatoes for Sale. THE subscriber oflers the following valuable potaioes for sale. A particular description of some of them will be found in the last volume of Tnmsactions of the N. Y. Slate Agricultural Society f(jr 1851. This society awarded him a special premium at the State Fair at lliica, and also voted him $100 at their meeting at Albany during the present month, as encouragement in these experimenis. No. 1. Rough Purple Chili, imported in April, 1851, at a great expense. For yield, hardiness, and table quality it has no equal. Price $10,00 per bushel. This i)Otato yielded me last year, ninety-two from one by measure; while to Mr. Uel- afield, of Geneva, it yielded one hundred and twelve from one by weight. No. 2. Seedlings originated iti 1849. They are hardy, pro- ductive and good for table use. Price $7, CO per barrel, or $3,00 per bushel. Many of these have been tested this year under the eye of the State Society, and yielded from twenty to sixty four from one, by weight. No. 3. Seedliiigs of 1852. These consist of many choice kinds selected from 4i00 varieties, and consisting of eleven dif- ferent fimilies. They were selected with especial re'trence to hardiness, fine flesh, yield and mode of growth in the hill. They afford a basis for the entire renewal of the potato crop in our country. Price $10,00 per bushel. No. 4. Potato Seed from the seed-ball- These seeds con- sists of two kinds,— that produced by No. 1, and the choice sort ill No. 2, above, — and are the same that prtduced the seedlings of 1853, — No. 3, above. As they have thus been tested so they are warranted to produce a large proportion of hardy, productive and shapely tubers. Price $1,00 per paper, the paper to contain more than 1000 seeds, to be sent to the purchaser by mail, post paid, and ac- compaTiied with directioi s forcultiv. tion. E.ioh parcel of tubers ordered, will be put up with cases, the different sorts kept separate, and the whole forwarded to the directions of the purchaser by e.xpress, railroad, canal, or as otherwise directed, as soon as the weather will admit, and at the expense and risk of the purchaser. 0° Purchasers are advistd to take No. 1 and 2, for immedi ate field crops, and No. 3, as a source of new and valuable sorts. 0° Persons passing through Utica, are requested to call and see specimens at the store of WM. BRISTOL & CO., i08 Genesee Street, or at the residence of the subscriber near the Iiis-ne Asylum. Jgr All orders answered only for cash. References:— The olticers of Ih? N. Y. State Agricultural Society. B. P. .lohnson, (Jor. Secr'y of do., Albany, N. Y. Hon. I. Delafield, Geneva, N. Y. I. P. Fogg, Agricultural Ware House, Rochester, N. Y. Win. Bristol & Co., Druggists, Utica, N. Y. Charles Tracy, Esq., New York City. C. L. Whiting. Granville, Ohio. C. E. GOODRICH. Utica, N. Y, March 1. 2m Oooseberries, Fastolf Raspber- ries, &c. JOHN SAUL, Washington, D. C, offers the following for sale: 4000 Lancashire Gooseberries, comprising all the leading varieties, such as Crown Bob, Roaring Lion, Red Warring- ton, Cha.Tipagne, Leigh's Rifleman, Parkinson's Green Laurel, Woodward's Whitesmith, &c. The plants are very vigorous and thrifty, and true to name. 4000 Fastolf Raspberries, strong canes, warranted the gen- i^ne variety. 300 Raby Castle, or Victoria Red Currant, — the largest and best. 300 Wilmot's Large Red do.; 500 White Dutch do.; 300 Black Maples do. (Ej- The above at very reasonable prices. March, 1833. It Bound Volumes. BACK VOLUMES ol ihe NEW ENGLAND FARMER, ele- gantly bound in Muslin, Gilt and Embossed, are now for Bale at this office. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 151 Farm to be Let. Thtit well known farm in the southerly part of West t^amhridge, called the "Perry Farm." It conj^ists of alioiil 100 acrea, divided into or charding, tillage and pasture, and is at present I I cultivated as a. milk and fruit farm. Tlie builil inj;s, &.C., are sulKcienl and in good order. For terms and particulars, please apply to WM. MAPLES- DEN, on the jiremises. Pel). 26. tf* Dairy Woman Wanted. ADAIRV WO.MAN is wanted to take charge of a large dairy on Connecticut River, where butter only will be made, which must be of the rcri/ bist quality for family uxc. Any who are ijualified, having best of references, may address by mail, ''Box No. 59, Windaor, Vermont," post-paid. Feb. 26, 18.53. * The Farmers' Library. JUST RECEIVED, the following assortment of Agricultural and Horticultural Uooks, embracing the standard works ol eminent American and Euroi)ean writers, on the Farm, th« Orchard, the Garden, &c. JLc. PRICE. American Farm Book, by Allen, $],0G Fanner's Treasure, by Faulkner and Smith, 7-5 Dana's Muck Manual, 1,00 Prize Essay on Manures, by Dana, 25 American Muck Hook, by Browne, 1,00 Lectureson Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, 7.5 Elements of Scientific Agriculture, by Norton, 50 Principles of Agriculture, by Thaer, 2,50 Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, 75 Agriculture for Schools, by Blake, 1,00 Catechism of Agriculture and -Chemistry, by John- stone and Norton, 25 American Agriculiurist, by Allen, 1,00 Liebig's Complete Work on Chemistry, 1,00 Farmer's and Emigrant's Hand Book, by Marshall, % 75 Home for all, by Fowler, 50 Book of the Farm, by Stephens and Skinner, 4,00 Cottage and Farm Houses, by Downing, 2,00 Downing's Country Houses, 4,00 Rural Architecture, by Allen, 1,25 Downing's Landscape Gardening and Rural Archi- tecture, 3,50 Downing's Cottage Residences, 2,00 Fruit Garden, by Barry, 1,25 Complete Gardener and Farmer, by Fessenden, 1,25 Bridgeman's Gardener's Assistant, 2,00 Bridgeman's Kitchen Gardener's Instructor, 50 American Fruit Culiurist, by Thomas, 1,00 Gardener and Complete Florist, 25 Florist's Guide, by Bridgeman, 50 New England Fruit Book, by Ives, 56 Youatt and Martin on Cattle, by Stevens, 1,25 Rose Culturist, 36 Johnson's Gardener's Dictionary, by Landreth, 1,50 Rural Economy, by Boussingault, 1,00 American Rose Culturist, « 25 Bigelow's Plants of Boston, 1,25 Genera of Plants of the U. S., by Gray, 2 vols. 12,00 Grny's Botany, 2,00 Parnell's Chemistry, 1,00 New England Farmer, by Cole, 1,00 Ladies' Guide and Skilful Housewife, by Mrs. Abel, 25 Hive and Honey Bee, by Richardson, 25 Bee Keeper's Manual, by Miner, 50 Bird Fancier, by Browne, paper 25 cents, 50 Townley on Bees, 50 American Poultry Yard, by Browne, 1,00 American Poulterers' Companion, by Bemeot, 1,00 American Fowl Breeder, by Moore, 25 American Herd Book, by Allen, 3,00 American Shepherd, by Morrill, 1,00 Domestic Animals, by Allen, 75 Diseases of Animals, by Cole, 50 Hints to Sportsmen, by Lewis, 1,25 Dadd's Anatomy and Physiology of the Horse, 1.00 Mason's Farrier and Stud Book, by Skinner, 1,25 Management of Sheep, by Canfield, 1,00 Yowait on the Pig, 60 Knowlson's Complete Cow Doctor, » 25 Horse Doctor, 25 Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows, 36 Tre.itise on Hot Houses, by Leuchars, 1,00 Allen on the Grape, ] oo Schenck's Te.\t Book, '50 Breck's Book of Flowers, 75 Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees. 1 50 For sale at the Publishers' prices by RUGGLES, NOURSl MASON & Co., ftuincy Hall, {over the Market.) Boston. Jan. 1, 1853. tf* Highland Nurseries, Newburgh, NEW YORK. A. SAUL & CO., in inviting the attention of iheir /jfl^rod.! and the public in general, to their very extensive collection of FRUIT AND OR- ISAMEJSTAL TREES, SHRUIIS, ifC. SfC, would respectfully inform them iha'. the slock which they offer for sale the coming spring is un- usually fine, both as regards (jualily of trees, variety of kinds, &c., &.C. The soil and climate of our Hudson Highlands have ren- dered proverbial the success of the trees sent from here to all pirls of the union, and the accuracy and precision so in- dispensable in the i)rop:igation of fruit trees, for which thia establishment has long been celebrated, render errors in no- menclature of rare occurrence. They have propagated in large quantities, all \Me leading standard varieties, which are proved best ada|)ted for general cultivation, especially those recommended by the American Pomological Society; as well as novelliei of both native and foreign origin. To particularize within the limits of an advertisement would be impossible; they refer to their general catalrgue, a copy of which will be sent to all post-paid applicants, on enclosing a post oflice stamp. The following comprises a portion of their stock, and are all of fine growth, viz: Pears in over 400 varieties, both standards on their own stock for orchard culture, and on the Quince for Dwarfs, Pyr- amids, and Quenoucle, for garden culture. Apples in over 300 varieties, both standards and dwarfs; also. Cherries, both standards and dwarfs; Plum, Apricot, Peach Nectarines and Qnince trees in every variety. Grape Vines, (liolh native «nd foreign, for vineries;) also, Gooseberries (50 bet-t Lancashire varieties ) Currants, Raspberry and Gooseberry plants of all leading and known kinds, together with Seakale, Asparagus and Rhu- barb roots. Ornamental Trees, Shrubs aiid%Vines, both deciduous and evergreen, suitable for street and lawn planting, embracing "11 the new and rare Conifers, Weeping Trees and Shrubs of recent introduction. Roses in every variety, including Hybria periietual, Hybrid Bourbon, Hybrid China, Hybrid Damask, Prairie, Boursalt, Ayit-hire, and other hardy climbing and garden varietits, as well as the more tender. Tea, China, Bengal, Bourbon, and Noisette varieties. Herbaceous jilanis, a large collection of Fwonies, Phlokes Companula, Penstemon, Oenothera, &c , &c. Dhali IS and bedding plants for the parterre and flower gar- den, in large quantities and variety. Hedge Plans, U 0,000 Buckthorn and Osage Orange Plants, two years growth, Arbor Vilse for screens, &c , &c Dealers and planters of trees on a large scale will be dealt with on the most liberal teims. Newburgh, Feb. 26, 1853. 2m IVorway Spruce, Silver Fir, &c. JOHN SAUL, WASHINGTON, D. C, Offers the following for sale: 300.000 Norway Spruce, 4 to 6 inchts. 300,000 " " 6 to 8 15,000 " " 9 ro 12 " 8,100 " '•■ 2 to 3 feet. 10,000 Silver Fir, 4 to 5 inches. 30,000 " " 5 to 6 •' 10,000 " " 6 to 7 '• 1,000- " " 12 to 18 " 1,000 •' •'• 2 to 3 feet. 3,000 Larch. (Errropean) 2 to 3 feet. The attention of Nuri-erymen and Planters generally, is re- spectfully called to the above extensive collection, which will be sold at very low prices. Persons taking large quantities will be dealt with liberally. The whole are remarkably thrifty and fine. March, 185-3. Im Durham Dull. Wanted, a pure bred DURHAM BULL, from one to two years old, of hindsome form and color. Apply at this ofllce. Jan. 15. Corn Shellers. TMPROVED YANKEE CORN SHELLERS, with and with- 1 out separators These machines are adapted to large and small varieties of corn, will shell rapidly arid not liable to get out of order. For sale, wholesale and retail, over the market, by RUGGLES, NOURBE, MASON it CO. Jan. 1, 1852. 2m 152 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. Calendar for Marcli Page 105 Peculiar Uiinculiies of New Engliiiid Husbandry 106 The Milk Trade— Ul.ick Knots on Plum Trees 1' 8 U. S. Aiiricultural Society -The Core- Worm 109 Chinese Farming 110 The Cultivation of Klowers Ill Bristol County Agricultural Society Ill County Agricultural Transactions 112 Birds of New Enjjlaiul 113 State Board of Agriculture — Pea Fodder lib The Farmer — Cutting Fodder for Stock 1 17 Live Fences 118 Farming Interests Neglected 119 Farm Labor — its misapi)liciition 119 Uwarfmn Fruit Trees 1^0 Hardy Fruits for the North— The Dollar Mark 121 Third Le^'islative Agricultural Meeting 122 To Inventors — Analyses of Soils 125 Agricultural In^plements 126 Experimental Farming 127 History of the Borer— Results of Accidents 128 A Good Example 129 Good Management vs. Bad Management 130 Cranberries 134 United States Agricultural Society 135 Sweet Corn 139 Fourth Legislative Agricultural Meeting 1^0 Carrots for Horses HI New England Farmer 142 Thorn and Quince Slocks for Pears 143 A Mild Winter— A Splendid Pear 144 At Home again — A rare Brood 145 Fifth Legislative Agricultural Meeting 146 A few Remarks on Raising Celery US A new Apple— Extracts and Replies 148 Lime in Agricultu'e — Exl ibitions in 1853 149 Ladies' Department 149 Boy's De[iartment 150 ILLUSTRATION'S. The American Crab Ajiiilef. 113 Silesian Merino Ewes 129 Bloodgood snd Rosiiezer Pears .. ..144 Remedy for Choked Cattle 145 Great Olli^riiig of ReJil Estate. The subscriber wishes to sell his homestead place well known as the CAT BOW FARM, con- sisting of Ave hundred acres, over two hundred of which is first quality intervale, and in a stale of high cultivation, the residue is upland pasturing The farm is beautifully situated in Lancaster, the shire town of Cgos County, N. II., on the banks of the Con- necticut River. The location is one of the most attractive and beautiful in New England, the scenery is magnificent, both in summer and winter, and for beauty cannot be surpassed. The river at this [dace assumes the form of a curve, so that sixty Jive acres are enclosed by nineteen rods of fence. It is but one day's ride from Boston, and is only a short distance from the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad. There are two good dwelling-houses and other necessary buildings on the place. A sufiicient quantity of water of excellent quality is conducted to the houses and yards from a never failing spring. He also olTtrs for sale, a large tract of eighteen hundred acres nearly ailjoining the above, mostly covered with limber and of easy access to said river. He will also sell his house known as the "WHITE MOUNTAIN HOUSE" and farm of two hun- dred acres, well and pleasantly situated at the White Moun- tains; has a good run of custom during the visiting seasoft This is a fine opportunity for a good and safe investment. All or part of the above property will he sold at a bargain, as the owner wishes to lessen his care. For further particulars and terms, inquire of the subscriber at Lancaster, or at this ollice. .lOHN H. WHITE. Jan. 15, 1853. 3niny Hens, Turkeys and Geese. The subscriber offers for sale a few pairs of the following choice breeds of poultry | White and Bulf Shanghaes. Gold and Sil- ver Spangled Polands, Bolton Gray and Black Spanish; also, Virginia Tui keys, and Bremen Geese. These fowls are of the purest blood, most of them being bred from stock recently imprrted, and very handsome. They will be sold low if ap- plied for soon. For further particulars, address postpaid, H. H. LITTLE, East Marshfleld. Feb. 19, 1653. tf'' NEW ENGLAND FARMEll Is published on the first of every month, by JoiiiV Ravnolds and .lo L NouRSE, at Quincy Hall, South Market St., Boston. SIMON BROWN, Editor. FREDERKJK HOLBROOK, HENRY F. FRENCH, Associate Editors. rjj= Terms, §1,00 [ler annum in advance. Jj" All subscriptioi:s lo commence with the volume, .Ian. ]. The Farmer, i-i devoted excluaively to Agriculture, Hor- ticulture, and tlieir Kindred Arts and Sciences; making a neat volume of 576 octavo luiges. eii:bellished viith numerous en- gravings. It may be elegantly bound in muslin, embossed and gilt, at 25 cts. a volume, if left at the office of publication. O" Also published at the same office every Saturday, on a large handsome folio sheet, the NEW BNGLAND FARMER, (WEEKLY,) An Independent Ai;ricv.ltural Family Neir<r mutual consultation and discussion on all subjects of in- terest to them ; and by this method they would quaiify themselves to form 4ind <}ondiict the high- er association, or institute. By the formation of farmers' clubs in -ea-ch town , and the attendance of farmers upon them during the winter, he be- lieved tho lands and crops of such towns would exhibit an increase in value of ons per cent, from year to y«ar ; farmers would become more intelli- gent by such mutual counsd. He thought th« time had not com* to call upon the State to do any- thing more for the farmer than she has done al- ready, but when that time did come, he believed that «he would be found liberal. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, coincided with the views expressed by Mr. Brown. He was not pre- pared at present, to advocate the establishment of an institution similar t-o the teachers' institute. That provides for lectures ; and the lecturer must have a test or fact to speak upon ; and where will that textcom.e from ? It must come from science ; but we have no American agricultural science. We -cannot raise either wheat or cattle as they do in England. The speaker enforced this point by illustrating the inapplicability of the conclusions of English science to forming in this country, as in draining. Yet, many towns, he said, already had small farmers' clubs, and he believed they would prove of great benefit. Mr. French, of Braintree, would have the coun- ty societies set apart a day or half a day at their annual exhibitions, to listen to lectures from able men, and to discuss agricultural subjects. Peo- ple are awaking to the importance of the agricul- tural interest, and demanding a higher class of instruction than they have hitherto obtained. Ohio has ninety county societies, sustained by the State. He did not agree with Mr. Brooks, that we have no reliable agricultural science, and re- ferred in proof to the statement of Mr. Ccsxis, be- fore the National Agricultural Society, that at one time he cultivated 8000 acres of land with 100 men, and raised only TOO bushels of wheat— so exhausted and sterile had become the soil ; but af- ter being instructed by Edmund Pvuffin how to fer- tilize his land, obtained from it 7000 bushels of wheat. Mr. French stated that from personal observa- 164 NEW ENGLAND FARMi.R. April tion, he should judge that not more than six in one hundred acres of land throughout the State were in a condition fit for the use of the plow. He thought tbis strong evidence that our people need stimulating. Dr. Reynolds, of Concord, remarked that it was a most important subject, upon the solution of which might depend the question whether our young men should cultivate their native acres, or dig in the golden sands of California or Australia, though it had been remarked that they were choos- ing the latter. What is necessary, is to make ag- riculture more respectable and successful — not that he meant it was not respectable, but that it should be made more respectable in the eyes of our young men, v/ho ai-e taught even by their fathers that it is unprofitable, and beneath tlie ambition of enter- prising men ; that it is fit only for men who can do nothing else ; and that men who have failed in all things else can fall back upon it. Young men must be taught to give weight, influence and char- acter to farming ; and this can only be done by making it more intellectual. When the intellect is as vigorously exerted in agriculture as in other professions, it will engage the ambition of our young men. Intercourse among men, he urged, was a great means of increasing knowledge, and by means of institutes the farmers would be brought into more frequent intercourse with each other, to their great benefit. The mind strikes out new paths, and new thoughts are eliminated. The speaker alluded to the teachers' institutes as improving and stimu lating the teachers themselves, and rendering them more efficient, from which he inferred the same re suit would follow the establishment of institutes for the farmer. He believed that much benefit would accrue from lectures, and had no fear from the diffusion of sci- ence even in its present state, or that the theories of scientific men would mislead our strong common- sense farmers to any great extent. Science is the basis of all true agriculture. The speaker recog- nized the necessity of kindling up an increased in- terest among the farmers in our State, and ex- pressed the opinion that the Board of Education had a duty to discharge in reference to the mat- ter. They should secure the introduction into our high schools of the study of agricultural chemistry, geology, &c. It would be of great benefit, and prepare the way for agricultural colleges. We should begin in the small circles. Mr. Sprague, of Duxbury, expressed himself fa- vorableto the formation of such institutions, and gave it as his opinion that more is to be learned by intercourse with well informed men than in any other way. The difficulty with farmers, is, that they make a great many mistakes owing to a lack of accurate scientific knowledge. We cannot dis- cuss agriculture without benefit. Mr. CoGGSWELL, of Bedford, remarked that the more intelligent the farmer, the more successful he would be, — farmers should be thinking, reflect- ing men, and should study their soils as closely as the physician does the materia medica. Prof. Nash, of Amherst College, thought much might be done without legislative aid, by voluntary association. He agreed witli Dr. Reynolds, that it is necessary to make farming appear more respect- able to our sons, and the only way to do this is to make it more intellectual. These institutes will have a tendency to draw out the farmer, and make him more intelligent. In regard to lectures, the lecturer should not only be thoroughly versed in agricultural science, but also be a practical farm- er, else his teachings will be liable to mislead. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, in explanation of his former remarks, said he would not be understood as opposing science, lectures, or farmers' insti- tutes. The meetings, so far as they bring farm- ers together, are useful. Farming is extremely variable, and the same rules of science will not al- ways apply. As for instance you may raise wheat on one side of a hill, and not upon the other, al- though the soil is identically the same. The hour of adjournment having arrived, the meeting adjourned until Tuesday evening nest, when "The cultivation and preservation of Fruits'' will be taken up for discussion, and an interesting meeting is anticipated. For the New England Farmer. HOUSING AND PAINTING FARM VEHICLES. It is strange what a diflTei'ence there is among farmers with regard to the importance of housing their wagons and carts. Prudent, economical men, in most things, are wholly insensible to the great loss they experience by allowing their expen- sive vehicles to be beaten upon and soaked by the storms, and checked and shrunk by the blazing sun. Wagons and carts from the maker's shop are seldom well-painted. The owner gets so anxious to be using his new cart, and the old one seems so unbearable, that the cart is taken from the shop before the little openings in the wood and the joints are half filled with paint, — the farmer "guesses it will do," and away it goes to commence a straight- forward course to decay. A few days after, it rains. The cart body is soaked through. The joints absorb water and swell. By-and-by, when the water has dried out, after having been dragged about the farm for several days, the joints become loose. Tliis process needs only to be repeated a sufficient number of times to give you a heavy, rickety body, which, in a few years, breaks up and sends you to the mechanic again. But the wheels are the most important part. Upon them has the most labor been expended in propor- tion to their weight, and of them should the most care be taken. The hubs, generally, are made of elm. Elm, exposed to the weather, is of short du- ration. It is used because it is difficult to spht it in driving the spokes. White-oak hubs invaria- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 165 bly check and open, -when uncovered by paint, and exposed to the weather. White-oak timber, — indeed all timber, loses its strength and tenacity after being again and again exposed to rain and air. The hub then grows soft, the spokes settle into it a very little, and the consequence is that the tire is loose, and the blacksmith's aid is need- ed. A wagon left out of doors will in a few years become a spongy, heavy mass, unprofitable to use. As proof of the correctness of these remarks, we know of a farmer who has run down three sets of wheels by exposure, and not by work, while another has a pair of wheels perfectly sound, built a year or two before his neighbor's first pair. In the first case the wheels have never been housed, winter nor summer ; but have been left by the road-side, as if impregnable as the stone wall to injury from the weather. In the other case the cart has been uniformly housed, and always well painted. It must be very intelligible to the read- er which is the wiser course. PArXTING FARM VEHICLES. The reasons for painting farm vehicles as well as housing them are many and obvious. Paint af- fords a present shelter. You are sometimes neces- sarily out in the rain. Your well-painted wheel will be injured but a little. Paint closes up the pores and keeps in that life of the wood, which is its whole strength. Besides, a man will work more cheerfully and accomplish more when things are a "little decent" about him. The appearance of good, convenient, respectable vehicles about a farm is always agreeable to the stranger. Their influence too, upon the laborer's spirit and temper, is worthy of consideration. A word as to the colors most suitable to use in painting. As your vehicles will have to be out in the hot sun, while in service, the lighter the color the less will the wood shrink. A wheel painted black will become as hot in the sun as the hand can bear ; while another painted a light lead color, which is the cheapest, will be cold to the touch. Of course in the former ease the wood will shrink, loosening the tire, while in the latter all will reman firm. av. d. b. Concord, 1853. For the New England Farmer. WHAT rviANUREJ FOR SWAMP LAND? Mr. Editor : — I would like to inquire what is the best manure for swamp land, where the vege- table matter is two or more feet deep? I have used common horse manure with good success, af- ter draining, plowing, pulling out the roots, &c., and seeding to grass in the fall. On such land I get about two tons to the acre, of English grass. I have thought there might be a cheaper sub- stance than manure to bring such lands into Eng- lish grass, if I only knew what it was. I know that it is recommended by some of your writers, to spread over sand or gravel, and then manure, but that is too expensive here, where hay generally is about $8 a ton. £. Scott. Ludlow, Vt., 1853. Remarks. — If you get two tons per acre as a general result, it ought to be a satisfactory crop, unless an extraordinary amount of money and la- bor is expended. There is nothing better, prob- ably, in the long run, than good barn manure, composed of the droppings of horses, cattle, swine, sheep and fowls. But on some of your new swamp land you might do well to try lime on a small piece, on another ashes, on another guano, watch- ing carefully the results of each. New swamp lands contain generally, most or all the elements which the plant needs ; but they sometimes require sand or lime, as they have an excess of acids, at first unfavorable to the growth of the plant. Thor- ough plowing, plenty of composted manure, and such experiments as we have suggested, will bring you satisfactory results, if you persevere. For the New England Farmer. STOWELL'S EVERGREEN SWEET .CORN, He who expects to find this article as much su- perior to the common sweet corn, as the ambrosia of the gods is to the food of mortals, will lay down his cob, and pick his teeth in disappointment. He will rise from the table, and call it a humbug. The fact is, he who has good sweet corn upon his table, picked at the right time and well cooked, has an epicurean dish, that he miglit ask any sen- sible god in the mythology to partake of, without fear of refusal. Should some German commenta- tor upon classic lore undertake to prove, that this was the veritable ambrosia, it would be difficult to disprove his position. The man who does not ap- preciate sweet corn, and consider it a standard of excellence, lacking no element of gustatory satis- faction, is not the man to appreciate anything. But were the Stowell's decidedly superior tb all other kinds, for the table, we should not expect to have the multitude believe it, even after they had tried it. We have heard a very sensible man as- sert, that common field pumpkin made as good pies, as the marrow squash of Boston notoriety. From that date, our path was very much strength- ened in the old adage, that there is no use in dis- puting about tastes. If the new variety of corn is as good as the old for the table, and has other ex- cellencies that the old does not possess, it will prove an acquisition. It has been introduced to the agricultural pub- lic, mainly through the agency of Prof. ^lapes, who has sent out thousands of samples of the seed to the readers of the Working Farmer in various parts of the country. He gives the following ac- count of its origin in his paper for Dec, 1850. "Stowell's sweet corn is a new sort, and is every way superior to any other we have seen ; for after being pulled from the ground the stalks may be placed in a dry, cool place, free from moisture, frost, or violent currents of air, (to prevent dry- ing,) and the grains will remain full and milky, for many months. Or the ears may be pulled in August, and by tying a string loosely around the small end, to prevent the bushes from drying away from the ears, they may be laid on shelves, and kept moist and suitable for boihng, for a year or more. This corn is a hybrid between the menomony soft corn, and the northern sugar corn, and was first grown by Mr. Nathan Stowell, of Burlington, N. J. Near the close of the fair of the American Institute, 1850, I presented the managers with two ears gulled in August, 1819, and twelve ears pulled in 1850. 166 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April They were boiled and served up together, and ap- peared to be alike, and equal to corn fresh from the garden. "The cars are larger than the usual sweet corn ^nd contain twelve rows. To save the seed, it is necessary to place them in strong currents of air, freed from most of the husks, and assisted slightly by fire heat when nearly dry. In damp places this corn soon moulds, and becomes worthless. The seed, when dry, is but little thicker than writing paper, but is a sure grower. The stalks are very sweet, and valuable as fodder." A writer in the Rural Neio-Yorker tried it in 1851, and speaks thus of it. "Until it began to tassel out, it appeared very much like enormous broom corn, and exhibited no symptoms of putting forth ears, until very late in the season, when it eared out rapidly, and bore three very large full ears on all the best stalks, and in some cases the fourth ear was fairly set. Only a very few of the stalks bore single ears. It matured rapidly and very perfectly, but it was many weeks after frost set iR, and the corn was housed, and after the husks had become entirely white, before any of the kernels presented the shrivelled appearance of sweet corn. "That it will do all that has been said of it, I have no reason to doubt. As far as my obsei^a- tion during one season extends, I am satisfied it is a most valuable acquisition to our sweet corn. It grows freely, is of the first quality, and produces m my garden this season far beyond any corn I have ever seen. Beside the greater number of ears on a stalk, each ear and kernel is very large, although it dries down for seed to a very small ear and kernel. Very few of the ears have less than fourteen rows, and I have just noticed an ear of it only 7 inches long and yet it had IG rows, and contained more than 800 kernels. The day I planted this com, I planted an equal number of hitls of a very superior sweet corn, the kernels of which most perfectly resemble this, and although the exposure and soil was equal, yet the vStowell coi'n surpassed it in every respect. I shall try it another season with increased interest.*' Another writer in the same paper gives us his experience for 1852. "When I read of the vron- derful productiveness and keeping quality of this new kind of corn I rather regarded it as a humbug. However, I bought a gill of corn for 25 cents, and planted it May 25th in rather an unHivorable spot for late planting. But it matured in good time, and produced from three to seven perfect good ears on a stalk — and one stalk had on it sixteen — the shortest about two inches, but well filled out, and all ripe enough and good for seed. I wish to record my vote in favor of the Evergreen Corn — that it is no humbug.''^ 1 will add to these trials of the article my own experience for the last two seasons. I procured a few seeds from the ofiice of the Working Farmer in New York in the spring of 1851. Planted them late, but owing to drought only G kernels came up. I had 18 perfect ears from these G kernels and two imperfect ones. This showed the corn a very su- perior bearer. The growth of stalks was large. I had now seed enough to plant about one-third of an acre, after giving away some to friends. The soil was badly exhausted by tillage and was not highly manured. But the growth of stalks was large, and the yield of corn satisfactory, though the season was one of great drought and corn suf- fered much throughout the country. Some of the stalks had three ears and many of them two, with settings for more, showing what it had a mind to do if there was only food enough under it. I have no doubt at all, that in very rich soil "there will often be three ears upon a single stalk — and some stalks of twice that number. We may then set down the advantages of this sweet corn as mainly the following : — 1st. Its exquisite flavor is not injured by the hy- bridizing, as has been the case with other attempts at crossing the sweet corn with other varieties. 2nd. It secures a very much larger yield of corn. The number of rows upon an ear varies from 8 to 20 ; a very large proportion of them are 12 and up- wards. Most of the larger ears have from 4 to 800 kernels upon them. Then we have more ears up- on a stalk. 3d. It prolongs the season of green corn in the garden until frost comes, and if it be pulled up by the roots and sheltered, it lengthens it out until •freezing weather. 4th. If you have a fruit room, where you can command the temperature, you can have green corn the year round on the cob. But as we have no such room, we have not tried this part of the experiment. 5ih. It furnishes the largest amount of fodder of any kind of corn grown in the world. Prof. Mapes says, "the Sto well corn, when thickly sown, will yield double the burden of stalks and leaves of any other corn we have tried. It is more readi- ly cured, and preferred by cattle even to the best English hay." The only draw-back upon it, is the danger of its going back to the originals from which it was pro- duced, a danger that is common to all hybrids, I believe, until they have become very thoroughly established. Whether the variety of rows that the difierent ears assume is any indication of a re- lapse, the experimenter must judge for himself. I have full confidence in the article, and believe it a great acquisition to the garden and the farm. W. Clift. Stonington, Ct., Jan. 17, 1853. MILK TRADB OF NEW YORK. We have before us an elegantly printed volume of 118 pages, published by Fowlers & Wells, Boston, in which it is stated how the production, manufacture and sale of milk in the city of New York and the vicinity is managed. By Joun Mul- LALLY, with an introduction by Dr. R. T. Trall. We must say that the developments are of the most astounding as well as disgusting character. It is no longer a wonder that upwards of nine thousand children die annually in the city of New York, and as is supposed by the physicians, pois- oned by an article called milk. Mr. Mullally, and all engaged in exposing this iniquitous and brutalizing business, are entitled to the thanks of the community for their efforts in the matter. The book should be in the hands of every head of a fiimily, that parents may see what it is they feed to their children under the name of milk ! The milk business in our New England ci- JS3. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 167 ties is first becoming'an important one, and unless there are proper guards and restraints thrown around it, we shall, quite likely, by-and-by, have a similar state of things among us here. There are frauds practised within our own personal know- ledge, which lead us to this opinion. The book may be sent by mail to any part of the country for a trifling postage. The New York Courier says Mr. MuLLALLY has given a fair, foithful and impar- tial view of the whole milk trade in that city ; — "He exposes the horrible system of distillery milk manufacturers — the process of making sweet ■cream out of distillery milk, hogs or calves brains, molasses and chalk — and sketches with a vivid and powerful pen the multitude of evils that arise from the infamous traffic. He gives us a description of a ewill milk establishment and its internal econo- my, as well as the disgusting practises and brutal- ity of those employed in them — a description al- most enough to make the reader forswear the use of milk in the city forever.' The exposes of the work are positively shocking. We knew that abom- inable, disgusting frauds were practiced by the milk dealers of the city, but really, we were not ■prepared for such an exhibition of human deprav- ity and cupiditv as is here bared to our view." For the New England Farmer. FARMERS' LIBRARIES. Mr. Editor : — In a former number of the Far mer I made some remarks on the benefits of Ag- ricultural lectures in lyceums. This was done un- der the impression that such institutions were in operation in all, or nearly every toAvn and hamlet wherever the remarks might be so fortunate as to be read. I suppose such institutions are, through the winter months, in existence almost everywhere. But a new question comes up with regard to them. Are they established on the principle of firmness, and conducted with the systematic order that such associations should be ^ I refer now to lyceums in agricultural communities, where the intellectu- al wants are more for agricultural information, and prosperity arises more from agricultural success than from any other natural cause. Now I have a beau ideal of what such a lyceum should be. In the first place, it should be an ag- ricuhural lyceum, embracing in its phalanx those who design to cultivate the earth as a profession, and who have enough respect for that profession to give their influence and hearty goodwill to ele- vate it to the position where nature and nature's God designed it should rank. I am very well aware this picture, which should every-where be visible, is a bold one, and implies many things. In the first place, I suppose it clearly shows, that to be a farmer does not imply "a mere clop-hop- per," an animated mass of clay whose noblest at- tribute is physical energy, excited by the idea of adding field to field, and increasing the swelling numbers of herds and flocks. No, the position I take elevates him above all this, and defines him as an intellectual being, sent into the world to pluck out the thorns and thistles that man's perverseness sowed, and plant roses and myrtles in their place. It is for him to make the desert smile in verdure, and waste places to yield bountiful harvests. He is, through all coming time, to give bread to the millions of earth, and when he draws its rich treasure from her teeming bosom, he must do it in so kind and restoring a manner as not to exhaust her resources. Mind must guide in these operations, and to do it sue- ces.sfully, mind must be enlightened by science as well as aided by experience, or too often its no- blest efforts will prove abortive. Now, how is tins farmers' lyceum to aid him in this intellectual culture which is so very essential to the cultivation of the earth ? We have spoken of lectures as one means, a very important one, too, on many accounts. But these are incidental, ■periodical, coming, it may be, once a month, though I should hope oftener. At any rate, there must be a gap between them, and these gaps in the progress of mind, like the rent in a garment, unless fitted up and closed, will be very apt to be- come larger, until the whole is rent. I say, then, to fill up this empty chasm as it will too often prove, that in connection with, and as a part of these lyceums, the library should form an impor- tant feature. Agricultural libraries among farmers are not an unknown feature of the age; all, however, do not seem disposed to possess them. But get up such libraries in connection with the lyceum, and for ought we know, all would read. At least, we may fairly suppose that many will. Now how tri- fling would be the expense for the members of an agr?cultural lyceum to take all the first-class agri- cultural publications. And with an equal sum thereto added, what rich collections would be made each year in scientific works on matters relating to the farmer's well being. By these, young far- mers would be taught the principles and progress of science, and by the former, he could learn the result of these principles when reduced to practice, their failures and successes. 0 ! what a beautiful ormament such an institu- tion, endowed with a well selected library, adapt- ed to its progress, would be to any town in our good old State. Yet how many such can our State boast? Have we one? Where is the goodly land where it may be found? We would gladly go there in the expectation of seeing unusual thrift, countenances beaming with happiness and content- ment, bought by the rich gift of intelligence, oper- ating like a main-spring to regulate all movements. How many farmers have we in Massachusetts, who will pledge themselves to become even sitting and hearing members of such an association? If there is a town where ten, nay five, can be found, who will meet once a week to hear and talk about farming,— 7-(SoZrerf that noble effects shall grow out of it, the agricultural destiny of that town can be saved. A lyceum, like the one I would have in every town, would soon be established, the intel- lio-ence of the inhabitants would brighten under its influence, — a purer stream of thought breaking out, and fed from fountains of truth , would purify all parts ; the earth w^ould smile under more varied and richer harvests. Here it would be found that competence and wealth could be drawn from the earth, not by "servile labor," but by well-direct- ed, careful industry, such as men in every sphere must practice in order to succeed — in short, hap- piness as pure, intelligence as high, refinement as chaste, as earth can afford, would here be found. Taste would aid economy in rearing buildmgs, planting trees, dividing of fields— indeed, in every- im NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April thing to make earth beautiful, home delightful, and aW things pleasant to enjoy. And would not these attractions tend to check the spirit of discontent which is now bringing so many young men into scenes and occupations which are drudgery in comparison with the farmer's life ■? Farmers in the present day, if you would have your sons respect the profession which you have followed so calmly through life, if you would have them stay "on the old homestead,'" dear to you from a thousand associations, and which you may wish to retain in your family, — if you would save them from vice and folly — to which new scenes frequently allure, — teach them that mind can find as great a sphere for operation in the farming fields as in the pent-up shops and counting-rooms, and that independence is easier won in the pure air of the country, than in the dingy, contamina- ted atmosphere of town, and encourage the far- mers' lyceum as a means of elevating them to the positions they so earnestly desire. w. b. Elmwood, Jan. 22, 1853. Remarks — We commend the above remarks to everybody. It will be gratifying to friend B. to learn that the farmers of the State are occasion- ally getting an agricultural lecture in the town ly- ceums, and surprise him as much to be informed that probably not one town in ten in the common- wealth has a farmer's club orlyeeum, where agri- culture, in its higher phases, is discussed. Here and there, in the town libraries, a few agricultu ral books are supplied. Where there are ncf town libraries, farmers cannot do better than to form a club, and purchase a few of the best books for their own purposes, and when the town library is formed, merge them in that. ROOTS VS. HAY. Many farmers are loud in their denunciations of roots as a substitute for hay in feeding stock. They regard them as vastly more expensive than the latter, and in every important respect, inferior. Some who were formerly loud in their praises of rata baga, sugar beet, parsnips, carrots, &c., are now as loud in their denunciations. Truth, we opine, hovers in the middle region between these extremes, and it may not Iw improper to call the attention of those interested in the premises, to a few facts which have a very important and direct bearing upon the subject. As far as mere nutriment is involved, we are by no means in the dark concerning the value of any farm product, not excepting even the meanest and most worthless. Science has already made us ac- quainted with this part of the subject. We know that one thousand parts of the potato, for instance, contains fi-om 200 to 2G0 parts of nutritive matter, consisting mostly of starch with a small admixture of mucilage — from 15 to 20 of saccharine matter, and from 30 to 40 of gluten. The common red beet contains, in 1000 parts, 150 parts of nutritive matter— L. e., 14 parts of starch, 121 of saccharine matter, and 13 or 14 of gluten. Mangel wurtzel contains, in 1000 parts, 136 parts of alimentary matter, which is made up of 13 parts of starch, 119' saccharine matter, and 4 of gluten. English turnips, in 1000 parts, contain 42 parts of nutritive matter, i. e., 7 of starch, and 34 of saccharine matter. The ruta baga-rthe root sometimes denounced at this day with great virulence — contains in 1000 parts, G4 parts nutritive niatter, consisting of 0^ parts of starch, 51 saccharine matte? and 2 of gluten. In 1000 parts, the parsnip affords 100 of nutritive matter, 10 of which are starch, and ther residue saccharine substance. The carrot, in 1000 parts, affords 9& of nutritive matter ; 3 of which are starch and 95 of saccha- rine matter. There is also in addition to these, an extract which appears insoluble. But these nutritive products are not the only valuable parts — the remainder of the vegetables is composed of fi.brous substance which assists ali- mentation by eommunicating to the stomach the- stimulus of distention^ and by other means not yet fully ascertained. Now let us examine elover. Of this hay, lOOO parts contain about 41 parts of alimentary, of which 32 are starchy 3 saccharine matter, 2 gluten, and 3 insolubk vegetable estract. Of herds-grass {Phleum Pratense) we have no- very reliable analyses, as yet. Some chemists s&t down the nutritive matter it contains at 100, oth- ers at 89, 90 and 97, in 1000 parts. If we ascertain the number of tons of either of the above named roots, produced on an acre of any lesser extent of surface, with the sost of produc- tion, we may, by the assistance of the above table^ decide with a tolerable degree of accuracy as to the specific value of each, compared with bay, or any other description of fodder. That a vastly greater amount of fodder may be obtained from an acre cultivated in roots than from a similar ex- tent of surface in grass, is a point already too ob- vious to need any demonstration. The following, from the Newark Daily Advertiser s-hows what may be expected, with proper care from the potato : — "Mr. Joseph I>. Coe raised from an ounce and a quarter pf seed, 40 Rohan potatoes, weighing 18- lbs. whi&h he tells us, after an accurate measure- ment of the ground occupied , is at the rate of 1440 bushels to the acre. He cut his seed into five tubers, and the produce is equal to 225 bushels- of potatoes to one bushel of seed. The largest po- tato weighs about 2 pounds. The vine grew eleveii feet three inches." From the Farmer and Gardener we estract the following on "Horse Feed." "There is no one who regards the comfort of domestic animals — those noble creatures which contribute so much to the comfort of every hom &- stead, wliether it be the splendid establishment of 1S53. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 169 the rich, or the more humble domicil of the poor, but must rejoice to learn th.at the root culture is gaining favor with most intelligent farmers. _ The advantages, indeed, which result from devoting a few acres to such purposes are so striking, and add 80 much to the profit and economy of every well conducted form, that one wonders how intelligent agriculturists could so long have rejected the evi- dences which have so obviously presented them- selves for consideration-, and with a view of bring- ing these facts more immediately to view, we will freely state them. "To begin, then, we will premise, that each working horse will consume three gallons of corn per day, (equal to that, without hay) or 1095 gal- lons per year. Now if we take thirty bushels as the average yield of an acre in corn, Avhich is a large one, it will take four acres, sixty perches of ground to raise corn enough to sustain a single horse. On the other hand let us suppose that an acre in carrots will raise three hundred bushels, (and this is a small average, for seven hundred bushals have often been produced on an acre,) and as it has been ascertained that three pecks of this root are sufficient to sustain a horse well at labor, and as there are 12 hundred pecks in three huu-' dred bushels, so will one acre sustain a horse one year and thirty-five days, making a saving of three acres and ninety perches of land, and nearly the equivalent of that amount of labor is tillage, as all will admit that if the carrots h& judiciously drilled, the amount of labor to be performed on their cul- ture is very little greater than what is requisite to secure a good yield of corn — one thinning and three hoeings being all that is necessary to ensure a good crop. As to manuring, we will observe that they do not require more than ought to be given to corn, as less than twenty loads should not b( devoted to either. The gathering and prcserva tion is, to I>e sure, more tedious per acre ; but when the labor to be bestowed on four acres and ninety perches in corn, is compared with that requisite for one acre of carrots, we think the amount will stand decidedly in favor of the latter." That tlje writer of the foregoing should have in- dulged the belief, as he seems to have done, that seven hundred bushels is to be regarded as the maximum yield of an acre cultivated j?(f/£cio?is/y in this root, is certainly deserving of surprise. A Mr. Little residing in Newbury, or Newburyport, in this State, some years since harvested twice that quantity — 1400 from one acre, and in the reports of many of our agricultural societies, as well as those of Great Britain, it is seldom that any crop not exceeding seven hundred bushels is mentioned. The sugar beet, mangel wurtzel, and other popu- lar root crops, often exceed one thousand. The latter are perhaps less expensive, so far as cultiva- tion is concerned, than the carrot; but they are less nutritive, and are supposed to be more ex- hausting to the soil on which they grow. For neat stock, the parsnip is now highly esteemed by cattle breeders, both in this country and in Eu- rope. Its yield is about equal to that of the ear- rot, and it requires about the same soil and treat- ment. It is an excellent feed for hogs, sheep, and other stock. POTATOES—INTERESTING EXPERI- MENT, The Journal of the New York State Agricultu- ral Society contains a very elaborate and care- fully prepared table, showing the result of experi- ments in the cultivation of potatoes, in every pos- sible mode, and under all the different circum- stances which could well be conceived; the whole forming a mass of information seldom found con- densed into so small a compass. It is from the pen of our friend H. H. Eastman, Esq., of Mar- shall, one of the best practical farmers in the State — a careful experimenter and exact observer of results. In this table Mr. E. has presented the result of his experiments with such exactness, and in so concise a form, as to be readily under- stood by tlie reader. We only regret that it is so formidable as to prevent its being laid before our readers in detail, especially as the rule and figure work in the table is very inconvenient for our col- umns. We may, however, as briefiy as may be, state some of the results of the experiments, as gathered from a careful perusal of the table, hop- ing at some future time to present the matter in a more acceptable form. 1. Manures. Tlie experiments embrace Hog manure. Fermented and Unfermented Yard Ma- nure, Compost, Manure of Fowls, Lime, Ashes, Gypsum, Sulphur, Saltpetre, &c. &c. The re- sults are decidedly favorable to the use of Hog manure the manure of Fowls coming next, the Compost next, then the Unfermented Manure. The Lime and Gypsum did not increase the yield beyond that part on which no manure was used. The same may be said of the Sulphur and Saltpe- tre. 2. Time of Planting. The earliest planting proved decidedly best — the difference between the 18th and 28th Slay being 19 bushels per acre, and a further reduction on that portion planted as late as 10th June of 34 bushels per acre, with a deci- ded advantage as to size and quality in favor of those planted early. 3. Whole and Cut ; and Large and Small Seed. Here the result proves precisely as we anticipated. The seed from large potatoes produced decidedly best. We will give the exact statement. Weight of Weight of Bushels Seed. Product, pr acre, 10 lbs. 6 on. 71 lbs. 8 oz. 192 Large Potatoes One whole whole, in a hill, Large Potatoes Two halves ,„ ., ,. halved, in each l.i!l, 10 ^l'^- •> ^'^ Large Potnloe? One-half in halved, each hill, Large Potatoes 4 ciuarters quartered, in each hill. 5 lbs. 3 oz. 9 lbs. 8 libs. 5S lbs. 58 lbs. 217 139 156 Thus far with reference to cut and uncut ; those htxlved producing most when used in the same quantity, but a little smaller in size than the pro- duct from the whole seeds. The produce of the quartered seed was much smaller and inferior. The following is a pretty clear test between large and small seed. Weight of Weight of Bushels Seed. Product, prare. 12 lbs. 4 OE. 80 lbs. 215 6 lbs. 50 lbs. 8 oz. 135 31bs. 7oz. 43 lbs. 8 OK. 117 6 lbs. 14 01. 51 Ibe. 138 9 lbs. 63 lbs. 167 Large, oae whole in hill. Medium, " " Small, '• '■ Small, two whole in hill, Small, four whole in hill The produce of small seed inferior and unmarketable. A very clear demonstration , so far as our experi- ment goes, in fitvor of large seed, a result which 170 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April "will, we doubt not, be generallj reached in all ex- periments, with whatever crop, between perfect and imperfect seed. There are many other re- sults to be drawn from this paper, which we should be glad to lay before our readers, could we con- veniently do so. The public are under obligations to Mr. Eastman for this elaborate and accurate ex- periment, and we hope he may repeat it another season. — Neio York Farmer. For the New England Farmer. MANURES. Messrs. Editors : — In the New England Farmer for Feb. 9, which I received a few days ago, about ten days after time, I perceive a query by J. R. "If the manure, liquid and solid, produced by feeding on the 'estover of an acre' would not return to the ground, 'nearly the value it has given out,' of mineral matter?" And after the query, the wriier says, "I suppose that mineral substances, as lime, silex, &c., are not digested in the stomach of the animal, and that only a small amount of them is taken into the circulation, but that they pass off in the dejections, and may thus allha re- turned to the soil, and the estover be used at the same time as food for the stock." It was so manifest to me that your querist is an expert in the animal physiology, of which I have little knowledge, and that his query was not proposed as seeking information, but as a modest m.ode of conveying instruction, that I did not de- sign to make an answer, which evidently was not desired by him. But on reflection, I have thought that if J. R. would state more fully his views in the matter, in doing so he would not only correct my erroneous idea, but would probably be giving valuable instruction to other of your readers, and therefore conclude to answer the query, by stating what my view was. I take the succeeding clausQ above quoted, as a part of the proposition implied in the query, which is, that the dejections of the cow produced by or resulting from the feeding of a corn stalk will impart as much mineral matter to the soil as the corn stalk itselfwould have done. My answer is that I certainly did not, by any means, suppose this to be the case. I considered that when the cow had laid in her bone and milk from the lime of the corn-stalk that it would be sensibly diminished, and that the amount passed off in the dejections would be much less than the portion taken into the stomach in the corn stalk. Further, I supposed also that a considerable por- tion of the salts taken into the stomach with the food, passed off in the perspirations of the animal, while still another portion was deposited in the blood and flesh. And further, I supposed that some portion of what passed off in the dejections would be dissolved and lost in the barn-yard, pass- ing into the earth there, or into the atmosphere. By these multiplied means of abstractions, I con- sidered that much the largest portion of the min- eral matters would be lost, and that the stable matter, (the word was correctly printed as it was written, and written as designed) produced from a corn stalk fed to a cow would return to the ground but a small part of the mineral matters which were contained in the stalk itself. But you will please remind J. R. that the phrase mineral matters was not used in the "Fireside Talk." It was said "the ground receives back nearly the same value it has given out, and I think more, in amount of yer/i/izino- matter, than in a cord of stable' matter." My idea was this. That a large portion, say seven or eight tenth parts of the corn-stalk, consists of carbon and oxygen, which by the decay of the stalk in the earth would be set free and deposited in the earth in form of carbonic acid, the great thing necessary for the plant ; that another considerable portion consist- ing of hydrogen and nitrogen, would in the same manner impart ammcmia to the soil, both of which it had taken up partly from the soil, (or would,) and partly from the atmosphere. That the first of these would be principally, if not wholly, and the last partially lost in passing the stalk through the cow. That the mineral matters constituted only from one to two tenth parts of the stalk, and that the greatest part of that would be lost, as above explained. I have stated my ideas exactly and definitely, in order that not only myself, but the public may have the benefit of the correction of your corres- pondent J. R. in full in relation to this matter, and that my error may be wholly rectified. It seems to me that my farm must become to me a mine of wealth, if I can pass the crop through the cattle, and after that, from the dejections, re- turn even all the mineral matter taken from it ; but I desire also to know more exactly how this is with all the remaining ingredients of the corn- stalk, if any there are. b. BITS OP THOUGHT. To raise good cattle, a fiirm should be in such a state that it would produce good corn, good cab- bages, or good clover. An increase of farm products lessens the mar- ket price, and the consumer is more benefited than the producer. Therefore the encouragement of agriculture is the interest of the whole people. It is the first duty of States to encourage agricul- tural improvement. The brightness of the plow-share will prove a better security to our republican institutions than all the windy patriotism of long speeches in Con- gress. He who encourages young men in the pursuit of agriculture is doing a good work for the morals of society a hundred years hence. The lady who treats the husbandman with scorn, because he is a farmer, contributes something to- wards increasing the number of candidates for the State pj'ison and the gallows. All the true honor or happiness there is in this world follows labor. Were it not for working-men, there could be no progress in either science or art. Working-men are earth's true nobility. Those who live without work are all paupers. For the community to honor one who spends life in genteel idleness, is like dressing a hog in silk stockings. Mirth and vanity are known like a bottle of beer; but wisdom and virtue by their abundant products for lasting good. It is not the most show that does the most service. Still water of- ten runs deep. a. g. c. — Granite Fanner. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 17 LEGISLATIVES AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Seventh MEETiiiO— Tcesd* y Evenino, March. 1, 1853. The seventh meeting of the season was held at the State House on Tuesday evening. The meet- ing was called to order by Jlr. pRENcn, of Brain- tree, and John C. Gray, of Boston, was called to the chair. The subject for discussion was ' ' The Cultivation ■and Prtservation of Fruit Trees.''' Mr. Gray, upon taking the chair, submitted some excellent practical remarks in regard to the cultivation of fruits. The plum, he said, was very •difficult to raise good crops of, from year to year, and they are very subject to the ravages of the curculio. In respect to icaris upon plum trees, he said it had been recommended as the best method to get rid of them, to cut them off in the early stages of their development, and rub the wound with salt. In the cultivation of peach trees, pruning is ab- solutely necessary. The last yeixr's growth of bear- ing branches, which may be known by a red color, should be cut down one-half to two-thirds, and the whole tree should be kept down. It is subject to a borer distinct from the apple borer, an effectual remedy for which is to dig around the tree in March and put in unleaehed ashes. They should be planted twenty feet apart, and a large portion of the fruit should be removed. Two men can re- move the surplus fruit and search for borers, at the rate of sixty trees per day. As a remetly for the curling of the leaves, cutting them off was recommended ; the leaves will put out a new set which will te exempt from this defect. The soil should not be over rich — such as would be rather poor for apples — and cultivating vegetables in the orcliard is f.jund to be of great advantage.. Prof. Nash, of Amherst College, said he had no- ticed two years ago that some peach trees which etood in clusters, bore bountifully, while trees which were isolated produced scarcely any. He desired to know the reason for this. JIajor Wheeler, of Framingham, said it was owing to the location of the trees, and not in their being placed in clusters. Peaches will not flourish in cold, low lands, but require warm soils, which are found only upon elevated situations. In his opinion, we have as favorable a climate as any in the country for peaches. He had lately visited New Jersey, and from the information gathered there, he was convinced that our climate was more favorable, in some respects, than that enjoyed there. In New Jersey, owing to the earliness of the season, they are subject to frosts after the fruit is set, — a thing which seldom occurs among us. The highest hills are the best for peaches,, from being Avarmest. He knew of some hills in Framingham where crops had not failed for thirty years. He con.'jidered success certain, if peaches were cultivated on elevated land. It is important, too, to remove a large portion of the blossoms, ns a tree brings forth six times as many blows as can come to maturity. To kill the borer, he used ley, and did not believe it would injui-e the trees in the least. He had, for experiment, used two pounds of potash to a gallon of water, and discovered not the least injury in applying it to young trees in his nursery. Nothing he considered se eSective for desti-oying the borer. Generally puts two pounds of pota-sh into nine or ten quarts of water, which he thought strong enough. In setting out trees, his rule was to dig a hole six feet over and two deep, pulverizing the soil well, and putting the best at tlie bottom, and then plowing the ground with a subsoil plow. He nev- er "mulched" his trees. If the ground is well pulverized and cultivated through the summer, there is no danger of tbe trees suffering from drought. In regard to trimming trees, it is very important that the apple should be well trimmed. He trimmed his trees to the shape of an inverted um- brella, » Mr. Adams, of Newbury, remarked tliat a great many trees were ruined from a want of care in taking them from the nursery. The roots should be taken up as whole as possible, and a spade should never be used if it can be dispensed with. His method was for one or two to take hold of a tree and pull it up. Every root of any size should be cut off where broken with a sharp knife. Dig the hole six inches larger than the roots spread, and set the tree so that when the ground settles the trees may stand as they did in the nursery. If the land is in a good state, no manure is neces- sary, but the soil should be well pulverized, the roots placed in a natural position, sifting the soil in around the roots and fibres, and the earth left free and loose about the tree, without being trod- den. He had set a large number of trees in this manner, and on comparing them with those which remained in the nurserj', could not perceive that they had been checked the least in their growth ; the land, however, was in a. little better condition than the nursery land. The soil was a gravelly loam. If orchard land is tilled there is no danger from drought. Orchards need as much care as green-houses. He should plant his trees twenty- five feet apart. In regard to trimming, he thought that a young orchard needed looking after every year, and some limbs taken out. They grow too thick, and re- quire strict attention to shape them before they get too large. Many are in the habit of using saws in pruning their trees, and leaving the end of the limb rough, which should be trimmed smooth with a knife, and then it will heal over. The speaker also made some remarks in relation to the running out of fruit, the reclamation of old 172 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April orchards, &c. lie contended that fruits would run out, and in proof cited a case which had come un- der his observation. The fruit of young trees grafted from the old ones had the same defects that the fruit from the old trees had. He thought old orchards might be brought into a state to last for a number of years, if taken in hand in season. In keeping fruit, Mr. Adams said his plan was to place his apples on shelves furnished with slats to retain the apples and admit the passage of the air through them, and then open his cellar door and allow the cold air to rush in upon them. By this means his apples were kept until April, in as good condition as when put in in the fall — sound, bright, and of good flavor, though perhaps a little shrunk. Apples should be kept very cool. He considered Baldwin apples the most profitable crop which the farmer could raise. Mr. French, of Braintree, said it was known that fruits had their years of sickness and depre- ciation. We know that the buttonwood has been dying out for ten years ; but this year we find but- tons growing on the trees, an(T young button- woods growing up. We have undoubted evidence that the "Pomme Appi" apple has been in exis- tence for a century and a half, and he had no tree on his farm that was so hardy and bore so well. There are springing up before us, every day, new varieties of fruit, and the only difSculty is to know what we shall do with them all. In Philadelphia, lately, he was shown more than for- ty new varieties of apples, and all of them desira- ble. We do not want more than thirty varieties. Mr. Brown, of the N. E. Farmer, said he had no doubt we should always have plenty of new va- rieties, and described one variety of apple which had its origin in the town of Concord, and is prin- cipally confined to that locality, where it is exten- sively cultivated. It is called the Hunt Russet ; he had seen some of them which were two years old, still juicy, fair, and retaining their flavor. In regard to the time for trimming trees, it was his opinion that it should not be done while the sap was in full flow. He considered the practice which extends throughout New England of prun- ing trees in March and April to be destructive to them. If the limbs are severed while the sap is ascending, it will continue to flow and run down the limb and trunk of the tree, forming a discol- ored line, which can readily be seen on noticing a tree thus treated. This sap, which is sweet at first, on exposure to the atmosphere, becomes ex- tremely acrid and bitter, and acts as a poison up- on the tree, eventually destroyng it, as it flows out from the limb with every returning flow of the sap. Trees should either be trimmed when the sap is not in motion, or when they are full of young foliage, which will divert the sap from the wound to the leaves, and give it an opportunity of healing over. Trees can be trimmed in midsummer without injury, or in the autumn, when in repose. If trimmed when the sap is not in flow, a green, •smooth bark grows about the edges,and the wound heals up much better than if cut in any of the months when the upward current of the sap is free. It is the running sap that prevents the healing process. He also cited the practice of eminent horticulturists to sustain his views. Mr. Adams, of Newbury, agreed with Mr. Brown's views as to the proper time for trimming trees. Mr. Wheeler, of Framingham, considered the matter very important. His experience had con- ' vinced him that the best time for pruning was when the sap was not in full flow. Prof Nash, detailed a plan for pres'erving ap- ples. In the fall, place them in the garret, (the cooler the room the better) enveloped in fine saw- dust, about a bushel and a half to a barrel, and a little apart from each other and the barrel. They will not freeze, thus protected, in the severest win- ter, and fruit which will not generally keep be- yond January, will keep in good condition until April. The hour of nine having arrived, the meeting adjourned. Note. — The reports of agricultural discussions at the State House, give opinions fur which we feel no sort of responsibility. This is also the case with communications which we publish. Many of them contain doctrines which we co«ld not en- dorse ; but we consider it fair that gentlemen shall have a hearing, and have no fears but their opin- ions, as well as our own, will be taken for all they are worth. For the Nevj Enixland Farmer. COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE TALL AND LATE AND THE SHORT AND EARLY KINDS OF CORN. Our farmers hereabouts plant much of the tall growing variety of corn, which is often materially injured by the early frosts, and their reason for preferring it is, that the ear is larger ,-and they get a much larger yield to the acre {provided the frost does not destroy half the crop.) The low grow- ing variety of corn, if planted the last of May or first of June, ripens earlier, escapes the frost, and although the car is smaller, gives a sure crop. I wish to know if an equal number of bushels of the small and early variety may not be produced to the acre by planting the rows of the low and ear- ly variety nearer together than the usual three feet apart distance of the tall kind, (a.) The low growing corn probably does not extend its roots to such a distance as the taller corn. But our fiirm- ers say if the rows are nearer than three feet, the passage of the horse and whiffletree with the cul- tivator, will destroy by breaking down a large amount. But is it not bad policy to pass with the cultivator when the corn is high enough to be broken down, on account of injury to the roots'? [853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 173 (&.) Or at least, is it not better to use the hoe, than the cultivator, at such a stage of the <;;rowth, if thereby we can pUice six r )\V8 of short corn where otherwise we must have but four? I plant- ed the last season an half-acre with the low grow- ing variety. My men had planted the first three rows, each three feet apart, contrary to my inten- tions. The remainder was planted in rows two feet apart. The yield was 98 bushels (in the ear;) IG of which were pig corn and 82 good sound corn. L. s. H. Norlhampton, March 1, 1853. Remarks. — (a.) We have known some of the largest and best crops of corn from the eight rowed Canada kind. (6.) The cultivator can scarcely be used too freely in the early stages of the corn plants; but when it has grown tall •enough to be broken down in cultivating, the roots must have formed a net work over nearly the whole ground. Cultivating, then, cannot be beneficial. For the New England Farmer. INFLUENCE OP NEWSPAPERS. Messrs. Editors : — Newspapers wieid an influ- ence which controls nations, not by brutal force, not by the din and smoke of war, nor the arbitrary mandates of a despot, but by a still, impulsive power, which permeates the mind for good or for evil; they exert as great if not greater influence over the public mind than all the orators of the professions as moral or immoral agents. Newspa- pers conducted by good, well-informed, higli-mind- ed editors, will disseminate, in the public at large, as much useful knowledge and as much moral principle, I believe, as our schools and c )lleges. We can all discern the difference between tliose who read tlie productions of good liberal minded -editors, and those who read scurrilous party psi- pers, by their elevated conversation. A bigoted editor will propagate bigotry, a vicious one vice, a demagogue deception, an infidel skepticism, and the libertine will propagate licentiousness, and so on to the end of the catalogue of influences. There is no necessity of party individuals being bigots ; charity covers a multitude of faults; "vv'e may agree to differ" in a gentlemanlike manner, with- out those rancorous, uncharitable feelings, which add nothing to the items which constitute happi- ness, but rather infringe upon the good rules of Christianity. In a community where there are indi\'iduals who will traffic away their own souls and the souls of others for lucre, we have reason to fear the worst of consequences from the circulation of licentious, immoral and youth-corrupting newspapers. There are no kind of wicked propensities in man but what can be accommodated with a creed from an un- principled editor whose influence, Bohon Upas-like, poisons all who venture within its atmosphere, and whose only idea is to get money without regard to means or consequences. Farmers and mechanics are daily reaping bene- fits from the instructions which they get from read- ing newspapers conducted by good, scientific, and judicious editors. But few, comparatively, would know the improvements which are yearly taking place in agriculture and the mechanical arts, were it not for this channel of conveyance. Many a man gains knowledge from a source, unconscious from whence he derived it, and of course is unable to render '* honor to whom honor is due." Some of the editors of our political papers, in their par- ty zeal, make an impression upon the minds of some of those who read them, not at all favorable to the prevalence of brotherly love in the commu- nity. The mischievous effects of persecution for honest political opinions, are felt in every neigh- borhood; if the authors of these offences are not rewarded soimer or later, justice must have sti'ayed away from home. Intelligence seems to spread and enlighten the people in a nation in proportion to the freedom wliich is allowed by government to the circulation of the thoughts and opinions of each other by newspapers; look at the laboring classes in des- potic Europe, where a paper is not permitted to cir- culate without passing the censorship of a govern- ment tool, and see the difference between them and those living under the liberal governments of England, the United States, and all other liberal governments. Under despotic rule, ignorance is the huge chain which binds the people to servi- tude ; when that chain is once sundered tb.e des- pots tremble in their shoes for consequences : there is no chain strong enough to bind a virtuous and intelligent people. Let farmers, mechanics and all people who are dependent upon their wits and hands consider well their situation and responsi- bilities, and let them discourage vitiating publica- tions from entering their doors, to do more toward corrupting youth than all the clergy in the com- munity can counteract. The impressions made on the minds of youth are enduring and hard to eradicate, whether the im- pressions are made by reading contaminating pub- lications or associating with filthy brained rowdy companions ; many a parent has found to his sor- row that p.s the "twig was bent the tree was in- clined," while making a desperate attempt to re- claim an incorrigible son, that had been neglected while young, without success. In making a selection of newspapers, the man who would "train up a child in the way he should go" will see the importance of selecting those which will have a tendency to exalt and purify the mind, instead of corrupting and debasing it by sowing the seeds of pollution broad cast in the public, to bring forth their fruits by producing a generation of ill-bred juveniles, qualified to enter the ranks of street rowdies and public plunderers, rather than gladden the hearts of their parents and prove useful members of society. Silas Brown- Wilmingtofi, 1853. U. S. AcRrcuLTrsAL Society. — We understand that the yieople of the State, and particularly of this vicinity, are taking strong hold of this nation- al association. Numerous "subscriptions of $25, which constitutes a life-membership, have recent- ly been made, and among those of a still broader liberality, there is a subscription of $500, from the Hon. Jonathan Phillips, of Boston. In all this we think we can see the untiring activity of the honored President of the society. We con- sider the institution as now established on a per- manent basis ; and that if its members imitate tho 174- JNEW El^ GLAND FARMER . iipRii zeal of its head, and harmony shall prevail in its councils, it will l>e the means of shedding ui>told blessings upon the nation and worlds BONES rOR MANUlEiEf. Tc A. S., South Freedom, Me. — "Where can I get sulphuric acid to dissolve bones? (a.) What is the price ■? {b.) What quantity I's needed m pro- portion to the bones to I>e dissulved ? (c.) Do you think it would be profitable to purchase a-cid to dissolve all tha bones !• can get?" {d.} Remarks."— (rt.) You can procure aulphuric acid In any quantity^ at tlie drug store of Charles II. Badgeu & Co., 47 and 49 Blackstonc Street, Bos- ton. {b.) By the Carboy, Containing 15'0 to 200 gal- lons, 2i cts. a pound ; it weighs about 16 lbs. to the gallon. In small quuntities it would eome a little higher. (c.) Get a box made, say G feet long by 2 feet high and two or three wide, dove-tailed and joint- ed with white lead. Put in the y,'ater first ; then thf, swlph'jric aCid, allowing one-half more bulk of Water than acid, and one-half less lought of acid than bones ; that is, to a gallon of acid, allow a gallon and a half of water ; and to 100 pounds of bones, allow 50 lbs. of acid.. Then add the bones finely broken up, and mix the whole intimately and equally Cover the bos with a lid or old sacks. and let it stand, untouched, 48 hours. This method of dissolving bones is given in the Transactions of the Ilighla'd and Agricultural So- ciety of Scotland, for 1851, and ia the simplest and easiest with which we are aequainted. It is re- eommended by some that wlien the dissolving pro- cess has been gone through with, that the mass be thoroughly mixed with dry ashea before- b^ing ap- plied to the soil. ('/.) We do — because the bones ai-^ exceedingly valuable, and tlie acid is also a fertilizer in itself. But make careful a.nd esact experiments, in a small way, to begin with, and tell us the results of your experience. While speaking of this subject, it may bo proper to add that sulphuric acid is invaluable for many purposes, and is coming iuto common use, particu- larly among English farmers. It used to cost some seven or eight cents a pound, but since the intro- duction of platinum receivers, in wliioli it is manu- factured, a great reduction in price has been effect- ed, notvvitlistanding t!iese receivers cost about $5,000 e;ie?). I'ho production of crops removes the phospliate of lime from tlie soil — bones dis- solved in sulphuric acid produce this phosphate, and the phosphoric acid so produced has been brought to hear upon the land with most beneficial effects. Professor Likbig gives it as liis opinion, that the commercial prosperity of a country may be estimated by the quantities of sulphuric acid it consumes; and Mr. Pusey, M. P., declared in a lecture on it, that he considers it no inadequate critsrion of the degree of civilization. However, tShat is pretty much like many other things intro- duced. There is scarcely a greater indication of a, high degree ofcivilization than the immense quan- tities oi c&tton cloth used in the country, -^and cer- tainly, no one thing add& more to fehe comfort of our peopJe. In Wiley and Putnam^s edition of Liebig, page 184, it is remarked that IngenhousS proposed dilute sulphuric as a means of increasing the feTtility of the soil. This is meationed to give force to OH-r reply, alx)ve, under lettei? (d.) Sulphuric acid comes f?om sulphur aivd oxygen ,- one part or atom of the former, and three part& or atoms of the latter. It may also be obtained in a solid and dry state. SxccKnARDT says that what> iron is to the machinist, sulphuric acid is to the chemist, and that it stands, as it were, the Hercu- les among the acids, and by it we are able to ovei"-- power all others, and expel them fifoia their eom- binations. THE PICTORIAL FISI.D-BOOK. This rich quarry of historic wealth is now ia completed state, accessible to every Am erLean, and certainly every American should dig in its ample- mines. Mr. Lo-^sing. has come to the rescue at the- right period. Ten years- more and it would have- been too late. Every year or month was sweeping; away some tenement around which gathered revo- lutionary associations, some ancient record or fur- rowed face, and whiah soon would have been lost forever to the world, but which are now securely embalmed by the pen and pencil of this artist-au- tlior. Our countrymen were so absorbed in the- present, that they were forgetting the past. Pro- gress was striding over our ancient battlefields, re- gardless of the bones that bleached beneath her feet. Agriculture drove her remorseless coulter through the mossy ramparts that once sheltered the gallant heroes of our liberty. The time-hon- ored sti'uctuyes that kept oif the dew and the rain from many a patriot liead, were tiunbling indis- criminately ))8f'ore the blows of that improvement, which would destroy an association as ruthlessly as it would erusli a weed. The mound, the wall, the ditch, that had witnessed the intensest suffer- ing, the bravest endeavor, the most hei^oic defences and assaults, over which the whistling balls had cut the air, and almost yet echoing with the clang of battle and the shouts of victory, were yielding to friendly strokes what they refused to hostile arms, and surrendering their ancient forms to the desecrating plow. Why should they longer i-e- niain to remind a people of the struggles their free- dom had cost? Wheat would not grow in the ditch, nor corn spring out of the wall. And in a country so crowded for room, hitting its elbows against the oceans as it turned round on its nar- row base of sixty degrees of latitude, it could not affjrd to let an old tree stand, though its rough bark held the testimony of a terrible conflict, nor permit the remnants of a venerable fortification to mark to the eye of posterity some spot hallowed with patriot blood. Hapidly, rapidly were these glorious mementoes disappearing before the utili- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 175 tarian spirit of the age, and oblivion would soon have rolled her waters over them all. But the time so often gives what its necessities require. A historian of a new stamp appears as he is wanted ; not confining himself within the four walls of a li*[ brary, nor satisfied with collating, in new forms, ' the researches of others, he sallies forth to a per-! sonal inspection of every scene of revolutionary in- terest, he searches out the hoary actors that yet remain ; he follows their tottering steps over fields of slaughter; sketches the physical features that were connected with the contest; and as his pen' takes the narration from the trembling lips of these venerable partakers and vdtnesses, and transcribes their mouldy documents, his faithful and ready j pencil transfers their features and figures to the' enduring page. Thus we have fac-similes of the autographs of Washington and Jefferson, of Co-' Iambus and Cotton Mather, of Uncas and Brant,' of Burgoyne and Gates, of Arnold and Andre, and ■ of most of those stern men whose shoulders upheld : the ark of our liberty. Thus, too, their lineaments ' look out from these life-like pages, and even the ■ deep wrinkles that a century had worn ia the cheeks of old John Battin, and the frosts that time ; had sprinkled on his locks, revealed the truthful-] ness of the artist's skill. The I)enignant features of Pocahontas beam with affection, and the coun- tenance of Kosciuseo and Lafayette, of Montgome- ry and Putnam, Stark, Wayne, Mercer, Marion, Sumpter, and a host of others equally worthy of preservation, show the reader what cast of men led our armies to victory in the heroic days of the republic. Accurate maps of battle-fields, the mon- uments that gratitude has erected to the memory of our heroes, the habitations that were the scenes of stirring interest, are here truthfully depicted. But for this, all v.-ould soon become vague; im- portant localities, intangible ; indefiniteness Vt^ould conceal our consecrated places, and the roads en- crimsoned by the bleeding feet of our warriors — their long marches and frosty bivouacsr — would in many instances, become indistinct and legondary. Dates and localities are the eyes of history, through which its truths are made manifest and steadfast. As we read these clear and beautiful pages, we feel a sentiment of nationality glow in our veins, and look with honest pride upon those inflexible, upright physiognomies, and with melancholy inter- est upon those quaint old specimens of architec- ture that held the living, and upon those tomb- stones that protect and mark the sleeping-plaoes of the illustrious dead. Our author does not be- lieve that the antiquarian spirit should be devoted only to unfolding the mysterious ciphers that dec- orate the sarcophagus of an Egyptian princess, but he would seize those hieroglyphics of our past — these frail memorials, so swiftly crumbling into dnst, and enshrine them on his ample leaves — the record, the evidence, and the illustration of a great and triumphant struggle. Accordingly we see our historic pilgrim travers- ing and re-traversing the broad field of the revolu- tion— touching at every memorable place — in trackless forest — amid mountain ridges — over fruit- ful plains — pursuing the devious windings of rivers — in thronging cities tracing the revolutionary rel- ics, around which the multitude heedlessly tramped —in solitary walks hunting the footprints of our armies— suddenly performing some distant journey to save the impress of a fort or building about to'' be defaced by sacriligious hands, following wher- ever the progress of American story Ijeckoned him — till, compassing more than eight thousand miles, and transferring from fading reality to perpetual forms, many hundred cherished scenes and por- traits, he consummates his interesting narrative of more than fourteen hundred large and compact pages, and gives the invalujjjle contribution to the descendants of those Avhose deeds he thus nobly commemorates and preserve-s. These volumes are, hereafter, to perform an im portant part in educating the people in tlic details of American history. Certainly no work is so well calculated to lure the minds of the young through the different stages of the great drama of our inde- pendence. Uniting the two attractions of engag- ing narrative and pictorial representation, it inter- ests the reader in a double sense, and will tend, we do not doubt, to imbue the generation now rising to manliness, with a deeper and fuller knowledge than it would else have had, of the la- bors, hardships, dangers and triumphs of the first sons of the republic. In the modesty of his preface, tlie autlior regrets that others, more competent, had not gone lorth to this undertaking. But he is the com[>etent man who does the wuik; and surely no one could have accomplished it with greater fidelity, truthfulness or skill, infued more freshness and vivacity into the current of his narrative, or poured out the en- thusiastic devotion of a more thoroughly American heart. It was a task that indifference could not achieve. It required not merely the determination to write a book, but also the promptings of an ar- dent desire, a burning love of country, familiarity with her history, and an irresistible impulse to gather and preserve whatever might be the subject to demolition or decay of all those things that could throw light upon, or that became memora- ble in the progress of this country from depend- ence to freedom. The patriotism that thus sacred- ly collects, guards and perpetuates the proof of American valor, is of the stamp that would perform deeds, themselves worthy of record, when the time requires. — N. Y. Daily Times, TREATIS3E5 ON MILCH COWS. Some years ago a book on the subject of milch cows afjpeared among us, written by a French- man by the name of Guenon. It was translated, we think, by Mr. Skinner, late editor of the Plow, Loom and Anvil. This book proclaimed a the- ory which was then new to most of us, and to which JMr. Skinner assented. The theory brief- ly is this ; that "The hair of the horned cattle, as is well known, grows downwards, only in the milk mirror which begins at the udder, the down-like, delicate, short and lighler-coiorGA. hair grows upwards ; and where the ascending and descending hair meet, they form an elevated s/ripe, a vorlex or whirl. This whirl is the real frame or border of the uiilk-mir- ror, and gives it its shape. This shape is the prin- cipal mark i)f the productiveness of the cow. One shape shows a greater productiveness of milk than another." The work has recently been examined and com- piled in a condensed form by John Nefflin, a 176- NEW ENGLAND FARMEK. ApRI3L German farmer, who has had manj' opportunities of developing the nature and character of Gucnon's observations. Prof. Wilkinson, iTite of the Mount Airy Institute, says he is satisOed that this is the only reliable system by which cowa can be select- ed. The circular of the publisher states that a thorough understandifig of the system, will ena- ble the farmer or dairyman to determine [I^ not only the daily quantity of milk a cow will yield, but liow long this yield will continue. Again, it is susceptible of application to ealves of three months okl, so that the breeder can determine, even at that early age,- wbish pyomiae ta become good milkers, and which do not. And agam, as the marks can be discerned in bull calvea as well as in cows, the important iriformation is secured to the fiirm.er, v/hich enables him to couple such male and female animals, as belong to tlie same class, and thus increase their productiveness for the dairy, to the utmost possible estent. The breeder, by a proper applfcation of the rules, may so improve the character of hia stock, as to double its value. .^ The work is printed handsomely, with a large plate illustrating the principles laid down. Price EO cents a copy, or 50 cents each for bound copies. Pubhshed by C. B. Rogers, 29 Market Street, Philadelphia, Circulars describing the work will- be handed to persons calling for them at this office. We believe the matter worth attending to. Fur the New England Farmer. DUNGING IN THE HILL. Dunging corn in the hill appears to- me an iniu dicious method of applying manure, even when ;'---- "•'--•" ---r 'rinn^'" 'Tv ^T" .' • • .- i 1 --^ ^^^._ i.\ \ (. 1 lost in the milk business $iO0O.'' ^\ ould not Last year I used hen manure mixed with plas- ter, by putting it in with the corn, but found that it hurt the corn, as ?t did not come up well. This- year I intend to make the same mixture, and ap- ply it after the corn is up. Your friend, B. T. €onant. Lyme, N. H. Remarks. — The bone dust will not be a suflieieni manuring in itself. Your saturated plaster will be excellent in the hill, iiitiiRately mingled with 3oi2 before dropping the corn. For the rfpiv Ens'.tnd Farmer. AGRICULTORAL PREMIUMS, The question, I notice, is asked, whether the- present system of diaburaing premiums may not be- improved. I have often thought it questionable- policy to confine premiums to successful experi- ments or results, la it not- as important to avoi3 the evil, as to pui'sue the good, in all departments of life? Light -houses are built on dangerous points. Charts point out the roeka on which vessels have- foundered, as well as the deep water, where they may ride in safety — the shoals and quiek-sands,. as well as the harbors. The historian would illy perform his task who should dwell upon the causes^ of national prosperity, and omit all notice of those- which brought about its decline and ruin . To thc- prudent man, the knowledge and study of the- meansof success are scarcely more important than- those of failure. In former numbers of the Farmer, accounts of great success in raising and selling milk, by farm- ers rear Boston, have been published — accounts- representing men as realizing $100 a year from; each cow. Lately a Mr. Marsh, of Cambridge, is reported as having stated in the "Convention of Milkmen and Farmers," that "In four years he the quantity is small.' " It gives to the plant a lux- uriant start, provided the maniiro is rotted, but too often pi-oves of little value afterwards. The small fibres of the roots are the mouths of the plants through which the food passes to the stock. If we examine the roots of corn we shall perceive that they extend as far in tlie ground as the stocks do above. Hence it will be perceived that the ditng, if placed in the bill, cannot benefit the roots nor materially the plant, after they have extended beyond the circle where it is deposited. Whereas, if it is spread and buried in the soil, it benefits premium to Mr. Marsli, not exactly for his failure,, but for a detailed statement of the whys and the wherefores of the result, be a good investment? I think so, and have said thus much by way of sug- gestion to those who manage premiums. Winchester, February, 185S. s. f. For the New Slna-land Farmey. PEARS ON THORN STOCKS. The present system of dwarfing fruit trees, which them in their whole extent; there probably not i is said to be applicable to the pear as well as to being a square foot of ground in the field into which other varieties of caltivated fruits, removes, in a the roots do not penetrate in search of food. And 'great measure, the oltjections urged against the for the next crop, it benefits only parts of the soil 'thorn, by nurserymen. It has generally been as- where the corn has grown. I have noticed that in sorted, and no doubt truly, that while the scion of the next crop, which is usually wheat in this sec- 'the pear does remarkably well, and makes a rapid growth on the thorn, the latter is not large enough tion, I can see where tlie rows of corn were last year ; theref jrc I think it would l>e 1>eltcr to spread this manure and plow it in. If we wi.sli to give corn a luxuriant start, we can make some kind of compost to use in the hill. It is stated that phosphate of lime, or bone dust, will to secure a good sized and healthy tree. But in dw-arfing, the size is a secondary consideration. Very productive trees are obtained by this method, and they are ver;^ generally preferred in conse- quence of their being less liable to injury from furnish the necessary elements of the whole plant winds, more easily managed, and requiring far less without the aid of much if any other manure. ground. Thorn stocks, also, are easily obtained. And now, friend Brown, I want to know if gyp- 'whereas quince stocks and pear stocks are expcn- sum or plaster, saturated in urine, dried, pulver- ized, and put in with the corn in the hill, would be any benefit, or would it kill the corn ? sive, and obtained only with difiSculty, and from a distance, of those who grow them for sale, and an ■exorbitant price. u. d. w. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 177 VIOAR OP WINKFIELD. The pear of which the above engraving is a por- trait, grew in the grounds of Col. Wilder, of Dor- chester, and was presented us for the especial pur- pose to which we have devoted it. Downing's ac- count of it is, that it was discovered as a natural seedling in the woods of Clion, France, by a French curate, whence it obtained the name of Le Cure, or Monsieur le Cure. It was afterward imported into England by the Rev. Mr. Rham, of Winkfield, and cultivated and disseminated from thence, be- coming known in the neighborhood of London as the Vicar of Winhfitld. It is called; therefore, in the books by each of the three names which are given in italics. And by Kenrick, it is called Clion, after the name of the place in which it was found growing wild. Different cultivators accord to it different mer- its. Mr. Downing says that with him it was al- ways large, fair and handsome, and a first rate baking pear ; occasionally fine as a table pear, but generally astringent and only third rate for this purpose. Its great productiveness, hardiness, and fine size, will always give it a prominent place m the orchard as a profitable, market, cooking pear. The tree grows thriftily, with drooping fruit branch- es. Shoots diverging, dark olive. Thomas, in his Fruit CuUurist, speaks well of 178 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April it; says it ripens late autumn and early winter, for about three months, and is^ne on quince stocks. Its neat and uniform productiveness, its fine qual- ities for cooking, and the long period of its con- tinuance, render it eminently valuable. B.\RRy, in his Fruit Garden, says the tree is a most vigorous grower on both pear and quince, and on the latter makes a beautiful and productive py- ramid; and that it is one of the most valuable of all late pears. Ripens well in the cellar. Cole, in his Fruit Book, says, as it is hardy; a great grower and enormous bearer, the fruit large, fair, and it comes in when pears are scarce, it is one of the most profitable for the market or home consumption. Requires a warm location, and a long warm season. Very large, long pyriform; pale yellow-brown, full in the sun ; stem 1^ inches long, slender, obliquely set without cavity; slight basin; flesh greenish white, juicy. Excellent for cooking. AGRICULTURAL MASS MEETING. The mass meeting of the farmers of Middlesex came off on the 10th, to the entire satisfection of all concerned. We went to bed on the evening of the 9th, with a cold, drizzling rainfiilling around us, and feeling that our prospect for the next day was dark and dubious. But Providence was better to us than our fears. The morning sun rose fair and bright, and his cheering beams warmed all our hearts. At the appointed hour, the active, stout-hearted and intelligent farmers of Concord and the neighboring towns began to assemble, and took hold of the business of the day as though they had come for a day's work, and meant to do it, too. They were cheered by the presence of several distinguished friends of agri- culture from different sections of the State and from other States. All tlie services of the day were of a highly interesting character. Indeed, the interest was not only sustained, but increased from hour to hour, until 10 o'clock in the eve- ning, when the meeting broke up, amidst the universal regrets that we had not another day to spend in the same way. Not an unpleasant cir- cumstance occurred to mar the pleasure of the day. Universal good feeling prevailed. We had a good dinner and it is not enough to say that we had a pleasant time. We had a good time — a grand time. It was a proud day for the Con- cord farmers and a proud day for old Concord. And we trust that many of the towns in our State will have just such a time this very spring, and every spring for years to come, and when they do, "may we be there to see." The meeting was called to order by Elijah Wood, Jr., Esq., and organized by the choice of Simon Brown, President ; Maj. B. Wheeler, Fra- mingham, and Col. He.\rd, of Wayland, Vice Presidents, and Dr. Jos. Reynolds, Secretary. The doings of the Concord Farmers' Club, at their two last meetings in which this Convention origi- nated, were then read by the Secretary. The throne of grace was then addressed in a very appropriate manner by Rev. L. Angier, of Concord. The President made some remarks ex- planatory of the objects of the meeting. Letters were then read from A. W. Dodge, of Essex, W. S. King, of Providence, Editor of the Journal of Ag" ricuUure, Prof. J. G. Hoyt, and J.T. Gilman, Ex- eter, and from C . Jj. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, expressing their regret at being unable to be with us, and giving us words of cheering and encouragement. The subject of farm buildings was then taken up. Wii. D. Brown, of Concord, read an essay full of wit, humor and instruction, in which he de- scribed minutely the size, construction and ar- rangements of Farmer Goodman's barn. The essay was full of useful hints and suggestions. The subject of neat stock was then taken up, and occupied the remainder of the morning session. Setii Sprague, of Duxbury, President of tlie Ply- mouth County Agricultural Society, made some very interesting statements upon this subject. He said that a great difficulty with us is that if we have a good animal, w'eare not sure of getting another. The English farmers regard the milking and flesh-gaining properties of their stock. They use horses principally for the draft, so that work- ing oxen are of less importance. They have suc- ceeded admirably, and they are certain of success in getting the kind of stock they desire. Our na- tive cattle have mixed blood in their veins, and we know not how to cross and mix them. We need to purify their blood. We must pay great attention to the character of the males if we wish to improve the quality of our stock. We must have pure-blooded males. A stain in, the blood from any strong-blooded, vigorous race, will shew itself for many generations, and oftentimes will be strongly marked, after its origin is forgot- ten. As an illustration of this, he said that the Galloways or hornless cattle were introduced many years ago into this country, and now we occasion- ally find a no-horned animal in our herds, when its parents, grand-parents and gi-eat-grand-pa- rents all had horns. Mr. S. thinks the Durhams the best for milk and beef, where the feed is rich and abundant. Alderneys or Jerseys are now being imported. Their milk is very rich and they make an abundance of fine butter. But they are small, and not very hardy ; what the result will be from them is uncertain. lie has found that the Durhams, the Ayrshires and the Devons all take flesh much better than our native stock. He thinks that the same keeping that will make three lbs. of flesh in native stock, will make four in any of the above kinds, i853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 179 Geo. M. Barrett, of Concord, said he had had some experience in the breeding of stock, more es- pecially of the Ayrshire. But his experiments have not been continued long enougli to deter- mine its absolute value. Ilia present impression ia, that they will prove the best for milk. Ayr- shire cows have short teats, and sound, compact bags. Where they have one-quarter native blood, they have good ?ized teats. Maj. B. Wheeler said he had liad some expe- rience in raising stock. Durhams, he thinks the best fur beef. They are large, hardy, and take fat easily. If the object of the raiser was to get cattle for beef, he would recommend Durhams. — But he has not been successful in getting great milkers from them. The Ayrshires he thinks fine milkers. The only objection is their small teats. The xVlderneys give very rich milk, but they are not hardy, and within his observation, they are apt to be poor. Col. Heard, of Wayland, keeps seven cows and always raises his own. Selects from his best and takes them to the best bull he can find. His cows have been mostly natives, but he has had some very good ones. Some 15 years ago, he and one of his neighbors purchased a bull, half Ayrshire, andkept him for the use of the neighborhood, and the result has been, that the stock has been a good deal improved. He thinks the Devons are very hardy and keep in flesh well through the winter. Ayrshire cows make more butter, and the butter keeps better than that from other cows. The President made some inquiries respecting abortion in cows. This is becoming a very com- mon occurrence and a serious evil. He inquired if any one could assign a cause for this? Several gentlemen observed this had frequently happened within their observation of late, but as- signed no reason for it. Mr. Sprague said that in his county, the butchers found the calves in a certain neighborhood were very fine, and they w ere willing to pay from fifty cents to a dollar more for them than for other calves, and this was found to be the result of the introduction of a certain bull into the neighborhood. This was a matter of no small importance. In England the breeding has been carried on by the best males. He re- ferred to the practice of breeding in and in ; an idea prevails in this country that this deteriorates the breed. In England a different idea prevails, and it is by this mode that the Devon Stock has been especially improved. Mr. Amasa Walker had nothing to say but what he had said before upon other occasions. — We talk about native stock and foreign stock. But it was all one stock. The only question is, which has been longest in the country. Our fathers brought the best stock they could find. Other stock has been imported since. But we cannot re-produce stocks imported, anymore than we can breed Englishmen. Although we are from the same stock, we are not Englishmen. Under the different climatic, dietetic and social influences we are very different from Englishmen. We are less muscular and more active and nervous. We are now importing largely the muscles of Englishmen and Irishmen to labor for us. We have brains enough, we do not need to import them. Our object must be to improve our stock by crossing. The raising of foreign stock is usually very expen- sive. It will do for amateur farmers. He has a fine pair of oxen. lie knows none finer, three- fourths Durham, — but they have been very ex- pensive. So of some cows he has had. They were fine cows, but expensive. He has one small native cow that cost much less, and costs much less in keeping ; but she gives milk of fine quality and in large quantity and his women tell him that she is the best cow he has. Select such cows and breed from them by crossing and we shall get good cows. Mr. Sprague did not agree with Mr. W. He thinks it very important to have good blood. If we get a good cow from such crosses as Mr. W. referred to, it would be accidental. We were not sure of it. Purify the blood, is a fundamental principle in stock breeding. jMr. Smith, of Lincoln, said if we select the best native stock, and cross with imported — we can im- prove the stock. He has seen this demonstrated in the case of what is called the Prentiss stock in his neighborhood. Mr. Lewis, of Framingham, said he was surprised to hear it said that it costs more to raise foreign stock than native. He thinks this is not true except in the case of Dur- hams. He has an Alderney that yields one lb. of butter to 6 quarts of milk. Now, he mixes her milk with that of his other cows and gets 1 lb. to eight quarts. It usually takes 10 quarts to a lb. Mr. Brown said that the cow that makes the most butter, will not always make the largest calf. Dr. Reynolds thought the cow that gives the richest milk would make the fattest calf. Fat oil, of which butter chiefly consists, will make fat, but not bone and muscle. The caseine which abounds in curd, contains a large amount of nitro- gen. This is essential to the formation of muscle. Hence milk that yields the most cheese will make the largest and most meaty calves, but not the fattest. Mr. Fren'Ch, of Exeter, was a believer in blood. He said we were in the habit of importing into this country live stock from the coast of Africa with black skins and curly hair, and he would in- quire how long it would take if it was bred in and in to change it, in this country into red skin with long straight hair. He thought it would take some time to run out the blood. You can no more get a Durham from a Devon i than an Indioj:i 180 WEW ENGLAND FARMER. April from a negro. The marks of the Devons are fixed and permanent. The Durhams are nearly as much so, but the Ayrshires are not so well fixed for they have not been distinct races so long. Why not breed from good native stock 1 Because you are not sure of a good progeny. He related an instance in his own experience to prove this. We must find the stock that has the qualities which we desire in the greatest degree, and breed from that. Mr. J. B. Farmer, of Concord, said his grand- father always raised his own stock from his own bulls, and he thinks that his stock deteriorated. One spring he had nine calves, seven of which were idiotic and good for nothing. He thinks raising in and in not a good practice. Mr. Heard said that old cows gave to their progeny their own marks more strongly than young ones. Prof. Nash, of Amherst, said he had but little experimental knowledge upon the subject. But he would make one inquiry. It is conced- ed that it is important to take the cow to a good bull. He believed that opinion true. His inqui- ry is the following. Is not the cow herself dete- riorated by taking her to a mean animal 1 If you take a fine mare to a mean animal, she deterio- rates from sympathy with the male. Is not the same thing true of the cow 1 Mr. Robinson, of Dorchester, said he was not much acquainted with raising stock. He keeps stock for their milk. He thinks the care of stock of more importance than the breeding. This matter of the care of stock is of infinitely more consequence than is usually imagined. If he were to give an opinion upon the comparative value of different breeds he would say the Ayrshires, were the best for the dairy and the Devons for the plow. Dr. Reynolds said the crop of hay last year was small, and he presumed it had led to experi- ments in feeding stock. He would inquire the results of experiments upon cutting hay, the pres- ent winter. Mr. Gleason, of Wayland, thought the quality of the hay last year was better than usual, and although the amount given to stock has been less than usual, he thinks stock in gene- ral is coming out well this spring. He does not think much is gained by cutting hay. But he thinks all feed should be wet — as to raising stock, it costs moj-e to raise than to buy, but we are more sure of good stock. Take a cow that is a good milker to a bull that came from a good milk- er and you are almost sure of a good milker. Mr. Sprague made some remarks upon the im- portance of taking better care than we usually do of our calves and young stock. Dr. Bartlett, of Chelmsford, said that the sub- ject of feeding was of more importance than any other in relation to stock. He uses apples very freely in feeding young stock, and he thinks, fed in this way, they will do better than on roots and hay. Corn fodder he uses extensively, sows South- ern flat corn broad cast, very thick, that the stalks may be small, and he thinks, pound for pound, it is worth more than English hay. He sows in July for winter feeding, and early for summer feed- ing. Salts it in the mow, and cattle prefer it to hay. He gives apples to his milch cows, and thinks them excellent food. He would freeze and then thaw them and immediately feed to the cows. Maj. B. Wheeler has used apples as food for cows, for thirty years, very successfully ; values them highly for this purpose. At this stage the meeting adjourned for dinner. One hour was spent in discussing the good things of the table. The farmers then returned promptly to the hall, and the subject o^ Plows and Plowing was called up. Several plates were arranged on one side of the hall exhibiting various patterns of plows, ancient and modern. Explanation of the plates, with remarks upon the improvement in the structure of this most important implement in the cultivation of the soil, were made by the Presi- dent. The next subject called up was Agricultural Education. Mr. Walker addressed the meeting in a most interesting and eloquent manner. He said this subject was arresting the public attention more strongly of late than ever before. He took the ground that every farmer should understand the science of his profession, and that he can un- derstand it. The physician who does not know why he gives a certain dose of medicine, is not en- titled to, and does not have our confidence. The farmer has more to do with the laws of nature than any other profession. If he is guided by tra- dition it is a very uncertain guide. The farmer has to do with fifteen elementary substances, and he must act in conjunction with the laws of nature, in effecting their combination and decomposition. He then named and described these elements viz., oxygen, chlorine, sulphur, phosphorus, silicon, hydrogen, nitrogen, iron, manganese, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesia and alumina. The firmer ought to understand geology which teaches the nature and composition of soil and rock. Soil is made mainly of decomposed rocks. Rocks are divided into stratified and unstratified, aqueous and igneous, those that have been deposited by the agency of water in strata, and those that have been deposited by the agency of fire not in strata. He then spoke of the constituents of rocks. Gran- ite contains a large amount of potash. It con- tains soda, lime, manganese and iron. Pulver- ized rocks manure the soil and repair its waste. When we learn to 2:)ulverize rocks readily and cheaply, we shall have the very manure we want for some soils and for some crops. Wo want to know the composition of vegetables that we may 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 181 a^apfc them to our soils, that we may furnish to our soils the elements needed in raising any given crops. This then, is a matter of practical utility. We want to know the comparative value of ma- nures. In order to do this we must know the component elements of different manures, and to know how to combine and to preserve manures. How to fix their volatile elements. There is hard- ly a farming process carried on by the farmer or his wife that is not a chemical process, and they can be carried on better when they are understood. Butter-making is an example of a purely chemical process. Butter is oil which in cream is contained in little bags, covered with caseine or cheese ; at a low temperature, you cannot break tliese bags to get at the oil, by any mechanical force. But at C0° Farenheit by constant stirring and thus bringing them into contact with the oxygen of the air, these little bags will burst, and their particles of oil will run together and accumulate into lumps. Butter must be worked as long as the caseine comes out. The object of workingjls, to get clear of this caseine, which will soon putrify and become ran- cid. Must not be worked too much or you will work out the sugar, which gives its sweet flavor to butter. His second proposition was, that every farmer can understand the science of his profession. A few years ago this could not be said. But the science of agriculture has been simplified like the science of geography, so that every one can under- stand all that is essential, in a few months. He would advise every young farmer to go to studying, and to i^ersevere until he masters the subject, so that when he reads in the Farmer about phos- phates, and carbonates, he may understand what he reads. He spoke of the Progressive Farmer, a book that costs but 50 cents, and has been pre- pared with great care for the use of those who de- sire simple, practical information upon these sub- ects. He advised young men to form themselves into classes, and pursue the study. The whole lecture was intelligible, instructive, and highly in- teresting, and we want a hundred such in the State the present year. The subject of root crops was then called up. Wm. D. Brown spoke of carrots, turnips, &c., raising, storing and feeding them. He stated that when, a few years ago, the landlords in Scotland raised the rents, the farmers went into the rais- ing of root crops, and paid their rents with the avails of their crops easier than before. Maj. Wheeler said it costs but little more to raise carrots than corn, if we manage right. The ground should be plowed deep, and sowed about the middle of June. As soon as the carrots show themselves, they should be hoed, and then fre- quently hoed, and they will require but little weeding. Mr. Sprague said turnips are a great crop in England. They sometimes get 40 tuns to the acre. The climate and soil suit them. We cannot raise them in such abundance in this climate — six or eight hundred bushels is as much as we can ex- pect. He has raised IGOO to the acre. We pro- bably expect too much from them. The English do not expect so much from them. He thinks ruta-baga the best kind of turnips — more easily raised than carrots. Salt hay alone is poor food for cows, and turnips are poor food for cows ; but give them both together, and they are very good food. He is fattening two cows upon them at this time. We can raise turnips at from six to eight cents per bushel ; at this rate they are good food. Cattle feeding upon dry hay, do better for some succulent vegetables. Mr. Comings, of Mason, N. H., followed in some interesting remarks upon feeding stock. Hon. J. W. Proctor did not arrive until after 5 o'clock, P. M. He closed the afternoon session with some interesting remarks. At the close of Mr. Proctor's remarks, the meeting adjourned till 7 o'clock. At 7 o'clock returned to the hall and met a brilliant assembly of farmer's wives and daughters, blooming and intelligent. At half-past 7, Mr. II. F. French, of Exeter, N. II., commenced a lecture which continued one hour, and fixed the attention of the audience to the last. He spoke in a plain, simple and easy style, of the importance of science to the agriculturist, and of the embarrassments at- tending the pursuit of scientific researches ; we must not expect too much of science, nor must we be deceived by the promises of those who are mere pretenders to science. We cannot dojustice to this lecture without reporting the whole — one must have heard it, properly to appreciate it. Mr. French was followed by a lecture from Prof. Nash, of Amherst, upon the most impor- tant elements of manures. He exhibited speci- mens of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Chlorine, Carbonic acid, Ammonia, Carbon, Carbonate of Potash, Po- tassa, Potassium, Lime, Magnesia, and described them and showed their properties. He then spoke of the elements in animal manures, their action up- on the soil and upon plants; how to improve man- ures and to fix their volatile elements, and various matters of great interest to the farmer. His remarks were very correct, and proved him to be thorough- ly master of the subject which he undertook to discuss. The audience manifested much interest in all his remarks, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour. Thus ended the experiment of a Farmers' Mass Meeting, and considering that it was an experi- ment and the first time it has ever been tried, it may be considered perfectly successful. 182 NEW ENGLAND FARMER, April For the New England Farmer. PRESERVING APPLES. in diameter, making the length of tlie scarf ab(flit 4 times the diameter of the stock ; cut off the point m, .- , . n I 1 -.u 1 J .or top of the stock down to about the thickness of lake a tisht flour barrel ■\vith one head, cover Lj,g - ... -. - the bottom with dean, dry saw-dust, then a layer of apples, blow end down, not allowing them to touch each other or come in contact with the bar rel, leaving a space on the outside of about one inch ; cover one inch with saw-dust, then a layer of apples, &c., until the barrel is full, leaving about three inches saw-dust on the top. Put the bar- rels into a room without fire, or into a tight out- building, they will not freeze or rot ; the places in the aj^ples bruised by falling from trees, or other- wise, instead of decaying, will become like dried apples, and the bahmce remain sound. Your ob't servant, Geo. B. Green. Windsor, Vt., 1853. GRAFTING. The season is near at hand for performing this operation. Scions should be cut immediately and kept in a cool moist place. There are various modes of grafting, but a few of the best are suffi- cient for all purposes. We copy from Cole's Fruit Book, and believe the directions are suflBciently clear and precise for the direction of any who may have the work to do. Cleft Grafting is the most common. It is practised on large stocks and those rather small. In large stocks, an inch or moi-e in diameter, two scions are set ; this aids in healing over the stock, and keeping it sound and healthy ; and when the scions interfere the second or third year, one is usually cut out. Sometimes both remain. Saw off the stock with a fine saw, and pare smoothly with a sharp knife ; then split the stock with the grafting-knife, and open it with the wedge on the same. Or a common knife and a wooden wedge may be used. Sharpen the scion on both sides, with a straight scarf like a wedge ; let the scarf be about 1^ inches long, more or less, according to the size of the scion and the splitting of the stock, making the scarf of the sci- on as long as it can be conveniently fitted to the stock. Large scions should liave shoulders at the top of the scarf, else the stock would be split too wide. It is best for the stuck to cover, or almost cover, the scarfs on tlie scion. The outer part of the scion should be slightly thicker, to make a close fit there. Leave two buds on the scion, setting the lower bud just below the top of the stock. Adjust the scion so that the joint between 'the (^''"f^'^s- bark and wood, in the stock and scion, will exact- ly correspond ; this is important, as that is the place of union between them. This done, with- draw the wedge, and apply the cement or clay. In cutting scions, reject the but, as the buds start reluctantly or not at all, and reject the top also, as it is too Soft, or may be winter-killed. Scarfing tue Stock. — When only one scion is set in a stock of moderate or small size, if the stock be scarfed off on the side opposite the scion, (as at a, in the figure,) it will heal over the soon- er. We have grafted as follows with excellent success. With a drawing stroke of the knife, cut off stocks or small limbs, say from J to | an inch Cleft scion ; (as at b;) then split the stock, shape the scion, and with a wide knife at the end, or blue point, pry open the stock on the scarfed side, and adjust the scion, which should be thicker on the outside. We have graft- ed in this way ; and in tlie fall, stocks I of an inch in diameter have been cora^ pletely healed over, and so neatly in some cases, that we could not determine by tlieir appearance whether they had been grafted. We prefer this mode ; it is neat, expeditious, and successful. We have put good new tops on small stand- ard trees, in one season, by grafting the limbs in this way, so that the change was hardly perceptible. _ Splice OR Whip Grafting. This mode TAes^ocI' is adapted to small stocks, and it suc- Hcarfed. ceeds best when the scion and stock are precisely of the same diameter. When one is lar- ger, they should be matched precisely on one side. The stock and scion are scarfed off, about \^ inch- es in length, and by cutting downward in the stock and upward in the scion, a tongue is raised on each, {a, a,) which is fitted into the cut of the other. This is a very perfect and sure method, and stone fruit will sometimes take better in this way than in any other. Bind it very neatly with matting, and then apply composi- tion ; or better still, wind round compo- a\ sition cloth without matting. The cloth will yield in warm weather, as the tree grows, and is better than matting, as that will girdle the tree, if not loosened. Side Grafting. — IMake a T in the bark, as in budding; then cut out a small piece of bark crosswise just above the cut, that it may allow the scion to fit closely to the ^"'f^''^s- wood below. Scarf off the scion, as in splice oraft- ing, commencing the scarf at a slight crook, if such there be in the scion, that it may stand off. Sharpen the point of the scion on the side oppo- site the scarf, cutting a little each side of the round part, that it may slide down well, then raise the bark as in budding, and press down the scion; if the upper part hugs closely to the stock above the cross-cut, press it to the stock where it is set in the bark, and bend tlie upper part off. Bind it closely to the stock, and apply composition. When the bark does not peal, the stock may be scarfed off a little, and the scion, foi'med as usual, festened on. In this way, side limbs may be formed when there is a deficiency, and grafting done without cutting off the tree or stock. Crown Grafting is the same as side grafting, only instead of across- cut in the bark, the stock is cut off. It is adapted to stocks that are too large for cleft grafting. Or, after cleft grafting large stocks, scions are set in this way between the other sci- ons, to keep the stock alive and promote healing, and they may be cut off for scions, and the others will cover the stock. Saddle Grafting is but little practised. The Splice Side Grafting. 1853. NEW ENGLAND lARMER. 183 stock is sharpened in wedge-form ; the scion is split up in the centre, and each half thinned away on the inside to a Qat point, and tlien set on the stock, vith a good fit, at least, on one edge. It is most practised on stone fruit, and when the scion is im- mature. Sometimes large stocks are grafted after the usual season, by splitting up the scions two or three inches, with one side the stronger. The stock is scarfed ofi" on one side, and the stronger side of the scion is fitted into the bark opposite the scarf, and the thin part is brought down over the scarf, and the lower end inserted under the bark below the scarf. The thin part of the scion passing over Jj the scarf promotes healing. ^ Root Grafting.— In the Middle States (jf^j^'^^V and the West, this mode succeeds better than in the North, where the seasons are shorter. Roots arc cut into pieces of various sizes, from 3 to 5 inches. If large, cleft grafting is best ; if small, splice grafting is preferable. Some apply compo- sition, others omit it, as the root is covered in earth. The surest way is_to apply it, but with omission it is generally successful. The better way is to have the roots accessible in winter, and graft the latter part of winter or early in spring. and set out the stocks in earth in the cellar, in boxes or not, until the ground is dry enough for setting out. Grafting Large Trees should generally be done gradually, occupying 2 or 3 years, according to the size of the tree and manner of grafting. Graft the top first, as scions at bottom will not grow well while overspread by large branches. Leave twigs and shoots on the limbs, to sustain the limb till the scions grow, and then remove them gradually, but perhaps not till the second year. !Many an orchard of large trees has been ruined by cutting ofi" all the top at once, in grafting, exposing the trunk and branches to the hot sun, and giving a sudden check to the growth and life of the tree. But if the Hmbsare all cut oif and grafted at once, towards their extremities, say where only an inch in diameter, and numerous twigs and little limbs are left, then the tree does not feel a shock, as the twigs and numerous scions soon form a good supply of foliage ; and as the latter grow, the former are removed. Or graft limbs enough for a new top, where not very lai-ge, and remove the others in a year or two, as the scions supply their place. Never graft an unthrifty tree ; it is lost labor. First cultivate, prune, and wash, and put it in a vigorous condition. Grafting Composition, and its Application. — 1 part good beef tallow, 2 parts beeswax, 4 parts white, transparent rosin ; melt all together, turn into cold water, and work and pull it thoroughly, as shoemaker's wax. This composition is not so soft as to melt in warm weather, nor so hard as to crack in cold weather ; but it gives as the tree grows. It is of great importance to have it of a right temperature, and well applied, else it will peel off in cold weather. While warm, it should bo pressed closely to all the wounded part of stock and scion. ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.H. The farmers of old Rockingham held an agricul- tural mass meeting, at Exeter, N. II., on the 10th of February, which was " a starter." A large number of people were present. Henry F. French, Esq., of Exeter, presided. "He stated the object of the meeting to be, — to adopt measures for the promotion of agriculture — to awaken a new inter- est in behalf of the association they had recently formed, and to arrange for a Fair in the autumn." Everything was propitious; on the 28th of October they had no organization — now they are organ- ized, and at work with a fund of over $1,500 ! — Prof. IIoYT, and Mr. French, of Exeter, Robinson, of Brentwood, Cram, of Hampton Falls, Currier, of Dcrry, Clarke, of Atkinson, Bartlett, of Strat- ham, Learned, of Chester, Sanborn, of Kingston, and others, we learn, made capital speeches, in- teresting and instructive. The following resolu- tions were reported, and we believe adopted. Resolved, That a National Bureau of Agriculture ought to be established. Res^olved, That our State Legislature ought to es- tablish a State Board of Agriculture, appoint a State Commissioner, and make appropriations in aid of Agricultural Societies. Resolved, That it is important to improve our pi-e- sent breeds of stock, by a cross with the best import- ed breeds. Resolved, That the ladies be invited to enrol their names as honorary members of the Society. j^" An ornamental tree society has been formed in Stoneham. For the New England Varmer. CARROTS VS. ENGLISH HAY. Gents : — Annexed is an extract from a letter received from one of the best experienced farmers in the county of Worcester. His estimate of the value of carrots, as feed for stock, comes short of most others, — but not so much as appears on the first reading. Valuing English hay at S20 the ton, Mr. Brooks would value carrots at $8 the ton. Generally speaking, they are placed at half the price of hay. Perhaps their true value will be found between one-third and one-half that of good hay — according to the purposes for which they are wanted. Mr. Brooks' view of draining are vvor- thy of much consideration. This is a mode of im- provement but little practiced among us and less understood. I remember to have seen it very suc- cessfully applied, by Mr. Colman on his flirm in Lynn, whereby the value of the land was increased fourfold. What is mea< for one, may be jsoison for another ; so in directions for farming, circum- stances materially alter cases. General rules can- not be applied without qualifications. Very truly yours, J. W. Proctor. Danvers, Feb. 16, 1853. My Dear Sir :— Your favor of the 10th ult. came duly to hand, acknowledging the receipt of the Worcester County transactions, and saying that you had recently turned your attention to the culture of the root crops, for which I am glad, as I have no doubt you will add much that is useful to this important subject. Pruf Mapes is too sanguine in his statement as to the value of carrots. It is true, that a horse fed partly on car- 184 NEW ENGLA.ND FARMER. April rots or any otlier green food, or even wetted hay, is less subject to heaves, than vyhen fed on dry hay alone. It is not true that when a horse is fed in part on carrots, that shells of oats and pieces of cut hay will not be found in his dung. I have fed a colt this winter, (coining three years old) a portion of the time, on cut hay, with one peck of carrots daily, and a part of the time on cut hay alone, and can discover no differences in his excrement, it being equally chappy when fed on hay and carrots as when fed on hay only. — The statement that 50 per cent is saved, by cook- ing meal for hogs, is beyond my experience, which is not more than 25 per cent, saving in cooking corn, rye, barley, or oat meal, and 15 per cent, saving in cooking roots. You will find a state- ment of all I know as to the comparative value of good English hay, Indian meal, fiat turnips, car- rots, and good oat straw in my letter to the Wor- cester county societies' committee on feeding ; published in the supplement to their transactions of 1852, page 29. In the trials there detailed, I make five pounds of flat turnips equal to one pound of hay, three pounds of carrots equal to one pound of hay, and one pound of Indian meal equal to four pounds of hay ; the trials were made with good English hay, and were for milk. In these trials you will perceive that three tons of carrots are equal to one ton of English hay ; therefore hay at ten dollars a ton, would leave carrots worth three dollars and thir- ty-three cents the ton. You will find in the same supplement, page 32d, a letter from the late J. W^ Lincoln, in which he says he gained one quart of milk, daily, by feeding one peck of car- rots ; allowing carrots to weigh 50 pounds the bushel, or 12^ pounds the peck, and milk to be worth on the fiirra 2t cents the quart, and hay ten dollars the ton, the amount would stand thus : Eour pecks or one bushel of carrots equal four quarts of milk at 2^ cents, would be ten cents the bushel for carrots ; 40 bushels of carrots to the ton would bo ten times forty-four dollars the ton for carrots, and to this the daily saving of four pounds of hay, the hay value of 12i pounds of carrots,|hay at one-half a cent the pound, and you have $4.02 as the value of one ton of carrots, or 69 cents the ton more than I made them worth in my trial. I have but little experience as to the value of the beet family, having made but one trial, and that with the mangel wurtzel. On the 15th of November, 1833, I commenced feeding a steer 43 months old, and weighing 1205 pounds live weight. I fed him on 30 pounds of good English hay daily for 30 days ; he gained in weight in the 30 days, 00.^ pounds. I then fed him 30 days on 24 pounds of hay, and 30 pounds of mangel wurtzel daily, and he gained in 30 days 62| pounds, showing 36 pounds of mangel wurtzel to be equal to 12 pounds of hay. I then fed 30 days on 30 pounds of luiy, and 108 pounds of mangel wurtzel daily, and the steer gained in the 30 days 125 pounds, or about 4 pounds daily, or twice as much as whgn fed on 30 pounds of hay alone, which ^goes to show that 108 pounds of mangel wurtzel are equal to 30 pounds of hay, or that 3 pounds of this root is worth one pound of good English hay, which I believe to be about the truth . Your query as to whether drains cut so deep and near together as recommended by the Wor- cester committee, is a just one, and worthy of consideraticm. In some favorable situations, it may no doubt prove a good investment, but gener- ally in this State, land suital)le for cultivation is t:)0 cheap to pay for tliorough draining. If land I)e drained at all, th')rough draining is in the end cheapest, and you cannot drain thoroughly with- out cutting drains deep, and frequent, for the rea- sons stated in the Worcester county committee's report. There is a query, however, before yours to be settled, which is, whether in our dry cli- mate, draining (except it be our peaty swamp meadows) be recommended afall, whether the ad- vantage gained by draining our retentive uplands, wet in a season, will not be lost in a dry season, is a question not yet decided in this country. I have doubts upon this question, and we need practice and experience to determine the facts. There are good reasons for draining in England under their drizzly, rainy sky, that do not exist in our coun- try. Ten years ago, I cut a drain 3i feet deep, and six feet wide, througli a piece of retentive clay loam land about twenty rods long; last summer the grass 20 feet each side of the drain evidently suf- fered more from the drought than in other parts of the field. This leads me to doubt the utility of in- discriminate draining, as some ardent gentlemen recommend. The profits on Mr. Bailie's farm was probably $100 or $150 more than stated by him, he being an old-fashioned farmer and very conscientious in his statements ; he would, no doubt, make the income from the f;xrm quite as small as it really was. The farm, though large in acres, is small in value, a considerable portion of it being -poor, sandy land, producing but httle. Very respectfully yours, John Brooks. Princeton, Feb. 10, 1853. GLEANINGS. Warm Stables. — The Valley Farmer says the owner of seven horses, who kept them in a warm stable, ventilated near the eves, stated to him that they ate only two- thirds the quantity of food in a given time that they required in the same time in common, open stables, and the horses were in bet- ter condition than they had ever been before. TuE Oats Crop. — The Gcrmanlown Telegraph thinks the proper time for sowing oats, is as soon as by the absence of frost the earth can be plowed and put in good order ; that the early sown, makes the most grain and best quality. Right, undoubtedly. lie says, too, that agricultural as- sociations are multiplying rapidly in Pennsylva- nia. Prof. Wilkinson, in the same paper, announ- ces his intention of discontinuing his Institute at Mount Airy, on the first of March. It has exist- ed eight years — had 217 pupils, among whom were but/our sons of farmers — "the latter think- ing that they are competent to educate their own sons." A large majority of these pupils have embarked in, or design to make, agriculture their profession. Skinning a Pear Tree. — W. S. Lyles, in the Soil of the South, Columbus, Ga., says he stript a 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 185 favorite pear tree entirely of its bark, from the limb to the root, on the 21st day of June, and "it Stone Buildings — Lumber is every day becom- ing scarce and higher. Buildings constructed of neither wilted a leaf nor dropt a pear ; but ripened wood arc quickly perishable, unless constantly the latter, with which it was loaded, to perfection. It has now [no date] a fine coat of smooth, young, glossy bark, except on a few spots, where the knife happened to strike the wood." Mr. L. thinks this operation will rejuvenate old trees. Native Grasses.— The Farmer and Planter, Pendleton, S. (J., thinks the native grasses, which grow on their branch and creek bottoms, much better than any tliat grow naturally or can be cul- tivated successfully on up-land, in that part of the country. Will the Planter inform us how much its crop of corn was, per acre, in his experiment with guano and plaster ? Both parcels of land — where the gain by manuring was 33 percent., and on the unmanured. The American Farmer, Baltimore, advises to sow 12 pounds of clover seeds over every acre in ivheat. Is that intended for pasture or a grass crop? For a wash for trees he recommends 1 gallon of soft soap, 1 quart of salt, and 1 pound of flour of sulphur. He says, "a peck of crushed cobs and a peck of cut fodder, hay or straw, thrice a day, will keep your cows well up to their milk." If that quantity of feed would keep owr cows "well up to their milk," we could make a profit at present prices. But we fear that not on- ly the milk would disappear but the flesh also. High Price for Land. — 140 acres of land have recently been sold, eight or ten miles from N. Y. city, at a price of $500 to $870 an acre ! Influences of Forests. — M. Becquerel,a French savant, has just published an elaborate work on forests and their influence on nature, in which he treats the subject at once scientifically and histor- ically. He has lately presented to the Academy of Sciences an analysis of that work, containing a notice of the principal conclusions at which he has arrived. They are in brief these, as we learn from the Paris correspondence of the Boston Journal : "That forests act upon the climate of a country as frigorific causes ; that they also act as protection against winds and as a means of pre- serving living springs ; and that they prevent the degradation or wearing away of mountains. As to tlie influence of forests upon the climate, there is much difference of opinion, but the above is the opinion of the author, stated with due deference to the distinguished persons who hold different views. M. Bocquerel also considers that forests act as protection against the communication from place to place of contagious diseases." Wash FOR Trees. — "A Practical Farmer," in the Gennanloion Telegraph, s^y^, "for young trees he prefers a ley made of house ashes, to potash ; and that when he tries the latter it is only one pound to two gallons of water. covered with a coat of paint, and if kept so covered, they are too expensive. We have millions of perches of good stone scattered through New Eng- land, large portions of which now cumber the ground by preventing the growth of crops and breaking farm implements. Houses constructed of stone, are more durable, much less expensive to be kept in repair, warm in winter, and cool in sum- mer. Will some one who understands the matter give us the difference of cost of construction be- tween stone, brick and wood, with such other facts as shall turn attention to this important mat- ter? ^ For the Neio England Farmer. ORNAMENTAL TREE3S. UY J. REYNOLDS, M. D. In arranging our estates, it is always well to have some regard to their market value. This is a duty we owe to our families ; life is uncertain, and we know not how soon our property may be thrown into the market. A man is under the same kind of obligation to regard the market value of his property, that he is to seek safe and profitable stocks, when he would invest his money in stocks. A few dollars in money or labor, expended in no other way, will add so much to the value of an estate, as when expended in setting out ornamen- tal trees. Nothing adds so much as trees, to the pleasant and cheerful aspect of a house and the grounds about it. The magnificent elm, with its long arms stretching towards the sky, the lighter ash, the cheerful maple, and the thick heavy fo- liage of the horse chestnut, interspersed with the fir, the pine and the arbor vitte, whose deep green gives cheerfulness even to the dreariness of Avinter, when tastefully arranged, and placed in judicious contrast with each other, give a pleasant aspect and an inviting appearance to a house and home, that exposed unprotected to the scorching rays of the summer sun, and to the pitiless blasts of win- ter, would be unpleasant and uninviting. A hundred dollars laid out in almost any other way upon one's premises, will scarcely be noticed. If expended in building a porch, an arbor or a trel- lis, they will soon decay and require a new outlay to keep them in repair. But money expended in trees increases in value annually, faster than money at compound interest. A beautiful tree that costs perhaps, set out, one dollar, will add to the value of an estate in ten years, fifty or a hun- dred dollars. The growth of trees, which costs only a little care, increases their value rapidly*. And a circumstance of much impurtince is, that such trees may be usually placed in situations where fruit trees would yield but little profit.' For- est trees are generally longer lived than fruit trees, and do not require to be so often rejil iced. Oaks and elms when once rooted in tlie soil, become incorporated with the earth, an integral part of the estate ; we look upon them as we do upon the rocks and hills, as permanent fixtures, and when we recall the places and scenes with which we were familiar in early life, we find that our memories have retained the forms aud 186 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April appearances of these old trees, among their most cherished treasures. One of the attributes with which nature has en- dowed us, and one which contributes much to our happiness, is a love of beauty. A tree, or a group of trees, is in itself a beautiful object. By select ing and setting out beautiful and symmetrical trees, we have them always before us, and thus gratify and cultivate cne of the most pleasing in stincts of our nature. And then, in surrounding our dwellings with shade ti'ees, there is a peculiar fitness. They are associated in our minds, with shelter, protection, comfort, and are most appro- priate to each other. The moral effdct of surrounding ourselves Avith these beautiful objects, is by no means to be over- looked, especially when interspersed with trees are flowers, and flowering shrubs. These last are peculiarly beautiful in their season. The fragrant lilac with its modest blush, the creamy white se- ringa peeping from the deep green of its foliage, the hawthorn, the sweet briar and the wild rose, filling the air with sweetness, the snow-ball, with its clustering petals, the delicate hues of the al- thea and the pearls of the snow-drop mingle their beauties and their fragrance with the scene. And while our sight and our smell, our love of beauti- ful forms and sense of fitness are gratified, and a spirit of clieer fulness and contentment steals over us, we can rejoice that this is our home, and our hearts swell with gratitude for so many pleasant gifts. Contrast the possessor of such a group of flowering shrubs and beautiful trees, with the man whose home knows no cooling shade, no sweet scented flower, no graceful forms waving in the wind or murmuring in the breeze, and say if the latter would not make a cheap purchase could he secure the pleasure which the former is enjoying, at many times its actual cost. Our fathers set out many elms and sycamores and maples, and there are in many of our villages, fine trees of these kinds, the monuments of their taste and foretliought. We can only regret that they did not plant a greater variety, and plant them in greater numbers. Were all the villages of New England ornamented with avenues of elms, oaks, maples, ash, horse chestnuts and English elms, interspersed with firs, pines and arbor vitas trees, and the immediate vicinity of our dwellings adorned with flowering shrubs, as is the case with some villages in the near vicinity of the metropo- lis, and beauty and taste thus combined with Yan- kee thrift and enterprise. New England would be unsurpassed for attractiveness, by any part of our country. A judicious mingling of trees adds much to the beauty of a rural scene. Evergreens growing under the shelter of more lofty deciduous trees, add to the cheerfulness of tke picture, and aSijrd a useful screen from the wtuTry blasts, when they can be planted upon the n&rih side of avenues, yards and gardens. Trees planted in groups as they grow in the forest prevent in some degree the evaporation of moisture from the soils, and are more likely to thrive than when standing alone. In their native forests, nature provides for the nu- triment of the trees, by the annual decay of their leaves. But when trees are set singly, or in small groups, their falling leaves are mostly dispersed by the winds, and the ground must be made rich by other means, if we expect them to thrive rapidly. Probably the best manure for forest trees is a col-] lection of their own leaves, covered with sufficient soil to prevent them from blowing away. The cul- tivation of forest trees has been but little attend- ed to ; it has been thought quite enough to set them out. But there is no doubt that forest trees, as well as fruit trees, will tlirive better under suita- ble culture, and will amply repay judicious care. I intended to speak of the proper methods of re- moving and setting trees, but mast defer it to another time. Concord, Feb. 17, 1853. A SONG FOR THE MILLION. The following beautiful song was written by request of the Hon. Zadock Pratt, ofPratlsville, N. Y. It is one of those productions which never grow old, — for as long as there is oc- cupation for men, and Iheir hearts beat, there will be found a sentiment in it to touch the heart and encourage it. BV HO.\. D. B. FRENCH. Am — The Hunters of Kentucky. The noblemen of Nature are The hardy working classes, The tillers of the yielding soil, The blouses and the masses. The stalwart farmer drives his team, And while he turns the sod, sir, He sings his song of happiness. And puis his trust in God, sir ! O, the Farmer, the independent Farmer- O, the Farmer, the independent Farmer ! lie to the soil commits the seed, The fruits spring forth and thrive, sir; lie gathers in the harvest, and He keeps the world alive, sir. Then bless the Farmer in your prayers, And neither thwart nor flout him; Be grateful to him always, for You cannot live without him ! O, the Farmer, &c. The Blacksmith— how beneath his sledge The sounding anvils ring, sir; Amid the flying sparks he stands More sovereign than a king, sir : The heated mass assumes a shape Beneath his swinging blow, sir — The coulter, and the scythe, and spade, Within his furnace glow, sir. O, the hammer, the anvil and the hammer — O, the hammer, the anvil and the hammer I Blacksmiths are men — "aye, every inch" — Their sinewy arms behold, sir; They, solid as their anvils, are Of Nature's purest mould, sir. The Blacksmith takes the precedence — Of trades it is the trade, sir — The haft is worthless till it holds The keen and glittering blade, sir .' O, the hammer, &c. Next in the scale of workingmea The hardy Taimer see, sir, Delving amid his hides and bark, As busy as a bee, sir : His art converts the unseemly hide Into the polished leather, Which sparkles in the mazy dance Or brushes through the heather. i>, the Tanner, the busy bustling Tanner — O, the Tanner, the busy bustling Tanner 1 Should enemies invade our soil. Their force we would repel, sir, By calling all the Tanners out, To tail the rascals well, sir; 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 187 They'd stripe them off, and star them o'er, And curry them, no doubt, sir; So that "iheir anxious marms would guess Their children had been out," sir I O, the Tanner, &c. A niche for good Saint Crispin's sons. Of quiet life and manner} The world were bootUss but for them— They second well the Tanner; Well are they styled -the gentle craft," O'er Beauty's foot they bow, sir; And oft, I ween, they steal a kiss From Beauty's placid brow, sir ! O, Saint Crispin— the gentle sons of Crispin- O, Saint Crispin— the gentle sons of Crispin ! But, should we name each working class In this our working song, sir, Perchance it never would be sung, For it would be too long, sir; Then here's to all who use the plane — The axe, the saw, the crow, sir — The soldering iron, the turning lathe. The shovel, spade, or hoe, sir. O, the masses— the independent masses — O, the masses— the independent masses 1 The days of monarchy are o'er — All men are monarchs now, sir; The people rule, and monarchs may Before their sovereigns bow, sir 1 The jewelled crown, the purple robe, Man far away shall fling, sir; And sceptres shall be working-tools — The printing press the King, sir ! O, the people — the independent people — O, the people— the independent peojile ! For the New England Farmer. THE FARMER WITH TWO IDEAS. BY A. G. COMINGS. There was a farmer I knew, and a merry man was he, who had one idea at rising up, which went with him all the day, and another at going to-bed, which last was as old as its brother idea, and these made the merry mood of the merry far- mer I knew. The morning idea danced out with a jovial song for A Present Profit to the worker who breaks the turf and mellows the yielding soil; and the eve- ning idea was as merry as merry could be, among the growing trees, the stretching vines, the chil- dren at school or play, and all the growing tribes in house or barn, as the song of A Profit for years- to-come was heard with inspiring glee. Year after year the merry man kept up his two ideas, and they filled his barns, they filled his cel- lar, they filled both garret and stall, and they filled his purse so the strings would often break and the bank would only take the burden of his toils. And the merr}' Hirmer became a walking wonder, and a thousand wondering people said "Why is it?" Then they all began to talk about the farmer's two ideas, and how they kept him in such a mer ry mood. And they found that the morning idea was not forgotten, nor allowed to trespass on the eveninw idea. So the farmer never worked his farmwithout feeding it, and he was careful to give it food which would cause it to produce very plentifully in immediate action, and yet remain healtliy for tiiiie to come. It was established also that the evening idea should not be left alone at any time ; bnt, where much was hoped for in time to come, much must also be exacted in the passing day. His fields produced plentifully, but every year gave an increase of plentifuJness, compared with the year before. lie procured the most active ma- nures, and by these ^secured large and immediate crops. Upon the same ground he put large supplies of less active manure at the same time, and this gave promise for the futui'c. One gave him "joy in harvest," while the other gave him hope of "a good time coming." His gardens flourished, his trees grew, the birds sang by his door, his daughters were virtuous and happy, his sons loved the open world for a workshop, and his wife sat a queen in their own quiet court ; and all this joy and gladness came along in the very same path where the farmer's two ideas led the way. Thus lived the merry man to a good old age, and prospered in all his many years, singing along the way of life about "A present profit," and "A profit for years to come." A RKASOM FOR THIS AND THAT. To manage a farm for mere present profit, at a sacrifice of its ability to produce in future, is like a man's tearing down one side of his house for fire- wood, in a winter day. He makes a gain by a greater loss. Yet the practice of skinning and robbing farms by reducing their ability to produce, for a present scanty profit, is a w-'y that too many follow. It is very seldom the case that a man makes a profit by the cultivation of any piece of ground which is not really made better for future use at the same time. But it can be made poorer either by cropping without manuring, or by crop- ping while a scanty amount only of very active manure is applied. To manage a farm only for future profit, while the owner has no wealth beside, upon which to rest, is like going to sea in a bark canoe with the expectation of finding a good and richly laden ship in some quarter of the ocean ; or like a pen- niless man starting for California without provi- sions. Every man who needs to increase his wealth, by farming, must give attention to pre- sent profit. Every farmer should study to know the way of securing a present and also a continued profit, with an increase. The idea of a present and a continued or future profit in farming, is like the boatman's illustra- tion of faith and works by the two oars of his boat. If he pulled upon the one which lie called faith, he made no headway, bat only whirled round and round. If he pulled upon the other, which he called works, he was whirled about in the opposite direction. If he drew both at the same time, his boat was hurried over the waters. Upon most farms there is necessity of cultivat- ing a variety of grains and grasses, some of which must be cultivated with care, attention and ma- nuring every year, to secure a profit. It should be equally the object of the common farmer to manage his grain and grass fields, his orchards and his garden grounds, so as to secure present profit while he is preparing every department to give a better profit in years to come. In the management of some fariuers a habit of doing things "for the present" prevails over every idea of doing substantially what is done. In this way everything is daily found out of place or out 188 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April of order. Continual loss is consequent upon it. This is justly called the "short-sighted" policy. It is so much the way of some, in the farm house as well as outside of it, that the short-sighted economy which they pursue is a source of con- stant loss and misfortune. They may be indus- trious, apparently econominal, and seek prosperi- ty with untiring diligence, but poverty comes in their train. With such a fiimily, either the man or the woman is shortsighted in management, and the order that is necessary to prosperity is not with them. TWO PERSONS FOR TWO IDEAS. The prosperous farmer has the two ideas which lead to prosperity ; and he has a wife — yes certain- ly, a wife he has, who has also the same two ideas with himself. She can see beyond the end of her nose as well as he, and she can see what is with- in her reach also, as well as he. She secures the present profit and the profit for years to come, and puts to use the proper things in the proper time, and when she has used them she always puts them in proper order and in a proper place. And all I have to say more is only this : the mer- ry farmer I knew had two good eyes, and he had "a little wife well willed," who had also two good eyes, and they both together had two good ideas, and they walked the path of life together, seeing to learn, and learning to a profit ; and nobody can wonder any longer that he was a raerry far- mer all his days. Mason, N. H. LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Eighth Meeting— Tuesday Evening, March 15, 1853. The eighth meeting of the season was held at the State House on Tuesday evening. The sub- ject for discussion was ''TAe Preparation and Ap- plication of Manures.'''' Simon Brown editor of the New England Far- mer, presided, and on taking the chair, expressed the opinion that by an intelligent investigation of the subject of manuring, our neglected lands might be increased in fertility to the amount of millions of money annually. He then offered some prac- tical remarks in relation to the subject. All mat- ter stimulative of vegetation is manure, and the constituent elements of vegetables tell us what in- gredients manure should contain in order to pro- duce vegetation. Vegetables are composed of ox- ygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen, and of course the manure applied to them should contain these elements ; in preparing manures, we should collect all such vegetables substances as contain! Great care should be observed not to let it fer- gen, which evolves the ammonia, and gives man- ure its chief value ; but t^iis is not contained in the hay. Hence the kind of food fed to cattle is important. A cow, fed liberally, according to Dana, will prepare daily, about one bushel, or 854 lbs. of manure, or in a year 4,800 lbs. of humus, or geine. 677 lbs. ofciirbonate of ammonia. 71 Ills, of bone duat. 37 lbs. of plaster. 37 lbs. of limestone, marble or chalk. 25 lbs. of common salt. 15 lbs. of sulphate of potash. A cow will produce about 3i cords of pure ma- mare in a year, weighing 9,289 lbs. By taking the number of cattle in the State, and making an es- timate as ticcurate as possible of the amount of manure they furnish, and affixing its cash value, we can ascertain what it ought to produce in crops. Basing his calculation on the census ofl8.50, Mr. Brown estimated that there were in this State, 150,000 milch cows, 47,000 working oxen, and 83,000 other cattle, each yielding 3^ cords of ma- nure annually, making an aggregate of 980,000 cords. Besides these, 42,000 horses, at 2 cords each, 84,000 cords ; 81,000 swine, at 3 cords each, 243,000 cords; 188,000 sheep, which with the poultry, will equal the swine, giving 243,000 cords more. This gives a total of 1,550,000 cords, which at 7$ per cord, a price which has ruled in Con- cord [Mr. Brown's residence] for many years, con- stitutes a value of $10,850,000 per year ! Besides this, the speaker estimated that a Hiir valuation of night soil, street sweepings, refuse matter of sugar refineries, &c., would swell the amount to $20,000,000 annually. In order to ascertain what this amount of ma- nure should produce in the way of crops, the speaker selected the article of corn. If this grain is planted at the usual distance of 3.^ by 3 feet, it gives 4,148 hills per acre. One peck of manure to each hill, which is a large allowance, would in 149,796 acres absorb the estimated amount of barn manures. At 40 bushels to the acre, this would yield 5,991,840 bushels of corn annually, — more than double the quantity ever yet produced in the State. After manure has been saved, it should be kept from exposure to rain and the sun, else its salts will be washed out and its gases evaporated. — these requisites — those which may be fed to stock and that which can be used to absorb the liquid manure which falls from them. Vegetable mat- ters decomposed by placing in the barn-yard or under cattle, are nearly worthless compared with an equal amount converted by stock. One hun- dred lbs. of fresh cow offal will furnish 2 lbs. 2 ounces of carbonate ammonia, while Johnson says 100 lbs. of hay would scarcely affjrd as many ounces aa the former does pounds. It is the nitro- ment too much, because such an excess destroys its most useful qualities. Mr. Coke, a distin- guished English agriculturist, has discontinued fermenting his manures, and he states that his crops are as good as ever, while the manure goes nearly iicice as far. When placed under the soil, and contiguous to the seed, unfermented, the plant secures the benefit of the fertilizing fluids which exude from it in the course of fermentation, while the heat evolved renders the Soil about the 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 189 plant a sort of hot-bed. A slight fermentation pre- vious to use is undoubtedly useful, as that com- mences the process necessary to make the ma- nure impart its fertilizing properties. As to the application of manures, the speaker said that green, coarse manures, might be plowed under late in autumn, and the ground plowed again in the spring, before planting. He had pursued this course with satisfactory results. On corn land he would spread broad-cast, plow under three or four inches, on a light soil, and one or two inches on a compact soil, and apply ashes, guano, or some other special manure in the hill. In regard to guano as a manure, Mr. Brown be- lieved it to be a most powerful fertilizer, notwith- standing many -who have used it have been disap- pointed, and call it a "humbug." But it must be used with extreme care — the proper time being when the atmosphere is damp. It should be cov- ered up immediately on being applied, and not suf- fered to remain on the surface of the ground. It should be used with peat mud that has been thrown out a year, pulverizing both well, and mixing five or six parts of muck to one of guano, which should be done on the morning of the day on which it is to be used. Mr. Brown thought the difficulty vrhich flirmers had experienced in using it arose from applying it when dry. The best method is to apply it in a liquid state, but this cannot be conveniently done except in gai'dens. Mr. Wilder, of Dorchester, was called upon by the chairman, and offered some remarks in regard to guano. He believed that at the present high price of labor, the cost of barn-yard manure on a piece of land would exceed that of an amount of guano sufficient to produce an equal crop. He considered it the very best kind of manure. It al ways succeeds best in a moist climate, and hence the immense quantity introduced into England, where $8,000,000 per annum is expended for it Mr. Wilder related some instances of its great fertilizing effects. Mr. Venable, M. C. from North Carolina, had communicated to him the results of its use upon his farm. He had several thousand acres which he regarded as hardly worth cultiva- tion. He applied guano to it, plowing it in deep, at the rate of only 150 pounds to the acre ; and from the whole of this land he obtained an average of 23 bushels of wheat per acre ; whereas before applying the guano he got only 5 bushels. Anoth- er instance was that of Mr. Holcomb, of Delaware, who purchased a farm of 2300 acres, with a brick house thereon, for $2500. owing to the miserable condition of the land. He sowed 75 acres of it with wheat, plowing in about 10 tons of guano ; and the first crop paid for the form and all its ex- penses, and left a small surplus besides. Mr. Wilder's plan was to compound one part of guano with six parts of meadow mud, pulveriz- ing it, and adding another part of charcoal ; plac- ing it in a heap (which must be kept covered,) three weeks before using it. He had found by ex- periment that half a handful of this compost Avas as good as a whole handful put in dry. In sandy soils it should be placed pretty deep, but in clayey lands, shallow. It should be applied early in the spring. Seven years ago he reclaimed a piece of meadow, and dressed it with 300 lbs. guano to the acre. The first year the crop was so heavy that it mildewed, and he had not been obliged to renew it. Mr. Shattuck of New Hampshire, said he had tried guano considerably the past year, using it on most every crop on his farm, and generally with good results. lie had a peice of land of about two acres which he had always considered worth- less. He plowed it up and manured it with guano, quicklime and plaster, and planted with early potatoes, which yielded the best crop he ever had. His manure, which cost $6 per acre, was com- posed of 130 lbs. guano, 800 of plaster, and 100 of quicklime. The plaster and quicklime were first sown broadcast, and throughly incorporated in the land, and then the guano, mixed with meadow mud, was plowed in, and the ground harrowed thoroughly. The seed was dropped immediately upon the compost. The soil was very dry. He used the lime to dissengage the ammonia of the guano. Mr. Shattuck plants his potatoes in a furrow, without hills, on loamy land, and thinks them less liable to suffer by drought, because hills shed the water. The New Hampshire farmer who took the premium at the State Fair for his potatoes, planted them on a flat surface having a mellow soil beneath for the plant to strike its roots into. The speaker regarded guano as most excellent manure to force crops ; and stated that he had a plot of cucumbers which the bugs destroyed two or three times, and it being late in the season he concluded to plant again and force with guano. He mixed guano with lime and put it into the hills covering it and placing the seed upon it. In three days after dropping the seed, with no rain in the meantime, the cucumbers were up an inch, and he had an abundant crop. Prof. Nash, of Amherst College, said he had ap- plied guano the past year to about a third of an acre of land, at the rate of 200 lbs to the acre, and gathered therefrom a splendid crop of Indian corn, remarkably well filled- out, and surpassing that raised on contiguous land manured with bone-dust. He was of opinion that our farmers should avail themselves of all the resources of their farms for manures before purchasing guano. The farm, as a general rule, should be made to fertilize itself. Prof. Nash coincided with the chairman in regard to using green manure ; if put immediately into the soil, its operation is very advantageous, be- cause the plant gets the benefit of a large proper- 190 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April tion of ammonia, nitrogen and carbonic acid, which would be lost if the manure were suffered to lay over. Plow it in shallow, if the soil is clayey a little deeper if loamy, and still deeper if sandy. On motion of Mr. Clark, of Waltham, the sub- ject of manures was continued to the next meeting, when a part of the evening will be devoted to it, and the remainder to "The subdivision and fencing of the lands of a farm." For the New England Farmer. THE PEWEE— SOOT FOR PLANTS. Mr. Editor : — Having seen in your valuable pa per an inquiry made touching the Ijirds of New England, I send you the following facts concern- ing the well known little bird, Pewee, or fly-catch- er. About five years ago, I had a jxiir of these birds. (You will pardon me for calling them mine, for they were iny songsters and companions, for fourteen years, and left me only when repairs of buildings drove them from tiieir old home.) In the last of March, or first of April, perched on the buildings or fences, will be seen the Pewee, filling the air with his joyful notes. But his stay at this time is only about a fortnight, for he soon gets weary calling "Phebee," for she answers not. If it is fine weather, a journey of twelve or fourteen days will find t'lera at their old home, busy repair- ing or building their nest. For eight successive years they built their nest on a sleeper of my barn, within a few feet of each other, and in this time they built four nests, con- structing a new one every other year. They re- pair the inside of the nest after the first brood have flown. The next spring, if the upper edge of the nest gets loose, they repair it, and replenish the inside with a new coating, and do the same after the first brood has flown the second year, so that in eight years they had four new nests, and re- paired them twelve times, each nest having been used for four broods. It takes them seven or eight days to repair a nest. Afterwards they placed their nest in a build- ing over my tanner's beam, and several times changed it to different buildings as I changed my plac3 of work. They would alight on the beam and watch their prey whilst I was near them. In fourteen years, they reared about one hun- dred and twenty young, for none were destroyed by idle boys, and even old puss seemed to have learned to respect them, as she was never known to catch any. They are very industrious in catch- ing flies, taking fi'om two to four a minute, when they make a business of feeding their young. SOOT TO DESTROY VERMIN. I have been informed by a gentleman from Eng- land that they pay 145 per load for chimney soot, to spread on their land for the purpose of killing vermin. I wish to know if it is used for such a pupose in this country? AVould it not be good to roll corn in before planting? Respectfully yours, John M. Merrill. Bristol, N. IL, March 4, 1853. Remarks. — Soot is a capital fertilizer, and is fre- quently used to kill insects. It is certainly advis- able to save it all and apply it in some way to the crops. For the New England Farmer. AUTUMNAL MARROW SQUASH. ^Ir. Brown, — Dear Sir :— Much discus.-ion has lately arisen, about who first introduced among us this fine variety of squash, which has been re- ceived with so much favor, as to nearly shove aside all others. In a letter that I received from Dr. Harris, of Caml)ridge, dated Nov. C, 1851, he speaks of this variety, as having been "first de- scriljed by Mr. Ives, of Salem," who "procured the seeds of it from North Hampton." I think I have heard the same statement from Mr. Ives, him- self, whom I know to be a discriminating cultiva- tor of garden vegetables. I have lately l)uen in- formed l)y Mr. A. Lord, of Salem, that he grew the first specimens of this squash that were ever raised in Mass. That he received the seeds from Mr. George C Buxton, of Danvei-s, to whom six seeds came in a letter from South America, tivo on- ly of which produced fruit— these under the care of ^Ir. Lord. Without presuming to say who is right and who is not, I present such facts as have come to my knowledge ; leaving it to those who know more to correct my statements, if errone- ous. Your obedient servant, Danvers, i^ti. 12, 1853. J. W. Proctor. STOCKHARDT'S FIELD LECTURES- A capital buck, which we commend cordially to every farmer. We like it for several reasons : Isl, Because the doctrines it teaches are true ; 2d, Because it is written in a clear, simple style, and can be readily comprehended by those who are not adepts in chemistry ; and 3d, Because it places science in its true position. While it claims for it the importance that justly belongs to it, it re- cognizes the value and the authority of experi- ence. It admits that "the chemist cannot here exert a sovereign sway over fixed invariable quan- tities, and uniformly continuous conditions," but is as dependent upon soil, climate, wind and weather, as the husbandman himself." His chaptei's upon artificial manures, guano and bones, are of great value, and cannot be too high- ly commended to the attention of all cultivators. Had he been acquainted with the value of barn cellars in the manufacture and preservation of com- post manures, we should have learned the fact in his chapter on stall manures and straw. In this respect we think New England farmers have made a step in advance of their Teutonic cousins. We are sorry to observe so great carelessness in the use of numbers, as we have noticed in perusing the book. For instance, on the 154th page, we are told that Saxony contains 7000 inhabitants to a square mile. Being somewhat startled at this, we looked into the matter and find that according to the Saxe Weimar Almanac, Saxony, in 1840, contained 270 to the square mile. Belgium, the most populous country in Europe, contained 305. On the 194th page we are told that one-half an ounce of the best Peruvian Guano, on being burned, leaves only one drachm (30 to 33 per cent.) of 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 191 ashes. On the 196th page, we find 2 drachms (from 50 to 55 per cent.) If one drachm is 30 to 33 per cent., 2 drachms must be more than 50 to 55. But every school-boy knows that 8 drachms make one ounce, and that 1 drachm is 25 per cent, of half an ounce. Why then use numbers so care- lessly ? In the tables, too, in which peculiar care should be used, we notice several great incongrui- ties. We trust these errors will be corrected in future editions, and we are the more desirous they should bo, because the bi>ok is one of the best that can be put into the hands of the practical farmer. labor of plowing, by pursuing such a course. Bet- ter plow less and take good care of it. You will find scattered through t!ic volumes of the monthly Farmer, accounts of cranberry cul- ture. Where you can turn up a white sand by plowing, cranberries usually succeed well. We doubt whether they would in a cluy subsoil. For the New Enifland Farmer. OLD PASTURES AI^D CRANBERRIES. Mr. Editor : — Having a pasture of several acres situated a mile and a half or two miles from home, that needs plowing very badly, I have thought proper to inquire through your paper, from you or some of your correspondents, the most profita- ble way to manage it. The land is suitable for rye or curn, and capable of producing large crops of either ; containing as it does a sufficient quanti- ty of rich loam interspersed with gravel. Would it be best to plow it in the spring, pur- chase some guano, lime or such like manure, (as it is too far to cart barn-yard manure) and plant it to corn ; or would a wiser course be, to plow it in August or September, and sow it down to rye or grass, (a.) If tlie former, what would be the cheapest ma- nure to purchase, and the probable cost and quan- tity per acre. If it was not thought advisable to plant corn at so great a distance from home, should rye or grass seed be sown without any manure be- ing applied to the land. (6.) Oraxberries. — Will some of yourcorresponderAs give tlieir experience in, and methods of cultivat- ing the cranberry. Can the cultivation of this plant be made profitable to the farmer? Having several acres of swale land near by, producing but little hay, as the soil is of a mucky nature to the depth of three or four inches, and underneath is a hard pan of clay, I have serious thouglits of plow- ing up a portion of it and setting out the plants of the upland cranberry; but before doing so, I wish to ascertain whether the soil is adapted to the growth of that plant, and whether I could use the land to a better purpose. Any information in relation to the above sub- jects, will be thankfully received by a Young Farmer. Remarks. — (a.) We have a pasture ofeight acres which has been regularly fed for 25 years, until the whole product is not more than what one acre ought to be. The conclusion arrived at after reflecting upon the whole matter, is, that we shall pl)w it in August, manure a portion with plaster and guano, and sow with rye and grass seed, and let tlie cows run upon it about the first of June. Another portion with plaster and phosphate of lime, and another with plaster and ashes. Will you do so and let us know the result 1 For the New England Farmer. CORN CULTURE. Mr. Edtior : — In the last volume of the Farmer may be found some remarks by me, on the culti- vation of corn, at pages 73 and 324. Since that time I have had occasion to change my views, as expressed on this subject, on page 73, Vol. IV., as it regarded phmting corn on land that had been planted to potatoes the year previous. Last spring I planted five-eights of an acre to corn, using eight cords of unfermented manure, composted with muck, according to Mr. Hol- brook's directions, page 381, Vol. III., of the monthly Farmer, plowing it in to the depth of eight inches, and then cross plowing to the same depth, and then harrowed down smooth, and fur- rowed out and applied three cords in the hill, ma- king in all eleven cords used. About 150 lbs. of gypsum was put on after the corn was up. The yield was forty bushels. Potatoes were grown on this the year previous. Four cords less of manure were on the five-eights of an acre, than were used on the acre and a half the year previous, yet the yield was 15 bushels the most on the five-eights. Now I attribute this to two causes. First, the manure was put on in a sufficient quantity to be felt by the corn the whole season. The decom- posed manure gave it a start the first of the sea- son, and the last part the green manure did its work in producing a crop. The second I attribute to the deeper plowing, one being six and the other eight inches. Of the benefits •of deep plowing I need not speak, for they have been so clearly point- ed out in the Farmer for the last two years, that all who have read it need nothing but facts to be able to see the good effiict at a single glance. Y^ours for the cause of agriculture, S. Tenney. Lewiston Falls, March 7, 1853. {b.) No, you would lose a large portion of your Ition. Mass. HorticulturaIj Society. — Through the attention of E. Wight, Esq., Corresponding Sec- retary of the Society, we have before us the sched- ule of prizes offered for 1853, as follows : Prospective prizes $750 Gardens Greenliouses, England Farmer. BONE WENS. Mr. Editor : — I noticed an inquiry for a cure of bone wens ; I have a recipe which I have used, and has effected a cure. Take equal parts of indi- go dissolved in wine, and soft soap; apply it quite warm, with a swab, twice or three times a day. This I have tried on a calf six months old, and on a two years old, and effected a cure. Hanover, 1853. J. Brqoks. K 56 >tj o oi V. > a <; ^ a"Z ? ^ 2, g « ct "an &3 o W -3 ^ ^ 3 « PI ta C 53 _c o ST*? to c3S o's 3 oca »c3 E.S ft 2. = ° 2:11 Pear Trees. — We passed an hour in the nur- sery grounds of Col. Wilder, of Dorchester, on Friday, and came to the conclusion that if any of our readers are in want 0? pear trees, they can find them there of all varieties, on pear and quince stocks,with prices varying according to the age and perfection of the tree. It is worth a journey there merely to look at his trees. i^" Mr. Levi Burt, nurseryman at Walpole, N. II., writes us that after 16 years experience in raising, budding and grafting fruit trees, he is sat- isfied that to get good healthy pear trees, that will last and be productive, it ia necessary to graft on pear stock. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 205 For the Neiv England Farmer. HOW CAN CHEMISTRY BENEFIT THE FARMER? BY HENRV F. FRENCH. The novelist Coopet, somewhere says that "men at thirty put on their interested spectacles, and sel- dom afterwards see anything very lovely, that is not, at the same time, very lucrative V Farmers are obliged, at the Nortli, to keep on their interested spectacles, and look through them pretty sharply too, to discern clearly what is show and what is substance. They need all the aid that knowledge can give them, and cannot afford to be often deceived. We cannot expect to live long enough to plant and gather more than some forty or fifty annual crops, and a few years of error make a sad discount on the good results of our life, whether it be in field-culture or heart culture. All knowledge eventually becomes practical. The unaccountable turning of the needle to the pole, the expansive power of heat upon water and air, and the instantaneous passage of electricity, are as much practical, hard working facts, as are our horses and oxen. Chemistry, if it has not discovered the philosopher'' s stone, vrhich shall turn all it touches to gold, nor the universal sol- vent, nor the secret o? renewing youth, and render- ing it perpetual, has doneyar better for mankind, by analyzing the stones on our farms, teaching how to dissolve them, and convert their elements into food for the hungry. The chemist now makes great promises, as did the alchemist of old. Ilis laboratory is a mystery, and his technical language unintelligible, to most working men — as much so now as centuries ago. And sad though it be, we must believe that learned men will still be found, base enough to deceive their fellow-men, under the pretence of benefiting them, for their own advantage. When Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and it became a ser- pent, the magicians and sorcerers by their en- chantments did the same, and caused their rods also to become serpents, and from that time to this, the contest between truth and error has been 60 evenly matched, that the world has been, like poor Pharaoh, sorely puzzled always, to discern the difference. The science of chemistry, though full of myste- ry and difficulty, has already established certain great, tangible, practical principles, of infinite value to the agriculturist. It has disclosed to us, among the rest, that plants, which were looked up- on formerly as the results of incomprehensible acci- dents, are made of something, and that the same kind of plant is formed substantially always o[ the same materials. It takes the plant to pieces, and weighs and measures its constituent parts, and tells us how much of each it contains, and so we learn that the plant cannot be formed, unless somehow the elements of which it consists are furnished. And next, chemistry looks at our soil, takes that to pieces, and tells us of what it is composed; and chemistry, too, makes a pretty good guess at least, of what the air supplies to the plant, and so in- forms us, whether the plant, which we desire to raise on our land, can find enough to eat and drink, and be clothed withal, with leaves and flow- ers and fruit, within its reach. The principles being thus settled, aad being so simple that a child may comprehend them, next comes the practical application of them. Farmers, like "the rest of mankind," have con- siderable human nature in them ! They are pleased with new fancies, and nearly as likely, though I think not quite, to be humbugged, as their neigh- bors. The Merino sheep fever, when a handsome buck brought two thousand dollars, and the Mul- ticaulis fever, attackedyarmers, as well as others ! The market is full of scientific manures, as well as of scientific principles. Farmers are assured, in advertisements, that specific manures may be purchased, ao valuable and cheap, that stable ma- nure would not be worth hauling a mile, if to be had for nothing I and other advertisements assure them, that for a few dollars, analyses of their soils will be furnished with infallible directions, for the treatment of their land. Now it is well known, that gross frauds have already been practised, in the sale of adulterated uano. No farmer can distinguish pure Peruvian guano, from a mixture readily formed, which shall be but one-third guano. Superphosphate of lime is, perhaps, the best scientific preparation for manure yet discovered, but nothing short of a chemical analysis can detect the vilest imposition in its manufacture. The soil can be analyzed ac- curately, but all chemists agree, that the process is one of great care, and nicety, requiring much skill and practice and time, and that a charge of twenty dollars is reasonable for a single process, properly conducted. The farmer who procures an analysis, has of himself no means of knowing whether the result given him is accurate, wheth- er it is a mere approximation to the truth, or a mere guess. The only security, then, that the farmer has against imposition, the only security that true sci- ence has against quackery and false pretensions, is in the personal character of those engaged in the departments in question. Employ a chemist, as you employ a physician, not only because he has skill, but because he has a high reputation for integrity and honor. Pur- chase costly fertilizers, as you would purchase val- uable jewels, only of dealers, whose known char- acter places them above suspicion of fraud. The different results of experiments with specific ma- nures arise probably, as often from differences in the substances used, as in the soil itself. The true value of the science of chemistry will never be appreciated, until more of system is con- nected with its application to the use of the far- mer. I have thought that in Massachusetts, a State advanced far beyond its neighbors in agricul- tural improvements, that a system like the follow- ing might, ere long, be adopted. Let there be a chemist for each county, residing there, and acting under the direction of the County Soci- ety, or the Board of Agriculture. Let him be_ a practical chemist and a practical farmer. Let him make careful analyses of the various classes of soil which compose his county — of the pine plain — of the clay — of the alluvial soil by the rivers — of the hard pan soil of the hills. A decent knowl- edge of the geological formation of the country about him, a series of careful observations as to the mechanical condition of the soil, with the re- sults of his researches in his laboratory, might, it would seem, give him such a general knowledge of the requirements of each class of soil, that, 20G NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat with the proper information derired from the oe-[ should be gathered in June or July, and both kinds cupant, by personal inquiry, he might be soon as competent to give advice as to the culture of the land about him, as the doctor to prescribe for the sick, or the lawyer to advise his client. No phy- sician vi'ould dare prescribe for a dangerous dis- ease, upon the description of it given by an un- skilful informant, and no agriculturist, however learned, can give much valuable advice about the culture of afield, from information derived through unlearned sources. An analysis of a pound of earth, from a farm, would perhaps give a somewhat better idea to a chemist of its requirements for fertility, than would the examination of the paring of a finger-nail of a patient whom he never saw, give to the physician, of the physical ills of the sufferer. But as a gen- eral thing, it would seem, that the specimen sent, must be quite too small, and quite too uncertain, to be the means of much valuable information. No man can take from a cultivated field a pound of earth, and feel any confidence that it fixirly rep- resents the condition of the whole, while our chem- ist of the county, who had analyzed perhaps twen- ty specimens of soil in the neighborhood, of simi- lar character and position, would be able to judge, without a new experiment, with great accuracy, by a superficial examination merely, what must be its chemical constituents. I repeat what I have often said, that I have the fullest faith in the advantages to be derived by the farmer, from the aid of chemistry, and it is, be- cause I desire that all men should charge their dis- appointments, in attempting to avail themselves of her services, to the right account, and not always to the science itself, that I have ventured to make the foregoing suggestions. h. f. f. Ecceler, N. II., April &, 1853. are easy to cultivate. I set 14 rods of white birch hedge last week, at an expense of less than one dollar, the trees averaging 2 feet high, and got them in in good order; so you see it will not cost me much to try the experiment. The Silver or River Maple would grow on good land the quick- est of any tree tliat I ever cultivated, and may be easily obtained by seed or seedling trees. The seed may be gathered in June or July, and sowed the same year. B. F. Cutter. Pelham, N. H., April 4., 1853. EMERY'S REAPING- AND MOWING MACHINE COMBINED. We lay before our readers this new labor-saving machine, in order that it may be seen and exam- ined, before the busy season arrives, when it may be called into use. ^or the jyew England Farmer. HEDGES. Mr. Editor : — I propose to write a few lines in answer to your correspondent from Hollis, on the subject of the hedges, that will stop cattle. Al- most any kind of tree properly managed will make a fence, but the tree should be adapted to the land where it is to be grown. In looking about for some tree for a hedge, on poor pine plain land, I asked myself what tree would grow on this kind of land and be the least objectionable, and with the least care and expense, and have come to the conclusion that the White Birch and the White Pine are the best. These trees will grow and flourish without cultivation almost anywhere, and may be had for the taking up; or the seed of either! key As will readily be seen, it is provided with a driver's seat and wheels, independent of the ma- chine itself, but attached by hinges in such a man- ner as to allow an easy action and adjustment, while this method does away entirely with all the side draft. The machine itself is provided with a large main wheel, being about forty inches diameter and eight inches face, with the necessary projections on its surface. This wheel is cast with an internal gear- ing at one side of the spokes, the teeth of which are protected from dirt and strengthened by a deep flange of nearly three inches. The main frame is suspended from this wheel, by means of adjustable pinion boxes, the boxes being hung in- side of hangers attached to the frame itself. By applying a kind of wrench to the box, (which pro- jects far enough beyond the hangers, and is made square,) it may be turned ; thus by the action of its teeth on the corresponding teeth on the hang- er, the frame itself is raised or lowered to any de- sired point, where it is confined by a simple iron may be easily obtained, and sowed where they are wanted to grow. The seed of the birch can be gathered in November, and the pine in August or September. There are hundreds of miles of fence|on the lines of railroads, where hedges might be raised much cheaper than rail or board fence can be built, and if the older roads had been hedged when they were first built, the hedge would before this time have l>een large enough to turn cattle, and the piae trees in many places kept the snov/ from drifting. J think the river birch, or the canoe birch, would be very suitable for river intervale on meadows, where rail fence is liable to be taken up by ice and A small pinion is placed inside of this large wheel at the forward part, and its shaft confined to the under side of the frame itself, this shaft ex- tending far enough outside to receive an eccentric close up to the frame. The motion of the cutters is obtained by eccen- tric straps and connecting rod, passing along the outside of the frame to the fore end, where it con- nects with an elbow or knee iron, as shown at A, in Fig. 1. This elbow extends its other end through to the front of the main frame, as seen at B, and is confined in position by a heavy substan- tial bed-plate of iron. The end of the cutter bar itself, connecting with the elbow at B, has its mo- carried off by freshets; the seed of both these trees tion simply and directly from the main wheel, all 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 207 parts working constantlj' in line, giving a stroke of eight inches by the eccentric, and each end of the elbow being eight inches from its centre of mo- tion, causes on either end a deflection of hut five- eighths of an inch beyond a straight centre line. At the same time, the cutters have as much velo- city as the best reapers and mowers in use. They make but half the reverses or vibrations, and re- quire less than half the weight of cutter bar and connections of either of them, while it is equally strona;. These cutters and dividers are not dissimilar to those used by the first premium mowing machine at the late trial by the State Society, with the ex- ception that the divider is made to fit round the under side of a wrought iron cutter beam, the beam itself l)eing made of two plates of wrought iron rolled into a sort of trough, with their con- cave faces placed together, and then firmly riveted, thus forming a hollow beam. An enlarged but imperfect representation of the divider is shown in Fig. 3. Through this hollow beam a shaft is passed, and at its extreme end this shaft is turned at right angles to the rear of the beam about two feet, and a wheel attached to its rear end, to support the This cut represents a transverse section of the wrought iron cutter beam, with a section of the cutter bar, cutters and divider. B represents the cutter bar to which the steel blades are attached, on its underside, — the bend of the blades being upon their upper side, and sickle-edged. These blades also extend back of the cutter bar, with cutting angle and edges same as before it, but not terminating in a poinfc. This rear projection serves to cut a.nd clear the "clog" or fibre which may possibly escape the forward cut and be drawn into the dividers. D represents a section of the crank axle which extends tiirough the hollow beam and supports its outer end. C repi-esents the double plate hollow beam with attaehments. A repre- sents the divider,with openings and guides through which the cutters pass; this divider is made very true, and with sharp corners over which the cut- ters pass, forming a p(>rfect shears cutting action. These dividers are wider than most others, leaving a space of about two inches between them, thus better protecting the cutters from injury from! stones, also comjiressing the grass or grain into al more dense body, and better condition for the ac- tion of the cutters. Fii The cut showing the mower represents wheels attached, same as with the reaper. However, where the fields are small, and it is desirable to have it smaller, and the crop of grass or grain is 80 light as not to produce an excessive side draft on the liorses, the forward wheels and seat may . be removed, and the horses hitched closely up to the machine, the driver moving back upon a seat directly fjrward or over the large main wheel. outer end of the beam. At the inner end of this shaft is attached a sort of crank or lever about two feet long, extending forward towards the driver's seat, with a leather strap or cliain attached to it. This strap, passing upwards and over a shieve, ex- tends along the large lever to the driver's seat, and passing another shieve, and is then attached to the foot b)ard of the driver. This main lever, which is seen passing the driver's seat, is made permanent to the machine itself, and is kept in its desired position or elevation, by means of an up- riglit post beside the seat, with a series of catches and latch, operated by the driver's foot, so that while the person is raising the lever with his hand, with his foot he loosens or confines it where he de- sii'es. Therefore, while he raises the lever, lifting by it the side of the machine directly in rear of him- self, the strap or chain is drawn over the shieves, and the end of the wrench lever is raised sufficient- ly to turn the crank shaft which extends through the cutter beam, and by this being turned, the wheel at the outer end becoming a fulcrum on the ground, the beam itself must be raised at its out- er end so as to maintain a uniform elevation of its whole cutting front from the ground. The apron itself is shown with its fixtures in Fig. 2, detached. It is made of a strong frame work and light covering of wood and tin. The T standard at its back is a breastwork to protect and support the raker, who stands erect, face forward, directly behind it. The delivery is at one side, and has a slight elevation above the cutters, about 1.^ inches, and is over four feet wide. A reel^may be used at pleasure, and is always sold with the machine. The reel is driven by a pulley on the main wheel shaft— the band passing below the apron to the front side, where it passes upward to and over a pulley on the reel shaft. The band 203 NEW ENGLAND FARMLR. Mat and pulley have been omitted by the engraver, al- though in his sketch made from the machine. Price complete for this macliine will be about one hundred dollars, vrith the warranty. THE HIVE AND HONEY BEE. In advance of publicatiun, wo liave been permit- ted to look at the slioets of a forthcoming work on the above subject, by the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, of Greenfield, Mass. We have read them with pleasure, and lielieving in their statements, as we do, from our own observation of the habits of the bee, we may add, with gratification and delight. The descriptions are clear and concise, and are strengtiiened by quotations from the ablest writers on t!ie subject. We give below a single extract now, and shall refer to the subject again. Many persons have not the slightest idea that every thing may be seen that takes place in a bee- hive. But hives have for many years been in use, containing only one large comb, enclosed on both sides by glass. These hives are darkened by shutters, and when opened, the queen is exposed to observation as well as all the other bees. With- in the last two years, I have discovered that with proper precautions, colonies can be made to work in obsei ving hives, without shutters, and exposed continually to the fall light of day ; so that ob- servations may be made at all times, Avithout in the least interrupting the ordinary operations of the bees. By the aid of such hives, some of the most intelHgent citizens of Philadelphia have seen in my Apiary, the queen bee depositing her eggs in the ceils, and constantly surrounded by an af- fectionate circle of her devoted children. They have also witnessed, with astonishment and de- light, all the steps in the mysterious process of raising queens from eggs which with the ordinary development, would have produced only the com- mon bees. For more than three months, there was not a day in which some of my colonies were not engaged in making new queens to supply the place of those taken from them, and I had the pleasure of exhibiting all the facts to bee-keepers who never before felt willing to credit them. As all my hives are so made that each comb can be taken out, and examined at pleasure, those who use them, can obtain from them all the informa- tion which they need, and, are no longer forced to take any thing upon trust. For the rfew England Farmer. POSTS AND STAKES. Mr. Editor: — I have been a constant reader of the New England Fanner over one year, and do not recollect of seeing anything in it about setting posts and stakes in fence. I had heard it stated that the top end of the stick should be stuck in the ground. In 1838 I took a stick 14 feet long and cut it in tiie middle, setting the butt of one up, and the otlur down, 12 feet apart. In five years the one witli the butt down rotted off, and the oth- er stands sound yet. J. Davis. East Barnard, Vi. Remarks. — The above is a model communication, Mr. Davis utters his facts without preface or cir- cumlocution. They are read in a moment, under- stood as quickly, and are worth a "mint of money." The evidence is strong enough to induce any man, if he will but look at it, to set his posts and stakes butt-end up. A person writing in the Hartford Times several years since, said that in taking up a fence that had been set fourteen years, he noticed that some of the posts remained nearly sound, while others were rotted off at the bottom. On looking for the cause, he found that those posts that were set limh fart down, or inverted from the way they grew, were sound. Those that were set as they grew, rotted off. "A Farmer" writing in the Germantoren Tele- graph in 1849, says a gentleman in one of the New England States set a series of white oak posts, and for the purpose of testing the theory, set every other one top part down. After eight years the inverted posts were sound and good, while those that had been set with the butts down were, in al- most every instance, decayed. Another person in the same State set two chest- nut posts for the purpose of lianging a gate. Af- ter a lapse of eighteen years lie found the one butt end down very rotten, while the other, set with the top end in the soil, scarcely exhibited any ap- pearance of rot. The reason probably is, that the sap vessels are filled with sap, undergo a chemical change, and induce internal decay, while the moisture from the earth carries on the same operation on the ex- ternal parts of the wood. Or, it may be, that the tubes through which the sap ascends have valves or separations, to prevent tlie weight of the sap from falling back, and that if the posts are set as they grew the moisture would rise as did the sap. While if inverted, not only would the sap flow down, leaving the post dry, but no moisture would rise. But we are not certain about this. The sub- ject is important, and worthy the attention of some of our scientific correspondents. All persons making fence will do well to re- member these facts. TuE Cold Grapery. — This is the title of a neat little book giving directions how to raise grapes in houses under glass and without artificial heat. It is prepared by William Ciiorlton, Gardener to J. C. Green, of Staten Island, N. Y. We have read it with interest, and think it will prove very use- ful to those attempting to cultivate the grape with- out fire. Many persons would be glad to erect the building and fit it up, if in this way they could succeed in cultivating the grape without the con- stant trouble and expense of erecting furnaces and keeping up an artificial heat. We hope that by the aid this book will afford, they will be able to succeed. Published by J. 0. Riker, 12i3 Fulton Street, N. Y. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 209 GUENC N ON MILCH COWS. We have 1 erctofore noticed the work of M. GuENON in relation to testing milch cows by cer- tain appearances of the hair commencing at the udder and runnii.g up the tliighs. Having a good deal of confidence in this mode of ascertaining the milking properties of cows, both from our own ex- perience and the opinions of other observing per- sons, we have thought the matter of sufficient im- portance to procure an engraving, and give such other brief illustrations as would make the subject clear to the reader. While the subject is before us, we find the Ed- itor of the Germariioiun Telegraph has been giving it attention, and we avail ourselves of his labors, mainly agreeing with him in the value and impor- tance of the system. He says, "sometime ago, at a meeting of the Philadelphia Society for Promot- ing Agriculture, Mr. John Nefflin, an elderly, respectable and intelligent farmer from Germany, was introduced, for the purpose of enlisting the attention of the society to Gcenon's method of in- creasing the yield of the milch cow, by selecting the proper animals for the dairy, according to his method, or rather discovery. Mr. Nefflin desired that a committee should be appointed to test this system, as he was satisfied that all that was need- ed to impress the members of the society and the farming public with its truthfulness and impor- tance, was a trial, or many trials, inasmuch as he had never known the tests to fail, after many years of observation and experiments. The Society, always anxious to promote the in- terests of agriculture, even at heavy pecuniary ex- pense, when the object seems to warrant it, at once appointed a committee to investigate the matter — though several members had previously been strongly impressed with the truth of the sys- tem— consisting of Dr. Elwyn, George Blight, Isaac Newton, John Wilkinson, Samuel Williams, and Samuel C. Ford. The committee, after the trials had taken place, say in their report : "More than forty cows were examined by Mr. Nefflin, in the presence of members of the com- mittee. All the remarks of Mr. N., all the ques- tions and answers, were taken down at the mo- ment by Mr. Arthur Cannon, phonographic re- porter ; and all his statements were compared with those of the owners of the cows ; and after a full and particular investigation, carried on in the most searching manner, and sharpened by incredulity, the committee have no hesitation in giving their adhesion, and expressing their con- currence in the views of Guenon. The precision and accuracy with which Mr. Nefflin described the qualities of the animals, and the unh sitating manner in which he revealed all their pr iperties, could not but impress the committee with an en-. tire reliance on his own skill, and a perfect confi- dence in the views of his teacher." The stock of Mr. Ford having been examined and their qualities described, Mr. F. certifies that "it is a correct report of the qualities of his co™"- Mr. Wilkinson also certifies as to his stock amined and described in the same mannej follows : 210 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May "The deacription given of my cows by Mr, Neff- liN, ufter he examined them by his improved GuENON system, is in the main very correct, and satisfies me that this is the only reliable system by which cows can be selected." We- will tuld that Ghenon's system, whieir has been simplified and made more manifest by Mr. Neffmn, i« principally comprised in the fellow- ing •; The hai? of the ho?ned eattle, as is well known, grows downwards, only in the milk mirror which begins at the udder, the downlike, delicate, short and rt^/i^cr-colored hair grows upwards ;• and where the ascending and descending hair meet, they /orm an elevatrd stripe, a vortecc or i-^hirl. This whirl is the real frame or border of the milk mirror, and gives it its shape. This shape is Ikeprincipal mark of the productiveness of the£oic. One shape shows a greater productiveness of milk than another." To extend the usefulness of this really impoTtant discovery, Mr. Nefflin has prepared a treatise on the subject, which has just been published by Mr. C. B. Rogers, 29 Market Street, Philadelphia, with a handsomely-engraved chart, containing seventy-eight illustfations of the system — the pe- rusal and possession of which we would recommend to every farmer fur his guide in selecting his dairy stock ; and especially do we commend it to their attention, as the rules laid down are applicable to calves three months old. Explanation of the Letters. a, a, The greatest breadth of the mirror in all the class(!s and orders. b, b, breadth of the upper end of the mirror in the first class. c, c, ovals (0) above the teats. The cow of the first figure is represented to yield 20 quarts a day for nine months ; that of the sec- ond figure Gi quarts a day for four months; and that of the third, 2^ quarts, and no particular time mentioned. The Editor of the Country Genilerjwn says, "Guenon's chief rule consists in the breadth of the 'escutcheon,' or space immediately behind the milk bag and contiguous parts, contained within the boundary lines, formed by the meeting of hair growing in opposite directions. The hair on the escutcheon grows upwards and meets with the hair on the other parts. In the very ))est cows, or those which give the greatest quantity of milk and also cuntinue in milk a lon^ time, or tlie year round, the escutcheon is very broad and extends upward to the root of the tail. Such animals are very rare, and in ordinary instances and under good feeding and keeping, will yield about sis gal- lons of milk per day. In less perfect animals, the escutcheons will be narrower, and frequently will extend only part way to the tail, and so in difierent cows diminish- ing in l)readth until it reaches the medium which is found to exist in the greatest number, by far, of dl milch cows. In poor milkers, it is quite small ; it varies also considerably in shape, but the same general rule applies to all shapes, namely, that the area of this escutcheon is an accurate indica- tion of the amount of milk any cow will give. Guenon figures and describes no less than seventy- two different forma and sizes of escutcheons, all exemplifying this general rule, with a few excep- tions, whieh he states, but which we cannot her& point out, and all indicating with much accuracj the quantity of milk given and its quality and du- ratioa." From tke Ifew England Fdrmer, MORE ABOUT PLOWING. Farmers who look at the plowing of their neigh-' bors, and at cattle show plowing fields, with a critic's eye, notice much difference in the state of the soil where different plows have been used, eveii though they all turn fiat furrows, and all done in a workmanlike manner. A few years ago this wa© more noticeable than at present. We might on. cattle show day go on to the field after all is fin- ished and find some lands turned upside down so smoothly and nicely that it seems ^s though the only change made is, the soil is cut in slices and turned the other side up, lying about as compact as before. Other landa we would find with the furrow slice lying in a slightly rolling position^ highest in the middle, and the soil therefore more loose and crooked than the other. Sometimes a land would be seen which, from some peculiarity about the plow, had the appearance of having beeii finely harrowed. • This matter of the condition of the soil in the furrow slice, whether loose and porous or solid, seems not to have attracted due notice from plow judges and writers. They have said much about the position and width of the furrow, but seem to have left its pulverization as a matter of course to- the gentleman with the harrow. Now harrowing on stiff land, newly broken up, I find to be the most hard and wearisome of all spring work, both for team and teamster ; therefore the plow which leaves the soil in a good condition to harrow quick and easy, is plainly far preferable to one which merely turns it and leaves it about as solid as it found it. The Michigan double plow does this to perfection, and is likely to be popular on that ac- count. But it is plain by what we have all seen, that the single plow may be greatly improved in this respect. Let our plow-makers care less about the trial with the dynamometer and more about put- ting the soil in good condition ; that is the first and main point, ease of draft is secondary. I believe there is yet plenty of room for improvement in the making of plows, both for breaking up the sod and for working old land. Bachelor. March 12, 1853. Sheep Shearing Festival. — The third annual Sheep Shearing Festival, by A. L. Brigham, Esq., of West Cornwall, Vt., will take place at the ho- tel of James R. Hyde, in Sudbury, Rutland coun- ty, Vermont, on the first and second days of June next, at 10 o'clock, A. M. From 50 to 100 French Merino Ewes will be publicly sheared, so that all may see and judge of the sheep and fleeces for themselves. Every accommodation will be ren- dered to make the stay of the visitor agreeable. 1853. NEW KNGLAND FARMER. 211 HINTS FOR THE HUSBANDMAN. Sorrel. — The presence of this production- grass we are not permitted to call it — is always to be considered as an indication of a lack of calca- reous matter, for where the quantity of lime in the 8Ch1 is aot deficient, sorrel wilt not grow. On all light, silicious lands, lime has consequently been found a most useful article, and its application in- variably attended with higlily favorable results. — And just in the ratio of its uses, whether in com- post or in its natural state, so far as our informa tion extends, has been the diminution of the sor rel crop. Goo© Tools. — The old adage — "He must in deed be a good workman who can afford to work with poor tools," is one which, in our opinion, embodies a great deal of truth. If we farmers employ a mechanic — a mason for instance, or a house carpenter, to execute a "job of work," we of course expect he will cume provided with the requisite tools. Should he make his appearance upon the premises with but half the implements required for the expeditious and successful con- summation of the work intended, we should not hesitate to deaiur, and doubtles.s would dismiss him and entrust the job to another and more com- petefit hand. But how is it on our farms? Are we always as j-.nilous of our interests here ? We think not. How often indeed is it the case that our "helps" are required to plow, mow, reap, and hoe, with imple'Jients which are not only "out of fashion," but too clumsy and ponderous for any except an Ajax to wield. Many of the old-fash ioned implements are still to be found on our farms — such an plows, dung-forks, hoes and the like, and with these "hired men" and boys are frequently expected to perform as yyiuch work daily, and to "finish it off" "os neatly" as though they were provided with the best implements the market can afford. This is poor economy. It is better to give away a poor or inefficient tool — no matter what may have been its original cost, and purchase a new one of modern construction that will easily enable the operator to perform more work, and in a more workmanlike manner, in one day, than he can possi])ly accomplish in two, with the old one, than to retain it in use, and lose ten times its value in the result. Away with the "old fogies," then, and obtain the light, con- venient, and beautiful ones of modern days. Good Farming. — Rawstone, in his "Remarks on Lancashire Farming" — a very valuable and eru- dite work, says : — "It may be laid down as a standing rule, and as a guide to direct us, that all good forming — the whole of that process by which bad land is to be converted into good and productive, and to be continued in that state, — is comprised in the three following operations of husbandry, viz. : — 1. To carry off all superfluous and stagnant wa- ter, by means of judicious draining. 2. To retrieve, througli the meeeause it is more effective in compost and swells very much in bulk when dry-slacked for use. Six years since, I had a heap of seventy-five half cords of muck mixed with lime, in the proportion of a half cord of muck with a bushel of lime. The muck was drawn to the field when wanted in August. A bushel of salt to a tiei'ce of lime, 6 bushels, was dissolved in water enough to slack the lime down to fine dry pow- der, the lime being slacked no faster than wanted, and spread immediately while warm, over the layers of muck. The layers of muck were about six inches thick, then a coating of lime, and so on till the heap reached a height of five feet, a convenient width, and length enough to embrace the whole quantity of the muck. In about three weeks a powerful lecomposition was apparent, and the heap was nicely overhauled, nothing more being done to it, till it was loaded the next spring for spreading. The compost was spread on the plowed surface of a dry sandy loam, at therate of about fifteen cords per acre, and harrowed in. The land was plant- ed with c.)rn,andthe crop was rising of sixty bush- els per acre. It has been the custom with me for several years past to make composts of this kind to supply any deficiency in quantity of other manure to dress and fertilize the amount of land I may want to plow. When these alkalines are used in compost, the mass should be applied to and kept near the surface of the soil, as tlieir tendency is to sink down. They are very valuable when mixed with muck, because they neutralize its acids, promote its de- composition, and make it a free mass of vegetable or organic substance, fit for the nourishment of crops. And now, my friend, if you think these hasty observations may be interesting or valuable to any of your readers, you may use them for that pur- pose. Anything herein that is notmade plainand specific enough, will be detailed more fully, at the request of yourself or others. F. Holbrook. Braltl(boro\ March 18, 1853. For the New England Farmer. CHOKED CATTLE. Mr. Editor: — I notice in the March number of the Farmer, page 145, an article upon the subject of C'lttle choking in feeding. It is a subject with which I have had some experience, but since the discovery of the following method of operation have bad no difficulty in relieving in all cases where it has been applied. When an animal is discovered to be choked, it should as soon as possible be placed where it jan be handled, and an instrument of the following description forced down the throat until it is relieved. Take a tough piece of timber the size of a good whip stock, from three to four and a half feet long, a ball of yarn, or some soft substance put on the 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 213 small end, — a piece of soft leather drawn over it and confined to the stick with a cord or twine tied .around above the ball, and secured from pulling oflF by moans of notches cut in the stick ; the ball should be from one to two inches in diameter, in proportion to the size of the animal, and greased when used. Such an instrument may be used with- out any danger of injury to the animal operated upon. I have used it with perfect success with choked swine, in several cases. But in general, a preventive is better than a cure; therefore, perhaps I cannot render a greater his own walls, if he can but persuade himself to think so. By rolling the largest stones into lines and securing them by smaller ones to prevent their canting out of place, and building upon them with smaller stones, till the fence is of the required or proper height, a substantial wall will be pro- cured at a very trifling expense, as the work may be performed at seasons of comparative leisure, and when, generally, there is little of any thing else to do. "Double walls," and "faced walls," benefit to the feeders of neat cattle, than to in- though they have a more neat and finished ap form them, if not already acquainted, with a sim- ple, hut I think, infallible remedy against cattle choking when feeding; they may get choked when running at large, but when animals are to be fed with any article with which they are liable to get choked, place them in the stall, or tie-up, and simply put a bar or stick over their necks sufficient to keep them from raising the head above the lev- el of their bodies, they never get choked, try it. A Subscriber up North. COST OP FENCES. "We are not aware that any very reliable estimates have as yet been made, by practical men, relative to the cost of the several species of enclosures or- dinarily made use of on farms. In looking over an old number of the Farmer recently, we found a paper on this subject furnished by Mr. Shurtleff, which is worth repeating. The estimates are giv- en by Mr. S. as the deductions of his own esperi- ment : — " White cedar fence made of posts and rails, five rails in height, three lengths to two rods near- ly, cost 91 cents a rod. White pine rails sawed two inches by eight, and chestnut posts, four rails high, three len.ths to two rods nearly, cost 64 cents a roi. In both these instances the cost was exclusive of the set- ting. Good four and a half feet stone wall varies from $1 to $2, .50 the rod, according to the ease with which the stone could be procured, and the man- ner in which it was laid, whether by trenching ( r otherwise. Hedge fence made of Virginia thorn plants, (Crataegus cordata,) set twenty-one to a rod, cost at the end of the fourth year, including planting, trimming, &c., 50 cents a rod." pearance, are never desirable, except when there is a large amount of stones to be worked up, or where the wall is near buildings, and intended partly for ornament, as well as utility. In "fac- ing," stones are often laid with reference to neat- ness, rather than stability. To secure a "good face," some of the most important principles of masonry are frequently neglected, and beauty se- cured at the expense of durability. Single walls, if the stones are of proper size, are to be pre- ferred. For the Nexv England Farmer. BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL PA- PERS. Messrs. Editors : — Knowing by experience that much good results from the matter contained in papers, I think it necessary that we all strive to improve them. How can this be done ? It can be done in various ways. Let every reader that has received a dollar's worth of information, through the papers, acknowledge it, and at the same time communicate something from his own experience, to benefit his neighbors. One man can raise a bushel of corn for less expense than another; let him show his method, with all the items of expense. One thinks poultry and eggs can be produced with a handsome profit, another believes different ; let facts decide. The manufac- turer of plows will tell you that his is the best, and his story seems true, until his neighbor, the plow- man, decides to the contrary. A word about plows; is it a fact that plows are better than they were in bygone days'? More than thirty years ao-o I held a plow that did actually cut and turn over furrow after furrow, keeping its place at the end without a hand being applied to it. Then there was Keith's plows so generally used twenty years ago, that I verily believe do better service than many of those now in use. The woodchop- per works to disadvantage, when he wields a heavy irregularly formed axe. Perhaps a hint to agri- It will not be questioned, we presume, that inLultural societies to ofier a handsome premium for the above estimate, the cost of stone walls is greatly too high. The expense of transporting stones from fields and pastures when they oppose a serious obstacle to the operations of the cultiva- tor, and when they occupy much land which their removal renders available for important purposes, ought not, we think, to be taken into the account. The cost of "laying" wall, when the stones are of proper size, is generally from twenty to thirty cents, but the artistic skill demanded in the oper- ation is so slight that any farmer can construct the best axe might result in lasting good._ The cultivator of corn would be wise to avail himself of a remedy against the ravages of the cut-worm, which remedy has been applied by the writer of this, for nearly forty years, without a single failure. It is a coating of tar applied to the seed corn. To make our agricultural papers useful and in- teresting, it requires talent as well as the offerings of the small farmers ; to bring about this result, let the officers and members of agricultural socie- ties write over their proper names, the principles of farming-, and facts connected therewith ; let the farmers of unlimited means show by figures, the 214 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat expense and income of their crops, each different croj. by itself, then sum them all up, so as to know whether their business will pay ; and let the farm- er of limited means tell his story, and meet his wealthy opponent for a fair discussion of the whole matter of agriculture. Too many of our able writ- ers keep themselves behind some assumed name, so that we know not who we have to contend with ; then again what they write is so void of particulars, that we can hardly take ground to re- ply to them. Would it not be well for you to give out weekly, some particular point in farming, to be discussed by your readers, their communica- tions to be inserted in two weeks from the date of the question, all writers to bo limted to a certain space. This would have the advantage of a Ly- ceum, by the writer being obliged to advance his own opinions without being swayed by those of others. I like short articles from practical men. I like, when reading a statement of any branch of farm- ing, made to show that it is profitable, to be direct- ed to the exact amount in dollars and cents. West Needham. R. Mansfield. INDIAN CORN. ITiere will never be a time, probably, when In- dian corn will not be contemplated in the light of an important staple, by the American agriculturist. For a great variety of uses, it is certainly unsur- passed in the catalogue of grains, and in point of productiveness it compai-es favorably with most grains. Yet there are a great many who consider its cultivation as a matter involving much uncer- tainty and risk. They complain of the early frosts, which cut off the young plants; of the drought, which coerces or averts the development of the grain, and of the later frosts, by which it is some- times, though rarely, destroyed. All crops are lia- ble to accidents, and corn can by no means claim an exemption. Yet that it is more liable to suffer and be destroyed by untoward events than other crops of similar value, is what no OEe, perhaps, who candidly contemplates the subject, will pre- tend to assert. If the early frost withers the ten- der blades, it never destroys tlie roots ; a few warm days reclothes the field in its pristine verdure, and the real injury is, at most, but nominal. The drought, or its effects, none can prevent, though the latter may be very essentially mitigated by adopting a judicious course of cultivation. For- merly the old Indian method of elevating a high conical hill around the roots was in vogue ; but this has been found to be an error. The more of these bills there are on an acre, the greater, of course will be the extent of surface exposed to the 8un and winds, and the greater the exposure, the greater too must necessarily be the evaporation in a dry time. It was also deemed essential, in or- der to obviate the effect of drought, to allow the weeds to grow and cover the soil to keep out the sun, and thus preserve the soil perfectly moist and cool. Now experience has demonstrated, and the most indifferent observation will convince any one that the more vegetation there is on an acre the greater will be the drought upon its moisture. " If, in a severe drought, you pull up a handful of weeds from a mass, the foliage of which complete- ly shuts out the sun from the soils, you will find the roots bring up no moist dirt ; while the soil on which no weeds have grown, though in the imme- diate vicinity of the former, and exposed to the unmitigated heat of the sun, will be damp. In working corn lands, we should endeavor to keep the surface clean and light. Fine, well pulverized earth is a non-conductor, and consequently the.of- tener we pass through our fields with the harrow or cultivator, in dry weather, the better will it be for the crop. A brick, fresh from the mould, if placed in the yard and covered with a stratum of perfectly dry sand, will retain its moisture five times as long as one struck from the same clay and at the same time, if exposed openly by its side. No hills should be made around Indian corn. Plant so as to pass both ways through the fields i. e., longitudinally and transversely, and do the working with the cultivator and horse. The few weeds that remain after the latter has passed, are easily eradicated with the hoe or hand, and all the rain that falls will be carried to the roots, instead of being thrown from them into the centre of the space between the rows. If you plant a kernel of Indian corn in rich soil, and suffer it to grow with- out hilling, it will take as strong a hold, and main- tain itself as firmly against winds, as one that is hilled, and more so. But if, after it has run up to the height of three or four feet, you bring up three inches of dirt around the foot stalk, the lateral roots, which are its stays and braces, will stop growing, and a new emission of laterals will be induced from the section covered by the fresb soil. The old stalk will also be blanched by the privation of air, become crisp and brittle, like as- paragus grown under leaves, and easily break. The same will take place as often as fresh dirt is drawn up ; and the energies of the system ex- hausted by sending forth roots from which it in return can derirve but comparatively slight sup- port. For the New England Farmer. OYSTER SHELL LIME. Mr. Editor r — Dear Sir, — Will you inform me through your valuable paper, of the comparative value of oyster shell lime and stone lime, as a cor- rective of the acid in peat mud, in conjunctiou with salt, according to the receipt of Prof. Mapes. Many of my neighbors, as well as myself, wish to use the oyster shell lime, manufactured at Med- ford, if it is really valuable. By giving its infor- mation, you will confer a favor on Many. Remarks. — See advertisement for explanation in another part of the paper. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 215 For the New England Farmer. FIELD SEEDS. Mr. Brovtn : — I venture to send you a few thoughts on the subject of field seeds. And as the time approaches when farmers have occasion to use them, I trust that these thoughts, if deemed worthy of a place on your pages at all, will not be accounted unseasonable. Magy formers are awaking to the importance of seeking the best kinds of stock, and the best qual- ity of field seeds. But I do not recollect to have seen a caution offered on your pages, with suffi- cient explicitness, against allowing foul seeds of any sort to be mingled with the seed we use. No man needs to be informed that soil pre-oc- cupied with weeds, cannot very largely yield useful produce. Every intelligent farmerknows, though too many are very remiss in improving their knowledge, that if ho would secure a good yield of either grass or grain, the strength of the soil must be reserved for it. The former who sows foul seed in his fields commits an error which in the end must cost hin^ dear. He may use an indifferent bull or horse, or buck, and suffer only temporary injury, because he can rid himself of his worthless stock, and thus end his loss. Not so when he sows foul seed His loss but begins with his error. He introduces an enemy into his enclosures, to which he must either surrender at discretion, or maintain at end- less labor and expense, a warfare always exhaust- ing and commonly futile, because not wao-ed with sufficient energy and thoroughness. He en- tails, too upon posterity, a curse of inestimable magnitude. Do not dealers in agricultural seeds often con- tribute to the evil in question; sometimes inad- vertently, but as often, perhaps, for the sake of the profit they secure ? Of the occurrence of the toliowing fact I am assured. Some two years since, a gentleman of this com- munity wishing to obtain some "imported spring wheat, a,nd some spring rye, wrote to a friend m your city to ascertain whether he could pro- cure It for him perfectly clear. The friend re- phed that he had the assurance of a dealer whom he had consulted, that he would furnish both the kinds of seed sought, in the condition specified. A tew bushels were accordingly ordered, and with the bill transmitted, there was a printed assur- ance that the house dealt in no seeds but those of the best quality and in perfect condition. Great was the purchaser's surprise, therefore, when on opening the casks, his attention was attracted not by the beauty of the grain, but by the variety of toul matter it contained. Happily for him his neighbors had engaged most of the wheat before Its arrival, so that he had but a single bushel re- ?^^'°i".g- This he attempted to clean with screens, but f:„ ed because a part of the foul seed was fnrfl-i''° !^® .S^^^^- H^ ^^s compelled, there- S ff f **" (^'^S° *^^ ^-^^i^g «f tlie seed, or Knd Jl '7 that which would be ruinous to his hand. The latter course he adopted, looking over a spoonful at a time, and it is^ hardly credible though strictly true, that besides a libeml sprink- hng of rye and barley, he found no less than four- teen different kinds of foul seed, amounting in the Whole to about three quarts. This, too, was im- ported Toul seed, as though our formers have not already indigenous weeds enough to contend with. The case of the rye was not much better. It could not be cleaned by screening, and it was not worth picking over. So the purchaser carried it to the mill and had it ground for his swine. To a word of remonstrance sent by the purchaser to the dealer, the latter replied that he sold "as clean seed as others sold, of the same importa- tion." To the rye he made no allusion. _ Now, Mr. Editor, I hold that important as the introduction of certain grains may be to our coun- try, their usefulness can never equal the mischief done by the simultaneous introduction of a dozen kinds of foul seed, to become, by unavoidable dis- semination, a pest through the land. Who will pretend to estimate the mischief of a single im- portation of grain in the condition of thai above specified? Who can tell the amount of the evil 1 Would not any quantity of seed, in such condil tion, be a dear gift to the country, since some of It wuuld of course be sowed by careless formers and since the spread of noxious weeds when once rooted, though it may be gradual, is inevitable. A word of exhortation, and I have done. If we would raise good crops, let us seek seed of the best quahty. If we would have clean fields let us use only clean seed. If we would enjoy 'the pleasures as well as the profits of farming, let us labor to keep our farms in good condition, while we labor with equal diligence to keep a "conscience void of offence toward God, and toward man." L. Matthews. Cornwall, Vt., March 20, 1853. ^ Remarks.— We improve the earliest moment to give place to these timely and valuable suggestions. Endless troubles, labors and losses, grow out of the practice of sowing mixed seeds. It is hoped these hints will lead to a careful examination of seeds before they are committed to the soil, as well as a stricter regard to their purity by those who import and sell them. ADDRESS BY WM. S. KING, ESQ. We have read with interest, the Address by Mr. King, editor of the Journal of Agriculture, before the New Hampshire Agricultural Society, at Mer- edith Bridge, on the 7th October last, at its third annual exhibition. We give below an extract, all we have room for at present. The address is written with spirit, and exposes the inconsistencies of those who mock at "book farming," or in oth- er words, intelligent labor. It was our fortune to have there, (at the World's Fair) among others, one man, who deserves hon- orable mention at this farmer's festival, — the com- missioner from the State of New York, B. P. John- son ; then, as now, Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society. For many dreary weeks, he stood almost alone ; sad and desolate, amid the neglected contributions of his country. Who chanced to visit us, came to sneer. "These Yankee plows," said an unusually unprejudiced visitor, one day, "may do well enough among the rocks and stumps of America ; but they are not comparable, for general work, to our English 216 NEW ENGLAND FARME^ Mat plows, or even to the Belgian." '^'Do you know," retorted Johnson, "that in our country, we have fields, without a fence, or a rock, or a stump, lar- ger than your whole island of Great Britain ; and these plows have been found to work well there, as they will work well anywhere. This flour is made from the wheat, you see yonder ; and the wheat was grown on land plowed with implements like these ; that crop of v/heat averaged 62^ bush- els to the acre, weighing 03 pounds to the bushel." So with the reapers. The Lo/idon Tii'/nes paraded an account of tlie American department, and chris- tened McGonuick's machine, "a cross betwixt a flying-machine, a ti*ead-mill, and an Astley's char- iot." "That fiying machine must be tested on the field," insisted the sturdy Johnson, "and let them laugh that win." The tread-mill was tried. The grain, green and storm-soaked as it was, went down before it, as if it were the shears of Fate ; "and loud, though late, v^ere the honest congratu- lations of our discomfited critics. The introduc- tion of the 2\merican Reaper, alone, was by com- mon consent, allowed to compensate England for all the gross expenses of the exhibition. In like manner, the plows were found to work well on English land. And, finally, the bitter opponent of all that is American and republican, — that same London Times — confessed that the United States, by their contributions for ensuring the good of the many, instead of pandering to the luxuries of the few, had carried off the palm, in this World's Tour- nament. Why was it that at the eleventh hour, only, was justice done to one of the competing countries 1 Why did thousands, whose voices were afterwards loudest in praise, — to their honor be this said, — for so long time speak, but to scoff? Prejuc-ice had pre-oceupied their minds, and jaundiced their vision. For the New England Farmer. NEW BRUNSWICK. Mr. Browm : — ^I have been a reader of the New England Farmer this last twelvemonth, and like it very much. But I have sometimes felt a little nettled at never seeing the name of New Brunswick mentioned in it, either as regards farming or any thing else. You must be aware that there is such' a place as New Brunswick, and that your paper extends its circulation hither ; but I suppose you think that "New Brunswick is no good for fiirm- ing." It is better, however, than you are perhaps aware of; and to convince you of that, I have re- solved on writing you some particulars regarding its capabilities. What kind of land we have — how we get along — and what we can raise. I do not feel myself altogether qualified for the undertak- ing, having only been two years in the country, and not being much used to writing, but it seems there is no one with better qualifications that thinks it worth their trouble. This place is situated thirty miles from Frederick- ton the seat of the Provincial government, and thii'- ty-five from the American frontier — Calais, Me. The settlers are a mixture of Scotch and English, the first of which commenced in the forest fifteen years ago. They have stuck to their farms and done well. The soil is a clayey loam, (not very stony) and rests upon a hard pan. The geological formation is grey sandstone and granite. The growth of wood may be said to be a mixture of spruce and hemlock, birch, beech and maple. Chopping down, clearing up, and fencing new land, costs £3 10s, or $14 an acre. When it i& sown with oats 3 bushels is allowed to the acre, and the return is 50, more or less ; 70 is sometimes obtained. The ground is only harrowed twice over, and raked round the stumps. It ought to get more stirring. We raise famous potatoes here. We hajj 300 bushels from the acre last season, good and sound. There was 800 bushels raised on one acre, near Frederickton, last year. The ground was a sandy loam, plowed out of the sward, and had no manure except .50 bushels of leached ashes. I saw some bushels of them at the Provincial Exhibition. We are not very particular in planting our potatoes on new land ; we make no hole for the seed — ^just lay down the cuts (3 to a hill) on the surface, and draw the ashes and dirt round them. A neighbor of mine says, "he thinks they are gie wed rigged if he gets a chip on them." We raise grass seed in large quantities, and of superior quality ; per- haps you may have heard of the Harvey Timothy, a great part of it is sent to Boston. We sow only 3 pints to 4 quarts on an acre — sometimes a little clover is added. The clover grows very strong ; a neighbor of mine tells me that he used to sow some clover, but it grew so strong that he could not cut it, and he quit sowing it. We top the herds-grass with the sickle, hence the seed is very pure. A good hand is allowed tc- top an acre a day. Four bushels from the acre is a fair crop. As for plow land farming, I have sev- eral times seen oats, barley and wheat raised here, which weighed respectively, 50, CO, and 70 lbs- per bushel. The land would do well, if it was well attended to ; but there is great room for im- provement. Indeed, I have often been surprised to see the crops which are obtained by the )uode of cultivation sometimes practised. I know the farmers in my country would think hard to expect a crop from the same system. I have often thought that the farmers in this country calculate too much, sir. Tlie fiirmers in Scotland do not calculate so much, and yet they are bettor farm- ers ; moreover they have been allowed to be the best farmers in the world, and yet it has been said of them, that "they are strong as tlie ox, and as ignorant as sirong." I shall just state that oats here this winter have sold at 2s. QhL per bushel, potatoes 23., Timothy seed 14s., and hay £4 per ton, all on the spot. A Scotchman in the backwoods of New Bruns- wick. John Taylor. Harvey Settlement. N. B., > Via Calais, Me., March 2nd, 18S3. 5 Remarks. — The New Brunswickers shall have a fair chance with us. They send us the finest grass seed the world can produce, and we suppose the men and women would come under the same com- parative degree. A "Scotch backwoodsman" seems to be as glib with the pen as the axe, and if he can impart something to benefit "mankind in general, and farmers in particular," why he can "put it through" our columns. FRAMrNGH.Mu Farmers' Club. — We had the pleas- ure of attending a meeting of this Club, at Fra- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 217 minghiim, on the 2l8t March. A large audience of ladies ancf gentlemen was present, and by their attention manifested a deep interest in all the ex- ercises of the evening. They had, as usual, an address, followed by a discussion, wiiich last was on the importance of a good library, and a better knowledge of Agricultural books. There is wealth, and talent, there, sufficient to establish the first, and to appreciate the attractive literature of the latter. Witli an organization a little more precise, with standing committees on the leading subjects, and essays and reports, one of the most useful as- sociations in the State may spring from this germ. For the New England Farmer. CULTIVATION OF FRUIT. The cherry, plum, peach, quince, pear, and ap- ple, are the staple fruits of New England, and ev- ery farmer whose climate and soil is adapted to their culture, should raise an abundant supply for his own family, and as many as possible for the best market he can command. There are many sections, however, in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where the stone fruits, as also the quince, cannot be raised. For instance, the farmers of Vermont should not expect much profit from the peach, plum, cherry, or quince, as they cannot be raised with advantage unless in the southern countries, and the towns bordering on the Con- necticut. But in the southern, middle, and eastern por- tions of Massachusetts, and the vicinity of all our cities and large villages, they may be, and are raised for greatly remunerating prices. A single plum tree in the vicinity of Boston, has produced $30 or .$40 in a year, and many farmers have car- ried to the market from 3 to 500, and some as high as 8 or 1000 bushels of peaches, and sold from $1 to $2 per bushel, obtaining more clear profit from one-half acre of land, than is realized from a ma- jority of the farms in the State. The cherry should be raised for family use, and every good husband (whether he has a wife or not) who has ground on v/hich to grow them, may have the luxury in the different varieties of good sweet cherries, from four to six weeks. The quince, may be grown to great profit, al- though its culture cannot become so generally profitable, as the peach or apple. The culture of the apple is one of importance to fruit growers, in all climates where it can be made to flourish, and there is hardly a farm in New England that has not some locality well adapted for an apple orchard. My object will be to make some suggestions de- rived from mj own observation and experience, to induce others to engage in this lucrative and pleas- ant branch of farming. But, says some good old farmer, "I shall never live to raise fruit, if I set out trees ; my son James or William may if they want tu." But my friend, suppose you do not live to enjoy the fruit from those trees, somebody else will regale themselves by eating it. And beside, have you not eaten fruit a hundred times from trees tliat you did not set ouf? And does not jus- tice to the world require that you do as much for others that come after you, as has been done for you by others before you ? Away then with that false and selfish policyj so detrimental to all im- provement in the moral and physical world. How noble to see a man in the decline of life planting the little acorn that shall grow to a tree, under which, generations yet to be born, shall be screened from the mid summer's sun. Who does not wish to do some beneficent act, to leave the world a lit- tle better for having lived in it, and perpetuate a pleasant remembrance to those that come after us. A gentleman some years since, was riding through old Framingham, in Middlesex county, and pass- ing a fine orchard, saw a man standing under an apple tree very greedily devouring a fine apple. The stranger halted, and asked the man to give him an apple. He did so, and finding the fruit ex- cellent, he inquired of the man under the tree. "Who set out this fine old orchard sir." "An old Mr. John Ames, Go<;l bless his old soul," said the man with a mouthful of the rich apple. Who does not wish to have a liearty "God bless his soul" rest on his memory for having done something un- selfish for the good of others. But look here friend, don't you see tliat every good fruit tree set on your farm makes it the more valuable, if you ever want to sell it, or fur your sons and daughters to live on it? But any man under seventy years, in good health, and in favor of the Maine Law, may hope to live to cat of the fruit from the trees set by his own hands. Rev. Mr. Davis, of Fitchburg, tells of an old acquaintance of his, in Michigan, who set out an orchard after he was eighty years old, and lived to eat the fruit thereof, a number of years. Joshua S. Everett. EverettviUe, Princeton. LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Tenth Meeting— Tuesdav Evening, March 22, 1S53. The tenth meeting of the series was held at the State House on Tuesday evening. The subject of discussion was "TAe Subdivision and Fencing of the Lands of a Farm.^^ Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, presided, and on opening the discussion remarked that he had but little experience in the matter. As to the material for fences, in the district where he resides stone fences are almost universally used, and are con- sidered the cheapest — their first cost being very little more than wood fence of any kind. They will stand thirty to forty years without re-setting, and can be renewed at a cost of 50 cents per rod. He had stone fences on his farm fifty years old, which he had renewed for 25 to 30 cents. He preferred to renew his walls upon the old founda- tion layer of stones, because they get firmly fixed in the earth and are less liable to the action of the frost. In regard to the subdivision of lands, he considered small lots preferable. In his neighbor- hood the practice is to enclose in lots of one to three or four acres. Frequent fences serve to keep the snow upon the ground, and retain the fructi- fying substances which fall with the snow and rain. They also prevent the light debris from be- ing blown from land, and thus serve to retain fer- tilizino; matter. Around the wall of an acre lot 218 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Ma, the soil for the distance of a rod will be fertilized, of subdividing lands in New England was at pre- by the nutritive substances which are blown from sent very much determined by accident, which the centre of the lot. In large lots this proportion should not be the case. He conceived the design would be smaller. Mr. French, of Braintree, said he considered the sul ject one of much importance. lie agreed with the chairman in a measure. On land where there are a great many boulders which cannot be disposed of in any other way, it is good policy per- haps to work them into fencing. But if land is free for the plow, and intended for cultivation, he much preferred to see it all in one lot, with a sin- gle exterior fence, and the buildings as nearly in the centre of the farm as possible. By this meth- od the operation of plowing is made much more convenient— there is more room to turn round ; but this is on the supposition that cattle are not to be turned in to get the "after feed." In build- ing stone wall, if in a pasture, it might be well to use the old foundations, but if on arable land, not on a boundary line, he would dig a new trench and remove such of the old stones as are used into that. By his method the old trench is left for a drain, which is quite useful, as gravelly, stony land is usually very moist — and the bushes and briars which always cluster around a fence can be extir- pated. The work, too, can be prosecuted more rapidly. He was disposed to favor stone fences because they are durable, and easily kept in re- pair. In setting post fences he urged strongly the ben- efits of charring the butt-ends of the posts before setting them. He had on his place a post fence which had been standing for 18 years, the posts having been charred. Last year, he had to re-set some of them on account of their being thrown over by the frost, and found them perfectly sound Charring is a great preservative against decay Posts should be set 4^ or 5 feet into the ground For something more permanent, he thought wire fence Avould be very cheap, and might be made very strong. He would suggest to farmers, whether, on gravelly soil, it would not be the cheapest that could be put up. In regard to hedges, Mr. French said that in France and England they were fast losing favor, and were being removed, as it is found that they impoverish the soil, drawing a great deal of fer- tilizing matter from it through their roots. If a person desires a screen around his buildings, there is nothing better of this sort than buck-thorn or arbor vitaj — but neither can be said to be safe against cattle, though they maybe combined with a wire fence and rendered safe. Mr. French thought farmers might add a great deal to the beauty of their farms, without extra expense, by a little care in setting their fences with regularity and a regard to the rules of taste. Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, said that the matter offences to be the enclosure of feeding land, and the protection of cultivated land from cattle. If a farmer has no feeding land, fences will be an in- cumbrance in the farming operations, as plowing, for instance. He also considered it a great advan- tage to have the buildings in the centre of a farm, without regard to highways, because it saves time in teaming manure, going to the various parts of the farm, &c. Mr. Proctor thought a great deal of money was lost on stone fences, although he was aware of their great popularity. They may be of some service in retaining the manures on land, and fruit trees perhaps do better alongside of them ; but numerous fences are so inconven- ient in doing farm work, there are so many bars to take down and put up, &c., that he believed the disadvantages offset those benefits, and it was bet- ter to have a farm all in one lot. Mr. proctor took occasion to dissent from the extravagant views (as ,he deemed them) which have been advanced at these meetings in regard to the value of guano as a manure. He was not satisfied as to its efficacy in all cases. He knew of an instance where, in a dry season, it proved a failure in producing a corn crop, while ordinary manure was completely successful. It may do well at the South, as has been related, but it doea not follow that it will do well here. He was in- clined to call \t fancy farming. Prof. Nash, of Amherst College, was of the opinion" that if lands were stony it would be well to cut them up into small lots ; but on lands easi- ly cultivated and level, the policy of the farmer should be to have as few fences as possible. They should be strong, and able to resist the attempts of cattle. Numerous fences are expensive, and farmers cannot support them. In fencing, refer- ence should be had to duration and expense, along with the beautiful. It can, perhaps, as easily be made handsomely, as awkwardly, — we should en- deavor to combine the beautiful with the useful. Mr. Smith, of Hadley, said that in his part of the State (the Connecticut valley) the lands were scarcely subdivided at all, even among different owners, owing to their being held in small lots, and the high cost of fencing materials ; they can- not afford to fence their lands, and a great part of them are held in common. This is on intervale lands. He considered division fences inconven- ient, besides lessening the amount of productive land. Cannot get a crop within a rod of the fence. Pasture lands alone are considered necessary to be enclosed by the farmei*s in his vicinity. Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Agricul- ture, considered the question one of mere econo- my, but what was best, he was not prepared to say. He had seen a good deal of wire fencing, 1853, NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 219 and detailed a plan for tightening the wires. It was to have a small roller, with three holes bored in it, oue in the middle and one in each end, which, after the wires are drawn through the holes in the posts, should be placed against the second post, and the wire passed through the hole in the centre ; then by means of pins placed in the holes at the ends, the roller can be turned, and tb*^ desired amount of tension obtained. There is <3ne objection to wire fences. lie Iiad known two or three valuable horses to be killed by them. — Horses, when let out in the spring, are extremely prone to gambol, and in racing from one end of a field to the other, are apt to run with great force, against a wire fence, from not observing it, and are instantly killed. He did not know of any pre- ventive, except to lead them round and let them know that there is something for theni to look out for. Mr. Howard, of the Boston Cuhirator,snhmit- ted some remarks in relation to wire fences. He knew of no better mode of constructing them than tJiat described by Mr. Flint. They can be built with very long fastenings, trees forming the best posts; he knew of a line of wire fence where the fastenings were half a mile apart. It is important to have good wire. No. 8 is as small as should be used. Annealed wire is not proper, because the process of annealing renders it more liable to cor- rode, and it has been proved by experiment that it will support less weight than any other kind. He had known wire fence which had been up four years, and last season was perfectly sound. Mr. Clark, of Waltham, thought the subject resolved itself into the character of the lands of the farm to be fenced. If part is fit only for pas- turage, it should be enclosed ; if arable, it should be thrown into one lot. Where stones abound, it is good policy, perhaps, to make them into walks. The chairman,Mr. Brooks, inquired whether 100 acres of pasture land, divided into 10 acre lots, would not furnish more feed than if thrown to- gether. Prof. Nash replied, that he thought it would. Better feed can be secured, and it can also be re- served if desired. Mr. French thought the system might operate very well for a couple of months in the first part of the season, but after that time, he thought it would be full as advantageous to throw the pas- tures together. GUANO. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, made an excellent speech at the State House, on the subject of ma- nures, while that question was under discussion. He thought guano a valuable fertilizer, and may be used, under certain circumstances, with advan- tage. But the former, ho said, must place his chiej dependence upon the natural resources of the farm for its fertilizing agents. He had a farm of fifty acres left him, upon which, for a life-time, had been kept six cows, a pair of oxen and a horse. This, under tlie old practice, was the extent of its capacity. He had added one hundred acres of land, and was feeding from the whole forty-one head of cattle. That is, he has added two propor- tions of land and more than six proportions of stock ! and had paid for the whole, from the profits of the land. He believed that 25 per cent, of all crops maybe sold from the farm annually, and the farm still grow better ; and that from such sales a nett gain of from 10 to 15 per cent, may be realized, yearly. Mr. Brook's practice sustains his opin- ion. But Ave intended to speak more particularly of guano. We think well of it, and use it, moderate- ly. There is danger, however, that our people will get into s, furor about it, and neglect the true sources of gain on their own lands. We hope to see no hen, or pig, or tnuUicaulis fever on this sub- ject, but that every cultivator will improve every possible way to swell his domestic manure heaps first, and then, as an auxiliary, he may carefully test the virtues of guano. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. Collegiate education, as hitherto directed, can hardly be said to have been available to farmers' sons, except as they were about to leave the em- ployment of their fathers for other callings. No fault should, on this account, be ascribed to our colleges. They were established mainly for the purpose of educating young men for the learned professions. They have done this ; have done it well ; are still doing it fiiithfully and impartially, taking young men from all the walks of life, as well from the farm as otherwhere, and training them for higher fields of usefulness. But while fiirmers, in common with all others, can educate their sonsy'or leaving the farm, does not the public good require that they should also have the means of educating them to slay on the farm? Has not a want of this kind sprung up in the progress of our institutions? Is it not deeply felt by the friends of enlightened agriculture? and would not our colleges do well to meet it promptly? As they have libraries, cabinets, and courses of lectures already estabhshed, they could meet the exigency altogether more economically than it could be provided for by the establishment of institutions exclusively for that purpose. The plan should embi*ace instruction in Analyti- cal Chemistry in Natural History, and in Theoret- ical and Practical Agriculture. Instruction could be given in the first two, in connection with the regular collegiate course, without increased ex- Sense. The students in agriculture should be un- er the direction of an instructor appointed for that specific purpose. He should be at once sci- entific and practical — capable on the one hand of directing their studies, and on the other of show- ing them the best samples of all kinds of farm- work, done by himself. A portion, at least, of his lectures, should be in the open field, with hoe, 220 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat spade, or scythe in hand. He should be able to spring season — the summer season — and the au- do anything that is to be done on a form, and to tumnal season. give a reason for its being done in the right way. ' In other parts of the world, they have rainy sea- And he should be an economist, capable of show- sons, when, although it does not pour down all ing how the cost of production may be diminished, the time, yet there is more or less rain almost every and how crops may be expended so as to give the day, and this is alternated with the dry season, in best return, both in pecuniary and in fertilizing which no rain falls. In some latitudes, the wind value. [sets in, and blows with little or no variation for The employment of sach a man would add some- months in one direction only, thing to the annual expenditures of a college. Noj In Peru they have a cloudy season, Humboldt other part of the aiTangement would. Lectures says, that for several months, a thick mist ob- on botany, chemistry, geology, natural philosophy, | scares the firmament. Not a planet, not the most vegetable physiology, &c., can be given as cheap- brilliant stars of the southern hemisphere, neither ly to many as to few. It costs no more to keep up Canopus nor the Southern Cross, are visible. It is cabinets in mineralogy, geology and natural histo- 1 frequently almost impossible to distinguish the ry for five hundred students, than for one hundred. [ position of the moon. The same is true of nearly every appliance for col- legiate education. The economy of uniting agri- cultural departments with colleges already estab- lished, is a matter of great importance. If it is the duty of a State to educate its youth, it is no less a duty to educate them with a reasonable regard to economy. Funds for this purpose, whether from public or private munificence, should be applied as advantageously as possible towards the accom- plishment of the object. For these reasons I have supposed that our colleges would do a work of im- mense public utility by providing for instruction in agriculture. There need be no rivalry between them, unless it be the rivalry of doing good. If each can furnish agricultural instruction for its own region cheaper than can be furnished other- wise, why should we not rejoice if the others can do the like for their locations respectively? It is infinitely better to sustain the institutions we have, than to create new ones to languish for want of support. Let the colleges of our country provide for agricultural education in their respective re- gions, and their own interests, if it be possible for them to have interests distinct from those of the public, will not fail to be advanced. Why should not the young man, who can be Maine Farmer. spared from the farm for a single year, enjoy as| rich privileges for that time, as those who pursue a prolonged academical course ? Why should not he he educated for his profession as well as they for theirs? His profession is not unimportant ; it is not more easily learned than all others ; it re- quires a large amount of knowledge ; and the very fact that, as a general rule, young men who are to become farmers, will take but a short course of previous study, seems to be a good reason why the best pi ssible means should be furnished to them, that they may learn much in little time. Such means should be furnished at so cheap a rate, that the son of the poorest farmer in the country need not be debarred ; and our established colleges should furnish them, because they can do it at less than half the expense of supporting separate institutions. — Journal. If by chance, the outline of the sun's disk be visible during the day, it appears devoid of rays, as if seen through colored glasses, being generally of a yellowish red, sometimes of a white, and oc- casionally even of a bluish color. The mariner, driven onward by the cold, south current of the sea, is unable to recognize the shores, and in the absence of all observations of latitude, sails past the harbor's mouth which he desired to enter. Except the usual variations of spring, summer, fall and winter, our latitude is not subject to such periodical onsets of rain, or trade winds, or misty and cloudy weather. It is as a general thing very clear, and with the exception of occasional clouds, and storms of compai'atively short duration, we have no cloudy seasons, nor misty seasons, nor rainy seasons. The light of the sun, and moon, and stars, shines for the most part unobstructed, and with beautiful brilliancy. This is as condu- cive to health, as it is to the pleasure of the body, and although we complain of occasional cold win- ters, and backward seasons, these blessings alone are sufficient to counterbalance all evils of that kind. The health of both the animal and vegeta- ble kingdom is intimately connected with light. CLOUDY SEASON. Every part of the globe has certain seasons dur- ing the year, which come constantly, and regular- ly, at certain periods of the year ; and which, al- though variable in their daily characteristics, have nevertheless a general character, which is some- what uniform from year to year, and distinguishes them from the seasons of other periods. Here, in our own latitude, we have the winter season — the LOOK AT YOUR BEES. If you desire early and strong young swarms of bees, you must see that they have plenty of honey during the latter part of March and up to the mid- dle of April. But honey alone is not sufficient. The bees intend to lay up an abundant supply of pollen, or bee-bread, but if their store is short, and the season is backwai-d, they are unable to find it in sufficient quantities for their own use and that of their young, whose nourishment chiefly depends upon it. On the 23d and 24th of JIarch, the days being clear and warm, we placed West India honey and loaf sugar melted together, before our bees, by set- ting a feeding box containing the mixture on a flour barrel, 20 feet from the hives. The feeding was suggested because one or two of the swarms were weak. Five swarms carried away a pint of the mixture in a few hours. The next day the box was replenished, and at the same time a tea-cup full of flour was laid on a shingle near the barrel ; when the bees very soon forsook the honey and carried away the whole of the flour, and did the 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. S21 same with an equal amount on the 25th. On the 2Gth, another cup full was supplied in the after- noon. During the succeeding night a gentle rain wet the surface of the flour, which was dried by the winds into a hard crust before 9 o'clock on the morning of the 27th. The bec3 came to it be- fore ten, but they were puzzled to take it up as they had done, and it became a matter of curiosi- ty to see what course they v/ould pursue. Their instincts, however, did not fail them. Ranged side by side along the base of the mound, they soon perforated the crust, and long before night the ex- cavation was nearly completed, and most of the flour carried away. Bee-bread, or pollen, is collected and packed down for future use, and often covered with wax. Flour is a similar substance, and answers their purpose pretty well, therefore supply it. suscitated swallow, in the depth of winter, from the bottom of a mill-pond, is, I confess, a phenom- enon in ornithology, that I have never met with." Now, in point of fact, Mr. Wilson's knowloilge of our birds, extended only through a period of nine years — to wit, frcmi 1804 to his death, in 1813. And we strongly suspect he met a man, who was as conversant with our birds as himself, when he saw for the first time, in IMarch, iyiO,at Louis- ville, in Kentucky, the author of the Birds of America. Mr. Audubon's account of this inter- view and Mr. Wilson's subsequent notice of it, may be seen in the 1st vol. of Audul)on's Birds, page 437. And he certainly "marked the pecu- liarities of our birds, when he made the discovery and described the Red Owl as a distinct species, since all ornitholgists subsequent to his time have failed to distinguish it, and have ascertained that the Red Owl is no other than the Mottled Owl, in his juvenile years. We should think from read- ing Wilson's Life by Mr. Ord, that his biographer supposed that he would probably have beconie,had he have lived, a reformer in the Natural History of our country. And that all stories published in our Philosophical and Natural History transac- tions and Institutes, such as the torpidity of swal- lows, toads found deeply imbedded in the earth or roeks.the Gloucester Sea Serpent, &.c., and all gross fictions fas he was pleased to call them] palmed upon mankind, the Paisley weaver was destined to ii i. -J-. p M - ' .1. ■ L J X „,x lexpose. Doet. Barton, in a letter to the editor of the torpidity of swallows m the winter, and treats r^^l'^-. ^'^\. ,, ' . , allnrl^no- tn thp -^ - •' - - _..'.. "! the PAj/oso-o/ijca; Ma "-flsme, when auuning 10 me THi F'sr the New England FarmtT. BIRDS OF NEV/ ENGLAND. 3IR PAST AND PRESENT iUSTORY. ...No. 3. BV 8. P. FOVTIiER. The Iflte Alexander Wilson, the author of the "American Ornithology," was a disbeliever in the whole subject with ridicule. In his history ofj our birds, he copies Doct. Williams's account of the chimney swallows, found torpid in hollow trees, in the towns of Danby and Bridport, as before written, but wholly omits to notice the one from Mr. Ramsey, from llubbardston, so conclu- sive. He says, "I cannot, in the cases cited, see any sufficient cause for the belief of the torpidity of swallows. The birds were seen to pass out on the first of May, or in the spring, when the leaves began to appear on the trees, and, about the middle of September, they were seen entering the tree for the last time ; but there is no information here, of their being seen at any time during win- ter, either within or around the tree." This is ex- ^leedingly unfair, on the part of Mr. Wilson, for it will be seen in the account given by ]Mr-. Ram- sey, from Hubbardston, that swallows were seen by him in March, when there was a deep snow upon the ground, and that the birds were actual- ly examined, when inside the tree, and some of them had the appearance of being in a torpid state. Mr. Wilson admits, that the chimney swallow usually arrives in May from the south, and departs in September. Now I would inquire, how came these birds to be found in a hollow tree in Vermont, in a partially torpid state, in the month of March, with a deep snow upon the ground, if they had not hibernated there during the winter ? Would they have migrated from the south, 80 early in the spring 1 Mr. Wilson, when writing upon the subject of the torpidity of swal- lows in winter, says, "Away with such absurdi- ties ! they are unworthy of a serious refutation. I should be pleased to meet with a man, who has been personally more conversant with birds, than myself, who has followed them in their wide and devious routes, — studied their various manners — mingled with, and marked their peculiarities, more than I have done; yet the miracle of a re- subject of the torpidity of swallows, says, "I have, at this time, in the press, a memoir on the migra- tion and torpidity of these birds. I am confident that I shall be able to convince every candid phi- losopher, that great numbers of swallows, of dif- ferent species, do occasionally pass into a state of torpidity, more or less profound. I do not sup- pose that all the swallows of North xVmerica be- come torpid. It is my present opinion, and it was my opinion when I published the 'Fragments' in 1799, that the swallows, in general, are migra- tory birds. But subsequent and very extensive in- quiries have convinced me, that the instances of torpid swallows are much more frequent than I formerly supposed they were ; and that there are two species of the genus Hirundo, which are pe- culiarly disposed to pass the brumal season m the cavities of rocks, in the hollows of trees, and in other similar situations, where they are often found in a soporose state. These species are the Hirundo riparia, or sand swallow ; and the H. pelasgia, which we call chimney swallow. There is no fact in ornithology better established than the fact of the occasional torpidity of these two species of Hirundo T' From some cause not known, Doct. Barton never published, as he had promised, his "Me- moir on the Migration and Torpidity of Swal- lows," and from this circumstance, Mr. Ord, the biographer of Alexander Wilson, infers that the Doctor was deterred from doing it, in consequence of the great fight shed upon the vexed subject of the torpidity of swallows, by the author of "The American Ornithology ;" and that he mani- fested great discretion in suppressing it. We have reason to suppose Mr. Wilson was not ta- miUar with the habits of our birds, as they are seen in New England. I have not been able t» learn, that he ever visited the north, with a single 222 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat view of examining its birds. lie set out, he says, in one of hig letters to Mr. Bartram, under date of Sept. 21st, 1808-, fur the East-ern States, in search of birds and subscribers, but how many birds he found the hist of September, in New Eng- land, he does not inform us. The whole time spent by Mr. Wilson at the north, in the autumn of 1808, was less than two mimtlis In his letters, sent home to his friends during this tour, he ex- presses the greatest contempt of the climate and habits of the people of New En-gland v he says^ "Lawyers swarm in every town, like locusts ; almost every door has the word Office painted over it, which, like the web of a spider, points out the place, where the spoiler lurks for his prey. There is little or no improvement in agriculture ; in fifty miles I did not observe a single grain or stubble field, though the country has been cleared and settled these one hundred and fifty years. In I short, the steady habits of a great portian of thej inhabitants of those parts of New England through | which I passed, seem to be laziness and law bick-; erings. My journey through almost the whole of j New England, has lowered the Yankees in my es-{ teem. Except a few iieat academies, I found | their school-houses equally ruinous and deserted with ours ; fields covered with stones ; stone fenc- , es ; scrubby oaks, and pine trees; wretched or-' charda ; scarcely one grain field in twenty miles ; the taverns along, the road dirty, and fii'le^l with! loungers-, brawling about law suits and politicks ; j the people snappish and cxtortionei-s, hizy, andj two hundred years behind the Pennsylvanians, in Agriculturar iai prove men ts. Mr. \Yilson found Boston so filtliy, that he would not disgust his friend with a descrfption of It. The draymen in shouting to their horses, made such a hideous howling in the- streets of Boston, at every corner, that he was reuiinded of some miserable wretch, expiring on the wlieel." Upon reading this ac- count, Ave were led to think that if Mr. V/ilson was not better acquainted with the habits of New England birds than he was of the character of the people, not mucli reliance should be placed on his opinion, in regard to the torpidity of svrallows. For they are chiefly, if not wholly, to be found at the North. It would seem Mr. Audubon's mind was not settled, in regard to tliis subject. For we find in his 1st vol. of the "Birds of America," page 17'J, when speaking of the ClifFS wallow, where he says, "I embraced every opportunity of e.\am- ining their habits, carefully noted tlieir arrival arid disappearance, and recorded every fact con- nected witli their history, being extremely desir- ous of settling the long-agitated question, respect- ing the migvatii n or supposed torpidity of swal- lows." In the spring of 183G, the writer of this article Vr'itnessed wiiat he has suppo.sed to be an instance of the t >rpidity of tlie swallow. By referring to a diary kept that year, I find t'le date of this oc- curence the lOth of April. It was upon a fine spring m ortiiiig, succeeding a plj.isant day, I dis- covered about sunrise two Whito Bellied Swallows [the Hiruu'lo viridis of Wilson] fluttering on the ground, and un ;ble to fly. fhey were easily caught, and examined, as it was my impression at the time, they had been injured by a cat. Upon examination 1 was satistiod this was not the case. T|jey were wet with mud and water, and after being wiped dry, they were taken into the house, j and placed on a window in the sun. In a few hours they recovered their consciousness, and flew out of the window into the open air. In the vi- [cinity where these birds were found, was a pond ; filled with mud and water. The mud found upon these swallows was not the black dirt of the gar- den, but was a slimy mud. We have since seen Bank Swallows, under circumstances that have led ua to suppose they were in a partial state of torpidity. Such as sitting on willow twigs, by the side of rivers and streams, a few inches from the water ;. at one time as early in the spring as the 25th day of March. Upon the whole, I am in- clined to the belief that the subject of the torpidi- ty of the swallow is still an open one, and not by any means so effectually closed, as Mr. Wilson and some others had supposed. a. p. F. Danversport , Jan. 10th, 1853. [to be continued.] REMARKS ON BUDDING AND GRAFT- ING. Buds should always be set before the stosk or bud has ceased to grow for the season. In setting pears in pear stocks, it is important to commence earlier than with apples, as the former do not grov? so long as the latter. Plum and cherry stocks also &top growing early ^ unless the development is kept up by stimulating manure, and careful tillage. Apple trees, if healthy and in a good growing con- dition, may be budded late in August. Peach trees continue to grow even longer than apple trees^ and it is never advisable to bud them early. la all trees, when budded, there should be sufficient sap to cause the bark to peel freely. Of th.e pro- per time for perforniing this operation in the sev- eral kinds of trees above mentioned, the ready peeling, of the bark is the only criterion to be re- lied on. In grafting, it is frequently necessary for those who are engaged extensively in the busi- ness, to preserve scions for some months before the time arrives for inserting them. For this pur- pose, no material has yet been discovered superior to damp sawdust. In regard to its efEciency the- editor of the Albany Cultiealor says: "The mode first suggested to us by T. G. Yeo- MANS, of Walworth, N. Y., of preserving the scions of fruit trees in moist sawdust, has proved superior to any other. It is better than damp moss, in the- facility with which the scion may be perfectly imbedded in it, leaving no interstices; and it excels moist, sand it being lighter, more spungy, and entirely free from a grit .which may injure a knife. We have without difficulty preserved scions, which were cut in the summer for budding, till the fol- lowing spring, and inserted them as grafts with entire success ; and we have kept winter cut gi-afts till midsummer perfectly fresh, and emjJoyed them successfully in budding. A bushel of sawdust will retain its moisture for many weeks nearly un- altered,but water must not be applied too copiously or water soaking and decay will be therusult. The north side of a building or a cool cellar is the best place." In KenricVs Work on Orcharding, we have the following remarks on Inxoculating ; 1853.. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. ^3 "Innoculating is the operation of transferring any desirable variety of tree upon the stock of an inferior or wild variety. The operation is princi- pally practised on small trees, and only durinp; the time the sap flows freely, and chiefly during the months of August and September. Select for the buds the ripest young tvrigs of the present year, and cut off" the leaves, leaving the footstalk entire. Having selected a smooth place in the stocli, make a perpendicular slit downward, quite through the bark, an inch or a little more in length. Make a cross cut at the top of this slit quite through to the wood, a little slanting downward ; nest with theivory haft of the budding knife-, raise the bark on both sides from top to bottom, being very careful not to injure in the least the cambium or sap wood. Next and with expedition proceed to take oiF a bud ; this is effected by entering the knife a little more than half an inch below the bud or eye, quite through the bark, and separating the bark from the wood to the same distance above the eye, always leaving a very thin slip of wood of about one-third of the length of th« bud, this thin slip of wood occupies the middle section of its length. The bud is to be inserted in the stock to the bot- tom of the slit, and between the bark and wood : and the top of the bud being squared even with the cross cut, every part except the eye, is firmly bound and covered with strong wet bass string or matting." F-or the New England Farmer. MANURES AGAIN. Mr. Editor : — Your very pleasant correspond- ent, B., seems to doubt the correctness of my crit- icism upon his fireside talk. Now, sii", I would not set myself up as an instructor of others, nor ■would I say a word tliat looks like controversy with so courteous a writer, nor would I cavil about words or forms of expression. Perhaps I did not make myself clearly understood. ]My object was to inquire whether the nutriment which vegeta- bles derive from the soil may not, near!)/ all, be re- turned to the soil, as food for future crops, after the vegetables have been used as food for animals. I believe it is generally conceded .that vegetables derive their carbon from the atmosphere, and their oxygen and hjdrogen from water. So that as these elements are not derived from the soil, they need not be taken into the account in this in- quiry. But, notwithstanding the apparent Irishism citn- tained in the remark that follows my query, yet I see no reason to doubt the correctness of the gen- eral proposition contained in the query itself, which was — "If the manure, liquid and solid, pro- duced by feeding on the estover of an acre would not return to the ground nearly the value it has given out, of mineral matter!" Suppose "the cow'lays in her bone and milk from the lime of the cornstalk?" In the adult animal, do not the excretions go on pari passu, ■with the secretions ? Are not the particles of old bone, muscle, hair, &c., carried off, as fast as new particles are deposited ? At the end of. the year, is there more bone and other tissues than there were at the beginning? After the milk has passed througli the calf, the pig, or the human stomach, does not its lime find its way back to the soil 1 And do not the_bones, hair, wool, muscle, &c., of the c h the same destination at last 1 Have not ground woolen rags and bone dust become im- portant articles of commerce because of their value as fertilizers? As to the loss of mineral matter by the urine, this will not take place to any great extent — when the stable has a proper cellar furnished with suit- able materials for absorliing this excrement. Nor will there be much loss even in the yard, when this IS properly provided with soil and cfirhonaoeous matters designed to absorb it. Evaporation is supposed to leave the mineral matter moEtly be- hind. So that the loss of mineral matter.^ except the small amount of potash and soda can-icil off in the perspiration, really amounts to very little, and e^'en the potash and soda of the perspiration most- ly dries upon the skin and hair, and is rul)bed off by the Ciird and brush. But it seems B. did not say "mineral matters," but "fertilizing raatter," a-od he refers to the carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen contained in the cornstalk. The consti- tuents of vegetables may be divided into three classes, ist. The non-nitrogenous, as woody filjre, sugar, starch, fat, oil, &c. 24, The nitrogenous, as albumen gluten, caseine &c.. And ad. The mineral, as lime, silex, potash, sulphur, &c. Most vegetables contain but a small amount of the 2d class, and what they do cont-ain, is chietly in their seeds. I have never seen a chemical analysis of corn or the corn stalk. But wheat straw contains 960 parts of organic matter in a thousand, and only 4 parts of nitrogen. Oat straw contains 970 parts of organic matter, and only 3 of nitrogen. Wheat itself contains 20 parts of nitrogenous mat- ter in a hundred. Oats contain 14. If we may judge at all from analogy, we may suppose the corn stalk to consist of woody fibre, sugar, starch, lime, silex, potash, and traces of nitrogen and sul- phur. But woody fibre, sugar and starch consist wholly of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, and may be converted the one into the other, by changing the proportion of their elements. Probably corn- stalks contain some 950 or GO parts in 1000 of or- ganic matter, mostly carbon. But carbon has of itself but little value as a manure. Its chief value is as a retainer of ammonia, for which it has a strong affinity, and as a vehicle by which this, and mineral matters, are conveyed to the roots of plants. Some have denied that carbon is ever taken up by the roots of plants. It certainly never is, ex- cept in the form of carbonic acid dissolved in wat- er, and probably in that f )rra only in small quan- tity, except when the roots are stimulated by ni- trogen and mineral substances. The carl)on used in building up the frame work of plants and trees is mostly obtained from the carbonic acid contained in the atmosphere, by means of the leaves. By a curious chemical process in the leaf, the cai'bon is separated from the oxj'gen, and each element is appropriated to the use for which it is wanted. Hydrogen and oxygen are also obtained by the de- composition of water in the leaf, to wliich it is con- veyed from the soil — and hy which it is absorbed along with carbonic acid, from the atmosphere. From all which it results that the chief .value of the corn stalk as a manure, resides in the mineral matter it contains. If B. would enrich his soil, and thus secure a large crop by burying his corn- stalks in the ground, he must, to use another Irishism, bury the corn along with them, and then he will get a tolerable amount of nitrogen— the 224 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Maj very element in which the ehie-f value of animal manure consists. Indeed, European farmers are using rape seed and oil cake as a manure, because they are rich in this element. The peculiar value of animal manures, I take it, consists in the nitro- gen they contain. Their mineral elements are in- deed vaiuahle. But these may be obtained at a cheaper rate, from other sources. I have not time, had I the ability, nor will you give me space, Mr. Editor, to go more fully into this copious subject ; and I will close by saying that just in proportion as friend B. can make his farm furnish nutriment to his animals to such an extent, that ihfy shall aif jrd nutriment to succes- sive/i/ increasing crops, will it prove a "mine ofj wealth" to him. But if he has to raise one crop to feed his animals, and another to feed his crops, he had better dig in some other mine. In order that land may maintain itself at a high degree of productiveness, it must yield abundant, nay luxuriant crops. It is only such crops that can return to it the "fertilizing matter" necessary to keep it at the maximum point of fertility. This I suppose fo be tl e standard at which every flirm- er should aim, and just in proportion as he ap- proaches it, will his farm prove to him a mine of wealth. Permit me to add a short extract or two from Stockhardt's Field Lectures, a book which I should be glad to see in the hands of every farmer who would understand the principles of chemical science, as they apply to the processes of agriculture. "There are probably few farms on which natural manure is produced in such plentiful quantity as to suffice for perfectly manuring their surface. As long as a farm has not reached the highest point of cultivation, every means must be pronounced acceptable, which puts the farmer in a position to provide his fields with more liberal dressing than he is able to give them from his own supply of home produced natural manure. Whoever seeks to arrive quickly at this state of cultivation, must make extensive use of those auxiliary or artificial manures, that are now offered him by commerce. For if by the agency of artificial manares, fields are speedily brought into a state of greater pro- ductiveness, more straw and fodder will also be pro- duced ; and by their assistance the stock can be so in- creased and the supply af natural manure so enlarged, that the importation of artificial manures is no long- er necessary.''^ j. r. For the New En^lamd Farmer. GRAFTING ON THE THORN. BY C. GOODRICH. I have lately seen an article in your paper re- commending the common New England thorn tree, as stocks for pears. As the writer merely gives it as a matter of opinion, rather than experience, it )nay lead many to try experiments where disap- pointments are sure to follow. The whole family of thorns. Mountain Ash, and ShadbeiTy, I believe will generally prove worth- less for dwarf pears ; they may occasionally suc- ceed, but each one grown will cost the owner more tiian a dozen good trees on pear stocks. Some fifteen years since, I procured two or three dozen thorn trees, planted them with care, and the next season grafted with pears ; about one-half grew, which had a sickly existence a h\f years and died. My nest experiment was with Shadberry, with no better success. In 1851, I planted 5G Moun- tain Ash trees — averaging 1^ inches in diameter — and grafted near the ground with some eight vari- eties of pears. All grew very finely, but in Sep- tember, they began to appear sickly, which so in- creased, that in 1852 all were dug out and thrown away. I last year purchased the largest nursery on the east side of Like Champlain, some twenty miles from Burlington. Among the stock were twenty thousand pear seedlings and some thou- sands of grafted trees of ail ages and sizes. I no- ticed a number of sciraggy thorns, and on inquiry the intelligent owner told me he had f )r ten years tried to raise pear trees on thorn stocks, had tried more than one hundred, but had not succeeded in raising but one tree, which he showed me. This- had a sickly growth ; I transferred it to my garden last spring but it has gone the way of all others. On large vigorous trees, and grafted in the tops-, pears will grow well on the 1 horn, Mountain Ash, or Shadberry, for a few years. I once- grafted a thorn tree of this character, and the fourth year picked four bushels of pears from it. All large- trees of this class, in rich soils, are valuable for grafting with thepear — but for "dwarfs," or stand- ards, grafted when young, thorn stocks generally^ are worse than useless. The Mountain Ash and Shadberry, I think of the same general character as the thorn — but have not seen experiments enough to give an opinion of their value for stocks for pears. It is said that the pear will graft wel} on the apple, but "outgrows" it. This is all a mistake. The sap flows freely from the apple to the pear and produces a vigorous growth, but not return- ing freely, the apple stock is dwarfed. If one wisli- es to try the experiment, he will find, by grafting apples and pears on the same tree, that although the pears at first will outgrow the apples, the limbs on which apples are grafted will grow four times as fast as those grafted with pears. But few varieties of pears will grow on apple stocks. I have tried many sorts, but never had much success with but one. The T)ld Summer Bon Chretien, (Good Christian,) a very irregular scraggy grower, grows as readily on the apple, as pear stocks, and bears well a few years on old trees, or until the limbs on which they are grafted become too much dwarfed. If any one can give any successful experiments of raising trees on thorn stocks, I shall be glad to- see them ; but until I see practical demonstration, will caution all of depending on the thorn as a stock for pears. Burlington, Vt. For the New England Farmer. A QUESTION FOR 'THE CURIOUS, Sir: — I have a small pear tree in my garden, which the last season bure fruit of good qualityj but not pears, although nourished and matui'ed by the sap of the tree, and on the wood produced by the pear gr;i.ft or bud, nor were there pears in any part of the tree which came to maturity, what fruit was it ? Horticulturist. Groton, 1853. Reji.\rks. — Well, we rather guess 'twas a pear ? 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 225 BEURRS DE ANJOU. The above l)eautiful portrait was taken from a pear furnished us by the Hon. Marshall P. Wild- er, from his garden in Dorchester, and is a faith- ful representation of the fruit,leaves, and a portion of the branch upon which it hung. Synonym — Ne plus Meuris of the German and French Catalogue. Size — JiUrge. Form — Obovate, obtuse, pyriform, outline and surface often slightly irregular. Stem — Short, thick, inserted without much de- pression. Calyx — Moderately sunk in small uneven basin. Skin — Greenish-yellow, coarsely dotted, russet- ed at the stem and eye, and with a brownish red cheek on the sunny side. Flesh — Yellowish white, very juicy, melting and buttery. Flavor — Rich sub-acid, with a delicious aroma resemblino; that of the Brown Beurre. Season — November to January. Class— ''Best:' Tree— Hardy and productive either on the pear or quince stock. The Beurre de Anjou was introduced by Mar- shall P. Wilder, from Eurof.e, about ten years ago. Mr. W. considers this variety one of his most valuable acquisitions, and worthy of general dissemination. Northern Spy Apple. — D. Taber, in the same paper says the "past winter was one of unusual severity to fruit trees in the nursery, destroying many of our Baldwins and other varieties— and the Northern Spy, standing in rows by their side within four feet of Baldwins, remained almost en- tirely without injury. They possess one advantage over any other kind with which I am acquainted ; that is, being about ten days later in putting out in the spring, making the risk much less of injury from late frosts." 226 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May For the New England Farmei . LIVE FENCES. Mr. Editor : — Some questions have been asked concerning hedges in the columns of your paper, which I will venture to answer. "Are live fences cheaper than other fence ; what is the best kind ; \yhere the seed can be had ; at what price ; the time and mode of planting, and the whole mode of operation 1" I think live fences are as cheap or cheaper than wood fence ; that is, if wood will bring a fair price cut for any otl.er purpose ; but if wood is very plenty and comparatively valueless, then I should think it would be cheaper than live fence ; if stones are plenty — and in some places they are so plenty that we are glad to get rid of them the best way we can,— then I should think it would be best to use stone instead of hedge : I am now speaking of d virion fences and the like. Many use hedges of some kind to enclose front gardens, or even vegetable gardens, for by the use of evergreen hedge, we may obtain a sheltered po- sition for a garden, enabling us to raise early veg- etables with greater success. The best kind of plant for fence is Buckthorn, {Rhamus cafharticus) it IS perfectly hardy, and does well in wet or dry land, will accomodate itself to most any situation, and is entirely free from borers ; forms, with good care, in a few years, an almnst impenetrable hedge and altogether I think it is the best thing known for live fences. The seed can be had at Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co.'s, or at most any seed store; or the plants of suitable size can be had reasona- ble of any of the nurserymen in this vicinity ; the price for the seed is one dollar per quart, washed out separate from the pulp; this is not a high price. _ As for the time and mode of planting, I will give you my method, though it may differ from the practice of some others; — "doctors sometimes dis- agree"— all I can say is that the plan I shall rec- ommend has done well with me. I take my seed after it is washed free from the pulp, and mix it with sand and loam, about half of each, using enough to prevent the seed from heating ; after having thug mixed them, put them into a tub or box, and place them away in the barn-cellar or some such place, looking out that the mice don't get at, or water run in, to rot them. In the spring prepare the ground by first spreading on manure, then plow it well, that it may be ivell pulverized, after which strike a shallow furrow and manure again shghtly in the drills, mixing it up with the soil, and then sow the seed as peas are sown, not too thick, for the plants will not grow so stout ; this should be done as soon as the ground is dry enough to work well. It is unnecessary to say that they should be kept entirely free from weeds. Should they make good growth, many of them would do to set up in hedge the next spring, but i t is generally best to let them grow two pears in the seed bed. In order to have a good hedge of Buckthorn — for of that I have been speaking — it is necessary first to prepare your trench where your plants are to be set, by digging it from three to four feet widp, and not less than two feet deep, that is if the soil is not very good, — and filling it up with good loam, with a liberal quantity of well decomposed manure compost. This is necessary in setting a hedge of any kind, if you want it to flourish. The Buckthorn plants, before setting, should be cut down to within two ortliree inches of the root, mere stubs ; then in regard to setting, some, where they want abroad hedge, set them in double rows, but if set in a single row as they ought to be, four inches apart — it generally makes a hedge thick enough. They will make some growth the first year they are set, which should be cut down, and so continue to cut them down allowing them to gain two or three inches a year until the bottom becomes thick. All hedges need clipping at least once a year, many clip twice. After the hedge has attained the desired height and shape, it is but little work to keep it in order, clipped, as I have before said, every year, manured occasionally, and the grass and weeds kept out, is all that is neces- sary. Having spoken of hedges for fence, I will now say a few words concerning fancy or ornamental hedges, which when well taken care of, are really beautiful objects. For such hedges, Arborvitae is much used, does very well, but is liable to be killed out by the winter. Privet or Prim is one of the best things for an ornamental hedge that I know of, and I am surprised that it is not used more. Hemlock makes a very dense and beautiful hedge, admirable for screens around a garden and other places. Arborvitae is used in the same way. Norway Spruce is said to make a good hedge, but is now too expensive for that use. But enough for the present, — may refer to the subject some other time. j. f. c. n. Newton Centre, March 24, 1853. For the Netv England Farmer. MARYLAND FARMING. Mr. Farmer : — Knowing you to be "national" in your agricultural views, I trust you will take an interest in what pertains to this favored region, the sunny South. It must be admitted that na- ture has been partial in the distribution of her gifts. I have strong attachments to New England, — to the Old Bay State, I would not exchange her for any State, or nation, I have yet seen. No, not for all put together. Yet Massachusetts owes her wealth, her institutions, and her peaceful, happy hours, not to her climate, nor to her soil ; but to the character of her population, which secures wealth — the comforts and luxuries of life — which acquires knowledge, and makes it available in ev- ery apartment of human industry, in spite of nat- ural disadvantages. Yes, the Yankee not only compels the rocky and naturally sterile soil, to yield an abundant harvest, and every stream of water, by propelling machinery, to become a source of wealth, but, by his alchemy, he transmutes the very frosts of winter into gold. But I took my pen to write of INIaryland, not of Massachusetts. The condition of agriculture in this State is generally bad. The skinning system has been practised here, as in New England, till a large portion of the territory has been so far re- duced as not to pay for cultivation. Bat happily, here, as in the northern States, flirmers are begin- ning to find out that there is a better way. With- in the last five yeivrs a great change has been ef- fected. It has been ascertained that worn-out lands may be effectually reclaime'd by the applica- tion of lime. Limestone is abundant in most of the counties of the State. And lime may be ob- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 227 tained in almost every part, for 12^ cents per bush el. The mode of applying it, is by sowing it broad cast. The amount thus applied, varies from 75 to 100 bushels to the acre. Land thus dressed, at an expense of from $12 to 15 per acre, I am told, will produce good crops, without any additional dressing, for ten years. In many portions of the State, I am informed, the price of laud has advanced fifty per cent, with- in five years. New England farmers manure for corn. The Maryland farmer manures for wheat, and leaves his corn crop to take care of itself. Corn is planted upon the lightest soil and receives the least attention. The land is imperfectly plowed, and after planting, the corn receives very little at- tention, except tliat a shovel plow is passed be- tween the rows two or three times. With such attention, corn could not be raised in New England at all. I am by no means cer- tain, however, that the labor we bestow upon this crop would not pay well here. Where 25 or 30 bushels are harvested now, I believe, witli proper cultivation, 50 might be secured. It was early in- stilled into my mind, as an agricultural tenet, that "corn cannot be cheated." Two bushels of corn may be raised here, at less expense than one, on the best corn lands in Massachusetts. The same I think is true of many other crops, so that if the farmer wishes to make money, and nothing else, he will do well to leave Massachusetts and come to Maryland. I visited a few days since, the celebrated farm of Mr. George Patterson, of Carrol County. Tru ly, that is a farm as is a farm. The tract contains seventeen hundred acres, all in one body, lying nearly in the form of a square. The surface is gently undulating, nowhere too abruptly hilly, nor too level. On the whole tract there is very little, if any waste land. The mansion, which is an imposing structure for a farm-house, and so located as to produce a most pleasing effect upon the beholder, occupies an em- inence in a central position, overlooking nearly the whole territory. The landscape is beautifully di- versified with hills and dales, cultivated fields and forests. In the season of foliage, the scenery must be enchanting. There needs but a castle, with a high tower, a moat and a draw bridge, to give it the air of a baronial estate. But in the absence of these lunar fardels, for which feudal lords were wont, whilom, to fight and bleed, the lowing herds of cattle, the bleating flocks of sheep, the pranc- ing steeds, the grunting swine, and the cackling fowls, indicate "the piping time of peace;" that the sword has given place to the plowshare, that rural and civic duties have succeeded to the reign of Mars and Bellona. A beautiful rivulet divides the farm, which is made to pay tribute in the way of converting the proprietor's grain into flour. Thoroughness is a prominent characteristic in every department. The adage, what is worth do- ing at all, is worth doing well, seems to be a ruling principle of action. The fences are a great curi- osity. As far as I saw, they were all made of chestnut and oak rails, about ten feet in length, laid up Virginia fashion, from ten to twelve rails in heiglit, with a pair of stakes at each corner. The proprietor has learned, from poor Richard, or from some other source, that an ounce of preven- tion is better than a pound of cure. "Twould be well for all farmers to learn and practice the same lesson. With such fences, there would be no breachy cattle, and consequently no losses from their depredations. The barns are neatly and substantially built, and most of them after the same model ; being 30 feet by 18, and wholly devoted to hay and grain. But that is a small barn, says the New England farmer. Very true. But what there lacks in size, may be made up in number. The barns are all numbered, and I saw No. 47, and was told there were 50 in all, on the farm. Of this number, sev- eral are devoted to the sheltering of stock ; for in- stance, one to milch cows, one to working oxen, one to horses, one to sheep, and so on. These are much larger and specially adapted to the purposes for which they are used. No man has done more for the introduction of good stock and improvement in the breeds of cat- tle, in this country, than Mr. Patterson. lie has spared neither pains nor expense. He seems to till the earth as I think every man should, not solely for the purpose of extracting wealth therefrom, but con amove, — for the sake of beautifying it, — for the sake of developing and perfecting its re- sources,— for the sake of multiplying luxuries and increasing the comforts of human society. He has devoted to his work intelligence, the results of ex- tensive and accurate observation, together with the triumphs of science and art. He is now reaping a rich reward. Of his stock, the nature of his soil, and his meth od of cultivation, I may write hereafter. Yours, R. B. H. Reuarks. — Please to do so — and fill out the above initials, so that we may know to whom we are indebted for such lucid and interesting descrip- tions. For the New England Farmer, TRANSPLANTING. Mr. Editor : — Sir, — As you are very good to give advice and counsel to the needy, through the columns of your paper, 1 beg leave to propose tvpo or three questions. I wish you to tell me what to do to cherry trees, to have them bear good sound fruit and prevent them from being wormy ? Also, the best month in the year to set out fruit and shade trees, viz : Maple, Elm and Spruce! In so doing, you will confer a favor upon a constant reader of the New England Farmer. Deerfield, March 25, 1853. G. W. Mann. Remarks. — Keep your cherry trees healthy and vigorous by manure and cultivation, and keep in- sects from stinging the fruit if you can. Set your trees as early in the month of April as the frost will permit. Directions how to do it were given in the Weekly Fariner of March 26. Do not let the sun shine or the wind blow on the roots of the evergreens a moment. Keep them covered with earth, wet moss, matting, or something of the kind, till the moment they are set back into the ground. Eggs. — Mr. Edward Aborn, of Providence, R. I., has sent us three eggs, laid by one of hiq 228 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May Shanghai hens, (of Forbes's importation.) Two of the eggs are not above the usual size of hen's eggs, but are very heavy, weighing, one 2^ the other 2J ounces. The third is of a very large size, weighing 4 ounces, and measuring 8| inches one way, and 5 13-16 inches the other. Mr. Aborn will please accept our thanks for the above. For the New England Farmer. THE VALUE OF SULPHATE OF ZINC (WHITE VITRIOL) TO THE FARMER. Having formerly been a practitioner of medicine, my knowledge of the properties of the above ar- ticle has led me to some knowledge of its value as a topical application in the farm yard. At one of our Annual Agricultural Exhibitions a year or two since, I met with a farmer, who, 1 remembered, had the previous year exhibited a cow whose fine bag had attracted my attention, and which it seems always gave an abundant yield of milk after calving, which was regularly and seri- ously diminished by the difficulty of milking occa- sioned by her teats becoming sore not many weeks after the calf was taken away. He informed me that he had made the application to her teats which I had recommended the year before, and that it had speedily and entirely cured the teats and that they had remained perfectly well ever since. I had entirely forgotten having recom- mended anything, and he could not remember the name of my prescription ; but upon my repeat- ing one or two articles which I thought most like- ly to have been suggested by me to him, he con- fidently caught at the name as I repeated it of the article above mentioned as the one which he had so succesfully used. It was not many mouths af- ter that, my hired man complained of a similar difficulty in a valuable cow owned by myself, caus- ing her frequently to raise her foot while being milked, and preventing thorough milking of the afifected teat. Recalling to mind the instance above mentioned, I promised the man a remedy for trial ; but other cares led me to postpone its preparation until I found after two or three weeks that the sore or excoriation on the teat was of the size of a finger nail. I then dissolved perhaps a teaspoonful of sulphate of zinc in a half pint of water, aiad directed my man to apply it after each milking, by means of a soft rag saturated with the solution. It was four or five days, I think, (but possibly a week,) thereafter, before I thought to inquire as to its effiscts, when i confess I was as much surprised, as ray man seemed pleased, to find a perfect cure efiected and natural and healthy appearing skin in place of the excoriation or sore skin. This occurred some time last summer, I should think about July or August, and when I left home the last of January, she had been milked regularly since that time without the slightest re- turn of soreness. The hand of the man who milks is usually suf- fered to be applied dry to the teat, and is often hardened by hard work, and it is not surprising that the friction occasioned thereby (and by a very different surface from the moist mouth of thecal! — the milker designed by dame nature) should oc- casion inflammation in the skin, and a consequent cessation of the slight oily secretion natural to the pores of the skin of the teat. The sulphate of zinc is a decided astringent, and free from the ob- jectionable properties of some mineral astringents. Again ; I had a litter of Suffolk and JNIackay pigs littered last autumn, at that season when a hot sun following cold nights is liable to produce irritation and cracking of their tender skins, and a consequent thick black scabs on the back, while their tails become an entire scab and drop off. — Five of this litter were thus affected. They looked as if they had been lying or rolling in black mud, but tlie pen was perfectly dry ; it increased from day to day, and the state of the tail also satisfied me that they were affected by some disease of the skin, I knew not what. I therefore resorted to a book upon the breeding and diseases of this ani- mal, and found the affection well described and accounted for, but the treatment very unsatisfac- tory to me. I determined therefore to try the zinc, as I thought it reasonable and probable that in this instance also it would prove useful. Up- on removing the little things from the pen, we found their backs occupied by scabs of great thickness, and so nearly touching each other as to present the appearance of an uniform black patch; but the skin was discoverable in the cracks be- tween each scab or row of scabs, and the scabs we found surrounding and involving the hairs. I had prepared the zinc by mixing perhaps a heaping tea-spoonful with a lump of hog's lard of the size of a goose egg, incorporating it thoroughly with a case knife. This was thoroughly rubbed upon the parts affected, and the pigs returned after each ap- plication to their pen. It was repeated every oth- er day, until it had been applied three times ; af- ter which, the thick scabs disappeared from four of the five, leaving the skin in a natural state, with the exception of a very slight blush of red where the scabs had been. But this shortly dis- appeared. The fifth was one which we had brought up by hand, and was not cured until the application had been made five or six times. The tails were hopelessly lost, except one or two where the root of the tail alone was affected. The oth- ers, when we commenced with the zinc, had the whole tail involved and cracked and looking as though roasted (not brown) but to blackness. — The speed with which the cure was effected, con- sidering that the scabs were at least an eighth of an inch thick, and that the pigs were continued in the same exposure where the disease originat- ed, leads me to feel confident that the cure could not be solely attributable to the lard, which I have no doubt would be so far servicable that with longer time it might or probably would, remove the difficulty. I sold the little fellows at five weeks old, for $5 a pair. But to ascend from cows and pigs to a higher order of beings for whose sake it may be worth while to possess and to use this preparation of zinc. Suppose a mother to have given her young child an orange to amuse it or to eat, and not be- ing watched, the little fellow has eaten the peel as well as the pulp. Or, suppose that it has eat- en some other equally indigestible article, and that its stomach and delicate nervous system rebels against the unwelcome intruder. The child is found before long, as sometimes happens, in a fit or convulsion. It is laid upon the bed and seems to return to consciousness, but another and an- other fit succeed. The doctor is sent for, but half of our farmers live one or two ^miles distant from 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 229 the doctor, and half the time the doctor is not at home. In such a case, what a relief to the parents and household it would be, to know just what the doctor would do if there, and to have the remedy at hand. Lot them dissolve (according to the age of the child) from one-twelfth to one-fourth of a tea- spoonful of iulphate of zinc in a great spoonful of water, and give it to the child from the spoon; (for .if a fit should occur, it might, bite a piece from a cup or glass) and in from three to five minutes the contents of the stomach will be evacuated, the cause removed, and nothing further but rest is needed. Its operation would probably be has- tened by giving drink of warm water in order to slightly distend the stomach. If it does not oper- ate in five minutes, the dose should be repeated until the stomach is evacuated. It might be well to give from two to six drops of laudanum after- wards, to allay any irritation of stomach caused by the zinc or the indigestible food, especially if there is tenderness upun slight pressure on the pit of the stomach. FARM ACCOUNTS. We have been permitted to look at a Journal of Farm Accounts, kept by D. Tennet, Esq., of Sut- ton, commencing with .the year 1822. Mr. Tenney has divided his farm into small lots, to each of which he has given a name. This name is en- tered on the top of the left-hand page of the jour- nal, together with the amount of land which the lot contains. Then follows the account as set forth below. This lot is entitled "Young Orchard," containing three-fourths of an acre, and the profits are given for each year, from 1844 to 1852, inclu- sive. We have selected a lot showing quite favor- able returns ; but every lot shows a fair gain on the capital and labor invested. In the "Young Orchard" lot, in 1844, the profit was $47.00 184=1, " " 16.40 1846, " " 75.40 1847, " " 57.38 1848, " " 101.50 1849, " " 60 18 1850, " " 132.50 1851, " " 13115 1852, " " 79.00 The account is kept in the following form : Lffl-hand Page. 1852. By lu days work i)ick- ing apples, at 75 cis., $7.50 Right-hand Page. 1852. By 197 bushels of winter apples, or 79 barrels, at S 1 — $79.00 125 do. cider apples, at 6c, 7.50 Deduct labor, 7.50 $79.00 In 1851, the apples sold at the door for S2 a barrel, while in 1852, they only brought $1, after being transported to AYoreester. The Journal contains accounts kept with vari- ous kinds of land, where it was reclaimed, as well as old land, and the results are all favorable. If farmers would adopt Mr. Tenney's mode of keep- ing accounts, we think they would find better re- turns from their farms than they have been in the habit of giving them credit for. ANALYSES OF CLAM AND OYSTER SHELLS. Messrs. Editors: — In your January number of the "Plough, Loom and Anvil,^' is a brief notice of the application of oyster shells as a manure for fruit trees. That those who use them may know what they are adding to their soil when they ap- ply them, I here send you for publication their analysis, together with the analysis of the clam shell. In the vicinity of the sea-coast and in the neigh- borhood of large towns, the common clam and oyster shells are quite extensively used by farm- ers as a manure. They are sometimes thrown up- on the land whole, sometimes previously broken into fragments, and often burned. As a general rule, the latter method may be considered prefer- able to either of the others. Soils, however, containing already a sufiicient quantity of lime for present demands, and where the object is merely to compensate for the gradual waste, shells unburned may answer quite as good a purpose as those which have been burned. \V hen used before burning, owing to their compact tex- ture, they are acted upon but slowly by the ordi- nary agents to which they are subjected , and hence it requires a much larger quantity of them than of burned shells to exert, in a given time, the same den^ree of influence upon the soil. Unlnirned, their eSects are not materially different — throwing aside the small quantity of animal matter and soluble salts they contain — from ordinary limestones bro- ken equally fine and disposed of in a similar man- ner. Before burning — omitting moisture — they are made up principally of carbonates, with a small quantity of organic matter, phosphates, sulphates, and chlorides. The process of burning expels near- ly air of the carbonic acid and organic matter, with some of the chlorine, leaving the phosphate, sul- phates, and a small amount of chlorides and car- bonates. The rest, lime, which makes up nearly the whole, is in a caustic state. As the composition of these shells, both before and after burning, maybe of some interest, I here give them : The common clam shell (Venus mercenaria) — 100 parts of the dry unburned shell gave of Silica none. Pho.sphates of iron, lime and magnesia 1.250 Carbonate of lime 69 204 Sulphate of lime 0.815 Lime, probably combined with organic matter 13.907 Magnesia 1.400 Poiassa 1.847 Chloride of sodium 6.101 Organic matter 6.050 100.614 The same shell, burned till the organic matter and carbonate acid were nearly all expelled — 100 parts gave of Silicia none. Phosphates of iron, lime and magnesia 1.856 Lime 78.610 Sulphate of 1.210 Magnesia 2.078 Potassa 2.816 Soda and chloride of sodium 10.386 Carbonic acid 3.043 Organic matter trace. 99.999 Shell of the common oyster (Ostrea borealis) — 100 parts of the fresh shell, deprived Of water, gave of 230 JSEW ENGLAND FARMER. May Phosphates of iron, lime, and magnesia 0.842 Carbonate of lime 86.203 Sulphates of lime 2.061 Lime, probably combined with organic matter 6.035 Magnesia 0.338 Pola.ssa 0,191 Soda and chloride of sodium 0.690 Organic 3.613 99.613 The same shell, burned till nearly all the car- bonic acid and organic matter were expelled — 100 parts gave of Phosphates of iron, lime, and magnesia .0.800 Lime 91.918 Magnesia 0. .560 Potassa 0.316 Soda and chloride of sodium 1.144 Sulphuric acid 2.011 Carbonic acid 2.050 Organic matter trace. 98.799 From these analyses it will be seen that the shells of the clam contain a much larger percen- tage of phosphates, magnesia, potassa and soda, than those of the oyster; while the latter are much the richest in linis and sulphuric acid. Tours truly, J. H. Salisbury, State Chemist. Old State Hall, Albamj, Feb. 14, 1853. — Plough, Loom and Anvil. LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Eleventh Meeting— Tuesday Evening, April 5, 1853. The eleventh meeting of the series was held at the State House, on Tuesday evening. The sub- ject under consideration was'TAe Structure and Position of Farm Buildings.''^ Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, presided, and^n open- ing the discussion remarked that in his opinion, the cost of farm buildings should be proportionate to the value of the farm ; that is, they should not cost more than the land, but as much less as pos- sible. On a farm worth $5000, the house should not cost more than $2500. The buildings should be so situated as to save travel and power in farm- ing operations, as on uneven land, the necessity of transporting manure up hill, as this is generally the heaviest labor on a farm. It would be much easier to draw produce up hill than manure. The barns and sheds should also be so arranged as to afford the most comfort and convenience to the animals occupying them. Much suffering and loss occurs from a neglect of this matter. Farm- ers should avoid building their houses too high, because if constructed with three or four stories, the upper stories are inconvenient to get at. Who- ever builds in this manner, errs in taste and mis- applies his money. Farm buildings, too, should be adapted to the purposes for which the farm is designed — as, if a dairy farm, or a cheese farm, rooms should be built expressly to meet the requirements of such farming. Mr. Proctor thought the habit of keeping cat- tle in the barn during the entire winter, was un- necessary ; because, if sheds and yards are proper- ly constructed, young cattle, certainly, can be well kept in them. Mr. Brown, of the jV. E. Farmer, said that one great difBculty in arranging our farms and build- ings is, that most of them come to us either by inheritance or purchase, and alterations in them are expensive. If he were to lay out a farm, he would form it into an oblong square, and if the lands were extensive, h(f would place the build- ings somewhere near the centre — if not very am- ple, near the front centre, and nearest the high- way, to be used in connection with the hiriu. He agreed with the Chairaiivn, in regard to the house on a fixrm, for he believed there was much truth in the old couplet, "A little house and a great barn. Is a sure sign of a good farm." One of the most important apartments in a house, is the cellar ; and yet, among farmers it is often more deficient than any other apartment. The cellar should be eight or nine feet high from the bottom to the floor of the house, and should be well painted and white-washed. It should be kept in such a manner as to keep it moist, so that the hoops on the barrels should not drop off, but not so moist as to cause the casks and bins to rot. Mr. Brown stated that he had a stream of water running through his cellar nearly all the time, the springs flowing out from the hill side behind his house, being conducted through it. He found that fruit would keep better in this cellar than in any other he had ever used ; he had no doubt he could keep some kinds of ap- ples in it two years, without withering or shrink- ing much. The casks are always in good condi- tion if the cellar is cleaned out two or three times a year, as he intends to have it. In regard to the structure of barns, Mr. Brown thought that if any inan would furnish a design for such a barn as thousands of our farmers are at the present moment in need of, — something neat, convenient and cheap — he would confer a great benefit. He instanced the farm of a gentleman in Wostboro', which accommodated under one roof the carriages, the hay, and the implements, by which means the expense of constructing roofs for separate buildings is avoided. Then from the centre of this barn, is another for the cattle, the droppings of manure being thrown under this building, — leaving the cellar of the main barn sweet and clean for the reception of the crops of the farm throughout the year, lie had endeav- ored to form one after the same fashion. There was one great inconvenience connected with it, how- ever ; the bays for hay were very wide and long, and it often required three persons to unload and stow it away, which is more labor than can be spared in the haying season. Mr. Sheldon of Wilmington said he had never 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 231 seen a barn which exactly suited him, but the one described by ]Mr. Brown accorded well with his views. He had l)uilt his barn with a cellar under it where he kept his hogs ; but lie did not like it because ho thought the odors from the manure affected the hay injuriously. Cattle would not eat it so well. He would prefer to have a barn with a cellar separate for manure. In regard to unload- ing hay, if practicable, he would have one end of the barn so as to drive in over the beams. He would also have his barn large, so that when, as frequently happens, in case of showers, hay has to be housed before it is fairly cured, there might be room to complete the process before it is mowed away. As to the position of buildings, he would as a general thing have them in the centre of a farm but would not get into a hollow, because it is apt to keep the cellars too wet, and the manure in the spring is too wet also. Farmers are apt to get their cellars too low and their buildings too high. Mr Clark of Waltham said the position and structure of farm buildings depended very much on circumstances as to expenses, points of the com- pass, Sue. He thought that as lumber was becom- ing scarcer and dearer every year, our farmers would soon be obliged to resort to stone or some other material than wood for their buildings. He remarked that he had noticed this winter that his cattle preferred spring water to well water, al- though he considered the latter superior. Farmers should have an abundance of water, because if they drive their stock away from home they lose a good deal of manure as well as time. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, said he had been op- posed to barn cellars to keep manure in, for he be- lieved they injured the hay and affected the health of the cattle. If we build barns tight enough to keep cattle warm, we retain.the gases of manure when it is in a cellar under the barn, and they in- jure the cattle and the hay : therefore he would build a barn entirely separate for hay, and then build a leanto one story high for cattle ; and then back of that dig a cellar — or, if the land was not convenient, build a shed for the manure. Mr. Brown said he believed that manure under the hay and under cattle was injurious. As an il- lustration, he related the case of a friend of his, who built a barn which he thought he got com- pletely fixed in every respect, and digging a cellar under it. He purchased a good deal of manure and brought his lands into a high state of fertility, producing large crops of hay, some of which grew quite rank. This he allowed to accumulate in his barn. He finally sold his stock to be pressed in- to bundle hay. Some of it had lain in the bay for three years, and when it was removed to be screwed down, it was so offensive two or three feet from the floor, that the men employed to press it were unable to endure it, although the barn was entire- ly open, and a thorough ventilation was secured ; and they were obliged to throw away portions of it. Mr. Brown remarked further, that it was diffi- cult to arrange barns so as to have the cattle en- tirely separate from the hay. We must wait un- til we can build anew. We cannot afford the ex- pense of changing the barns we now have. He would suggest as a remedy in part to strew the floor of the leanto every morning, or whenever the cattle are cleaned, with ground plaster. It will very speedily absorb the gases, aud thus pre- vent the odors arising from the manure. But the thing of great importance, is to cover the manures, once a day loith the great absorbent, peat-mud. The suggestion of Mr. Clark in regard to the use of stone as a building material by farmers, Mr. Bro^-n regarded as very important on ac- count of the constantly increasing value of lumber. In his opinion we must have some thing to take the place of it. All over New England there are found stones that will split easily, and there are also slate stones that will make very fine building material. He desired that farmers should give the matter earnest consideration,and ascertain wheth- er we cannot build as cheaply with stone as with wood. Stone buildings may cost the most at the outset, but once built, there is little to be done to them for a long time afterward, while on wooden buildings there is a constant expenditure for paint- ing and repairing. Mr. Clark said he would make one suggestion in relation to the construction of horse stalls. He did not believe that horses ought to stand on plank floors. His horses stand upon the ground summer and winter — or rather upon a slight pavement, the bottom of the stable being paved with small stones, underneath which is a hard pan. He could not discover that he lost any liquid manure by this method. Standing on plank floors he thought injured the horses' feet and produced disease. Mr. Brooks did not consider the remedy for ob- viating the effects of the noxious gases of manure, viz. plaster, suggested by Mr. Brown, as entirely sufficient for that purpose, because these gases are continually rising, and therefore plaster occasion- ally thrown down cannot effectually suppress them. He certainly would have no manure un- derneath the hay. In reply to inquiry, he re- marked that he did not suppose any injury would accrue where one side of the cellar was left open ; but in such case the barn could not be warm enough for the cattle. Still he had known of old- fashioned farms where this was the case, and the cattle were healthy ; but it undoubtedly took more to feed them. The idea is to keep cattle suffi- ciently warm. They eat three per cent, of their live weight per day. If they are kept cold, they will eat more, and if very warm, less. Mr. Brooks considered a warmth of 55 degrees as 232 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May about the right temperature. He believed it would be a gain to keep a fire in a barn in order to bring the temperatui-e up to this point. Mr. Brooks attributed the preference shown by cattle for spring warer over well water, to the greater warmth of the spring water. He had ^und by experiment that cattle prefer water from which the "chiU"-has been taken off. If he were going to build a barn according to his ideas of perfection, he would have an apparatus for heat- ing water — he believed it would pay. Mr. SuELDON said he had a barn with the cel- lar open on the south side, but the hay will injure on the north side. He coincided with Mr. Clark in regard to plank floors for cattle. He had had more experience with oxen than with horses, and some years since, when he kept a large number, he used to spread meadow hay, which was then very cheap, under them, for them to stand on ; and he would as readily have oxen thus kept, trav- el 18 miles a day, as to allow those kept on a plank floor to travel 15. Mr. Emerson, of Boston, thought barns should be placed on the northern or northeastern side of the dwelling, because the unpleasant and noxious vapors arising from manures, which are readily carried off by the dense atmosphere and strong winds of winter, are too heavy to be forced up- wards by the lighter air and currents of summer, and hence, if the barns are located on the north side, will become very annoying during the warm months, as the southerly currents will waft them directly upon the house. The barn-yard, also, should not lie between the house and the barn, but be fixed beyond the barn, in order to avoid passing through the yard in going to the barn. It would also tend to prevent annoyance from nox- ious vapors in summer. For the New England Farmer. PLASTERED HOUSES. Mr. Brown : — I noticed in the last No. of the last Vol. of the Farmer, an article inquiring "if the outside" of a house "could be plastered or fin- ished with concrete or hydraulic cement, and then painted and penciled in imitation of granite, so as to be durable r' Mr. Camp can plaster with common lime mor- tar, leaving it rough, or as the leveller leaves it, until well dried, then a coating of plaster paris can be applied, and when dry it can be painted to suit his taste. The plaster paris will cost about twelve and a half cents per square yard, including mate- rial and labor of putting it on, and forms a per- fectly hard, smooth surface. I have been looking for an answer which would be of use to me, as well as Mr. Camp. As the season for repairing and building is at hand, cannot some one give some useful and prac- tical hints in regard to the subject ? Surely, there is a broad uncultivated field here, which ought to be occupied immediately. Artesan. Fur the New England Farmer. OBSERVATIONS ON SPRING WORK. BY F. nOLiJROOK. The Spring of the year is a busy and hurrying time with farmers, and yet there are some opera- tions of tillage which they can ill-afford to exe- cute in a slight and superficial manner. It would be impossible in a communication of reasonable length to speak of all the methods of culture per- taining to this season ; and only a portion of the more important of field-operations will be noticed at this time. Observation would rather induce the remark, that the preparation of the ground in the Spring, for the reception of seeds, is not generally as thorough as it should be. A more particular and finished style of plowing, for in- stance, would undoubtedly well reward any extra labor involved, by the extra amount of product of crops it would ensure. The furrows are generally too wide, shallow,imperfectly turned and matched, the crops are lessened by the means, while the la- bor and expense of the after-cultivation is increased. Then, again, it is too common to plow the differ- ent soils in the same style, while they require va- riations as themselves vary. The style of plow- ing a stiff, compact clay, should be different from that of a dry, loose, porous, sandy or gravelly soil. The best way of plowing a stiff clay, consists in cutting very narrow furrow-slices in proportion to their depth, and setting them over as nearly as may be, to an inclination of 45^^, thus making high-crested lapped work. To do this the most surely, the depth of the plowing should equal about two-thirds its width, — say as 7 inches deep by 10 inches wide, or 8 by 12, or 9 by 13 to 14 inches. When the earth is turned over in slices of these proportions, the plow in the act of turn- ing them, can finely crack and disintegrate them ; then they are set up so lightly, and so lightly rest against each other, that the atmosphere can circu- late among them, the rains pass through them, their projecting angles or exposed faces present the greatest attainable surface to the atmosphere, and the greatest contents of soil to the opera- tions of the harrow, so that it can the better slack- en and break down tbe stiffness of the soil, comb- ing out its too compact constituent parts into fine particles, and raising a deep mellow seed-bed. With a view of satisfying myself of the advan- tages or otherwise of lapped over flat plowing of stiff soil, I last year selected an acre of formerly wet, and naturally heavy tenacious pasture-land, that had never been plowed, and plowed half of it in 7 by 10 lapped furrows, and half in 7 by 12 flat furrows, — both kinds being done in a particu- lar and finished style. The land was moderately manured, and planted with potatoes. In the oper- ation of harrowing, it was found that the surface of the lapped furrows soonest yielded a fine tilth, and gave the deepest seed-bed. The hoeing upon the lapped work was the mellowest, and the horse, in passing between the rows on this half with the cultivator at hoeing- time, would frequently sink down fetlock deep between the furrows. A great- er luxuriance of vines on the lapped than on the flat furrows, as also a superiority in the size of the potatoes, and in yield of crop, was quite apparent ; and the hand-cultivation was performed with greater case and expedition. But dry, sandy and gravelly lands, being already 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 233 too loose and porous, are best plowed in perfectly flgt furrow-slices, the edges closely matchedjn, and the plowed land lying smooth and firm ; and if a heavy roller is passed over it, closely pressing the furrows down and together, it is generally all the better fa- the succeeding crop, — more particular- ly if a dry season follows. I have had much to do with very light, dry, sandy and gravelly lands, and have succeeded best by one thorough sod- plowing, as deep as circumstances would warrant, turning the sod over perfectly flat, then pressing the plowed hinds down with a heavy roller, then raising a tilth two to three inches deep with a light, fine-toothed harrow, planting one year, the next year plowing quite shallow and seeding to grass with grain, and leaving the turf undisturbed be- neath. I have frequently observed that the new seeding gained a thicker and better stand after this mode of cultivation, than when the turf was brought again to the surface at seeding time, and there left to dry and become dissipated by sun and wind. The soils of medium texture between the extra stiff and the loose and porous, are perhaps gener- ally as well plowed in flat furrows, as any way, — only let the slices be as narrow in proportion to depth, as will do, and turn over handsomely, be- cause the soil turned over in narrow slices, is more surely and readily disintegrated and broken into particles. The sod and subsoil plow appears to be quite well adapted to the working of these soils, where the land is not too rough or too much en- cumbered with obstructions. It is sometimes claimed, indeed, that this kind of plow is best adapted to every soil ; but the claim is perhaps rather broad, and possibly it might 1)6 as well to leave a slight margin for the present, at least. In plowing stubble or old land, it is well to use a plow of shorter mould-board, more abrupt in curvature than that of a first-class sod or break- ing-up plow, so as to give the furrow-slices that short twist in turning them, which shall break and separate the soil into particles, mixing it up and leaving it a mellow bed for grain and grass seeds. Pretty nearly all soils here in New England, are rather too shallow, and may be safely and pro- fitably deepened by a gradual process, ultimately attaining a depth of surfiice-soil of eight or nine inches, of uniformly good fertile qualify. I have tried the process, and know that it will not spile the land. The advantages of a deep, over what can be realized from a shallow soil, ai'e too appa- rent to need comment. In harrowing land for a crop in the spring, the operation is too commonly executed in a careless and superficial style, notwithstanding that such style cannot well be afforded. The crop, of what- ever kind, will start the quicker and be the more forward and vi^^orousjif the seed-bed has been made deep, fine and nicllow ; and if a planted crop, the planting and first hoeing will be enough better and quicker executed to more than three times pay for the extra time and labor spent in thorough harrowing. Great improvements have been made in the construction of harrows, and it is quite sin- gular to me that the coarse, uncouth implements of former days, should now be used, when those so very much more effective, are so readily pro- cured. Some of the best-constructed, modern hinge-harrows are adapted in their operation to the surface of the ground in all places, and wheth- er going through little sharp hollows, or over stones, knolls or ridges, they always hug the ground closely, and produce a fine, equal pulveri- zation in less time than is consumed in mangling and bruising the ground with the old, clumsy, coarse-toothed, ill-constructed harrow. In anoth- er communication, I will give a drawing and de- scription of a hinge-harrow which I use and think a good one, and which every farmer can readily make, or get made in his neighborhood. Manure to be applied to sod-land pbwed for a crop in the Spring, if fine compost, generally pro- duces the best results when spread on the surface of the furrows, and mingled with the soil to the depth of two to four inches. An ordinary coat can be suitably mixed with the soil by the harrow ; and if a very heavy coat is to be applied, the sod- plowing may be of good depth, so that the man- ure when spread on top may first be harrowed in, and then turned down and mixed with the soil to the depth of three or four inches by a light plow. If coarse, unfermented manure is to be used, and the sod-plowing is to be no deeper than that which generally prevails, then the manure may as well be spread on the grass and turned beneath the furrow, spreading it not much ahead of the plowing ; but if the plowing is to be extra deep, the manure may as well be spread on the surface of the plowed land after it is harrowed, and then buried four inches or so, with a plow guaged and regulated by a wheel on the beam. Any kind of manure, in any state, if to be applied to stubble or old land, had better be plowed in, for it is the nature of stubble plowing to turn no part of the crumbling furrow-slice exclusively to the bottom of the channel, but rather to mix up the various parts all the way from bottom to top, so that the manure will be found, on inspection, to be well mixed with the soil, and not buried too deep. My friend, J. W. Oolburn, Esq., of Springfield. Windsor Co., Vt., one of the best farmers we have in Vermont, informs me that his practice is to use coarse, unfermented manure, spreading it upon the grass land to be plowed in the Spring, and turning it under with a sod-furrow .six inches deep ; he then plants the land with corn ; and the next year plows it ten inches deep and seeds with spring grain and grass seeds, lie has often commmended the practice to me as attended with satisftictory results ; and has frequently taken the premiums of the Windsor County Agricultural Society for fine crops. The earlier Spring sowing can be done after the ground is fit to be worked, the better will it gener- ally be for both the grain and young gnss. It is customary with some to sow grass seeds with grain in the spring,and with others to omit the grass seed- ing at that time, and plowing the grain stuhble un- der after harvest, seed with grass in August or September. I have practised both modes, sou Q- times succ:!eding best with the Spring, and some- times with the late summer seedirg. If the foro part of the season is pretty moist, the latter part is often apt to be dry ; and in that case Spring seeding will be likely to succeed best : on the oth- er hand, if the fore part of the season is prevalent- ly dry, it is often followed by a moist autumn ; and then the late seeding succeeds best. As w© cannot anticipate the character of the season with much certainty, I have rather fdlen into the prac- tice of sowing grass seeds with grain, in the Spring, 234 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May and if a good catch is not obtained, the land is at once plowed again after grain-harvest and reseeded with grass only. A failure in having one's new-stocked mowings well set with grass, is a great disappoint- ment and vexation, and the best relief is found in plowing and rcseeding again the first fit opportuni- ty. These remarks upon laying land down to grass have exclusive reference to stubble land, and not to the plowing and reseeding of mowings after hay- ing, for the purpose of renewing them. Oats are a hardy crop for one's own feeding purposes, command a good and readycash price in market, and therefore are quite generally sown ; but if the land is to be stocked to grass at the same time, and a good catch is to be principally consid- ered, they are not as good a crop to sow]as barley. If they grow stout, they shade and choke the young grass too much ; and if they lodge they fall flat upon the ground, smothering and killing the grass ; but barley gives the grass a better chance for growth, and if it lodges, it rather crinkles or doubles over than falls flat, so that the young grass maintains a stand in the soil. I have sometimes been led to observe quite a superiority in my first hay-crop after seeding with barley over that after oats ; and the result may probably be attributed to the fact that the young grass got better foothold so as to more completely occupy the soil in the for- mer than in the latter case. I have found peas and oats a valuable crop, par ticularly for early autumnal feeding of fattening- swine, and generally for any stock at any time. I usually sow one and one-half bushel of peas, and two bushels of oats to the acre, which makes about the right mixture of straw to stand up pretty well while growing, and of grain for feeding. Some of my crops from this seeding have been very luxuri- ant and profitable. Year before last, I obtained 57 bushels of grain and agreat quantity of straw from a little less than one acre, and considered it the most profitable grain-crop raised that year, from that quantity of land. If the crop of peas and oats is very stout, it cannot be cradled, and must there- fore either be cut with the sickle or scythe. I pre- fer reaping to mowing, because the crop is easier cured, handled in carting, and threshed, and takes less barn-room. It would not be advisable to sow grass-seed with peas and oats, for the latter are too smothering to the young grass ; but the stubble may be plowed in and the grass-seed sown in the fall. In stocking hind to grass, the seed should be strown broadcast with a liberal hand. There is no economy at all, in sprinkling it over the ground. If sown bountifully, foul stuff will be shut out, the quality of the hay Avill be fine, the sward will be thick and firm, and when plowed under for the next rotation, will return a heavy coat of vegetable mat- ter in its roots and stems to the soil, enriching it and nourishing the succeeding crops. The more general sowing of white clover-seed is confidently recommended. If land is in good heart at the time of stocking it to grass, white clover sown witli the other grass-seeds will thicken up the bottom of mowings, growing some eight or ten inches high and in a thick mat, "and the burden of hay will prove much heavier than it seemed likely to be before mowing. Soon after the practice of sowing white clover on the tillage-fields commences, the plant will begin to show itself in various places on the farm, and ultimately gets pretty well scat- tered over the pastures, as it seeds very profusely, and the seeds are carried from place to place in the manure and otherwise. The price of the seed per pound in market is high ; but then one pound of it will seed more land, than two pounds of red clover seed ; so that in fltct the former is the cheaper seed of the two, for an acre. Red-top, red clover and white clover seeds, sown together, produce a quality of hay universally rel- ished by stock. My practice is, to seed all dry sandy and gravelly lands with this mixture. The red and white clover pretty much make the crop the first year; the second year, the red clover be- gins to disappear, and the red-top to take its place; and after that, the red-top and white clover have full possession and make the very best hay for horses or oxen, milch cows or young stock, that I have been able to produce. The crop per acre, as compared with herds-grass, is not so bulky ; but tested by weight and by spending quality in the winter, it is much the most valuable. Herds-grass hay grown on m(jist uplands or re- claimed meadows, and swamps of a mucky soil, or lands not over-charged with silica, is of good qual- ity ; but when grown on sandy and gravelly soils abounding in silex, the stalks are hard, Aviry,coat- ed with silicates as with glass, and neither horses or cattle will eat it as well, or thrive as well on it as on hay made of jred-top and clover ; and as for milch cows, they winter badly on it, and do not give out the milk as when fed on softer and more succulent hay. Still, it is a valuable grass for hay on other kinds of soil ; particularly valuable for stocking down reclaimed peat meadows, and swamps of mucky soil ; for these lands are general- ly more or less deficient in those matters which give strength of stem to the crop ; and herds-grass while by its disposition toattain a stiS'stem, thrives and stands up straight on such land, till harvest, yet makes succulent and nutritive hay, because it cannot appropriate a redundance of silicious mat- ter as in the other soils alluded to. For similar reasons it makes good hay on all soils not over abounding in silica. I intended at the commencement of these obser- vations, to say something upon planted crops and upon root crops ; but as my remarks have already attained too great length, I will bring them to a close with Que observation upon planting corn, namely; when planted on dry, loose, land, it is best to cover the seed from two to three inches deep, so that if very dry weather succeeds imme- diatety after planting, the germination may pro- ceed, and the young sprout not become withered by heat and drought ; and indeed on all land suit- able for corn, it is generally safest, one year with another, to cover the seed pretty well in planting, so that if a frost succeeds after the corn is up, the vitality of the plant may be preserved by the ex- tra covering of earth. If planted quite shallow, the crop is liable to fail, both from drought and frost. F. H. Brattleboro\ 7;!. ^pn7 2, 1853. To Cure Sheep Skin with the Wool on. — Take one spoonful of alum and two of saltpetre ; pul- verize and mix well together, then sprinkle the powder on the flesh side of the skin, and lay the two flesh sides together, leaving the wool outside. Then fold up the skins as tight as you can, and hang them in a dry place. In two or three days, 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 235 as soon as they arc dry, take them down and scrape them with a blunt knife till clean and supple. This completes the process,and makes a most excellent saddle cover. Other skins which you desire to cure with the fur on, may be treated in the same way. We can speak in favor of the above receipt. It does all it promises. Such skins make excellent mats for indoors. — Detroit Farmer's Companion. ORNAMENTAL AND SHADE TREES. It is a marked peculiarity of the native popula- tion of Massachusetts, those especially Tvhose an- cestors have been indigenous to the soil for two or three generations, that they exhibit a very close conformity in habits, customs, manners, ways of business, ways of thinking, and general views. This conformity of thought and action has orig- inated an apt phrase to designate it in the expres- sion, "a Boston notion." This peculiarity is, per- haps, as manifest and striking in our farmers, as in any other part of our population. One follows another, neighbor imitates neighbor, and son con- tinues the practices of the father, without inquir- ing into the reasonableness or advantage of the practice, or if he inquires, it is generally to sustain himself in his course by the authority of his pro- genitors, or that of some distinguished living man, more often than by the force of unprejudiced ar- gument or impressive fact. There is a great uni- formity in the crops raised, and in the mode of cultivation, though the discrepancies in the state- ments and opinions of farmers would often lead one to opposite conclusions. This disposition is carried out in the planting of shade and ornament- al trees, and the general mode of adorning the "front yard." The house is generally placed at from ten to forty feet from the dusty road, as if there were not room on the premises for the family edifice ; and if the proprietor concludes to go into any ex- travagance beyond the paint pot, two or four trees are selected, which are almost always of one spe- cies, to secure uniformity, and planted in a me- chanically straight line for the same object. For- merly the favorite tree selected for this purpose was the Lombardy Poplar, the most unsightly of all the trees, and odious for the armies of innu- merable hairy caterpillars, whose favorite resort it was. Here and there stands one now, straight as a mackerel, reminding us of the female costume in the pictures, before moreen petticoats were in vogue, and when cotton was too costly to set off the "human form divine," in new humps and graces. Previous to the day of the poplar, the elm had generally been the chosen tree, and that has again succeeded to favor since the poplar has fallen into merited disrepute. The elm is certain ly a beautiful and majestic tree. In these attrib utes it is not surpassed. It is not in good taste however, to observe the rule of uniformity by using only one species. Several should be used, differ- ent species intermingled, and set in disorder, not in linear order. If, however, one species were to be the sole ornament to a rural house, there are trees which have claims quite equal to the elm. The pine is a tree not surpassed in beauty, has the advantage of continuing through the year in foliage, and has the most agreeable and wholesome quality of drying the atmosphere wliere it stands, and of giving out a delicious fragrance. Other evergreens, the fir, spruce and larch, are beautiful trees. The walnuts, the chestnut, the scaly-bark, hickory, in addition to the recommendations of be- ing handsome trees, yield pleasant fruit. The wild cherry, also, does the same. Some of the oaks, the beech, the fragrant birch, called the black-birch, the ash, a stately and beau- tiful tree, and for a pleasing variety the holly and red cedar, the locust, red maple, linden, and oth- ers, are all worthy to do their part in adorning the farmer's ground, and are capable of giving a high- er degree of ornament than the most finished and elegant architecture, — and that without much cost. For the Neiv England Farmer. MORE ABOUT POTATOES. By a notice on page 48 of the current volume of the N. E. Farmer, it appears that T. D. Merison, of Hill, N. H., claims to have discovered a certain remedy for the potato rot ; at least one may readi- ly suppose that friend M. considers it an infallible remedy, from the fact that he has presented hia claim for the "$10,000." Now I do not wish to infringe upon his rights, or upon those of any oth- er individual, but I will inform him that his theory has been in vogue several years, and with a view to test its correctness, I tried some experiments last year, — the result of which I offer for the ben- efit of others. t planted a piece of ground with potatoes, on the north side of a shed, and on about half of the piece I planted two or three kernels of corn in a hill. In my corn-field I planted a bushel or more of potatoes, a few hills in a place, so that the po- tatoes were pretty well shaded. A part of the same piece was wholly planted with potatoes. On a third piece I planted potatoes at the north side of a wood lot. None of my potatoes rotted badly. Those near the shed, and in the hills in which corn was planted, showed quite as strong symp- toms of infection as those in the hills where no corn was planted. So with those in the corn- field ; some hills had but few sound tubers in them, while in others there were but few decayed ones. But very little, if any difference was observable be- tween the potatoes growing amongst the corn, and those growing ourside of it. I he third piece gave similar results. Only a few infected tubers were found, but those growing nearest the woods were not entirely exempt. Nearly all my potatoes grew on light, sandy loam. Now I think I have given the shade theory one fair trial, and as it did not entirely prevent the disease for which it is recom- mended, I shall enter my protest against the pay- ment of the premium until after another trial. I 236 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May hope farmers will not accept any theory, -without practical proof. If, by experiments carefully made, it is found that sheds, hoard fences, or corn-slalks, are a sure preventive, then, if the originator of the theory can be found, let him receive the reward. Patent medicines are apt to yield a good profit to the inventor, but I do not believe any one yet pro- posed for the cure of "this vegetable cholera" will greatly replenish the pockets of him who offers it in market. Prof Hoyt, in his able essay upon the "Potato Rot," recommends mowing the tops close to the ground. In 1848 I had a small piece of potatoes in which the blight began to appear. I took a scythe and mowed the tops on a part of the piece, having heard that that would arrest the disease. The result was, that every potato, I think, in the hills from which the tops were cut, was entirely rotten, while on the remainder of the lot a consid- erable portion were sound. Hence it appears that similar experiments produce different results in diflferent locations, — positive evidence that the true remedy is not yet fCund. Levi Varney. Sandwich, N. H. LEaiSLATIVB AGRICULTURAL MEET- INGS. Twelfth Meeting— Tuesday Evening, April 12, 1853. The twelfth and concluding meeting for this year was held at the State House on Tuesday eve- ning, His Excellency Governor Clifford presiding. Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, previous to the open- ing of the discussion for the evening, submitted a motion to the effect, that the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture be requested to call a meet- ing of the friends of agriculture, at the commence- ment of the next Legislative session, for the pur- pose of organizing such a series of meetings as will be best calculated to advance the cause of agricul ture. The motion was unanimously adopted. The subject for the evening'sdiscussion was then taken up, viz : "The obligation of the State to af ford additional encouragement to the farming in- terest, and the best means of doing this." Governor Clifford, in opening the discussion, remarked that he could not, with any consistency, or with any deference to his own interest in the subject of agriculture, have failed to respond to the invitation extended to him to preside at this meet- ing. He felt, however, that his position was that of a listener and a learner, rather than a teacher. Yet no one could doubt that the subject would al- most spontaneously give rise to some of the best thoughts in the minds of those who are interested in the prosperity of the people of this common- wealth. The Legislature, within the last year or two, have manifested, what the people too have begun to feel, a new interest in the subject of agriculture, and the establishment of the Board of Agriculture is an indication that that interest has begun to put on the form of active, intelligent and efficient eflfort for the promotion of that great cause. That it shall be intelligent, is, after all, the great object to be gained. There can be no indisposition in those who meet here in discharge of public duties, to do everything in their power to promote the cause of agriculture ; the point is, that they shall have a clear understanding of what may conduce to that end. With an intelligent Board of Agri- culture, there will be brought before the Legisla- ture and the people of the commonwealth, such in- formation as will leave no hesitation on the part of the Legislature in carrying proper measures into ef- fect. The speaker thought the selection of a Sec- retary to the Board had been fortunate, and spoke very highly of that gentleman's qualifications for the office. How far it was practical for the government to give direct aid to agriculture, or to any other de- partment of industry, was a question of such a broad nature, involving so many considerations that are not perceptible to a cursory examination, that he would not enter upon a discussion of it. But there is no doubt that whatever government can do to foster and stimulate the education of the farmer, is within the legitimate scope of her duty. There seems to have been among men an idea that there were two classes of minds in the world who draw all their powers of usefulness directly from nature — these were the farmers and the statesmen, two classes of persons whose ultimate objects are, or should be, the same, to scatter plen- ty over the smiling land. To accomplish this, there seems to have been an idea tliat every man has been born into the world full-armed, — that he does not require special education to be a farmer or a statesman. Almost every one of us feels com- petent to solve the most knotty questions of public policy, and in our popular assemblies, measures which reach in their results far into the future and puzzle our wisest statesmen, are discussed and de- cided in the most flippant manner. So with farming. What other occupation to which the energies of man are devoted, is deemed to be sufficiently answered in its preparation by the education which has heretofore been given to our farmers'? If a man were intending to make a lawyer of his son, he would put him through a regular course of study. But what is there anal- agous to this, in the education of our agricultu- ral population? Is there anything like a system- atic education for the farmer? Does not the pos- session of unusual intelligence and enterprise lead a young man to leave his father's farm, as being better fitted for some other profession? Gov. Clifford thought he could see in the future a state of things where the education of a farmer's boy to a farmer's pursuit may be made so attrac- tive to him as that he shall have no temptation to leave that noblest of all occupations which the Almighty has given to his creatures. His intel- lectual nature will be satisfied in the studies 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 237 which belong to the scientific and truly intelli- gent agriculturist. \V hy should it not be ■? Why should it be taken for granted, because a young man exhibits signs of remarkable talent, that he cannot live a farmer ? All professions look to this i3ursuit for their final reward. As soon as men in other callings obtain a competency, their thoughts turn towards retiring upon a farm. This shows that the cultivation of the earth is congenial with the natural tastes of man. Tlie remedy for this desertion of forming by the young men, is to educate them for the practice of farming, as other men are educated for their pur- suits ; and it is too late in the day to say that if you give them the taste for higher departments of thought and of action, it will create a distaste for muscular labor. How this education shall be car- ried out. His Excellency thought would be wisely answered by the Board of Agriculture. He be- lieved it to be one of its most important duties to give an answer to this question, and once an- swered, he believed the government of Massachu- setts, in whoseever hands it might be, would not fail to second the accomplishment of such an ob- ject. What the State will do, will depend very much upon the manner in which the Board of Agriculture shall discharge its duties. Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, expresed his gratifica- tion at the views of His Excellency. He thought there was much difficulty connected with the ques- tion of "How shall the fiirmer be educated for his calling r' He would suggest that something might be done through the medium of the county Agricultural Societies of the Commonwealth. Pla- ces are needed for the trial of experiments in farm- ing, because farming in books without experience amounts to nothing. You may read and philoso- phize to the end of time, but if you do not plant and watch vegetation, science is good for nothing. Each of these county societies has a fund, raised by assessments on its members, and by subscrip- tions, and if that fund amounts to the sum of $3000, the State gives 20 per cent, on that amount to the society, which is $G00 per annum. He thought a part of this fund might be advanta- geously invested by the societies in model or ex- perimental farms, which might be made to yield a good interest and at the same time afford excellent facilities for the instruction and improvement of the farmers of the Commonwealth. These farms he would have under the management of the differ- ent societies, subject to an annual visit from the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture. Let them be required to furnish annual reports to the Board, and let the different records thus obtained be brought together and compared, and conclusions deduced therefrom. He thought it would be well for the State to see that these funds were appro Mr. Sprague, of Duxbury, alluded to the neces- sity for definite information among fawners. It is highly important to establish principles in agri- culture. In making experiments some farmers succeed, while others do not, but the reasons of the success and of the failure are alike unknown to them. If by establishing a Board of Agricul- ture great leading principles can be definitely fixed, the work is begun, and the end is certain. Mr. Walker, of North Brookfield, considered an experimented farm in an agricultural community to be a matter of economy, as experiments can be made more accurately and are therefore more re- liable. He also forcibly urged the establishment of farmers' institutes as a most important means of diffusing sound agricultural information. Mr. Wright, Secretary of the Commonwealth, made some interesting remarks in relation to the improvements which have been made during the last ten or fifteen years in farms and farming im- plements, and eloquently set forth the advantages of furnishing the farmer with a thorough, practi- cal education. Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, alluded to a remark made by the distinguished Professor Johnson of Scotland, in one of his works, that New England was eighty or ninety years be- hind Scotland and England in farming, and that they could and would maintain this superiority. He thought the Professor might not have taken into consideration all the circumstances. In his country all the land is owned by 33,000 persons, noblemen, gentlemen, lawyers, and the hke, and of the three millions of laborers not one owned a rod of soil. These 33,000 proprietors can com- mand the most eminent talent in agricultural knowledge, while the American farmer has not tl e necessary means. With us the desideratum is to perform the greatest amount of labor with the smallest amount of capital. But while we have something to learn of European agriculturists, p3r- haps they have something to learn of us. Mr. Flint thought the agricultural interest should be the leading object of public regard, and he believed that if farmers gave expression to their wants they would be met. The only way to re- cruit the energies of our exhausted lands, is to in- crease the diffusion of agricultural knowledge. He stated that the State had dispensed $10,000 during the past year to the county agricultural societies, and he was not sure but this was the best method. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, said that model farms might answer very well for certain purposes, as experimenting on the best food for stock, &c., but they are not good for determining all farming ope- rations, because the soils of different farms and the soils on a single farm vary so much, that the ex- priated in this manner, and specific donations periments would not always be safe guides. His made on the recommendation of the Board. 'idea would be to have an experimental farm under 238 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May the control of the Board of Agriculture, where ex- periments iiT feeding stock might be made. On the farm he would have a chemist, paid by the State, who should furnish farmers throughout the State with analyses of soils, on condition that they should experiment on their own farms. By this means experiments will be obtained all over the State, and in much greater number than in any other way. The farmer, too, would collect his facts on his own farm, and from his own experi- ence. If any of these experiments failed, they would be explained and corrected by the Secre- tary, who could afterwards collect and publish the results thereof. Mr. Brown, of the iV. E. Farmer, considered the inquiry, what shall the State do, an important question to be answered ; and he had an opinion in relation to what the State might do, and that with great advantage. The State may establish somewhere in the Commonwealth an experimental farm — which may be the poorest land to be found anyvrhere — at a small expense, and culti- vate it in such a manner as in the end to incur no expense whatever to the commonwealth ; the in- come of the farm itself, and increased value of the land which it might eventually spare, repaying ev- ery dollar invested in such a purchase. He agreed with the gentleman from Princeton that such a farm would not be a criterion for the whole State, but it might be of great benefit in some respects, and particularly such as the kind of stock to be reared, and the manner of feeding it— a subject of great importance, and of which very little is known. Although he had had many years expe- perience in feeding stock, he still felt ignorant of the true principles to be adopted, and was not confident that he was pursuing the best plan. There are a great many other experiments which might be made on such a farm. Another thing he would have the State do, was, to make an impression on the general government. He would not ask, at presont, for the establish- ment of a department or bureau, at great expense, with its head as a cabinet cabinet officer, and a corps of clerks, but he would have our charges, consuls, naval officers, and all scientific persons paid by the government, instructed to make re- searches into the state and practice of agriculture in the countries they visit ; to collect seeds and plants of every description which might be consid- ered useful here, and return them to the govern- ment,together with such reports as their opportuni- ty and ability had enabled to draw them out. These collections could be referred to the proper officer, and make a part of the annual agricultural publica- tion issued by the government, or referred to such of the state societies as would engage to prepare and publish the reports, or experiment with the seeds and plants. Mr. Brown said it" had been remarked that "the good time" was coming for the former, but he declared that the glorious day had already come, for the great point in securing his prosperity was to soften his prejudices and gain his good will ; he believed that time had arrived. We have gained the public ear, and people are willing to listen and read. Scientific effort had been looked upon with distrust ; the term science has been made a gor- gon's head to frighten people from experiments and books ; but the partition wall is now broken down, and when the dust and rubbish is cleared away, we shall go on in the clear light of rational progress. The hour of nine having arrived. Governor Clif- ford brought the discussion to a close, with a few remarks, in the course of which he expressed his pleasure at the remarks of Jlr. Brown in regard to the breeding and feeding of stock, that he was not satisfied with what knowledge he had in the matter. "We should adhere to that idea, and not be satisfied with present attainments. In this we have the best assurance of future improvement. These discussions are sufficient evidence that the course of agriculture is in good hands. At a few minutes past nine o'clock the meeting adjourned, sine die. For the New England Farmer. SHOVELDOM. Mr. Editor : — Enclosed you will find a most in- teresting article from the Christian Register, on ^^Shoveldom.-^ Everybody who ever used a shovel in America, must have known something of 0. Ames & Sons' shovels Easton, Mass. This tells (after the manner of Dickens' Household Words, in describing the manufacture of nails or tacks and other articles) how they are made. Being a na- tive of the adjoining town, I have always under- stood from my youth up, the cause of the great reason of the success of the Messrs. Ames to be, that ^'whatever they thought worth doing at all, tvas u-orth doing ice//." Here is a practical and ocular demonstration of the capital working of such a motive power and principle. Many hard days of shovelling has the very hand which traces these words done with Ames' shovels. But con- siderably more than half of my life has since been spent in Boston, endeavoring to shovel up dollars and cents, and in all my experience, I can truly say, that if the instruments of my work were as perfect as that article, and if the motive power or motto above had been more strictly adhered to, my success would have been greater, w. R. b. "Pardon a brief descent to details, gentle reader, and imagine yourself holding in your hand a bran new "Ames's Cast Steel Shovel," to serve for a text. Do you know that useful tool is the result, by virtue of a wise divison of labor, aided by apt machinery, of some Jorti/ different processes, not including the make of the handle, which came with millions like it, from Maine, where trees are plen- ty ! Such is the veritable fact. Space will not allow of minute description ; but a few items will furnish convincing proof. In the first place by a knife of irresistible edge 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 239 as it obeys the irresistible force of the "water power," a plate of the right size is cut from a sheet of steel as if it were a sheet of silk before the scimitar of Sahidin. Two more similar clips from two similar knives gives the right outline for the shovel. To remove the "black scale" the plate is ground on a grindstcme ; then it is punched for the rivets which arc to hold the back and front straps to the blade ; then, after having been heated, its surface is shaped by pressure between two dies with a weight of about 1200 pounds. Next comes the "setting" done by hand, to remove "wakes," straighten sides and correct twists. A vitriol bath to remove scales, and a vigorous polishing on wheels covered with emery, dismisses the plate for the present, and leaves us at liberty to prepare the "straps" needed to bind it to the handle. These are cut, rolled, sheared, pounded, levelled, shaped, annealed, polished, countersunk, &c., mostly by ingenious machinery, and then they are riveted to the front and back of the shovel, close as you see them, fitting like a glove that fits as a well behaved glove should. We move on now to the handle shop. The two holes for rivets in the head of the handle are bored at once, by bits revolving two thousand times a minute. The "bending" -to give the graceful curve and right balance for easy working, is an amusing operation. The lower end is boiled for an hour or two to take the obstinacy out of it and make it pliable. When it is soft enough to be docile and manageable, it is placed between two iron blocks, with the rightly undulating grooves and connected by a hinge, as a lemon is put into a squeezer ; and then the blocks are brought to- gether by a powerful pressure and fastened, and so the prisoner is kept encased until he grows cool and promises never again to straighten himself out. With this underatanding he is released and put away for three weeks to dry, and get thoroughly seasoned for the laborious Hfe before him. How the caps to the rivets and the rivets themselves are made, how tlie handle is inserted between the straps and screwed and wedged, how all rough edges are filed down, and wood and iron rendered agreeable to the liand, — how the plate is scoured and all metal parts of the tool burnished, and the shovel complete is made bright, clean and trig ready for inspection — we have neither time, room, nor descriptive power to tell. Suffice it to say that such facility and perfection has been attained in the manufacture of the respective parts, and Buch the number of persons employed, that on the average a shovel is made now in less time than it once took to bore the holes through the head of the handle. Experiment and ingenuity and in dustry have achieved this really marvellous result in this model establishment, whose name and fame are such, that it has not been able for years to fill all its orders or to supply the demand for its products. This success is greatly due to strict observance of these principles, viz : 1, that the la- bor shall be divided into as many distinct process- es as possible ; 2, that each man shall learn but one process, and learn that thoroughly ; 3, that each workman shall be paid so much per doz., for his work — so if indolent he shall be the loser, and if industrious the gainer ; 4, that the shovels shall be inspected at every stage of their manufacture, and when they are finished, In order to guard against poor work ; and 5, that none but the very best materials shall be used. Of the statistics, of "Shoveldom" it is enough to say — omitting all reference to its indirect effects, — that it uses each day 4 tons of iron and 2 tons of cast-steel, — it employs 250 men, paying them from 5 to $n,000 per month in wages, — turns out more than 2000 shovels of various stylos and prices per day, — and sold last year something like $000,000 worth of its fabrics. In view of tiiese figures were we not right in designating "Slioveldom" as a kingdom ; and who will deny that its liberal-mind- ed, intelligent and enterprising proprietors, have been and are, in the way of business, benefactors to the community, by furnisliing employment to so many operatives, creating as it were a thriving town, and equipping armies for the peaceful phy- sical conquests of the times? No one certainly who has visited their establishment. WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES. The property, real and personal, in the United States, is estimated by the census at $7,133,369,- 725. This will make an average of between S300 and $400 to each individual, or $1,800 to each family. Upon this the Providence Journal re- marks : "Considering the .great distribution of wealth in comparison with the accumulation of foreign wealth in few hands, this shows a degree of material prosperity which, we presume no other country can approach. The fourth of July talk about our being, "as we ourselves have voted," the freest and most enlightened nation on earth, is not an idle boast. It is literally and strictly true. No where else is there so much freedom ; no where else is intelligence so generally diffused, although in many parts of the world, science and learning are carried to a far greater height ; no where else are the physical comforts of life so widely distrib- uted among all the people, and these comforts are the only sure foundation of moral and intellectual improvement. "How deeply it concerns us to guard this great inheritance, and to transmit it as we have received it. Most of all can we do this by assuring the prosperity of the country in all the peaceful arts, in the development of its miglity resources and in all its means of contributing to human happiness and human advancement. We cannot do it by an insane desire for territorial aggrandizement, by un- scrupulous means of extenuing our area, and by bad fiiith with the nations around us. Never was the course of power and greatness more plainly marked out to a people. It will ho sinning against the hght of Heaven if we tail to pursue it. Our punishment will be as well deserved as it will be signal and severe." Remarks. — We have no doubt that the state- ments made above are true, and the reflections on them are certainly just. And yet, amidst the abundance so liberally bestowed by Him who con- trols all things — amidst such fertile soils and con- genial seasons, pouring into the lap of industry more than enough for all, if their products were more equally distributed, how muny languish and suffer for want of employment and food, and a per- manent home! With all our freedom, our excel- lent institutions, our safe and wholesome municip- 240 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May al arrangements, with all the effjrts of the philan- thropic and good, there is still suffering and sor- row all around us that ought not to exist. Our social organization is still extremely imperfect. There is immense loss and worse than waste, from the indulgence of morbid appetites, and constant and heavy expenditures for defence against crim- inal and foreign invasion of the public peace. How these evils are to be remedied, is a question de- manding the earnest consideration of all. With those who are correct in their ha.bits and who are industrious, there should be no suffering for want of food or shelter ; and yet, this is the very class who suffer the most ; who, having honor and po- sition to lose, shrink from the rude gaze of the world, and suffer on in silence rather than ask charities which are too often grudgingly doled out. We express no new zeal on this subject, but speak of what we know to exist. It is for the interest of all that all should possess permanent homes, be well fed and clothed and be happy. Let each strive to accomplish this for himself and his neighbor, and the world will soon present a new aspect. For the New England Farmer. PLA3TEE. It is not unfrequently that we hear farmers ex- tol the virtues of plaster in imparting a more vig- orous growth to vegetation, while others, equally well skilled in practical agriculture, declare they can see no improvement in their crops by its use. One contends that plaster increases the clover on mowing fields, without any essential benefit to the other grasses ; another is sure his potatoes are ben- efited by its uses, while his corn looks as if con- sumption mortgaged it, if he depends entirely on plaster to manure his crop. In looking over the proceedings of the Legisla- tive Agricultural Meeting, March 22, the value of plaster, I perceive, was generally appreciated, ex- cept in the county of Plymouth, where the speak- er said no effect could be seen from its use except on potatoes. Mr. Smith, of Hadley, was sure it would lose its efficacy if applied to the same piece of land for a series of years without the aid of other manures, while Mr. Faulkner had found the use of plaster to produce the same effect from year to year, even for fifty or seventy years. Farmers hereabouts agree that a pasture should be lightly stocked after plastering, in order to give the grass a start; this I believe is true, whether plastered or not, and I believe Col. Faulkner hit the nail on the head when he said he considered the great cause of sterility in pasture lands to be in overstocking them. Grass grows but very little in April, or the first half of May. Why some fields become green sooner than oth- ers in the spring, is Ijocause more grass was left on them in the fall; tlie grass does not grow, but the withered blades tui-n green. So if the farmer plasters his pasture and takes out half his stock he sees an improvement in the i)asture which he ascribes to the plaster, when the cause may be at- tributed to the stock. I believe our old pastures need something more than plaster. Jlany of them are trod exceedingly hard, and the grass roots are short, where the moss has suffered them to remain. Let such land be thoroughly plowed two or three times, and liberally manured, in return for what has been taken from it, the grass roots could then descend to the subsoil and the moss would be ashamed to grow without the aid of plaster. 1 would not be uQdersti)od to say there is no virtue in plaster as a manure; I only say I have not been able to discover its effects. I think it very harmless; it may attract the heat of the sun and force the grass along in tlie spring. Pick up the stones that have fallen from your walls in the spring; you find the grass higher around them than elsewhere. The question then should be, is it profitable to buy plaster at five or six dollars per ton for manure ? Is it profitable for t'.ie farmer to buy that for manure, which will not aff.jrd him a crop of Indian corn, even if he put a cart load to the rod 1 Some years ago I planted a field with corn which others had also planted with the same crop before, and witnessed astonishing effects of plaster. After dressing the same with l:)arn-yard manure, I plas- tered every hill of the field excepting one row through the field, putting a stake in said row. I harvested the same in autumn, and but for the stake, should not have known the row which did not receive its quota of plaster. Still I may be prejudiced against the use of plaster, and cannot see its favorable effects ; while others having favor- able opinions, may think they perceive improve- ment in their crops from its use, when in reality there is none, or if there is, it may be the result of some other cause. 11. Fowler. Stowe, March, 185-3. For the Neiv England Farmer. TAKING HONEY. Mr. Editor: — Report says a new method pre- vails in many places of obtaining honey annually without destroying the bees. 1 he method is some- what thus : — The hive is suddenly turned over and a new one placed upon it, then by drumming light- ly with the hands on the old hive, the bees ascend into the new one, when it may be slipped off and treated precisely like a young hive, leaving you in undisturbed possession of the old one. The advan- tages are these : — The bees are preserved, and the honey obtained is of superior quality, the comb never becoming dark colored, as is often found in hives that have stood a few years. Now can you or any of your readers give any more definite information concerning this method, as to the time of year ; also, what time in the day is preferable. I should suppose the early morning, or after the bees are still for the night. I should like to know, also, if there was not great danger of the bees leaving the new hive and going away, and if they are not reluctant to leave the old hive. Benjamin Stetson. Hanover, 1853. The Stone Gatherer. — We would inform our young friend that we have no engraving of the ma- chine by which stones are gathered from the fields; a description of the manner in which it is opera- ted was given in the Monthly Farmer for August, 1852. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 241 gg^^^g5^^^^^««e BRUSH SEED SOWER. The raising of roots for feeding stock, as well as for culinary purposes, is becoming quite coiumon with most farmers. This we are glad to perceive, and shall endeavor to afford such suggestions from time to time as will enable the cultivator to pro- duce root crops at a less cost than he has been able to heretofore. Sowing small seeds by the hand is an exceedingly slow, fatiguing operation. It is necessary to stoop in order to drop the seed into the drill, or it is liable to be blown away by the wind. Then the process of covering is slow and uncertain. But with a good machine one may sow and cover an acre in a few hours, and so even- ly, both as to distance and depth, that if the seed is good, scarcely one shall fail to come up, and come in the right place. We have in use a machine like the one repre- sented above, and find it portable, easily kept in order, and certain in its work. Well, that is all which is desired of it as a seed sower. But we will venture to suggest to the enterprising manufac- turers, Ruggles, Nourse, Mason 4" Co., whether they cannot so a'rrange them as to unship the sow- ing and covering part, and in its place supply works to weed and cultivate the crop with less than one-half the labor that is now required to do it by the hand. We believe this may be done so as to make the frame work answer both purposes well. The Bee Moth. — Such of our readers as are en- gaged in the bee culture will be glad to learn that a remedy has been discovered which effectually prevents the ravages of the bee moth. The fre- quent and serious injury caused by this pestiferous insect has deterred many persons from entering into the business of raising bees, more especially as in some localities the ravages have been so great as nearly to destroy both bees and honey. The plan is this : Split joints of cane through the centre and arrange them on the four sides of the hive, with the split side resting on the platform. The moth, instead of depositing its eggs under the edge of the hive, will lay them under the split cane. From these depositories they may be re- moved and destroyed as often as necessary with little trouble. A friend informs us that he knows the plan has been tried and found entirely success- ful.— Mobile Tribune. For the New England Farmer. MODEL FARMS, &0. In what manner can the State beneficially aid the farmer 1 This inquiry lies at the foundation of all our ac- tion. During the discussions of the present sea- son, there has been an endeavor to avoid the in- troduction of this topic ; and to direct the atten- tion to subjects of a practical character. This has been done, because we would not presume to dic- tate to the powers that be ; and would willingly leave to those in authority, the determination of these matters. It was long ago said with empha- sis, that "a cat might look upon a king"— -much more then, may the people make suggestions to their rulers ; who are the rulers — but the people themselves 1— for who does a thing by another, is himself responsible therefor. Educational Schools and Model Farms first oc- cur to the mind, when this inquiry is made. With- out doubt, much might be done, in both these ways. Much has been done, in other countries, by the establishment of schools, for the education of the young farmer — and we have the benefit of their examples. If there could be any assurance that those thus educated bore would continue to apply their improved energies to the labors of the flirm, there would be some encouragement to give this instiJ-uction. But in this land of freedom and of enterprise, where every one is his own mas- ter,— three chances out of four, as soon as the boy is well prepared to take the superintendence of a farm, he will be off, about something else ; and it will not be, until all his visionary plans of advancement have been foiled, and his own physi- cal energies spoiled, that he will learn that it would have been better for him to have applied himself constantly upon the farm. Many_ learn this lesson, when it is too late to profit by it. It is too common for boys of enterprise, to think that the drudgery of a farm is not suited for them ; 242 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat and it is equally common for parents to connte- nancesuch thoughts — their own pride is flattered with the idea that if their sons can be seen and heard, making a noise in the world, it will in a measure redound to their own credit. As to model farms— how could our County So- cieties do better, than to take the care and di- rection of such a farm— each, within their own limits ?_ Most of them have funds ample for the procuring of a farm— and the presumption is, if aiscreetly purchased, it would continue to be worth what it cost. I know of societies, that for 20 years, have had funds to the amount ot" eight or ten thousand dollars — why not judi- ciously invest these funds in a farm? Will it be said, that no investment of the kind can be made that ivill pay ? That the societies cannot get along without the income of their funds 1 Is this true 1 If it be, is it not a most discouraging fact? It certainly is not true, that all farms are unproductive; for numerous instances can be found, in all the counties of the Commonwealth, where in- dividuals have become independent, by the opera- tions of their farms alone. Then, it must be that associated bodies cannot conduct farms. so advan- tageously as individuals. This may be true to some extent in farming — but it is not true in manufacturing— m this class of industry, the most successful examples are usually found, in associa- ted enterprise. The same would be true in farm- ing—with labor properly directed. If not, let the first movement of the society be, when their farm is purchased, to select an individual of best prom- ise, to take the management of it ; and let the trustees hold their monthly meetings, at the farm, not for the purpose of instructing their farmer^ but to improve themselves by observing his man- agement. Such an arrangement of model farms, in each county, under the supervision of the Coun ty Societies, with a detailed statement of their en tire management and products annually made, revised and published by the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, would, in my judgment, at the present time, be one of the best modes of ad vancing the interests of the farmer. Much is said about the application of chemical science to the operations on the farm ; and the benefits to be derived from an intelligent under- standing of the constituent elements of soils. How is this knowledge to be attained 1 By study or by labor ■? I answer, by a combination of these.— ^ Neither, alone, will be sufficient. A man may treasure in his mind all the learning of the books, and be a complete master of all the manipulations of the laboratory ; still, without reaZ experiments illustrative of the principles thus acquired, he nev- er can be confidentin his own knowledge. A man may know all the elements to be found in the anal- ysis of Indian corn, for instance; but still, until the growth of it has been tried uponlhe field— he cannot say whether or not, it will succeed. The food of plants is not found entirely in the earth beneath — the heavens above contribute their por- tion. Therefore, no analysis of the ground alone will ever be a sure indication of the result of the cultivation of a particular crop. All such calcu- lations are based upon the supposition, that other things being equal, and that they will go on, in the ordinary way. Is it not certain that a given quantity of rain is necessary for the production of a crop of corn 1 Whoever knew a field of corn come to maturity without rain ? Bat it may be said, the rain will of course come — because it al- ways has come. True, what has been, probably will be. But not necessarily so. Who can say that the dews of the night, are not essential to the maturity of a crop 1 No one will presume to say that they ever knew a crop come to maturity with- out being moistened by such dews. Then who can say that the dew is not the one thing need- ful for perfecting the crop. But the analysis of the elements of the soil gives no information as to the rain from above, or as to the dew of the atmosphere. AVho will presume to say, that the electric fluid which pervades all space, has not something to do with the growth and maturity of plants'? If I do not mistake, theories have been started, tending to show that electricity is an es- sential element in the growth of plants. And plans have been proposed of advancing their growth ])y electrical operations. But I am not aware that Chemistry or Philosophy, have as yet defined with any precision, the laws of Nature in this particular. Perhaps when we fully under- stand the transmission of ideas from shore to shoye, by means of magnetism, we shall better compre- hend the power of electricity in the growth of vegetables. If it be true, as learned professoi-s, not of Mas sachusetts, particularly, confidently assert, that the soils of our fields can be so subdivided and an- alyzed, that their productive powers can be esti- mated, with as much precision as the hours of the day can be numbered, it is high time this were known, and the means of doing this placed at the command of every cultivator. Where in Massachusetts can this science be attained? — Where can a young man go to learn practically the sure method of analyzing soils ? Can it be done at Cambridge, the fountain of knowledge for New England. It may be, that it can be there acquired ; but I have not had the good fortune to meet any of the sons of Cambridge thus learned. Can it be acquired at Amherst? If so, who Avill teach it? President Hitchcock and Professor Nash say, they themselves are anxious to acquire the art. They do not profess to know it. They are modest, honest, sensible men, willing and ready to tell what they know, and nothing more. Would others, in like position, do this and no more, science would be respected. But when the learned mingle the marvellous with the real, and thus impose on the credulity of those whom they address, they very soon cease to command respect. p. April 12, 1853. How TO Raise Fruit every Year. — If rightly understood, few trees, unless absolutely dead or rotten, need occupy ground, without yielding a plenteous crop. After a long and varied series of experiments, I gradually adopted the following mode : As soon as the winter has sufficiently dis- appeared, and before the sap ascends, I examine my trees ; every dead bough is lopped off, then, after the sap has risen sufficiently to show where the blossoms will be, I cut away all the other branches having none on, and also the extremity of every limb the lower part of which bears a con- siderable number of buds, thus concentrating the sap of the tree upon the maturation of its fruits, and saving what would be a useless expenditure 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 243 of strength. In the quince, apricot and peach trees, this is very important, as these are very apt to be luxuriant in leaves and destitute of fruit. You may think this injures the trees, but it does not ; fur you will find trees laden with fruit, which formerly yielded nothing. Of course, all other well-known precautions must be attended to ; such as cutting out worms from the roots, placing old iron on the limbs, which acts as a tonic to the sap, &c. Try it, ye who have failed in raising fruit. — Farmer and Mechanic. THE GOOSEBERRY. HOW TO RAISE THE HANDSOMEST PLANTS OF THE NA- TIVE VARIETIES. In the early spring of 1849, when the buds of the wild gooseberry began to burst, I took an April sylvan excursion through damp places, and with a sharp pruning knife cut as many vigorous and clean shoots as I could find, from the different kinds of the much neglected native gooseberry. Having made a large collection of cuttings for the purpose of propagation in a nursery bed, I cut them short — one foot long — rejecting the tender parts and trimming all the buds off, except three or four upper ones. Then I planted them in a rich, well trenched, and rather moist soil, 6 inch- es apart in straight rows. The soil around them was kept loose and clear of weeds by fre- quent hoeing, and in a good condition by occasion- al waterings. In the fall they were found very fine plants — strong rooted — fit for transplanting the nest season ; they shooted from 12 to 18 inch- es high the same season. To render the plants more vigorous, I clipped the tender ends of the limbs, trimming them in the form of miniature trees. The second year they yielded a plenty of nice fruit, of a double size. The third year all the plants were heavily loaded with still larger ber- ries of different colors and flavor. Last season I picked fifty quarts of much larger gooseberries, beside what were eaten by my friends and visit- ors to my fruit garden. Some of my native goose- berries seemed much larger than Houghton's seed- ling gooseberry. I know of no sort of gooseberry which promises so much, and seems so easy of cultivation, with so little labor, and so well adapted to our climate, as our native gooseberry. This gooseberry is, though very sweet, delicious and rich in its wild nature, much despised on account of its small size, in com- parison to the pride of Lancashire Horticulturists, who have, by their unspared of pains of per- severence, improved the insignificant size and inferior qualities of their wild European goose- berry to a wonderful size and richness of flavor. Are we, American horticulturists, who enjoy the blessings of undisturbed freedom on our virgin soil beneath a bright sun, slaves dependent upon a foreign nation for her horticultural skill in pro- ducing a celebrated species of gooseberry, which is so imperfectly suited to our climate \ Why do not we try to do the same towards improving our native gooseberry, which is not only perfectly adapted to our soil, but also promises to pay well for whatever attention we shall be wiHin<>' to be- stow upon 111 If our American apples f«e far su- perior to those of England, I can see no reason why we may not produce American varieties of gooseberry, superior — even far superior to those of far-famed Lancashire, by hybriddin^ our native gooseberry with the choice sorts, and oy repeated sowing of seed of fine kinds. — Farmer and Me- chanic. For the Neiv England Farmer. WHAT SHALL I DO ? Editors Farmer : — At the present prices paid for farm labor compared with that of mechanical, what inducement is there for a young man of tal- ent and energy to follow farming^ In this section, bootmakers obtain for their work from $1,25 to $2,00 per day, while the same men could not command more than from $10,00 to $15,00 per 7nonth on most of our farms, and that only for the summer months. The old farmers iiereabouts shrug their shoulders and complain bitterly at paying over $13,00 per month. Now I would like to ask if you would advise me, or any other young man, who can get $2,00 per day at a trade, to learn it, or refuse it and work on a farm. I want to be a farmer, but when I consider that I am like thousands of other young men, starting unassisted, without money or land, I am almost discouraged. Most young men with whom I converse, own, that farming is the best business in the world, and say that they would farm it, if they only had land of their own. But as to working out by the month fur 50 cents per day, they will not do it. Now I wish to know if you can blame them, or call them unwise. c. w. a. S , Mass. Remarks. — If our young friend can actually earn more money, and can keep it profitably and secure- ly invested, in some other way than by working on a farm, why, then, he had better spend a few years, perhaps, in some other employment. But if he intends to pursue farming after a while, he must be a close observer, thinker, and reader of farm matters during these years, and he will thus qualify himself for his future business while he is accumulating the means to engage in it. It is not desirable that all shall be farmers, but those who have a decided taste for farming should make all their plans tend that way ; and there are, un- doubtedly, various modes of obtaining a farm, be- side working on one at fifty cents a day. If your opportunities enable you to get $2,00 a day, do so, until such time as you can invest your earnings in the spot which you intend to make a permanent home. But, the subject is an interesting and im- portant one, and perhaps some of our correspond- ents who have the leisure and inclination will speak of it more at length than we are able to at present. §^M. Eugene Sue states that in Savoy, all the farm-work of plowing and drawing, instead of be- ing done by horses or oxen, is perftn-med by milch cows, which work eight or ten hours a day, with- out the slightest depreciation of the quality or quan- tity of milk. 244 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May CONCORD FARMERS' CLUB. jthen sung by Mr. JoshuaR. Brown. He was fol- The Concord Farmers' Club had its annual sup- lowed bv the venerable Samuel Hoar, who made per on the evening of the 19th of April, at the some remarks upon the intellectual and moral ef- Town Hall. The evening was one of the most fects of improvement in Agriculture and Floricul- beautiful of the season, and about two hundred ture. Mr. R. W. Emerson made a short and plates were occupied at the table. After spending pleasant speech, and was followed by W. W. one hour in social intercourse, the company came Wueildon, Dr. Bartlett, C. W. Goodnow and around the tables, which were very tastefully spread, about 9 o'clock, and after partaking of the good cheer which was liberally provided by Mr C. B. Davis. The speeches were interspersed with toasts pre- pared for the occasion, and followed by volunteer Silas Hosmer, the President called up Mr. Simon sentiments ; and at about 11 o'clock the compa- Brown, who gave a sketch of the origin of the.Dy broke up, feeling the occasion had been a pleas- Club. He was followed by Rev. Mr. Frost, who ant and profitable one. The young people were spokeof the progress which has been made in farm- present in force, and although many of them are ing, during the past 15 years. After he had been not engaged in agricultural pursuits, they were in town 4 years, some one sent him a plate of willing to give countenance to the Club, and hear cherries. He then remarked they were the first something of the Great Art which feeds and cherries he had seen in Concord. Now, not only: clothes them in common with all. cherries, but plums, pears and apples are very' We are requested to tender the thanks of the abundant, in great variety and in high perfection. | Club to the ladies and gentlemen of the town, for He spoke of the fine barns with their cupolas, 'their attendance, for their efforts to make the eve- which had been mistaken for churches, and of the, ning a pleasant one, and for their kind expres- greatly improved appearance of farms, all over sions of approbation of the designs and influence of town, and then of the intellectual and moral ef-,the Club. feet of this proo-i-ess in the cultivation of the earth. r. ,i ,. ^ , ^ r^ I ° For the New England Farmer. Dr. Reynolds then gave a humorous sketch of ^ SHOWER OF MUD the doings of the club, and enumerated the sub- 1 jy^^^ g^^ :-Enclosed you will find a small pack" jects in their order, which had come under dis- age of a substance that 1 should like to have an- cussion during the winter. His remarks were re- ceived with great enthusiasm Judge Hoar was then called upon. He spoke alized by some chemist, if you think advisable, for I should like to know of what it is composed, and where it came from, if the scientific world can tell. „., , , ,, , • j^ J -i., -i • It came in my possession in the following manner : of the day and the events associated with it mn^ the 8th inst., about sunset, there was rather the history of the past, of the example of our rev-|a singular phenomenon visible in the heavens. On olutionary fathers, and of the great obligations the morning of the 9th it commenced snowing — which we are under to them. They perilled their j the snow, as it lay on the old snow, had a rather lives and all that was dear to them, and we, their i^^'^'^k, or bluish appearance ; it rained in the after- ^, • , 1 . 1-11 I noon and froze a little the loUowmo: night. The sons, are reaping the rich harvests which have ^^^^ morning I skimmed off the dark crust and sprung from the seed which they sowed ; and they [melted a pailful of the snow ; the water was high- have left to their descendants a treasure richer ly colored, having a dark, bluish appearance. The than gold. They have left a name that will be package is the sediment that settled and was dried cherished, when the mere possessor of gold will be \ ^^'^wn by the fire. I could save but a small pro- c LL rri J • i. J 11 J 1 portion of what was in the water, lOr it would not lorgotten. Ihey sowed in tears and blood, i^ndi^ ,., ' the harvest is now being reaped by millions of i xhere must have fallen several thousand bushels freemen all over the land. He hoped the Far- in this State alone, to say nothing of what fell in mers' Club would continue to select this day for, others, if the storm was very extensive, and I their anniversary, and thus hand down to their ^hould like to know what it is and where it came ■^ from. S. Oscar Cross. children the memory of those farmers, who upon this day, in defence of their hearths and their fields, poured out their blood upon the soil of Con- cord. Col. J. S. Keyes was next called up. He did not Kingsbury, March 19, 1853. A paint for Brick Houses. — A correspondent of the Ohio Farmer has used a cheap and very du- rable paint for the exterior of brick dwellings, think it quite foir that all but the members of the I which has already stood several years, and is now r,i u 1 11 1 11 q i. 1 iT« „• !,„ J i.^! quite as fresh as when first applied. It consists Club should be called on to speak. Ho wished to i^. , « ,. „ . -,.1, o„i,;i,of<^ r^F „\Y.r, na q / simply 01 lime-wash, with sulphate ot zinc as a hear from the farmers themselves. He was pleased | fl^j^g ingredient. Any requisite shade is given by with the festival ; we have too few holidays. He was glad the farmers have instituted this gather- ing, and hoped it would be continued on this day. Such meetings have a good effect on our social feelings. A humorous and excellent agricultural song was adding the colors used by house-painters. A clear and rich cream color may be obtained by apply- ing yellow ochre to the common new brick ; a livelier and warmer shade will be added by a little Venetiarf red. Burnt sienna may likewise be used. This paint is far cheaper than oil paint, and costs but \ittle more than common whitewash. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 245 ly, they become fat, but are unhealthy. It will also teach us that the niiiik of cows, from which butter is to be made, would be benefited by mix- ■ng their food with steeped peas and beans. — Tof- ham. THE GOOD EFFECTS OF GARDENING. "Gardening is a civilizing and improving occu- pation in itself; its influences are all beneficial ; it usually makes people more industrious, and more amiable. Persuade a i'areless, indolent man to take an interest in his garden , and his reformation ,j,q CORRESPONDENTS has begun. Let an idle woman honestly watch ^^^-it-a. over her own flower-beds, and she will naturally! Thanks to L. W. C, — Sovth/mdge, Mass. Shall become more active. There is always work to be I be happy to hear from him again. done in a "-arden, some little job to be added to m^ xr t> a/t o u mu i. ..-r i yesterday \s"task without which it is incomplete;! 1« N- P. M.,-&rnem//e. -The beautiful ap- books may be closed with a mark where one left P;^^ *^'*^ '^J JO" are probably local. You must off, needlework may be thrown aside and resumed give them such a name as your own fancy, or some again ; a sketch may be left half finished, a piece peculiarity in their origin or growth, may suggest. of music half practiced ; even attention to house hold matters may relax in some measure for a while ; but regularity and method are constant- ly required, are absolutely indispensable, to the well-being of a garden. The occupation itself is so engaging, that one commences readily, and the interest increases so naturally, that no great share of perseverance is needed to continue the employ- ment, and thus labor becomes a pleasure, and the dangerous habit of idleness is checked. Of all faults of character, there is not one, perhaps, de- pending so entirely upon habit as indolence ; and nowhere can one learn a lesson of order and dili- gence more prettily and more pleasantly than from a flower-garden. "But another common instance of the good effect of gardening may be mentioned : — it naturally in- clines one to be open-handed. The bountiful re- turns which are bestowed, year after year, upon our feeble labors, shame us into liberality. Among all the misers who have lived on earth, probably few have been gardeners. Some cross-grained churl may set out, perhaps, with a determination to be niggardly with the fruits and flowers of his portion ; but gradually his feelings soften, his views change, and before he has housed the fruits of many summers, he sees that these good things are but the free gifts of Providence to himself, and he learns at last that it is a pleasure, as well as a duty, to give. This head of cabbage shall be sent to a poor neighbor ; that basket of refreshing fruit is reserved for the sick ; he has pretty nosegays for his female friends ; he has apples or peaches for little people ; nay, perhaps in the course of years he at length achieves the highest act of gen- erosity— he bestows on some friendly rival a por- tion of his rarest seed, a shoot from his most pre- cious root ! Such deeds are done by gardeners." — Miss Cooper'' s ^^ Rural Hours. ^^ Equivalent Value of different kinds of Food. — The following table gives a synoptical equiva- lent value of different kinds of food ; albumen re- presenting the flesh-forming principle, and unazo- tized matter the fat-forming. — Play/air. Albumen. Unazotized Matter. Peas 29 5U Beans 31 52 Lemiles 33 48 rolatoes 2 24J Oais ICJ 68 Barley Meal 14 68 HHy 8 68i Turnips 1 9 Carrots li 8i From the above table we see why pigs fed upon potatoes and barley meal soon fatten and keep in health ; whereas, when supplied with potatoes on- To G. N.,— Bedford, N. H.—The cause of your plum tree peeling was undoubtedly extreme cold. The sap froze, and in expanding, pressed the bark from the wood, and as far as this extends the bark will die. We have seen several trees affected in the same manner. A too vigorous growth is apt to induce this difiiculty. Danvers Winter Sweet Apples — brought in by Dea. Fowler, as hard, fair and beautiful as they were in December last. It is a valuable variety, but does not succeed equally well in all locations. A Young Reader, — S., Mass. — If your grass seed mostly failed, the best way is to plow and sow again with an oat or barley crop. If killed only in patches, clover seed should have been sown in March. If the spots were sjirinkled now with fine compost and herd's-grass and red-top seed, raked in, it will make the field even and give a partial crop this year. We cannot inform you what kind of bee-hive is best. See notice in this paper of a new hive which, to us, seems to promise more than any thing we have seen or heard of yet. Make your soil deep and rich for strawberries. Manure from the pig-pen or hen-house is excel- lent. If your land is a stiff clay soil, horse ma- nure, thoroughly incorporated with it, will be good. Cut the runners about the stool with a sharp spade, and pinch off the new ones until the fruit is well set. To D. F. G., Woodstock, Vt. You must rely on the natural resources of your farm to increase its fertility. A little plaster, guano, bone dust, ash- es or phosphate of lime may be tried on a portion of your hill pastures, with propriety — or they may be used on your corn or grain fields or garden, in small quantities, and on small portions of land, each year. It is unwise for the farmer to engage in new and untried schemes with costly manures, on an extensive scale. Use them moderately, if at all, and with the most careful observation. The whole subject has been repeatedly discussed in the Farmer within the last six months, and prices giv- en, both in advertisements and editorial columns. "A reader of the Farmer''^ may obtain scions of the Hunt Russet, of Capt. Nathan Barrett, Con- cord, Mass. Don't know about the Pippin. 46 JSEW ENGLAND FARMER. May Calrieg' ^Department. THE SECRET OF MATRIMONIAL HAP- PINESS. Zschokke, in one of his tales, gives the following advice to a bride : — "In thy first solitary hour after the ceremony, take the bridegroom and de- mand a solemn vovf of him, and give him a vow in return. Promise one another sacredly, never, not even in jest, to wrangle with each other ; never to bandy words or indulge in the least ill-humor. Never, I say, never ! wrangling in jest, and put- ting on an air of ill-humor merely to tease, be- comes earnest by practice. Mark that ! Next, promise each other, sincerely and solemnly, never to have a secret from each other, under whatever pretext, with whatever excuse it might be. You must continually, and every motnent, see clearly into each otlier's bosom. Even when one of you has committed a fault, wait not an instant, but confess it freely — let it "cost tears, but confess it. And as you keep nothing secret from each other, so, on the contrary, preserve the privacies of your house, marriage state, and heart, from father, mother, sister, brother, aunt, and all the world. You two, with God's help, build your own quiet world ; every third or fourth one whom you draw into it with you, will form a party, and stand be- tween you two. That should never be. Promise this to each other. Renew the vow at each temp- tation. You will find your account in it. Your souls will grow as it were together, and at last will become as one. * Ah, if many a young pair had on their wedding day known this secret, how many marriages were happier than, alas, they are!" FAMILY HARMONY. 1. We may be quite sure that our will is like to be crossed in the day; so prepare for it. 2. Everybody in the house has an evil nature as well as ourselves, and therefore we are not to expect too much. 3. To learn the different temper of each indi- vidual. 4. To look upon each member of the family as one for whom Christ died. 5. When any good happens to any one, to re- joice at it. 6. When inclined to give an angry answer, to lift up the heart in prayer. 7. If from sickness, pain, or infirmity, we feel irritable, to keep a very strict watch over our- selves. 8. To observe when others are so suffering, and drop a word of kindness and sympathy suited to their state. 9. To watch for little opportunities of pleasing, and to put little annoyances out of the way. 10. To take a cheerful view of everything, and encourage hope. 11. To speak kindly to the servants, and com- mend them for little things when they deserve it. 12. In all the little pleasures which may oc- cur, to put self last. 13. To try for "the soft answer that turneth away wrath." 14. When we have been pained by an unkind word or deed, to ask ourselves, — "Have I not of- ten done the same, and been forgiven?" 15. In conversation, not to exalt ourselves but bring others forward. 10. To be very gentle with the younger ones, and treat them with respect, remembering that we were once young too. 17. Never to judge onl another, but attribute a good motive when you can. 18. To compare our manifold blessings with the trifling annoyances of life. 19. To read the scriptures every morning, and ask God's blessing to attend each member of the family through the day. ^liucrtisiug Department. lO" A limited number of advertisements of an appropriate character will be inserted in the monthly Farmer at the fol- lowing RATES. For one square of 15 lines, one insertion $1,00 For each subsequent insertion 50 O" The above rates will be charged for all advertisements, whether longer or shorter. A Card to Dairymen. pLARKE'S EXCELSIOR CHURN is, beyond all question \j "the. best churn for large dairies. The two favoiiie sizes, are $7,00 and $10 each. The latter size is suitable lor ten to thirty cows, indeed, for any large dairy, as one hundred pounds oi Jirst rate butter can be produced in it, at three churnings, in less than one hour. It will be delivered on all paying orders, in Boston, New Vnrk, and Buffalo, free of charge for freight. 0= Every churn sent out is warranted to please ! This new and saleable churn presents great inducemerts to capi- talists and manuficturing companies to puichase State and County rights. For full description, recommendations, &;C , apply at any time, to GEO. B. CLARKE, Patentee, Leonards- ville, Madison Co., N. Y. May 1st, 1853. Im^ Sale of Short Horned Cattle. I will sell by auction, at my residence, on WEDNESDAY, 8ih .lune next, at 1 o'clock P. M , about thirty thorough bred Short Horned Cattle. About twenty of them are Cows and Heifers, the remain- der young Bulls. Nearly every animal are the produce of the Imported Bull "YonK Shireman" and 3d "Duke OF Cambridge," bred by the late Thomas Bates, Esq., of Kirkleavington, England, and "Earl op Seaham" and "Van TE.MPEST,"bred by .lohn Stephenson, Esq., of Lur- ham, England, and are of his famous Princes fanjily. The upset prices of these animals will be from $1.50 to $300, . as to age, &c., &c. I wi'.l also offer the above named Imported Bull, "Van Tem- pest,"— his upset price is $1000. Terms— Cash, on satisfactory notes at three months, pay- able at the Bank of Auburn, with interest. I will also have for sale at that time a few South Down Rams and Suffolk Pigs. Catalogues will be ready about 15th March ne.\t, and will be found with A. B. Allen, Esq., 69 Water Strfet, New York. Sanford Howard, Esq., Cultivator office, Boston. Luther Tucker, Esq., and B. P. .lohnson, Esq., Albany. L. F. Allen, Esq., Black Rock. M. B. Bateham, Esq., Columbus, Ohio. W. T. Dennis, Esq., Richmohd, Indiana, and with the sub- scriber. J. M. SHERWOOD. Auburn, N. Y., March 12, 1853. *2 Clover and Grass Seeds. TVTORTIIERN Heids Grass. W Western Herds Grass. Northern and Southern Red Top. Northern, Western and Southern Red Clover. White Dutch Clover. Orchard Grass. Kentucky Blue Grass. Fowl Meadow Grass, &c. &c. All of the growth of 1852, and of best quality. For sale by RUGGLES, NOURSli, MASON & CO., March 26, 1853. tf Over Quincy Market, Boston. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 247 PRICE. $1,00 75 1,00 25 1,00 75 50 2,50 75 1,00 The Farmers' Library. JUST RECEIVED, tht; tollowins assortment of Agriculturbl and Ilorticuliuitil Books, embracing the standard works cl eminent American and European writers, on the Farm, th« Orchard, the Garden, &.c. &c. American Farm Book, by Allen, Farmer's Treasure, by Faulkner and Smith, Dana's Mack Manual, Prize Essay on Manures, by Dana, American Muck Book, by Browne, Lectures on Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, Elements of Scientific Agriculture, by Norton, Principles of Agriculture, by Thaer, Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, Agriculture for Schools, by Blake, Catechism of Agriculture and Chemistry, by John stone and Norton, 25 American Agriculturist, by Allen, 1,00 Liehig's Complete Work on Chemistry, 1,00 Farmer's and Emigrant's Hand Book, by Marshall, 75 Home for all, by Fowler, 50 Book of the Farm, by Stephens and Skinner, 4,00 Cottage and Farm Houses, by Downing, 2,00 Downing's Country Houses, 4,00 Rural Architecture, by Allen, 1,25 Downing's Landscape Gardening and Rural Archi- tecture, 3,50 Downing's Cottage Residences, 2,00 Fruit Garden, by Barry, 1,25 Complete Gardener and Farmer, by Fessenden, 1,25 Bridgeman's Gardener's Assistant, 2,00 Bridgeman's Kitchen Gardener's Instructor, 50 American Fruit Culiurist, by Thomas, 1,00 Gardener and (-oniiilete Florist, 25 Florist's Guide, by Bridgeman, 50 New England Fruit Book, by Ives, 56 Youatt and Martin on Cattle, by Stevens, 1,25 Rose Culturist, 3g Johnson's Gardener's Dictionary, by Landreth, 1,50 Rural Economy, by Boussingault, 1,00 American Rose Culturist, 25 Bigelow's Plants of Boston, 1,25 Genera of Plants of the U. S., by Gray, 2 vols. 12,00 Gray's Bofany, 2,00 Parnell's Chemistry, 1,00 New England Farmer, by Cole, 1,00 Ladies' Guide and Skilful Housewife, by Mrs. Abel, 25 Hive and Honey Bee, by Richardson, 25 Bee Keeper's Manual, by Miner, 50 Bird Fancier, by Browne, paper 25 ceuts, 50 Townley on Bees, 50 American Poultry Yard, by Browne, 1,00 American Poulterers' Companion, by Bement, 1,00 American Fowl Breeder, by Moore, 25 American Herd Book, by Allen, 3,00 American Shepherd, by Morrill, ' 1,00 Domestic Animals, by Allen, 75 Diseases cf Animals, by 4!;ole, 50 Hints to Sportsmen, by Lewis, 1,25 Dadd's Anatomy and Physiology of the Horse, 1,00 Mason's Farrier and Stud Book, by Skinner, 1,25 Management of Sheep, by Canfield, 1,00 Yowatt on the Pig, 60 Knowlson's Complete Cow Doctor, 25 Horse Doctor, 25 Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cowa, ^ Tre.itise on Hot Houses, by Leuchara, 1,00 Allen on the Grape, 1,00 Schenck's Te.vt Book, 50 Breck's Book of Flowers, . 75 Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees. 1 50 For sale at the Publishsrs' prices by RUGGLES, NOTJRS MASON & Co., Quincy Hall, {over the Market.) Qa&loa. Jan. 1, 1853. if* A. L. Bingham's Tliird Annual Slseep Shearing Festival. THE undersigi ed i;ives notice that he will hold his Third An nual Sheep tJlit-aniig Fe.sliVHl, at the well known resort of James K H>rfe. in Sudbury, Rutland County, Vermont, on the first and s^econd days of June next, commencing at ten o'clock A. M. lie proposes to sheer publicly, from fifty to one hundred French Merino Ewes, with a view to enable all interested in iliis branch nf production, to see and judge for themselves of ihe weight and VHlue of these sheep as com- lllttTu ""'''"■ . A'-i •-"fti-fr-SVvVTS.and-il.ariuKcturers are respectfully myi.ed In attend. Several very superior Bucks and Ewes, o, the best French importations Ind stock, will be on exhibition and lor sale A number of gentlemen lar^elv mterest.d in the celebrated Black Hawk and other Mor°4n Horses, have sii-iii'ied their intention to avail themselves of the occasion to exhibit a splendid collection of the best horses in Vermont. - West Cornwall, Vt., April 1, 1853. A. L. BINGHAM. Walnut Grove IVursery. The subscribers would respectfully inform their friends and Ihe | ublic, that they have on hand an unusually large stock of Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Peach, and other Trees. Also, Quinces, Currants, Raspberries, Grape- vines, &c., &c. Ornamental Trees, and Shrubs, Buckthorn Plants, '.s a milk and fruit farm. The build- ings, &c., are sufficient and in good order. For terms and particulars, please apply to WM. MAPLES- DEN, on the premises. , vj:- Feb. 26. tf* .L»0*^ super-Phosphate of Lime, TN bags ai.d barrels, made by C B DeBURG, a warranted -'-,''l"^^!ll^^""'"*' "'■'''^'«' ™'"' """ll NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat CONTENTS OP THIS NUMBER. Calendar for May Page 201 Plowing f 02 Millet 203 Welcome Spring^Eoiie Wens— Special Manures 204 How can Chemistry benefit the Farmer? 205 Hedges 206 The Hive and Honey Hee — Posts and StaJtes 208 More about Plowing 210 Hints for ihe Husbandman— Suggestions in Composting. . .211 Choked Cattle 212 Cost of Fences — Benefits of Agricultural Papers 213 Indian Corn— Oyster Shell Lime 214 Field Seeds- Address by Wm S. King, Esq 215 New Brunswick 216 Cultivation of Fruit 217 Tenth Legislative Agricultural Meeting 217 Guano— Agticultural Education 219 Cloudy Season— Look at your Bees 220 Birds of New England 221 Remarks on Budding and Grafiing 222 Manures again 223 Grafting on the Thorn— Quesi ion for the Curious 224 Live Fences — Maryland Fiirmiiig 226 Transplanting 2i7 The Value of Sulphate of Zinc to the Farmer 228 Farm Accounts — Analysts of Clam and Oyster Shells 229 Eleventh Legislative Agricultural Meeting 230 Plisteted houses— Observations on Spring Work 232 Urnanienlal and Shade Trees — More about Potatoes 235 Twelfth Legislative Agricultural Meeting 236 Shoveldom 238 Wealth of the United States 239 Plaster- Taking tloney 240 Model Farms, &;c 241 How to Raise Fruit everv Year 242 The Gooseberry— What 'shall I do? 243 Concord Farmers' i;liih— A Shower of Mud 244 Good Effects ot Gardening— To Correspondents 245 Equivalent Value of different Kinds of Food 245 Ladies' Department 246 ILLUSTRATIONS. Emery's Reaping and Mowing Machine combined . . .206, 207 Guenon on Milch Cows 209 Beurre de Anjou Pear 225 Brush Seed Sower 241 Parker & White, 8 4" 10 Gcrrish Block, Blackstone Street, AREo w remly to serve their Spring customers with Agri- cultural Tools and Seeds of every description. They have enlarged their establishment and are prepared to show a lar ger and better assortment of Goods than ever before. The following are some of their leading articles. 1000 Martin's celebiated Green Sward, Stubble, Horse and Hill side Plows. 50O other manufactures, all sizes and varieties. 100 Michigan Plows. 300 Improved Cultivators. Geddes' and other kind of Harrows. Improved Seed Sowers. Churns, Wheelbarrows, Oxyokes, Grindstones, Improved Grindstone Hanging, by which any farmer can hang his own grindstone. 700 doz. Tuttle's improved concave cast steel Hoes. 200 doz. Graves & Hatch's improved socket concave cast steel Hoes. Also, Plimpton's, Tower's, Nason's, Clarke's and other kinds. 100 doz. Partridge's, 4, and 6 prong cast steel Manure Forks; with every variety of other manufactures. 650 doz. Ames's, Carr's, Stone's and White's cast steel Shov- els; with every kind of garden tools, Rakes, Spades, Trowels, Forks, Iloes, &c., &c. ' IfO, Fruit and Orniimenlal Trees, Grass, Field, Garden A. ' i.xr Seeds. All at low prices, wholesale and retail. and Flowtlt— ^^ PARKER & WHITE, 8 & 10 Getrish''Brock, BlackstOT*e'5(*, Bi'^'P"'-- April 9, 1853^ ^ - NEW ENGLAND FARMER Is published on the first of every month, by John Ravnolds and Jo.cL Nourse, at Q.uincy Hall, South Market St., Boston SIMON BROWN, Editor. FREDERICK HOLBROOK, HENRY F. FRENCH, n ssociate Editors. Jj" Terms, $1,00 per annum in advance. Bj" All subscriptions to commence with the volume, Jan. 1. The Farmer, is devoted exclusively to Agriculliire, Hor- ticulture, and their kindred Arts and Sciences; making a neat volume of 576 octavo pages, embellished with numerous en gravings. It may be elegantly bound in muslin, embossed and gilt, at 25 cts. a volume, if left at the office of publication. [HT Also published at the same office every Saturday, on a large handsome folio sheet, the NEW ENGLAND FARMER, (WEEKLY, ) An Independent Agricultural Family Newspaper. The News and Miscellaneous departments under the charge of WILLIAM SIMONDS, will include a full and careful re- port of the news of the Markets, and the news of the week, such as Domestic, Foreign and Marine Intelligence, Congres- sional and Legislative proceedings. Temperance and Religious Intelligence, and a general variety of Liternry Mnd Miscellane- ous matter, adapted to family reading, con.jirising more use- ful and valuable reading matter than any other Agricultural Newspaper published in New England. Everything of a hurt- ful or even doubtful tendency will be carefnll}''e.\cluded from its columns. 0= Terms $2,00 per annum in advance. The monthly contains nearly the same matter as the Agri- cultural department of the weekly. 0° Postmasters and others, who will frward four new subscribers on the above named terms, for either publication, shall receive a fifth copy gratis for one year. inr All orders and letters should be addressed, /)o«/;-/)aid, RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, (ii'iNCY Hall, South Market Street, Boston. {Cj" Postage. — The postage on the New England Fanner monthly, is U cents per quarter, or 6 cents rer year, to any part of the United States, to be paid in advance at the oflice where the same is received. DeYonsliire StoeK. Grafting Wax, \ FIRST-RATE ARTICLE, made by an experienced Fruit A G'^»«'«'-'f'"-RtGGLES, NOIIRi^E, MASON & CO., March 26, 1653. if Over Quincy Market, Boston. For sale, a pure blond North Devon Bull. Also, two Spring Bull Calves, all as highly as can be found in this country. Inquire at this office, postage paid. April 23, 1853. 6w2* Garden Seeds. "ITfE respectfully solicit the attention of purchasers of GAR VV DEN SEEDS to our extensive stock, which we offer for sale. We have all the sorts of Veget.ible Seeds that have proved worthy of cultivation; also. Grain, Grass and Flower Seeds. All the varieties are raised and selected expressly for our trade, and we do with confidence recommend them to all who desire to procure seeds that will prove true to their names. 0» Catalogues gratis, on application. RUGGLE8, NOURSE, MASON & CO., Jan. 1. Over Quincy Market, Boston. Houghton's Seedling Bushes. Gooseherry IT'ROM one to five thousand of the above-named Bushes, ^ well rooted, for sale on the premises of HE^J.AIV11N C. MATPEiVLY, Chatham Street, Lynn, at prices tn suit,— from four 10 twenty dollars per hundred. Persons desirous of ob- taining some of these muchsoughi-for bushes, will now have an opiiortiinity. 0= Orders sent to any part of the United States will be im- mediately attended to. Address B. C. MaTTENLY, - ""■ — - — Gkal.h.;'.;:i ."itree!, Lynn, Mass. April 2, 1833. 5w Seed Potatoes, EARLY AND LATE SORTS, for s le by RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO., March 26, 1852. tf Over Quincy Market, Boston. DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. VOL. V. BOSTON, JUNE, 1853. NO. 6, RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, PnopniETORS. Office Quincy Hall. SIMON BROWN, Editor. jjeNRY F. FRENCH, \ EmTORs CALENDAR FOR JUNE. Lo ! The winter is past; the r;iin is over and ^one-, the flow ers appear dii the earth, the time of the singinj; of hirda is come, and the voice of the turtle is he ird in our luid. — Song OF Solomon. Thus sang one, said to be the wisest among men. The changes of the seasons, the times when the birds came and ])egan to sing, and the voice of the turtle Avas first heard, when the beautiful flowers appeared, and all the new and varied aspects of jiature presented themselves, were not unnoticed or disregarded !)y him, filled with wisdom as he was beyond the usual capacity of men. That wis- dom rather gave him new powers to appreciate their wonderful structure, usefulness and beauty ; and in the fulne^.s of his heart he gave utterance to the pleasant p »ng which we have quoted above. SolSmon probably looked at these revelations of nature individually, as well as collectively, as we believe any wise man must. Most of us-live alto- gether too fast. Spring comes, a,nd all the elements of fertility are active ; frost ;:nd snow disappear, while strong winds sweep off the redundant moisture. The more vertical solar rays warm the earth, set the sap in motion and cause the flowers to appear, studding the shrubs and trees as with so many gems ; they deck the landscape with their grace- ful forms and brilliant colors, while no nook is so secluded, or hill-side so poor as not to produce, with a seeming extravagance, these beautiful and gentle denizens of the field and forest. We look and admire, perhaps exclaim, "how past all human skill they are," and forget them. We have looked on them as a whole, and retain no distinct recollection of any. So, we think, did not Solomon. Now look at tlfat bed of tulips, -"where beauty plays Her idle freaks or that branch from the gnarled oak, with its tiny apples and tasseled flowers, or the blade of corn or grass, — look at these with a little study and thought, and you seem to arrest the march of time, by fixing an enduring impression of the varied attractions of this season on the mind» The mind has something individual and posi'.ive to go back to, whose associations will introduce again the whole panorama of this delightful period. To "know a little of everything" is well ; but to know a good deal of some things will afford the most substantial enjoyments. To know more of farming will be to know more of these things of which we are speaking ; and to know these we must give them attention, thought and investiga- tion, separately. Pause, then, under this tree, ex- amine its bark, the form of its branches, its leaves and flowers, and let this examination be the sub- ject of your reflections /or the next hour. And so of other things. Lettffere be a daily examination of some of the stones, insects, plants or flowers about you ; it is all "in the line of your duty," as the military men say, and loill increase your pow- er over the crops in your future operations, as well as multiply the dimes in your pocket ! Some may say that all t\\\s is not practical , — and has no bearing on their calling. So said the by- standers to Newtox, and Fraxklix, and ^Fulton. Who could see a passage to Europe in eleven days, in the wheels and sheet iron pots of Fulton? or the lightning drawn from the clouds and quietly de- posited in the earth, inert and harmless, through the bobs and strings and iron keys of that crotch- ety fellow, Ben Franklin ? It is practical. ^ better knowledge of the wants of plants leads to a better cultivation of them, and a greater profit from the labor expended. We shall yet find something in farming, beside the ex- penditure of muscle on the clods and dung-heaps ; and that false notion which prevails with so many; and cries in the ears of the farmer, — toil, toil, eighteen hours per day are demanded, — must ere long give place to more enlightened views and practices. But connected with this practical part, there 250 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June are other^matters no less important, and to a few of which we will briefly advert. June is one of the fervid months ; hot suns and drying winds usually prevail, and unless there are frequent showers, plants will begin to fail where careful cultivation is neglected. Much may be done to prevent this, by a frequent stirring of the soil, by mulching the young trees, shrubs, toma- toes and other plants, and an occasional watering of those considered the most valuable. When wa- tering is resorted to, it should be done liberally, wetting the ground thoroughly about the roots of the plant, and then omit for a few days. A fre- quent dribbling of water only wets a little below the surface which soon becomes caked, and pre- vents the admission of air and atmospheric influ- ences. Those who are cultivating dwarf pears, or any young trees, will find much benefit from mulching ; it prevents escessive evaporation, and weeds from springing up ; keeps the ground porous, and yet, if properly done, will admit heat sufficient for the vigoi'ous growth of the plant. Coarse hay, straw, leaves, saw-dust, tan, fine brush, sucli as the tops of white birches, or fine chips from the door-yard, will answer a good purpose. It should be laid loosely, and not so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from reaching the ground. The Garden will require r scarcely be felt. Millet.— This is a fine crop for haying for win- ter fodder. Some farmers of experience say it is as valuable as an equnl amount of English hay. — Sow about the 10th of June, eighl quarts of seed to the acre. See recent articles in the Farmer on this subject. Hoeing. — If the season is a dry one, cultivate a flat surface ; but if rainy, as was the summer of 1850, perhaps slightly hilling the corn and pota- to crop may prove advantageous. The clear, hot days are the days for hoeing ; leave the weeds on the surface a few hours at such a time, and they will trouble you no longer. Haying. — If some particular pieces of grass lodge and require to be cut early, do not allow this beginning to call off your attention entirely from the hoeing. Great losses are annually sustained among us 1)y this practice. No weeds should be allowed to grow among your hoed crops ; and the ground ought to be stirred once in 10 or 12 days, if there are no weeds ! This was Jeturo Tull's the- ory, and he proved its efficacy by the test of prac- tice. Young Trees. — Trees coming into blossom for the first time, should not be allowed to perfect much fruit. If it grow on the ends of the limbs it bends them out of shapes and diverts the sap from making wood into the fruit, while the growth of the tree is what is desired. The Curculio. — Sift lime-dust over the plum and apricot trees when the dew is on them, and this little plague will not sting the fruit. Two or three sprinklings, at intervals of several days, will pro- bably be sufficient. Try the same remedy on some of your apple treea. Striped Bugs. — Many persons say that a box put round the plants will positively prevent the attack of these bugs. Three shingles 5 or C inches high, supportedby the earth or sticks, answer every pur- pose. Mr. T. 0. Paine, in the Eastern Mail, says he has practised this plan with success for 12 years. For the New England Farmer. PASSING MATTERS. BT A. G. COMINGS. Imagination in Cows. — Being at Mil ford, N. II., a short time since, I learned from Mr. P. M. Ros- siter, of that place, a singular and striking case illustrative of the effect of imagination in cows. Sometime during the winter Mr. Rossiter lost a cow, and the following circumstances attended the case. The cow died in the evening, and was skinned by candle light, that is, by lamp-light, in a part of his barn, at some distance from his cow stable. The position of the cows was such that when the body of the dead animal lay upon the back the legs would be in full view of the cow in the stable. In such a position they were skin- ned, and the matter disposed of, on that evening. . In the early part of March, if my memory is correct, a very fine Devon cow gave a calf, ■which, was most singularly marked in the legs, they be- ing in a great measure destitute of hair or even skin upon the lower portion of tlie legs, and the hind legs were without feet, that is, without hoofs. The case is one which should be attributed, doubtless, to the effect of imagination in the .cow. It is a strong case, as I had the statement, which I presume was correct. If imagination produced such an effect in the days of Jacob, in the color of cattle, what other effects may follow from the same cause we cannot determine. It appears to me to be indicative of an unusual degree of in- telligence, as it is common for people to express it, in certain animals ; and certainly some of Mr. Rossiter's cattle look as though they did really know something, if they cannot talk. MiLFORD Village, &c. — It is decided that the Hillsborough County Agricultural and Mechani- cal Society will hold its next annual fair at Mil- ford, on the 28th and 29th of September next. We expect to be fovored with an Address on the occasion from Hon. Johfi AV. Proctor, of Danvers, Mass. The first fair of the Society was at Mil- ford in the fall of 1850. So the next will be our fourth annual fair. At that place a large number of Eagle plows are manufactured, from whence they go to Cali- fornia, Australia, Oregon, the Sandwich Islands, &c., as well as for a large sale nearer home. The 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 251 agents, Messrs. Putman and Chase, are doing a great business in that line. With the immense business of other establishments turning out thou- sands of improved implements yearly, perhajfs I might say, daily, it shows the throbbing pulse of an advancing people for improvement. Experiment ox a Tree. — Late in April, in the spring of 1852, two men paid a visit by night to an orchard which is subject to my care, and grati- fied their propensities by cutting down, &c., a large number of fruit trees. I discovered what had been done very early the next morning, and upon one tree, some ten or twelve inches through, which had been completely girdled for the dis- tance of about two feet, I put a light, single cov- ering of white cotton cloth, without any other protection. The tree lived through the season and bore fruit. The woody growth of the tree was very good, the twigs having extended from six inches to two feet, in the formation of a new growth. This spring, the tree puts out fair and bright, promising fruit, and yet there is not any- where that I can see any connection of the bark, nor of the newlj formed wood of last year. No new bark has been formed over the girdled part of the tree, nor is there any new formation of wood over that. The new layer of wood above and be- low the girdled part is of about the same thick- ness, and is about one-fourth of an inch in thick- ness. On some spots where the bark was not taken entirely oif, but where it was taken off all around, there a new formation of wood is seen, but less in thickness than it is above or below the girdle. I chose a clear white cloth in preference to any- thing else, because the white would reflect the rays of the sun, and therefore keep the surface from being much heated. I would not bind it on with any bandages, or strings, lest they should bind on the peeled surface too tightly; and there- fore put the cloth around and fastened it with some small nails. The experiment is giving me much instruction as to the growth, maturity and life of trees. It teaches, I think, the following truths : — 1. That the life of a tree does not absolutely depend, for the time being, upon its having a cov- ering of bark. 2. That the sap circulates in other ways than directly lengthwise of the wood. 3. That trees, which would otherwise certainly die, may be preserved in this simple manner, so as to give ample time to take other measures to pre- serve them completely. How long the above named tree will live and grow remains to be seen. a. g. c. Mason, N. H. health and condition, and I should be happy to see any persons interested in agricultural matters, and let them judge for themselves. Cob Meal. — Mr. Tuomas Motley, Jr., of West Roxbury, says, in the Boston CuUivalor : — I have fed out over Ave hundred bushels this winter to horses, working oxen, milch cows and pigs — in fact, I have used no other grain. My horses have never been in better condition than at pres- ent, and have worked hard all winter ; they have been fed regularly upon the following feed : 12 lbs. out hay and 8 quarts cob meal to each horse per day. Horses, oxen and cows are all in good For the New England Farmer. SKETCHES OF TRAVEL. Friend Brown : — I am about taking a trip to Lancaster, Pa., and if any of your readers will run the risk of getting their heads broken by collision, or open draws, or from other infernal machinery, such as our railway managers know how to use, and seem determined to use, for the destruction of what few people remain, let them jump on and go along with me. Well, here we are in the depot of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad, leading to Harrisburgh, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Fare through only fif- teen dollars ! Think of thai, ye "solid men of Bos- ton," who want to go to the West by the safest and cheapest route, and see all the world and the rest of mankind. The steam is up and we are off through the sub- urbs ; no, I mistake. Baltimore has no suburbs. Out of the city and you are in the country, and a ratherish poor country at that. Those suburban villas and princely residences M'hich cluster about the purlieus of some cities, are not found, but to a v.ery limited extent, about Baltimore. ■ It is much like the approach to Washington, where you grope your way for a long distance through a goose-pas- ture, till of a sudden you come upon a huge Dutch barn, with a cupola on it, which proves to be nothing less than Uncle Sam's capitol. So, ho! what now? bridge gone, burnt down yesterday- Wonder they didn't run us all into the creek. After two hours detention, we are un- der way again. Here's Texas, not the "valley of rascals," though a hard looking place. It is built wholly o/ limestone and upon limestone. Houses, barns, fences, gardens and roads, all of the same material. The sole occupation of the people seems to be to quarry, burn and haul limestone. And, judging from the color of their dresses, one would suppose them also made of limestone. They have no visible means of support but upon lime- stone; and I know not but they substitute it for flour. Certain I am, that they breathe it, for they can't do "nothing else" while they remain there. From these quarries comes a large'portion of the lime used in Baltimore. It is sold at the kilns for three fips* a bushel. Look first on this, and then on that. This is the dividing line between Mary- land and Pennsylvania. Geographers teach that mathematical and political divisions are merely imaginary. But in this case the dividing line is scratched upon the surface of the earth, so indeli- bly, that he who rides in the cars may see and per- ceive. We Marylanders are loth to admit that slave labor curses the soil as well as the people. But facts are stubborn realities ; and any one who passes from Baltimore to York, his eyes open, need not be told where the dividing line is. Here is York, the shire town of York County, a right smart place,— population good, — well built, and a place of considerable business. It contains a poor-farm and an almshouse, where all the poor * A "fiji," is our four-pence, half-penny. 252 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Juke of the county are provided for. Thia plan has some advantages over tliat of town provision, adopted throughout New England. It equalizes the burdens, and probably lessons the aggregate expense. We liave the Harrisburgh road h&re, and turn- ing eastward, go on to Wrightsville. This is a lum- bering village, on the west bank of the Susque- hanna, where the tide water and Susquehanna ca- nal crosses the river. There are some large lum- ber mills here, owned by lumber merchants in Baltimore. Wrightsville is connected with Columbia, by a bridge across the Susquehanna a mile and a quar- ter in length. This bridge is an object of some curiosity. It has two railway tracks, two canal Sow paths and accommodations for public travel. It is said to have cost $230,000. Here we are in Columbia ! Hail Columbia, hap- py land I what a passion we Yankees have for at- taching big names to little things. Well, the names may haul them' up and make them sound large, if they are not really so. Columbia is a great lumber land. Most of the lumber, cut up- on the several branches of the Susquehanna, is hauled up at this place. Iron is abundant in the immediate vicinity on both sides of the river. Several furnaces are in full blast. The popula- tion is about COOO, and rapidly increasing. We observe here, what is common in this State, and I ])elieve, through the South. All marketing is done at stated times ar«J in the market place. Qn cer- tain fixed days, the buyers and the sellers congre- gate early in the morning, in the market-place, the one to be rid of cash, and the other of what they deem equivalents. I think this far better, for all concerned, than to have marketing dribbling along through the whole week. From Columbia to the Gap so called, on the fDorders of Chester county, we pass through the most beautiful agricultural region I have ever seen. I have travelled in fourteen of the States and up- per and lower Canada, but have seen nothing that will compare with Lancaster, for farming purpos- es. The land is gently rolling. No hills, no marsh- es. Most of the land cleared, — laid off with great regularity, — enclosed with high and substantial fences and under the highest state of cultivation. You might go over thousands of acres and not find a briar or bush , or useless tree. Every foot of ground seems to be made productive ; such an ex- hibit of wheat, rye, oats and clover, I have never seen. Should a landscape painter color his pic- ture so highly, as many of these fields appear to me, I should have accused him of extravagance A New Englander, after passing through this re- gion, will understand the meaning of the language so often applied to the land of his nativity, "rock- bound and barren." Three reasons may be given for the fertility of these lands. The soil is naturally good. Where excavations have been made for the railroad, the grass grows up in few years and- covers the slope down to the track. Indeed, the very track is com- pletely turfed and produces grass abundantly. A gentleman who acted as engineer on the first road constructed through the county, remarked to me that the earth, taken from 15 feet below the sur- face, exposed for a short time to sun and rain, would support vegetation as well as the surface soil. 2. Lime is abundant and is freely applied. Al- most every farm has a limestone quarry, and the ma,king and applying of lime constitutes an essen- tial part of the business of every good farmer.—^ Lime may be had at any of the kilns, for nine cents a bushel, and often for seven. This is spread upon the surface, at the rate of about 50 bushels per acre and plowed in. Once thoroughly limed,. the land needs nothing more for many years, un- less it may be a crop of clover. 3. The farmers here understand their avocation. The German farmers of Pennsylvania "can't be- beat." They are intelligent, in their way, pa^ tient, industrious and economical. Their barns are- models for imitation. The basement or cellar, of stone or brick, and is devoted to stabling and shel- ter. The second story, where the hay and graia are deposited, is approached by a causeway. Many are burlt entirely of stone ; others have stone base- ments and brick above. The houses are generally large and commodious, and everything about indi- cates comfort and independence. But these fiirmers have their peculiarities. — Among these, the Yankee would notice thei? teams. The Yankee wishing to remove a quanti- ty of wood draws it. The I>utchman hauls it. — The farmer uses one horse or at most, two, or a pair of oxen, with a wagon or cart adapted to hig. team. The latter, hitches six horses, each as large as a small elephant and so fat as to be seemingly uncomfortable to a nondescript vehicle, resem- bling nothing of v/^hich we read in history, either sacred or profane, unless it be Noah's Ark ort. wheels, — the tongu* projecting from 4 to G feet in advance of the heads of the wheel horses, and so- low as almost to strike the ground, each horse having so much leather about him, as to render a fly screen vinnecessary. He then mounts the near wheel horse and Vvfith one rein in his left hand and a short whip in his right, he cries out yea — aup. Another peculiarity is the plow. The Dutch- men in plowing are all Benjaminites, — they turn the furrow to the left. The only reason I could get for this foible, is that they guide their horses with one rein ; this is attached to the near horse,, and if he is permitted to walk- in the furrow, he needs less guiding from the plowman. A plow in common use there, is made of iron entire. The price of land in thia county answers to its quality ; from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars per acre, taking a whole farm, the buildings included. I was shown a tract of 80^ acres, without buildings, which was sold recent- ly for $140 per acre. At this rate, a form of one hundred acres would bring the clever little sum of $14,000. I was told by several farmers that, not- withstanding the good quality of their lands, far- mers did not generally get more than three per cent, on the estimated value of their farms. Labor is very high and difiicult to obtain. The farmers say that the Legislature, in their zeal to protect and aid the poor, in other words, to be very Democratic, have legislated poor laboring, men all out of the State. It is generally admit- ted, I believe, that the Pennsylvania Legislature^ have for some years past been legislating for ev- ery body else, rather than for their own people. But I am spinning a long yarn, or plowing a long furrow, I should say, and against this, you cau- tioned your correspondents last week. But I sup- pose that was intended for prosy writers. Now 1 1 i853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 253 am not prosy, not I. Did you ever know a writer prosy in his own estimation ? All men think all men sinners but themselves. Allow me to introduce one indii'idual, to sub- stantiate what I have said of the intelligence and fihrewdneseof the Pennsylvania farmers, and then 5 will break up. (Jol. Ringwalt, living near the R. R. Depot, at Downington, Chester Co., has a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres, 25 in wood. Of that which is cleared, the largest por- tion is a pasture. He gathered last season, 75 ions of good hay. H« might have gathered 150 tons, but he pastured a portion of his mow lots. He keeps a public house and entertains many dro- vers with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. He harvested 1000 bushels of sound corn, getting from ■GO to §0 bushels to the acre, — 350 of wheat, and oats, and other small grains and roots in propor- tion. He understands and practices thorough drain- ing successfully. He showed me a taract of land which he purchased four years ago, for $50 per acre. It is now worth, he says, $100. But, he added, I will never sell it. When he purchased, the land was so wet, though upon aside-hill, as to be wholly unfit for tillage. It is now covered with wheat, rye and clover, better than any I saw else- where in the county. He has thoroughly drained it, sinking his ditch- *3S, in some instances, eleven feet, so as in all ca- ses, to arrest the water at the fountain. He fills all his drains with stones, arranging them at the bottom, so as to form a sluice for th« water. The top he covers with strav/, weeds or shavings, and that with earth. He allows no stones to remain upon the surface of his fields, or below it, within reach of his plow. He is not afraid to disturb the yellow dirt, but plows deep and subsoils. His ro- tation of crop is peculiar. He plants corn two aeasons in succession, — then takes off two crops of wheat, then seeds to grass and mows from three to five. When he turns in turf, he plows but five or six inches. The second season he plows much deeper. The first crop of corn he depends mainly upon lime, spreading about fifty bushels to the acre. The second, he applies compost and barn- yard manure. Afte?the second corn crop, he sows wheat and clover. In the autumn, after taking off the wheat, he sows plaster and turns in the clover and stubble and sows wheat and clover the second time. He thinks he gets more corn and more wheat the second crop than the first, and that the land is more thoroughly subdued and pulver- ized and in a better condition for grass. He slacks all his lime in salt water and spreads it and plows under, while smoking hot. This he regards as very essential. | Another idea which maybe worth the attention of your readers. The Colonel makes great use of oyster shells, but says they should not be burnt. I Burning destroys the distinctive properties of the' shell. A burnt shell differs not essentially from atone lime, except that it contains a small quanti- ty of phosphorous. But unburnt, in addition to what it contains when burnt, there is found in it a large quantity of animal matter which is highly nutritive to plants. He dries them by exposure to iUe sun, then grinds them in a plaster mill and ap- plies them as he does otlier mineral manures. — He is careful to save all the liquid manures of his barn-yard, and keeping the ground covered with sand, loam, muck, saw-dust and other absorbents. In answer to ray inquiry how he made his apple trees grow so fast and look so clear and thrify, he replied, "Keep them limed and washed with soao suds." ^ _ Now, Mr. Farmer, have not I established my po- sition ' Yankee flvrmers are cute chaps, and can do most things as wellas any body else. But they need to be cautioned now and then, lest they come to think that they are the people, and all wisdom touching the matter of tillage will die with them. Yours, E. B. H. • PLOWMAN'S SONG. BY THE "peasant BARB." Swe-ct are Utc fields where the clover is .springing, And llilhe is the carol that floats from the bougli: And soft verniil breezes a gladness are hringing To cheer nie as gaily I foHow the plow. Tliough hard be my toil, and. dew-drops of labor Make damp the brown locks that encircle my brew. No envy I feel for my ease-loving neighbor, For pride more ie mine, as I follow the plow. The lordling may boast of his titular story; The vote seeking grandee obsequious bow; What care I for all their nonsensical glory.' — A Noble of Nature, I follow the plow, I muse npoii those, while turning the furrow. Who, called like Elisha, are glorified now; Tho' hand delve in earth, yet the mind need not burrow. But spring to the light, as I follow the plowi Connecticut Veltey Farmer^ For the New England Farmer, STATS FARM AT WESTBOROUGH. Mr. Brown : — As model farms and educated fiirmers are prominent topics of consideration at the present time, may there not be propriety ia instituting the inquiry, as to the management of the State farm at Westborough ? If rightly informed, there is a fivrm ef about two hundred acres, as well situated for cultivation and improvement as any other in the Commonwealth, There are several hundred boys, between the ages of twelve and twenty years, healthy, vigorous and able to work ; in need of instruction, hoio to work. There are means of expenditure at command, to sustain any and all reasonable experiments. Why not put this farm under the care of a man, able and competent to conduct such experiments? Would it not be for the benefit of the boys to be thus employed ■? Can they not l)e made to con- tribute something towards their own support? It is stated by Dr. Bell, of the McLean Asylum, that the ikirty acres of land connected v/ith that institution yielded, the last year, a clear profit of $1400 — or more than $46 per acre. Suppose fifty acres of the land on the farm at Westborough to be put under cultivation, with crops of vegetables at a profit of $40 per acre — would not this be an item wortliy of consideration? If I do not mis- take, there are those who would undertake the management of these lands, and guarantee this in- come, if they could have the use of classes of these boys, six hours in the day, for this pur-pose. I hope that this matter will be looked into by some one competent to judge, and that the State fiirm will be found worthy of the State of Massa- chusetts. May 18, 1853. 254 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June For the New England Farmer. OLD APPLE TREES. Reading the advice in the May Calendar to graft old trees, I thought of some trees in the neighbor- hood which had undergone that process, and wished the editor had appended to his advice a rap over the knuckles of such as follow^ it so badly. Old trees of quite a decent and respectable figure in their native state, are sometimes converted into a mere collection of bare, crooked limbs, vpith brushes on the ends, perhaps improved in fruit out an eye-sore and a nuisance to all who love to see the fields adorned with fine trees as well as fruit. There is no need of the trees remaining in this awkward fix — the old branches, it is true, must be grafted near the ends, but a multitude of suck- ers always spring out lower down, and in trimming some of these should alwiiys be left in the right places to bring the tree into good shape. In two or three years they will be large enough to graft. I once had half a dozen old trees headed down in order to graft entirely on the young sprouts. Two of them were sawed off near the parting of the limbs, leaving but little beside the bare trunk. On the others the limbs were left six to ten feet. The snronts cnme out nbnndantly, and in due time were grafted and trimmed. It is now three years since they were grafted, and I find the trees which were headod down close have done much the best, and make the handsomest trees, the grafts grow- ing most thrifty and less troubled with suckers from the uld wood. Bachelor. Mmj 18, 185S. RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF GUANO. As guano is now extensively used as a fertilizer, and is constantly coming into the hands of those who have little or no experience in its application, everything calculated to aid the inexperienced will be acceptable. Indeed, inquiries are constant with regard to the quantity proper to be used per acre, and the best modes of application. In addition, therefore, to what we have already said in relation to it, we give below certain rules laid down by A. B. Allen, Esq., of New York, late editor of the American Agriculturist, a g-entleman who is able to speak from actual experience on the application and effects of this important manure. We have appended a few notes at the close of his rules, calling particular attention to some points of his circular, and have somewhat changed the order of his arrangement. The rules are worthy of attentive considera- tion. VALUE. Guano is valuable for every kind of soil, except that which is already very rich, and to every kind of field and garden crop, grass, grain, vegetables, fruits and flowers. The reason it is so serviceable to all, arises from the fact of its containing every kind of food necessary for the growth of stem, flower, fruit, and seed. The eminent chemist. Dr. Jackson, of Massachusetts, says : "It comes nearer to a UNIVERSAL COMPOST than any other excremental manure." Guano is particularly valuable for conservatories and gardens, inasmuch as it is quickly and easily applied ; its fertilizing matter is in a very condensed form ; and it contains no seeds of weeds to shoot up and check the growth of plants desired to be cultivated. Its fertilizing properties being in a very condensed form, the whole cost of enough for an acre and its application, is frequently less than the cost of mere transportation of city or barnyard manures to the ground v/here they ape to be used. This is a very important consideration to the far- mer, and especially the gardener, PREPARATION. Before using guano, pass it through a fine sieve, and all lumps remaining break up, and these pas& through the sieve. Now take at least four times its bulk of sand, or dry sandy, or light loamy soil, and pass this through a coarser sieve, if you have one, and mix it in layers with the guano. Let this compost lie a few days — several weeks would be better — (a.) then toss it over and beat it up well together, and it will be fit for use. Some pre- fer mixing the guano with ten or twenty times its bulk of soil for a compost, and do not take the trouble of sifting it, but mix them together in al- ternate layers as well as it can be done with a shovel. Sifting, however, is besE, as it is done so much more evenly. Sawdust is an excellent ma- terial with which to mix guano ; but powdered charcoal is perhaps the best of ail, as it fixes the ammonia, absorbs its unpleasant smell, and is in itself an excellent manure. When convenient to be obtained, plaster of Paris ought to be used in the compost, at the rate of 30 to 50 lbs. for every 100 lbs. of guano, as it also acts in the same way as charcoal. Lime and ashes must be avoided in composts, as they rapidly expel the ammonia, the most valuable part of the guano. Muck, if possi- ble, should not be used for the compost, as it is too moist and tenacious to form a proper mixture. (b.) The same objection holds good against clay or any tenacious soil. Nevertheless, if there be no- • other soil at hand, muck or clay may be thorough- ly dried and pulverized, and then used. Guano should not be mixed with barnyard manures, or indeed with any moist substajjce, as these cause it to undergo the very decomposition requisite to promote vegetation. The compost should be made under cover unless the weather be dry. Rain would be quite injurious to it, in hastening the decomposition of the Guano, and expelling its am- monia in the atmosphere. QUANTITY REQUIRED PER ACRE. This depends upon the kind of soil and its con- dition, and the kind of crop to be grown. From 250 to 400 lbs. of guano per acre is the safest quantity to apply. It acts quickest in a light sandy soil or loam, and is excellent to start crops on cold, moist land. It hastens the ripening of crops on all kinds of soil. Take Particular Notice. — In speaking below about applying a tablespoonful, or any other quan- tity of guano, we mean that amount, without ad- mixture ; if mixed with four times its quantity of soil, then it would require five tablespoonfuls of this compost to be applied to get the single 07ie of Guano, &c. GRASS AND GRASS LANDS. Spread broad-cast, from 250 to 400 lbs. per acre, mixed in a compost of earth of about four to 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 255 one. As soon as the snow is off the ground and the frost bef:;ins to come out, J3 the best time to apply it. Another application of from 150 to 200 lbs. maybe given in midsummer, directly after the first mowing. Care shonhl be taken to do this just before a rain, (r.) Grass lands may be top-dressed jn the fall ; but in that case, much of the Guano is likely to Ixi -washed off by the h^vy rains and lost. We recommend applying it at the rate of 200 to 300 lbs. per acre, on land just seeded with grass. This should be done just previous to har roMing and rolling. When sward land is to be plowed for a crop, it may be top-dressed with Guano previous to plow- ing, and then be turned under the sod. It will warm and hasten the decomposition of the sod, and afford food for the crop about the time the grain or fruit is filling, and thus add largely to the pro duct. WHEAT, RVE, BARLEY, OATS, &C. On winter wheat and rye, spread broad-cast from 200 to 300 lbs. of Guano, per acre, just be- fore the plant commences growing in tlie spring. If applied in the fiill, unless on very poor soil, it is apt to give the crop too rank a growth before win- ter sets in. On spring wheat, rye, barley, oats, &e., spread the same quantity at the time of sow ing, and harrow it in with the seed. If this be not convenient, it may be applied within a week or fortnight after the grain appears above gr-iind. Caution must be used about applying too much on the small grain crops, otherwise it will be likely to promote too rank a growth and occasion smut. INDIAN CORN. For this crop, Guano may be spread broad-cast upon the land, the same as for wheat; but it is better to apply it directly to the hill. Hollow out the hill with the hoe, put in about a tablespoonful of Guano, cover it over one and a half to two inch- es deep with soil, and then sow the seed and cover up. If the corn be sowed in drills, furrow out lightly with a (me-horse plow, then apply the Gua- no as in. hills, and cover it with the hoe or other implement. At the first time hoeing, put double the above quantity of Guano around the hill, and hoe it in, taking particular care that it does not touch the stalks, otherwise it will be very likely to kill them. If this can be done just before a rain, so much the better. Some apply Guano again just as the corn is ready to tassel and fruit, but we should hardly think this necessary, except in very poor soil. If more than the above quantity be ap- plied to corn, it must be planted extra wide apart, otherwise the growth will be so large as to make the stalks and leaves intermix and produce smut. Potatoes, Tomatoes, Sugar Cane, Tobacco, Cot- ion, Cabbage, Cauliflower, and some other crops, may be treated nearly in the same manner as corn. PEAS, BEANS, TURNIPS, BEETS, C.-IRROTS, PARSNIPS, AND ONIONS. If these are sown broad-cast, apply the Guano in the same way as directed to wheat ; if in drills, as directed with corn, except ic might not be best to cover the Guano with over one to one and a half inches of soil in the drill, and then sow the seed. ASPARAGUS AND CELERY. It is a good top-dressing for these early in the spring. MELONS, CUCUMBERS, SQUASHES AND PUMPKINS, Treat to Guano the same as corn, in the hill, allowing an even tablespoonful for each plant to be left to run to vine. STRAWBERRIES, R.\SPBERRIES, CURRANTS, GRAPE- VINES, And indeed all fruits, may have Guano dug in about the small roots, e&rly in the spring. APPLE, PEAR, PEACH, CHERRY, PLUM, QUINCE, AND OTHER FRUIT TREES. Guano not only adds to the size, and foir, plump appearance of all fruits, but is said to increase the delicacy of their flavor. It should not be applied around the body of the tree unless it be a very small one, but to the extreme ends of the roots, otherwise it cannot be absorbed, and of course will be nearly all lost. Roots of trees spread un- der ground aljout the same distance from the trunk, as the branches do above ground. Let the soil be well trenched from one to three feet wide, according to the size of the tree, directly under the circle formed by the ends of the branches, and the Guano then be incorporated with the soil, within a few inches of the top of the rootlets ; it will thus find its way to their mouths, and as it uecouipuses be taken up in the sap fur Lhe beueflt of the tree and its fruit. If applied later than May or June, it will make a large, soft, spongy, growth vi u/uipenul wood ol no >ulue vvLalevei'. STEEPS AND LIQUID FOR WATERING PL.VNTs'i For one pound of Guano use 5, 10, or even 20 gallons of water ; or at the same rate for a small- er proportion. Stir it up well and cover over the vessel tight, so as to prevent the escape of the ammonia, and let it remain from one to three days before being used. Now wntev around {not upon) the plants as occasion may require. If this liquid touches the plant, it is apt to burn it. Previous to watering, stir the earth well around the plant. One pound of Guano for 20 gallons of water may be thought to make a very xccak steep for water- ing plants, but such is not the fact ; we have seen the most surprising results from watering with a a steep no stronger than this. Some of our friends last year steeped their corn and other grain in this liquid, from 3 to 25 hours previous to planting. — It came up unusually thick and grew very rapidly. For steeps we would recommend 10 to 20 gallons of water to each pound of Guano, using the latter quantity for the more delicate seeds. It is so pow- erful a substance, there is great danger of its kill- ing the embryo of the seed, if applied in too strong doses. The phosphate of lime and magnesia in the Guano are insoluble in water ; the sediment therefore is valuable to spread on the land. TO THE LADIES. Guano is very easily applied by you, and in the neatest possible manner, to your conservatory and garden plants. Purchase a neat keg of it contain- ing about 60 lbs., have a hole bored in the head, into which insert a stopper. Now place the keg on its side as if to draw liquor out of it. Then as often as you wish to use the Guano, take out the stopper and draw out what is necessary from the keg with an iron rod flattened and slightly crooked at the end. Now make a liquid of it as described above, or with a trowel, dig a small quantity of it in the earth, around the plant. This, says Mr. 256 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JUNB Tescheinachery most be done liefore the plants form their full-sized flowering buds, otherwise they ■will begin ta make new shoots, th© buds will be left behind, and the flowers will open with dimin- ished beaut)/. Be very careful not to let the Gua- no touch the stems or leaves of your plants, other- wise it will be certain to kill them. A bouquet of flowei's may be preserved a long time in water, by adding a very small quantity of Guano to it as often asi-enewed. A quarter of an ounce to a quart of water would be sufficient. It might l» well abo to add a talkie spoonful of pul- verized charcoal at the game time. CAUTION IN APPLICATION. Be very careful to place the Guano so that it will not touch the embryo, or young roots, or stalks of corn, potatoes, cabbages, tobacco, sugar- cane, cotton, or any plant that has but one stem from its root; for it is of such a burning nature, that if a portion no larger than a small pea comes in contact with the plant, before being watered or rained on, or undergoing partial decomposition, it instantly kills it. (d.) With grass and small grains tiiis caution is not important, aa other shoots from the roots will immediately supply the place of those killed. CESTRUCTIVE TO INSECTS. That Guano is destructive to insects may be proved by any one disposed to make the experi- ment. Take insects and put them in a saucer or' bottle, and sprinkle a little Guano on them ; or mix up a tablespoonfol of Guano in a gill of wa- ter, and pour this liquid upon the insects. It will be found to kill the smaller ones almost instanta- neously, and the larger in one to two hours time ANALYSES OF VARIOUS GUANOS BY EMINENT CHEMISTS IN EUROPE. Peruvian. Chilian. African. Ammoniacal salts, 33 to 41) pr. c. 12 pr. c. 23 to 28 pr. Animal miUter, 5 to 7 3 5 to 9 Salts of potash > and soda, S 6 to 12 8 9 to 11 Phosph. of lime, ^ Magnesia and > 23 to 23 53 30 40 37 Oxalate of lime, ) Water, 10 to 13 22 18 to 25 Sand, — — 2 — — - ANALYSES OF VARIOUS GUANOS BY DR. CHILTON, OF NEW YORK. Peruvian. Phosphate of lime, 28.^2 Ammoniacal sails, 46. 4i Oxalate of lime, 5.44 Phosph. of ma;jnesia, ammonia, 2 00 Carbonate of litne, Chloride of so'lium, Sul|ihate of potassa, Sul|ihale of soda, Silica, i Alumina, &c., 5 Undetermined organic matter \ containing niirogen, '_ Water and loss, .51 125 5.4.5 12.10 Cliilian. 52.65 3.16 ,^.36 ? 4.41 16.22 3 88 5.20 African. 38.00 22.94 15.26 19.05 100.00 Remarks. — {o.) We should prefer mixing the guano and applying it immediately. Though mixed with five or six parts of loam, more than its own bulk, it is still in quite a concentrated form, and would give off considerable ammonia. But if mixed and immediately applied to the soil, what- ever is given off will be arrested by the soil of the field into which it has been intimately incorpo- rated. {h.) Muek that has h^Qn dug for a year and left lying in a heap will form one of th& 1>est ma- terials for an absorbent as well as a distributor- It is not 90 moist as to be tenacious, or sticky, but sufficiently |p to receive the escaping ammonia. (c.) Guano ghould always be used in a moist state. For flowers, a few Ixjds of vegetables, or a few favorite trees or shrubs, or for a small garden, borders, &c., it is better to dissolve it. Put a quart into a barrel of spring, rive? or rain water, stir it well and water at evening through a water- pot. {d.) This is an important caution. There have been instances where corn has been dropped on the guano and came up well ~, but this must have been owing to fortunate circumstances. Where a co- pious rain immediately succeeds the planting, the guano would be likely to get leashed, and thus prevent injury to the corn. To be safe, tlie guano should be mixed with the soil on which it is dropt. This may be readily done with the foot before dropping the eorn. For the New England Farmer. DURATION OF POSTS. The result of forty years experience and obser- vation, with me, is that common fence posts set in the ground ^rcen, and butt end downwards, will last, in a sandy loiim, about 10 or 12 years. The same set in a like situation, inverted, will last 15 or 18 years. The same timber, (and soil the the same,) well seasoned before setting, -will last 8 or 10 years longer. I speak of good white chest- nut or white oak. Timber cut in the old of the moon in February, will not be eaten by worms, will not snap in burn- ing, and will last much longer made into posts than when cut at any other time. I have chest- nut and white oak posts standing well that were set 28 years since. * Otis BrIgham. Westboro', April 4, 1853. FEEDING TEAMS. All cattle should be fed regularly, and about the same quantity given at each feed. If from a change of weather or any other cause the appe- tite becomes a little dull, take away from before them what is left, and leave the place clean and sweet. If oxen or horses ai-e to Ije put to work at 7 o'clock in the morning, they should begin to feed as early as five, and will require an hour or i»ore to eat. If extra feed is to be gi vea, as 0. O . proposes, such as carrots, it would be better to give it at night, after the animal has enjoyed an hour or two of rest. C. 0. will observe thait it is the nutritive properties of the food assimilated and sent through the System that gives the animal strength, and nob the undigested mass in the stomach. A little rest after a hearty meal is al- ways conducive to comfort and health. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 257 PLAN AND DESCRIPTION OF A PRIMARY SCHOOL HOUSE IN EXETER, N. H. FRONT ELE^^ATION. The school-house, of which the foregoing cut presents a somewhat incomplete view, was built under the direction of H. F. French, Orix Head, and J. G. Hoyt, after designs drawn by the latter gentleman. It stands back about 60 feet from the street in the midst of a half-acre lot, and is sur- rounded and ornamented with trees. In respect to style, construction, convenience of internal ar- rangement, elegance of finish, furniture, means of lime, cement and lamp-black, with an outside coat of stucco as hard as marble, and as black as the three bad boys that St. Nicholas dipped in his ink-stand. Over the teacher's platform there is a ventilating trap-door, opening by cord and pulleys into the attic. The attic is relieved of the vitiated air, thus constantly rising into it, by means of a copper ventilator on the roof. The abbreviation marks on the plan may be ex- ventilation, as well as amplitude of grounds, it plained as follows maybe pointed to as a model. It is 2G feet by J., School-room, 25 feet by 25, besides the re- 34, and 13 feet high in the clear. The pitch of the cess near the chimney, containing 62 arm-chairs, roof is 20 degrees. The windows are hung with with book and slate-racks attached. The chairs weights and shaded with Venetian blinds. The walls are beautifully papered and ornamented with busts and casts. As a substitute for a rick- ety, rattling black-board, the end wall by the teacher's platform is plastered with a mortar of PLAN OF FLOOR. are made for comfort, and are fine specimens of workmanship from the manufactory of TV". G. Shattuck, Boston. B, Recess back of the stove, G feet by 2^, fin- ished at the top with a Gothic arch. C, Broad steps under the porches, defended by balustrades. D, Entry for boys, about 12 feet by 71, furnished with hooks for hats and coats. E, Entry for girls, about 12 feet by 7|, furnished with hooks for bonnets and cloaks. F, Flue, 12 inches square, plastered smooth in- side. G, Additional flue of the same size, built in case it should^ver be deemed advisable to "annex'' an- other school-room. P, Platform for teacher, 10 feet by 5, elevated 8 inches, and provided with one of Shattuck's desks. R, Register for the admission of pure air. The building is raised about 5 feet, and windows are left in the underpinning under the porches, so that the air, which ascends through the register into the school-room, comes fresh from the out- door world. The stove stands over the register; 258 WEW ENGLAND FARMER. JlTNK the cold air, therefore, when admitted, clings, as a matter of natural philosophy, around the hot stove, until it is warmed, and then is drawn over the children towards the ventilator at the other end of the room. S, Sinks in the entries, provided with pails, dippers, wash-bowls, towels and a lookino^-glass for the girls. As an item of special interest to small districts in country towns, it may be added, that the whole expense was just S 1208, 73. This includes not on ly the house itself, but also the grading of the grounds, the planting of several hundred trees, the construction of tasteful fences and necessary out-buildings, together with $300 paid for the lot. For the New England Farmer PATRONS— PATRONAGE, &,0. Mr. Editor : — In the- last Farmer ih%i& ia an article on "Inquiries and Censures,'" by John Wil- cox, and some editorial remarks attached. Mr. Wilcox says "farmers ought to know the truth, as far aa possible. If deceived by those to whom they look for correct information, they are under strong temptations to withdraw their patronage, &c. To this you add in substance, "Then the word patronage, as used in this sentence, is not known to us. We have no patrons. When the reader of the Farmer thinks he does not get an equivalent for his money, we advise him to seek some other source of benefit. So long as we have hands and feet, and a modicum of sense to guide them, we shall have no patrons. The farmer has his customers for his wheat, corn and cattle, and the printer his for the articles he has to spare, but they are neither of them patrons." We have often heard "editors" revert to their subscribers in this same way before ; yet we never cqyld see the force of the argument, nor can we see it yet in that light. As we see the subject, every subscriber to a paper is a "patron" to all intents and purposes, whether he gets the full amount of his money, or more or less, as the case may be. But if we understand the editor, what he means by a patron, is one who does a piece ofl work, or favor for another, without any stipulated sum to be paid. Or one who does a piece of work gratuitously for another or makes a donation for a certain object. But I presume we can- not have better authority on this point, than Dr. Webster himself. He says that a "Patron is one who countenances, supports and protects, either a person or a work," &c. And of "Patron- age," he says, "Special countenance, or support, lend or aid afforded to second the views^f a per- son to promote a design," &c. Now if any sub- scriber to a paper or book does not countenance, support and aid the works they pay for, then what do they do? It must be plain as noon-day, that every subscriber to a paper is a real patron in the right sense. So is every customer of the farmer for his produce, a real pati'on. Of course evei-y subscriber to a good paper, will get his pay, and he may get it in a single number. But this fact, to our mind, does not make him any the less a real patron, by no means. But suppose the pa- per should fall below par or "mediocral," and yet the subscriber would continue to take and pay for the paper, as long as published, whether it was worth half price or not, what then? Would he, then, and then only, be considered a patron, or would he not be as much a real patron when the paper was in its palmy days. The plain truth is, we as men are so selfish, th&t we are not lyilling to give half as much credit to our fellow-men as we should do. For in- stance, we have been trying for the last twelve years in our plain way to stimulate the farmers to greater effort and exertions to improve themselves and the soil. This we have tried to do in various and several agricultural journals in the States. — And so far as asking any pay in dollars and cents, we have oftentimes found it hard to get a hearing at all, though all done gratuitously on our part. — This we call real patronage for the press, and edit- ors and publishers may call it what they please. And yet it is not bound up in so close quarters as this even. For It is more on the liberal scale of getting good, doing good, and communicating to others. Every gratuitous correspondent to an ag- ricultural journal can testify to the same thing. What would an agricultural journal be in this age were it not for the help of its numerous cor- respondents ?- More than nine-tenths of all these must come from gratuitous writers. Yet, in ordi- nary journals, it 13 only a few such as "sub or as- sociate editors" that can be paid for their time. We will just say for Mr. Wilcox that the "Pre- pared super-phosphate of Lime" is not manufac- tured at New Haven, Ct. But it is kept for sale- there, by Munson & Johnson, of the agricultural store, 49 State Street. Yours, &c., L. DURANU. Derby, Ct., May 5,1853. Remarks. — It affords us pleasure to know that our readers are so watchful of what is said in the columns of the Farmer ; that Argus-eyed corres- pondents watch its expressions and weigh its sen- timents. A kind correction of our errors can do- us no harm, and may be of considerable public- benefit. We had rather supposed that the com- mon acceptation of the meaning of the word was that i\\Qpatron had the gift, or disposition of some special benefit, some special countenance or sup- port. The word is never applied, we thinly to the butcher, the baker, mechanic or tradesmfffl, in the sense in which friend Durand uses it. But if its meaning is generally accepted, according to his explanation, we have no objection to it as used in Mr. Wilcox's article. Sullivan Co. Agricultural Societv. — At the Annual Meeting, holden March 10, 1853, of the Sullivan Uo. (N. II.) Agricultural Society, the fol- lowing gentlemen were elected its officers for the ensuing year : — John S. Walker, Claremont, President. Charlks E. Wheeler, Newport, Secretary. John H. Higbee, Newport, Treasurer. The Birds. — Attention is called to another of the delightful articles of Mr. Fowler, upon the Birds of New England. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 259 Fer the Tfew England Farmer. "EXPERIMENTAL FARMING." Messrs. Editors: — Finding in one of my week- lies an article unJer the significant and attractive caption, "Experimental Farming," copied from the New England Farmer, I felt moved — by the spirit of controversy — to "also show mine opinion." The comparative allusion the writer makes is well calculated to gain him a hearing among some classes of persons who in too many instances are already behind the times in agricultural science. Since he made the allusion I will remind him that one noted in olden time for his wisdom and ex- tensive observation once remarked, "He that is first in his own cause seemeth just, but his neigh- bor cometh and seareheth him." Your correspondent strikes his first blow at sci- entific farming on this wise — mark the expression "The chemist may analyze the soil on my farm * * * and point out the ingredient or ingre- dients which are wanting, theoretically, and I go to work, practically, and find my land unproduc- tive as before." This way be so, is not always satisfactory to those who understand the use of figures. In the Worfiing Farmer, Vol. 3, No. 2 Prof. Mapes writes, "Within the lastthree years we have visited many farms, and some of the own ers sent certificates of results." One represented that under our advice he had added the missing constituents to his soil, at an exp^ense of only $4,12.^ per acre, with proper tillage, and pro- duced, in consequence, the following crops : — Corn 128 bushels of ears per acre, where formerly with much larger expenditure for manures, but 30 bushels of shelled corn had been produced. Po- tatoes, 310 busliels per acre. Mangold wurtzel IG tons per acre, and other crops in proportion. Had your corres[)ondent cited an instance where a person having an analysis of his soil by a compe tent chemist — hid added the required amend- ment— as in the instance above quoted, and failed of satisfactory results, I might have remained si- lent ; but he doos no such thing ; he only gives his ipse-disit, and goes on to prove from his prac iical experience \n well-digging that soils are so variable even within short distances that an analysis must be of doubtful utility. Of his first well, he states : "after removing the soil at the surf ice we entered a quicksand &c.," of the second, some fifty feet distant, he continues : "After removing the soil we came upon hard com- pact clay gravel," &c. and closes the sentence with the remark, "here was an illustration of the change insoils worth noticing." Here is an illus- tration of the way some people jump at conclu- sions, unparalelled in my previous reading. I had always supposed that the portion of the earth's surface through which the plow passes, into which the manure is worked, and to which the seed is committed, is ihe'soil — proper — the part that chem- ists and agriculturists bad most to do with, but your correspondent having removed this in both instances without noting any difference, has seemed to entirely lose sight of it, and digging down into the 5M6-soil and not finding the bowels of mother Earth perfectly even and uniform, he announces tlie discovery of a principle in agriculture that is likely to baffle the combined skill of chemists and farmers in their attempts to improve our system of husbandry. In perfect keeping with his conclusions, he re- fers to the course of practice of a self-constituted physician as an example worthy of imitation by farmers in their treatment of infertile soils. Sup- pose he should find a quantity of sulphuret of iron conveniently near his compost heap ; we should expect, according to his own recommendation, to find him — following the example of his model doc- tor, carting it in for the improvement of his farm. "Would not it be strange if it did not benefit some portion of his changeful farm? Again, sup- pose he M'ished to ascertain whether his soil needed lime — for instance ; would he procure a quantity and compost it with numerous vegetable and mineral substances, and if his crops were benefited by the application of such artificial ma- nures, continue year after year to add lime to his compost in the belief that it is the required amend- ment? J. P. S. — The above was written before receiving the March number of the Farmer, which contains your remarks showing some of your oljections to the i-ecom»endation of your correspondent, which the paper in which I first read the article did not copy. I find too in the same number another corres- pondent seems to have doubts as to the practical benefit of analysis of soils. He says, "Is it possi- ble that by careful analysis of soils from sterile Mass., and of those from the Scioto valley, famous for its wonderful fertility, no clue to the vast dif- ference between the two can be detected?" "I here confess my surprise at the results, and will acknowledge they have done much to shake my faith in all chemical analysis of soils." I would inquire if the specimen of soil from Hampden Co. is a fair representative of sterile Mass. soil; also what is the average produce of the Hampden Co. soil. "Having witnessed the growth of corn in both States," has he found out no difference in the geological character of the different places, nor found any difference in me- chanical condition ? Has he taken into considera- tion the difference in latitude, temperature of cli- mate ? &c. Has he read Prof. Johnston's lecture on the Relations of Physical Geography to prac- tical Agriculture ? j. Bridgewatcr, March, 1853. For the New England Farmer. RURAL PLEASURES. There is^ perhaps, no situation in life \'ihich af- fords greater facilities for enjoyment than that of the husbandman. Exempt from the many cares which throng the pathway of the professional man> the farmer finds ample opportunity to cultivate his mind ajjd expand his intellect, and even while en- * gaged in labur, may still be a learner from the great book of Nature. As the plowshare turns the sods, his eye wan- ders over the rich landscape, and in the meander- ing streams, the wood-crowned hills and smiling vales, he traces the finger of God. The glory of the spring-time is not by him unheeded. He sees with delight the delicate verdure mantling in beau- ty the awakening earth — he views with pleasure, the fair petals of innumerable blossoms as they un- fold to the genial sunbeams, and he feels upon his cheek, the soft breeze which is laden with their balmy perfume. For him, the minstrels of heaven 260 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June have a song of joy, and all nature seems hymning an anthem of praise. Gladly the farmer greets the spring-time, and with a light heart prepares his fields, and sows the tiny seed, which will yet yield a glorious autumn offering. No feverish ex- citement disturbs his placid life, — no wild dreams of fame and glory — no ambitious schemes, whose bright hopes gleam for a space, then fade in dark- ness away. His course is before him — simple and plain — peace and contentment are the inmates of his breast. Day after day beholds him at his healthful toils, and fortune smiles upon him. His table boasts few foreign luxuries, but plenty is ever there, and the viands produced by his own care are partaken of witli a relish which the epic ure might envy. Home is to the husbandman a delightful spot. Care flees from his fireside, and the evening hours are spent in calm converse or innocent glee. When night's sombre curtains en- fold the earth, he finds a sweet repose, for toil has lent "a blissful zest to slumber." How many young men who now forsake their rural homes and seek the crowded ^ity, would escape the snares of the tempter and shun the cup of sorrow, if they remained upon the peaceful farms of their fathers. e. c. l. Lebanon^ Vt. WITCH GRASS. There are few spurious productions character- ized by a more invincible tenacity of life than witch grass. When it has once become thoroughly radicated in the soil, it is almost impossible to get rid of it. Some writers who appear to be im- pressed with the idea that no human effort is com- petent thoroughly to cleanse lands which have be- come fouled by its presence, recommend cultivat- ing it as hay ; but we can contemplate witch grass in no other light than that of a most troublesome and exhausting truant, and one that the farmer cannot do better than to keep at a distance, let the expense be what it may. That it makes a most excellent and nutritious feed for stock, when cut early and properly cured, admits not of any doubt ; and we are far from denying that there are any circumstances in which it may be advan- tageously and profitaWy cultivated, as for instance, on soils of a low description, where the surface is somewhat soft, and which are otherwise constitu- tionally incapacitated for tillage. In such situa- tions there is at least a strong probability that its introduction would be attended with success. But no farmer who understands its nature, will ever be seduced into the practice of sowing witch grass seed on lands intended to be cultivated subse- qu3ntly. The well-known difficulty attending its eradication, will operate on most minds, as an ef- ficient caution in this respect. Indeed, every one who appreciates easy and thorough cultivation, •will guard against its propagation and spread as much as practicable. In light soils, of a rich and warm character, the labor of extirminating it — un less extra means are resorted to — is usually the labor of a life, and we can now point to many fields in which sufficient extra labor has been performed in consequence of the usurpation of this pest, to purchase the soil twice over, and yet the crop is more luxuriant and vigorous than it was when at- tention was first directed to them. The roots of this grass are very strong and numerous, they are also remarkably tenacious of life, and unless they are removed from the soil entire, this may be a temporary abridgement of the evil but no perman- ent cure. Some gardeners, when this pest has be- come radicated in their soil, cover the surface with boards, and allow the land to|rest a year. In this way it is suffocated, and is probably more easily destroyed than in any other way. The loss of the year's crop is of trifling consequence, as the pres- ence of the witch grass would render the expense of cultivating it too great to allow of much profit, even under the most favorable circumstances. When a soil can be covered for two successive seasons, in this way, the eradication is thorough, generally speaking, and with proper care in the after cultivation it will rarely be restocked. Salt, in large quantities, will destroy witch grass ; but the amount required for this purpose renders the undertaking expensive, especially if the soil is deep, rich and mellow, as in such cases the roots extend to a great depth, and generally numerous, vigorous and strong. It propagates mostly by its lateral roots, and when allowed to grow, generally produces a medium crop for two years ; it then begins to dwindle, the stalks l>eco3ne annually thinner and less numerous, and it finally "runs out," although upon plowing and manuring the land, it always reappears and flourishes as before. The best and cheapest way we have found to exterminate this grass, is, to plow deep, pulverize finely, and then with a rake and the hands gather up the roots and cast them away, or burn them. Then with a three-toothed cultivator, the teeth being ten or twelve inches long, go over the ground thoroughly ,which will bring up a still further por- tion, which must be gathered as before. In this thoi'ough manner we have cleared «an acre in a single season so as to find little trouble from it afterwards. Harrowing, raking with the spring-tooth and the independent acting rakes, have proved utterly futile with us in collecting these grass roots. Harrowing late in autumn, after the ground has been frozen, and thawed again two or three inches in depth, is said to kill the roots by turning them out and exposing them to winter frosts. Cure and Preventive of the Potato Rot. — Mr. H. Penoyer, of Union county, Illinois, publishes in the St. Louis Fepitblican his experience and suc- cess in preventing the potato rot. He has tested his preventive for four years, with perfect success, while others in the same field who neglected it lost their entire crop. It is asserted, also, that the root is nearly double the size. The remedy is as 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 261 follows: "Take one peck of fine salt and mix it thorouglily with half a bushel of Nova Scotia plas- ter or gypsum, (the plaster is the best,) and im- mediately after hoeing the potatoes the second time, or just as the young potato begins to set, sprinkle on the main vines, nest to the ground, a table spoonful of the above mixture to each hill, and be sure to get it on the main vines, as it is found that the rot proceeds from the sting of an insect in the vine, and the mixture, coming in con- tact with the vine, kills the effect of it before it readies the potato." Mr. P. asks nothing for his discovery beyond what those who are benefited are willing to give, and he desires a test to be made before an opinion is formed. This is reasonable, and the experiment costs so little that it is worth testing. For the New England Farmer. THE FARMER'S CABINET. The field of science which invites the farmer to investigation is a boundless one. The atmosphere, the earth with its rocks and plants, its animals and insects, and immense variety of soils, are all intimately connected with his success in his pro- fession. All farmers, who have for a length of time cultivated the earth, may be supposed to have some knowledge in all these matters, for observa- tion, however blunted it may have appeared, will sometimes be in action, and when allowed to exist, practical benefits will result. Now one of the benefits we claim as resulting from farmers' lyceums, beyond that furnished by the library, with its shelves fiUing with scientific works, got up by individuals who have closely in- vestigated the subjects on which they treat, and by the means we have proposed, bringing the fruits of their researches within the means of all who desire the benefit of them, is that by these so- cial gatherings of exchange of thought, the re- sult of the observations of the many become the common stock of all. So, then, if under certain circumstances, Mr. A. has seen things different from their presentation to Mr. Y., it is seen at once, that individual observation has not been pushed to its full extent, and then the opinion of each, being contradictory to the other, though each may have been right under the circumstan- ces, not only they will enter the field with new zeal and fresh hopes, but their conflicting opinions will draw others into the same work, — the curi- osity will be excited, investigation will follow and facts demonstrated which to them might have for- ever remained mysteries. To aid in these investigations and to make all certain that things are called by their right names, we would have well selected cabinets connected with all these institutions. First, we would have a cabinet of minerals. Soils consist to a great extent of the disintegration of rocks, and minerals are the representatives of these rocks. Now the wearing down of mica slate does not produce a soil like that of limestone origin, nor do the different varieties of limestone produce a soil alike in its proporti(ms. But vari- ety is found to exist as often as the composition of rocks changes. Consequently, the productive power of the soils vary. Their character, to a great extent, may be determined by the character of the principal rock, and so when the field is dis- tant, by a specimen of the rock we may approxi- mate towards the quality of the soil. So then, we would have a mineralogical cabinet connected with the farmers' lyceum. And this should in no way be confined to fragments of rocks them- selves ; but should embrace, as far as possible, the different varieties of soil made up from these rocks. Then we would have a botanic cal/met. Here we would have well prepared specimens of all the grasses and grains fit for cultivation, neatly ar- ranged in their different species and varieties, so that the young farmer could mark at once their peculiar features and see the difference they pre- sent in their different stages from wild growth to the most successful cultivation. In addition, let such plants as experience has 'proved to be nox- ious to the farmer's interest, have a place here, labelled as such, to warn the unwary and inexpe- rienced of the danger of admitting them to his grounds. If specimens of different varieties of wood, with the leaf and seed, were added, it would give addi- tional interest and open a beautiful field of study to the young mind. Then we would have a cabi- net of insects, each labelled strictly with its good or bad qualities. Many of these are fatal pests to the farmer, yet how little does he know of their general character ! How few of them can he rec- ognize by their countenances, much less can he call by name when he meets them. In short, so great has been his indifference in the matter, that probably not one in fifty of the farmers of New England can distinguish his friends from his foes in the feathered or the insect races. Hence, it ia no wonder that he often sacrifices the former and gives countenance to the latter. His ignorance in the matter leads him to do it and suffer the losses that too often result. And yet who is to blame for this ignorance, when he every day is holding communion with nature in all her works, and each day furnishes some leisure moments when he might investigate the things that sur- round him in the air above and the earth over which he walks, — when science is opening her rich store-house and inviting him to come in and take liberally of her treasures. We have thus glanced hastily at what we would have a farmers' lyceum cabinet contain of natural history, to which we would add works of art, such as drawings and models of implements, paintings of animals and fruits, and indeed everything that can interest, enlighten and please the farmer's mind and keep it in vigorous and healthy action. And here we submit the query, if there was a place in eaeh town or even in every county like the one we have briefly sketched, would not its in- fluence on agriculture and the rural arts be of a salutary and progressive character ? Under such circumstances, with tlje facts drawn out and placed before their eyes, would not farmers see at once, that science in beauties and its practical influence was for them, and instead of encouraging their sons to leave the plow and the scythe to engage in other professions in hope of greater glory or gain, would they not see a field of ambition and reward open here, more than large enough for all their claims 1 And young men, too, would see the bright destiny that was inviting them upward and no longer pant for the renown of counter jumpers or seek professions of uncertain success, feeble in- 262 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. cTfnk dependence, and have no gi-eater demand on in- tellectual progress than their own. We hear objections to the plan we have pro- posed. The ghost of some old Hunks is whisper- ing in our ears that we have laid out too much work. It canH be accomplished without serious interference with the m«re important object of getting '•'■the dollar,''^ — the almighty friend of ig- norance and parsimony. We do not despise "/Ae dollar,^'' but wish we had enough and to spare to many such institutions. It would be a bright in- vestment. But we insist upon it, that man is en- dowed with too high flxculties to be borne down by the grovelling demands of pecuniary gain. He has intellect to appreciate nobler objects than bags of gold or large domains, — a mind that can ex- pand through infinitude, and not only drink in pleasure from all the fountains of nature and art, but can turn the waters of those fountains through the elevated regions of taste and refinement to in- crease, beautify and variegate the products of the earth, and make cultivation a delightful toil. It can'l be done. Individuals have their libra- ries, not only in other professions, but in the ag- ricultural, and as long as this is the fact in cases of men whose business occupations are making con- tinual drafts on their time, often bringing toil and fatigue in times when they anticipated leisure, cannot associated effort accomplish the same ob- ject 1 Especially, cannot farmers in whose ordi- nary pursuits the very elements, with whose pow- er he should be familiar, throw obstacles to labor do as much 1 It is an age when much, very much is saying and doing on this matter of agricultural education ; yet, after all, but very little progre&s seems to manifest itself in the matter. Thus far we may infer there has been more wind than rain in the strong flow of words that have been uttered on the subject. The wind will ere long pass away, and then we hope farmers will take hold of the subject them- selves, assg^t and defend their rights — take the position that God has given them, and resolve that they will be an intellectual and a highly educated class. When they do this, success hitherto un- known, will crown their efforts. w. b. Elmwood, Feb. 15, 1853. For the New England FarTner. THE SEASON. Mr. Editor : — The season up here in the Old Granite State, is about four weeks earlier than it was last spring. The flirmers have commenced plowing and sowing a little, and will finish most of tlieir spring sowing in the course of ten or fifteen days. Winter grain looks as well as it has any spring for several years past. There being no frost in the ground, the grass is quite green as soon as the snow is gone. The sugar season was not as good as it was last by full one-third. I think that we shall have hay enough in this section of the country, as the season is so far advanced that the cattle are out to grass in some places. Samuel L. Powers. Cornish, N. H., April 15, 1853, Spent Tan Bark. — The Pa. Farm Journal tells of a successful application of tan bark, made by mistake to a portion of the editor's garden. lie ordered a certain part to be well spaded and ma- nured for beans, but the gardener dag up another plot and applied a heavy coating of pretty well composed tan bark. The soil was a stiff clay, and no other manure was applied or had been to this bed for several years previously. The beans were planted and were the most thrifty and vigorous in the neighborhood, and the stiff soil has become quite mellow, and appears to retain its warmth and moisture much better than any other in the garden. For the New England Farmer. INSEOTE—PLUM-TREE WARTS. The depredations of insects upon fruits and vegetables may sometimes prompt the fiirmer to wish it were in his power to exterminate their whole race. But, as tlie Creator has granted ev- ery green herb for food to "every creeping thing," no less than to fowls and beasts, as well as nobler man, and has effectually secured them from any such sad doom, we must content ourselves to be fellow-commoners with them, despite all we may wish or do. The fruits, flowers and plants which we claim as exclusively ours, they emphatically declare, by unmistakable deeds, are no less theirs ; for hate and fight them as we may, they will live, beget their progeny, and eat freely what they like^ find it as they may, in the prince's or the humbles-t cottager's enclosure. Choicest fruits, sweetest flowers they love, as decidedly as man. Do they invade our rights? Not so ; they claim instinct- ively, only their own. A vast family is supplied from the same bountiful hand, and it would be' wise for the agriculturist to reflect more upon ol>- vious facts, in the providential arrangements estab- lished between him and inferior orders of animal existence. Suppose all insects that annoy us and prey upork fruit trees and cultivated plants were extinct. Then what wouM become of the birds? They would be robbed of their appointed food, and. starved, and their matchless, wild music would greet us at our hard toils no longer. What soli- tude, amid the luxuriant vegetatfon, and bright suns of summer ! Say you, be it sol Our fruits- and grains are safe, from these vile foes. Patience, friend — think again, what result would follow even as to these. Not a blossom or germ would be at- tacked, by a marauder, and all of them would be left to live or die as they might, in unimpeded de- velopment. Think you that your trees would be sure to cast offal! the superfluous fruit, and I'eserve only a quantity which they were capable of well sustaining, and bringing to perfection? Not so ; they would be over-loaded, and your fruit would be smaller and of inferior quality, and at the same time the trees would be greatly exhausted, and perhaps rendered shortlived, by overtasking their vital powers. Their wood and branches must grow annually, and be sustained by the same stock that yields the fruit, and in due proportion to the general demands upon the trees for maturing their present fruit, and preserving their vigor and health for subsequent years. Many lessons the Ruler of Nature teaches us, which through inattention we are wont to overlook. If animals need rest, and can endure only a given amount of labor, why should not fruit trees follow the same law, and be relieved of the excessive burden they would be des- tined to bear, without that kind of pruning, for which certain insects are employed ? I-'Ct us not 1853. NEW KNGLAND PARMER. 263 say, then, that they are altogether pernicious, when we see our peach branches sure to break down without props, or unless much relieved of their burden by our own hands, and when we may be sure a superabundant and imperfect fruitage would load our orchatds, if no worm-eaten apple were dislodged from their branches. As to plum tree warts, my conjecture is, that as they have not, so far as I know, been proved to be produced by insects, they arise from the want of the healthy deposition of the woody fibre, and that this may result from obstructed circulation of the sap, this being caused by deficiency of one or more ingredients in the soil. Impeded circulation of sap may cause an accumulation of it in particular places, there forming the warts. If the conjecture should be well founded, the desideratum would be to ascertain what to apply to the soil around the tree, to promote free circulation of the sap. I de- sire vegetable physiologists to cast light upon the subject if they can ; if such is the disease, what is the cure 1 W e v/ould refrain from constant am- putation of the trees, if a better course can be pre- scribed. A young seedling peach tree began last spring to send out long, curly, misshapen leaves, on cer- tain branches, and where these grew, the branch- es were distended, grew crooked, and stopped ex- tending themselves. Free application of urine to the root was followed by their recovery and healthy growth. Hence I surmise that as the disease of the peach tree yielded to this application, the same, or phosphate of ammonia, or phosphate of lime, might have the like effect upon the plum tree. But fair experiments are better than conjectures or surmises. J. Lee. 'Salisbuiy, Conn., Feb. 8ik, 1853. P. S. Feb. 9th. Since writing the foregoing re- marks, my conjecture as to the cause is much strengthened, by examining two warty twigs from a neighbor's plum tree. I have wanted a lens however, to enable me positively to decide whether there are any traces of a minute insect's work. Two holes through the black coating of the largest wart I traced with my knife carefully, and some evidence of the dusty gnawings of a worm was in- dicated for some distance, and a minute trace of his course seemed discernible. Yet if a worm had been at work, he might have sprung from an egg deposited in the wart while young and growing, and not be the original cause of it. The other twig presented no discoverable symptom of this kind. The diseased growth encompassed the twig half round, the distance of about two inches in length. It is evidently a fungus formation, shoot- ing in layers from the wood of the twig, and ex- tending sometimes nearly to its pith. A iittle be- low the wart, the early stage of the disease is seen, indicating that the bark had first cracked open along the /twig, and then exudation of sap had formed an incipient wart firmly attached to the wood beneath. The healthy deposit of woody fibre beneath the bark gives place to this curious exhausting malformation, whatever may be the peculiar predisposing cause. The knobs and wens on oaks possibly are of a similar character, espe- cially those found at times, upon their smaller branches. The exuding gum of peach trees seems incapable of producing a like effect, yet it extends disease beneath the bark, by being forced out of its appropriate course. So, also, I find the inner bark of the plum twig diseased some distance be- low the wart. What I have thus stated, even if I have formed a wrong opinion, may awaken in- vestigation, and perhaps result in a clear explana- tion of the subject, by some pen more competent to the task. j. l. • For the New England Farmer. MONTHLY FARMER FOR APRIL. Did you ever write an article for the Farmer, several pages of fiiir, legible manuscript — (of course you would send no other to the printers, as an honest man you would not, for they earn a liv- ing by their profession, and when obliged to "take" bad copy they lose time, patience, and money, too, almost as directly as though it were "picked" from their pocket by the careless writer ; and not only do they receive all such excuses as "in haste," "no time to re-write," "excuse my scribbling," &c., most ungraciously, but they do sometimes say hard words, very hard, about the writing and the writer ; no, you never sent any such !) — but as I was about to inquire, did you not experience some- thing like disappointment when you saw how small a space your article of several sheets of let- ter-paper occupied, when printed? I have felt so myself ; and this has set me a-thinking of the mass of manuscript required to fill up a single number of the monthly Farmer, whieh consists mainly of original matter. But the amount is not all ; look a moment at the variety of the "pile" of brain-dust that is monthly coined into a circulating medium, at this one mint. Besides all that is written by the editor, inclu- ding reports of over fifty speeches or remarks at agricultural meetings, and replies to some ten or fifteen correspondents, by initials, in various parts of the country, and a few choice selections, we find, in the April number, in the order of its pages, articles on various topics, from gentlemen who have "subscribed themselves" as follows : — , (no signRture.) Silas Brown, Wilmington, F. Kyle, Chester Village. B. F. Conant, Lyme, N. II. Henry F.French, Exeter, N.H. S. F>, Winchester. G B. Clarke, Leonardsviile. H. D. W. E. C. L., Lebanon, Ct. Geo. B. Green, Windsor, Vt. Solon Uykc, Columbia, S. C. J. W. Proctor, Danvers. Bachelor. John Brooks, Princeton. Bow€n Barker, Hanson. J. Reynolds, Concord. .1. F. C. IL, Newton Centre. A. G. Comings, Mason, N. H. Benjamin Willard, Lancaster. John Merrill, Bristol, N. H. W. D. B., Concord. E Scott, Ludtow, Vt. W. Clift, Stouiiigton, Ct. W. B., Elmwood. B. L. S. IL, Norttiamptcn. J. W. Proctor, Danvers. Young Farmer. S. Tenny, Lewiston Fals. 3. W. Proctor, Danvers. J. Reynolds, Concord. J. A. S., Colebrook, Ct. One or two thoughts are suggested by the fore- going list. First, that mere initials deprive an article of much of that force and reliableness of character, which the name in full, and place of residence, of the writer, confer upon his production. Secondly, that the names enumerated show the impropriety of holding the editor responsible for all opinions that may be advanced in the columns of the Farmer. One would suppose that the print- er sufficiently distinguished the editorials from the communications, and both from the selections, to prevent doubt or confusion. The editorial is al- ways "leaded," by which the lines are so separa- ted as to give it an open appearance, while the 264 NEW ENGLAND. FARMER. JlftTE lines of all other articles are "close" together. At the head of each eommanication is this annonnce- ment, '^For the New England Farmer;''^ which is as much as to say, "this article was written for, not /)y the Farmer, and therefore the responsibility thereof belongs to the writer," whose name, or "mark" at least, is appended. As to selections, we find their source or»>"credit" distinctly giv- en. While some readers confound or overlook all these distinctions, and regard the Farmer as an indivisible whole, for wliich the editor alone is re- sponsible, there are others who do understand them, but hold that the editor ought not to allow space to be occupied in the propagation of what they regard as heresy. Alas, poor human nature ! That same old leaven which fermented society when the Copernican system was announced, when the first saw-mill was mobbed out of England, when men sneered at Fulton's steamboat, still lurks in the whole lump of humanity ; so that the editor of the Farmer, in the number before us, finds it necessary to announce, in a note to his ac- count of a Legislative Agricultural Meeting, that "the reports of agricultural discussions at the State House, give opinions for which we feel no sort of responsibility. This is the case with com- munications which we publish." And why should you ? Who ever thought of holding the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, or the reporter of either body, responsible for the opin- ions stated in debate by the members'? Why then the editor for those of his correspondents, so long as they do not transgress tlie "rules of order," which he should see to it are always observed ? The importance of the utmost freedom of dis- cussion on the subject of American agriculture, must be an apology for these remarks. In our ef- forts to build up an American system, we may find it necessary, to pull down some of the principles of the European one brought over by our fathers. We have not only to establish principles, but to root out prejudices ; not only to learn things new, but to unlearn time-honOred practices. One of the committees of the Massachusetts board says : "We are practising on principles and theories originating in a country, in some respects widely .different in climate, soil, products, and the social condition of its laboring population. In England the farmer has to guard against excess of mois- ture ; here he has to guard against the want of it. There, land is dear and labor cheap ; here, labor is dear and land cheap. Yet our agricultu- ral works are mostly of English origin." We need, therefore, a system adapted to our situation. The exercise of our own eyes, experience, and judg- ment, is required, in its construction ; and a pret- ty large margin must l)e allowed for the various opinions of those who are lieartily engaged in this great work. The principle that holds correspon- dents amenable to editors, would hold the editor, also, responsible to some "higher power," and must result in nothing sliort of tliat censorship of the press which has always checked progress and improvement, and bound the people to ignorance and servitude. How disastrously this principle would affect the character of tlie Fariner. It would destroy that independence, freedom, originality, and spirit, which now mark every page, and give interest to the whole. Make the editor, or any one of his correspon- dents, responsible for all the opinions advanced in the April Farmer, and what a fluttering there would be among the "articles" of which it is com- posed. Notwithstanding, for instance, that the editor has often expressed his belief that "successive im- provements'" have been made in plows, on page 158, "Bachelor" is allowed a "confab," in which preference is expressed for one 20 years old, and the "cold shoulder" — a habit of all bachelors — is given to modern "improvements." On page 168, the editor gives tables, from vari- ous analyses, of the nutritive value of roots com- pared with hay ; by which it appears that 1000 parts of carrots contain about the same amount of nutritive matter as 1000 parts of herds-grass, or 2000 parts of clover hay. Yet on page 183, ex- periments are given which place the value of car- rots at "between one-third and one-half that of good English hay." On page 195, Mr. Clark es- timates the cost of dressing an acre with barn-yard manure at $42, with guano only $7,50; yet the editor finds it necessary to caution formers against a "guano fever," and recommends it only aa an adjunct. Similar instances, to almost any extent, might be adduced, but the foregoing will suffice. Truth, not agreement, should be the object s'livrht. "Many men of many minds," is an old Bayiug ; and all the inquisitions, racks, censors, auu oj^.ies, yet invented have failed in making men think, speak and write alike. As we have done, so let us continue to do — "agree to differ;" and each one bear the responsibility of the reasons given for the faith that is in him. Having said thus much in relation to the April Farmer, in general, we have space for but a few remarks upon the articles in particular. The suggestions in "the calendar for April" re- specting flans, would furnish woof for the whole web of a volume. Who can give a better state- ment of the difference between great men and lit- tle ones, than that the one can, and the other can- not, form distinct plans of action? Until '■'■Nexv England Houseieives^^ bemoan their lot as they "compare their state with the imagi- nary comfort" of those who have slaves -"to fan them while they sleep And tremlile when ihey wake," it may be unnecessary' to discuss fiu'ther this for- bidden topic, especially as it would seem that those who "love" slavery are already engaged in "com- batting" and "exhorting" "matrons" at home. ^^ Shell Lime.''' — The writer, or printer, has put an extra "bushel of salt" into the directions for preparing this article. Has this composition been ti'ied extensively ? "J. New Grassy — We have here a very sanguine recommendation of a new grass, particularly for light soils, which the writer obtained from a sin- gle plant found among turnips raised from English seed. The committee on Farms of Worcester Co., who examined this grass, is rather less sanguine than Mr. Willard appears to be. On the pine- plain pastui-e, they found "much white clover in blossom, and some of the brome grass." As hay, they speak of it as "coarse," and reserve their recommendation of its general use until a "jury of cows" shall have passed upon it. {Trans. 1851, p. 153. Is it not time this verdict should be ren- dered ? 1853, NEW ENGBAND lARMER. 265 "Influence of Neivspapers.^^ — Mr. Brown gives us a lecture liere, that ought not to bo forgotten. "Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clotlies not be bumt." Can the family read some papers weekly, and correct notions of life not be destroyed? Wlien ftu-mers complain that their sons leave for the city, and that their daughters prefer the factory or shop to a good home, I feel curious to learn the character of the newspaper they have provided for their children. '^Farmers'' Lihraries,^^ recommended for neigh- borhoods. I like the suggestion of the editor that toAvn libraries be supplied with agricultural books. So far as possible the established and endowed in- stitutions for education , and all the usual means of improvement at command, should be made avail- able for the advancement (jf the agricultural inter- est, instead of looking for new and untried schemes. " Legislative Agricultural Meetings.'''' — With this number of the Farmer in our hands, we can sit by our own fire-side, and "hear" the discus- sions at four of these ineetings ; when "Farmers' Institutes," "Fruit Trees," and "Manures," were debated. Few of us can go to Boston and attend these assemblies ; the editor therefore gives us full reports of the sayings of our wise men. '■'■Agricultural Mass Meeting.'''' — The discussions and speeches on this occasion, judging from the reports here given, were of rare variety, and abil- ity— the man of science and the rigid practical man, met face to face, where "Mind with mind did blend and brighten," on such topics as farm buildings, stock, education, root crops, manures, &c., &c. The remark that] we cannot "re-produce stocks [of cattle] imported, ■ anymore than we can breed Englishmen," and the reply of Mr. French, furnish texts for thought, and, I would suggest, for dissertations. "Al- though we are from the same stock, we are not Englishmen." Is not the difference alarming? AVhat mean the sunken cheeks, depressed chest, round shoulders, projecting head, decayed teeth, pre-ternatural bright eyes, and sickly countenance, that distinguish the American everywhere ? ^'■The farmer with tioo ideas,^'' by the author of "Eating their bodies iip," articles on "Grifting," •on "Forcing Vegetables," "Benefits of Associated Efforts," "Ornamental Trees," "Experiments with potatoes, as to manure, time of planting, seed," Ac., and a great variety of other instructive and interesting articles, that fill up this number, have as little need of my recommendation as I have space in which to give it. I wish, however, just to ask the boys if they read the last article in their department. Who will read it again, and look out for "number one," by heeding its sug- gestions. A Reader. Winchester, April, 1853. securing the blade of the scythe to the snath, by passing its shank through the end of a stationary metal cap, and securing it by means of the upward pressure of a screw. This invention is by Mr. Al- PHEDS KiMB.\LL, of Fitchburg, Mass., and it seems to us to be a decided improvement over any other mode we have seen. For the New England Farmtr. INQUIRIES AND CENSURES. Mr. Brown : — I notice in the New England Farmer an advertisement for super-phosphate of lime — a chemical compound, said to be very use- ful as an application to crops of different kinds, on light, loamy soils. It is offered for sale in bags or barrels. Its price is not stated, by the pound or hundred weight, v/hich is a great defect in the ad- vertisement, (a.) No common farmer can with safety purchase this, without knowing its price, and its fertilizing qualities, and hovv' to apply it, and in what quan- tities. If he should, without any experimental knowledge of his own, or directions from others who might know, he would suffer a loss in propor- tion to his outlay ; and thus his prejudice against book farming and agricultural papers be in- creased, (b.) Is it not the duly oj an editor of an agricultural paper, when he inserts a notice of a new fertilizing substance, to state its price and what he knows about it, and how it is to be applied? (c.) Farmers ought to know the truth, as far as pos- sible. If deceived by those to whom they look for correct information, they are under strong temp- tations to withdraw their patronage, (d.) The truth should be told and all known facts stated, and if the farmer suffers loss, he has no one to blame excepting himself. There are humbugs in agriculture, as well as iu politics -, and if editors of agricultural papers give them their sanction, they do an essential injury to the cause they profess to aid. (e.) It is not intimated that the Neio England Farm- er is of this character ; its editorial, and other ar- ticles, are of practical utility, bat its advertise- ment in relation to super-phosphate of lime needs explanation. Is this as good as that manufactured at New Haven,' L'onn., styled improved super-phos- phate of lime, and sold at two and a half cents per pound by the quantity? John Wilcox. Newport, N. H., April, 1853. Scythe Fastenings. — Every thing that tends to facilitate the business of haying, if it does not come at an extravagant cost, is desirable. Labor is al- ways high during that busy period, and the crop is of such a nature as to depreciate rapidly if not gathered at the proper moment. We want not only good tools, but those that are not easily liable to get out of order. The scythe is the important im- plement at that time. We notice a new way of Remarks. — AVe give all concerned, readers and advertiser, the benefit of friend Wilcox's com- munication, as well as to afford us opportunity to say a word of the relation which exists between the publisher and advertiser. (a.) It seems to us that advertisers, as a gener- al thing, would find customers more readily and save themselves unnecessary vexation and expense, by stating the price in plain terms, of the commod- ity they Avish to sell. And in regard to special manures, no fixrmer in the possession of his sen- ses would think of ordering them before knowing their cost. He is, in the first place, obliged to write and ascertain what the price is, and then, if 266 NEW ENGLANfl FARMER. June it suits liim, write again to oi'der the article. — This causes unnecessary delay and expense. (b.) If a farmer hasn't a head of his own, and ^r'ill not think and investigate for himself, he has no cause to blame the books or newspapers. He should not go into large outlays for manures or any thing else upon the declaration of any book or newspaper in existence. Let him begin moderate- ly, "try all things and hold fast that which is good." There are so many varying circumstan- ces, that no set of rules will be applicable to all farms. The cultivator must learn this, and then exercise his own judgment, after such discussions with his neighbors as he may always be able to have. As a conductor of a public Journal, we feel bound to give our best energies to the vyork in which we are engaged ; mind and body, and if need be, a portion, at least, of our estate. No part of life ever found us a more ardent student than in your service now ; no heart beats more responsive to the calls that come up from every part of the land for "more light," in the great art which sustains us all. This application of the mind, together with the daily application of the hands to the cultivation of the soil, ought, and does give us confidence in a great many particu- lars in relation to the art. But after all, we are fallible, and mean to be cautious. (c.) No ! A skilful chemist and practical far- mer, for instance, states that he has prepared a valuable fertilizer, and desires to make it known through the columns of the Farmer. Are we bound to refuse him that right until we have ex- perimented on his article two or three years, or incurred an expense of $25 to procure a chemical analysis ? Certainly not. The advertising depart- ment is out of our province. We sometimes re- fer to advertisements when we are confident the article spoken of is worthy public attention ; be- yond that, we have nothing to do, confident that the publishers will admit nothing having an im- moral tendency, or in any way injurious to the public welfare. Our correspondent is referred to another article in this number signed "A Reader." {(!.) We agree with the genei-al proposition of this sentence, but its connection is unfortunate. Because we refrain from speaking of an article ad- vertised, it cannotbyanyfair process of reasoning, be supposed that deception is intended. Then the word patronage, as used in this sentence is not known to us. We have no patrons. When the reader of the Farmer thinks he does not get an equivalent for his money, we advise him to seek some other source of benefit. So long as we have hands and feet, and a modicum of sense to guide them, we shall have no patrons. The farmer has his cust07ners for his wheat, corn and cattle, and the printer his for the articles he has to spare, but they are neither of them patrons. (e.) This, too, is correct doctrine, but placed in juxtaposition with foregoing remarks, admits of different constructions. But the premises being wrong in supposing that we are bound to approve or condemn whatever may be found in our adver- tising columns, the deductions that follow are also wrong. We wish this matter understood. Unless we ap- prove an article advertised, the fi^ct that it appears in the columns of the Far^ncr, is no evidence of commendation from us. The article in question, super-phosphate of lime, has-been spoken of by others, in our columns, and analyses have been given by distinguished chemists which we will in- sert. The price of the super-phosphate is about $55 per ton. GRECIAN FARMERS". Professor Felton, of Cambridge, is delivering a course of lectures at the Lowell Institute, in thi» city, on "Life in Greece." From his third lecture, as reported in the Traveller, we take the follow- ing interesting description of rural life among the ancient Greeks. The love of rural life was one of the deepest pas- sions of the Grecian heart, beyond the realm of Arcadia, real or ideal. Wliat lovely touches of nature adorn with their exquisite beauty the dia- logues of Plato and even the comedies of Aristo- phanes. Through the whole compass of Greek literature, the sights and sounds of the country, the sweet, calm sunshine, the fleecy cloud, the song of the lark and the nightingale, the rising sun, the rich meadow, the cattle feeding in the pastures, furnished thoughts which moved harmo- nious members. When the Peloponnesian war opened, the plains of Attica were covered with residences, elegantly furnished, which the inhab- itants with regret and tears looked back upon from the walls of the city, while the Spartan armies were laying all waste with fire and sword. The country was tastefully decorated with little tem- ples or chapels, consecrated to the nymphs and ru- ral deities; and the lands were made holy ground, because in them were buried the ancestors of the families residing in the mansions. The Greek gardens were laid out with lawns, groves, thickets and avenues ; while fountains fed meandering rivulets. Beds of asphodel, hyacinth and violets, roses, myrtles and pomegranates, di- versified the scene, or wafted perfume to the senses. Here Athenian taste and luxury displayed itself. The Greek as a farmer or city gentleman, is not the Greek of classical associations ; and yet, per- haps, just in these relations, he was most intense- ly Greek. Homer gives a lively sketch of the primitive country life. Ilcsiod was a Boeotian fiirmer, and gives precepts which seem to have been drawn u'om his own experience, concerning lucky and unlucky days, weather, &c. The early Greek phi- losophers carefully observed the phenomena of the heavens, and were skilled in the arts of the seasons. The habits of animals, the properties of soils and their adaptation to different kinds of crops, were matters of which they knew. Wagons, carts, 1853. NEW ENGJ.AND FARMER. 267 plows and harrows were manufactured on the farm or in its vicraity, and the wood used was cho- sen with care. Corn was ground in a mortar with a pestle, and in later times ina mill. The list of otiicr implements, such as scythes, saws, spades, rakes, &c., could hardly bo extended now. The use of guano, sea-weed, and commoner substances, was perfectly understood ._ Land was allowed to recover its strength by lying fallow. Scarecrows were set up in the fields to scare away birds ; though a ''spell" was also used, viz : — having caught a toad they carried him around the field by night alive, and then put him in a jar, scaled him »ap, and buried him in the middle of the ground; when, this representative enemy being buried, the seed was supposed to be safe from enemies. The value of hay was well understood. The time for mowing was carefully determined, and the hay- ricks made with due precautions against both damp and spontaneous combustion. When the time ol harvest came, the laborers of Athens ranged themselves round the agora and waited to be employed by the farmers. The grain was separated from the straw by horses, oxen and mules, in a circular threshing floor, usually placed on an eminence in the opjen field. A pole was set up in the centre, and the cattle fastened to it by a rope reaching to the cir- cumference. They moved round it until they were brought up at the centre by the winding up •of the rope, and were then turned in the opposite direction till it was unwound. Sometimes a rude threshing machine, toothed with stones or iron, or a flail, was employed. In Homer's time a win- nowing machine was used also. When the har- vest was completed, the event was celebrated by a festival in honor of Deraeter and Dionysius, at which cakes and fruit alone were oflered. The culture of the vine was a subject of impor- tance, and the selection of a spot for a vineyard, the direction of its exposure, the effects of climate and of particular winds , were sedulously considered . Hedging, weeding, setting out slips, the treatment of the vine were all described by writers before the time of Virgil. The appearance of a vineyard, composed of tree-climbing vines, is beautifully de- scribed by Mr. St. John, the trees being ash, pop- lar, maple or elm, and planted one row above an- other on a declivity, with the lower branches cut off; the vine climlied thirty to sixty feet, accord- ing to the depth of the soil, and running out on the high branches arched from tree to tree, or on bridges of reeds. A series of lofty arches was thus created, beneath which the breezes could freely play, abundant cur- rents of pure air being regarded as no less essential than constant sunshine to the perfect maturing of the grape. The fruit was kept frest or made into raisins. It would be endless to attempt a descrip- tion of all the fruits and the methods of raising them. Cider and perry were made from apples and pears. The olive was perhaps most extensively raised, as its oil was used for lights and as the basis of cookery. The farmyards had their noisy tenants. Geese and ducks often waddled into the kitchen, in one corner of which might be heard the comforting sounds of th-; occupant of the pig-stye. The art of enlarging the goose's liver for epicures was well known both to Greek and Egyptians. Henerys, furnished with roosts, were attached to the kitchen so as to received its smoke, which was supposed to be agreeable to barndoor fowls. Pigeons, peacocks, pheasants, guinea-hens, &c., were to be found at the establishments of wealthier farmers. The la- boring animals were much the same as now, ex- cept that the horse was comparatively more un- common in the working of the farm, being reserved for the chase, war, &c. The arrangements of -a Greek dairy were much like ours, and though but- ter was little used in the classical ages, yet cheese v/as universally eaten^ generally while fresh and soft. Milk was sold in the Grecian markets by women, and it frequently reached the customer in the shape of milk and water. A method used for detecting the cheat, was to drop a little on the thumb-nail ; if the milk was pure, it would remain in its place, — if not it would flow away. SOIL— TBMPBRING THE SOIL. The character of the soil, by which we mean its capacity to afford a habitation to the plant appro- priate to it, and at the same time to furnish the required aliment, is a matted, as all farmers must see, of the first importance. What are the re- quisites to a soil of this character? and how shall they be supplied, when wanting? The soil sliould be such as to afford sufficient moisture to the roots and to admit the air to pen- etrate it freely. The soil consists of decayed veg- etable matter, sometimes mixed with particles of rock reduced to fine pieces by the action of the at- mosphere and of water, and sometimes by the roots of plants. It is unnecessary to describe the different kinds of soils in regard to adaptation to this olyect of supplying moisture; second, it should afford a supply of carbonic acid. This is furnished by the decay of vegetable matter, or by absorption from the atmosphere. This faculty of absorption is assisted by mixing charcoal, gypsum, or other matters having a great absorbing power. Char- coal has a great power of absorbing this substance, and it has been found that plants will grow more luxuriantly in this than in any other soil, if well supplied with water. The benefit of the charcoal or gypsum is only as a medium of absorption ; the fertilization is derived from the water, which is converted by the plant itself, in its vegetable la- boratory, into carbonic acid. Third, the soil should be capable of furnishing a supply of ammo- nia to the roots. This also is much assisted by gypsum and charcoal, which absorb it from the atmosphere. The usual mode is by addition of animal matter from the stable. Nitrogen imparts ammonia to the plant, and it is to this last that the nutritive power of the cereal grains and escu- lent vegetables is owing. Fourth, it should contain those mineral ingre- dients which are necessary to the growth of plants. These, if wanting, must be supplied. The usual mode of doing this is by the mixture of other soils. This is also advantageously resorted to when the soil is too little or too fhuch retentive of moisture 268 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June in consequence of being too loose or sandy or cal- careous, or too compact and stiff. This is called tempering the soil. "When a soil is too loose and porous, or too stiff, the mixture of the opposite kind in just proportions will bring it to a more suit- able condition. In this way a body is given to those lands that are deficient of it, and those which are too heavy and tenacious are made more light and loose. This process brings no nutriment to the plant directly, but only mediately by attaining a retentive power in the right degree, and thus furnishing nutriment by a proper supply of water ; and it also acts favorably on the health and quali- ty of the plant. Irrigation is the most beneficial mode of applying water to plants, for the reason that in running over the ground it takes up and holds in solution the mineral matters required. For the New England Farmer. MANURES. Many a farmer possessed of acres of cultivated land, which in its present state is a source of aeitlier pleasure or profit, is convinced of the ne- cessity of increasing its productiveness, but is in the dark as to how the work is to be done. He may be unable to purchase specific manures ; or from the many in general use, not know which to select. Or — as many have done — he may have erred in applying foreign fertilizers. Perhaps gypsum, sown on low, wet land, proved less valu- able than sand from the wayside; and guanOj placed in the hill, killed the young corn. Now, to all who, in the use of specific manures, have foiled to reap the anticipated reward, we beg leave to speak of a way, in which your farms can be made more productive, and that, too, at a very trifling expense. And the expenditure is an item which should enter the account of every farmer, for economy is essential to prosperity. And first — i/ou?- barn-yard, in which, perhaps, for want of a cellar, all your manure is thrown to be dried by the sun, and drenched by the rain, till little is left, except the worthless vegetable fibre, with which to dress your soil. Cannot some- thing be done here ? As it is, it may be the high- way or .the brook receive the liquid manure, for which your fields are languishing. And is not the air, for rods around, surcharged with ammo- nia, which conduces to the destruction of animal life, instead of contributing to the support of the vegetable kingdom? Why not drain that unsightly bog, or dig the turf from beside that wall, where brakes and bri- ars grow, deforming the whole field ; and cart the sods and muck to your yard 1 The muck and loam may be of little worth if spread upon your land in their crude state ; but incorporate them with your manure heap, and they become valuable by ab sorbing what now escapes. And your pig-stye ! Is it not a fit companion for the barn-yard 1 Is it not often flooded with water 1 Does not your hog, for want of better employment, undermine his fence, and break forth from his en- closure, to the serious injury of the garden or corn- field? Give your hog plenty of leaves, potato-tops, and grass sods, and his labor will be turned to some account. He will earn you from ten to twenty dollars in the course of the season, and in the fall fill just as large a barrel, as if he had spent his life in idleness or mischief. But perhaps you say, "the substances above spoken of, as materials from which to manufac- ture manure, are worthless, — that spread upon the field they will not increase the crop." In their present or natural state they may be indifferent fertilizers ; and so is hay, before eaten by stock, and wood, before reduced to ashes. m. Chester, April 18, 1853. For the P/ew England Farmer. THE CURRANT BORER. Mr. Editor : — There is an enemy of the horti- culturist which is very destructive in these parts, and as I have reason to believe, is not unknown elsewhere, although I have not met with a notice of it in your valued periodical. I allude to an in- sect known as the currant borer. Forty years ago, there were luxuriant crops of most excellent cur- rants produced in this neighborhood, almost spon- taneously. At the present day they cannot be obtained of good quality by any degree of trouble and attention. This change has been brought about by the borer, a worm or rather maggot, very similar in size and appearance to the apple worm, which also has long been destructive to the produce of our orchards. For neither of these pests is any available remedy known ; nor is it pro- bable that any will be discovered, until the nature of the insects be sufficiently understood. Possibly some of your contributors may be able to impart the requisite knowledge of their origin, and of their habits during the several seasons of the year. Independently of its effects, the currant worm is only known to me by observation, when pruning the bushes in the spring. I find the stems and branches hollow, the pith being destroyed, and a black powder occupying its place ; while at the termination of the hollow part, and sometimes at each end of the tube, a white maggot, of half or three-quarters of an inch in length, occupies the place of the pith that has been consumed. — There is generally perceptible a small puncture in some part of the twig, by which it would appear the worm made its entrance ; but whether it even- tually drops into the ground, or undergoes its transformation into a fly Avithin the twig, or what description of fly it becomes, are points that have not been ascertained, and which it is evident must be determined in order that a remedy may be ap- plied with reasonable hope of success. The same uncertainty rests upon the proceed- ings of the apple worm. Impressed with the idea that the worms, on their exit from the apple, en- tered the earth, I caused sea-weed to be laid un- der the trees, early in the summer, to the depth of a foot, and extended it over all the ground near the trees, and allowed it to remain until after the bloom was well over ; supposing that if the flies were not by these means destroyed, their maturi- ty would be delayed, so that they would not rise out of the ground until the time for mischief should be passed. However, little or no effect was visi- ble from this proceeding. Wormy apples were as plentiful as in former seasons. I know not what to think of the failure in this matter. It can hardly be that the worms become chrysalids 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 26^ in the bark of ,the trees. They would surely be detected on close inspection. And if they retire into the ground, it is difficult to imagine that they would not be destroyed, or at least delayed in their transformation, by the overlying depth of sea- weed. Allow nic to bring to your notice another sub- ject which I have not seen adverted to in the col- umns of the Farmer. The advantage of applying lime to cultivated land has often been discussed ; but when lime is naturally superabundant in the soil, what then is the corrective ? In this quarter there is land apparently formed of decomposed limestone. On removing the flat limestones lying on the surface, a black mould is seen underneath, and large collections of similar mould exist, re- sembling the richest soil in appearance, but which is, in fact, perfectly sterile. Not a grass or weed of any kind grows in it. A mass of black dust in summer, and mud in winter, it remains unchanged for years. It is to be presumed that similar de- composed limestone soils exist elsewhere, but I have not met with a notice of them, nor with any information bearing on the mode of treatment proper for land of this description. If any of your correspondents may be induced to throw light upon the sul^jects of this communica- tion, it Avill be satisfactory to your old subscriber and constant reader, Far East. Aprils, 1853. P. S. Since writing the above, I have examined the old stems of currant bushes which have been subjected in former years to the inroads of the borer ; and from certain indications observed, I am of opinion that the insects accomplish their changes in the wood ; a circumstance that ren- ders an effectual attack upon them a matter of difficulty. They might be more easily reached in the ground. It is probable that they are not to be annoyed or kept at a distance by the use of odoriferous substances ; for the strong smelling black currant is liable to their invasions equally with the red and white kinds. grade, from the surpliced parson to the frockcd plowman, can meet and greet on an equality. If no other benefit accrued from these shows, this alone would sanctify them. I admire the ar- rangement of this pamphlet, and the comprehen- sive intelligence it contains. I like to know who the farmers of Franklin are, and who countenance this employment. I would respectfully suggest whether the ladies of the county could not be brought in to take a more active part, with much benefit. If I rightly remember, in the account published of the llampshire Society the last year, every man had his mate ; and judging from what I saw and know of them, they were not the least interesting part of the show. The truth is, whatever the ladies take hold of, must go-ahead. Charming creatures, God bless them. * April 27, 1853- Remarks. — There are important inquiries above, which we hope will receive the attention of our correspondents who are informed on the subjects. For the New England Fanner. TRANSACTIONS OP THE FRANKLIN COUNTY SOCIETY. I'his youngest of the sisters of the Massachusetts family comes forth, gallanted by Prof. Mapes and guided by President Cushman, in an array calcu- lated to arrest the attention, and secure the ad- miration of all she meets. If we do not mistake, she has made a distinct impression. Considering the material on which she operated, she has done much. Take, for instance, the plowing field, on which were only seven teams, and see the work reported — and sensibly reported too. The remarks on deep ploiving and thorough pulverization of the soil, are my sentiments. They cannot be too oft repeated. Tlie humor let off in view of the kinds exhibited, by one who knows how to feather his own nest as well as most other politicians, shows that the rancor of party finds no place at Agricul- tural Shows. This is as it should be. Fortunate is it, that there is one field on which men of every For the New England Farmer. ANTS AND APHIDES. Mr. Brown : — Sir — I observe that "Reviewer," in the April number, has called for remarks on ants and aphides, and finding myself fairly com- mitted, I feel too proud to retreat, and yet half afraid to proceed ; but I will to my subject. My childhood was spent in a very retired place in the country, where children know very little of the costly and artificial nm.'iRerK^nts of the city. A few neighboring children, with myself, used to amuse ourselves by turning over small stones that had become partly imbedded in the turf by the side of the road, to see the ants under them carry their young down into their subterranean abodes. As I increased in years, ants became more and more subjects of interest, as they were continual- ly pointed to, as patterns of industry ; and yet there were so many obstacles in the way, that I made but little progress in their real history. Some sixteen years ago, one pleasant spring day, I was attending to the dressing of my flower borders, and noticing that some house-leeks that I had growing in a terrace wall had been thrown out of place by the freezing and . thawing of the previous winter, I went to arrange them, and on removing a stone, I saw a number of ants seize something in their mouths, and run about in great confusion. My first thoughts were, that they were protecting their young ; the next was, it was quite too early in the season for them to have young,which induced me to examine closer ,when I discovered that the objects of their solicitude were large plant lice, that appeared to be in a torpid state. I was not much surprised at what I saw, for it is generally believed that ants lay up food for the winter ; and knowing many species to be carniverous, or nearly so, I supposed the aphis were for food. But I related to my husband what I had seen. He appeared to think that they had a different object in view ; so he took from his li- brary the writings of Huber, and translated for me his account of the ants of Switzerland, with which I was exceedingly interested, and which opened for me a new field for observation. Huber asserts that ants feed upon the honey- dew that exudes from the aphis, and are therefor© induced to take good care of them, and thai they carry them down into their burrows in autumn, where the aphis become, torpid , and remain so during the winter, and that the ants expose them 270 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JUNB gradually to the genial air of spring until they have revived into life, and then place them upon leaves or roots, where they will find sap suitable for their nourishment. Since the alxive related incident occurred, it has been no uncommon thing for me to see ants at- teudiLig upon aphis. \V'hen I have pulled up ra- dishes or young beets in the garden, I have fre- quently found a cluster of small aphis upon the roots, and seen small ants take them in their mouths, and hasten to a place of safety, and ap- pear quite as anxious to save their property as their lives. I have never seen an ant take an aphis from its family circle and place it upon a leaf by itself to found a new colony ; and yet I am as certain that they do do it, as if I had been an eye-witness of the fact. I have frequently seen on my woodbines a single apis, on a fair leaf, half a foot above its fellows, and in two days after that, there would be a cluster of young ones around it, that could hardly be covered with a ten cent piece; the aphis could hardly have got away from its companions without assistance, for they are not travellers until they have wings ; and they sel- dom liave those until autumn. In conclusion, I have little to say in favor of ants. I cannot point to any good deed they do, beyond their untiring industry. Of their evil deeds, they pile up the eartli and make it unsight- ly and troublesome, and furiously attack those that disturb them, and almost every housekeeper is more or less annoyed with them among the eat- ables in her pantries and closets ; they bite and mutilate our choicest and sweetest fruits, besides being extensive breeders of aphides. Some natu- ralists say tliat different clans of the same species carry on furious and exterminating wars with each other, and that many of them are slave-holders, and rob tlie neighboring tribes of their servants. I have told my story, and as "dominion has been given to man, over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth," I leave the case for the gentlemen to decide, whether ants are worthy of life or not. Of the aphis, I have no knowledge to impart be- yond what was written by my late husband eight years ago. I therefore send the following extract from an address delivered by tlie late Judge Dar- ling before the Agricultural and Horticultural So- cieties of New Haven county, and city, in 1845. "The plant louse, (aphis) is to be seen on the underside of the leaves of almost every species of plant. And there is appropriated to almost every species of plant its distinct species of aphis. Thus the cabbage-louse is wholly unlike that of the peach, which again is quite different from that of the plum. Tliey exist of every color, gi-een, black, blue, brick red, brown and crimson, — of all sizes, from that of a pea-bug to that of a mite, just visi- ble, naked, or covered with meal or wool. Trees are not ofcen killed by them, but they are checked in their growth, and made to become crooked and deformed. When the plant-lice fasten themselves upon the roots of iierbaceous plants, as some spe- cies do, they prove fatal. The ladies may have observed their China asters, in particular, to turn yellow, stop growing, and finally perish without any visible cause. The grower of watermelons, too, sees the leaves of his vines become smooth and glassy, and after .a few days die. This is caused by the aphis on the roots of the aster and melon. The powers of increase given to this in- sect cannot be contemplated withmit amazement. Reaumur, from the most careful observation, es- timated that a single aphis might be the progeni- tor of near sis thousand millions in one summer. "Well might Dr. Darwin fear that 'their count- less numbers might in process of time destroy the vegetable world.' And yet perhaps there is no insect so completely in our power as this. We have only to put in practice the great rule of farmers, to do everything at the proper time, and we can pro- tect our plants wholly from this insect with little labor. You see to-day, a plant-louse upon the leaf of a cherry tree ; you neglect to destroy it, and to-morrow, there are 25 — in 22 days more, there are 50,000, and in one day after that, there are more than 100,000. A touch of your finger on the first day of the month, may save you there- fore the lalior of a week with soap-suds and syr- enges at the end of the month. Destroy the first that come in the spring, and the business of Jdlling plant-lice is finished for the season. We are in- formed by Huber, that the ants of Switzerland take into their keeping several species of the plant- louse, which they tend with the utmost care for the sake of their honey, as a dairyman tends his cows for their milk. We have evidence that the small brown ants, which you see coursing up and down the stems of cherry and peach trees with great animation, take charge of some of our plant- lice in a similar manner, particularly those on the cherry tree, and those on roots. Accordingly the aphis generally are first to be found very near to the ground. There search them out and destroy them. If unfortunately they escape your atten- tion, till they have multiplied to a considerable ex- tent, you may still master them with proper ap- plications. One of the best of these for trees, is a strong solution ofivhalc oil soap. The ends of the branches ?nay be bent over and held in the soap-wa- ter about a fourth of a minute. A small paint brush, dipped in the wash, may be used in some cases, especially on cabbages, and on the branches of pear trees infested with that species, which col- lect about the buds and produces a black rust. Common soap-suds, warm and strong, will serve to kill the aphis, but it is apt to kill the leaves al- so. A decoction of tobacco is a sure destroyer of the aphis. It cannot be used upon leaves, but nothing perhaps is better to pour around the roots of plants, when those are infested by the insect. Ladies may call upon their friends who use cigars, to puff the smoke upon their rose-bushes, and thus 'do the State some service.' Several insects are appointed by Providence to assist us in keeping the aphis in check. Two only will be noticed at present. One is the speckled bug, about the size and shape of a half-pea, called by children, lady- bird, (Ooccinella.) The other is a beautiful green fly, (Chrysopa ;>er/a,) with eyes of gold and wings of lace, but fetid almost as the squash bug. The eggs of this fly are hung by threads, alwut a quar- ter of an inch long, to the underside of leaves. You will be careful not to Imrm those useful in- sects." Very respectfully yours, Mrs. Noyes Darling. New Haven, Ct., April 15, 1853. To Correspondents. — One more word to our valued correspondents, to make their articles brief. We have twenty communications on hand now, 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 271 gome of them from gentlemen of large experience, and who are also excellent writers, for which it is difficult to find room. The object of the writer is - partially defeated, in writing long articles, as a long article is seldom copied, while one of three pages, written well, would, perhaps, pass through half the agricultural papers in the country. Be brief and comprehensive. There is no subject ■which can be fully discussed in a single article ol suitable length for a newspaper. FARMER PENNYWISE AND FARMER POUNDWISE. There is a Farmer Pennywise with whom I am acquainted, who will occasionally raise a good heifer, steer or colt, for his neighbors who keep good breeds, and he is by accident occasionally benefited thereby. When he has such an animal in his flock, he is apparently uneasy until it is dis- posed of; and after selling such an animal, a heif- er for instance, you may hear something like the following : "Well, my dear, I have sold the big heifer for fifteen dollars; is that not a good price for a heifer of her age 1 ' ' "Good price, indeed!" his wife would reply, "you had better have sold two of them cat-hammed, crooked legged, scrawny things that you always keep for cows. The reason that our cattle al- ways look so bad, and that we sell so little butter and cheese is, that you always sell the best heif- ers." Poor woman ! I pi^ her ; her pride and ambi- tion are injured, her children and self in rags, be- cause her native industry and economy ai-e cramped by the foolish and niggardly policy of her hus- band. The picture is reversed in farmer Poundwise, who always keeps his best animals until full grown ; then selecting his best breedei's for his own use, ■he sells the rest. If he has a good young horse, he will say that he will make a fine team horse ; a mare, she will make a fine brood mare. "And what will you do with that?" says his neighbor, pointing to an ordinary animal. "Between you and I," says he, "I shall sell that colt the first chance. Such an animal spoils the looks of all the rest, and will not pay for his keep- ing." Thus he will sell his poor steers, heifers, sheep and pigs at the first offer. If not sold, he would fatten those tliat would pay the expense, and give away those that would not. Not pay the expense of fattening ! Are there any cattle, sheep or hogs that will not pay the expense of fattening? — Reader, take some of each — of the real Pharaoh breed — feed them until fiit ; keep an exact account of the expenses, and you can answer this question yourself, fn this way Farmer Poundwise always has valuable stock; his steers are ready sale, and command a good price ; his horses are the best in the neighborhood, and the first to be looked at by purchasers. So with all the animals he raises. Pennywise, on the contrary, is thronged with an ill-shaped, worthless stock, that none will buy or pay the expense of raising ; which are continually eating out his substance and making no return. Thus Pennywise drags on a miserable life in the road to ruin, while Poundwise moves easily and happily along in the road to wealth. — Maine Far' For the New England Farmer FARMING IMPLEMENTS AND MA- CHINES. Mr. Editor : — I have noticed for the last twelve years that one of the greatest drawbacks to im- proved farming is a want of good implements aad machines. Even those farmers who go in for im- provements, and are known as friends to "new things," and are opposed to this "old fogyism," many of them are sadly in want of good tools to carry on farming with. This arises more from a careless indifference and a want of knowledge of what good tools are worth over poor, inferior ones, than it does from other causes. I say now what I have often said before, that I have seen more "slack farming" in the last ten years directly from this cause alone than from all other causes put together. Poor tools and indifferent imple- ments beget careless habits in farmers, whereas improved farming implements give new life, ener- gy and activity, and enable the farmer to go on and strive to do his work in the best manner. — There is a class of farmers, when they find out the real difference between good tools and bad ones, will immediately lay aside the old unes, aud take the new ones. There is still another class of farmers who are well convinced of the impor- tance of having good tools, because they have seen the good effects of them in their neighbor's fields. And yet they go on, from year to year, using the same tools, and why, simply, because they love their money better than they do good tools. So the consequence is, they keep their money, or spend it for something else, and let the tools go. For the last six or eight years I have used two of Prouty's plows, the old Sod C pattern, and No. 5^, self-sharpening. Both of these plows do good work, as well as many of their new patterns, which they now make. Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co. also make a variety of good plows of differ- ent patterns, which are in extensive use, some of which are hard to beat. There are also many otlier good plow-makers in the country. What the farmers want is to get a good plow or plows of some kind that will do good work. The "sub- soil plow" is another implement which should be used much more than it is by fiirmers. All soils, in the course of a six years' cultivation, will be more or less benefited by subsoiling. The best harrow that I have ever used is "Geddes' Hinge Harrow," with thirty teeth. This harrow works well, cuts the ground up fine, and as it is made in the triangle form, it works much easier than the square harrow with the same num- ber of teeth, and it is not as liable to clog up. A single yoke of cattle can draw the harrow on any soil with ease, as it does not lug like the old catch harrows. The "horse rake" is another important farm implement, and one of the greatest labor-saving machines in use on the farm. It is astonishing now to see how many farmers still rake hay by hand, preferring, as it would seem, to pay a dol- lar or more a day for hand rakers in preference to seven or eight dollars for a horse rake, which will pay for itself twice over in one season to any far- 272 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June mer who has got twenty-five or thirty tons of hay to get. In all smooth meadows, and those with but few stone, we prefer the "revolving rake," as it rakes easier, and rakes the hay cleaner from dirt and leaves than the spring- tooth rake. An- other good implement is the large gleaning rake, with thirty teeth. This rake is made on purpose to rake after the cart ; as it is made liglit and stiff, one hand can do more work and easier than two or even three hands in a windy time, with only the common hand rake. In this manner I might go on, naming the dif- ferent varieties of improved farming implements which are in use by many farmers. But it is not necessary to name them separately, as all thor- ough farmers will be ready to adopt them when wanted. I might name the "corn-sheller" as a great saving of labor ; all farmers raise more or less corn, and to shell out a bushel in four or five minutes, is a saving of time. The one I have used for six or seven years is "Burall'slron Shell- er;" this machine separates the corn from the cobs, letting the corn into the half-bushel, while the cobs are pushed out of a hole in the side. How any farmer, after using one of these shellers for an hour or two, can go back and set down on a shovel, or astride of an old frying-pan handle, to shell corn, is more than I can imagine. And yet there are many farmers to our knowledge who go on in this way now, and probably will for a long time to come. That they have not much idea of improvement is true ; what they may come to hereafter, I cannot say. But one tiling is certain, that if they can make any improvements at all, they must begin at some periods in their lives. — When farmers learn to make use of all the means in their reach for farm improvements, we then shall see sometliing worthy of their name and sta- tion. Yours, &c., L. DuRAND. Derby, Conn., April 19, 1853. For the New England Farmer. THE STATE FARM. Mr. Editor : — At the last and concluding Leg- islative Agricultural Meeting, among other sug- gestions for the advancement of Agricultural Sci- ence, that of establishing a model farm or farms was adverted to by some of the speakers. That a model farm, under the patronage of the State, might be made to greatly aid the interests of Ag- riculture, no one, I think, would for a moment doubt, — provided it was reared and carried on in such a manner as to render it truJi/ a model ivor- thy of being ■pallerncd after by every farmer in the State. In addition to its being a model farm, it should also have an experimental department. Ta start such an establishment, the State need not purchase more land, as it already owns a farm in VVestboro' in connoxicm with the State Reform School, of sufficient dimensions to commence with This farm ouglit long before now to have present- ed, at least, an approximation to a model farm ; but the thing seems never to have been thought of; although this establishment possesses nearly all the elements necessary for the successful man- agement of such a farm ; and that, too, without any additional expense in maintaining the institu- tion; but on the contrai-y, an improved system of husbandry, would, in the opinion of many persons, materially lessen its present yearly d> mands upon the State treasury. This farm contains, I be- lieve, between two and three hundred acres of various soils, — favorably located, which, with the adequate supply of labor of the boys, together with an official Agricultural force, who if not al- ready, might in future be selected with reference to their proper agricultural attainments, affords such an economic opportunity for the establish- ment of a model and experimental form, that it is to be wondered at that it has not (at least to my knowledge) been suggested before. Believing such an establishment would greatly aid the in- terests of agriculture, and believing also that here is a most favorable opportunity to try the experi- ment at no extra cost to the State, I have ventured thus to suggest my ideas upon the subject to you, Mr. Editor, and to the consideration of youi*" nu- merous readers. I see no good reasons why the State Board of Agriculture, together with the trus- tees of this institution, if clothed with the requi- site authority by the "powers that be," could not cooperate in bringing about this needed transfor- mation in this already State farm. What say you, Mr. Editor, to these suggestions ? If you think favorably of them, give us the weight of your in- fluence, and the thing is done — perhaps. T. A. s. Westboro\ April, 1853. Remarks. — "T. A. S." has given above valuable and timely suggestions, and we see no reason why they may not be acted upon with benefit to all concerned. At any rate, his remarks prove that he is interested in the subject, and has taken the true course to make others so. Accomplish this, friend "S.," and the "powera that be" will come, up to the work. Legislators, and other associat- ed deliberative b'odies of men, are usually a little behind the masses. Interesting to Farmers. — The N. Y. Ecepress makes some suggestions in connection with a ref- erence to the material advance in the prices of beef cattle, which are worthy the consideration of farmers and farmers' clubs. The reason for this advance is found in the fact that the graziers in the northern Illinois region, who have heretofore been among the most extensive contributors to the great cattle markets of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston, now drive their herds across the plains to California, where very much higher rates are realized. The pasturage along the route is good, and the cattle arrive in excellent condition, and find a ready market. The cattle dealers of Ohio are turning their attention in the same direction, and in some instances have re- called their droves from their journey to New York, to be sent across the plains. New York requires some five or six millions worth of animal food in the coarse of the year, and the £'.r/'res5 urges that the only way to meet the threatened deficiency, is for the agriculturists nearer home to bestow more attention on the raising of cattle. Another drain upon the beef market is made by the very exten- sive shipments to. Australia. Immense quanti- ties of beef have been and are now being packed and shipped for that market. In view of these facts, there cannot be a doubt that the raising of beef will be a much more profitable business than it has been for years past. ,1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 273 '^•V\"^g^^?3^fe4' SPANISH MERINO EWES. We have been favored by Geo. Campbell, Esq., of West Westminster, Vt., with a group of his beautiful sheep, which we take pleasure in laying before the reader. The raising of wool, to say no- thing of the good mutton, has got to be an impor- tant branch of business in various portions of the country. The abundance and cheapness of cotton cloth are among the rich blessings of our exist- ence. It is a great civilizer. And now wool, in various shapes, is becoming common among all classes of our people. In the way of coarse car- peting, its use is a matter of economy witli the poor ; it is manufactured into soft, light and very warm waddings, and in the sleighs and carriages, is taking the place of the buffalo robes. It is al- so made into under-shirts, and in our variable cli- mate, is conducive to health. But Mr. Campbell will explain the group him- self. The group of ewes, of which I send you a cut, is of my old Spanish stock, which are pure de- scendants from the importations of Jarvis and Humphrey. They are of fair size and well propor- tioned, with thick, long, fine wool, which is suffi- ciently oily to produce a natural dark surface.— According to their size, they produce more wool than the French Merinos. The whole flock of this breed sheared an aver-i age of 5i lbs. of well washed wool last season, which was sold at 52i cts. per. lb. I have just sheared my two year old ewes of this stock, with- out washing. Their fleeces of only eleven months growth, average a trifle over 8 lbs. Many of them are as white, and appear to be almost as clean, as washed wool. Their wool will compare, as to quality, with any Merinos in Vermont, the Siberians excepted. I do not hesitate to give it as my opinion, that more fine wool can be grown from the same amount of keeping, than of the coarser grades. Many of the sheep in the country called Meri- nos, are not worthy of the appellation, and those wishing to purchase a pure article cannot be too cautious of whom they purchase. Geo. Campbell. West Westminster, April 18, 1853. Grafting Cloth. — We have been using the past week the grafting cloth recommended last year by Col. Little, of Bangor, and find it a most admira- ble article for grafting or covering wounds made by pruning. It is easily made and very convenient. 6 lbs. beeswax. 1 lb. rosin. 1 pint linseed oil. This quantity, spread evenly on cotton cloth, would be sufficient for several farms for the year. 274 JNEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jdne For the New England Farme; . DISSOLVING BONES. Mr. Brown : — In the last Farmer (monthly) you gave some directions for dissolving bones in sulphuric acid. As I have made three unsuccess- ful trials, and do not care to "give it up so," will you give us a little more definite information on the subject. Haio finely should the bones be broken 1 What is the best and cheapest way of crushing them ? In the trials I made I found the labor of breaking them quite considerable, (a.) Are the bones entirely dissolved? (b.) I have not succeeded in dissolving more than | to ^ of them. Will as good results be obtained when but few pounds of bones are used, as when the quantity is 100 or more? (c.) Is it essential that the bulk of the water should be just U times the bulk of the acid 1 (d.) I find different writers differ in this particular. What is the most convenient method of using the dissolved bones, and how large a quantity can safely be applied? (e.) A Subscriber. Remarks. — (a.) They should be first broken in- to coarse pieces and then ground in a mill. (b.) They will be if the bones are ground. (c.) The difference in quantity will probably have no material effect on the process. (d.) If the bones, when ground, are not conr verted into a soft paste-like substance by the op- eration, add a little more acid. (e.) The bone manure may be used in any way in which you use other manures ; like all other fer- tilizers, keep it covered up. There are so many va- rying circumstances, that no rule can be given for its application. Professor Low states that some of the English farmers were in the habit of apply- ing 60 or 70 bushels to the acre ; while here 10 or 15 bushels is considered a good dressing. But the quantity required must depend on the condition of the land. See Farmers' Encyclopedia, article, "Bones," and Browne's Muck Book. NEW SEEDLING GRAPE. C. M. Ilovey states in his Magazine of Horti- culture, that a new seedling grape has been pro- duced from a native vine, fully equal to the Isa- bella, and ripening at least one month earlier than that variety. He received specimens of the fruit as early as the middle of September, which wefe the very last of the crop. The berries were round, black, and covered with a dense bloom ; bunches as large as those of the Isabella ; skin thin ; flesh tender, with scarcely any pulp, "exceedingly sweet and delicious." The vine is hardy, vigorous and productive. The name of the originator is not given, as it would, if known, subject him to a flood of orders. The vine will probably be secured in the hands of a few, and in due time be offered to the public, who will of course make some allow- ance for the charms which novelty throws around every new horticultural production. Should this prove nearly so valuable as is hoped, and the same result be verified of Dr. Talk's new seedling, and Longworth's newly discovered hardy foreigner, we shall soon have quite an addition to our list of val- uable varieties. Remarks. — The originator of the grape men- tioned above presented us a liberal dish of the fruit last autumn, and we found it scarcely inferior to the best Isabella. It ripens, as stated, in the open air, and before the usual heavy frosts. We hope it will be extensively propagated, and afford a grape that may be depended upon in all parts of New England. For t/ie New England Farmer. SHELL LIME. Mr. Editor : — On reading the article on this subject, in the last number of the Neiv England Farmer, I noticed a slight error or deviation from the meaning, which it was intended to convey. The error related to the quantity of common salt. One bushel of common salt is designed to form the result. The recipe referred to, states/o?/r barrels of shell lime, one bushel of common salt, and one cord of summp mud or feat. Another recipe, which I have noticed, in order to form a similar result, is the following : — Take one barrel of common quick limPjOne bushel of common salt, and one cord of peat or muck. The salt is to be dissolved in water ; with this solution, the lime is to be slaked, and this compound is to be mixed with the peat. These two formulas are prepared in the same way and produce a similar result. The explanation may be regarded as correctly stated. Lime, slaked in this way, results in the formation of caustic soda, which is highlp active when combined with the other substances. The soda, the elements of air and water, viz : oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, and the geine as found in the peat, form, in their ultimate disposal, a compost rich in nitrogenous matter, largely contributing to the formation and growth of plants ; while a reaction is made upon the elements of the soil, which' will be in favor of subsequent vegetation. These effects and changes can be demonstrated, by the well known actions of chemical science, and can be proved by actual fact. These processes are not only richly remu- nerative to the practical farmer, but are also high- ly beautiful and instructive to the agricultural chemist. There is latitude, however, in the use of these and other materials. The compound noticed may be mixed with the droppings of the stall and peat. Plaster and ashes may be added. Or shell lime or common quick lime, plaster, ashes and common salt, may be mixed with the droppings of the stall and peat with sand or loam, until at the close of the year, or at the return of April and May, a pile of compost may be found, five, six or seven times greater in amount than the droppings of his stock. The elements will be steadily and untiringly at work. Man and his domestic animals may stop to refresh themselves and may be preparing for fresh efforts; the sun may retire beneath the horizon and leave the earth to be shrouded in darkness ; all na- ture may be hushed into silence and repose, and man himself may be wrapped in the slumbers of the night; but these elements are Avorking out their mighty changes and yielding a sure reward to the care, industry and economy of the husband- :853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 275 (man, manifesting the handy workmanship of Prov- idence and her readiness to minister to the wants of man. The quantum reahzed in these prepara- tions at the time of use, will depend upon the amount of materials added and the skill of the ac- tor. BowEN Barker. Hanson, April 18, 1853. For the New England Farmer. SPARE THE SWEET SONGSTERS. Mr. Editor ; — Dear Sir — A few short weeks ago, the low, plaintive note of the blue-bird was borne to our ears on the morning gales of spring. And it gladdened our hearts ; for it was a harbinger of the return of sweet-scented winds and sunnier days, and its arrival was like the return of an old and valued friend. A few days later, the beautiful red-breast had returned to its summer haunts. But a foe await- ed him, and scarce had he commenced to cheer us with his sweet song, ere the sharp report of a gun is heard, and the winged messenger falls from his airy height, fluttering in the last agonies of death. Oh ! ivho caused its death 1 'Twas a member of the self-styled human family — inhuman would be the more fitting name. I grieve to say it — but there is a sad propensity among the boys to shoot the innocent birds — those that do no harm, Ewd much, very much good. Some do it for mere sport — others, because others do. Some wish to exhibit their prowess, and think people will call them manly and courageous. But, far from it. It betokens a coarse, evil-dispositioned, lawless char- acter. 'Twas Fast-day that I saw two lads out hunting the pretty robins, and when asked wliy they killed them, one returned for answer — "Ol^to eat." To eat ! yet they were the sons of wealthy fathers. My advice to those fathers is, to compel or per- suade their dainty sons to stay at home on the holidays, and feast on less dainty, but more sub- stantial food. Our Creator made all manner of insects ; but lie also provided us with birds, to keep tbem from increasing too fast ; and if farmers permit their sons to kill them, they must not com- plain, though worms cut down their corn, and bugs eat up their vines ; the borers construct ca- nals and railroads in the trunks, and caterpillars weave silken houses in the tops of their trees. No ; not even if worms and insects approach their worthy selves with hostile intentions. And you, young readers of the Farmer, did you never walk forth to" admire the beauty of Nature, when the sweet song of the birds formed its greatest attrac- tions. Oh ! spare our sweet songsters, and they will repay you, by singing a song sweeter than ever came from mortal lips. c. p. b. Sutlon, April IQlh, 1853. Remarks. — "We wish there were a general police all over New England on "Fast" and "Election Days," to prevent people from destroying the birds, or, if they refused to desist, to enforce the penal- ties of the law on them. A friend living in Dan- vers has informed us that he has spent many an election day in traversing the fields and shady lanes to prevent boys from killing the birds. Ills praise should be on every lip and his example fol- lowed by others. VALUABLE EXTRACTS. Some notice has already been made of the Transactions of the Franklin County Society for the year 1852 ; but we turn to them again with pleasure, to make extracts from the valuable ad- dress by Prof. Mapes at the annual exhibition in September. The reports of this gathering show — as have many others — that it was not an exhibition, only, of the grosser elements, the oxen, the horses, cows, vegetables and fruits, but that it was made an in- tellectual occasion, where the mind and morals were cultivated, as well as the fruits of the earth. Beside the address to which we shall chiefly turn our attention, there were others, which would grace any of our halls of learning, and were models for the young, as well as full of instruction for all. In the remarks of Mr. Cushman, President of the Society, he said that the path of duty and use- fulness to farmers is like that to fame — upwards and onwards. *We may have done well to-day; we must do better to-morrow and in all coming time. "The past, for good or evil, is behind us. The present, only, beautiful but fleeting, can we call our own. He that can seize her, ere she flies, and make her wholly his, is indeed happy." "Progress, improvement — a higher destiny, a happier day — these all men should seek — should labor for, to the last." All he said was just, and applicable to all. "If we knew more, he said, we could raise more with the same labor and expense ; and consequently could make more profit than we now do." Mr. Paige, President of the Bristol County So- ciety, made pleasant and excellent remarks. In visiting two shows, last year, each attended by 10,000 persons, he had not heard a profane or vul- gar word, or seen any one intoxicated! Are not these the happier days that the old poets cele- brate,— "those golden times, And those Arcadian scenes, that Maro sings, And Sidney, warbler of poetic prose .'" Highly as these annual gatherings are estimated, they are not fully ^appreciated yet, as there are thousands who do not attend them, and know lit- tle or nothing about them. They are, however, what commencement is to the student and his friends; the convention to the statesman, when some great project is on foot; or the anniversaries of the various religious denominations. They are a summing up of the operations of the year ; a comparison of notes and opinions ; a bond of union, and powerful incentives to further progress. As at present conducted, we do not anticipate any unfavorable influences springing from them. Their moral aspect is guarded with a stern vigilance, so that no licentious practices shall be mingled with their exercises. But to our extracts ; 276 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JUN-E SYSTEM — OR SCIENCE. The learned professor said, "the day has passed away when farmers repudiate science. They now know that science means simply knowledge reduced to a system so as to be readily taught and easily understood, and therefore every truly practical farmer must necessarily be a scientific agricultur- ist. Books are now no longer repudiated, and a fact is known to be no less a fact because it is printed. The practical man, who is sufficiently daring to adopt new and useful practices which have been well tested by able persons is not now looked upon by his neighbors as visionary." That there is more respect for scientific effort than heretofore, there is no doubt ; and that there is more confidence in it, is encouraging. But large numbers look on it still distrustfully, or, if they depart from their old habits, engage extravagant- ly in the opposite extreme. OS VENTILATION. "The ventilation of stables is of great impor- tance. "When animals are surrounded by the gases given off from the surface of their bodies, and annoyed by quantities of ammonia continually being ^rccd irom thou' fei'meutlag eAcretia, ihey require a much larger amount for their sustenance than when in stables properly ventilated. If an ox be enclosed in a varnished silken bag tied about the neck so as to leave the head free to breathe the atmospheric air, the amount of gases given off from the surface of the body and confined within the bag for a single 24 hours will cause his death ; so that it will be readily understood that the ill effects of badly ventilated stables are in a great degree deleterious. Proper temperature is of the highest importance. The organism of the ox is such that his improvement in flesh making is de- pendent not only on the amount of food consumed but also upon the temperature by which he is sur- rounded when digesting it. Much of its results will be required to supply the necessary animal heat, unless by proper protection from cold he is not called on to furnish it by parting witlf a cor- responding quantity of fatty matter." More attention is given to the subject of venti- lation, both in our houses and barns, than has been the practice heretofore. The subject of ven- tilating barns was freely discussed at the agricul- tural meetings at the State House during the past winter, and facts were stated, proving the impor- tance of a pure atmosphere, even for our animals. GREAT PRODUCTS FROM HIGH CULTURE. "Look at the Bergen gardeners. Many of them pay $50 or some $75 per acre per annum, yet by improved methods of culture they raise remunerat- ing crops, while gardeners in other parts of the country would consider such a rental a complete drawback to their success. "A few farms are found, in almost every town where wheat is grown, that yield 45 bushels of wheat or more per acre, and still the average crop of this State is not 13 bushels per acre. Should not every farmer, for this reason, endeavor to ^et at the cause why his crops are so inferior ? and more especially so, when I inform you that in very many instances, the soils upon which these differ- ences of crops exist are very similar. Some farm- ers in Massachusetts have raised 100 bushels of shelled corn yier acre. Why should not all en- deavor to raise similar amounts V WHY CROPS LODGE. "I have been requested to state the causes why wheat and other grain crops sometimes lodge. — This is evidently for want of proper strength of straw, and the cause may be then readily under- stood. The rattan, bamboo and corn stalk, &c , have a silicious coating or varnish on their sur- faces. If we place in the fire an ordinary Hes- sian crucible and throw in it the outer peelings of corn stalks, keeping the crucible at a red heat, the woody fibre will burn off, and by continuing the operation for many hours until the coating of many stdlks has been thus consumed, we shall find the crucible to contain a button of glass, which being analyzed will prove to be a combination of silex, the base of common sand with one of the alkalies. "Now as common sand is not solublein water, and as plants have no mechanical contrivance for disintegrating it, they are unable under ordinary circumstance^to take up the proper amount for creating their surfaces and giving strength to the straw ; for straw, like the corn stalks, owes to si- lex the .whole of its power to maintain a perpen- dicular position ; but if the soil contain either lime, potash, or soda in sufficient quantities to dis- solve the silex, or rather to render it soluble so as to form the silicate of lime, the silicate of soda, or the silicate of potash, in sufficient quantities so as to be dissolvable in water and carried into the plant for the necessary appropriation, then the crops will not lodge. "If the farmer manui'es entirely with putrescent manures, such as those furnished by the barn- yard, and his soil be not originally charged with excess quantities of alkalies, the growth of the grain may be large enough by its weight to bend down the straw." We suppose the same reasoning is applicable to the grass crop. On a clay soil where the grass in certain parts of the field usually lodges, interesting experiments may be made by spreading sand lib- erally on some of the spots, and noting the effect. IMMENSE SUPPLY OF FRUIT. "Notwithstanding the great scarcity of fruit in this country compared with our wants or desires, still the amount raised is many times greater than in England. During the last year, an account was given in the London Times of the amount of fruit 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 277 brought to England from the continent. The home production was also estimated. I had the curios- ity to reduce the quintals, bushels, hampers, etc., enumerated, to the size of peach baskets, and found that the whole amount of fruit consumed in Great Britain in one year was not as great as the amount of peaches and strawberries carried into the New York market from the State of New Jer- sey in one week. The Amboy railroad has re- ceived in one day, $1100 as freight on peaches, at 8 cents per basket, and this is only one of the many channels through which peaches are car- ried to New York from New Jersey. Ninety thou- sand baskets of strawberries have crossed the Jer- sey city ferry in a single day. A steamboat from New Brunswick, carries daily many thousands bas- kets of peaches on her deck. Steamboats are dai- ly plying during the peach season from Delaware to New York, and one grower, Mr Reybold, owns two steamboats used exclusively for this trade." Near the cities and large towns of New Eng- land, there is a pretty fair supply of good fruit. — But iu tiie country towns, beyond guud apples and a few indifferent pears and cherries, there is little or nothing in the way of cultivated fruit. There is room for the effort of a thousand minds and hands among us, on the subject of gardening. — Comparatively few farmers have any of the small- er fruits on their tables, such as strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, ap- ricots, peaches, and the finer pears. They have not learned their value as articles Of diet or as crops profitable for the market. And the love of home, the contentment, and the influence over the morals and heart which a well-ordered garden creates, has, Avith most farmers, never been taken into the account at all. There are two or three hundred thousand, perhaps half a million people in the State of Massachusetts alone, who raise no fruit. To afford them a fair supply, such as health demands in hot weather, — to say nothing of ap- petite,— requires vastly more than is produced among us. The New Jersey peaches are brought to us in large quantities ; but as they must be plucked some time before they are ripe, in order to get them here with any of their fair proportions, they undergo an acetous fermentation which ren- ders them unhealthy. USES OF THE ATMOSPHERE. "In all maniputations of the soil, ^he agricul- turist should bear in mind that the atmosphere ■plays an important part in all vegetable growth. Without its influences, none of the chemical chan ges necessary for the creation of plants or the meliorations of soil can take place. Subsoiling, plowing and underdraining, are mere adjuncts to facilitate the meliorating influences of the atmos- phere. The hoe, and the rake, cultivator, and every other agricultural tool used for disturbing the soil, are for the common purpose of permitting the atmosphere to pass between the particles. Its uses above and below the surface of the soil are equally efficient. On top it is the vehicle for the reception of moisture and of gases arising from de- ciying vegetation which it holds until the descent of dews and rains, carrying them into the soil. Oxygen, one of its constituents, is necessary to cause the ultimate particles of the soil to yield up their constituents for the use of plants. Without oxydation, the soil would be destitute of many of these materials, which are rendered soluble and fit food for plants by atmospheric agency. The great constituent of all plants, carbon, exists in the atmosphere as carbonic acid, and is received from the decomposition of farm crops, animal res- piration, etc. ; hence the great mass of all plants is derived from the atmosphere, and if it be shut out from freely circulating in the soil, we cannot hope for profitable results. In the compost heap, it is equally valuable, for both in it and the soil, it is the vehicle, transferring heat and moisture. The slightest reflection, therefore, will show the farmer how necessary it is to manipulate his soil so as to insure the easy ingress and egress of atmo- spheric air. VALUE OF CARROTS. "Cattle become accustomed, during summer, to green food, and when kept altogether on hay and other dry fodder, they cease to take on flesh with great rapidity. "The use of carrots, particularly, should be in- troduced. Carrots for horses are now the ordina- ry practice of even the livery stable keepers of the larger cities. "A bushel of carrots and a bushel of oats fully equal as food for the horse two bushels of oats ; for although carrots do not contain the same amount of nutriment by measure as the oats, still their pectic acid gelatinizes the contents of the stomach of the animal, and enables the oats to be entirely digested." Too much money is paid out by farmers for grain for their milch cows. There must be a more general resort to roots to be fed with good Eng- lish hay ; when these are in sufficient quantity to carry the stock through the winter, there maybe profit in producing milk for the market. Vegetables. — Put in the seed liberally for veg- etables for winter feed for stock. They will pro- mote the health of your cattle, save hay, and ena- ble the milk-producer to keep his money, instead of paying it out for grain. Sow various kinds, — carrots, beets, parsnips, mangel wurzels and ruta bagas; sow in small patches on diflerent soils, and then, whether the season be wet or dry, a fair crop may be expected. Buggy Peas. — Before sowing peas, immerse them in hot water for a minute or two, by which means 278 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JCNE the weevil will be killed, and the sprouting of the peas will be quickened. Prof. Harris says the insect is limited to a cer- tain period for depositing its eggs ; late sown peas therefore escape its attacks. The late Mr. Picker- ing observed that those sown in Pennsylvania as late as the 20th of May, were entirely free from the weevil ; and Mr. Worthington, of Rensselear County, N. Y., who sowed his peas on the 10th of June, six years in succession, never found an insect in them during that period. From the New Ens^/and Farmer. AN ALYSE S— PLOWING— WATERING. Mr. Editor: — In your paper of the 12th of Feb ruary is a letter signed S. F., from Winchester The writer is very skeptical as to the value of analyses of soils, and gives the analysis from the Scioto valley, and from Palmer, Mass., in which the advantage is rather on the side of good old Massachusetts, God bless her ! I have mislaid Mr. Wells' statement, but if I remember rightly, he remarks on the extremely minute division of the Scioto soil — he was obliged to use an extra fine sieve to separate it, I think sixty meshes to an inch, and the percentage of coarse matter was very small which did not go through and that was mostly fibrous. A state of things certainly most conducive to the growth of all plants, as the roots are able to penetrate in all directions, and always in close contact with appropriate food ; and then again the great depth of the soil is to be con- sidered, which we have not. There is another case of some remarkable to- bacco land in Virginia, which on analysis proved to contain a very large percentage of iron, but it was in the same state of minute division, and it is the best land in the State. Analysis tells us that our soil contains a rather better supply of the various salts necessary to vegetation than the Scioto — but we must put our land to the plow, dig deep, and pulverize well ; to produce the same effects; no four inch skinning will do it. Delicate roots, whose pores must be sought for with the aid of a magnifying glass, re- quire their food to be presented in homoeopathic doses, and it is very unreasonable to expect a great crop, where the plant is forced to seek its support through a hard pan that has not been disturbed since the flood. That large crop, can be raised in these parts, by proper attention, is a settled fact ; and I believe easier than poor ones. Farmers will be very incredulous, on being in- formed that their iron tailed cow can be turned to a more noble use, and yield a far greater profit, by watering their manure, instead of watering their customers'' milk ! (not that I would insinuate that all farmers make a practice of it, but there are amateurs in all professions !) like that prince of farmers, J. J. Mechi, who by high culture, is able to raise mangel wurzel at an expense of one dollar twenty-five cents per ton of 2240 lbs. I American farmers think of that ! The average on a ten acre field was forty-three tons per acre ! costing fifty-three dollars seventy-five cents ; in fact his whole farm is kept like a garden, and produces accordingly. His procedure in the above case, was to applj two hundred and twenty-five pounds of dissolved bones to the acre, and water the growing crops profusely with liquid manure, he finds that one load of dung rendered liquid, will manure as much land as lour loads dry, and its effects are seen at once as it penetrates the ground and presents itself in an acceptable man- ner to every tender rootlet, whereas in the com- mon mode of spreading with a shovel, it is scat- tered here and there, some plants getting more than their share, and othersnot enough. At first sight, it miglit appear quite a task to water acres of land! l)ut I think it Avould be found in prac- tice that it can be done cheaper than by the old method, as from a watering machine (which any farmer could make) it spreads itself as fast as the team walks across the field. One hundred and fifty pounds of green manure to one tun of water, or two hundred and fifty gallons, would be quite strong enough probably. I think it is not best to spin any more yarn this time, as perhaps Mr. Editor you will not think it worth weaving into your pleasant sheet, particu- larly when you learn that it comes from a book farmer, without any land! Respectfully yours, J. G. Cuaxdler. Under the Cliff, lioxhury, Mass. For ttie New England Farmer. PLOV/ING OR PLOUGHING. The season for this operation having again re- turned, awakens the inquiry, how is the term pro- perly spelled ? We cannot perceive any good rea- son why three letters {ugh) should be used, when one {w) will do quite as well. We know such has been the usage — but usage without reason, is not of itself satisfactory. If authorities are cited, they will be found both ways. The Albany Cul- tivator, the leading agricultural journal of the Em- pire State, uses the letter lo only, the Massachu- setts Ploughman, adheres to the old mode We are opposed to innovations, without benefit ; but where distinct benefits are apparent, and no dis- advantages to accrue, we go in heartily for the im- proved mode of speUing. It is time that uniform- ity should prevail. Will not your Board of Agri- culture, Mr. Editor, settle this matter? This brings to mind a favorite idea, oft repeated by a distinguished member of this Board, that not more than six per cent, of the lands — or six acres in a hundred, of the lands in Massachusetts, are fit to be plowed. I am at a loss to comprehend the meaning of this assertion. Surely it cannot be, that generally on a farm of one hundred acres, not more than six acres, can be benefited by the plow. The reverse of this is nearer the truth. — On most farms it will be difficult to find six acres in a hundred, that will not receive benefit from be- ing plowed. Pastures, as well as fields, may be benefited b^ the plow. To be sure, some lands are much rougher than others, but very few lots are so rough, that a plow cannot be beneficially, used in some parts. I would not have presumed thus to criticise this expression, had it not have been reiterated, year after year at the Legislative meetings, by one whose instructions are regarded by the people with much respect. I hope, there- fore, he will condescend to explain what he means, when he says that "not more than six per cent. >f the lands of Massachusetts are susceptible of benefit from the use of the plow." r. May 2, 1853. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 279 For the ffeto England Farmer. THEORIES AND FACTS— DO THEY AGREE ? I once heard it remarked by a neighbor of mine, that "ho never yet saw anything that he could not find some fault in." I would not cultivate the spirit of fiiult-finding ; I would not strive hard to see the spots on the bright face of the sun, nor blemishes in the character or outward life of my dear friend. But sometimes, without seeking them, and contrary to my sincere desire, I see, or think I see, imperfections in my wifeHepzibah, in my daughter Felicia, and, I grieve to say it, in the New England Farmer. Now in all these cases I would very much like to be able to believe that there Avas no blemish, not even "the shadow of a shade" to obscure their brightness. But alas! I must either believe they sometimes err, or else that I myself do not see clearly. Under these circum- stances, who can doubt which horn of the dilem- ma I take hold of ^ Possibly I may be in the wrong — if so, I ask for light. As I am a man of few words, I will come at once to the point. In th'c first place, you, Mr. Editor, assert in the last Farmer that the pine "has the most agreea- ble and wholesome quality of drying the atmo- sphere where it stands." (a.) Is it sol I have al- ways supposed that all shade trees had the oppo- site tcndcncyjin proportion to the dcnseness of their foliage. I have always been a great lover of wood- walks, and have spent many an hour in pine woods, and oak woods, and mixed woods, but it never struck me that there was, on similar soils and sim- ilar exposure to the sun and air, any excess of dry- ness in the pine woods over other woods. But it may be that my physical organization is not suffi- ciently delicate to note the nice difference that may exist. If your opinion is grounded on scien- tific facts, would it bo asking too much to request that you will give those facts ? I presume they would be interesting to others, as well as to my- self. Nextly, — A correspondent, on the same page, who writes about plaster, advances one or two no- tions which, I think, a more careful observation would show to be erroneous. He says : "Why some fields become green sooner than others in the spring, is because more grass was left on them in the fall ; the grass does not grow, but the ivithcred blades turn green.'''' Now I would in all diffidence ask, if the writer of that sentence has ever actu- ally seen the dry, withered blades of grass become green. I can hardly believe it. I must, for the present, think he permits his theories to deceive his senses, {b.) Again, a little further on, the same writer gives me occasion to infer that he supposes stones to exert a beneficial influence on the soil, or at least that they promote the growth of the neigh- boring vegetation, (c.) I know there is a pre- vailing opinion that stones make themselves use- ful by attracting moisture on soils that would oth- erwise be dry, and assist to warm those that are cold and wet. If they do perform both these of- fices, they are accommodating, truly. But is there not more theory than fact here. I grant there is some fact ; but it leads me to a different conclusion. I grant for instance, that when the stones lie upon the surface of your land, the grass around the stones will be stouter than elsewhere. Why is it ■? Sim- ply because that grass has the advantage of the soil beneath the stones ; and thus, if the stones cover half the surface, the grass on the other half has the use of the whole field. But do you get more grass because the stones are there 1 I think not. And where the stones sink deeply into the soil, I have not been able to perceive that the grass which surrounds them is more luxuriant than that which is at a distance from them. There is a fine opportunity to examine this matter in some of the pastures lying north of old Pongatasset, in this town. Jonathan Doolittle. Concord, April, 1853. Remarks. — Our correspondent's signature is a misnomer. We have the pleasure of his acquaint- ance, and know, that instead of "doing little," he is a man of progress, and does his part to keep the world in motion, llis inquiries are interest- ing, and shall receive such light as our "dim can- dle'' can shed upon them. (a.) Our remark that "the pine has the most agreeable and wholesome quality of drying the at- mosphere where it stands," was not based on sci- entific facts, but upon the observation of many years, strengthened by what we considered cor- roborating circumstances. The character of the tree depends much on the shape and operation of its leaves. Those of the pine are long, numerous, and needle-like, dividing the currents of air into minute portions as it pass- es among them, and producing those delightful sounds, peculiar to the bass notes of the ^Eolian harp. At Nahant, where the winds swept unobstruct- ed over the farm of Mr. Tudor, frustrating all at- temps at raising the finer fruits and vegetables, he constructed a fence sixteen feet high with spaces of two or three inches between the palings. The effect upon the damp east winds and cold, was such, that on the south side, the frost only pene- trated the earth about as many inches as it did feet on the north and east side, and he was ena- bled to raise fruits, vegetables and flowers in per- fection where they would not mature before ! There was a warmth and dryness on the south side, while the other side of the open fence was damp and chilly. Do not the pine leaves and the fence have a similar influence on the atmosphere ? Is there not a reason for setting pines on the north-eastern exposure of garden8,beside that of merely obstruct- ing the wind 1 Is it not softened and tempered in its passage through them, losing something of its chilling dampness, as well as force ? We be- lieve so, and therefore, "that the pine has the most agreeable and wholesome quality of drying the atmospere where it stands" by the mechani- cal, and perhaps, physiolgical, operation of its leaves. Miciiaux says, in his interesting work, The North American Sylva, "the debris of granite rocks may be considered as the universal soil suit- ed to the pine and fir tribe, and a dry subsoil an essential condition for their entire prosperity, but 280 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June they will grow on all soils whatever, that are not surcharged with water. The roots are near the surface, and hence do not require a deep soil ; and as tlieir needlo-like leaves do not carry off much moisture by evajooration, their soil may be drier than that required for any other kind of tree." In Peck's Gazette, published some twenty years since, after describing the beauty of the pine, he speaks of the delightful atmosphere in tlieir pres- ence, calling it a ''tcrcbinlhine atmosphere;" the word terebinthine being the Latin word for turpen- tine. "We thought our theory worth uttering ; — at some future time it may be dignified into a scien- tific fact. (b.) The gentleman who said the reason "why some fields become green sooner than others', in the spring, is because more grass was left on the them in the fall, and that the withered blacks turned green,'" stated what, he said, were facts— what he had carefully observed, by marking portions of grass and watching the change from day to day. He presented parcels of the grass which he said had been changed in this manner. (c.) With regard to the good influence o? stones on the land, the gentleman who introduced the topic at the agricultural meeting at the State House must defend himself. Many persons (but not among them our intelligent correspondent, "Jonathan,") seem to have an idea that weeds, beyond a sufficient quantity to give the pigs an oc- casional feed, and stones enough to make what wall is wanted, are nothing but a pest and a plague. In wisdom He made them all, that made the corn-plants and the fruits and flowers. Weeds are but grasses out of place, and stones impart, at least, hut fu'.ure harvests of manure.' Large por- tions of our soil come from the stones ; the gran- ite, so common all about us, contains some of the richest elements of fertility. One kind of its feld- spar contains nearly seventeen -proportions in a hun- dred of potash. We are also dependent on the rocks for the liuie and gypsum which we use as fertilizers. Marl is a compound of lime and clay, while clay itself has been formed by a decompo- sition of rocks, such as granite, feldspar, clay slate, &c. We have heard of an instance where a farmer manured a large field unwittingly. Wish- ing to dispose of a surplus of small stones, he placed some hundreds of loads along a side hill where he intended at a future time to* build a wall; circumstances prevented this, and after awhile he noticed that tlie grass crop for several rods below the stones had materially increased ; and this pro cess went on until several acres were fertilized in this manner. We know nothing of the particu- lars of this case, but presume the stones were in a state of partial disintegration. If they were feld- spar, it will readily be seen, from what has al- ready been said, what an amount of potash they might supply. Our friends, however, will hardly consider their stone heaps a reliable source of fertility for their exhausted acres. We only mention this instance to show that with many of us, there are a great many things "which our philosophy never dreampt of." For the New Ens:land Farmer. FRUIT TREES. The very great and increasing interest in fruit, and fruit trees, will be my apology for offering a few remarks upon the subject. Your correspondent P., a few weeks ago, spoke of an orchard of 40 trees that produced 300 barrels of Baldwin apples, in each of the years 1850 and 1852. This is certainly an extraordinary yield, and would seem to warrant almost any amount of cultivation. I think the public would like to know some more of the particulars about this orchard. How the trees were set out upon the ground ? How far apart; whether the ground was all shaded, by the trees, or whether they were standing more open, admitting the sun more freely ? How much ground did they stand on ? Did those standing near the wall bear any better than those in the centre of the lot T What kind of soil ? &c. , &c. Be- cause it is doubted by some whether it is best to cultivate so highly. It is thought that forcing the tree beyond its natural and h3althy powers, will be injurious to its longevity and future productivness. It is thought by many, that fruit trees are forced too much at the present day, more especial- ly apple trees ; pear trees will bear a higher state of cultivation. In support of this theory, it is asserted that veg- etables, if cultivated too highly, will not bear fruit ; potatoes will run all to vine, corn to stalk, &c. Animals may be fed too highly, wear out and be- come useless in a short time. Stage horses are soon used up, and even cows when forced to yield three' pounds of butter a day for one season, are seldom heard of afterwards. We think that young apple trees should not be forced with very rich manure. If the ground around the trees, from 2 to G feet, according to the age of the tree, be kept cultivated and free from weeds, if a quantity of mulch, or meadow- hay be placed about it, the weeds will be kept from growing, and the hay will be suflicient ma- nure. We think we have seen trees that have been forced and driven too fast, especially peach trees ; at least the fruit on them was scarce. Some flourishing peach orchards, in this neigh- borhood, have been rooted up, and burnt, on ac- count of the disappointment of the owners. Trees, when forced so much beyond the natural and healthy growth designed by the Author of Nature, are much more liable to be affected by the cold of winter. The tender and succulent growth of the wood will not get suSiciently hardened to resist the frosty weather. Young apple trees were injured, in this region, in the winter of 1850 — 1, on the north side of the tree ; the most thrifty and latest growth were the most affected, and more on the north side of the hill than the south ; and mostly confined to ele- vated grounds. Ji* Topsjield. . 1853. lyj^W ENGLAND FARMER. 281 For the New England Farmer. HARLY RADISHES AND TURNIPS. BY DR. JOSEPH REVNOLDS. The soil of gardens that have long been cultiva- ted becomes filled with worms that interfere great- ly with the production of early vegetables. Rad- ishes and turnips, of all sorts, and lately beets, are so much infested by woi'ms, that it is exceedingly dilEcult to obtain them fit for the table in tlie ear- ly part of the season. They are so perforated by worms, and so knotty, that they are unfit for use, and many persons who are fond of them have ceased all attempts to cultivate them. It is very well known to every farmer, that we can raise good turnips of various kinds, from seed sown in August, upon land upon which turnips sown in April would be of no value whatever. Now most of the worms which prey upon our vegetables spend a portion of their lives in eating and grow- ing, preparatory to a change of form. It is dur- ing this eating period, wliich occurs in the spring and early part of summer, that they are so de- structive. After this period, they either assume the form of winged insects and fly away, or are busy depositing their eggs and forming their co- coons for the coming winter. After worms attain -their full growth, their depredations usually cease.. To this there m'ay be exceptions, as the worm that feeds upon the tubers of the potato, until late in the fall. But most worms cease tlieir depreda- tions upon roots before the middle of July, many even before the end of June. Now, Mr. Editor, any man will confer a great favor upon the lovers of good vegetables, who will tell us how to prevent the invasion of these insects even upon our early radishes and turnips, to say nothing about those clay colored villains who steal out in the darkness of night, and cut off our early cabbage plants and cauliflowers, with such mali- cious delight, and when daylight approaches, sneak back into their hiding-places. I have thought a good deal about this matter, and have made some experiments with relation to it, at dif- ferent times. In a piece of ground where worms had injured the potatoes very much, I planted them, manuring the alternate rows with compost manure and with plaster. The potatoes that were manured with plaster alone were smooth and fair, and of fine quality, while those that grew in the rows manured with compost were rendered almost worthless by the worms. I have noticed that seed corn steeped, in a solution of saltpetre and dried by being mixed with plaster is seldom attacked by the cutworm. Worms do not abound in sandy soils, and they are rarely found in clay. Soils containing a large amount o^iumus, which consists of decayed vege- table and animal matter, are those in which "they most do congregate." This affords them the pab- ulum which they require. Such are the soils of our gardens. By the application of large quanti- ties of compost, year after year, they have become rich in this element, and are thus doubtless better adapted to the production of the greater number of vegetables, than they could be rendered by any other means. But the gardener docs not require a uniform soil. lie needs perhaps half a dozen different soils, and as many different kinds of ma- nure, within his little enclosure, it may be, of on- ly a few square rods. But this subject is too pro- lific to be entered upon here. Perhaps upon some other occasicm, I may give you some thoughts upon it. What I would say now is, that I have raised very good radishes,smooth and fair,in an old wormy garden in the following way. Dig a trench, four feet wide and 10 or 12 inches deep, throwing out all the soil to that depth. Then set hoards edgewise against the sides of the trench. This will not on- ly prevent the sides from caving in, Imt prevent the incoming of worms from the adjacent soils. Then witli a mixture of equal parts of sand and clay fill the trench to within two inches of the sur- face. Let these be well incorporated tjgether. Then manure with fresh cow manure, and work it into tlie mixture thoroughly ; sow your radish- es, and you will seldom if ever fail to get a fine crop. If it is an object to get them very early, let the boards around the sides of the trench pro- trude four or five inches above the surface, and cover with glass. Such a bed will last two or three years, when it should be renewed. In the same way early tur- nips may be raised ; but as these are wanted in larger quantity, and of course require more ground, I have adopted a different course with them, and with good success. Take six" parts wood ashes, one part air-slacked lime, one part plaster, mix them well together, and sow the mixture upon the plowed surface ; work it in well with a rake. Then with the hoe form the surface into slightly elevated ridges, sow the seed, and cover with the rake. Use no other manure. If the small black fly, which is so great an enemy to the early tur- nip, attacks them, sift ashes freely over them just before a rain, or at sundown after the dew has be- gan to fall, and unless the season shall be very dry, you will get a good proportion of fair, eatable turnips, not indeed like turnips grown in Septem- ber and October, but very much better than the early turnips usually grown in our gardens. Concord, May, 1853. Fur the New England Farmer. YARROW, OR WILD CAMOMILE, I would be obliged to you or some of your con- tributors for information relative to the destroying that pestiferous weed, "Yarrow, or Wild Camo- mile," without plowing; and whether it could not be destroyed by some chemical agent, instead of pulling. My reason for the above is; that my irrigated meadows are beginning to be attacked, though not 80 liable as where the water seldom runs, and which we have no desire to plow. There is another called "Pigeon weed" in parts of this settlement, but it has not made its appearance here yet ; it is spoken of by those who know it to be worse than the yarrow, grows tall and strong, and the seed quick to vegetate. If known by this uame to any of your correspondents, I would also like to hear about it as above. M. A. Wilson. Fonthill Nursery, near Freeport, Penn. I Horticultural Exhibition at Concord. — We are informed that the enterprising citizens of Con- cord, the old battle town, will have an exhibition of fruits, vegetables and flowers, to take place, as the season may warrant, on the 11th or 18th of June. Committees of ladies and gentlemen 282 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June have been appointed to make the necessary ar rangements, and we doubt not they will make it an occasion worthy the reputation of that ancient and time-honored old town. It is expected that the citizens, generally, will contribute to the ex- hibition, which will be free and open to all who may choose to attend. THE SOD AND SUBSOIL PLOW. One of these plows, from the warehouse of Rug- gles, Nuurse, Mason & Co., of Boston, was in op- eration on the fiirm of II. F. French, Esq., of Exe- ter, last Monday. Many of our best farmers were present, and with one voice pronounced it a de- cided improvement on any breaking up plow they had ever seen. It is the same implement known in many places as ",40. Keeps from one to three yokes of oxen — knows by experiment that a yoke of oxen of 3000 lbs. weight at labor, will consume 100 lbs. of good hay in 24 hours, and al- so that his horses will perform nearly or quite fif- ty per cent, more labor of almost any kind, than will the oxen. Mr. Buckley Moores has a pair of horses whose weight is 2500 lbs.; cost of keeping, as near as he can estimate, per week, $3,40. The performance of these horses upon any kind of work he feels safe in fixing at 75 per cent, more than any oxen in the vicinity. If he kept oxen he would be obliged to keep one horse ; kept four oxen formerly, and but one horse, but found the cost of keeping much too large to leave an}'' margin of profit. But by dis- posing of his oxen and purchasing another horse, the face of affairs was entirely changed, the span of horses doing all the work of the four oxen, at about one-third of the expense of keeping, besides doing the single horse's work of going to mill, store, meeting, &c. Mr. F. Child's span of horses weighs 2000 lbs.; cost of keeping for dve weeks, ending Feb. 28, was $17,30, being per week, $3,40. The greatest ac- curacy of the cost of keeping was obtained in this case, as Mr. C. purchases the whole of his hay and grain, whereas those of whom I have before made mention, produce everything necessary for the pur- pose, from their farms. A loss of about 10 per cent, is sustained by those who purchase their hay as they need for present use, over those who take it in from the field. These horses are principally employed on the severest kind of labor, in hauling stimes from the ledge of Messrs. F»-anklin Cloyes and bn^hers, to their difFarent places ot destination, often car- rying 4500 lbs., besides the wagon, to Natick, a distimce of about eii^ht miles from the led-ic, over a somewhat hilly road. The nroceeds of the above five weeks' work was something over $50,00. there beinf much bad weather and soft travelling. All of the°above teams are in the finest working order. , , ^. Now if the above statements and calculations are correct, we have the following result, viz : that a pair of horses can be kept for about 37i per cent. less than a pair of oxen, and will perform, on an average, at least, 37i per cent, more labor. It must be borne in mind that oxen cannot be kept at hard labor and high feed more than two years, before they will lose their appetite and streno-th, which can only be regained by a whole summer's good pasture and perfect freedom from labor. The cost of shoeing is nearly as much for oxen as for horses. No domestic animal is more beneficial to man, under certain circumstances, than the horse, and there are none which have suf- fered more from his cruelty. In all ages of the world, and in all stages of civilization and barbar- ity, he has been his esteemed favorite. To the shame of civilized men be it said, that the savage has ever been the kindest master. It is not un- common to see some very professedly pious people, f )r the sake of five paltry dollars, dispose of a faith- ful old servant to some vagabond to be abused in the most shameful manner, and all this without the least compunction ; such people may possess great piety, but it is not so great as their avarice. In times of danger and distress what more faithful and efficient friend 1 And it is then that we can in some measure appreciate the feelings of Shake- speare's Richard the Third, when his kingdcmi was considered to be of the lesser value. Yours truly, M. M. Fiske. Framingham, April 2, 1853. Remarks. — Many thanks, friend Fiske, for the above excellent article. Your declaration in the outset, that you could not better employ your lei- sure than in giving expression to your thoughts on this subject, was correct. We have no doub| thou- sands will be influenced by these opinions. Let us have more of them on other topics. GRAFTING. At a meeting of several gentlemen of the Horti- cultural Society, on the 29th of January, the sub- ject discussed was "TAe Cultivation of (he Pear." The discussion is pretty fully reported by Mr Ho- vey in his Magazine. Mr. Walker said, "great errors were committed in grafting trees ; some persons took off the whole top of a large tree, and then large quantities of suckers are thrown out below the graft ; many of his friends had cut them off as fast as they appeared ; the consequence was that the grafts failed, or the trees died. Thus, he said, it would always be; for if you continue to bleed trees every week they cannot live." These remarks apply to the apple, as well as pear tree. We believe the practice of cutting off the entire top of an apple tree at once, a bad one. It leaves a large amount of vigorous roots with nothing to balance them ; nothing to receive the great flow of sap which the roots are constantly sending up. The tree, then, in order to equalize its powers, throws out great numbers of suckers — these are cut off, and another set is started, and the struggle goes on between the tree and the man with the jack-knife, until the tree knocks under and dies. If any trees survive this operation, it must be attributed to the kindness and persistence of nature, and not to any discernment of the ope- rator. Remedy for the Onion Worm. — "A Farmer's Daughter," in the Maine Farmer, says the com- nion poppy growing among the onions will pre- vent attacks of the worm. When the poppy plants become too numerous or strong, pull them up and leave the uprooted stalks on the bed. 1853. NEW ENGLA.ND FARMER. 289 PHELPS> BEE-HIVE. We have had no experience with this hive, but give the description of the inventor, that those in- terested may judge for themselves. Address E. W. PflELrs, Westfield, Mass. Figure 1 is a view of the back of the hive, with the hd or cover raised, and the rear door opened, showing the arrangement of the main boxes, and also the top boxes. Each of the large boxes is constructed with a pane of glass, 7 by 9, for the back side, by which an opportunity is afforded to learn the number and condition of the bees, with the amount of honey and of wax. Each of these boxes communicates with those on either side, as shown by the next figure. Figure 2 represents one of the large boxes. The slide, g, closes the communication between the boxes, which consists of a narrow slot a few inches i in length, as seen on the interior, on the right side of the box. This slide turns upon a screw pivot near the bottom of the box. A slot on this side corresponds with that on the box, when fixed in the proper position for opening the communica- tion. Figure 3 is one of the small boxes, wliich is to be placed on the top of the large or main box, and connects with it by means of the circular holes no- ticed in the second figure. The top of the small box is also covered with glass. When filled with honey, the large boxes contain about 30 lbs., and the small boxes from 8 to 10 lbs. each. The up- per ones may be removed when filled, as also the large ones. The patentee claims for it the following impor- tant advantages : 1. It is adapted to either large or small colo- nies, as the bees occupy from one to six boxes (or sections,) as their numbers may require, and thereby give them at all times as much or as little room as they may need at each and all seasons of the year. 2. It affords the best facilities for observing the operations of the bees, for ascertaining the amount of honey stored, and the strength and condition of the colony, without the least exposure to the bees. 3. The arrangement for removing the old brood combs, (so essential to keep a colony in health and vigor,) and for removing the surplus honey, are equalled by no other hive, as the bees may be made to leave either box before removing it from its place in the hive. 4. It is desidedly the best non-swarming hive ever invented, as colonies may be divided and mul- tiplied without the trouble and uncertainty of swarming ; or swarming may be prevented, by giving ample room, and taking the surplus honey as fast as gathered. 5. It is also the best swarming hive, as the 290 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JtJNH bees may be confined to a small amount of room during the fore part of the season, and thereby in- duced to swarm early, after which more room may be given them, so as to prevent their clustering on the outside of the hive, and a much larger amount of honey obtained than in any other hive. 6. It affords the bees better protection against the ravages of the moth and miller, and the apia- rian better and more effectual means to destroy them after they have entered the hive, than any other. 7. Each section is well ventilated, and the bot- tom, when closed, is proof against the miller, but being attached by butts, may be let down and cleaned at pleasure. 8. The bees are better protected against the at- tacks of both robber-bees and millets in this hive than in any other. _ 9. It affords better accommodations for feeding either late swarms, or for obtaining honey, as the arrangement is such that for robbers to gain access to the feeding apparatus, they must enter a small passage at the spout, and pass directly through the main body of the hive. For the New England Farmer. THE MONTHLY FAHMBR FOR MAY, With its forty-eight double-columned pages, filled with Roine seventy-five articles, on nerhnns twice as many subjects, and with "pictures to match," is rather a lusty subject for review, to one who has nut yet finished his planting, and who has lost his "literary hours,'.' by having the evenings cut off from the night and tacked on to the skirts of the day. Yet as I do not like to give up the privilege of a little chat with the readers and writers of the Farmer, I will begin with, THE FIRST TEN PAGES. Editorial hints on Grafting, Soiling, Corn, and Asparagus, everybody has read ; but some of us have put off the suggestions till next year. The next article is a nut for the man to crack who knows all about plowing, — how and when. Pass- ing articles on Millet, cultivation, yield, &c.; Spring; Bone Wens ; Special Manures, with table of re- sults, &c., we come to an article on Agricultural Chemistry that is well calculated for^a sort of "third man" between the combatants on this sub- ject. No matter whether you laughed or scowled, read it again. The writer puts spice in his things. Then comes a recommendation of white birch and white pine for hedges to turn cattle. How would currant bushes answer? A description, with cuts, of Emery's Reaping and Mowing Machine ; Honey Bees ; Posts, best little end down ; account, with engravings, of Guenon's mode of selecting cows by their "curls ;" and More about Plowing, and our first decade is completed. THE SECOND TEN PAGES, Like the first, begin with editorial hints, in which the first principle of "Rawstone's Lancashire Farm- ing" is, to drain off all superfluous water. I wish some "Thorough-draining" man would visit my place nest August and point out a few specimens of this "superfluous water." Suggestions in Com- posting, not from England, nor from books, but from practice on a flirin in V-ermont; Choked Cat- tle, remedy and prevention; Cost of different kinds of Fences ; Agircultural Papers ; against Hilling ICorn, &c.; and cautions against buying foul seed, I bring us to a New Brunswicker, who complains that the name of his place is never seen in the Farmer. Mr. Taylor has given the right direction to his indignation. One-half of the world don't know how the other half lives ; but such articles give us some clue to this knowledge. Cultivation of Fruit, recommended, but nothing said about bugs and worms. I am afraid the curculio will yet claim as great a share of our apples' as it does of our plums. My apples for a year or two have been badly stung. Now comes another legislative dis- cussion, on the division and fencing of farms, in the course of which objections are made to hedges. Guano, Wire Fences, &c. Another plan for Ag- ricultural Education, and some observations on climate in other parts of the world, bring us to THE THIRD TEN PAGES. And here we have Birds of New England; a valuable article, the most pleasing sentence of which, however, is one near the bottom, in these words, "to be continued." Passing Remarks on Budding and Graftigg, we have Manures Again, — a discussion of the question whether the nutri- ment which vegetables derive from the soil, may not, nearly all, be returned to the soil in the ma- nure produced by feeding animals upon the vege- tables. This is an important question. I am in- clined to the opinion, that the cultivation of the- earth gradually impoverishes the soil. Grafting on the Thorn, by a new correspondent, but an old orchardist, who has the independence to acknowl- edge a failure, and to publish it as a caution. In connection with the experience of Mr. Burt, (p. 204) I think Mr. Goodrich's article conclusive on the subject ; certainly it is with me, for I happen to know that extra pains were taken with some of his thorn stalks. We will now jump over Live Fences; thank "R. B. H." for his account of Ma- I'yland Farming ; just say that a "practitioner of medicine" recommends Sulphate of Zinc for one of the dairyman's aflflictions, sore teats, and for other complaints; admire Farm Accounts, by which seventy-nine barrels of apples were picked, market- ed, and the "lot" taken care of for $7,50, and will call the valuable Analyses of Clam and Oyster Shells, by the State Geologist of New York, the last article in this division. THE FOURTH TEN PAGES. A discussion by our law-making farmers, on Farm Buildings. Then an Artisan tells us how a wooden house may be plastered and made to look like granite. Of all architectural absurdities, this plastering and streaking wooden houses in imita- tion of stone is the most ridiculous. Observations on spring work, by F. Holbrook, whose articles are rather to be done about than talked about. — In an article on "Shade Trees," the editor directs to "set in disorder, not in linear order." Are you sure of this being "good taste," Mr. Editor? I know Downing says so ; but does tliat settle the question? "Follow nature." Ah ! do not the ho- ney bee and geometric spider follow nature? Does not the rainbow as it arches the heavens, or the thunderbolt as it angles across the dark cloud, fol- low nature ? Would either of these become an ob- ject of greater admiration were it to abandon its geometric instinct, for the most commendable "dis- order?" While a cow or a sheep juight plant an orchard or a grove in utter confusion, may there 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 291 not be in man a principle or instinct that prompts him to the manifestation of order, proportion, — geometric figures, if you please, in those he plants ? On riding past an orchard planted with mathe- matical precision, who does not experience sensa- tions of pleasure, as the changing rows marshal themselves l)efore his eyes, that disorder never ex- cites. But enough of this. Passing on, we have more About Potatoes, in which several "Cures" are cured of all cure ; the last legislative Agricul- tural meeting of the season ; Shovel Making ; Wealth of the United States ; and Comments on Plaster. LAST EIGHT PAGES Commence with a cut and comments on Brush Seed Sower, followed by a remedy for the B^e Moth; then Model Farms, &c., are discussed. 1 understood the writer to say that the inquiry, In what manner can the State beneficially aid the farmer, lies at the foundation of all our- action ! O, no. That talk may do for Frenchmen, but not for Yankees. What are we doing ourselves, is the question for us to build upon and to answer. Na- tive Gooseberry recommended ; those in this sec- tion, though better than none, are not much es- teemed. What shall I do? I'll tell you what, Mr. "C. W. A." Go to the city and work at a trade, till Saturday night — pay $3,25 to the landlady, ,and 40 cents to the washwoman, and you will soon 'learn bettor than to contrast wages icitkoui board and washing, with wages tvilh board, washing and mending, and may pick up a few other facts worth remembering. Proceedings of Concord Farmer's Club, on the memorable 19th of April ; A Shower of Mud; Paint for Brick Houses ; Gar- dening ; a Column of Replies to Correspondents ; Ladies Department ; Advertisements and Con- tents, complete the task for this month of A Reader. Winchester, May, 1853. AGRICULTURAL AXIOMS. In no department is Bacon's celebrated maxim, •'Knowledge is power," worth more than in ag- riculture. Hence, no farmer can be accounted skilful in his profession, who does not avail him- self of the information to be derived from the ex- perience of others, and who does not improve his knowledge of husbandry by the perusal of the ablest works which have been written on that sub- ject. It is absurd to imagine, that the communi- cation of knowledge which has promoted the ad- vancement of every other art, should be of no use in agriculture. Endeavor to raise good grain, for it will always sell, even in years of plenty; where- as it is only in dear and scarce seasons that there is demand for grain of an inferior quality. Let your stock of cattle, horses, &c., be of the best bloods, and more remarkable for real utility than for beauty or fashion. No fiirmer ought to un- dertake to cultivate more land than he can manage to advantage. It is better to till twenty acres well, than one hundred in a slovenly manner. A man's owning a large form is no excuse for im- perfect tillage. What he cannot improve, he need not undertake to cultivate. A large farm, with- out skill, capital, and industry, is a plague to its owner. It is like what somebody said of self-right- eousness, the more you have of it, the worse ^ou are oflP. For the New England Farmer. BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND. THEIR PAST AND PRESENT HISTORY. ...No. 4. BY S. P FOWLER. It is our intention, in this article and others which may follow, to present to the notice of the Farmer and Horlicullurist , some of the habits of our birds most interesting to them. But in order to present to the reader something of the present history of the feathered tribes, wesliall enumerate all the species in their orders to be found in the Union, together with those that are known to have been discovered in Massachusetts. The first order includes the rapacious and noc- turnal birds of prey. These take up their abode in forests and solitary places for the most part, and refuse to receive the protection afforded by man and flee from his presence. They subsist by war and rapine waged upon other birds and small quadrupeds. The second order are the omnivorous birds, so called because they are not discriminating in their food, feeding upon insects, worms and carrion. In the third order we find the insectivorous birds, so called because they principally feed on insects, only occasionally feeding upon fruits and berries. The fourth order embraces the graminiv^irous birds, so named on account of their habit of feed- ing principally upon grain, and seeds, insects only constituting a part of their food. The fifth order is the Zygodactyli, derived from two Greek words to join, and a finger, and used by ornithologists to designate those birds whose feet are furnished with two toes before, and two behind, as the Parrots and Woodpeckers. These birds, particularly the Parrots, subsist principally upon nuts and hard seeds, while the Woodpeckers add to their bill of fare caterpillars, worms, the larva of insects, and occasionally fruits. Order sixth are the slender billed birds, or the Ten-u-i-rosters, from the Xaim tenuis ivndirostrum, and applied to birds with a long and slender bill, as the Humming Bird. Nearly all this order feed upon insects. The seventh order contains only the Iving- fisher, an odd, grotesque looking fellow, who gets an honest living by fishing. His note is as singu- lar as his appearance, and resembles the springing of a watchman's rattle. It is the only species as yet discovered in North America. It is known to ornithologists as the Belted Kingfisher. In the eighth order we find the Swallow tribe. These birds feed exclusively on insects. The ninth order contains tlie Pigeon tribe. The food of these birds consists of grain and seeds, rarely of insects. In the tenth order are included the gallinaceous l)irds. These subsist on grain and seeds, not un- frequently adding buds of trees, berries, and larger insects, to their fare. The large number of water birds may be classed as Wading birds, and Lobe-footed and Web-footed birds. They feed upon fish, reptiles, marine in- sects, seeds, vegetables and shell-fish. Their voice is unmusical, they are shy and retiring in their ha- bits, and avoid the haunts of men. It is in New England that we find the greatest number of birds, both useful and interesting to the flxrmer and horticulturist. Massachusetts, particularly in the 292 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June warm season of the year, abounds with beautiful birds. The fondness of many birds for our glori- ous old Commonwealth, doubtless arises from its variegated surface, diversified as it is by hills and dales, streams of water, beautiful ponds and lakes, saline marshes and grassy meadows, open bays and sandy shores, its forests and sylvan groves, extensive orchards, cultivated fields and beautiful gardens. !Most birds, except the rapacious ones, avoid deserts and solitudes, and are seldom found in those parts of our country covered with dense forests. It has been remarked by all ornitholo- gists of observation, that birds are soon attracted to the habitations of men, and when a clearing is made in the forest, or a fur post is opened on the shores of the rivers, or the lakes in the West, the birds [excepting the carnivorous ones] always increase about them. This arises from their de- sire to flee from birds and beasts of prey, always to be found in the woods, and from there being usually a greater supply of food, to be found in the cultivated fields and gardens, and to seek shel- ter and protection from men. It is a fact which evei'y observing man must have noticed who cul- tivates the soil, that insects and weeds constantly follow his footsteps. And that the higher the state of his cultivation, the more various his pro- ductions, and the larger the number of trees, shrubs or plants he has under culture, the greater in numbers and varieties will these pests be found to exist. In view of these facts, let us look around for means to assist us in extirpating or keeping in check our noxious insects. And where can we find better allies to help us in performing this great work than insectivorous birds 1 And what cultivator, when he considers all the benefits, and the pleasures to be derived from the presence of these beautiful creatures, would wish to deprive them of the occasional gratification of eating a few of our fruits that we can so well spare. The shooting of our small birds by thoughtless boys. we have for many years considered a great evil. We always admired the limitation given to bird shooters by our old and respected friend, many years since principal of the Bradford Academy in the County of Essex. When requested by his scholars to give them pei'mission to go a gunning "Election Day", he always cheerfully granted their request, but with this wise and safe proviso, to- wit : — They might go and shoot all the Eagles they could find, but if they killed any other kind of birds he would ^o^ them. Verily, Master G. should be honored as much for his wisdom and hu- manity, as he is for his attainments in mathemat- ics. But perhaps some will say, give us the evi- dence that birds are useful in the destruction of insects, and they shall receive our protection. Well my friends, that is the very thing we intend to do in our next communication. Danversport, Feb. 1, 1853. s. p. F. Stir the Soil Thoroughlt. — Plowing and har- rowing and stirring the soil, is the order of the day for the most of tliis month. This stirring of the soil, old Jethro TuU used to teach us, was the first and the last essential of "goode husbandrie." Indeed, he was of opinion that better crops could be raised by very finely pulverizing the soil and putting on no manure, than could be raised by manuring highly and pulverizing the soil but little. By the improved implements of the present day, we can pulverize very thoroughly at comparative- ly much less labor and cost than they could in Tull's day. Why not adopt his theory of thor- ough pulverization and the modern theory of high manuring. Combine them together. At any rate, if you plow at all, plow well and make the soil as mellow as possible. — Maine Farmer. THE BLACK KNOT ON THE PLUM. liY WM. MERVINE, UTICA. Many causes have been assigned for the disease in question, none of which, so far as my informa- tion extends, are satisfactory. Some have sup- posed it to be occasioned by diseased sap, or vege- table ulcer; some, that it is the work of the cur- culio ; others, with more plausibility, assert that it is the result of poison infused by the minute sting of an insect. But none of those entertain- ing the latter opinion have described the kind of insect, or its characteristics; and it is therefore fair to assume that their belief rests upon conjec- ture alone. The latter opinion, however, with the exception of the minuteness of the sting, is correct. It will be permitted me to say, that I believe myself to be first in determining the fact, and in ascertaining, certainly, the habits and char- acter of the insect. I will, therefore, proceed as briefly as may be, and without regard to possible' charges of egotism, for asserting in opposition to many scientific men on the subject, what I know beyond a doubt to be the origin of the excres- cence, or tumor, and to describe the insect which causes it, its habits, and the best method of guard- ing against its attacks and increase. The insect here referred to belongs, I believe, to the Hymenoptera class, and is about an inch in length; color, pale yellow ; has four wings, and hind legs resembling those of the grasshopper, which seem designed for similar use ; and, al- though furnished with wings, it uses them only, so far as I have discovered, for calling its mates. This it effects by shrill notes through the medium of vibrations, created by a rapid motion of them, and which affords the means of tracing it. Tlie abdomen of the female is much larger than that of the male, in the extremity of which is con- cealed a sting of about a quarter of an inch in length, with which it pierces any shrub or limb selected as a receptacle for its eggs — often num- bering a dozen or more, which are deposited with some acid poison in separate cells, longitudinal- ly. From these eggs the larvoe are hatched — changed to the pupre, or chrysalis state, and emerge during the ensuing June. The excrescence does not appear until after the escape of the insects, the swelling of which is caused by the circulation of the sap being arrested in its natural course by the poison infused, which flows round the punctured parts, extravasates, and gradually forms the tumor. On dissecting one of these tumors, a grub may be sometimes found, but it does not cause the excrescence. Any one may satisfy himself of the truth of the foregoing remarks by observing the appearance of the insect during the months of August and Sep- tember, especially the latter, that being the sea- son of coition, when it may be found making its deposits ; these, on being completed, arc varnished over with a water-proof substance, presenting a 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 293 dark, glazed appearance, by which it may be known, and on carefully splitting a stung_ limb in the di- rection of the perforations early in June, the in- sect may be found in the larv£e state. I have carried on for two years past a war against this insect, and never suffer one to escape when it can be traced; which, together with a ju- dicious application of the knife in cutting off, and out, all the affected parts so soon as they appear and burnini^ them, I manage to preserve and keep my trees clear of the unsightly tumors. If all those who are interested in the growth and pres- ervation of those trees would adopt the course pursued by me, this destructive insect might, in time, be exterminated, or its effects, at least, very much lessened. Indeed, unless something be done to arrest its progress, many years, in my opinion, will not elapse ere the cultivation of the Plum and Cherry will have to be abandoned. — Horticulturist. MONAMET SWEETING—GOLDEN SWEETING. We believe the sweet apple may be profita- bly produced as food for swine and cattle ; and there is this advantage over hoed and sowed crops, that when your trees are once well in bear- ing, little more is to be done, to give you a boun- tiful return fur many years, than to keep the soil light and rich. For culinary purposes they are scarcely sur- passed by any food that comes on the table. They may be cooked in various ways, are cheap, whole- some, and not so perishable but they may be kept in good condition through several months. MoNAMET Sweeting. — {Dotted Outline.) — Large medial; flattish ; yellow ground, mostly bright, unbroken red, russet around the stem and on the base ; stem medial, deep cavity ; calyx large, in narrow basin ; flesh whitish, tender, rich, and very sweet. 20th Aug. to 10th Sept. Origin, Plymouth, Mass. Golden Sweet — Orange Sweet. — Large medial ; round ; pale yellow; stem an inch, rather slender, in a narrow, deep cavity ; calyx closed, in medial cavity; flesh tender, of very sweet, rich and excel- lent flavor. Latter part of Aug. and Sept. A good grower and great bearer. Origin, Conn. There has long been known in New England another Or ange Sweet, larger, roundish conical, yellow, ri- pens same time ; excellent, but poor bearer. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. . From D. IL, 2d, HoUis, i\fe.— "Thanks to your correspondents from Newton Centre, for informa- tion upon hedges, and from Pelham for the same, on hedges and forest trees. These remarks have suggested another species of forest trees which I think would do well for hedges ; it is what we commonly call pitch pine. It is one of the most hardy trees, grows well in barren soils, needs no protection or cultivation, other than planting or setting, and does not sprout. I think it may prove one of the most valuable trees for hedges. Can you, or some of your correspondents, tell me what will kill lice on house roses ; several remedies have been recommended in your paper, but they fail." We know of nothing better to destroy the insect you speak of than lohale oil soap ; syringe the plants freely with it, or place it in a broad pan and bend the branches of the bush over into it. 294 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JCNE Mississippi Farmers. — The following extracts of a letter from a friend and correspondent, at Ed- wards, Miss., will give some idea of the difference in magnitude of their operations, and ours in New England, as well as in the kind of crop cultivated. The letter is dated the 13th of April. The wri- ter says, I am now doing what is very unusual on this place, plow and plant as I go. Generally I am a long way ahead in plowing, but it has been too wet to plow until April, and then it is time to plant cotton. I have to-night 90 acres in corn, and it is up — I intend to put in 50 acres more. I have about 145 acres in cotton, and will put in 80 to 90 more. We usually plant corn about 1st of March ; this year, though ready, could not plant until 25th, and then the earth, where plowed, was too wet. This year I hope to fruit 100 varieties of the pear. I have seen blossoms on over 75. lean pro- duce of this years' growth, about 12 inches, of the "Horse Chesnut." We have had blooms of Hya- cinth, Tree Peony, Purple Magnolia, Drummond's Flox, Spirea, Iris, Weigela, quite a number of ro- ses, and other flowers. Strawberries, also, are about ripening. Bees and Hoxey. — I sometime since received a pomological letter from a friend in Aroostook County, Maine. He closes his letter as follows, viz: "Before I close I must tell you about my honey bees, in order to show you that this is a great honey country. You will recollect when I was at your store in Bangor last winter, 1851-2, I had just returned from Piscataqua County, Me., where I had purchased 28 swarms of bees, 22 in the common box hive, and 6 in my improved hive. I have kept them all on my place [in Amity, Aroos- took County,] and have had fifty-one young swarms, and have put them all in my improved hives, and they are now worth ten dollars each, (the cost of the hives being $2 each only) and I have drawn off one thousand founds of very pure honey in bores, and all without feeding the bees, which shows that we have a very fertile country, in flowers at least." This is certainly succeeding admirably. He writes also of very good success in his nursery business. Respectfully, Henrt Little. Bangor, April 25, 1853. Bon's ^Department. APPLES FOR MILCH COWS. Five minutes ago a gentleman, who deals in facts and figures, as well as fine cattle, informed us that he fed out last winter more than two hun- dred barrels of sweet apples to his milch cows, and that the increased quantity and richness in quali- ty of 'the milk paid him better than any other use to which he could have applied them. He states that he is raising trees annually, for the purpose of raising apples for stock. Another important statement of his, is, that since he has fed apples to his cows, there has not been a case of milk fever among them. FOLLY OR ANGER. If a provocation has been offered you, before you fly into a passion remember the old proverb, "If thou art vexed, thou wilt have two troubles." A wise man once observed, "If I am angry, I punish myself for the faults of another;" and there is much good sense in the remark. I doubt whether even the most irritable man really enjoys a fit of anger. It is at best a painful passion. In fact, the literal meaning of the word anger, is pain, anguish, grief, &c. An irritable man has been happily compared to "a hedgehog rolled up the wrong way, tormenting himself with his pric- kles." The sting of a single fit of passion some- times lasts for years. Soon after Lord Byron commenced writing poetry, he was sharply criti- cised by the Edinburgh Review, which so excited his anger, that he published a bitter satire, in which he held almost all the prominent writers of the day up to ridicule. Many years after, in writing to one of the poets whom he had unjustly abused, he made the following confession respect- ing this famous satire : — "I can only say that it was written when I was very young and very an- gry, and has been a thorn in my side ever since, more particularly as almost all the persons ani- madverted upon became subsequently my friends ; which is heaping coals of fire upon an enemy's head, and forgiving me too readily to permit me to forgive myself." The dreadful results which often ensue from fits of anger, furnish another reason why we should shun it. A man was once at work over a kettle of melted lead, when a few drops of water acci- dentally fell into it, and caused an explosion which sent the burning metal all over his face and breast. A single angry word, Mling into an inflamed heart, will sometimes occasion an explosion even more terrible than this. Thus it is that anger and murder are often so nearly allied. Where there are no angry words, there are seldom any angry blows ; but with the passionate man it is a "word and a blow." It is therefore well to avoid as- sociating, as far as possible, with those who are given to sudden fits of passion. Solomon says, "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go." Prov. 22 : 24. — Boy''s Own Guide. Strike the Knot. — When we were boys, little fellows, our fiither began to teach us to work, and we were anxious to perform the allotted tasks. We were splitting wood. A rough, obstinate knot, tried all the skill and strength of a weak arm, and we were about to relinquish the task, when ftith- er came along. He saw the piece of wood had been chipped down and the knot hacked around, and took the axe, saying, "Always strike the knot." The words have always remained safe in my memory. They are precious words, brethren. Never try to shun a difficulty, but look it right in the face ; catch its eye, and you can subdue it as a man can a lion. It will cower before you, and sneak away and hide itself. If you dread difficul- ties, difficulties will grow upon you till they bury you in obscurity. — Cal. Ch. Adv. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 295 ^liucitising ?i)c|)ai1mcnt. (Cr A limited number of advertisements of an appropriate character will be inserted in the monthly Farmer at the fol- lowing RATES. For one square of 15 lines, one insertion $1,00 For each subsequent insertion 50 O" The above rates will be charged for all advertisements, whether longer or shorter. AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE AND SEED STORE, quincy'hall, over the market, boston. THE Proprietors having recently enlarged their Warehouse an Gentlemen : — About a year ago'I addressed you , requesting the paper for my son, and giving you some items respecting the ishmds which I thought might interest you, and your readers. _ I also pro- mised to coiamunioate with you from time to time as I might have anything worth your hearing. I have dehxyed too long, and now hasten to prepare another communication. Some months since, I forwarded you a Polyne- sian, our weekly newspaper printed at Honolulu. In tills number you saw probably, a report on "wheat, corn, oats, and other grains," which I had the honor of presenting to the Royal Haw- aiian Agricultural Society. If you had the pa- tience to read this long report, you are informed of the history of w^icat and grain growing on this group of islands. I am much mistaken if the fact that wheat can be raised at the Sandwich Islands, will not afford you i)leasure. You will not de- spise the day of small things, but will bid us "God speed' ' in our efforts to produce our own flour and grains of other kinds. Allow rae to tell you what we are doing to increase this important means of sustenance since the meeting of our society in June, 1852. Judge Lee, our worthy President, in his address at the opening of the last meeting in speaking of our wheat at this place, remarked, that "Maka- wao now has the honor of owning the only thresh- ing machine and ft jur mill on the islands." This is true, and though some 400 bushels of wheat were raised on my farm and soon after harvested and put into stacks, yet I am sorry that I cannot report more favoraljly of the results of wheat growing and flour-iaanufacturing up to this date The fact is, I depended upon a broken reed in the shape of a farmer, 'f he threshing machine, a small one of the Albany manufacture, belongs to me ; but my farmer who had taken my place for five years, owned the horse power. Beingj^eadstrong and self-sufficient, instead of consulting with a ma- chinist in the neighborhood, and having things done properly, he went ahead and broke down ere the team had gone their round a. single time. He then went to work and constructed a wooden power, but after spending some 7 or 8 days in threshing 80 bushels, he gave it up, and sold out his part of the wheat and left my place. Ere he left, however, he undertook to grind some of his wheat in the flour mill. In this he did not suc- ceed, but nearly ruined the mill, a small mill de- signed for domestic manufacture. The wheat re- mained in the stack, exposed to all our storms and to the ravages of rats and mice, till the gentleman who purchased the wheat visited San Francisco and purchased another power. We then, about the middle of January, threshed out our wheat, but found that much had been destroyed by the vermin and injured by the rains. The machine did not thresh clean, through some defect in mak- ing, so that we had much less wheat than we ex- pected. I immediately commenced planting in drills, and continued to plant till the last of Feb- ruary. I then found that the weevil was devour- ing my wheat, and I finished it by sowing and har- rowing it in as soon as possible. Some sixty bush- els I thus committed to the bosom of the earth. — Mr. Gower, the owner of the other parts of the wheat, has sown some 90 or 100 bushels, and oth- er neighbors have planted and sown some 20 or 30 bushels more. Mr. Gower has sent home for a flouring mill and designs to go into the business of manufacturing flour, corn, meal, &c., &c. The weather seems to be favorable for wheat- growing, being rainy and cool. But we have our own trials. I had hoped we should escape the ravages of the pelua or cut worm, as I had seen scarcely a dozen in covering several acres of wheat as I did with my own hands. But no sooner had I finished sowing and harrowing in the wheat, than they appeared in great numbers and attacking it very young, so soon, indeed, as it began to peep from the ground ; tiicy have destroyed or neixrly so, several acres. They take down other things such as squashes, melons, cucumbers, corn, &c. — This is a trial, I assure you, one which it requires much patience to endure, for though I think, on the whole, we have fewer destructive insects at the Islands than you have in the United States, for the pelua and weevil are nearly all which we fear — yet we have no means of repairing our loss. There is not a bushel of wheat left on all the Sand- wich Islands. So that if half or all my wheat should be eaten down by the pelua, there is no remedy. So of all our seeds. I have about one hundred ears of corn, and a quart of beans, but I fear to plant any of these grains lest they be destroyed, and I lose all. So of garden seeds. Had we a seed store on Maui, I should experiment often. As it is, the thing is dangerous. Still there is hope in regard to Hawaiian agriculture. We have a committee on "worms and other injurious vermin," and though no light, or none of any con- sequence has yet been cast on the best means of destroying them, I am not without hope that something will yet be effected. I shall expect something important from the chairman of this committee, W. Newcomb,M. D., a scientific mem- ber— at our next meeting. I think that a place might be found some five miles from the top of the mountain back of my place, where garden seeds might be raised, and were I young and vigorous, I would try the experiment of a garden for that pur- pose. I shall keep the idea of such a garden be- fore my mind and some one may be induced to take hold of the thing. Few of the garden seeds germinate on reaching the islands, hence the scar- city of New England vegetables. We seldom see a beet or a carrot or a turnip, and how much such vegetables would add to our comfort, I need not attempt to tell you. But my dear friends, the editors of the New England Farmer, and ye friends who read the pa- per, you see on reading my report, that the great obstacle to success in agriculture lies back of all these difficulties. It may be found in the want of laborers. Farming is in low repute, and for aught I see, it is likely to be so. I cannot think of a sin- gle youth, if I except my own son, who thinks even of becoming a practical farmer. Some fa- thers tell of such and such a son — young and ten- der as yet, becoming a farmer all in good lime. I have little confidence that any such thing will be realized, and for the obvious reason that all the sons of these fathers, so soon as they approach manhood, are either sent to the United States to acquire an education, or are allowed to go behind the counter, and devoted to the important work of 308 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July measuring tape and weighing sugar and nails. — So strong is this feeling among us, at the islands, that I am acquainted with a Christian mother, who declares that she would not consent that a daughter of hers should marry a farmer, because farmers' work is so dirty. And yet, we all see at the islands, that the nation is dying out and out, and the foreign community is suJBTering, commerce languishing, every thing and every body suffering, because scarcely.no one is willing to cultivate the earth. The Hawaiian fields might "laugh with abundance ;" but instead of this, they are fruit- ful in their own disgrace. Where there is one acre filled with vegetation and fruitfulness, there are hundreds lying uncultivated,— filled with thistles and noxious, or useless weeds. Do you ask what are foreigners now doing, since the crippling of commerce has closed so many stores, and then blighted the prospect of gain from this quarter? I will tell you, gentlemen, as I told the people in an address which I prepared for the chiefs and their subjects, persuading them to unite with us in our agricultural society. Most of them are seek- ing to suck the breasts of government — dri/ though they are — ivhile the mother earth shows her bosorn full of nourishment and aching to he draion, they turn from her with scorn. Without a figure, near- ly all, with the exception of a few planters, seek some easier, and as they seem to think, more hon- orable method of gaining a livelihood than by toil- ing, and drawing their support from the bosom of the earth. You can see at once that while pub- lic sentiment shall set in this direction, there is not much hope that we shall become an agricultural community. The Ilawaiians are wonderfully im- itative. Naturally indolent, they seem rejoiced to find examples of indolence among foreigners. And at present, the weight of influence is so strong on the side of trade, barter, which can be done on horseback, that the voice of the few who are will- ing to seize the plow and the hoe or spade and cry — "come on; toil and eat the fruits of the earth obtained by the sweat of the brow," I say the voice of such seems well nigh drowned in the clamor of voices which cry, "Ilosanna to trade." Still, I hope for better times, and that I may do something to usher in the day of Hawaiian agri- culture. I am laboring both by precept and ex ample, to make the cultivation of the earth — as I believe it to be, second to no business or profes- sion, in genuine honor. With what success I may toil, remains to be seen. If spared, you shall hear. Yours, with esteem, J.S.Green. For the New Eni^land Farmer. PLOWS. Mr. Editor : — Dear "Sir, — I have lately had on trial two plows of Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co. 's manufacture. I tried them on about four acres of green sward. Part of it was free from stones and the other was not. I had always supposed that the double plow would not work well unless the ground was free from stones. But I found it on trial otherwise. The front plow- taking from three to four inches of the surftico and turning it under, the back plow more easily flings out the stones, by the surface being turned under, and the plow keeps on in its course with- out breaking the furrow. I also tried the 73 1-2, which does the work admirably, if you wish for a flat furrow. It cuts a furrow fifteen inches wide and eight deep. But the difference between the two plows is this : — The double plow leaves the ground in an easy state of cultivation. It not only turns the surface underneath, but turns up four or five inches of mould, which cannot be ob- tained from the flat furrow by harrowing." And by going over it once with a light harrow pre- pares the ground for the reception of seed. I think that Mr. Knox, the pattern maker for Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co., has made great improvement on the Michigan double plow. Respectfully yours, Peter Fay. Southboro\ May 2bth, 1853. For the New England Farmer. BORERS—VARIETY OF. S. Brown, Esq. : — A lady correspondent calls for an explanation of the borer, described by me in your March number, stating, that the one which I described is not among her acquaintances — I wish it was not among mine, as its depredations upon my trees have destroyed some of my fairest and best. There are several worms of similar size, color and configuration, which may appropriately be called by the name of borer — among them maybe reckoned, the common wood worm, which is found in such abundance in seasoned wood during its second summer. I have now before me tAvo of this class, halfaninehin length. The work of this kind commenced about a year since, upon a cord of wood, and such were their numbers and activi- ty, that the bark now readily cleaves from the wood, they having entirely eaten the sap-wood im- mediately beneath the bark ; they are now about one year old ; how long they occupy in the round of their existence I am unable to say. There is another kind of similar configuration, much larger, often two inches in length, and as large round as a pipe-stem, found in soft decayed wood. There is another kind called the sawyer or oak-pruner. These generally feed upon the sap-wood f\f oak branches, until, at length they eat into the centre of the limb, and finally cut it off, when the branch and the worm fall to the ground together. Another kind called the peach tree borer, pre- vails to a considerable extent among us. The eggs of this insect are laid in the spring, and early sum- mer, upon the peach tree very near the ground. When hatched, the maggot immediately eats its way within the bark, and feeds upon the bark and sap-wood, usually leaving the outer bark unbro- ken ; its depredations are usually at or below the surface of the ground, and its presence may be de- tected by the flow of gum, mixed with its cuttings. I have never been able to prevent or destroy this insect, except by removing them from the tree. This may be easily done by first removing a few inches of earth around the tree, and then with a sharp pointed knife find the habitation of the worm, which is always in the sap-wood just under the bark. But of all the evils with which the fruit grower has to contend, the apple tree borer, which also attacks the quince, locust, ash, and some oth- ers, is the greatest. This is the borer of which I attempted to record the history, just as the borer itself has recorded it upon my apple trees ; togeth. er with such observations as seemed to me migh 18 53. NEW KNGLAND FARMER. 309 be useful to all such as had, like myself, unprofit- ably made its aa/uainiance. There are probably more of the family of borers than I have enumer- ated, but the last two produce the greatest injury, and especially the last one, which is the scourge of all our orchards and has by way of eminence, been called The Borer. Its similarity to the peach tree borer is that the head of each is of the same color, as is also both the color and length of the body ; but the dissimilarity is so striking, that a person of common observation would never mis- take the one from the other. The head of the peach tree borer is rounder, resembling the head of the grey corn worm, or cut worm, while the head of the apple tree borer is small, protruding in a sharpish point from the body, which is thickest and largest and rather flattened where the head projects forth ; the last is also more tapering to- wards the tail, and is entirely without legs or points upon which it walks, while the peach tree borer is furnished with sixteen pairs of points which serve it as legs. The insect, which is the highest form of its ex- istence, is still more dissimilar than is the worm. That producing the peach tree borer resembles a wasp, of a steel blue color, while that producing the apple tree borer is a beetle, striped with light brown and white. I have thus given an explana- •tion or a key, to my former communication, which I hope may unlock some truth or lead to some action in arresting the progress of this destructive insect ; for a beautiful, a healthy and productive orchard, is next in the scale of man's happiness, to a good, a virtuous, and an intelligent wife. Yours, Richard C. Stone. Sherburne, May 18, 1853. been removed formed a ditch twelve inches deep and eighteen inches wide ; so that with such a plow, and a strong and steady team, a great amount of ditching might be accomplished in a day by passing through the furrow-trough a second time with a smaller plow, constructed in such a manner as to throw a considerable portion of the earth to the surface. Mr. Whipple's opinion is, that we should not wait to accumulate large quantities of manures be- fore "breaking up;" and particularly in regard to old pastures. His practice is to turn the sward under twelve inches, roll, then thoroughly pulver- ize with plow, cultivator or harrow, until the whole is reduced to a fine tilth . On passing over a field just treated in this manner, we found it somewhat difficult to find the graSs, so deep, and compactly had it been placed away. A strong evidence of the benefit of deep plowing was afforded in the mass of grass roots which were found on the inverted furrow ; they had penetrated lower, even, than the twelve inches turned up, and were exceedingly numerous. In such a soil a drought, unless very 8evere,would scarcely affect the crop. We believe all were gratified who beheld the exhibition, and will be induced to recommend to others the practice under which Mr. Whipple has been so successful. A DAY WITH THE "GREAT PLOW." Oliver M. Whipple, Esq., of Lowell has long been an advocate for deep ploicing, "And, strange (o tell, hus practiced what he preached." On Friday, the 21st May, we had the pleasure of witnessing his operations in the company of sev- eral gentlemen, two or three of whom were plow manufacturers. Ten years ago the field had been plowed twelve inches deep, manured, planted, well cultivated one or two seasons, and laid down to grass. For two or three years a heavy crop of grass was cut, which decreased in amount until the last season when about a ton to the acre was obtained. The soil is a sandy loam, and when turned up ten years ago was yellow, with the ex- ception of two or three inches on the surface. On turning it over now, eight inches was found to be a fine, black, and apparently rich soil. The plow used was one of Ruggles, Nocrse, Ma- BON & Co.'s Eagle, 77. It cut a furrow twelve inches deep, and occasionally where every thing was favorable, thirteen inches, and eighteen inches wide, laying it over in an angling position, so as to hide all the grass, and leaving a ridge of broken, loose soil, more than ten inches in depth. Here was an opportunity for the roots of plants to ram- ble, luxuriate and feed, that we never saw sur- Each place from which a furrow had Aberdeenshire ox, Short horned ox, Short horned heifer, Short horned steer, LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF OATTLE. Salesmen commonly calculate that the dead weight is one-half of what the animal weighs when alive; but the butcher knows that the produce is greater ; it often approaches to three-fifths ; and by an extensive stock bailiff of the late Mr. Curwen, it was found that the dead weight amounted to fifty-five per cent, of the live. But^'Jie amount differs strangely, as may be seen by t.^g!_ following statement of Mr. Ferguson, of Woe^^jjj,'^ Canada West: '-i'--' Live Weisht. Dead Weight. Tallow. St. Lbs. St. Lbs. St. Lbs. 132 11 84 6 16 5 132 0 90 1 14 0 120 4 77 9 15 8 120 5 67 7 14 12 British Husbandry, vol. 1, p. 392. The subject of live and dead weight of cattle be- ing one that deeply interests farmers, we again call attention to the subject, in the hope that it may awaken inquiry, as to the question what should be the rule of paying the farmer, for beef he may have grown ? It costs him quite as much to grow hide and tallow, as it does muscle or flesh, and we should like to know, why he should not be paid for so doing 1— /•"(/. Am. Farmer. In continuation of this subject, we make the fol- lowing extracts from Colman's Massachusetts Re- port : , , "In New York, only four quarters are made by the slaughterer, and the hide and tallow are not reckoned in the price : facts which are to be re- membered in making comparisons of prices in the different markets." , c ,- j "The following are some examples ot live and 310 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July dead weights of New England cattle killed at home, and after being driven from Connecticut riv er to Brighton, the Boston beef market, a distance of 75 or 80 miles : Example 1. — One ox live weight in market, 2,393 lbs.; quarters weighed 418 lbs., 415 lbs., 324 lbs., 331 lbs.; hide, 150 lbs.; tallow 173 lbs.— 1,811. Difference, 582 lbs. Example 2. — Two oxen of A. S., killed at home weighed as follows : Live. Killed. 1,979 lbs. 1,400 lbs. " 1,910 lbs. 1,841 lbs. About 294 lbs. loss on a hundred of the live weight. Example 3. — An ox weighing on Connecticut river 2,250 lbs., weighed in market, 1,472 lbs. Loss, 778 lbs. Example 4. — An ox weighing as above, 2,255 lbs., weighed in market 1,487 lbs. Loss, 768 lbs. Example 5. — A fat bull, of D. S., killed at home, and weighed alive 1,495 lbs.; dead, 1,051. Loss, 544 lbs. — Stock Register. For the New England Farmer. "EXPERIMENTAL FARMING" AGAIN. Messrs. Editors: — Your correspondent J., of Bridgewater, in the N. E. Farmer, April 30th, criticises the communication "Experimental Far- ming" with a "home thrust," and makes a pass at my friend, S. F., of Winchester, but the armor of S. F. is so well adjusted in every part, that the effort is as vain as chemical analyses are follible. How Mr. J. is going to defend himself in his "opinion," and by his spirit of "controversy," against the results of the experiments of our best practical chemists, I have yet to learn. I advise every farmer to read the communication of S. F. , of Winchester, in the N. E. Farmer, No. 3, for March, 1853, page 125, caption, "Analyses of Soils." If sidb.men as Professor's Norton, Hitch- cock, Llebifoifaipd othei-s, have acknowledged the imperfect'iigfet chemical -analyses of soils as ap- plicable to practical purposes in agriculture, how can Mr. J. make us believe that we are behind the times, beyond telescopic reach, or does he suppose we are to swallow down the reports of chemists, good or bad, as infallible, for genuine science, at "first sight," without an emollient to lubricate the way? Is it not only very possible but very prob- able, that the instance of augmented crops, related by Professor Mapes, might have been owing par- tially, if not wholly, to a more careful cultivation, or a more favorable season, or both combined? I have but little faith in reports of that kind where no responsible names are given. I have repeated- ly raised double the quantity f)f produce on an acre one scitson I qo\\\(\ g.'t on another, soil and treat- ment being equal ; tl;e result of one year's trial of a particular ingredient, as manure, would not sat- isfy the most of us, as it would not allow time enough for a fair experiment, and if Mr. J. con- cludes that because Mr. none of us know who, raised large crops after having his soil analyzed, that we can do the same here, he must "jump at conclusions' ' wonderfully , considering that as much depends upon a favorable season us upon the quan- tity and quality of the manure applied to the land. I did suppose that the surface soil was very much dependent upon the subsoil for its fertility, till I have been better taught by my friend J. in his surface reasoning. I believe in many instances we can form a better opinion by examining the sub- soil, what the surface soil requires to fertilize it, than a chemist would be likely to do by analyzing the surface soil. Experience has taught us that clay applied to the surface of a quicksand subsoil was a proper application, but no experienced far- mer would apply it to an argillaceous foundation. If my friend J. can make an accurate estimate by "figures" how much more ground will produce by being analyzed,ihe must be the greatest mathe- matical juggler of the age. If farmers are to be governed by the dictation of chemists of doubtful skill, they must be forced into a labyrinth of uncertainties quite as perplex- ing as the old system of composting and experi- menting. I am in favor of chemical analyzation of soils for all who are disposed to go into it, and think that good may come out of it ; but by the reports of our most able chemists themselves,, of the uncertainty of deciding accurately enough to give positive practical directions, and considering the great variety of surface soils on our farms in New England, I feel but little confidence in the application of the science to my land, thinking to be remunerated for my labor and expense, but I hope my friend J. will engage in the practical an- alysis of his soil with a zeal becoming "a man of science," and with that success which his enter- prise shall deserve, and be able to enlighten us who are behind the times by giving us good prac- tical demonstrations. Silas Brown. Wilmington, May 10, 1853. For the New England Farmer. PLASTER, ASHES, &0. There seems to be nearly as many opinions in re- gard to the value of plaster, as there are people ; and it is not strange that such is the case, — for while some soils are benefited from its use, others appear to receive no advantage whatever. Until within a few years I have had no foith in applying it to any soil. But for three years past, I must acknowledge that I have been materially benefited by using it on potatoes, planted on light, sandy land. I have very little faith in making use of it on other soils. But my candid opinion is, that it will pay for the farmer to purchase plaster at pres- ent prices to put on potatoes, where they are plant- ed on a soil of dry, sandy loam. Last spring, I plowed up a piece of land in a worn-out pasture, which grew nothing but sweet-fern and whortle- berry bushes, and planted the same to potatoes, (potatoes too small to sell in market) and used a small handful of plaster in the hill at planting, and the same at hoeing, — and I had the largest yield of potatoes and of the best quality that I have raised for several years. I have experimented some with ashes, and am of the opinion that unleached ashes have but very • little effect when applied to corn hills at hoeing time. I was in the habit several years ago, of carefully saving all my wood ashes to put on my corn, and thought the while I was getting well paid for the operation ; but on bringing the mat- ter to the test (putting ashes on some rows, and leaving them off on others, side by side,) I was ful- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 311 !y convinced it did not "pay." Leached ashes When once in good condition, clay lands ■will spread on broadcast, are of far greater value.— lyidd fine cropa of grass for many years, with the But the best way to treat one's ashes taken from the stove or fire-place, is to einpty them into the hen-roost ; and with the addition of plenty of sandy loam, mixed, as of course it will be, with the droppings from the hens, a good "home-made gua- no" is manufactured, which when rightly applied to the corn-field pays the farmer well for his trouble. From a flock of thirty fowls, a half cord of ^oo(/ manure may be easily made; and it will be equal in value to one cord of manure commonly purchased at stables. By throwing ashes into the hen-roost, a two-fold benefit is derived ; it not on- ly adds greatly to the manure heap, but acts as an excellent preventive against lice. Nothing is a surer remedy to destroy barn-lice, than ashes and sand. Fowls will soon rid themselves of lice if they have free access to those ingredients. A. Todd. Smithfield, R. I., 8th mo., 1853. * ACTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE ON THE ROOTS OF PLANTS. It is necessary that air should have access to the roots of plants, as much as possible. The admission of air to the roots is necessary to the application only of a little annual top dressing. The action of decaying vegetable matter, as dead leaves and vegetable mould about the roots of trees, is to give out carbonic acid. If the soil is loose the tree will profit by this, and take up by its roots the carbonic acid evolved. But if there is a stiff bed of clay between the dead mat- ter and the roots, the tree will be prevented from taking up the carbonic acid, and no benefit will be received. From this knowledge the farmer will at once see the advantage of keeping the soil light about the roots of trees, which he wishes to preserve in health and vigor. A similar operation goes on also in the roots of the grass, corn, and other plants ; so that it be- comes a matter of importance to keep the soil al- ways light and porous wherever we cultivate. For the Neiv England Farmer. STATE PAUPER FARM. Mr. Editor: — Being in the vicinity of the State Pauper Farm, in Tewksbury, a few days since, I growth of the plant, and to the germination of i availed myself of the opportunity to go on to the the seed. The oxygen of the air, in combination jgrj^^^nd'^.^i^^.Jf^e^^^has^^^ with carbon, forms carbonic acid, which is an The institution stands upon a gentle swell of land, about half a mile east of the centre of the town. The building is of wood, three stories high. The centre of the main building is to be four stories. The walls of the western wing are up and covered in ; the sills, floor timbers and first floor of the centre and eastern wing are laid, and ready to re- ceive the walls, which are nearly ready to be agent at once of communicating vital heat and aliment to the plant. This necessity of the ad- mission of air to the seeds and roots of plants, suggests to the farmer two conditions necessary to be observed in cultivation. First, seeds should not be planted too deep. If they are so far be- 1 raised. The building stands upon the northern low the surface of the earth that the air cannot declivity of the hill, and the main front has a reach them, there can be no germination. It northerly aspect. The ground descends gently has been found by experiment that potatoes plant- 1 f™"i. ^he buildings on three sides ; on the other A i.u ii • V, u 1 A c .,, Side it continues to ascend some thirty or more ed more than three inches below the surface will a \, i. -r a.\ ■ ^ ^ i. *.*. • «„• j. „i rods, but i think does not attain sumcient eleva- not grow ; but where covered by turfs or light jtioQ to furnish a supply of water to the upper sto- substances^ they may germinate. The other con- ries of the building ; nor is there any hill in the dition is that the earth should be loose over the, vicinity from which water can be readily obtained. roots. For obtaining this result, if the soil is not I* is very desirable that this indispensable article , ,, , , u i. 1 1 ,.„. should be furnished by an aqueduct, in unfailing naturally loose _ and open, but clayey and stifi-,.^j^^^j^^^^_ ^^1^^ convenience of this has been 'deep plowing is necessary, and loosening the demonstrated at the Asylum at Worcester, and soil as much as possible. It is for this reason 'at several other public institutions in the country. particularly that a clayey soil is inferior to all So desirable is this that the Cochituate has been other. To bring this kind of soil to a proper con- 1 carried from Boston to the McLean Asylum, at . . . J -7 xi „• -,. • „„n 4. f ..'great expense. Where an aqueduct cannot be sistence to admit the air, it is well to temper it f . . ,, ^/. • . \„ „„„»t„ i i. u • . J I laid, the forcing pump must be resorted to, by by admixture with sand. which, with great labor, a scanty supply may be In plowing clay lands the furrow should not be obtained. The barn is erected, and stands at a entirely inverted, that is, thrown over flat, be- suitable distance from the house. I think it is cause that would leave it too compact. But if, not a model barn. The cellar extends the whole turned with a plow that will cut a furrow seven i If 8*^' ' ^"* T^T t^^-^'^iy^^^f ^^t ^'^^^''f.'^ '"^ . 1 ■, X • 1 ■^ , . i the very part where a cellar IS most wanted, there inches deep, ten inches wide, and turn it up, jg Q^Ufe ^it all. The posts I should judge to be 24 leaving it at an angle of forty-five degrees, some- 'or 25 feet high. It will take a very long pitch- thing like the roof of a house, then the air Avill' fork, and very strong arms to reach the high be admitted and the whole mass will become lio-ht- beams. It is heavily timbered, and appears to be er. In this mode of plowing, all the grass is covered in, leaving an edge of the soil nearly sev- well built. I understood from one of the workmen, who ap- peared to be an intelligent man, and who showed en inches thick for the harrow to pulverize into a, me the plans, that the" original contract required pleasant and productive tilth. 'the building to be completed in October, but that 312 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JuLT SO many alterations had been made that he thought the snow would fly before it was done. The build- ing stands near the centre of a beautiful flat of ground, containing some forty acres, a portion of which — that which ascends to the southward and eastward — is covered with bushes and scrub oaks. Here is a fine location for an orchard, after suffi- cient labor shall have been expended upon it. The remainder of the flat, after deducting some ten or twelve acres for avenues and a lawn, may be converted into a beautiful garden for the pro- duction of vegetables for the establishment. The soil is good and contains but few stones, and with proper cultivation may be rendered productive. At the foot of the hill, and across the road lead- ing from the meeting-house to the railroad junc- tion, the soil is light and sandy, as is most of the land in that section of the town. It bears good rye, and with a good deal of manure of the right sort may yield tolerable crops of corn. There is some pasture land upon the hill to the southeast of the house. From the front of the house there is an extensive prospect to the north and north- east of the range of broken highlands that extend along the court^e of the Merrimack, constituting the southern side of its basin, from the mouth of the Concord river to the city of Lawrence, and of North Tewksbury, which lies upon this range. This village has much increased within a few years. It contains several fine farms, and a very pretty church. The fiirm, I think, should the house be filled to its entire capacity, can do but little towards sustaining the inmates. It may yield garden vegetables, potatoes, and milk. The surrounding country finds a ready market at Low- ell and Lawrence, which are but a few miles dis- tant. Boston market must be the ultimate resort for flour, grain, pork and beef. If the good peo- ple of this state are expecting that the farm will contribute in any important degree to sustain the establishment, they will be sadly disappointed. Its support must obviously be drawn from the State Treasury and not from the soil. There are upon the farm some ten or more old apple trees, and with this exception it is very bare of trees. Every thing is to be done to get the farm into proper shape. Fences are to be built, fields to be laid out, avenues to be constructed, drains to be dug, trees to be set out, and years of patient la- bor to be performed in order to develope the capa- bilities of the farm, and produce any satisfactory results. The constant changes to which the force by which all this is to be accomplished will be subject, must increase exceedingly the difficulty of its accouiplishment. By the time a raw hand is so trained that he can understand the direc- tions given him, he will be off, and one still more raw be put in his place. Any practical man who has attempted to carry on labor by such hands, will readily comprehend the difficulties attending it. But perseverance overcomes all things, and in the lapse of years will onvert this into a beau- tiful establishment, which will not only illustjiite the liberality of the State to the needy and home- less, but also the good taste and judgment of those who have had the management of its con- cerns. Yours, &c., J. R. Concord, May 19. 1!^" Agriculture, like the leader of Israel, strikes the rock — the waters flow, and the famished peo- ple are satisfied. CIRCULATION OF SAP— VEGETABLE ECONOMY. The circulation of sap in plants has much anal- ogy to the circulation of the blood in man. This is especially true in regard to the action of the leaves upon the sap, and its subsequent altered quality. In the ascent of the sap from the root before it reaches the leaf, it is elevated in the same manner as oil rises in the wick of a lamp. The leaves receive it and throw off an immense amount by evaporation. In this way there is a constant corresponding action between the root which draw8 the water from the earth, and the leaf by which it is exhaled. But the leaf also takes in water as well as the root. The most important function of the leaf, however, is that which transforms a por- tion of the water or ascending sap into the pecu- liar juices %f the plant, and sends it back again, circulating it through the vegetable system in a new form ; much as the lungs change the venous blood into arterial. This sap, after passing thus through the leaves, parting there with some car- bonic acid, and receiving other elements from the air, becomes invested with a new character. In some plants whose ascending sap is poisonous, the descending sap, or matter contained in it, is highly nutritious. And it becomes also elaborated into those special secretions known to us in the form of gum, sugar, starch, gluten, oil, tannin, turpentine, wax, coloring matters, narcotic, astringent, fra- grant and acid properties, and the various products of different plants which are nutritive, medicinal, useful in the arts, or destructive to life. For the New England Farmer. ORCHARDS. Mr. Brown : — The Tree Fever, which usually prevails about this season, has been a little more violent this year than ever before. Trees by loads have been removed from the close comp-Jnionship of the nursery, to scattered situations in remote fields. I sometimes send a thought after those I have slowly reared from the seed, and wonder how they fare in their new localities. Alas ! sir, that I hear occasionally of failure and disappoint- ment. I am not surprised by it. I only am when I hear of young trees doing well under circumstan- ces the most unfavorable. I have done a little, perhaps, to induce others to plant orchards, honestly believing by so doing that they would immediately add value to their acres. JBut it has happened that the imperfect manner in which the work has been done, has soon discouraged those who had too little faith at best. Orchards are planted every year without due consideration. It is a matter of some importance to the cultivator that he start right in a work which will absorb time and capital for years, and yield a return exactly in proportion to the judi- cious application of his labors. With some exceptions will he do better than to select the comparatively level slope south of his buildings for his orchards. Here the north winds 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 313 ■will be broken. The land Ijing near the house is easily overlooked and tilled. "A walk in the orchard" will become a pleasure the whole family may often and conveniently enjoy. I prefer ground that is level for an. orchard, to that which is uneven ; principally for this reason, — the greater ease of cultivation. By frequent plowing among trees on a side hill, ridges are pro- duced which are a damage to the land. Heavy rains, also, wash the soil down from tlie top to the valley, whei*e it accumulates to an unprofitable depth. The team-work on hilly ground is great, and fatiguing. It is economy to have as little such as possible. It will be understood, that I suppose the or- chard to be plowed and cultivated every year. — To be sure, I believe in no other system. You must take care of your trees as you would of your corn and notatoes. Clear cultivation with these crops, all allow is necessary. The idea that young trees will ever grow in a tough green sward is an absurdity. Therefore, I would plant the orchard with something — low-hoed crops nearest the rows are the best — every year. Some plant a few po- tatoes around their trees. "It keeps the land loose," they say. This is sheer nonsense, and a bad pi-actice. Such seem afraid the trees will hav» too good a chance. What they gain in the few potatoes — which in fact is no gain, being so scat- tered— is doubly lost to the tree. I will add to these suggestions a paragraph from Cole's American Fruit Book. That Mr. Jones knows how to obtain a generous return from his orchard, it is by being generous to it himself. "Mr. MosES JoNES, orBrookline,in this vicinity, a most skilful cultivator, set 112 apple trees, two rods apart, and peach trees between both ways. — The eighth year, he had 228 barrels of apples, and in a few years from setting the trees, $400 worth of peaches in a single year ; and the best part of the story is, that large crops of vegetables were raised upon the same land, nearly paying for the manure and labor. The tenth year from setting, many of the apple trees produced four or five bar- rels each." w. d. b. Concord, Mass., May, 1853. world will make upon it. Agriculture will flour- ish, because the demand for its products will bo in- cessant, and then the good seed of our friend will spring up, cover the islands with beautiful fields of corn and grain, trees, vegetables, and all man- ner of fruits and flowers. May he live to behold a still greater change than this, springing from his noble eflbrts. IST Will he inform us in what manner we can occasionally send him such books and periodicals as we may think would ]ye useful and interesting to him in his extensive field of practice and obser- vation ? HAWAIIAN AGRICULTURE. The reader will find an interesting letter in an- other column, on the subject of agriculture at the Sandwich Islands. lie will find, too, that the same prejudices exist there against honest toil, that are to be found among us here. We thank A CHAPTER FOR NICE OLD FARMERS. Can any body tell why country people so uni- versally and pertinaciously persist in living in the rear of the house? Can any body tell why the front door and windows are never opened, save on the 4th of July and at Thanksgiving time ? Why Zedekiah, and Timothy, and Jonathan, and the old flirmer himself, must go round the house, in order to get into it? why the whole family (obliv- ious of six empty rooms,) take their "vapor bath," and their meals, simultaneously, in the vicinity of a red hot cooking range, in the dog days? Why the village artist need paint the roof, and spout, and window frames bright crimson, and the doors the color of a mermaid's tresses? Why the detes- table sun-flower (which I can never forgive "Tom Moore" for noticing) must always flaunt in the garden? Why the ungraceful prim p'oplar, fit em- blem of a stiff old bachelor, is preferred to the swaying elm, or drooping willow, or majestic horse- chestnut? I should like to pull down the green paper win- dow-curtains, and hang up some of snowy muslin. I should like to throw wide open the hall door, and let the south wind play through. I should like to go out in the woods, and collect fresh, sweet, wild flowers to arrange in a vase, in place of those defunct dried grasses, and old maid "ev- erlastings." I should like to show Zedekiah how to nail together some bits of board for an embryo lounge ; I should like to stuff it with cotton, and cover it with a neat "patch." I should like to cush- ion the chairs after the same fashion. Then I should like, when the white-haired old farmer came panting up the road at twelve o'clock, with his scythe hang- ing over his arm, to usher him into that cool, com- fortable room; set his bowl of bread and milk be- fore him, and after he had discussed it, cnox him (instead of tilting back on the hind legs of a hard our correspondent for the interesting letters he furnishes, and for the hearty interest he feels in :^;;;°i;y7o"t;^7;;'^,,7^'^j;uygr^^^^^^ the noble pursuit of that calling, which, if any jsofa, while I kept my eye on the clouds, to see can, will elevate the human race and lead it on that no thunder shower played the mischief with to the highest enjoyments and dignity it is capa- hisjiay ble of achieving here. He must not be disheart- ened. If the seed he casts to the earth foil to spring up and grow, that which he is sowing by his excellent cxam^ha will not fail, hut increase an hundred fold ! As the native population dwindles away, that I should like to place a few common sense, prac- tical books on the table, with some of our fine daily andnveekly papers. You may smile ; but these in- ducement^and the comfortable and pleasant air of the apartment would bring the family oftener together after the day's toil ; by degrees they would lift the covers of the books, and turn over «i.o-if i-oofino. v,ia«a ;„ fv.^ V u c ^- the newspapers. Constant interchange of thought, great restinor-piaee in the hishwav of nations <• i. "^i* • • •,! t • r..! „ :™S„_ ^ ^, ,jx "l&iivv.ij, ui "'^"'^"'^ feeling and opinion, with discussions of the impor- must be peopled by a more active race, in order to | tant and engrossing questions of the day, would of supply the demands which the commerce of the Icourse necessarily follow. 314 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jul t The village tavern-keeper would probably frown all they have ever received, yet still, for the sake upon it ; but I will venture to predict for the in- of a few paltry dollars, they are sold to those who mates of the farm-house a growing love for home, will cruelly treat them to the last moments of their and an added air of intelligence and refinement, existence. It appears to me that the man who of which they themselves might possibly be uneon- will thus part with hia horse, is as virtually cruel. scious. — Fanny Fern — Olive Branch. For the New England Farmer. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 1 would not enter on my list of friends, (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility,) the man Who needlessly sels foot ujion a worm Cowper. He who knowingly would injure the harmless creatures God has made, can Jfiave little feeling for human kind. Injury to creatures may some- times be done by accident, or through necessity. Such acts "incur no blame." But he, who, for the sake of gratifying his own passions, cruelly treats those animals God has placed here for the benefit and service of man, is justly deserving no claims to humanity. It is not the man who beats w'ith a goad hia ox or liis horse, that may be called the most cruel or unmerciful ; for he who neglects to provide for the comfort and health of his dumb creatures is equally censurable. But in most ca as he who abuses him after he has him in his pos- session. Is it not more an act of mercy to take the life outright, of a worn out beast, than to dis- pose of him to an individual who will kill by de- grees ■? I have never been the owner of but one horse, and although he is considerably on the down-hill side of life, money would not tempt me to part with him, unless I felt sure he was going into the hands of a merciful man. I have respect for the aged ; and verily kindness is actually due those animals whose Bervices are so beneficial to man- kind. Who would see an aged father or mother (whose lives had been spent for their children) turned ofiF with hard usage and unkind treatment, because the infirmities of age had rendered them unfit for service'? Of course the kinder treatment is their due, in consideration of what they have been, and what they have done. Cruelty to animals, is a subject deserving espe- ing pain upon every animal that comes in his way, is pretty sure to be a cruel and hard master, over whom and whatever he has the control. "Mercy to him that shov.-s it, is the rule And righteous limitation of its act. By which heaven moves in pard'ning guilty man; And he that shows none, being ripe in years, And conscious of the outrage he commits. Shall seek it and not find it in his turn." A..T0DD, Smithfield, R. /., Ind Mo., 1853. ses it is pretty true that he who is guilty of thelp'-i^ attention. Parents ought to make it a point one act, is equally guilty of the other. I have of ^^^ty to train their children to be merciful to reason to believe, however, that a greater degree animals, as well as to human kind. If this were of kindness is shown towards dumb animals now, piore generally done, certain it is there would not than formerly— that less beating and bruising is 'be so many unfeeling and cruel men. The boy who resorted to in the trtiining of young horses or ox- is suffered to grow up with the privilege of inflict- en ; yet there are many who still adhere to former customs, although late discoveries and observa- tions prove that gentle means and mild measures may be more salisfactorily used towards subduing the brute creation. The "whip for the horse" will be but frequently used if the hand that plies it is associated with a kind and feeling heart. How- ever great a reformation has been made in the mode of training animals to service, too harsh measures are still used. The horse, the most noble of all amimals used by man, is the most cruelly treated. Even in the present state of civilization, I presume not one horse in five is treated in such a manner as that he lives out tlie term of his natural life. My opin- ion is, that if this animal were properly cared for, and kindly treated, he would be in as tit condition to labor, at the age of twenty, as he now is, with present treatment, at twelve. Very few horses at the present day ever arrive at the latter age in good condition, with soundness in body and limb. Hard labor and improper care render him unfit for service at an early age. The constitution of the horse is very similar to the constitution of man, hence, the former is no more fitted to bear excessive labor and unkind treatment, than the lat- ter. It is as injurious to the constitution of the horse to keep him at labor in stormy weather, as it is injurious to man ; hence it is as necessary for a teamster (if he Avould provide for the health and comfort of his team,) to use the same car^ for them, that he does for himself. ^ There is one cruel act of which too many are guilty, and about which I cannot forbear speaking. l^ To feed an ox Hd one thousand two hundred I have reference to the practice of putting off hors- pounds weight, usually takes five years ; while the es which have become unfit for service, in conse- same weight of poultry can be made ready for the quence of old age, to cruel tmd inhuman persons, table in about three months, and at less than Although horses thus put off have served their half the cost in food. So gays an English poul- masters faithfully, and doubly paid, perhaps, for I terer. « For the New England Farmer. GRAFTING OLD TREES. Messrs. Editors : — I have had some experi- ence in grafting, and propose to give you my method of grafting old trees. I select such limbs as are thrifty and of a proper size, pi-eferring those not exceeding one-half inch in diameter. If the stock is not too large, I splice graft — if one- half inch or more in diameter, I prefer cleft graft- ing. I set but one scion and scarfe off on the op- posite side. I use composition without either mat- ting or cloth, and consider it better than either, if it is a good article. With proper care and at- tention, old trees maybe made to yield a handsome profit sooner tlian young trees from nurseries. I have formed handsome tops on trees with scarce- ly any signs of life, by thoroughly trimming and scraping, grafting and washing with soap suds. S. E. Hooker. Poullncy, Vt., April b,l'ib^. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 315 For tlie New England Farmer. DIVERSITY IN THEORY AND PRAC- TICE. Mr. Editor : — I have often wondered why it is, that in the business of agriculture, there should exist among farmers such Ti chaos of theory and prac- tice. It is difTieult to find two farmers who agree in hardly any two of the practical operations of their pursuit. And if a novice in the business should judge from the various and contradictory theories', and statements, and variety of results from experiments, he would come to the conclusion that the science, (or rather the business, of agri- culture, for science it could not be called,) was as inexplicable as the hidden springs of life and thought. Modern, intelligent farmers say, '^plow deep,^' but much of the wisdom of long experience says, no ! unless you wa.nt to ruin your land. One farmer says, top dress your highland grass ground, but the thinking, calculating farmer says no, — cultivate no more land than can be kept in g-)od heart by plowing in, during tillage, a sufficient quantity of the right kind of food for plants, to support whatever crops may be anticipated, till the proper time arrives for again disturbing the soil Compost your manure, says one ; nonsense, says another, it's time and labor lost. Just as though you can make manure of loam, muck, sand and such trash ; there is your manure, and you cannot make any more of it by adding a heap of worthless stuff. One farmer says a good cellar is an indispensable appendage to a barn for econo- my in the preservation and manufacture of ma- nure ! Fudge ! says another, barn cellars are more outsets than income. Cut your fodder for your cattle as well as for yourself, says the econ- omic farmer; absurd, says the objector, to suppose that cutting increases the nutritive properties of hay ; there is a certain amount of nourishment in a pound of hay, cut or uncut — therefore cutting is labor lost. I might go on and write page after page of such contradictory theories and practices without exhausting their number, but it is need- less, they will suggest themselves to every .far- mer. Now what I wish to inquire is, whence comes this confusion of ideas? this variance in men's ex- perience ? Are there no settled principles in agri- culture on which we can rely for guidance? Is Buccess in its pursuit so much a matter o^ chance, that we can establish nothing as certain in relation to it? Such would be our conclusions certainly, were we to give credit to all the opinions of farm- ers in relation to their avocation. !Mere opinions in relation to the practical part of other sciences, are not permitted to occupy the doubtful position of theories, generation after generation, but are either soon exploded, or are reared into the digni- ty 0? facts, and are then at least, adopted by those whose interests are involved, but its not so. As a general thing with farmers, one man attempts to verify the theory of deep plowing, and with no regard to circumstances or conditions, he tOrns up the subsoil of an already starving, exhausted top soil, manures with his accustomed sparing hand, and then discards deep plowing because he gets ' poorly paid for his ill devised experiment. Another man tries tlie advantage of compost manure, he applies it sparingly to a lean soil, plowed with a skinning hand to a depth of three or four inches ; a drought ensues and he obtains an indifferent crop, and forthwith concludes there is but little virtue in compost manure. Again, another farm- er at considerable expense provides a cellar to his barn, but neglects to supply it with loam, muck, or sand to soak up the liquids, and absorb and fix the ammonia of the manure ; hauls the fermenting heap out in February or March, dumps it in small heaps upon his field, where the searching winds, scorching suns and drenching rains of spring ex- tract the largest portion of its fertilizing proper- ties, and then concludes that barn cellars are more cost than profit. Once again, and the plodder on attempts to verify the profit of chopped fodder for his cattle — but he commences without the requi- site knowledge of how much unchopped fodder is necessary to satisfy the demands of his stock at certain seasons and temperatures, tries the thing for a few days ; finds some ivork in it — which to avoid, he concludes there is no gain, but a loss in time and labor, and straitway gives it up as a new fangled notion of amateur formers. In this blind and indolent manner do hundreds of farmers lose the advantage of many modern improvements in agriculture. I say blind, because circumstances and conditions are not sufficiently taken cognizance of; and I say indolent, because '■'■nothing that is truly valuable can be obtained without labor and pains. ^' Chemists could never have developed many val- uable resources of nature had they not applied the closest scrutiny and most untiring perseverance in watching and testing the nice conditions and ad- aptation of circumstances which nature requires for her wondrous operations. A like patient ener- gy is demanded at the hands of the farmer — en- ergy of mind to think — and think profoundly, as well as of the will to do. To render his experi- ence of value, he must analyze facts, compare re- sults, and note, if possible, the conditions neces- sary to success in every experiment. Nothing would aid the farmer in these pursuits, in my hum- ble judgment, more than the formation of Social Clubs or Agricultural Lyceums. They would afford an opportunity to every former in a town, to make a profitable exchange of his experience for that of others. Nor is the advantage of such social gath- erings confined to the acquisition of knowledge to aid merely in material gain. They serve to dis- seminate an interest in all matters calculated to ad- vance the moral and intellectual well-being of a community. They serve to awaken and nourish those kind and generous feelings which render life agreeable and lightens toil of more than half its burdens. County Agricultural Societies are un- questionably doing good service, but their influence is not of that direct character, that is needed for practical advancement amongst the whole body of farmers. They serve to exhibit the results oi suc- cessful effort, rather than point out the errors in unsuccessful experiments. Active Town Societies are needed not only for their direct and immediate influence On the agriculture of the town, but for the important aid they would afford to the useful- ness of the County Associations, by awakening an increased interest in every department of husband- ry ; and thereby greatly augmenting the number of competitors for premium productions. There are many Town Societies already, but it is feared they are too generally in a dormant state. It 316 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July strikes me that these mightbebroughtmto a more active condition, and new ones created, if the State Society should issue circulars to every Agricultu- ral town in the State inviting the attention of its farmers to the subject, and requesting such re- turns, either to the State or County Society, as would insure life and activity. If these sugges- tions are of any worth, I hope you, Mr. Editor, or some of your correspondents, who are better qual- ified than myself, will enlarge upon them and set them forth in order. t. a. s. Westboro', May, 1853. THE TRUE MODE OP CULTIVATION. Mr. Editor : — I was much interested in the re- marks of my friend T. A., in your last paper. He is an intelligent, public spirited man. He has within a few years removed from the sea-shore, and engaged in the cultivation of the soil, and his own farm is showing the effect of energy directed by intelligence. He wants to see all the farms around him cultivated in the best manner, and carried to their maximum of productiveness. I perceive that he has got hold of the true idea of farming, viz., that it costs no more to carry on a farm in a high state of cultivation, in which it shall yield a large crop of the most profitable kind, than it does to carry on one which shall yield but half a crop, and that of but little value. I am glad he has called the attention of the public to the sub- ject of the proper cultivation of the State farms. You will recollect that in a conversation I had with you a few days ago, I mentioned the idea of the proper laying out and cultivating the State Pauper farms, which the government is now pre- paring for the reception of foreign paupers. Were suitable men placed in the office of superintend- ents of those farms, men who are not only compe- tent to govern the inmates and manage the affairs of the establishment economically, but who have a theoretical and practical knowledge of agricul- ture,— who have taste and judgment to lay out the farms in the most convenient manner, and assign on impracticable schemes, — but men of intelli- gence, judgment and experience. 1 trust this subject will receive the serious con- sideration of the "powers that be," and that the suggestions thus made, may be like "seed sown on good ground," which shall bring forth an abun- dant harvest of good results. J. B. Concord, May, 1853. each part to its most appropriate use, model farms might soon be produced at small extra cost, I the -thistles will be at once destroyed. which would not only be a credit to the State, and would contribute largely to the support of the in- mates, but would be patterns to all the surround- ing country. The superintendents might consult with the Board of Agriculture, and receive their advice in the management of the farms ; indeed it might be proper, that the Board should be con- sulted in the appointments. They should be re- quired to keep accurate accounts, of debt and credit with the farms, and report their modes of cultivation, with the results, from year to year. In this way they might be made to some extent experimental farms. The Secretary of the Board of Agriculture might direct the cultivation of foreign seeds and grains that might come into his hands, upon these farms. Experiments may be made with imported stock, and in various ways informa- tion acquired by expeiiments upon these f;irms might be rendered useful to the community. But every thing of this sort must depend upon the men placed at the head of these institutions. They must be men who understand the funda- mental principles of agriculture — men who can distinguish between a false theory and a true one. Men who shall not waste their time and force up- WEEDS. Weeds, it should be recollected, are always more exhausting to soil than either roots or grain crops. They are indigenous, consequently gross feeders, and abstract from the soil only those ele- ments of fertility which are essentially and indis- pensably requisite to sustain the more valuable and cultivated crops. It should ever be a rule with the farmer, to allow no plant to perfect its seed on his premises, that will, in any way, diminish the productiveness of his soil. There are many weeds which, if cut close to the soil, while in inflores- ence, inevitably die ; and others, if so treated, will not start again till the following year, or if they do, it will be very feebly, and with so little vigor that they will effect but little injury, comparatively speaking, and without any possibility of producing seed. Mullen, thistles, burdocks and many other noxious productions of a similar class, may be eradicated by placing a table spoonful of salt upon the stump of each plant after cutting it. "When these weeds are "in force," we have frequently found it profitable to sow salt freely after mowing, as the exuding fluids of the roots dissolve it, and of course take a portion of it into their vessels where it acts as a most efficient destroyer. If a field infested with thistles be mowed when the thistles are in full bloom, and salt, say two bush- el^to the acre, be sowed upon the stumps, and sheep permitted to graze intheinclosure, it is said This is perhaps a more economical method of eradication, than removing the plants by the roots, which is tedious, expensive and but seldom effectual. For the T/ew England Farmer. ABOUT SHEEP AND STEERS. Will Mr. Geo. Campbell, of Westminster, Vt., please answer the following questions for the ben- efit of wool growers ? 1st. How much tar do you put in to a gallon of oil? 2d. How much lampblack ? 3d. Do you put in any brimstone, sulphur, ros- in, or any kind of mineral? 4th. What do you put it on with ? 5th. How much will it take to put on one hun- dred sheep ? 6th. What advantage it is to shear sheep the first of April? Will some one tell how I can make steers' horns turn up when they begin to lop 1 Young Wool Grower. Cheshire County, N. H., May, 1853. 1853, NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 31/ VISIT TO THE STATE REFORM SCHOOL. No better evidence of the progress of men in vir- tue, and of their gradual approach to the high standard left us by the Saviour, is needed, than the institutions founded for the comfort of the un- fortunate and the reformation of the erring. In this Commonvpealth these are numerous, general- ly managed with ability and good judgment, and are accomplishing the objects desired by their benevolent founders. The Reform School at Wcstboro'' is one of the noblest of these charities. In the language of the report of the commissioners, we believe "that of the many and valuable institutions sustained in whole or in part from the public treasury, there is none of more importance, or holds a more intimate connection with the future prosperity and moral integrity of the community, than one which prom- ises to take neglected, wayward, wandering, idle and vicious boys, with perverse minds and cor- rupted hearts, and cleanse, and purify, and reform them, and thus send them fortli, in the erectness of manhood and in the beauty of virtue, educated and prepared to be industrious, useful, and virtu- ous citizens." Connected with this school there is a farm con- sisting of 285 aci'es of excellent land. This is di- versified, having fine hill pastures, rich bottoms, broad plains of light, sandy soil, suitable for corn and roots, and the heavier granite formations, ex- cellent for grass fields, apples and other fruits. The location of the farm is one of surpassing loveliness. Chawic'ey Pond, a sheet of clear, pure water, about 30 feet in depth, and covering one hundred and seventy-eight acres of land, laves the foot of the pastures and fields, while the ground rises by a gentle acclivity from the shores to a height which overlooks this beautiful gem of a lake, and an extent of country beyond, embracing, in part, the village of Westborough, and, from some portions of the farm, the glittering spires of the churches at Northboro'. The situation is suffi- ciently retired, and yet of easy and convenient ac- cess ; the depot at the village of Westboro' being within two and a half miles, and the road level, or of very gradual ascent. The main buildings are of brick, their architec- tural style imposing, and the internal arrange- ment of them commodious, airy and convenient, while some of the accessaries are entirely out of place. T\i& piggery being on one side, and an im- mense reservoir for the collection of the drainage being on another side of the house, the inmates may regale their sense of smell on "an ancient and fish-like" odor, from whatever point of com- pass the winds may come. There are now nearly /our hundred hoys at the school, and their time is divided as follows : — for labor, sis hours; for school, four hours ; for sleep. eight and one-half hours ; and one-half hour for devotional exercises, incidental duties, and recre- ation. In one apartment, we saw Ijetween GO and 70 boys stitching men's shoes ; in another, 70 at work on children's and women's shoes, and in a third, between 80 and 90 sewing on cotton cloth, and on the blue material for jackets and panta- loons, and knitting, or darning. Otliers were en- gaged in various duties about the house, and the remainder occupied on the fiirm. During their playtime, after dinner, we went among these boys and had free conversation with them. On inquiring what work they chose to be engaged in, the universal reply was, farming, farm- ing; and their countenances brightened, as they replied, each seeming to infer from the inquiry that they might, perhaps, elect, what business they should pursue. But as it is unnatural that chil- dren should be subjected to so much restraint, shut up within brick walls and close rooms, it is not strange that they all declared for the green fields, the babbling brooks, and the singing birds. Alas ! that so many young hearts should throb in vain for the enjoyments of this beautiful world, open and free to all, whom the seductive influences of error have not rendered unsafe to go at large, amidst its peaceful paths and glowing forms ! On these, the stamp of such influences was plain. — Some countenances there were, meek and sad, expressive of contrition and shame ; but on most, that bold and hardened cast impressed on those early initiated in the school of vice, was particu- larly evident. On remarking that they appeared happy, one of them replied, "aA.' some of us can't help thinking ; those ivho donH think, do well enough.'" The institution was founded by munificent do- nations and bequests from the Hon. Theodore Ly- man, of Brookline, in this State, amounting, in all, to the sum of ^72,500. The farm has now cost some twelve or fifteen thousand dollars. It is not our intention, however, to speak in de- tail of the founding of the institution, or the man- agement of its inmates ; but briefly to notice it in an agricultural point of view. At the last meeting of the State Board of Agri- culture, the following resolution was adopted : — Resolved, That Messrs. Wilder, Page, Proctor, Hitchcock, Smith, Dodge, French, Brown, Spragub, and Lawton, be a committee to confer with the Governor of the Commonwealth, and con- sider and report, whether any, and if so, what aid may conveniently be afforded by the State to this Board, to facilitate experiments in scientific culti- vation of the soil by the use of the lands connect- ed with the State Reform School at Westboro'. In accordance with these instructions most of the gentlemen named in the resolution, accom- panied by Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Board, and Gen. Sutton, of the Council, visited the farm and 318 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JciY school on Wednesday the first of June, and devo- ted the day to such examinations and inquiries as they were able to make. They found the farm as has been already suggested, possessing every nat- ural capaliiUty that is desirable; the soil not only varying in quality, but lying so as to render every facility in the various operations of cultivation. Many improvements have been made, such as the removal of old buildings and the erection of a house for the farmer, an excellent bsim, 152 by 42 feet, grading about the institution, making roads, dig- ging wells and trenches to lay 'water pipes, setting fruit trees, &c., &c. A thousand other things, in- cident to a new place, have also been done, which would scarcely be noticed by an unpractised eye. In common, we believe, with all the committee, •we were disappointed in not finding the farm in a higher state of cultivation, — a more perfect system of cropping, — better fences and gates, and that general air of neatness and order which indicates skill and thrift. There were certainly some nui- sances which ought never to have been allowed to exist, and which ought to be at once abated; and there is room, we are confident, for the exercise of a degree of skill and energy which has not yet been brought to bear upon it. Upon a careful examination of the reports, how- ever, we find there has been a gradual increase in the income of the form, as will be seen by the fol- lowing statement condensed from the annual re- ports for the last four years : — The estimated value of the produce of the farm for the year ending Nov. 30. 1849, was $3,181 04 Do. do. do. 1850 3,97.5 21 Do. do. do. 16.51 .....'...'.'..5,163 15 Do. do do. 1852 6,032 14 We have no disposition to find fault with what has been done, or neglected to be done. Our own experience, both in building and in reclaiming im- poverished lands, has been sufficient to convince us that it requires a great expenditure of money, and the lapse of years of energetic application, to change the face of 300 acres and render it attrac- tive to the critical visitor. Tlie committee were of opinion that the fiirm af- fords every facility for making such experiments as are considered important, and with pecuniary profit to the State ; and that the farm ought, and under skilful management, may, become the Mod- el Farm of the Commonwealth. The Trustees, in tlieir annual reports, speak, throughout, in the highest terms of the faithful- ness and ability of all the officers in the institution. We infer, therefore, that whatever the Trustees have (lircclrd, has been faithfully accomplished. That some important matters have been over- looked, and that, with tlie means at hand, a more rapid progress might have been made, would be evident to the eye of every skilful farmer. It is to be hoped that the present Board of Trus- tees will scrutinize every department, and give it all the energy of which it is susceptible, and that if unacquainted with any of the operations neces- sary to be conducted, they will call to their aid the enlightend wisdom of those conversant with the details of every branch of improved husbandry. We saw enough in this Ijrief visit to contradict the sentiment of the poet, that "Men's evil manners live in brass, their virtues We write in water." The memory of the founder of this noble insti- tution shall be fresh in the hearts of the people, when monuments of brass and marble shall have crumbled to their native dust. It shall dwell in the hearts of the redeemed from youthful error, when they stand in the purity of manhood before the world, saving and restoring in their turn, the way- ward and the sinning. Let it, then, be our care to watch over its interests, and see that the objects of its founder are fully atkxined. LUNAR AND STELLAR INFLUENCE. We were under the impression that sensible people no longer consulted the "Man in the Alma- nac" as to when crops were to be planted, hogs killed, and children weaned ; and in all serious- ness, placed the alleged influenceof lunar changes on the animal and vegetable kingdoms, in the same category with those which set Friday down as an unlucky day. In this, if we are to credit the fol- lowing, we have been; and in quite a large and re- spectable company, unlearning too fast. Mrs. Lydia Jane Pierson, in a controversy with a correspondent of the Farm Journal, on the sub- ject of lunar influences, after some earnest argu- ments, invites him to a trial of the following ex- periments. She says : — "Firs't, we test the influ- ence of the moon in her nodes. If Medicus will lay a board on young growing grass, when the moon is in her descending node, he will find, on taking it up after a week or so, that it has smoth- ered the grass under it, and settled close to the earth. A similar board similarly placed, in the time of the moon's ascension, will not do so. He will find, on taking it up, after the same interval, that the grass has continued to grow under it, ap- parently lifting the board with its growth. Next for the phases, he shall select a head of the large double French marigold ; he shall have no seed but what grows in this head. He shall plant some near the full of the moon, when the sign is in Gem- ini or Libra ; they will produce large double flow- ers, lie shall plant the same head of seeds near the change of the moon, and the flowers will be single ; and if the sign be at Leo or Scorpio, they will not dovelope even one full row of petals. j "He shall sow, plant, or transplant herb, vine or tree, when the moon is near the full, and the sign of Virgo, and he will have abundance of blos- soms, and of long succession, but great paucity of seed or fruit, lie shall transplant trees, or cut down weeds, briars or thistles, when the moon is old, and in the sign of the Heart, and if they do not die at once, they will never thrive, but dwin- dle away and perish. "When Medicus shall have made these experi- ments, and witnessed their results, year after year, he will become a convert to the theory of lunar 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 319 and stellar iaflaence ; and though like hundreds all others that had been or were then on the earth, of others he may know nothing of the astrological To produce and maintain this difference, the insti- principles by which nature is governed, he willbe-| tutions for education were to have a correspond- iieve the results which he sees, and cannot contro- vert. Then I shall expect to hear from him again." For the Nev) Ens;land Farmer MOUNT AIRY INSTITUTE. It appears by a notice in a number of the Far- mer, that this institution has been discontinued, after having been in operation eight years. It is stated, also, that of the 217 pupils that have at tended this agricultural school, four only were sons of farmers. Had Professor Wilkinson been satisfied with the above announcement, I should not have trou bled you with this communication. It is to the inference which he draws from the f;icts stated, that I wish to call attention, — viz. : that the rea son why less than one-fiftieth of the students were sons of farmers, is because the latter think that they are competent to educate their own sons. From these instructive facts, I draw a different inference ; farmers do not patronize these isolated institutions, because they believe our system of pub- lic schools are, or should be, fully competent to edu- cate their sons. It is hoped that a brief discussion of this subject may do something towards turning the expecta- tions and reliance of the friends of agricultural ed- ucation, in this country, from schools of an Euro- pean type, to those of the New England, or as it is rapidly becoming, the American system. That isolated agricultural schools succeed in Eu- rope, is with me prima facie evidence that they will not succeed here. England has excellent schools fjr the soldier, for the priest, for the gen- tleman farmer, &e., but for the "myriads of chil- dren that throng the by- places and thorough fores of her great cities, — which cluster like bees in her vast manufacturing establishments, and overspread her well tilled fields," her government provides none. Benevolent individuals have indeed done something towards supplying this deficiency ; but then it must be by means of "Ragged Schools" — as though, in England, charity for the child of ne- glect, dared not minister to its necessities, with- out mingling insult with relief. This system of education, or rather want of all system, may, and probably does, accord with the principles of gov- ernment and the forms of society existing there ; and consequently is unsuited to either, as estab- lished in the United States. However brilliant the success of the "model" schools of Europe may appear, they are generally schools that none may enter but tliose born in cer- tain circumstances, or possessing certain patron- age or influence ; and it is with the most pleasur- able emotions that I tarn my thoughts from them to our own New England system of education, with her district and high schools, and colleges, — the birth-right of every child born on our soil, and free to the children of the thousands who annually come to us from other lands. The world ha.s never seen the like. "History," says Prof. G. W. Bknedict, in a discourse upon the subject, "showed our fore- fathers the close connection between the charac- ters of the various governments of the world, and that of the institutions of learning existing under them. Our government was to be different from ing character." .... "It is from the want of a right understanding of the system thus established, that so many and such diverse schemes are en- tered upon to effect what can be done in reality only by the system itself. Thus, instead of all devoting their care and their efforts to the advance- ment and perfection of its several parts, attempts without end have been made at all times and in almost all parts of our country, by individuals, by neighborhoods, and by assemblages of men,a'^ree- ing in some peculiar opinions, to establish schools of all grades and ^rms, quite different from the public ones ; and by which out-of-the-way pro- ceeding they have hoped some times to secure per- sonal and local objects, and not unfrequently to ac- complish some extraordinary good to their fellow- citizens. These serve to distract the public atten- tion from the schools o"f the system, and oft-times for a while to do them a serious injury. Yet the result always vindicates the excellence and power of the public system, and its adaptednessto the genius of our "government. It moves quietly on its way, and inevitably they are so modified as to conform to its principles and become a part of it, or they fall before it. One after another it de- vours them, as Aaron's rod of miraculous life swal- lowed the magic serpents of Egypt." That the " public system " has thus far de- voured the various schools which have been estab- lished to teach the science of agriculture, is to me a su'iject of congratulation ; although I would not impeach the motives of the advocates of these "out-of-the-way proceedings." Men are prone to look beyond themselves and their circumstances for the means of doing great things. The mind somehow inclines to overlook the understood and available, and reach forth for something new, something distant, or mysterious, whenever a pow- erful effort is to be made. Hence, good men,_in their desire to,, advance the cause of education among formers, seem to overlook our New Eng- land system of schools, — a system born of the very necessities of freedom — a system on which the lib- erties of twenty-three millions of freemen rest — a system in which they have themselves been edu- cated,— and advocate the adoption of the schools of England and of the continent as models for in- stitutions in which American farmers are to be educated ! That the demand for agricultural colleges add schools involves this idea, I am fully satisfied. — They do not harmonize with our free institutions ; they fovor a c/ass— a large one, to be sure, but all the worse for that ; as a large influence would be withdrawn from schools common to all._ I fear our system of public schools is in danger, both from the assaults of open enemies, and the indifference of friends. A large portion of the foreigners who annually flock to our shores are di- rectly or indirectly opposed to the entire plan._ It is boldly attacked, already, in our large cities ; and will be everywhere, as soon as opposition can be made with any prospect of success. Are the descendents of the founders of this system of free schools aware of the position they assume towards it, when they acknowledge, that, as to the educa- tion of nine-tenths of the people, it has proved m- eflicientl ^* *"• Winchester, March, 1853. 320 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JULT LIVING IN CLOVER. That there is considerable difference between "seed-time and harvest," is sometimes evident to the "meanest capacity." In the spring of prom- ise the demagogue, the humbug and the specula- tor, incontinently make up their minds that there is "a good time coming." The demagogue as- sures his supporters that his plan will hasten it, but "the good time" is his own electicm to a fat office. The humbug lectures, sings, spouts and prints, and the "good time" comes to him in large subscriptions and accumulating pence — the "isms" and'^'ites" and "titcs" and "bites" sell to advan- tage, and the seedy old coatapnds itself in "high grass." Tlie speculator acts more directly to the purpose ; he forms his theory, keeps it secret, sows his seed and awaits the harvest ; but, alas, many a blight defers the fruition of his hopes, and in some cases, when he has determined to "live in clover," and make seed rise without sprouting, he finds, too late, that he has only been going through a "course of sprouts," and that it is the free sell- ers and not the monopolizers who "live in clover." Daring the last summer, when money was plenty, the sun bright, the harvest abundant, hay fragrant, yellow corn waving, and yellow gold on the waves, soine half dozen sagacious gentlemen ofNcvv York, in connection with a profound direc- tor of a Philadelphia bank, formed an association for motives which must have puzzled a Philadel- phia lawyer to divine. This association being of that class who know everything, "who never want nobody to tell them nothing, because they know more about their business tiian* anybody else," nevertheless received accurate information that the crop of clover-seed was short in Germany, with chances of short comings in England, and possessed of this information, they straigh.twmjs concluded to make a "ten strike" and go to grass for the rest of their days. Seed was about 8^ to 9 cents per lb., say $5,50 per bushel, and they began to buy with a degree of shrewdness, prompt- ness and sagacity worthy of a better cause. But to buy is easy — that is, when you have got the money — and if you have got a bank, you have got the money. Cassar said, "Give me money and I will have men ; give me men and I will get money." The purchases went on to the extent of 60,000 bushels, and the price gradually rose to 13 cents per pound. The Ohio formers and the Wes- tern growers opened their eyes and opened their granaries, getting a pretty good yield from that seed. But the blasted Dutch did not buy. They are proverbiiilly a slow race, and had not found out how much they wanted "clover-seed." Like the stupid English at Waterloo, who didn't know when they were Ijeaten, they were tremendously in want of clover-send and didn't know it. So phlegmatic were they, that wlien the great asso- ciation had, f(ir the relief of the Dutch, sent out cargoes, tlicse Flemings absolutely allowed it to be re-shipped to London to compete there with direct shipments hence, for the relief of the Eng- lish, and these Eaglish, wlio, as everybody knows, have some .Saxon blood, absolutely sent some of the seed back here. Here is a pretty kettle of fish ! Tlie great as- sociation, wich the Philadelphia Bank President at the top of it, as Nick Biddle was formerly at the top of the cotton market, is, with the New York Shipping List for an organ, stuck at the close of the season with 50,000 bushels clover- seed at 13 cents, with interest, storage, commig- sions, and deterioration, to hold over to another season, when the high quotations of the last six months will stimulate an unheard of production. Fresh seed pouring on the market to compete with this old seed, will probably knock it out of the shell, and low prices may be looked for. It is always the case with these violent vacillations that the market goes lower in consequence of a rise, and we should not be surprised if the present stock, say 30,000 bushels here, a good deal of it in Ohio, and 15,000 bushels in Europe, did not bring 13 cents, involving a loss of $150,000, all because the Dutch don't know what they want. The New York Shipping List had the exclusive information in relation to the course of the seed market, and imparted its useful information gene- rally. If its readers didn't know all about it, "hadn't they oughten" to have known all about it ? The seed did not finally go to that "bourne from whence no traveller returns ;" it came back, and like modern spirits, to rap — rap the speculat tors over the knuckles. And the epitaph on Hones- John's horse will apply to the dead speculation : "If he'd of lived, he'd of lived in clover, But as he died, he died all over." Philadelphia Paper. IMPORTANT TO FARMERS. Every article which can aid the farmer in devel- oping the agricultural treasures of the earth, is of consequence to the world at large. Such an arti- cle is asserted to have been found on the Island of St. Vincent, one of the West India Islands, in what is known by the name of "pozzolano." It is said that the island abounds in a kind of earth of the most peculiar properties. It has been an- alyzed by English chemists, who pronounce it su- perior to guano as a manure. It is also an excel- lent cement for use under water. Webster de- fines "pozzuolana" or "pozzolana," as "volcanic ashes, used in the manufacture of mortar which hardens under water. They are from Pozzuoli, in Italy." Webster makes no mention of its nutri- tive properties, if such it possess. The only par- ticulars Ave have in regard to the extent to which it is being applied, are contained in the following extract from the Mirror, published on the Island of St. Vincent : "We are glad to find that the peculiar proper- ties of this description of earth, with which our island abounds, of quality far superior to what may be had from any other island, are now being very generally understood, and that the article, from the increasing demand fjr it, is likely to be- come before long one of regular exportation from St. Vincent. Nearly 2000 tons have been exported hence to Bermuda during the last three years, where it is used by government upon the erection of an extensive breakwater at Ireland Island, and is found to be very far superior to anything hith- erto used for simihar purposes. It has also been recently analyzed by eminent chemists in England, and pronounced by them as invaluable manure, superior to guano. In Trinidad, and several oth- er colonies, it has been tried successfully for vari- ous purposes, and we have the attestations of rep- utable scientific men that, for every description of constructions under water, the pozzolano from this island is far preferable to Roman cement." 853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 321 YELLOW SIBERIAN CRAB. The above beautiful portrait faithfully repre- sents a cluster plucked from a tree in the garden of Mr. Raynolds, one of the proprietors of this paper. The whole tree, fruit and all, was the handsomest we ever saw. Every garden should have a tree of the red and yellow crab apple. The fruit is esteemed for preserving, while the tree is highly ornamental ; the blossoms are white, pro- duced in beautiful profusion in spring, and a large crop of fruit regularly follows. Fruit about three-fourths of an inch in diameter very regularly formed and rather flat. Stalk neaii- ly two inches long, and very slender. Calxy small, slightly sunk. Fit for preserving in September. For the New England Farmei . CHARCOAL. Mr. Editor : — Supposing the readers of the Farmer to have an interest in whatever may cause a more bounteous harvest, by enriching the soil, or destroying the insect tribes which so often flour- ish at the farmer's expense, I thought to give a brief account of the effects of charcoal on grass lands, field crops, garden and fruit trees. It was not pure coal that was used, but fine refuse coal, taken from the hearths where pits had been burned ; and so necessarily mixed with the loam, with which the pits were covered, and a small quantity of ashes. Such old hearths are found in almost every New England town, particularly those at a distance from the cities, where wood is plenty and manures scarce ; hence the necessity that every thing "be turned to good account," by being made to assist the cultivator of a somewhat sterile soil, to increase the productive capacity of his farm. Some four years since, a piece of grass land was top dressed with coal dust, at the rate of about five cords to the acre. The crop of hay was increased in quantity, and improved in quality. A part of the lot was left undressed, so the efiect was readily seen. It was moist land, and such seems to be most benefited by coal. For about ten years, I have used charcoal, com- posted with stable manure, for corn and potatoes. Previous to using it the corn was frequently in- jured, and sometimes destroyed, by worms in the spring ; but now the corn is food for hogs instead of worms. On the same land, where corn was very much injured by worms ten years ago, last season, not a hill was attacked. For potatoes, it has been used as for corn, and with equally good results. The wire-worm no longer takes up his winter quarters in this most valuable root. At the table, no special care is now required to distinguish a potato from the pepper- box. Our strong Irish propensity is not checked, at the sight of the animal and vegetable cooked in a little too ne.ir proximity. I have somewhere seen it stated, that charcoal would prevent the potato rot, but with us it seems neither to produce nor prevent it. ■ On a neigh- bor's field which I saw, they were equally rotten, in a bed of coal dust, and where there was no coal. 322 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July An old, wormy garden was spread over with a Of the different modes of applying day we heavy coat of coal dust a few years since. The Lather prefer that of hauling it on to t°he land in worms have died, or ceased their depredatbns, it Lr, , , i ^ ..u c l ^ . , matters not which, since beets, radishes and onions 1*^' autumn,^ spread, and let the frost do its work now grow, fit to be seen before they are eaten. "P*^'^ '^ ^^ winter. As a dressing lor young trees, coal-dust has proved valuable. It cljocks, rather than cherishes, ^<"" "** ^^"' England Farmer. that bore of horticulturists— the borer. Of about MANURES—THEIR NATURE AND CON- thirty trees around which it was placed, hardly STITUENT PRINCIPLES. one has been injured ; while of about the same number in a contiguous field, around which ma- A manure may be defined to be any fertilizing nures from the barn were spread, nearly all bear compound or simple ingredient added to a soil of u •' which it IS naturally deficient ; and as all c the marks of the hidden worker. I simply state the results, and leave it for others to shed the light of science on this dark subject. Chester, N. H., May 25, 1853. m. Remarks. — The results which our correspond- ent states, ought to lead others to copy his exam- ple in the use of coal hearths. We hope to hear from him often. cultiva- ted lands should contain the earths, silica, carbon- ate of lime, clay, magnesia, decomposing organic matter, and certain saline substances, it is evident that in cases where any one of these is contained in the land in insufficient quantities for the supply of vegetables, then the addition of that substance, either in its simple or compoand form, constitutes the great art of manuring. Fertilizers, therefore, naturally divide themselves into three classes. First, the earthy, which is by far the most per- OOMPOSTING manent portions of a soil, and are usually applied . „ ' in the largest proportions. A trOOD Compost for Sandy Land.— Take 10 Second, the organic, vegetable and animal, which loads ot stable or barnyard manure, 5 loads of day, are the least permanent, and are used in much M bushels of ashes, and twenty bushds of lime ; smaller quantities than the earthy, and, mix the whole well together, and let it remain in Third, the saline, which are the most sparingly pile a few weeks ; then turn it over, and it will be used of all fertilizers, are the most readily absorbed fat to apply to the land. by plants, and whose period of duration in the 1 he above will make a better dressing for an soil are longer than the organic, but less than the acre of land than twenty-five loads of stable or 'earth v. barn-yard manure alone, and will last longer American Farmer In all composts intended for light, sandy soils, clay is one of the most valuable ingredients that can possibly be used. One reason why sandy lands are so little capable of vegetable production, is their want of adhesiveness. It is almost impos- sible to consolidate them sufficiently to secure that degree of retention so essentially and indispensa- bly necessary to the decomposition of those organic matters which are applied in the course of cultiva- tion as manure. The quantity of day required to change the con earthy. A manure is either useful to vegetation by af- fording in a simple or a decomposed state, direct food or constituents of food, or else it is a fertili- zer, by giving to the soil additional powers to ab- sorb and retain atmospheric gases and moisture. I shall be able to explain hereafter that most ma- nures applied to land assist in the growth of plants in both ways. Looking at the question abstractly, it must be evident that as animals receive almost the whole of their nutriment, either directly or in- directly, from the vegetable kingdom, their excre- ment or their decomposing bodies returning to the soil, must form the best manures. With re- gard to some- inorganic substances, clay of the earthy manures, and some of the saline fertilizers. stitutional texture of such lands, is necessarily ^^^ P^.'^^^P-'i^lj^y *h«i^. absorption and retention ^. , .,, . T i.- c L , I of moisture, trvnsum and sihca, it is true, enter great ; yet with copious applications of putrescent j^^^ ^j^^ composition of the grasses, and in minute substances, and the regular and systematic mani- " " - - - ... pulations of judicious husbandry, the task of sup- plying as much as may be necessary effectually to ameliorate and permanently to improve the tex- ture and productive capacity is by no means te- dious. There are few farmers who could not devote proportions other salts do the same, but if we ex- eept the phosphate of lime, (the earthy parts of bones) none of the salts can be considered to be a very general direct food for plants. Davy very clearly explains the desirable objects in the fertil- izing of soils : he says that the plants growing in a soil incapable of supplying them with sufficient manure or dead organized matter, are generally three or four days in the year,with their teams, to i very low, having brown or dark green leaves, and carting on day from the low grounds, or to accu- ^^^eir woody fibre abounds in earth. Those vege- ,r..iiof;,,,,u ;,, fi.«;,. „„ ^ ii i. ^ u xi itating on peatv soils, he says, or on land too co- muiattng it m their yards and hog-styes, to be then! -7 ^ v i -J • \ * ii t.^ ,° J -^ ,.,'?''.'. „ piously supplied with animal or vegetalue matter, worked up and composted with the voidings of the'^apidly expand, produce large, bright green leaves, animals and other materials capable of imparting 'abound in sap and generally blossom prematurely. fertility to their lands. Excess of poverty or riches, is equally fatal to the The more day one can afford on such improve- h^P^s of the farmer, and the true constitution of ments, the better ; for there is little danger, in any*''^ T^' ^T *-'^ ^'!f '"'"''P-^' '' *^^^ '" '''''''''' *^^ ~ r- i 1 o 1 11 T earthy materials, the moisture and manure, are case, of applying too much. Sand on day lands, p.^.p/^i^ assodated, and in which the decomposing IS equally beneficial, and perhaps, in most cases, vegetable or animal matter does not exceed one- even more so. 'fourth of the weight of the earthy constituents. 1853. NEW ENGLAND PARMER. 323 Of the organic manurea, those which the most readily putrefy are the most rapid in their effects; but then, on the other hand, they are the most speedily exhausted; thus oil and fish, the most rapid of fertilizers, are exhausted by the few first crops, whilst bones, which decay more slowly, last longer in soil. The effect of chopped woollen rags is excellent for two years in heavy soils, and for three in light soils. Farm-yard manure, when ap- plied in a style of freshness, illustrates the same result. Take two pieces of the same kind of soil and manure one of them with a mixture of dung and straw higlily putrefied, and the other with the same mixture newly made, and the straw almost fresh, it will be observed that the plants grown up- on the land with the putrefied dung produce a much better crop the first year than the other, but the second year the land with the fresh dung will produce far the best crop, and the same re- sult will appear the third year, after which both will appear equally exhausted. It is of the highest importance to the farmer that he should obtain a correct knowledge of the mode in which those manures operate which are found to be advantageous to the growth of his crops. He must discard from his mind all those false conclusions which are sometimes drawn with regard to an imaginary power assigned to plants of generating vegetable substances, for they can effect no such miraculous results. It is true they can combine the gases or elements of vegetable matters together, and form gluten, starch, gum, sugar, woody fibre, &c. They can absorb and ar- range with those earths and saline bodies, but the oxygen, the carbon, the nitrogen and hydrogen of which the first named are comprised and which plants usually obtain from either the atmosphere or the decomposition of organic matter, they can no more create than they can form the lime or si- lica which are present in most vegetables. Davy proves this when lie made a plant of oat grow in pure carbonate of lime and watered with distilled water. It grew but weakly, although it had a free supply of atmospheric air, yet the access of all dust was carefully prevented. Upon analyzing the plant it was found to have much increased in carbonate of lime, but its silica was rather dimin- ished. It should also be a received axiom with the far- mer that there is no part of any decomposing ma- nure, animal or vegetable, but what is either, in its gaseous or fluid state, the natural food of plants; thus the gases emitted by the putrefaction of a dung-hill are as much lost to the vegetable mat- ters of the soil, as also the liquid that is allowed to run away from the heap, and such an injury is never submitted to by the intelligent farmer but from unavoidable necessity. The mixing of caustic lime with dung is a most baneful practice, as it renders the ammonia caus- tic and volatile to the highest degree, and causes the loss of the most energetic portion of the dung. When land requires lime it should be applied sep- arately, as the lime will in a short time absorb the oxygen from the air and form carbonate of lime and carbonic acid, in which state it is most benefi- cial to the soil, botli for the absorbing of mois- ure from the air and supplying the embryo plant with carbonic acid, which is essential to its germi- nation and future growth. But to return to my former subject. We sec the value of green ma- nures, for in these cases every portion of the de- caying and fermenting fertilizer is gradually ab- sorbed by the roots and leaves of the succeeding crops. Mattuew A. Perry. Waterlown, May 10, 1853. FOOD OF PLANTS— MODE OF SUP- PLY—NOURISHMENT. Carbon, oxygen and hydrogen exist abundantly in plants. Nitrogen is contained in them in some- what less quantity ; but is essential to their growth and nourishment. It is this last element, nitro- gen, to which the cereal grains and other products owe their nutritive quality ; being a principal component of gluten, which exists largely in all the grains, and most in wheat. It is on account of the greater proportion of gluten in wheat that this is more nutritious than the other grains. Wheat approaches nearer to animal flesh than most other vegetabies, nitrogen and phosphate of lime being in large part the constituents of both. These several substances which are essential to the nourishment of plants, are absorbed by them from the atmosphere, by the action of their leaves and their general surface, and also taken up from the earth by their roots. The four elementary substances named are the principal constituents of all vegetables. They, however, mostly absorb some earthy matter by their roots, as phosphate of lime already mentioned, and silica, which are in this way taken up by wheat and constitute impor- tant ingredients in the vegetable economy. The mode by which this food is taken up and assimilated to the vegetable organism, is matter r^ only of curious knowledge but of most useful instruction to the farmer. And we shall, there- fore, in a few words explain the process. Most of the oxygen contained in vegetable sub- stances is taken up by them either in combination with carbon or hydrogen. These are chiefly ob- tained, by respiration, from the atmosphere, by the leaves and general surface. When the first of these gases is taken in with hydrogen, the com- bined substances form water ; when taken in with carbon the united substances form carbonic acid, the surplus oxygen escaping in respiration. Ni- trogen is taken in by the plant in the same way, us\ially in combination with some of the other at- mospheric constituents. By its union with hydro gen in the tissues of plants ammonia is formed, which is most essential to the nourishment of all vegetables. The principal supply of this substance, ammonia, is, however, taken up by the roots. Beside the earthy matters above mentioned, si- lica, phosphate of lime and ammonia, potash, in some form, is found in many vegetables. Of these, each different species of plant has some one or more essential to its growth, though not requiring a large supply. The substances, in fact, absorbed from the atmosphere alone, have been found suffi- 324 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JULT cient to sustain the life of a tree or plant for a longtime; — water, carbonic acid, and ammonia, which are taken from the atmosphere, or formed _ within the plant from the gases inhaled, supplying ingredients of new compounds, which are wholly sufficient to the vegetable life. Most plants, however, require for their nourish- ment, and vigorous growth, something more bj way of aliment than can be collected from the at- mosphere. This they are enabled to obtain by their roots from the surrounding soil. Thus a great deal of moisture is taken up by the roots, and with this a small portion of the earthy matters necessary to the food of the plant. Some soils are better adapted than others to hold and furnish the needed quantity. We cannot in a brief paragraph explain the differences. It is the office of the soil, also, to supply car- bonic acid as well as water. The decay of matter in the earth continually furnishes this product, and it is also furnished to the roots, as to the leaves and aerial surface, by the atmosphere, on the two constituents of carbon and oxygen, which uniting in the tissues of the plants, form the car- bonic acid. The absorption of this carbonic acid by the roots may be much assisted artificially. One way of doing this is by animal or vegetable substances in decomposition, which furnish it abundantly. It may be also assisted in other modes. Some substances absorb gases to many times their own bulk. Of these, charcoal has a great capacity for absorbing carbonic acid gas from the air. If, therefore, charcoal be placed about the roots, and an abundant supply of water givt , the carbonic acid gas which is extracted from tTe atmosphere by the charcoal will be dissolved by the water, and with it taken up into the plant by the root. ANALYSIS OF SOILS AND THEIR PRO- DUCTIONS. At a recent meeting of the U. S. Agricultural Society at Washington, a paper was read which had been presented to the Pennsylvania Agricul- tural Society by Prof Booth, of Philadelphia, on this subject. The purport was, that in the present state of chemical science not much practical bene- fit^ could accrue to the farmer, from having his soils analyzed. Soils were extremely various, the best known methods of analysis complicated, labo- rious, and of course, expensive. Very small quan- tities of some important ingredients were necessary for the crop ;_ the difficulty of determining these minute quantities was very great ; and a great de- gree of uncertainty attended the result. The paper breathed throughout the caution and modesty of true science, and as it appeared to us, showed a noble disposition to be satisfied with nothing short of scientific accuracy. But the question is,_may not an analysis which is not in all respects minutely accurate, be of service? We have no_ doubt but it may be in many cases. The danger is that the analist will claim too much, his directions fail, and science become, in the view of the farmer, a humbug, as we believe very many of the $5 analyses truly are. Prof Mapes attacked the paper of Prof Booth with great vehemence, claiming that his positions were nearly all wrong. Considerable discussion followed, after which, it appearing that the paper was not presented for the action of the U. S. Society, but as a part of the proceedings of the Pennsylvania Society, and so far as could be ascertained, even without Prof. Booth's knowledge, it was (not withdrawn, as many reports have said,) put in the hands of the gentleman by whom the JPennsylvania proceedings were presented, to take such course as Prof Booth should direct. As the thing was placed, the dis- cussion was out of place, and to have directed it withdrawn would have been very uncourteous to the Pennsylvania Society. The subject was deemed one of great impor- tance, and there were many who wished to have the paper brought before the Society in such a manner that it could be, with propriety, discussed, and perhaps be made the basis of a report from a committee. We have high hopes and expectations from the aid of science in the cause of agriculture ; but when the best analytic chemists of the day speak with great caution on the subject of soil analysis as the director of the firmer, it should lead us not to re- ly too confidently on the decisions of second or third rate chemists, however confident they may be. But analysis may be a good councillor where it Is not entitled to the rank of commander. Some ingredient which should exist in considerable quantities may be so deficient that a very Imper- fect assay will show a defect. If those crops which require a full supply of the ingredient sup- posed deficient, have failed on the soil analized, the probability would be very strong that we were on the right track. Butr this last thought sug- gests another field for scientific analyses, which is, in our view, subject to less difficulty, and offijrs a richer harvest. We refer to the analysis of the products of the soil. If it is known of what ingredients the ker- nel of wheat is composed, and of what the straw, we may often tell why, on some fields, a heavy growth of straw with small, poor kernels, is the U5ual result. It may be said that the small grain comes from the falling down of the straw ; but the question is, why does the straw fall? Every one knows that it is not always because It is large. It will often fall when, if it stood up and filled well, nothing more than a medium crop could be obtained. Straw generally falls because It lacks a due portion of silica, (silex, flinstone.) It is this that adds due strength to It. Now it is true that almost, if not all soils, muck excepted, contain silex enough, but It is not In a state to be dissolved by water. If potash be added you get a silicate, a new compound, which Is soluble. If common yard manure, unfermented, be applied freely to soils not well supplied with silica in a soluble state, you will get a large growth of straw, extremely weak and almost certain to fall early. But If the soil is rich from manure applied the year previous, and now well decomposed and thoroughly mixed with the earth, and a due pro- portion of alkalies and other Ingredients of the crop are present, you may set as heavy a growth of straw standing erect and carrying to perfect 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER 325 maturity thrible the weight of grain obtained in the other case. But tlie kernel contains a very large portion of phosphoric acid and but little silica. You may, therefore, get a good straw with a small, poor berry. We have no doubt that a shrunk berry is often, not always, but often caused by the want of a proper quantity of phos- phoric acid in the soil. Now the diSerent crops draw, in general terms, on the same ingredients of the soil, but in ex- tremely different proportions. While the ash of one production will be composed of fifty parts in a hundred of some particular ingredient, the ash of another will show less than one part in five hun- dred of that ingredient, but it will draw largely upon some other element. Hence the great value of changing crops, — rotation of crops. Every farmer should have good tables of the ingredients of the. various productions of the. soil, and make them his councillors in all his operations. — Pitts- field Culturist. ANOTHER TRIAL OF PLOWS. Stop the Plow, and if it did not stop civilization, it would give it such a blow as to stagger it almost beyond further power of progress. We wonder even now, how people subsist, and on what they subsist, in populous countries, where the plow still remains a rude and unwieldy instrument, or where it is scarcely worthy the name of an im- plement of husbandry, and is too ill-contrived and inefBcifint to remove the soil more than an inch or two in depth. We were never more forcibly reminded of the vast importance of the Plow than in witnessing the trial of several of new and most beautiful con- struction on the farm of Mr. Joel Nourse, in Ips- wich, on Tuesday, the 24:th of May. Severalgen- tlemen of great practical experience were present, as well as others acquainted with the mathemati- cal construction of the implement, among whom was Mr. Knox, the Pattern-maker in the large es- tablishment of Messrs. Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co., of Boston and Worcester. A plow to possess the necessary strength, and at the same time to lay off, and lay handsomely away, the earth, or furrow, raised by the move- ment of the team, must not only be constructed with mechanical skill, but upon true mathematical principles. The mould board must be so shaped as to roll easily away the furrow, which has been placed upon it, while those shapes must, at the same time, offer the least possible resistance to the progress of the plow. It must combine the prop- erties both of the wedge and screw. Happily, Mr. Kxox seems to understand these wants, and has accordingly given us plows which are models of mechanical skill and whose forms are fashioned by mathematical rules. We have space at present to speak of only two of the plows used in this trial, — the Deep Tiller, No. 77, and the Double Mould-board, or Skim Plow, and a few words of a new implement called "TAe Horse Hoe." The ground on which the trial took place was a sandy loam, never having been plowed deeper than 8 or 9 inches, free from stones, and altogeth- er favorable for the trial. The team, consisting of two pairs ot oxen, was hitched to the Deep Tiller, and set in motion, and never before did we witness such execution with the plow. A trench 12 to 13 inches deep, and 24 inches wide, was cut and cleaned out at every round, the furrow being laid over, not entirely flat, but 80 as to cover every blade of grass. What an achievement! And going down, too, some 3 or 4 inches where plow had never been before. It was done quietly, and without over exertion to the team, the cattle taking an even and steady step round the land. There was almost a sublimity in this rapid change of the solid earth. In it we saw not only future harvests of swelling fruits and golden grain, but the pioneer of civilization, the triumphs of science and skill over the ' resisting form of the earth! An old observer remarked, that 12 oxen were formerly required to cut such a furrow with a ponderous mis-shapen machine. On laying a ten foot pole across the plowed ground and lapping over the unplowcd, it was found that the process of plowing had raised the ground sis inches higher than it laid before. The trial with the double plow was no less sat- isfactory. It cut a furrow 9 inches deep, and 12 inches wide, first taking off 3 inches of the turf and laying it fairly over, with both edges resting on the bottom of the previous furrow — or, in other words, leaving the centre of the turf a little the highest. It turns up and pulverizes the remain- ii^ portion of the furrow in the most desirable manner, leaving it in such condition that a trifling labor only, is necessary to prepare it for the seed. It appeared to us that the power required to plow a given depth was not as much with the double plow as with a single one. But the operations of the "Horse Hoe," a new and beautiful implement, invented by the manu- facturers, added a crowning grace to this interest- ing trial. We shall give a more particular descrip- tion of it hereafter. The Horse Hoe is the most attractive implement we have ever seen on the farm, and, after the plow, we shall be mistaken if it does not prove one of the most eiBcient. Among others present on this occasion, was our Associate, Mr. F. Holbrook, the farmer of Ver- mont, as graceful with the plow handles as with the pen, and always the cool, sound, practical man. The trial was more satisfactory than any we had before witnessed, inasmuch as the ground was more favorable, and the plows in exact working order. Our thanks are due all the persons attending for kind attentions, and particularly to the gentle- manly proprietor of the farm. 326 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July THE FLOWERS. BV C. D. STUART. There is a legend old us earlh, But beauiifiil and true, Which tells us how the flowers had birth, And wherefore came the dew. When Eve, through Satan's sore deceit, Touched the forbidden tree, And templed her "good man" to eat, The Lord came angrily; And straightway turned from Eden's bowers These first-born sinners forth, Away from all its smiling flowers — Upon the barren earth. But pitying— ere to Heaven he passed— His angels— brothers then — O'er all the earlh their fooiprints cast, And hill, and vale, and glen. Sparkled with flowers— Earth's starry spheres- And ere they fled from view, They strewed the flowers with pitying tears, Wliich since has passed lor dew. And thus, though Paradise was lost By first of human kind, Their children know, though sorely crossed, God's love is left behind. HORSES— CAREFUL USE OF, &0. An acquaintance lost his horse, a few days ago in a manner that would suggest an habitual cau- tion in driving. The horse, a valuable one, well kept, in good spirits, and in perfect health, was taken from the stable and driven. He had ascend- ed a long and hard hill within the first mile of driving, and as soon as the summit was reached, the driver, as is the habit of many, touched him with the whip ; he sprang, stopped, staggered, and fell, and by the time the driver could alight from the carriage, he was dead. An examination showed that a large blood-vessel near the heart hSd been ruptured. No appearance of disease could be detected. Now there would be in the same circumstances always a danger of a similar occurrence. Espe- cially if the stomach should happen to be filled, as it would be directly after a full meal. Every increase of the muscular action of any an- imal produces an increase in the rapidity of the circulation of the blood. This arises from two full and pressing upon the cavity of the lungs, it is easy to see that a great pressure of blood in the lungs and the great cavities of the heart must take place. Almost every person has experienced the sharp pain and distress produced by this state of things after having run a little way sharply, not being accustomed to the exercise. It is not diffi- cult to see how, in this crowded state of the ves- sels, a sudden and powerful muscular exertion should cause a rupture of some one of the distend- ed vessels. When a rupture of a blood vessel does not re- sult, oftentimes so much injury is done to the del- icate membrane of the air cells as to produce an incurable heaves. We were early taught this lesson of care in driv- ing, by an old stage proprietor of whom we once had a pair of horses for a journey. ' 'The only cau- tion," said he, '.'I care to give you about driving, is never to start quick from the top of a hill you have just ascended. If you do you may spoil the horses' wind." — Granite Farmer. THE ONION WORM. Within a few years past, our gardeners, in many parts of the State, have been exceedingly annoyed by a little worm that would be found in the very heartof their young onions, which destroyed them entirely, if not eradicated in season. In some places it has been impossible to raise onions at all, and their cultivation has been given up. Almost every expedient has been tried to prevent the rav- ages of these little destroyers, but with very little- effect. Indeed, there has been a good deal of ob- scurity in regard to the origin and habits of it, and, therefore, no very systematic course of prevention could be adopted understandingly. We were pleased to find a chapter on this sub- ject in the last Granite Farmer, communicated to that excellent paper by Hon. Edmund Burke, for- merly Commissioner of Patents at Washington. Mr. B. found that this insect laid a claim to the onion beds in his garden, and was destroying them both root and branch, affording him no prospect of having a single onion to flavor even a "hasty plate of soup" in the fall. In searching out the causes that left him thus onionless, he says he found a description of it in "KoUar's work on insects injurious to gardens," and he forwards to that paper, Kollar's descrip- causes, one mechanical, as the compression of the blood-vessels by the muscular contraction; and I tion and history of this insect, a part of which we one physical, as the necessity for the more rapid here borrow for the benefit of our readers who purification of the blood in a period of exercise. Physiology teaches that every muscular action is attended with a waste of the material of the body, as in galvanic action when zinc is used in the circuit, at each period of* action, portions of the zinc are destroyed. Tliis waste portion of the animal solid goes into the blood and must be dis- charged mainly from the blood in the lungs. The more violent the muscular action, the more of this waste matter is o;iven to the blood, and this once have heretofore had cause to mourn over their des- olated onion beds in the spring. The perfect insect or fly, says KoUar, is entirely of an ash gray color in the females, with black stripes in the males, (known to naturalists by the name of Anthomyia Ccparum,) the wings clear like glass, with blood iridescent reflections, and yellowish brown veins. It is found throughout the summer in several generations. The larva lives during that season singly, aiid also gregari- loaded witl: it is useless until it has been purified ously on the different sorts of leeks and onions in the lungs. Consequently the blood is sent to the lungs in a vastly increased current, and the breathing becomes more rapid to introduce larger portions of air to the blood in the lungs. Here, then, are increased quantities of air in the lungs at the same time, producing a state of fullness if the lungs have full play. But if the stomach is and does great damage among the white onions, so that it often destroys the whole crop. "The fly lays her eggs on the leaves of the on- ions, close to the earth. The newly hatched mag- got bores through the first leaf and then descends between the leaves into the onion in its base, when it entirely destroys the bulb, which soon becomes 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 327 rotten. It leaves the onion to undergo its_ trans- formation in the earth, and becomes an elliptical, reddish-brown, wrinkled pupa, out of which the perfect fly is developed in summer, in from ten to twenty days. The later broods pass the winter in the pupa state." The same insect is mentioned in Kirbey and Spence's work on Entomology. After learning its history, I observed carefully its habits, and found them to conform precisely to the account of it giv- en by Kollar. So much for the description of the insect. The next thing, and a very important one, too, is to know what is the best mode of prevention, and what the best mode of destroying after you have found that you have not prevented its attacks. This has not yet been found out. Kollar says it is very difficult to destroy these insects, and Kollar speaks the truth, as all who have tried to doit will abun- dantly testify. He recommends the use of powdered charcoal which he says must not be applied to every part of the bed, because it is advisable to sacrifice a portion of the crop rather than lose the whole, by leaving patches free from charcoal, where the pa- rent fly will deposit her eggs, and when Imtcbed, the lavaj can be easily removed in the onions left for them to devour, and be] buried very deep or burnt. This process, however, is not very sure. Char- coal ashes, tobacco water, and such like things, have been tried here with but very little success.] Unless 3'ou happen to hit when the worm is on the outside of the leaf, and before it has burrowed into the stalk, you do not disturb it much, and after he gets in out of the reach of your ashes and tobacco spittle, what cares he how much you "pile on?" Mr. Burke also says : — "I have also learned from other sources that lime from the dry purifiers of gas works, and soot are also very eflicient preventives of the ravages of this insect. And recently I have been informed that tar — raw tar sprinkled daily upon the plants, is also an effectual remedy. I was recommended by one of the Shakers of Enfield, to try ashes and lime. I made the application to my beds the pre- sent season, aud succeeded in saving about one- fourth part of the crop." We should think that raw tar, sprinkled upon the plants, could be of no particular service un- less it covered them entirely, and if it did so, it would be as destructive as the worm itself, for no plant could grow encased in a coat of tar. It is probable, if tar is of any use as a preventive, it is owing to its odor being offensive to the fly, and thereby keeping it off the premises. If so, tar in cups, or on chips, placed plentifully among the onions, would be a better way of applying it. We leave tlie matter for further research and experi- ment.— Maine Farmer. _ The IIumax Family. — From a curious statistical digest just published in Europe, it appears that the human family numbers 7000,000,000, and the annual loss by death is 18,000,000, which produces 624,400 tons of animal matter, which in turn gen- erates by decomposition 9,000,000 cubic feet of gases, which are cleared away from the atmosphere by vegetable matter decomposing and assimilating them for their own uses. This is an interesting subject for philosophy. For the Neiv England Farmer. MONTHLY FARMER. FOR JUNE. In green-sward or other tough hoeing, especially if the rows are rather long, and one has to work alone, there is some comfort, at least, in appor- tioning the work and time, and keeping a sort of reckoning of one's progress. On the same princi- ple, I found so great convenience, last month, in parcelling out the pages of the Farmer, that I shall adopt the same method tliis month. THE FIRST TEN PAGES. The "Calendar," as usual, leads the dance,with pleasant thoughts and practical hints. The dan- ger of our observation and knowledge being too much in general, too little in particular, is well put. "Passing Matters" is a specimen of the valuable articles that might be furnished by all farmers were they in the habit of recording such passing matters as almost ^aily make a momentary im- pression on their minds, then slip, and are lost to themselves and the world. Young men, especial- ly, should cultivate the habit of committing their thoughts and impressions to writing. It was not without practice that "R. B. H." acquired the ability to paint with such life and distinctness, as he does in "Sketches of Travel." He shows us things and scenes, — villages, fields, Pennsylvania horses, wagons, barns and the Col.'s farm— all he saw, we see. Following "Plowman's Song" we have a proposition that the "State Farm at West- borough" be made a sort of model aud experimen- tal farm. The subject is continued, by another writer, on page 272, and on page 285, we no- tice the appointment, by the State Board of Agri- culture, of a committee to confer with the Gov- ernor upon the subject. "Old Apple Trees" — Strictures and Advice on Grafting. All right, old Bach ; but I have another little job for you in your knuckle-rapping line. Those folks who set out lit- tle switches of trees, high as your hat and large as your thumb, and wont allow a leaf or branch to shade the sapling lower down than the backs of the team they intend to plow with, need your opin- ion. But we must hurry through our first divi- sion, although we have to pass over such articles as "Rules for using Guano," which give_ informa- tion that probably cost the writer the price of the Monthly Farme?- many times over; "Duration of Posts;" "Feeding Teams;" "Plan 'of a School House;" "Patrons, Patronage, &c." THE SECOND TEN PAGES, Commence with a criticism on "Experimental Farm- ing" in the March nuniber. In relation to the writer's idea of Me soil, I will remark that in dig- ging my barn-cellar we came upon a strata, of gravel about two inches thick, and nearly two feet below the surface. Now, this same strata, or layer, "crops out" and becomes soil, — all there is of soil, — same six or eight rods from the barn. — Then we have "Rural Pleasures," and directions for destroying "Witch Grass." To those who think of trying Mr. Penoyer's "Potato Rot Cure," I will say that for two years past, I have applied a mixture of lime and plaster by shaking it from a small bail- basket over and onto the potato vines. "Farm- ers' Cabinets"— A little experience, years since, 328 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July in this cabinet line, forced upon me the conviction that, for all practical purposes, there is a differ- ence between men as they might be, and men as they are. "Insects" — The writer thinks insects are not the cause of plum-tree warts ; and he even goes into a defence of the whole race. Trouble- some as insects are, who knows that any of us cjuld, after all, make a much better world, than the one in which our patience is sorely tried ? — ^^ Monthly Farmer for April." — A month behind- hand, Mr. Reviewer ; but they did get along with- out you. Your preaching about editors not being responsible for opinions of correspondents is "backed up" by ^'Inquiries and Censures," which makes the editor responsible even for the quality of the wares advertised in the columns of his pa- per. "Grecian Farmers," the vulgar fellows, they planted their vineyards in "rows." Passing an article on "Soil," its origin, character, &c.; and one on Manures," our second lesson endeth witl some account of the ravages of "The Currant Borer," by one who keeps both his name and res ideace to himself. I find that something is trim- ming off a part of this year's growth from many of my currants. Is this the work of your borer, Mr. Far East ? THE THIRD TEN PAGES. After a notice of the Franklin County Transac tions, we have a very interesting article on "Ants and Aphides," — their curious relation to each other, — and hints on the best means of preventing the ravages of the latter. The writer says a de coction of tobacco is a sure destroyer of the aphis, but it cannot be used upon leaves. I have fre- C[uently immersed the branches of small apple trees in it with little or no injury to them. "Farmer Pennywise and Farmer Poundwise" contrasted; good "Farming Implements and Machines" recom- mended ; "The State Farm ;" a group of "Spanish Merino Ewes ;" and we turn over to a catechism on "Dissolving Bones;" read a brief notice of a very desirable "New Seedling Grape," and direc- tions for using "Shell Lime;" with a theoretical explanation of its operation — who will give the practical? "R. B. H.'s" Pennsylvania Farmer (p. 253) says the shells should not be burnt, as a burnt shell differs not essentially from stone lime, except that it contains a small quantity of phos- phorus. An appeal to farmers to "Spare the Sweet Songsters," or cease complaining of the ravages of insects. From the Address of Prof. Mapes at the Franklin County Exhibition, last year, the Editor takes extracts on various topics. "Science," says the learned Professor, "means simply knowledge reduced to a system so as to be readily taught and easily understood, and there- fore, every truly practical jlirmer must necessarily be a scientilic agriculturist." Well, well; is this all there is of Scientific Agriculture 1 Two articles more, one a criticism on a letter from S. F., of Winchester, published in the March number of the Monthly Farmer, and the other, on spelling the word plow, and we have reached the first of THE FOURTH TEN PAGES. "Theory and Facts — do they Agree?" Some- times they do not, that is certain. The question, however, is well discussed here. "Fruit Trees" — Inquiries about 4G Baldwin trees that were said to have produced 300 barrels of apples in each of the years, 1850 and 1852, and some very judicious cautions against forcing trees with rich manure. Directions for raising "Early Radishes and Tur- nips" clean and nice, even in an old, wormy gar- den. Trial of the "Sod and Subsoil Plow" in Ex- eter, N. 11. The next article, "Comparison between Ox and Horse Labor for the Farm," I am going to get round, by placing by its side that otlier arti- cle, by Mr Fiske, in the latter part of our present ten pages, and the one by Mr. Dewey, in the num- ber fur March, of this year, with the single remark that I have never yet seen any such twenty years' result with horses as Mr. Dewey figures up with his oxen. The "Wash from the Sink" of a small family worth $20 — how manure is wasted ! "Tired of Farming;" then "get rested as soon as you can," and up and at it again. Tliat's it. "Cows and Oxen in Portugal" are better off, I should think from this account, than the men themselves, who "work for fifteen cents a day, and find them- selves." Proceedings of "State Board of Agricul- ture," seventh meeting. "New and Untried Scliemes" — The Reviewer handsomely reviewed. Special and exclusive might perhaps have better expressed my idea than "new and untried." I was testing the recommendation of Farmer's Li- braries by this practical sort of home reasoning — Here, is our Winchester Library, costing some 5 or GOQ dollars, fitted up with cases, catalogues, &c., is insured, and in care of a good librarian, who is paid 25 dollars a year for his services ; all classes of our people are interested in its progress and use- fulness ; it has many agricultural works, — Down- ing's, Fessenden's, Coleman's, A^. E. Farmer, Farmer's Own Book, &c., &c. Now, will even "our incog friend" advise the few farmers in Win- chester to attempt the "new and untried scheme" of founding for themselves a special and exclusive library? Our last ten pages now close with a rap on the knuckles of the man with the jack-knife, hand-saw and meat-axe, who is yet occasionally allowed to show his skill in training up trees in the way they should go. THE LAST EIGHT PAGES, Give us a cut and descrifition of "Phelps's Bee Hive;" Review of the May Farmer; Agricultu- ral Axioms;" No. 4 of Mr. Fowler's "Birds of New England," which one Ccvnnot read with much satisfaction while the "village boys" are up in the wood-lot a-gunning ; a minute description of the appearance and habits of the insect that, the writer thinks, produces "The Black Knot on the Plum; out-lines and description of "Monamet Sweeting ;" a column of "Extracts and Replies," including a notice of a Mississippi farmer, who plants some 130 acres of corn, 220 of cotton, and has 100 varieties of Pears ; a recommendation of "Apples for Milch Cows," which reminds me ofa little incident in my own experience — about the time of the advent of Temperance Societies, my father's cidermill gave out early one fall, the ap- ples were gathered and sheltered in the mill, which however was not repaired, and the apples froze up ; during the winter they were put into a ket- tle, thawed and fed out sparingly to the stock. I recollect my father estimated those frozen ap- ples at half the value of potatoes, and that the ap- pearance of our stock was remarked by the neigh- bors, as uncommonly sleek and fine. This, with the Boy's Department, completes the June num- ber of the Monthly Farmer, which the more it is 1853. NEW ENGLA.ND FA.RMER. 329 studied, the closer it is read, the higher it will stand in the estimation of all. A Reader. Winchester, June, 1853. SOILING COWS. The superiority of soiling over tlie common method of turning cattle to pasture, or in other words allowing them a free range, is strongly con- tended for by many at this day. The practice, so far as it at present prevails in this country, has been introduced from Europe, where it has ob- tained for a long time, and where certain peculi- arities of soil, climate and population, render it far more necessary than it now is, or very soon can be, with us. Yet if it really possesses the high merits claimed for it by its advocates — many of whom are among the most intelligent and dis- criminating farmers and dairymen our country can boast of, it is certainly by no means to be neglect- ed. We have now before us as we write, the statements of many men of this class, and among the number a gentleman of Waltham, Middlesex" Country, Mass., who had "four cows, and not a rod of ground which could be appropriated to pas- turage. These animals, therefore, were never out of the barn or the bard yard, and were fed with grass mowed for them, with green corn fodder, which had been sown broad cast for them, and with about three pints of meal each, per day. — The amount of their produce was kept for thirteen weeks. Two of these animals were heifers of two years old, which had calves in the spring. The -whole milk of one of them was taken by her calf during six out of the thirteen weeks. Some of the milk of the other was taken for fomily use, but the quantity was not determined. Under these cir- cumstances three heifers could not be rated as more than one cow of full age and milk. From this stock, however, thus circumstanced and fed, three hundred and eighty-nine pounds of butter were made in the thirteen weeks ! An additional pound would iiave given an average of thirty pounds a week, for the whole time, to a stock which must, in fairness, be set down as three cows only." Where the soiling system is adopted, as it is on many farming establishments — among which we may mention that of the Shakers of New Leba- non, N. J., the superior quantity and quality of the manure is said to be sufficient to defray all the extra expense of cutting the fodder and feeding It is all saved, the liquid as well as the solid ex creraent, and being preserved under cover, is of great strength and energy. In our own practice we have been obliged to re- sort to this mode of feeding in order to keep stock enough to produce any thing like the amount of manure we desire to use. By keeping the cows in the barn until about the tenth of June, our eight acres of old worn out pasture (though as good eight aeresof land as any fiirmer need desire,) affords eight cows a pret- ty good bite until a crop of "cow corn," put into a warm and rich piece of land as early as it is fit for the seed, gets high and stout enough to cut. After this there is bo difficulty, as a succession of crops of this highly nutritious fodder may then be obtained until October. INVESTMENTS IN WEEDS. It is some six thousand years since weeds be- came a serious and positive evil ; yet if we should judge ftom the undisputed empire which they ap- pear to have obtained on some men's domains, we should very naturally suppose that tliis long pe- riod had not been sufficient to reveal the fact. El- ders, thistles, mulleins, Johnswort, red root, chess, cockle, fox-tail, pig-weed, mustard, ox-eye, &c., consume as much of the strength of the soil on some single farms, as would furnish grain for the family's yearly supply. We have heard of many bad investments of capital, from the South Sea scheme, a century or more ago, down to the mul- ticaulis speculation of a_^ later day, and railroads whose only dividends were the old iron originally- used in making them. But South-Sea bubbles,mul- ticaulis humbugs and grass-covered railroads have not consumed a tithe of the money lost every year by the mighty legions of foul materials in the shape of weeds, which are secretly and openly de- vouring the strength of the soil in all quarters of this round globe, wherever cultivation has turned up the soil to the sun. We do not propose to say anything new on the subject of an evil that existed even "before anti- quity appears to have begun;" but perhaps we may make a few suggestions of some use, at the present juncture, when the weeds are ap- proaching the height of their vigor, and to which the wetness of the season in many parts of the country has imparted unusual strength. "How shall we destroy themi" This is an in- teresting question, but there is no "royal road" to their eradication ; it must be accomplished by vigilance and labor. There are, however, differ- ent modes of attack — some laborious and expen- sive, and others comparatively expeditious and eco- nomical. It is our present object to point out some of these. When weeds are newly introduced, and when only a few scattered plants have made their ap- pearance, they may be easily and thoroughly root- ed out by the hand or hoe. But when they have multiplied from a few to millions — when the num- bers become swollen like the little rill to the mighty river, such a rett^l attempt would be as futile as trying to dip out the waters of Niagara with a quart cup. In such instances, we are to look for some means of making a wholesale sweep of them. These means will vary with the nature of the weed against which the war is declared. We need not go into detail with the modes pf destroying weeds. Those which prevail most in pastures and meadows, are commonly best exter- minated by a rotation of such crops as do not favor tlieir increase; and on the other hand, many others are checked or smothered by a heavy seed- ing with grass. With some, as chess, cockle, &c., especial care must be taken to sow clean seed. 330 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July Chess is remarkably insidious in the numberless ways in which its seeds get possession of the soil, besides its rapid increase under favorable circum- stances, which has in some instances been five thousand fold in a single season, making five thou- sand plants tlie second season, twenty-five mil- lion the third, over a hundred thousand million the fourth, and so on, provided every fiacility is given to its growth. Wild mustard, like red root, increases by seed, which if buried deep, will re- main dormant a long period, ready to spring into life when the soil is turned up ; but being an an- nual, instead of a biennial like red-root, annual sown crops are not favorable to its destruction, but it is best eifected by hoed crops, or by frequent plowing and harrowings. The scythe, the hoe, the plow, and the cultiva- tor, if kept in motion, should be looked to as the great exterminators of weeds, but there are cer- tain crops that oft^ prove powerful auxiliaries. Dense grass is unfriendly to nearly all weeds ; buckwheat often exerts a cleansing eiFect on peren- nial rooted creepers, by its smothering influence, besides the mellowing tendency of its deep roots ; but we have never seen anything equal to corn sown in thick drills, in reducing both annual and perennial weeds, as well a? the tenacious grasses. Sown at the rate of three bushels per acre in fur- rows three feet asunder, and then covered with the harrow ; dressed with the one horse cultiva- tor when a foot high, with no hoeing, it has left the land in autumn as clean as a newly plowed field, which without its effectual shade would have presented an unbroken crop of weeds and grass as thick as they could grow. — The Country Gentle- man. CORN— FLAT VS. HILL CULTURE. In your last number, under the head of "Spring Work," you express a desire to be informed as to the "relative advantages of hilling up corn, or let- ting it remain as planted, merely keeping it clean by horse and hand hoeing." After experimenting both ways for some time past, I have not the slightest doubt as to which mode is preferable. The planting being in rows at right angles, I sim- ply use the Corn Cultivator crosswise, and thus leave the field mellow and level. This may be done as often as necessary ; but, as it is easily done, I do it three times, and at each time let a man follow up with a hoe to repair injuries, which is done in a short time, and also to destroy the suckers at the last time. A ten acre lot can thus be easily and thoroughly dressed very soon, com- pared with the tedious hoeing and hilling system. It is obvious that this method decidedly economises both tinip and labor, as the horse and driver do nine-tenths of it on a walk. But this is not all. The stalk, having but one set of roots (which are long and strong,) shoots up vigorously and well supported, and consequently is not much affected by strong winds ; the growth being steady and strong, the yield is more productive ; there being no furrows, ridges, or hills, but all on even surface, it is quite natural tliat this is the true way to re- sist a drouglit. This was abundantly demonstrated .the last season, so unusually dry, with my yield. If it be desirable to seed the field with clover and timothy, or either, it can successfully be done at the last cultivating in July, for pasture or mea- dow the next season. If this be done, the stalks should be cut off close to the ground in the fall. It is surprising to see the happy effect of this way and time of seeding. I can show a field treated thus the last season, having grass six inches high and looking as rich as an old meadow of two or three years husbandry. Persuaded that the cultivator ought to be adopt- ed, instead of the old fashion hoeing and hilling system, I am prepared to believe that it will not be long before farmers will have but one opinion on the subject. To become fully satisfied, I think they need but one trial in a fair field. The result will readily establish this way of managing corn, for vigorous growth and yield, for security against the gale, for resisting a drought,for facility of seed- ing to grass, and above all, for economy of time and labor. — Genesee Farmer. For the New England Farmer. LAYING LANDS TO GRASS—STONES-- TURNIPS. Comfort for fHrmrrs in New England — Laying new land to Grass — Turnips and Super-phosphate of Lime— The Dou- ble Michigan Plow. My Dear Brown : — My professional harness has been fretting me so, of late, that even the glories of the "leafy month of June" have been floating around me for a whole week, without wholly en- ticing me from such antique companionship, as Coke and Blackstone. But at length, "Richard is himself again," and now, for a season, as Daniel Webster said in his famous letter to John Taylor, "our talk is of ox- en," and we will see whether we cannot render ourselves worthy of a place in the list of those "benefactors of mankind" who "make two spires of grass grow, where but one grew before " There is infinite satisfaction in overcoming difficulties, whether in mathematics, or agriculture, in conic sections, or sections of earth by the plowshare. Scott resolves all this satisfaction into "the con- scious pride of art," the glory one takes to him- self for doing what other men have f\xiled to do, perhaps have not, even, had courage to attempt. "Hence we see" how much more happiness is to be derived from the cultivation of New England hills and valleys, than of a western prairie. You ought to be thankful, for the inexhaustible store of comfort treasured up for you and James, in the stones which adorn your homestead, and /for the stumps, which give such scope for genius on my new place ! Shakespeare found "sermons in stones, and good in everything," and by the way, it oc- curs to me, that on this idea of the illustrious bard, your family need not go far from River Cot- tage to attend as much preaching as may be need- ful! The great hero, who wept that he "had not another world to conquer," might have saved his foolish tears, had he baen comfortably "located" on a hundred acres of New England land. Perhaps my mode of subduing the earth, and making many spires of grass grow, where none grew before, may differ enough from the common f;ishion to be worth the notice of those readers of the Farmer who think as I do, that grass is the most profitable of all the staple crops. Having a new fiirm, my object has been to make grass fields,- in the cheapest and most expeditious manner. I have pursued the same course on bog meadows, on 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 381 a clay loam by the river side, and on a sandy loam on the hill side, with equal success. My practice has been, to lay the land to grass, ivithout first raising any hoed crop, or grain, upon it. The com- mon practice has been, among our fanners, first to clear the land, then take off a crop of winter rye, pasture a few years, plow up and plant with corn or potatoes, two years, and lay down to grass with oats, rye or wheat, in the spring. This may be the best mode of doing the thing, on many old farms, but it is too long a ivay to a hay crop, when one must keep a stock of cattle, and sees plainly, that hay will be worth twenty doUiirs a ton, next year ! I have a couple of acres of upland, which you may recollect, just over the bridge, now under treatment, and I will give you the process, as an illustration of the shortest crit to a crop of hay. Late last autumn, my men dug out by the roots, all the growth, enough to make twenty cords of wood ; principally, yellow pine. We dug round the trees, cut off the principal roots, attached a rope to the trunks some twenty or thirty feet from the ground, and pulled tlie trees over, cut them into cord wood, and hauled the wood away. We have now drawn upon the lot, about twenty loads of good compost manure. Next week we expect to burn the brush, and plow the land with a heavy plow. Three good*yoke of oxen, with one man to drive, one to hold the plow, one to cut be- fore the coulter, with a sharp axe to sever the roots ; and a fourth to follow with a bog hoe to turn the balks, make up my regular team for the business. This force will thoroughly plow from one-half to two-thirds of an acre a day. Gener- ally, I use no harrow, but level the furrows with bog hoes. This may seem an unnecessary expen- diture of labor, but the object is, to finish the work without disturbing the furrow, and the har- row will often bring up the sods, so as to require more labor to remove them , than to level the whole by liand. Six men can level with hoes an acre of any land thoroughly turned over by the plow, in a day, burying the turf in the hollows, and piling up for burning, whatever roots come to light. The next step, after taking off, or burning these roots, is, to spread the manure, say seven cords to the acre. If there is need of drains, they must be fin- ished before the manure is applied. Brush the manure in well with a birch brush, drawn by a horse. Sow a half bushel of herdsgrass, and a bush- el of red-top to the acre, roll the land, and the business is done. I prefer to sow it the last of August, or early in September, but have had a full crop when I have sowed as late as the first of Oc- tober. Early in spring, on one of the last snows, sow eight or ten pounds of ck>ver seed to the acre. Clover generally dies in winter, if sowed in the full. Farmers will, of course, find it for their in- terest to vary the details of the operation accord- ing to the condition of their land. My land is en- tirely free from stones, and when once properly plowed, ten or twelve inches deep, is in pretty good subjection. It is indispensable to success, that a very heavy furrow be turned and laid flat, that the small bushes and grass, may not find their way to the surface. I have more than a dozen acres which have been treated substantially in this manner, except that most of it had been cut over, so that I had stumps instead of trees, to dig out. A stump-puller would much facilitate operations, but I have never been able to procure one when I stood in need of it. My belief is, that land reclaimed at once, in this way, may be brought into grass with less manure, than by the common method. The usual crops of potatoes and grain exhaust the land, so that the grass runs out sooner than on land entirely !new. My fields, thus made, are as smooth as old fields ordinarily are— smooth enough to be raked perfectly clean with Delano's Independent Horse- ' rake. I last year laid down about a half acre, with grass seed and English turnips the last of July. Most of my turnip seed proved to be mustard, but not all, and I picked up between thirty and forty bushels of excellent turnips, with no extra labor or expense, but the gathering. I /, however, apply one barrel of bone-dust to the land, which was intended for the good of the turnip crop espe- cially. I propose this year, to lay down one acre with turnips, if I can procure a bag or two of su- per-phosphate of lime, which is undoubtedly a powerful specific manure for all plants of the Bras- sica genus. I am experimenting, in a small way, with the super-phosphate, this season. Tliere is no doubt that it will prove a valuable aid to the market gar- dener and nurseryman. Whether it will be cheap enough for several field crops, is o«e of the ques- tions. Another is, whether we shall ever be able to know whether the article is genuine, or a hum- bug. I am using Mapes's, and think well of it, so far. One of my neighbors is using another stamp, and thinks it an imposition. We shall be ready to say more of it by and by. Many of our farmers are adopting the practice of turning over their grass lands after haying, ap- plying a dressing of compost, and seeding again to grass. I think well of this method, having tried it with success. With the help of the Michigan Double Plow, the work can be done to perfection. I have top-dressed my grass-land a good deal, but am convinced, that as a general practice, it is a waste of manure, that is to say, that it is not the most economical mode of using it. There may be low places, on every farm, where top-dressing may be judicious. And now, friend Brown, I want you to try one acre of your land, with grass seed and turnips, manured with the super-phosphate. Your hill pasture will not be injured by the experiment, I am confident. "Verbum Sap," &c. Yours, H. F. FrexNxh. Ejneier, N. H., June 8, 1853. PRODUCTIVE FARMING. In a treatise on Productive Farming just issued from the press, the following observations occur: — "It is in vegetable as in animal life ; a mother crams her child exclusively with arrow root — it becomes hi, it is true, but, alas ! it is rickety, and gets its teeth very slow.ly, and with difficulty. Mamma is ignorant, or never thinks, that her off- spring can not make bone — or what is the same thing, phosphate of lime, the principle bulk of bone — out of starch. It does its best ; and were it not for a Uttle milk and bread, perhaps now and then a little meat and soup, it would have no bones and teeth at all. Farmers keep poultry ; and what is true of fowls is true of a cabbage, a turnip, or an ear of wheat. If we mix with the 332 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July food of fowls a sufficient quantity of egg-shells or chalk, which they eat greedily, they will lay many more eggs than before. A well-fed fowl is dis- posed to lay a vast number of eggs, but can not do so without the materials for the shells, how- ever nourishing in other respects her food maybe. A fowl, with the best will in the world, not find- ing any lime in the soil, nor mortar from walls, nor calcerous matter in her food, is incapacitated from laying any eggs at all. Let farmers lay such facts as these, which are matters of common ob- servation, to heart, and transfer the analogy, as they justly may do, to the habits of plants, which are as truly alive, and answer as closely to evil or judicious treatment, as their own horses." THE NORTH AMERICAN SYLVA. We have examined with much gratification the splendid work of Michaux and Nuttall, now re- published in this country, at Philadelphia. No recommendation of the work to our readers would be too strong, in urging them to purchase it. — Hundreds of them can spare the $45,00 required, and experience no inconvenience, while they would find much instruction and gratification in their pe- rusal. They would also subserve the cause of sci- entific investigation. We adopt the language of the Horticulturist, in its notice of the new edition of the work, and only regret that our limited means will not allow us the privilege of always having it at hand. We are happy to learn that the superb edition of this great national work, published by Mr. Smith, is in such demand that copies cannot be supplied as fast as they are called for. This speaks well for the growth of taste among the American peo- ple and for the interest they are taking in the pro- ductions of their own forests. It is a work that deserves the most complete success, not only for the important information which it contains, but for its elegance. The style of the engravings is good, and the coloring, done in this country, is, in many respects, equal to the original French edi- tion. Those editions have long been out of print, commanding, before this appeared, no less than one hundred dollars a copy ; that price was ofiered to our late American Ambassador in London for Michaux alone. The present edition, better trans- lated than the English one which appeared in Par- is, is now to be procured for twenty-four dollars ; and with Nuttalls's Continuation, also, in three superb volumes, the whole is oflFered ?ov forty-five dollars. From the nature of this work it can never be- come a "common book ;" indeed, to possess it will always confer a sort of distinction. It is even now somewhat difficult to procure a copy of this new edition, so much time is necessarily employed incoloring the plates by hand, as so few artists exist in this country who can be trusted to work upon tbem. They give regular support to a num- ber of ladies and gentlemen who do little else than color from morning to night. The result is, pic- tures entirely fit to be framed for ornamenting a drawing-room. By a little study of its valuable plates and comprehensive letter press, all may identify the products of our splendid forests, and learn to love what is so beautiful and worthy of study. If it were only to be able to know exact-'' ly all our American Oaks, or if they only were figured by this master of engraving, the work would be cheap, nay invaluable ; but in addition, we have in Michaux and Nuttall all the trees of our continent. The first named author described the trees of the Atlantic slope, and Nuttall continued tlie labor to the Pacific, including Oregon and California. The trees from these new possessions are already finding their way to our nurseries and gardens, and Nuttall's volumes are therefore in- dispensable, for his are the only descriptions ex- tant of these western novelties. Mr. Smith, the editor, happily remarks in his introduction, "It was a singular circumstance, and a happy one for advancing science, that Mr. Nuttall arrived in this country the very year that the younger Michaux left it. * # # The two works are now one and homogenous; the former most highly valued by all lovers of trees, and the latter destined to be equally so." * # # * * The elder Michaux is deceased, having fallen a sacrifice to his scientific zeal on the coast of Mad- agascar ; Redonte, the engraver, who has left such a world-wide reputation by his engravings of the work, the Liliaceoe Rosftceae, &c., is no more ; both Mr. Maclure and Dr. Morton have lately paid the debt of nature. The elder Michaux commenced the "Sylva," by describing the Oaks of America; his son, F. Andre Michaux, who completed it, still survives, and resides in Paris, at the age of eighty-three years. He displayed a vocation for the natural sciences at an early age, and accompanied his father on his voyage to America. In 1802 he was employed by the French government to ex- plore the country west of the Alleghany moun- tains, and published in 1804 his travels in that then distant and almost unexplored region. A sec- ond volume contained a memoir on the naturaliza- tion of roots of American forest trees in France. In 1810 he published the Sylva. No country can boast a more magnificent or useful account of any part of its natural production ; it unites the ad- vantages of a work strictly botanical, and of one re- lating to the useful arts, collecting all the scat- tered details which books or experience could fur- nish him, with respect to the application of the va- rious kinds of wood to the purposes of life, which are extremely useful and important at the present day. The fame of both fxther and son may be re- garded as the common inheritance of France and the United States. Farming Inconsistencies. — Farmers dig their gardens two feet deep, but only plow their land five inches. They take especial care of their nag horses in a good warm stable, but expose their farm horses and cattle to all weathers. They de- ny the utility of drainage in strong tenacious clays, but dare not dig an underground cellar in such soils, because the water would get in. They waste their liquid mauure, but buy guano from Peru to repair the loss ; and some practical men, who are in ecstacies with the urine of the sheep- fold, have been known seriously to doubt the ben- efit of manure. But it may be asked, "Where is the capital to come from for all these improve- ments?" The reply will be, "Where does the 1853. NEW ENGLAND 1m, with- out ventilation, and expect the air to remain pure, as to expect a multitude of youth, when congre- gated together, without employment, to retain their purity. All experience proves the evils of such associations. Satan always finds employ- ment for the idle. When good is not doing, mis- chief will be brewing. But sir, short stories are best. I hope those who have the power, will not be unmindful or neglectful of their duty. MayZl, 1853. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 335 For the New England Farmer. OORN-PODDER, AND CORN-STALK CUTTER. The advantages of cutting up corn- fodder and mixing meal with it, for the feeding of cattle, par- ticularly during a winter when hay is scarce and of a high price, were lately illustrated at the farm of Levi A. Dowley, Esq., in Brattleboro'. Mr. Dowley having a numerous stock to winter, and hay being worth fifteen dollars per ton, and not plenty at that price, he was induced to try the experiment of cutting corn-stalks and mixing meal with them, as a substitute for hay in the feeding of a portion of his cattle. Eleven cows, six steers coming four, six coming three, and ten coming two, years of age, — in all, thirty-three animals — were accordingly separated from the fatting cattle, and fed from about the first of De- cember to the first of March last, with thirty- three bushels, each morning, of finely-chopped stalks muistened_ with water and then three pecks of meal mixed through the mass, with a like quantity each evening, and with uncut oat straw each noon. The meal was. a mixture of Indian corn and of oil meal, in the proportion of three quarts of the latter to twenty one of the former. The stalks fed during the three months as above mentioned, were a part of the crop grown on eighteen acres of land planted with corn last sea- son, and yielding an unusually great product, both of grain and stalks. The entire crop was cut up at the surface of the ground, before the autumnal frosts appeared, and while the stalks were yet green and succulent, was well cured in the field, and then, after husking, the fodder was placed in shed lofts and over the barn floors, so that it came out in the winter fresh and sweet. Some less than two-thirds of the quantity of fodder produced on the eighteen acres, was con- sumed by these cattle, during the period of three months ending on the first of March ; and it was calculated that if the whole product of the same grown thereon, had been cut and fed as during the three months, it would have kept this lot of stock till the first of June : but on the first of March, it was quite apparent that the hay on hand would be sufficient for the feeding of the en- tire farm stock till grass-time ; and accordingly the thirty-three animals received their portion of the hay night and morning with the other stock, and the l)alance of the corn forage was thrown about the yards during the day, the best of it eaten, and the coarser parts trampled under foot for litter and manure. The wages and board of one man formed the extra expense incurred by reason of passing the stalks through the chaff-cutter, moistening them with water, adding the meal and feeding the prepared mas^s to the animals. The person employed fur this purpose was paid twelve dollars per month, and his board may be called eight dol- lars per month — making an extra monthly expense of twenty dollars. The amount and value of the corn and oil meal fed each of the three months may be called — 39 bushels of corn meal at 83 cents per bushel, — $32.37 ; and 6 bushels of oil meal at 78 cents per bushel, — S4,68 ; making a total cost of meal per month of $37,05. Prices of labor, board, and of forage and proven- der varying more or less with different localities, no nice calculation of the exact cost or saving of this mode of feeding will here be made ; but from tlie details that are given, each reader may draw his own conclusions of the expediency or other- wise of the same. Suffice it to say, that the ex- periment resulted satisfactorily to the projector of it, the animals were healthy during its continu- ance, and in good flesh at its conclusion. The corn fodder was reduced to a complete state of chaff, or was cut in pieces one-quarter to one- half inch long, by a stalk-cutter invented and man- ufactured by Reuben Daniels, at Woodstock, Vt. It is a good machine, perhaps the best chaff-cutter yet made for reducing corn stalks to a fit state for being fed with meal ; and it may be guaged to cut hay, straw, &c., to any length, from four inches to one-fourth of an inch. However, it has not, per- Iiaps, all that capacity to take in, and to cut com stalks as rapidly as one could desire. We farmers are very much in want of a power- ful, effective chaff-cutter, which shall take in a gen- erous mouthful of corn stalks, cutting them very fine, and having that capacity of fly wheel and of geerings which shall cause the machine to work with facility and expedition by the application of the turning-power of one man. There are vari- ous machines, denominated hay cutters, in the market, which are well adapted to the purpose their name indicates ; but they are wholly inade- quate to the proper and profitable cutting of corn fodder — the very quality of forage which most needs improvement by being reduced to a fine and soft state, and by the addition of meal. If our agricultural machine-makers could but invent the right cutter for this business, they would confer an important benefit upon the farmers, as well as find already sale for such invention. Quite an addition- al breadth of corn and other coarse forage would be grown for winter feeding, if money could only purchase a suitable machine for quickly and cheap- ly reducing such forage to a proper state for eco- nomical feeding. F. Holbrook. Brattleboro'' , JuneS, 1853. TOWN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. -"To ileck the shapely knoll That softly swell'd, and gaily dressM appears A flow'ry island from the dark green lawn Emerging, must be deemed a labor due To no mean hand, and asks the touch of taste." Mr. Editor : — Conversing with a friend in Mass- achusetts, a few days ago, 1 was much interested with his plan for the formation of town horticul- tural societies. Through his agency, such a soci- ety exists in Andover, Mass., which has been found both useful and pleasant to its members. Before the existence of this society, little interest was felt in ornamental flowers and shrubs or in scientific gardening. Through the agency of a sin- gle individual. Dr. Eastman Sanborn, of that vil- lage, a warm interest has been awakened in hor- ticulture. Dr. Sanborn is enthusiastic in the cul- ture of fruits and flowers; and like every other ear- nest and true patriot, he imparts both of his zeal and his choice flowers to others. When his neigh- bors see the beauty and inhale the fragrance of the beautiful products of his industry and skill, they admire his plan of creating c^imfort and hap- piness at home, and "go and do likewise." It is not enough to see and smell a beautiful flower while it lasts, one likes to have it with him ; and when 336 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July a person has enjoyed the society and sweet Ian guage of a single flower, he, like Oliver Twist, al- ways "asks for more." The Andover Society holds regular meetings, and furnishes occasional exhibitions of fruits and flowers. Each member saves seeds from his own garden, for exchange with other societies and with the Patent Ofiice at Washington. Thus they se- cure to themselves the most valuable specimens of flowers, fruits, plants, shrubs, and edible roots, which the gardens of the world afford. They may malce horticulture a source of income, if they choose ; tliey cannot fail to make it a source of pleasure. The love of flowers is one of the most innocent, pure, and healthy afiections of the 4iuman soul. There is no rivalry or loss of love in it. The passion never decays, but actually "grows by what it feeds on." It interferes with no duties, domestic or public, but adds a new charm to both and gilds with "the purple light of love" all the asperities and inequalities of life. The biographer of the Empress Josephine men- tions it, to her credit, that she was fond of flow- ers; and adds that this passion in females usually indicates a gentle temper and a loving heart. If this be the fact, in relation to females, the culti- vation of flowers may have very important bear- ings upon their prospects in life. The formation of village societies for improve- - ment in experimental gardening is, certainly, wor- thy of consideration. If our citizens are indiffer- ent to the ornamental part of horticulture, they Cannot be so, with I'eference to the useful and pro- ductive department. The berries, fruits, plums, currants and edible roots of a well cultivated gar- den add very essentially to the substantial enjoy- ments of life. They also contribute greatly to the ordinary support of a family. The quantity and quality of these comforts of a farmer's life may be materially improved by skill and industry. The skill may be acquired by com- paring notes at a horticultural meeting and by per- sonal experiments. The reward is certain. Let those who feel any interest in the welfare of their respective communities, consider these suggestions and resolve to act. — Granite Farmer. THE CLIMATE OF COUNTRIES. Although Edinburgh, in great Britain, is situa- ted ten degrees farther north than the city of New York, it has a much warmer climate in winter, and the heat and cold never attain to such extremes. The cHmate of England is, to the majority of our people; a mystery. The island is situated between 50 and 55 deg north latitude, and it has a milder climate than we enjoy in the latitudes of 40 and •45 deg. The British Isles are situated in the path of warm ocean currents, which flow across the Atlantic and beat upon and circulate around them. The wild Orkney Islands, which are situated in 59 deg. 5 minutes, have warmer winters than we have in New York city, which is situated about 17 deg. further south. In the city of Glasgow, the mean temperature in the month of January is 38 deg., and it has never been below zero but twice in forty years, and then only 3 deg. for two days. In Unst, in the Shetland Isles, in latitude GO deg., 5 min., the mean temperature in Janua- ry is 40 deg. In many places of the United States, ranging from New York to Maine, in lat. 45 deg.. the mean temperature is 6 deg. below zero. Unst is only one degree colder than Constantinople, in January, and no country in Europe, nor the world, perhaps, enjoys the mildness of climate peculiar to Great Britain and Ireland. This must have a wonderful effect upon the health and organiza- tion of the people. The cause is, as we have stat- ed, generally attributed to the currents of the Gulf Stream ; one philosopher, however, attrib- utes the genial warmth to moist breezes from Af- rica, which come over the Atlantic, crossing the equator. In Russia, Moscow is on tl.e same line with Edinburgh, yet its temperature in winter is at least 13 deg. lower. The climate of England is moist and wet. To foreigners, accustomed to clear skies, it is disagreeable. The atmosphere is cloudy in summer, and this is one reason why it is not so warm as in other countries in the same north- ern latitude. "Were it not for the warm ocean currents and the warm breezes, the coasts of Eng- land would be ice-bound, and many of the plants which now flourish there as evergreens, would be unknown. On the northern coast of our continent — in northern Oregon — the olimate is much warmer in winter than in places on the same lines of latitude in our Eastern States. It is believed that currents from the orient flow over the Pacific and wash the Oregon shores, as the Gulf Stream nf the Atlantic does the British Isles. During the past winter the thermometer ranged at 17 deg. above zero, and the prairies were green all the time, except when covered by occasional snow storms. The farmer is not compelled, as in the Eastern States, to depend for the winter sustenance of his cattle on hay raised the previous season ; his cattle can graze there throughout the whole year, and wild flowers may often be plucked in the months of Jan- uary and February. — Scientific American. THE FIRST SAW MILL. The old practice in making boards was to split up the logs with wedges ; and inconvenient as the practice was, it was no easy thing to persuade the world that it could be done in any better way. Saw mills were first used in Europe in the 15th centu- ry ; but, so lately as 1555, an English Ambassa- dor, having seen a saw-mill in France, thought it a novelty which deserved a particular description. It is amusing to see how the aversion to labor saving machinery has always agitated England. The first saw-mill was established l)y a Dutchman, in 16G3 ; but the public outcry against the new- fangled machine was so violent, that the proprie- tor was forced to decamp with more expedition than ever a Dutchman did before. The evil was thus kept out of England for several years, or rather generations; but in 1758, an unlucky tim- ber merchant, hoping that after so long a time the public would be less watchful of its own interest, made a rash attempt to construct another mill. The guardians of the public welfare, however, were on the alert, and a conscientious mob at once collected and pulled the mill to pieces. Such patriotic spirit could not always last, and now, though we have nowhere seen the fact distinctly stated, there is reason to believe that saw-mills are used in England. a^ Drinking water neither makes a man sick, nor in debt, nor his wife a widow. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 337 Tor the Neiv England Farmer. FANCY liOP-EAR RABBITS. Mr. Editor : — Above I hand you a drawing from life of a doG and young, of the English Lop-cared Rabbits — such as are now bred to a wide extent in Great Britain, and which are very highly esteemed for the table, when fattened, or as pets with ama- teurs. This tribe are beautiful creatures, are very easi- ly reared, and have proved a most interesting ad- dition to the stock of fanciers who have bred them. In England, they receive a good share of attention, and clubs exist there in all the largo cities and towns who hold annual eshil)itions, at which a good deal of competition is evinced for superioi'ity. My stock I imported last spring from London, Liverpool and Dublin ; and I shall be happy to show it to those interested, at my residence, in Melrose. The peculiarities of this race consist chiefly in their great size, their fine colors, and their long pendant ears. They are exceedingly prolific — breeding six or seven times in a year — and may be kept advantageously in a very small space. My rabbitry occupies a building 12 by .''>0 feet. The animals are confined in hutches three feet long and two feet wide. These hutches, (or apart- ments,) are ranged in tiers, one over another, five on a tier ; and each rabbit occupies a separate hutch. The young are taken from the mother at our to sis weeks old, and are afterwards kept to- gether (six-to ten,) in a larger hutch, in a sepa- rate room of the rabbitry. They are ready for breeding at 6 to 8 months old. I am not aware that these pretty animals are now very extensively bred in this country, Mr. Rotch, of Morris, N. Y., and Mr. Rodman, of Dedham, being the only gentlemen that I know, who have fine stock ; yet I think we shall very soon see more of them, from the fact that there is at present a good deal of inquiry for them, at home and abroad. I am yours, &c., Geo. p. Burnh.am. For the New England Farmer. STATE PAUPER FARM. Mr. Editor : — In my remarks upon the pauper fiirm at Tewksbury, I said, "If the good people of this State expect that the farm will contribute in any important degree to sustain the establishment, they will be disappointed." But from this, it by no means follows, that it is unwise or ill-judged, to connect a fiirm with the institution. As I re- marked, "it will furnish potatoes, garden vegeta- bles, and milk." It will do more ; it will furnish employment to a portion of the inmates f 3r a part of the year at least. To furnish employment, and especially profitable employment, to the inmates of such institutions, has ever been the most difficult problem to solve in connection with them.^ It will afford many conveniences to the institution and contribute very much to its beauty and agreeable- 338 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. July ness. It will furnish to invalids and to those re- covering from sickness, ample grounds in which to take air and exercise, and by allowing the lines of enclosure to be removed to a greater distance from the house, will diminish its prison-like appear- ance. Its moral effect also upon the people in the house, is by no means to be overlooked. Almost every human being, however ignorant and degra- ded, is influenced by the circumstances in which he is placed, by the scenery by which he is sur- rounded. The people who will occupy this estab- lishment, will be more easily governed and kept in proper order, in a neat, convenient, well ar- ranged house, and in grounds adorned with beau- tiful trees and flowers, and with avenues well kept and clean, than they would in a house in which no regard was paid to appearances, and in whose arrangements g(jod taste had not been con- sulted. There is in every human heart a chord that vibrates responsive to the voices of nature and of beauty ; and by these gentle voices, the most rugged and savage nature is softened and human- ized. It is by no means, a matter of indifference, by what grounds and by what scenery, this and similar institutions are surrounded. But not to enlarge upon this subject, there is another reason why it is well that farms have been connected with the pauper establishment of the State. I notice by the report of the last meeting of the Board of Agricultural Commissioners, that the subject of appropriating a portion of the Reform School farm, to the purposes of experimental farming, was ta- ken up and referred to a committee who are to confer with the Governor in respect to it. I see no reason why a portion of each of the pauper farms may not be devoted to a similar use, with- out diminishing in any material degree its econom- ical value to the State. A series of scientific ex- periments might be accurately conducted with re- spect to the adaptedness of certain seeds and plants and fruits to the climate and soil of New England; with regard to the value of different kinds of ma- nure, both natural and artificial; with regard to the kind of manure which different vegetables re- quire ; with regard to different modes of cultiva- ting crops of established value ; with regard to the feeding of stock, the value of different articles of nutriment, and their effect in producing muscle and fat, and the amount and quality of milk. We need a series of accurate experiments upon all these and many other subjects, and if their pro- cesses and results were carefully stated, they would be of inestimable value to the farmers and gai-den- ers of the State. I have had occasion to observe before, in your paper, that the deductions of sci- ence, especially when they relate to subjects pos- sessing vitality, need to be verified by experiment. When they relate to dead matter, if the circum- stances are all known, they maybe more safely relied on. But when they relate to subjects mod- ified by the vital power, a power with regard to whose essence we know absolutely nothing, and •with regard to whoso laws we know but little, then they are to be relied on no liirther than they are justified by actual experiment. The State now owns three farms, situated in sections distant from each other, and different series, or different classes of experiments, might be instituted upon each of them. For instance, the Tewksbury farm is situated in a fruit-growing section of the >State. The geolog- ical formation of all that region indicates its adapt- edness to the cultivation of the apple ; and were this indication wanting, the success of the fruit growers of Bedford, Billerica, North Tewksbury, Wilmington and Andover, proves this region suit- ed to the cultivation of fruit. The Woodpecker or Baldwin, AA'as first found in Burlington, but a few miles distant, and first cultivated to any extent, in Woburn and Wilmington, by Col. Baldwin and Capt. Jacques. The farm itself is admirably situ- ated for the cultivation of fruit. The whole plat of ground on which the buildings are situated, would make a splendid orchard; some subsoil drain- ing might perhaps be required of a portion of it. Consideraljle portions of it might be appropriated to the cultivation of different kinds of fruit, and to grafting and budding upon different kinds of stocks without interfering essentially with the production of vegetables for the establishment. A portion of the farm has a soil well adapted to the cultivation of garden seeds, and perhaps a part of the females in the house might be profitably employed in this kind of culture. The stock owned by the State Agricultural So- ciety might be kept at Southboro', and this might be made the stock farm of the State. Grains and grasses might be cultivated at Palmer, and thus the Agricultural Board or its Secretary might have an interest in each of them, and by visits and sug- gestions, by supplying seeds and plants, and arti- ficial manures, and in various ways, might contri- bute to their agricultural success, and by collect- ing the results of these various experiments, and laying them before the public, they might accom- plish one important end for which they were ap- pointed. J. R. Concord, June 14, 1853. For the Neiv England Farmer. STATE REFORM SCHOOL. Mr. Editor: — The discriminating notice of the Institution for the reformation of disobedient boys, established by the State at Westboro', by the mu- nificent donation of the late Gen. Lyman, con- tained in your paper of this date, is worthy of more than one perusal. Having participated in the view of the condition of the Institution, as it appeared on the 1st of June, I thought I might be excused in a few suggestions, for which you did not find space. First, as to the personal cleanliness of the boys. If I do not mistake, there was a great deficiency. Their hands and their faces looked as though ivater was scarce and soap dear. Their heads too, it makes me crai<;/ a// ot'er to think of them. Such things ought not to be. Who can wonder that deaths should be sudden and frequent, under such cir- cumstances 1 One poor fellow from Salem, it was said, died the week previous, after an illness of only /owr hours ; was this cholera 1 It cannot be called J.sia/ic Cholera. One gentleman remarked, he died o{ rotten potatoes — and when the collar was examined, there was no want of proof on this point. Such an eflluvia as pervaded the establishment en- tire, from decaying vegetables, I have never before met. Perhaps it was worse at that time, as they were then occupied in clearing the cellar. The error was in ever putting them there, or certainly in suffering them to remain, until they rotted. 1S53. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 339 Second, as to the ocaipafion of the boys. A large proportion o£them,sAy seven-eighths at least, were employed in sewing leather, or scioing coarse garments, for a paltry hire of 15 cents per day. This will do when there is nothing else that can be done. But why coop up the boys in this man ner, when there is so much to be done upon the fixrm, where they are anxious to be employed? — Such confinement enervates their bodies, and hu- miliates their minds. It would not be strange at all under such circumstances, that they should be refractory. No one could blame them for being so The purpose of the founder, if I rightly appre hend it, was to prevent, rather than to pimish offen ces. A truly noble purpose. This he would ac complish, by taking those youth who were so un- fortunate as to be under no parental guidance or restraint, and placing them during their minority, where they could be employed and instructed ; so that when they come upon the world, they might be found useful and worthy of confidence. To do this effectually, it is necessary that the boys who enter the institution should feel it to be a privi lege granted them, rather than a punishment inflict- ed; and 80 it is, the indiscretionsof youths of their age are not to be viewed as crimes. The char aoter of their acts is far different from those of old offenders. The boys should feel a confidence in being en- tirely forgiven. They should not be harrassed by the reflection, that they had done wrong. So long as they feel themselves to be looked upon as criminals, so long criminal thoughts will be upper- most in their minds. The boy who remarked in your hearing, "Some of us cannot help thinking," told the whole story. While they thus meditate, their chief aim will be to counteract the restraints of their overseers. Until they can be|made to re- spect themselves, they will never be worthy to be respected by others. To suppose these boys more disposed to evil, than the generality of boys of their age, in the community, is a great mistake. The fact is, boys, like men, are pretty much alike every where — only made different by accidental circumstances. I doubt not as much talent and as much virtue, can be found in a hundred of these boys, as in a hundred of the same age in any of our Colleges, Then why not so preserve and guide them, as to make men of them ? If the State fails to do this it will fail to do its duty. Essex. June 11, 1853. For the New England Farmer. TRIMMING PINE TREES. Mr. Brown : — Will you please to put into your valuable paper a few lines respecting whether it is best or not to trim young pine trees, and when is the best time to do it to prevent them from bleeding. g. f. w. Remarks. — We cannot answer the questions of our friend with much confidence that we can affjrd him aid. The remark has been familiar to us from boyhood, that evergreen trees must not be trimmed ; that nature will cast off the lower limbs, when the tree has done using them, in a better manner than we can separate them with the saw or knife. On the other hand, Ave have known individual trees that were trimmed and flourished well, and we have in our mind at this time, a large number of white pine trees standing in a body that were pruned seven years ago, and which have grown well since. They stood thick, and were pruned up perhaps six feet from the ground. If pruned at all, we have no knowledge at what time the work should be done. The inquiries are important, and we hope those possessing knowledge in relation to them will impart it to us. For the New England Farmer. A NEW ENEMY IN THE FIELD. Within the past three days, we have noticed on our apple trees, a small worm, which threatens destruction to our most valuable crop. His man- ner and size are much after the style of the canker worm, but his personal appearance is different. — Like the canker worm, he devours the leaf, all but the tough fibres, and if you suddenly shake the tree, spins dowYi on his thread like a spider, and he leaves the tree looking as if seared by fire. The canker worm, if I recollect aright, when he visited New Hampshire twenty years ago, or more, was always of a dark color, and moved soberly, by measure, like an inch worm, while these creatures are of all colors, black, brown, green and striped, and they slip off your hand, with a sort of waltz- ing step, in a second. I have traveled from Chester, through Raymond and other towns, home, to-day, and have observed them all along. They are abundant, not only on the apple tree, but on the plum, and on the white and red oak. The peach, which promises a great crop, this season, seems to be free from them. — Probably they are not fond of prussic acid. I note the matter hastily for the Farmer, without investigation, myself. Probably Professor Harris can tell us all about the animal in a moment. Exittr, N. H., June 20, 1853. H. F. French. Remarks. — These new plagues are common in this vicinity, and threaten sad havoc to the apple trees ! but they infest our strawberry beds and even the pines in the woods. Every effort should be made to suppress them and th'^ir progress minute- ly watched, so that we may know more of their habits. Shaking the trees pretty freely, dislodges them, but whether they return to the tree harm- less, or not, we have not observed. We advise this practice and also the syringing the young tree well with whale oil soap, strong soap suds, or even clear water. We understand that the muriate of lime manu- factured by James Gould, at Charlestown, Mass., will destroy them, by sprinkling the ground with the lime, and shaking the worms down upon it. To Keep Birds from Picking Fruit. — As the season is coming on for the depredations of birds, I beg to report my experience of last year, when I saved my currants and gooseberries by winding colored worsted around and across my bushes ; and 340 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. JULT my cherries by hanging up several pieces of tin with strong thread in the different trees, two pieces being hung near enough together to chish with the wind, which sound, with the bright reflection of the tin in the sun, certainly frightened them away ; and I had my due share of fruit, which, the pre- ceding year, I was obliged to relinquish to them. — Agricultural Gaz. For the New England Farmer. ORCHARDS-.-MUOK— ASHES. I have an orchard which I think needs lime. — There is a pile of swamp mud near it which was hauled there last fall. I purpose after haying, to mix lime with the mud and apply it to the orchard next spring. Can I do better? {a.) Had the lime better be slacked before mixing with the mud or not? I have several coal hearths on my farm, where coal was burnt about 20 years ago. Would it be profitable to put around apple trees ; if not, is it of more value than swamp mud for any use 1 (b.) Cole, in the American Fruit Book, gives the analysis of the ash of the Apple Tree, potash, so- da, lime, &c. He says, supply potash in wood ashes, soda in common salt, and so on. If there is soda, lime, and other inorganic matters in wood ashes, will they not supply them as well as potash ? (c.) Of course the ashes of different kinds of wood will supply them in different proportions. There are different opinions as to what killed the fruit trees winter before last. Trees grew very late in the fall, and the latter part of October there was a cold snap which I think was the prin- cipal cause. I took up some tender trees the be- ginning of November, and covered them so that they were nearly below the action of the frost ; others of the some lot I let stand through the win- ter ; botl] kinds were badly killed ; I think there was not much difference. A Subscriber. Remarks. — (a.) You will certainly do well to mix your muck with quick lime, and let it slake in the heap. We think of no way at present, in which you could do better with the materials. — Overhaul the heap as often as you can afford to before using, and if you spread it on the surface in the autumn the frost will act upon a much larger portion of it, and better prepare it for being plowed in. (b.) Charcoal may be applied with advantage, in the powdered state, as a top-dressing. Wher- ever an increased supply of ammonia, escaping from the air, the earth, or from any putrescent matter, is desirable to be caught and retained, charcoal will always do good. The fresh burnt article, also — contains much saline matter that will be dissolved by rain, and contribute to tlie enrich- ment of the soil. (c.) Wood ashes are better than potash to be used on most of our soils ; and even leached ash- es are capital fertilizers. They impart as much potash, soda, sodium, chlorine, &c., as the plants need, and they would take up no more in a given time if the quantity present were ten times as great. That is, we believe that plants have an elective power, both as to quantity and quality, as well as animals, and therefore, it is under a due and proper admixture of all the elements of fertili- ty, that the plant flourishes best. Leached ash- es, therefore may be just as valuable for the crop as unleached, but its permanent effects might not be the same. We must be on our guard against the idea that the application of a single element will always in- crease the crop. It undoubtedly will in some ca- ses, but until the science of chemistry in its rela- tion to agriculture are carried to a much higher degree of perfection than it now is, we must ap- ply most of the principal fertilizers to our soils, to feel any certainty of reaping a remunerative crop. Dr. Dana aptly illustrates this point. lie says that attempting to work the soil without all the ingredients of plants present in sufficient abun- dance is like a man attempting to build a vessel thus: he may have all the plank, and ship knees, and spars, and sails, and rigging, and all other re- quisite materials, but no nails and spikes .' &nd he can't possibly build his ship successfully. Nails and spikes are small matters, compared with the rest of the vessel, but he can't get along without them. ORDER IN EVERYTHING. A PROPOSED EXPERIMENT. There has been no saying oftener repeated, and none more worthy of repetition, so far as farm economy is concerned, than "A place for every- thing, and everything in its place." One of the best modes for every farmer to apply this rule in practice, is to make a complete list of all his farm implements, from his wagons, carts and plows, down to awls, gimblets, and screw-drivers. Let every implement be immediately returned to its place after using, no matter how inconvenient tliis may be, instead of throwing it on the ground till forgotten, with the intention of replacing it when a suitable moment occurs to do so. Now, if any one is unprepared to adopt this plan, we would recommend the following experiment, in order to reduce its merits to the test of accurate figuring: — Let him keep an accurate record of all the time lost in one year by hunting for lost tools in times of emergency, adding in the losses occa- sioned by keeping other persons or teams in wait- ing while the search is in progress also adding the waste occasioned by the consequent exposure of such tools to the weather, or by finally losing them, — and not forgetting to estimate the detri- ment to his crops and farming operations general- ly, by the delay thus frequently occasioned. (lie may, likewise, if he chooses, keep an account cur- rent of the amount of vexation caused by these frequent annoyances — unless he is so far gone that disorder and delay are matters of indifference to him.) We have no doubt that such an experi- ment as this, faithfully followed out, would great- ly surprise him at the end of the year, and furnish satisfactory proof of the immense superiority of the plan first proposed by us. Who will be wil- ling to give bolh ways a full trial ? — Albany Culti- vator. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 341 For the Tfew En^ln-nrt Farmer. PROTECTION AGAINST THE BEE- MOTH. Mr. Editor : — You are aware that the great obstacle to the successful and profitable culture of the Iloney-Bee consists in the depredations of the Bee-moth. Owing to these depredations many cul- tivators of bees have lost their entire stock and abandoned the enterprise. The great desideratum for many years has been to provide a remedy. The ill success of others in this respect has led me to be slow in announcing to the public what I have long believed to be an effectual safe-guard against the evil complained of. The remedy consists in a proper construction of the hive ; and I have to an- nounce to you, (and through you to the public,) that I have constructed a hive which has proved itself to be a complete protecdon against the en- croachments of the Bee-moth . In its use for the space of 12 years I have not lost a swarm of bees nor had one in the least injured in this way ; and I am now ready to warrant to others the same protection. Those who wish to avail themselves of such protection can examine my somewhat ex- tensive stock of bees at my residence, or may ad- dress me by mail. Henry Eddy, M. D. North Bridoewater, May 19, 1853. Remarks. — The above article is strictly an ad- vertisement, but we are too good natured this morning to reject it as a communication, hoping that by extending the information we shall be the means of sweetening many a mouth that "wat- ers," every time the word honey is mentioned. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. C. S. Hamilton, Hartford, Vt., says, "I have protected my melons, squashes and cucumbers from the ravages of the bugs and worms with boxes made about one foot square, covered with musquito netting, while my neighbors have been much troubled with them. The worms move on the top of the ground, and do not get under the boxes, and the plants grow much better. To T. S. F., Canaan Vt. — Stable manure is not improved by being kept over one year, but is very liable to be injured, if not ruined, by being heated too much. It would be difficult to keep it, under any circumstances, so that it would not lose much of its fertilizing power. • If you can haul out a large bed of muck and lay it say 12 to 18 inches thick in some out of the way place, and there let it remain a year or more before using it, you will be less likely to bring meadow grass into your high grounds. During the time it is lying in the heap, plow it occasion- ally. After it is a year old cart and spread it, in the autumn, on the land where you intend to plow it in. Large quantities of muck may also be advan- tageously used by mixing it daily, or two or three times a week, with the droppings from the cattle stalls. This takes up and holds the liquids and prevents evaporation, in a considerable degree, of the gases. "E. S.," in reply to the inquiries of S. G. B.," about fence posts being thrown by the frust, says, "dig the holes large and fill them with stones or charcoal dust. In setting post and rail fence, fill the holes only two-thirds full of earth. This will prevent the posts rotting for several years longer than though the holes were full." He adds — "The best time to kill alder bushes is in the old of the moon in August. If they are small, cut them down with a bush scythe ; if large, use a common narrow axe, with a crooked helve, about three feet long, fur then they can be cut without stooping over ; cut them close to the surface of the ground, and if they spring up again the second year, they can be cut down with a grass scythe. In this manner I have been successful in killing many of these bushes." Kyanizing Timber. Friend Brown : — I have of late heard much of the durability and increased value of timber that has been Kyanized, for fence-posts, shingles, &c. Will you or some one who understands the mo- dus operandi, please inform me "and the rest of mankind" how to Kyanize wood, and much oblige. Yours, truly, A. D. Hager. Proctor sville, Vt., May 9, 1853 Remarks. — The process of Kyanizing lumber is now abandoned, it having been ascertained that it does not accomplish the desired end, — that is, the preservation of lumber from decay. It con- sisted in soaking the materials, whether wood, hemp, rope, or other vegetable articles, in a solu- tion of corrosive sublimate. It was held that a change took place in the gluten of the vegetable analogous to that effected by the tannic acid upon the gelatine of skins in the process of tanning. It is now believed by those who have made use of the process that it is of little or no value. The term is derived from the name of the inventor, Ky- an. May Flower Apples. Mr. Brown : — I leave a package containing a few of my May Flower Apples, which I wish you to taste. You thought I was rather too favorably impressed with them, "as most men were apt to be with an apple kind enough to spring up on their own land." I think their equal is not found, con- sidering their_ bearing, late keeping, and table qualities combined. The barrel from which these were taken, were put up in a common manner the last of September, and without especial care rolled into my cellar, which is none of the best for ap- ples, and opened the 25th of May. Less than a peck were rotted or specked. Tiie tree is a good bearer. Its eating qualities please test, and es- pecially Ztock Register. Silas Brown, Wilmington. A, Todd, Smithfield, R. I The Editor. .1. R., Coi.cfird. W. D. B., Concord. The Ediior despotism. Liberty of the press, of speech, of thought, of locomotion, — will now Iw better un- derstood. But tliis is not reviewing the Farmer, with its almost interminable contents. Orators and writers when they wished to round off a pe S. E. Hooker, Poullney, Vt. T. A. S., Westboro'. J. R.. Concord. The Editor. Wool Grower, Cheshire Co. The Editor. [N. H. Farm .loiirnal S. F., Winchester. Philadelphia Paper. St. Vincent Mirror. "A Day with the Great Plow" tells us of plow- ing furrows 12 inches deep, and 18 wide ! Statis- tics on the difference between the "Live and Detid Weight of Cattle," is followed by some strictures riod with an idea of the vastness of our field, used! on a criticisin of "Experimental Farming." Fol to say, sometimes, "from Maine to Florida." The! lowing which are valuable articles on "Plaster, correspondents of the Farmer, in the Provinces of' Ashes, &c. ;" "Action of the Atmosphere on the the North, in the Sandwich Islands, and along the! roots of Plants ;" description of the new "State Pacific coast, open to us a field so much more ex tensive, as almost to provoke a smile at this ex- pression. THE FIRST TWELVE PAGES Pauper Farm," in Tewksbury ; explanation of the "Circulation of Sap ;" remarks on "Orchards," and a "Chapter for nice old Farmers." The "body" that undertakes to tell Fanny why country folks live in the rear of the house, will please inform me why it is that city people live in the cellar, while they have so many stories above ground. Then we find a protest against "Cruelty to Ani- mals ;" Mr. Hooker's successful method of "Graft- ing Old Trees ;" and comments on "Diversity in Theory and Practice." In my observation among practical farmers I have never been much troubled in the salutatory "Calendar" the editor, as helby the "chaos of theory and practice," which the loves to do, blends the sentimental and the prac- writer of this article so feelingly deplores. Is •D„i _ .. xi. .i. ___. r , 1 , there greater uniformity in the prosecution of any The Editor. S. P. Fowler, Danversport. The Editor. R. B. H., Baltimore. Culturist Mild Gazelle. J. N. M., Georgetown. M. A. Perry, Watertown. S. G. B. The Editor. Contain articles from Prairie Farmer. O. V. Hills, Leominser. Howits. The Ediior. P. A. S. R., LincoTn. J. S. Greene. Sandwich Islands. Peter Fay, Soulhboro'. Richard C. Stone, Soulhboro'. tical. Believing that even farmers have heads as well as hands, — hearts as well as stomachs, he would point out the beauties as well as suggest the hard labors of this "fervid noon" of the year. The fifth number of the "Birds of New England" describes particularly the Meadow Liirk, the Gold- en Robin, the Red- winged Blackbird, and the ec- centric Cow Blackbird. Remarks on "Ridging and Draining," with directions for the work, "when necessary," are succeeded by a very inter esting article on "Strawberries near Baltimore.' Some sensible comments on "The Turnip Crop," which somehow appears to be a much greater fa vorite with "book-farmers" than with the practi cal ones of my acquaintance. Short articles, giv- ing a remedy for the "Potato Rot ;" how to "Pre- serve Manures ;" suggestions on "Watering the Garden," with cuts of implements ; directions for raising "Buckwheat ;" some good "Summer and Autuiun Apples" recommended ; observations on "German Agriculture," that reminds us tliat we have lessons yet to learn in eccmomy, especially of manures : and valuable and minute directions for building cisterns, more interesting to those who have a "great fuss" every washing day to haul soft water, than to those who, like "our folks," have a never-failing well of clear, soft, cold water ;— bring us to an agricultural communication from the Sandwich Islands, written, nut by some stray sailor, or transient visitor, but by one who raised 400 bushels of wheat on Iiis farm there, last year. The weevil, the cut worm, and other injurious ver- other business? Indeed, are not we old farmers charged with following traditions — of doing, gen- eration after generation, as our fathers did 1 "The true mode of Cultivation" is the caption of an ar- ticle on State Pauper Farms, in which the writer suggests that they may be so managed as to "be patterns to all the surrounding country." The result of the "Visit to the State Reform School" farm — given on the next page — does not seem to me to afford much ground for these sanguine hopes. Have 1'own Poor-farms often proved models, either as to crops or profit ? But it is well that public attention is turned to these State institutions — they cannot be watched too closely, lest they prove hot-beds of abuse and mismanagement, instead af "models." But we must proceed to a defence of "Lunar and Stellar Influence ;" comments on the late "Mt. Airy Agricultural Institute," in which the writer attempts to show that all similar schools are antagonistic to the New England system of free schools ; a sarcastic account of a clover-seed speculation ; and a notice of a kind of earth founti in St. Vincent, more valuable for manure than gua- no. THE THIRD TWELVE PAGES Contain articles from The Editor. C. 1). Stuart. M., Che-ster, N. 11. Granite Farmer. The Editor. Maiiie Fiiriner. M. Perry, Watertown. A Reader, Winchester. The Ediior. The Country Gentlein.in. Pillsfield Culturist. H. F. French, Exeter, N. E. The Editor. Horticulturist. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 349 This division commences with a fine picture of the "Yellow Siberian Crab." "Charcoal" recom mended ns a fertilizer. Is not this tantalizing to nine-tenths of the Hirmers in New Engliind, who would not know where to find charcoal enough to smut their faces witli 1 "Composting" — a recipe for an acre, including "twenty bushels of lime," is followed by a scientifi^ind of article on "Ma- nures," in which the writer says "the mixing of caustic lime with dung is a most baneful practice." A valuable dissertation on the "Food of Plants," Is followed by some explanations of tlie action of the U. S. Agricultural Society on a paper by Prof. Booth on Analysis of Soils, that places the matter in a more favorable aspect, than did the report published in the Farmer. Account of a trial of plows in Ipswich, with a notice of a new "Horse Hoe ;" Poetical origin of Flowers ; a'lesson that taught one man to be careful of horses, and sug- gests the query, are not men often injured in the same way — violent exercise with a full stomach. A description of the "Onion Worm," with ac- counts of diverse failures of remedies. Review of the ^'■Monthly Farmer for ]May." An article on ''Soiling" is followed by one showing an invest- ment in weeds, however large the dividends may be, is a poor one for farmers. "Flat vs Hill Cul- ture" discussed, and we then have another of those playful letters from the New Hampshire associate editor. Does your "short cut" to a hay crop fay? After the trees or stumps are dug out by the roots, your process would cost me, here, over $70 per' acre to prepare the land for seeding. This division closes with a notice of a splendid book on North American trees, costing S45. Such works ought to be purchased by town libraries, instead of ex- pending all their funds on cheaper and more acces- sible books. THE LAST TWELVE PAGES Contain articles from 5. H. R. , Dorchester. Essex. Wisconsin Farmer. G. F. W. Genesee Fanner. Agricultural Gazette. , May 31, 1853. H. F. French. F. FInlbrnnk, Hratlleboro',Vt. A Subscrilier. Granite Farmer. Albany Cultivator. Scientific American. Henry Eddy. M. D. Geo. P Burnham. Editor and Correspondents. J. R., Concord. Richard C. Stone. The foremost article of our last division rejoices in the caption "Witch Grass — State Chemist" — the first part of which gives directions for exter- minating this pest of our fields by plowing ; while the last part of the article seems to indicate a be- lief that there is somewhere in the "upper regions" a vast quantity of agricultural knowledge bottled up, and that a State chemist, an agricultural col- lege, or something of the sort, is necessary to draw the corks, and let a refreshing stream flow in upon the parched minds of farmers. In the next arti- cle, "Education of Oxen," the writer says "No man can be a good teamster, who is not a gentle- ni:in." .Sfimpt.bino- ?n fVi.nf "TTJ^fo /->.^ +l<;.^.-.;Kirv. in a hundred of these boys, as in a hundred of the same age in any of our colleges." And these boys, as I understand it, are the legal skimming of our whole State. Collect a hundred of the most vi- cious horses in the State, and will "Esses" call it a "great mistake to suppose them more disposed to evil" than an equal number that should be se- lected for their docility? Notice of "A New Ene- my in the Field;" "Orchards — Muck — Ashes;" "Order in Every tiling ;" an instructive page of "Extracts and Replies," with articles in the La- dies' and Boys' Departments, conclude our review of the Monthly Farmer for June. A Reader. Winchester, June, 1853. THE MILK-MAID AND THE BANKER- A milk-maid vvilh ii very pretty face, Who lived at Acton, Had a black cow, the ugliest in the place, A crooked-backed one, A beast as dangerous, too, as she was frightful, Vicious and spiteful. And so confirmed a liuant, that she bounded Over the hedges daily, and got pounded. 'Twas all in vain to tie her with a telher, For then both cord and cow eloped together. Armed with an oaken bough (what folly! It should have been of birch, or thorn, or holly,) Patty one day was driving home the beast, Which had, as usual, slipped its anchor, When on ihe road she met a certain banker, Who stopped to give her eyes a feast By gazing on her features, crimsoned high By a long cow-chase in July. "Are you from Acton, pretty lass.'" he cried; "Yes," with a curtesy, she replied. "Why then you know the laundress, Sally Wenchf' "She is my cousin, sir, and next door neighbor." "That's lucky, Tvc a message for the wench. Which needs despatch, and you may save my labor. Give her this kiss, my dear, and say I sent it. But mind, you owe me one, — I've only lent it." "She shall know," cried the girl, as she brandish'd her bough, "Of the loving intentions you bore me; But as to the kiss, as there's haste, you'll allow That you'd better run forward, and give it my cow, For she, at the rate she is scampering now, Will reach Acton some minutes before me." mari.'' Something in that. "Hints on thinning Fruit" — quite unnecessary in this section, where the curculio, &c., save us all trouble in this line. An experiiuent in feeding cut corn-stalks ; "Influ- ence of Horticultural Societies," and "The Climate of Countries," carry us over to a cut of "Fancy Lop-eared Rabbits" — funny looking things they are ! We now have another chapter on the State PauperFarm, undone on the State Reform School.] that Providence made a mistake in letting suckers The writer of the latter article says, "I doubt not grow on the corn plant ; he, of course, would not as much talent and as much virtue can be found' destroy them if he did not think so. I was brought For ihe Neiv England Farmer. HILLING PLANTS. Mr. Editor; — In your last No. I notice an ar- ticle from the Genesee Farmer, entitled "Corn, Flat vs. Hill Culture." Most of the ideas I like well. If nature had designed more earth around the corn stalk, would she not have made it grow deeper in the ground ? I guess she would have done so, — and if nature has made the proper part of the com plant grow out of the ground of itself, why may we not suppose that she has properly arranged the potato and all other plants ? If she has made them right, then all our hilling is wrong — if she has made a mistake in one case what rea- son have we for knowing that anything is made right? I find that if I hill up trees it kills them, instead of helping them to stand up strong. Won't Mr. Genesee Farmer tell us how he knows 350 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. up to think that "He (Providence) "doeth all things well." If he does, let us look at his works and not endeovor to improve them, except so far as we can by making everything tend to supply natural wants. One who has Much to Learn. New Haven, Conn., July, 1853, SWAMPS—DRAINING. There is no month of the year more favorable for draining and reclaiming swamps than August. Von Thaer, author of the Principles of Agricul- ture, in that section of his work devoted to a con- sideration of the system of draining, says : — "A proper degree of draining tends to protect crops from injuries which are the result of excess of moisture, and contributes materially to ensure their success. This operation alone, has often been sufficient to render extensive sterile plains exceedingly fertile." There are probably few farms of any extent, on which drains are not more or less necessary. — Swamps and bogs exist in most sections, and these can never be profitably worked, or rendered of any essential benefit to their possessors till they have been thoroughly ameliorated by opening channels for the passage of all the superabundant water they contain. Draining, in this case, must necessarily precede all other improvements, and if it be not thoroughly and systematically accom plished, the operator will find all his subsequent efforts of no avail. As an instance of successful and economical draining, we may mention the case of the Rev. D. Huntington, from whose communication to the committee of the Hampshire and Hampden Agri- cultural Society, we gather the following facts : — "x\ few years since," says Mr. H., "this land was a swamp covered with bogs, and brakes and bushes — the haunt of snakes and frogs and mud- turtles — an entire waste." It was not only use- less, but being located in the immediate vicinity of his homestead, was a constant eyesore, anpro- bably unhealthy. In reclaiming it, he first cut the bushes, and then opened a ditch three feet wide, and two and a half feet deep, extending through its whole length. The bog heads were then cut, taking off the entire surface where it was thought to be necessary, and removed to an adja- cent lot, the soil of which was sandy. Here they were made to act as manure, and being intimate- ly mixed with it, they soon so ftir improved its ca- pacities, as fully to recompense him for the cost and trouble involved in their removal. The greater part of this soil has had crops up- on it, and some parts repeatedly, and the whole, at the time the report was presented to the com- mittee, was fit for the plow. What the expense was, Mr. H. expressed himself unable to state, but was confident it bore no proportion to the im- proved value of the land. The cutting the bushes, opening the ditch and removing the "bog-heads," could not involve a very heavy outlay, as the work was performed at "odd jobs," and when, proba- bly his help had little else to do. The Northamp- ton Courier, in speaking of this subject, says : — "As to intrinsic value, lands thus redeemed are to be ranked with the very l^est. For some crops, broom-corn and beans for instance, other soils are preferable. But for the standard, substantial crops of Indian corn, potatoes, oats and the dif- ferent kinds of grasses raised in our valley, expe- rience will show abundantly, that we have no bet- ter lands than those thus reclaimed. Having no- thing in view but to subdue and improve them as well as possible, he has never been particular to ascertain precisely the quantity of crops raised. Compared with those raised on the alluvial lands adjoining, however, they will in the proper season of crops, speak for themselves and the soil that produces them. In some respects the soil of re- claimed lands has manifestly the advantage. It is naturally richer. Having for its basis clay or hard pan, ii retains the manure put upon it much long- er. It is as easily cultivated, and excepting those portions of the alluvial which are benefited by freshets, it is, to say the least, as easily kept in good heart." Covered ditches are now used to a considerable extent, and answer all the purposes of draining admirably, while they may be plowed over and cultivated as are other parts of the land, so that there is no loss of surface and no disfigurement of the fair face of the field. These drains are constructed of various materi- als. They will last many years made of brush laid lengthwise in the ditch ; but if a gullet is made at the bottom 6 inches square by stoning, and the ditch filled with small stones to within 12 inches of the top of the ground, it will make a ditch that will last a lifetime. Brush drains may answer the desired purpose, where stones cannot be obtained; yet we question whether it would be best to lay down such works, where permanent drains are required. A field drained with good and permanent covered drains, presents a neat appearance ; there are no ridges or gutters, but the entire surface is level and unbrok- en. A cheap and convenient article may now be had in draining tile, which possesses a permanent efficiency and value. It is made of various sizes, with and Avithout bottoms, and some of it perfora- ted on the sides so as to receive the water at what- ever point it may flow in upon them. We have a covered drain across a twelve acre lot, diagonally, made of stones, with a six inch gullet, which has supplied us with tivelve hundred gallons of pure water every 24 hours through all the late drought. On the ground thus drained, we have just cut, by the estimation of good judges, a crop of herds grass, red top and clover, equal to three tons to the acre, where two years ago about 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 351 one ton of meadow gras3, skunk cabbage, hard- hack and hassock grass grew ! Where stones are plentiful on the farm, they are the material we ought to use in underdraining. If stones cannot be had, draining tile, which can now be obtained at most of our Agricultural ware- houses, are far more preferable than wood, and will be found more efficient, as well as more profit- able, in the end. For the Neto England Farmer. "INDIGENOUS FRUITS AND SHRUBS"— IMPROVING FRUIT. Mr. Editor: — I noticed in your last week's pa- per that one of your correspondents wants "in- formation on the rearing of our indigenous fruit trees and shrubs." 1 have no doubt that a great deal might be done in the way of improving our native fruits ; but is there any necessity of going back to the crab apple, when we have got so many fine, and perfectbj hardy varieties of the apple ? To effect any great change in the character of a fruit is the work of a long lifetime ; but this should not deter us, if there is need of it. Van Mons did a great dp;il towards improving pears ; he found that the fifth generation were nearly all of good quality. He selected the seed from some young, healthy seedling trci^, and p1;inted ; the fruit of most of the first generation proved of inferior quality, but he selected seed from the best, and planted again and so on. Now this would lie the way in wliich your friend might improve the crab spoken of, (Pyrus coronoria,) so perhaps with the choke cherry. {Cerasus Virginiann,) though we think it would be a waste of time, for the same may bo said of cherries that was said of apples ; there are so many and good varieties that it would seem hai-dly prof- itable to go over the same or nearly the same ground that has already been traversed. It prob- ably would not take so long to improve the cherry as the pear or apple. Do not understand me to say, nor do I thiuk that there is no room for im- provement in the fruits I have spoken of; I think there is, though many say we have arrived at per- fection in soaie of the fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, &c. Allowing that there is nothing to be done towards improving some of the fruits, still there is a broad field open before us. We want some good varieties of the gooseberry, those that will flourish in almost any location and yet be free from mildew which so much troubles the Eng- lish sorts ; we have none now that can be depend- ed upon except Houghton's Seedling, and that is quite small compared with the foreign kinds. And then we want some better, and earlier, hardy grape, and whoever succeeds in obtaining just the thing, will, if he chooses, make a handsome sum out of it. 1 have spent considerable time in this way, and have now a good many seedlings of dif- ferent fruits, some of which are very promising ; I have tried pears, apples, cherries, plums, peaches, grapes, rasjiberries, gooseberries and others. We shall meet with disappointment, but never mind if we fail once, try again, keep trying. Your friend speaks of the whortleberry, and says he iia.^ been unsuccessful in producing them from the seed ; I have never tried them, but think tliere is no trouble in doing it ; the seed should as soon as washed from the pulp',' be put into moist loam, or sown, and if the latter is done, they will prob- ably come up early the next spring ; if the former, they should be kept through the winter scmiewhat moist, and planted ae soon as the ground will an- swer ; they may not come up the first year ; it takes two yeai's for some seeds to vegetate, among which is the mountain ash, but they come well the second year. I think something might be done towards im- proving the whortleberry, and some other native fruits which have been hitherto neglected. _ I have not done the subject justice, for want of time, but shall refer to it again. J- f- c. h. Newton Centre, July 9th. THE DROUGHT. It was said by one of old that men would not leave certain habits and practices, even though one from the dead should warn them of their errors. We suppose there are those living at this enlightened day, whose practices in agriculture could not be changed by any amount of evidence, ocular or oracular, that could be adduced. But we ask eve- ry man to observe now, for himself, whether, in nearly all lands that have been deeply plowed and highly cultivated, there has not been a heavy crop of grass, or grain, and there is not promise of good crops of corn, potatoes and vegetables. We have been close observers, and certainly such is the case throughout the range of our observation. Is there any better evidence needed, then, that the true way to manage our land is, to cultivate only so much as we can plow, manure and tend in the most thorough manner, and giving each crop such attention as it requires at any moment? There has been but one season within our ree- collection where a fair return could not be had on lands cultivated in this manner. Indeed, there is no surer return for the money and labor invested in any business, than there is to the farmer on such lands as these. A too great expansion of business with the far- mer operates in its results precisely as it does with the mechanic or merchant. A man may re- move several ton's weight in a day, and deposit it safely at the desired point ; but if he undertakes it at once, he sinks beneath its weight and is buried in the ruins. For the New England Farmer. IMPORTANCE OF THE LEAF TO THE PLANT. Mr. Editor:— Seeing you have appreciated the few extracts that 1 sent and given them a place in your excellent journal so well suited to the wants of the present day, I think it is the duty of every man at all conversant with the elementary principles of agricultural science to contribute whatever mite of information he has got for the good of his fellow-man. I consider that the man who can make two blades of grass grow where on- ly one grew formerly, is a greater patriot to his country than tlie blood-stained hero. With these few remarks, I beg leave to give you a few more 352 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. AVG. straws from the gleanings of the field of practical science. Such as the wonderful journeys of a far fide of carbon. We are too apt to overlook the wonders of thint^s with whicli we are every day familiar, and which are close to us, hut after a little mure minute attention and examination, we begin to find out a great many extraordinary powers in ob- jects with which we seemed already familiarly ac- quainted. Not the least of these, is the air ive breathe. It is certainly one of the most extraordinary substan- ces we are acquainted with, especially that portion of it, the oxvgen, that n.ctive agent on which de- pends our very existence, and by which so many substances, by its chi-mieal combination, are pro- duced. I will Confine myself to one of the pro- ducts of the universal agent, the oxygen, by its chem- ical combination with carbon, one of the simple el- ements. Let us look round upon the bright green robe in which the fields and trees are dressed ; look round with wonder, for each leaf you see is apart of the Almighty chemist's laboratory, and here, amidst all this beauty, there is going on from early morn to dewy eve, a work of such importance that if it, were discontinued, the wh le animal creation would soon cease to exist. Here, in these little laboratories, is applied a mighty force, to which the most powerful galvanic battery cannot l»e com- pared, and here is a change effected, which estab- lishments of human power, l)acked by human in- genuity, has hitherto been unable to accomplish, a change so utterly beyond man's power is effect- ed. Let us look round with joy that so much beauty shrouds the work-shop of the mighty chem- ist; look round with thankfulness, that so great provision is made for o\ii- security and comfort, and while we walk amongst these green leaves, look with reverence, for the hand that works there- in, is the Creator's. Let us now examine this mi^ihty laboratory, this little leaf. Plants are not so much nourished by their roots as many persons suppose ; the leaves and the soft green covering of the stem perform a much more important part in supplying the plant with food. Plants grow by the absorption of wa ter and the fixation of carbon ; of these substan ces plants are almost entirely composed, and un less they are supplied, the plant will die. The" leaves are the principal agents in the absorption and decomposition of carbonic acid, and the re- tention of carbon, as a very simple experiment will prove. Take a sprig of any succulent plant and keep it in a dark place till you use it. Fill a tum- bler three [larts full with water, and with a cle^in tobacco pipe breathe into it for some minutes ; then fill up the glass carefully, without wetting the edges ; then drop in the sprig. (The glass should be full, so as to make the water stmd above the edges.) A flat piece of paper having been laid on the top and a flat plate above, then turned upside down, and put in the sunshine — you will see globules form upon the leaves of the sprig and rise to the upper end uf t!ie inside ol the glass ; tliis is pure oxygen gas. Tlie carbon- ic acid which the water absoi-I)ed has undergone decomposition and the oxygen set free. The nutritious fluids of the plant, like the blood of aaliu.ils, need exposure to the air before they are fit to take a place in the organism cf the' plant, or form its tissue, and thus contact with the air is brought about in the leaf, the anatomy of wliicli, in some instances, may be seen without a magnifying glass. If you split a stem down care- fully at the point where aleaf is attached, you may be able to detect the stalk of the leaf in connec- tion with the central pith or medulla. A leaf is composed of four layers of tissue, or two layers folded upon themselves. The skin or cutiele of the leaf is composed of compressed or condensed cellular tissue ; beneath it, run the vessels which bring the sap up from the root, wliich coming from the medulla or pith, flows first over the upper surface of the leaf, and then having been turned under towards the stem, deposit new wood within the bark. All the juices of plants are the same till they pass along these vessels in the leaf where they undergo a change. After having been ex- posed to light and air in the myriads of vessels which run along the leaf, the juice passing down- wards on tlio outside of the stem, deposits woody fibre in its downward course. This is chiefly com- posed of the carbon which has been taken from the air in the state of carbonic acid by the leaves, which have really much more to do with the nourishment of plants than the roots. In illustration of this, a bough of a tree round which a plant of woodbine has been tightly bound, will be swelled above the woodbine, not below, proving that the growth of the tree takes place from above, downwards. It may also be proved l)y a simple experiment with a cord l)Ound tightly round the stem of some rapidly growing tree. It will be fi)und in a short time, the fibres sent down from the leaves will swell the stem above the lig- ature, while the portion of the stem below, will not have increased in size ; never, therefore, sliould the leaves of plants bo taken off, with the idea that they have got more than the roots can nourish, for, on the contrary, the leaves are the support of the plant, where there is a free admission of air. The beautiful green color of leaves depends upon the absorption and decomposition of carbon- ic acid in their vessels, and what we are l^reathing out of our lungs to-day, may probably be incorpor- ated with the tissues of a beautiful plant to-mor- row ; perhaps with some blade of grass ; on that grass the cow will feed and again appropriate the carbon by absorbing it into her circulation and forming the butter of milk ; and of that butter, whose chief component part was breathed out from the lungs a week before, we may eat, digest, and again breathe out into the atmosphere . The adap- tation of such a variety of important changes, so diffetent in their charactei'S and the ends to be ful- filled in sueha manner as all to be brought about Ijy one universal agent, and the supplying of this agent to all bodies which require it, by giving it the gaseous form and making it encircle the earth on all aides, may be regarded as one of the most striking instances which can be adduced, of that liarmony of adjustment which pervades the works of nature. Yours, i&c, M. A Pekry. Watcrtown, July 1, 1853. The Swallow. — "Will some of our friends in different parts of New England, be kind enough to note the time of departure of the swallows, and let us know. 1853. NEW ENGLAND l-ARMERT 353 For the New England Farmer. ROSE BUGS. This pest of our gardens is, as usual, makino; his attacks directly upon the blossoms of our grape vine^. Truly "destruction wasteth at noon- day." The following contrivance may bfe found useful. Take a coiuinon tunnel ; insert a handle from two to three feet long into tlie spout ; then having a slender pointed stick of tlie same length in your right hand, hold the mouth of the tunnel under the cluster of blossoms upon which the bugs have lit ; "stir them up" witli your short stick and they will drop into the tunnel. Its steep smooth sides prevent iheir getting up again. They become entangled with each other, and at convenient intervals you can turn them into a basin of water. The thing is worth trying. UNION IS STRENGTH. Mr. Editor — I am a decided convert to the doc- trine that farmers, and especially fruit-growers, may accomplish a great deal if they will only unite in a general warfare against their common enemy, the "insects injurious to vegetation." For nearly ten~years, I had in my gardens, plum trees of the choicest varieties, but I never was blest with a single ripe specimen of the fruit. Within the last three years I have had specimens upon all my trees ; and, I am ashamed to confess, not through any plans or efforts of my own. 1 think I am reaping the results of the labors of others. All around me I see my neighbors using various means to "desti'oy the bugs." Cotton around the plum trees, and no doubt other con- trivances less visible, must have done something to tliin out the destroyers. Let me quote a line or two from Dr. Harris's recent work on "Insects injurious to Vegetation: "Eighty-six of the spoil- ers (rose-bugs) Wf re known to infest a single rose bud, and were crashed with one grasp of the hand. Suppose, as was probably the case, that one half of them were females, by this destruc- tion eight hundred eggs at least were prevented from becoming matured." Three days ago my grape vines were almost covered with rose bugs. Twelve hours would have sufficed for the destruction of every cluster of blossoms. By using the instrument described above, (which is far more convenient than a basin of water hot or cold) I have cleared my vines al- most entirely. The number of victims is growing less and less and my grapes look finely. "Union is strength." Let each fruit grower guard hi.>- own post, and the victory is ours. Pepperell. | Remarks. — Caj)ital advice — hope it will not be in vain. "Unite" with us again, friend B. The Wheel Hoe. — One of the most accurate ob- servers of men and things, and one of the most in- telligent of our correspondents, in speaking of this implement, says : — "I think a man will complete three times the work with one of these machines, in the same time, that he can with any other I have seen. They not only thoroughly cut up the weeds but they leave ther surface in fine condition for the growth of the plant." APPLICATION OF WIND AS A POWER FOR RAISING WATER. To-pump from a well the requisite supplies of water, was a work of no small labor. It led to the investigation of a method of working a pump by means of the wind. The practicability of the plan I am about to suggest, does not remain to be tested by experiaient. During former years, a small wind-mill was in successful operatiim upon the farm of Mr. Anderson, five miles west of Ash- land, Ohio, on the road leading to Mansfield. It worked a pump that amply furnished a large stock of cattle, which otherwise could obtain no water. Two days only did it cease to perform .its duties during more than two years, and that interrup- tion was occasioned by the meddling of mischiev- ous boys. It is still in operation for aught I know. The cost of this simple machine, including pump, did not exceed fifteen dollars. By reference to Plate, the principles upon which it was constructed will be at once comprehended. The direct application of the power, without the intervention of any gearing ormachinery, obviates much friction, hence a small amount only of pow- er is required. The diameter of the wheel should not exceed four feet, a few inches less is preferable. It is firmly fixed by its hub on an iron axle formed of a square inch bar. The sails or buckets are se- cured at their outer ends to a wooden rim, like that of a large spinning wheel. An inch and a half crank is raised on the axle at C, whicli , at that point, is cylindrical, and upon which is adjusted the upper ends of the piston rod of the pump B. This, when in motion, of course commands a plaj of three inches. 354 JNEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. The Body of the Mill. — A piece of pine plank, M, is suspended from the cross-j^irt of a frame, E, by an iron bolt, I, furnished at its lower end with a large head, and a washer, and secured by a key, at the upper end, admittino; of an easy cir- cular motion of M, around the bolt. This motion is coincident with that of a swivel on the pis- ton-rod. Tlie rudder, or vane, will necessarily throw the wheel at all times into the wind. The axle. A, is suspended from the body by two straps of iron, through which it passes at L, N, where it is cylindrical without regard to perspective and proportion, but will perhaps illustrate the subject suflBciently. A breeze which merely agitates the leaves of the trees will set the machinery in operation. A reservoir of some six or eight hogshead was kept nearly filled, and when, in windy weather, a sur- plus of water was raised, it was returned to the well by a waste-pipe. In the hands of an in- genious mechanic it might, no doubt,be greatly im- proved. Iron, in some of its parts, might be substituted for wood. A well, suitably located, will furnish water for an ordinary garden, and without labor, by aid of this mill. IIow much it would improve our flow ers, fruits and esculent vegetables, cannot be esti mated, but it would surely effect a revolution in our present modes of gardening here in the West, where we suffer much every season from drought. Public tanks, inns, tanneries, and thousands of prairie farms, require its aid. In all this, gentle reader, there is no Quixotism. Its feasibility has been amply tested. J. P. KiRTLAND. Cleveland, Ohio. In connexion with the above we copy the fol- lowing appropriate remarks from the Genesee Far- mer. There are farms all over New England where their proprietors have been pumping water by hand for large stocks of cattle for a hundred years, when the expenditure of a few dollars in some such contrivance as we have given above, would have furnished an ample supply. Agricultur.\l Mechanics. Mechanical science and arts are doing more for the advancement of agriculture in the United States than all other agencies combined, so far as immediate results are attained. Ultimately, chem- istry, physiology, meteorology, geology, and other departments of the natural sciences, will confer benefits on all industrial pursuits far transcending any mere mechanical advantages. Indeed, the most valuable mechanical powers, even now, are more the fruits of an intellectual culture than of original genius ; and the successful study of natu- ral phenomena precedes nearly all important in- ventions and discoveries. Operations that have been practiced thousands of years, like those of plowing, weaving, grinding grain, and pumping or lifting water by wind, are seen from an entirely new point of view by the man of science ; and he is able to suggest improvements that never could have occurred to a mind not illuminated by the numerous and brilliant lights kindled by modern researches into the laws of matter. We have been led into this train of thought and remark by perusing in the Horticulturist , the val- uable article on the "Application of Wind as a Power for Raising Water," from the pen of Prof. KiRTLAND, of Cleveland, to which the reader's at- tention is invitedin this number. By keeping the wheel always in the direct current, if it had any force, the flanges would catch it, and turn the wheel, as a current water-wheel is turned. Such a wheel with the necessary shaft and crank may be made of iron for a few dollars ; and every one can understand from the illustration furnished by Prof. KiRTLAND, that this simple apparatus will work successfully whenever the atmosphere has any active motion. ThesS current wheels (they are in no sense mills) and pumps, if manuflictured in a large way, might be sold at prices which would enable every farmer to have a score of them for irrigation, and for the distribution of liquified manui'e, if he saw fit to make the mechanical power *f the winds create wealth for himself and mankind. With durable and cheap machinery, vast quan- tities of water may be elevated to any desirable height on every farm, for agricultural purposes ; and the thanks of the farming community are due to Prof. KiRTLAND for his very intelligible illustra- tion of a simple and useful wheel and crank to be put in motion by wind. The water that falls up- on every square foot of ground in a field is equal, on an average, in this country, to 200 lbs. a year; and so much of this as descends deep into the earth and reappears in wells and springs, always contains both the vegetable and mineral food of plants (dissolved out of the soil in passing through it) in greater or smaller quantities. In rare in- stances such water is poisoned by an excess of acids, or acid salts. — Genesee Farmer. For the New England Farmer. MUCK. I like to see the fixrmev returning home from his day's toil, with his team loaded with muck or rich sod. It gives almost sure evidence of thrift. Yet there are some people who become muck-mad. They seem to hold the highway, as both private and public property, in a manner that 1 am un- willing to acknowledge their claim. The high- way is public, so far as the unobstructed right of pass- way is concerned, and private, to the extent that one may set out fruit or shade trees, or plant potatoes against his premises, provided he does not encumber the public travel. These muck- mongers do not stop here. They go about plow- ing up the highway, and digging their pitfalls not only against their own fsirms, but their neighbors. Mr For the New England Farmer. THE NEW INSECT. Brown : — We are visited here by a multi- tude of canker worms, and they are destroying our fruit at a great rate ; we think the trees will suffer for the want of leaves. The course I have taken to drive them away is to throw sand through the tops of the trees with a shovel, when they will come down like a shower. This should be done a number of times, and I think will prove benefi- cial. To prevent their going back, I have wound a piece of birch around the tree and covered it with a compound made of tar, lamp-oil and spirits of turpentine, and they will fiot pass over it. York County, Me. b. m. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 355 For the liew England Farmer. NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. Mr. Browx : — I have just received a pamphlet containing the Charter, Ordinances, &c., of the New York State Aj^ricultural College, from which I learn that the Legislature of the State incorporated the Institution in April, 1853, and that an organ- ization has heen effected under the Act, hy tlie choice of Jount Dklafield, President; John A. King, Cliairman of the Board of Trustees; Joel W. Bacon, Secretary of the Board ; and N. B. Kidder, Treasurer. The Charter is quite brief, simply giving the common rights and privileges incident to corpora- tions ; prescribing that at least three hundred acres of land sliall helong and be attached, to the College ; that the plan of instruction shall em- brace— practical and scientific agriculture, clicinis- try, mathematics and mechanics, surveying and engineering, geology and botany, the practical management of the farm, of the dairy, of the va- rious kinds of live stock ; also, such other branch- es of knowledge as may be deemed useful and proper. The capital stock is fixed by the corpo- ration at sixty thousand dollars, divided in shares of fifty dollars each ; and liberty is given to in- crease the stock from time to time, as the Trus- tees may judge advantageous and proper. The corporation is to become active for the primary purpose designed, when forty thousand dollars shall have been subscribed, and fifty per cent, on each share subscribed for shall have been paid in. The College is to l)e endowed and put in operation by private individual enterprise and liberality. The Trustees have accordingly adopted measures which will lay the subject before the farmers and otiiers at once ; a!id a private letter from the Presi- dent informs me tliat they have already been en- couraged by liberal unsolicited subscriptions to the stock. The corporation declare their chief object to be, "to provide a syst.^n of instruction essential and practically useful to tlie agricultural interests of the State — at once combining theory with prac- tice, aff)rding wholesome discipline to the mind. an accumulation of knowledge, and promoting habits of labor and industry." To this end, a farm of not less than three hundred acres of varied soil is to be connected with the college, and to be managed with a view to the residts of a mixed hust)andry. Tlie college year is to be divided into two sessions. The first session, commencing the first of April, and ending the first of October" is to be mainly occupied in the conduct of the field operations, interspersed with instruction rela- tive thereto, thus aff.rding the students a practi- cal knowledge of the various departments of the farm. The second session, commencing the first of November, ami ending the first of March, is to be principally devoted to study and attendance ■ upon courses of lectures, particularly and elabo- rately illustrating ihe various subjects and scien- ces bearing upon agricultural pursuits. The plan for lectures marked out by the officers, is very full and complete, leaving no subject of direct im- portance to the farmer untouched. The course of instruction for each student is to continue for three consecutive years, at the expiration of which, and upon the recommendation of the Presi- dent and Professors, the Trustees will confer di- plomas. Each candidate for admission into the College, must be able to read and write the English lan- guage well and have a good knowledge of the ground rules of arithmetic — must be at least six- teen years of age, and give evidence of good moral cliaracter. For the present, the charge for instruction, with board and lodging, lights, fuel and wasliing, ia fixed at three hundred dollars per annum, payable, one-half at the commencement of the first, and one-half at the commencement of the second ses- sion ; but the Trustees intend to lessen the cost of instruction, and make the distribution of knowl- edge as free as possible, as fast as endowments or State patronage shall permit. Judicious rules of discipline are adopted, the enforcement of which will be calculated to pro- mote industrious and virtuous habits. For one, I feel under great obligations to the enterprising agriculturists of New York, who, by their persevering labors, amid much contumely, have at length succeeded in giving life and tangi- ble shape to an Agricultural Institution, now acr tually on the eve of commencing a practical, well- defined course of instruction, where the young farmer may gain informati(m in principles of great importance to a proper and the most successful prosecution of farming affairs, may have his mind so expanded, refined and disciplined, as to render succeeding life more agreeable and desirable, be- cause the avenues for pleasurable emotions have been greatly opened and increased. — more influen- tial and beneficial, because the informed and dis- ciplined mind is an engine of power and strength, always fit f(ir valuable service as occasion may de- mand. I trust tliat this Institution will greatly flourish, and that other communities, observing its good fruits, will be influenced to the establishment of like advantages for the training of young men. Believe me, my friend, we have had quite enough of speculation upon the possible and probable ad- vantages of educating the young farmer ; every needed argument has been stated, in every variety of form and connection ; and now the great want is action, 'practical action. Public and desultory discussion can do but very little, if any more good; earnest individual effort must develope system, and set it in active practical operation. Those of us here in New England, who believe it would not hurt our forming youth to be better educated, in our endeavors to pi'ovide the necessary facilities for their instruction, must not look too high for aid, or expect to bring it from afar; we must seek, and shall find it among our enterprising liberal private citizens. Legislative bodies will probably grant us the chartered right, and privileges inci- dent to incorporated schools of learning, but fur- ther they will not, at present, aid us. Seldom leading in new and untried plans of improvement, they more generally reflect the views of that large or major portion of the public who are content witb customs long practised, and fear or despise, rather than profoundly investigate and reason up- on, those plans of action which lead out of, or be- yond the beaten paths. An Institution for the in- struction of young men in agricultural and rural affairs, would be quite an innovation upon old ways: and for a time at least, would doulitless be subject to much contempt and ridicule, from persona of 356 NEW ENGLA-ND FARMER. Aug. shallow ideas as to the amount of education which may desirably find employment in the conduct of such affairs. It therefore needs for its establishment and its practical working, a class of men, hopeful and courageous because they have clear, compre- hensive and well defined views of what can he ben- eficially done in the way of agricultural education — men who, understanding the exact condition, difficulties and wants of New England farmers and farming, can devise, and select suitable agents to dispense, a course of instruction for our farming youth, justly combining theory andpractice,and ac- tually fitting them for the proper and most profita- ble cultivation of the earth, with the incidental, but vastly important advantage of preparing them, by the mental training attendant thereon, for a more intelligent and useful discharge of duties as repub- lican citizens. I know of no association of men more favorably circumstanced for giving life and an active practi- cal usefulness to an Agricultural (College, than your Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. It is composed of persons of large and long experience in practical affairs, of persons of ripe scholarship and thorough experience in the management of seminaries of learning, and all entertaining liberal views of men and things. You are located in a State containing many wealthy citizens, frequent in noble acts of munificence. One of your citizens, resident in Boston, told me not two years ago, that he would give the necessary land, located ■wherever in the State might be judged best, to a corporation duly chartered and organized for the education of young men for farming. What, if not the establishment of a justly proportioned Ag- ricultural Institution, is a fit achievement for your Board? I venture, my friend, to express to you, a member of this Board, a hope, and indeed ex- pectation, that it will not let its great energies and influence lie in dormancy, regarding this matter, or play, upon the surface of it by mere discussions, but will use them actively, practically, in the pro- duction of something which we can see, feel and possess. Allow me to ask if it would not be well to ascertain what can be done by way of private subscriptions to the capital stock, and of individu- al endowments of such an Institution. You can probably obtain a charter from the Legislature, and not much more at the outset. Aim not too high at the beginning, but make your course of instruction more and more full and complete, as experience and increasing funds shall dictate ; and from first to last, make it such as shall be practi- cally beneficial. The condition of most of us far- mers, so far as the affairs of this life are concerned, is one requiring primarily, a practical fitness for the intelligent discharge of a round of daily, and more or less homely, but still manly, duties ; and with this substantial ground-work well laid, we may well add thereto all the acquirements and ac- complishments we can find time for — the more the better. It cannot need more than a few words to say, that these remarks are not made in a criticis- ing, or fault-finding, meddlesome spirit, but spring from feelings of friendship and good will, and a de- sire for the promotion of agricultural improve- ment. F. HOLBROOK. Brattkboro\ June 20, 1853. White Weed.— Capt. Daniel Trefethen of this town, assures us that he has discovered a method for killing effectually, this plague of a "farmer's life." He says that the present season, he had a field, which was literally covered with the blos- soms of the white weed so called, and having a small quantity of salt on hand, the thought sug- gested itself to him, that possibly some benefit might accrue to the field from the distribution of it upon the surface. The act was "father to the thought." lie scattered the salt over the field, and in a short time the blossoms all withered, and upon examination the roots were found to be en- tirely lifeless. This is certainly a valuable remedy for the eradication of this detestable weed, provid- ing the experiment prove as effectual in all cases, as in this. At all events, we would recommend to those farmers who are troubled with this species of weed — to try it. — Dover Gazette. For the New E^island Farmer. COWS AND TAR. Mr. Editor : — You are aware, perhaps, that many good cows are sometimes troubled with the garget, or they give curdled milk. Sometimes it injures the bag by preventting the drawing of the milk. The best remedy that I ever tried is to cut the hair out of the hollows just back of the horns, and fill with tar. It is simple, cheap and easy ; try it, and if it is worth any thing let it be known ; or if any one knows anything better, I hope he will publish it. IcHABOD Davis. East Barnard, Vt. Remarks. — Yes, sir, we are aware that a great many cows are troubled with what is called gar- get. The udder swells, is filled with bunches, be- comes sore to the touch, and sometimes breaks and destroys the value of the cow for milking pur- poses. It is a very serious evil to the dairyman, as well as to the poor animals. No remedy has yet been found for it, hardly worthy the name, unless you have made the discovery. This disease, and abortion, which has become very frequent, are the most serious difficulties with which the farmer has to contend with his cows. We really wish some person who has the leisure and ability would search out their causes and suffgest a cure. Who will do so? EFFECTS OF DEEP PLOWING. The Farmer and Mechanic, published at Lewis- ton Falls, Maine, one of the liveliest and best pa- pers we receive, says : — "A gentleman in Canton took us out the other day on to two acres of land which he had cultivated for a few years, and which he makes very productive. lie told us that it was so wet when he commenced upon it that he could do but little with it ; but some three or four years ago he put in a large plow, and turned it over to the depth of nearly one foot, following with the subsoil plow to the depth of nearly one foot more. Since then he has had no trouble with the wet or the drought. Every thing he puts upon it flour- ishes finely. This process will pay on much of our land, whether the undermining will or not." 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 357 For the New England Farmer. A RARE AND PLEASANT BOOK. Mk. Editor :— I found, not long since, among some old books in this village, a treatise on Fruit Growing and Gardening, which interested me so much, that I could not deny myself the pleasure of sending a description of it to yourself. _ It is an octavo in form, and divided into two sections. The title page to the first part has been torn out, but the title over Chapter 1, is "The Best, Svre and Readiest vay to make a Good Or- chard and Garden." The date of course is gone with the title page, but that of the second part, which is probably the same, as the pages are con- tinuous, is 1G31. The title to this, "The Covntry Hovse Vife's Garden, containing rules for herbs and seeds of common use, with their times and seasons, when to set and sow them. Together with the Husbandry of Bees, published with se- crets very necessary for euery housewife. Also diuerse new Knots for Gardens. London. Printed by Nicholas Okes for lohn Harrison, at the gold- en Vnicorne in Pater-noster Row, 1G3L" It is not merely the antiquity of the book which pleases, though I must confess to the weakness, if weakness it be, of possessing a very tender re- gard for old things, among which old friends, old books, and old wine are especially valuable — but as I remarked, it is not merely this which makes the book valuable ; but the writer (I wish we had his name) is hrimfull of love for his subject. He loved trees as men love their children, and as you follow him, his simple, quaint style, and his ear- nest sincerity win you at once. You feel sure that he wrote, not to make a book, but because he couldn^i help it. There are seventy-four pages upon "Making a Good Orchard," and many of the hints might be safely followed by our modern gardeners. He has inserted two or three sketch- es of trees, forms for a garden, &c., of which he says, "I have shadowed out these for the better capacity of those that are led more with the eye than the mind, craving pardon for the deformity, because I am nothing skilful either in painting or causing." He has seventeen chapters each of them short and to the point. Il^^ives minute directions for "Grafting" "In- cisiflP' "Packing on," &c. Let me copy his re- marks upon the "Age of Trees," which will give you some idea of the old gentleman's style, and if you like it not, I will send you no more, but if it please your readers, I will add another chapter at a future time. "All this treatise of trees tends to this end, that men may love and plant orchards, whereunto there cannot be a better inducement than that they know or at least be persuaded that all that bene- fit they shall reape thereby, whether of pleasure or profit, shall not be for a moneth, or one or many, (but many hundreth) yeeres. Of good things the greatest and most durable is alwaies the best. "If, therefore, out of reason grounded upon ex- perience it be made (I think) manifest, but I am sure probable, that a fruit tree in such a soile and site, as is described, so planted and trimmed and kept, as is before appointed and duly foiled, shall "Let no man think this to be strange, but peruse and consider the reason. I have apple trees stand- ing in my little orchard, which I have knowne these forty yeeres, whose age before my time, I cannot learne, it is beyond memory tho I have en- inquired of divers aged men of 80 ycers and up- wards ; these trees although come into my pos- session very evil ordered, misshapen, and one of them wounded to the heart, and that deadly (for I know it will be his death) with a wound where- in I might have set my foot in the heart of his bulk (now it is lesse) notwithstanding, with that small regard, they have had since, they so like, that I assure myself they are not come to their growth by more than two parts of three which I discerne not only by their owne growth, but also by comparing them with the bulk of other trees. "And I find them short (at least) by so many parts in bigness, although I know those other fruit trees to have beene much hindered in their stature by evill guiding. Here thence I gather thus. "If my trees be a hundred yeers old, and yet want two hundred of their growth before they leave increasing, which make three hundred, then we must needs resolve, that this three hundred yeere are but the third part of a tree's life, because (as all things living besides) so trees must have allowed them for their increase one-third, another third for their stand, and a third, part also for their decay. All which time of a tree amounts to 900 yeers, three hundred for increase, three hun- dred for stand, and three hundred for his decay. "But every living thing bestows the least part of his age in his growth, and so must it needs be with trees. A man comes not to his full growth and strength before thirty yeers, and some slender and cleane bodies, not till forty, so long also stands his strength, and so long also must he have al- lowed in course of nature for decay. "Ever supposing that he be well kept with nec- essaries, and from and without straines, bruises and all other dominyring diseases, I will not say upon true report, that physicke holds it possible, that a cleane body kept by these 3 doctors — Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet and Dr. Merriman may live neere, a hundred yeeres. Neither will I here urge the long yeeres of Methushalah, and those men of that time, because you will say man's days are shortened since the flood. But what hath short- ened them 1 God for man's sinnes ; but liy meanes, as want of knowledge, evill government, ryot, gluttony, drunkennesse, and to be short on in- crease of the curse, our sins increasing in an iron and wicked age. The testimony of Cicero in his booke De Sen- ecutte, is weighty to the purpose ; that we must in posteras actates ferere arbores, which can have no other sence than that our fruit trees of which he speakes can endure for ages. "What else are trees in comparison with the earth ; but as haires to the body of a man 1 — Haires endure long, and are an ornament and use also to the body, as trees to the earth. So that I resolve upon good reason that fruit and Hke a thousand trees well ordered may live A.,\.^ innn ^«..»„^ ,'u i \a ■ i i i • iveeres, and beare fruit, and the longer the more, dure 1000 yeares, why should we not take pams ^ ' ^ , ' ^^^^^^^^ 1^;^-; ; ,^^d and be at two or three yeers charges, (for /nder S whenhis yeers are many^ seven yeeres will an orchard be perfected for the ,° ° „ m * „„„ v>,.f h,^;,. h.,rla^nrl Kl^o /. . r ,• o • iu .. i.' u u ii.i. /■ •.^ "You shall see old trees put their ouds ana D108- first p anting, and in that time be brought to fruit) u ^u a ^^^/ T^lant;fMl +h-in irmir,,, . ^ ? j'i. J 1 °i .• ' I soms both sooner and more plentiiui ttian young to reape such a commodity and 80 long lastmg. ooiub uuwi o^^. ^ r j & 358 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. trees by much. And I sensibly perceive my young trees to enlarge their fruit as they grow greater, both for number and greatness. "It is good for some purposes to regard the age of your fruit trees, which you may easily know, till they come to accomplish twenty yeeres, by his knots. Reckon from his root up an arme, and so to his top twig, and every yeeres growth is distin guished from others by a knot, except lopping or removing doe hinder." We think the worthy writer somewhat enthu- siastic ia his calculations — and fancy he would be- lieve as implicitly in the seven cedars of Lebanon, as Lamartinc himself. But there is such a love for trees manifested throughout his little work, that one easily forgives his enthusiasm, and as we travel back two hundred years, we fancy the honest, kind-hearted Yorkshire man living himself almost to the age of Parr, and sitting under his own vines and apple trees. One of his conclud- ing sentences is as follows : "What shall I say ? A thousand pleasant de- lightes are attendant in an orchard ; and sooner shall I be weary, than [ can reckon the least part of that pleasure, which one that hath and loves an orchard may find therein." best way is by having one to pull the tops over, while another cuts them up ; but if they are very large cut them down snug to the ground, and when sufficiently dry, pile and burn them on the ground. It is of no use to cut them only in the summer thinking to kill them ; such is my experience. In the future I may ask a few questions. w. N. 8. Kensington, N. H., 1853. Remarks. — The above pleasant article is from a lady. It has remained longer in "our pigeon- hole" than it ought, and longer, we promise, thanl'R^ell. the next one shall, after we get it. There is a beautiful earnestness in her remarks, as well as in the text she speaks from ; and we really be- lieve they would excite us a little even if they were not from the hand of a lady ! We wish we could hand our correspondent an old volume en- titled "Markham's Farewell to Husbandry," some idea of the quaintne&s and beauty of which she may get by referring to the volume of the Farmer for 1852, page 243. But it was a borrowed gem, long ago returned to its owner in Connecticut, so that we cannot please her or gratify ourselves by so doing. For the New England Farmer FRONT- YARD FENCES— ALDERS. Mr. Editor: — Your correspondent "S. G. B." inquires the best way to build a front-yard fence. I would advise him to set stone posts in holes two and one-half feet in depth, and the same in diam- eter, and to fill the space around them with small stones well packed down with a crow-bar and noth- ing else ; and then drill two holes in the face of the stone about 4 inches deep, but not very large, with a space of 3 feet between the holes for the purpose of securing the joist on which the pickets are to be nailed. Take some large bolts, (square) and put them through the joist and drive them se- curely into the stone holes. The joist sliould be about 3^ by 5 inches, or thereabouts. Pickets 4 feet long and 3 inches wide, with the same space between, and then draw a line on the t(}p of them and saw them true, and then you want a rave on the top with a groove in its under side, in width the thickness of the pickets ; and that laid on the top, nailed occasionally, makes the whole firm and strong. The best time to cut alders is in June, and the For the New England Farmer. PLEASANT WORDS FROM "DOWN EAST." Mr. Editor : — I imjiorted six bushels of seed oats and two bushels of barley last fall from Scot- land, which I sowed this spring, and fur tlie infor- mation of those who may have an idea of import- ing seed from the old country or elsewhere, I pur- pose giving you some statements connected there- with. There is a prevalent idea that oats or oth- er grain fi-om the mother country never do well here the first season, but judging from the pres- ent appearance of mine, I am inclined to believe that if the seed be good, and is properly taken care of, and gets a fair chance, it will do as well the first year as it will the second. They have novf fliirly commenced to grow, both the oats and bar- ley, and I have no doubt but they will turn out The oats are the early kind. They were raised near Forfar by one of the best farmers in that county. They are as clean and pure as any oats I ever remember having seen ; the barley also is very pure and clean. They were sent out last fall and lay all winter at St. Johns. When they came to hand this spring, I found they had been vei-y carefully done up in two barrels, which had been well smoked or fumigated, and made per- fectly tight, so that the grain siiielt as fresh as when it had been put in. They were shipped at Dundee, and the freight to St. Johns was 3a., the duty Is. 6d., entries 9d., cartage Is. 3d., (I was charged nothing for storage,) so that the freight and charges, exclusive of inland cartage amounted to Gs. 6d. The soil and climate of this province is well adapted for oats, and I think it would be welLibr the country if their cultivation received morlPn;- tention. Oats in a general way are raised for horse feed, and little pains is taken to improve them in quality ; the seed is seldom changed, and is often of inferior description, being light and mixed with foul seed and other grain. If the far- mer is asked why he does not sow better and clean- er oats, he will say, "0 its no use being very par- ticular with them, I can get just as good a price for poor oats as I can for the best." Oats ought tiever to be sowed more than twice or three times without being clianged. The seed should always he the best — well cleansed, and free from other gr;tin so that it might be fit for being made into oat-meal for family use. Good oat-meal wiien properly cooked, is quite palatable, and ought to be used in every family; as an article of diet, it is one of the most wholesome aliments that can be set on the table. I shall venture to assert that if the people in this country, generally, were to use more oat-meal and less superfine flour, that sick- ness and consumption would be much less preva- lent in it. I should like to inquire of you, or any of your 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 359 correspondents, something about the harvesting and management of seed clover. It has been tried here on a small scale, and the seed is found to be of a very superior quality, but the greatest diffi- culty seems to be in getting it thrashed and cleansed — some information therefore on that subject would be very acceptable in this quarter. In reference to the remarks which you made on my previous eommunicatiun, I must observe that you gave us quite a compliment. My inference is that you seem to be quite satisfied respecting the abilities of our soil, and the superiority of her productions, but that you would like to know something respecting the quality of our men and women. I shall endeavor to gratify your curiosi- ty a little in that particular, but you must excuse me if I do not notice anything aVwut the smartness of our own sex ; suffice it, to give a word or two about the other. I think, sir, if you were to come through here and see our lasses at work about the farm, you would say that they are better stuff than your New England girls. They can plant a bushel of potatoes a day, (in good shape,) dig 25, top an acre of timothy, and reap 24 dozen oats. They can pitch hay, pick stones, pile brush, rake round the stumps, team a horse, and milk the cows. They can wash and dress, and bake and brew, and knit and sew, card, spin and cook, and clean in style, and catch the horse that beat the boys, and drive the sheep to pasture. The girls are very scarce here, people come a long way after them for wives. j. t. Harvey, JV.B., via Calais, Me. June Sth, 1853. Remarks. — Thank you, "John Taylor." Where persons make a business of raising clover-seed, they have a machine, moved by horse power, which they take into the field and gather the clover heads merely, leaving the stubble on the ground. These heads are generally on the "rowen," or second crop. After being gathered, they are threshed and cleaned up much as other se^ds are. Your account of the ladies in "the Harvey Set- tlement," smacks of olden times. As a wife, we don't want one, having the best in "the States" al- ready— but as "a help," gracious, how things would shine at River Cottage, if we had one of your girls! But then, should we feel safe? "Team a horse ! top an acre of timothy ! reap 24 dozen of oats!" and probably bind 24 men if they were to steal a kiss unfairly, from one of these Amazons ! But we are glad to hear from them, and may make more particular inquiries, in person, some future day. Special Manure for Grapes. — The wine com- mittee, at the exhibition of the Cincinnati Horti- cultural Society, reported that of two specimens of wine, one from grapes to which a special ma- nuring of potash had been given, the wine from the manure grapes was "bright, clear, and mel- low, like an old wine." The other was declared to be les3 matured in all its qualities, nor was it clear. The grapes themselves, from the two por- tions of ground, were also presented to the com- mittee. "Both were delicious and well ripened, but it was considered that those from the manured land were sweeter, and that the pulp was softer." For the New England Farmer. INDIGENOUS FRUITS AND SHRUBS. Mr. Brown : — I desire information on the rear- ing of our indigenous fruit trees and shrubs from seed. All our cultivated varieties of fruit have sprung from wild types, generally of little value. Careful culture, and successive reproduction from seed, have greatly increased their size, and im- proved their flavor. Our wild fruits are equally promising. Their size and flavor are quite equal, and in many instances superior, I believe, to exot- ics of the same genus. Besides, by their hardi- ness or other peculiarities, they are perfectly adapted to our climate. The sweet scented crab-apple, (Pyrus corono- ria) figured in the March number of the Farmer, doubtless might be ameliorated, and become a splendid fruit, possessing many valuable character- istics. The choke cherry (0. Virginia of Gray) differ wonderfully in their varieties in size, and flavor ; and I have seen varieties of each growing about the fields, which almost equalled the May Duke in size. I might go on, but these will suffice for examples. It may be objected that the amel- iorating process is the work of an age, — very true ; but we are enjoying the fruit of our ancestors' la- bor. Let us repay to posterity. However the time requisite for the amelioration of many fruits, is perhaps less than is generally believed. My ex- perience is that the Amygdaleep, or almond fami- ly, will fruit in four years from gathering the stones ; the bramble in three years, and the grape in four to five. I have been unsuccessful in pro- ducing the Vacciniae or whortleberry family from the seed. Perhaps yoarself or correspondents can instruct me. I find no information on the subject in the books. J. Griffiths. Remarks. — Perhaps Mr. Hyde, of Newton Cen- tre, can throw light on the subject. ERGOT IN GRAIN. Some time since, while looking over the files of the National Intelligencer, our attention was ar- rested by a communication from a Parisian corres- pondent, in which were detailed some of the pro- ceedings of the Academy of Science, the celebrity of which is too well and generally known to re- quire any remark. The writer, evidently himself a man of science, says: — "A paper was received from Mr. Valot, of Dix- on, on the larvce of various insects destructive to plants, such as the coneineth masculala, cimcx circulux, &c., and on the existence of ergot as a disease peculiar to rye, but Mr. Valot announces that he has seen the same disease in barley. Af- ter the reading of this paper M. A. Jussica said that he had recently seen several ears of wheat which had been attacked by the ergot, and that the disease in rye had made great ravages." We are not aware that the disease called ^'ergot" has ever been really destructive in this country. 360 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. Yet it is well known that grain is frequently at- tacked by insects in the bin, and not unfrequently ruined by them. We have seen wheat, rye and barley, thus injured. When our national legisla- tors, in the plenitude of their wisdom and patriot- ic liberality, shall allow national support, and en- dow a college for the promotion of agricultural science, the labors of the entomological depart- ment will no doubt throw some light upon this interesting and important study. Simple indi vidual effjrt can scarcely be effectual in so extend ed a work. . For the New Em^land Farmer. MAKING BUTTER. Messrs. Editors : — It is somewhat singular that such different results should be produced by two persons in the operation of churning; — one per- son operating in your house, and the other in your next neighbor's. They are as different as the rose and the poke weed in odor, and in taste no more alike than sherry wine and castor oil. Is all this difference owing to the house, or is it in the churn, the woman or the cow? There is no luxury produced in the tropics that is a more agreeable addition to the substantials of the table than good butter ; and carrion is not much more disgusting than a great portion of the grease that is marketed in the metropolis of our State under the name of butter. This, however, is foreign to the purpose which I have in hand, and for which I have taken my pen. This is not to write upon the qualities of butter, or to give directions for making a good article My object is rather to make inquiries than to give a lesson, and my aim is toward the principle upon which the article is made, rather than the mo'le of making it. I have often thought it rather strange that a man so thoroughly scientific, and at the same time so practical, as Chaptal, who de- voted a chapter of his excellent and instructive work on Agricultural Chemistry to the subject of butter, should have omitted to inform us how it is produced. Perhaps there is not a butter-maker in this Bay State, though we have a very conceit- ed opinion of our superior knowledge, that can answer the question involved in the four closing words of the last sentence, simple as it seems. By answering, I mean, of course, giving a satisfic- tory explanation. Is the oily part of the milk, which constitutes the article called butter, sepa- rated from the lime, serum, &c., by mechanical force, chemical affinity, temperature, or fermenta- tion 1 At first sight many readers will exclaim that it is a useless, nonsensical question, and they don't care to know. A sad error. This knowl- edge is not only satisfactory, as all knowledge is in itself, but it is practical and useful. If known, it may afford a clue to the true mode of making it, so as to be produced by less labor, and also of a superior quality : — and will direct us to the true desideratum in making the best churn, if churn must be used, or in finding a substitute for that ma- chine, that will do the work more easily, speedily, or perfectly. It is well known that butter cannot be produced if the cream is at t(jo high a tempera- ture. The proper degree of heat is said to be 48, or that of the well or cellar in summer. The operation of the churn seems to be founded on the idea that the separation is mechanical, and that the cohesion of the oily particles with the lime is so slight, that repeated and continued blows with a dasher or stick will completely effect this sepa- ration through the entire mass. But if it ynayhe produced by mechanical force of beating, it is cer- tain that it may be produced, also, without that means, as is proved by the fact I shall relate. In my boyhood, about forty-five years since, my mother kept a single cow, to supply her family with milk. The household being pretty numerous and several children, she usually found a full de- mand for the milk : — but having several times col- lected a redundance of cream, and liaving no churn, she tied her cream in her thick pudding bag. and buried it in the ground twelve or eigh- teen inches, (if I remember aright,) and in the morning tqok out most excellent butter, into which tlie cream had been changed. Now there is no mechanical process in this conversion. And the question is, did the temperature alone effect it, or was it assisted by chemical affinity, or by fermentation. Air produces fermentation: — so does water. And there is opportunity for the ad- mission of air, either by the proceeding above re- lated, or by churning. The oxygen or hydrogen of the air might also have the effect of separating the lime from the oily part of the milk, by mere chemical affinity, without fermentation. And this, I am inclined to think, is the true process in the production of butter, which is easier at a par- ticular degree of temperature, because, the cohe- sive power of the oil and lime is feebler at that, than at a higher temperature. In churning, not much air is admitted into the churn, but the most is made of a small quantity, by stirring it so that it comes in contact with every portion of the cream. Now if I have named the true principle of butter making, it will afford a light which will serve to guide our wives in this part of their ru- ral industry, and the ingenious may make an ap- plication of it that may be serviceable in the keep- ing or conversion of the cream, or in the construc- tion of the churn. I think, that an explanation in full of the secret of the production of butter by a scientific and practical chemist, with detailed statements of the experiments by which he has attained his results, would be an interesting paper for your columns. There is nothing more interesting or more beauti- ful than the application of science and of useful knowledge to common things. You mentioned in one of your late numbers that a gentleman of Brussels had recently found a way of separating the cream from the milk more speedily and perfectly, by mixing a solution of carbonate of soda, and other matters. This, I think, confirms my idea that the separation is ef- fected by chemical affinity, and affords ground for the inference that the farther separation of the other matters from the butter may be pro- duced by the mixture of the same or some other substances. It may be the carbon of the atmos- phere which produces the separation, by its affini- ty for the other matters of the milk and cream, stronger than that of the oily matter. Some of your readers will say, perhaps, as be- fore intimated, that all this is of no use. Those who make good butter are content to know how to make it, and don't care to inquire into the ra- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 861 tionale. And those who make bad butter are not the kind who are disposed to seek knowledge. While many people think all knowledge useless, and others talk aliout useful knowledge, in dis- tinction from that which is useless, I am one of a third class who tliink \xll knowledge useful. But I tliink especially that the knowledge of the prin- ciple of the production of an article of so much prominence in our system of dietetics, composing a part of the table of every family through every season, may be well considered in tlie class of use- ful knowledge, if there be any that is useless. W. J. A. B. Essex, Dec, 1852. For the New England Farmer. HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION AT CONCORD. The first exhibition of fruits, flowers and vege- tables, under the auspices of the Concord Far- mers' Club, was held in the Court House in this town, on Saturday, June 18. The contributions were abundant, and the flowers choice, rare, and ! various beyond expectation. The season was too I early for a great display of vegetables, but 'the I turnip-rooted beets, and summer squashes, exhib- ited by Judge Hoar, were very large and fine, and the strawberries superb. The contributions of wild flowers were abundant. Among them we noticed the superb Laurel, the delicate and fragrant Linnaea, the charming Eg- lantine, the spotted Geranium, Irises, the graceful verticillate Lupin, and many others. Among the roses, we noticed that finest of all yellow roses, the yellow Persian, the yellow Har- rison, with its sweet-briar odor, the White English tree rose, one of the finest and most vigorous ro- ses, and, after a long season of neglect, coming rapidly into favor again ; the Black Tuscany, very dark ; that finest of all white roses, Madame Har- dy, Red Moss, White do., of which latter, Mr. Wheildon showed one cluster containing thirteen buds; that finest of all perpetuals. La Reine, Lou- is Philippe, Rivers, Madame Laffay, Lady Ford- wick, Charles Duval, Marquis Bocella, Paul Per- ras, very large. Among the climbers, we noticed the superb Prai- rie Queen, Baltimore Belle, Eva Corinne, and oth- ers. Of the tender roses, the Multiflora, Laura Da- voust, very beautiful; Madame Plan tice, White Chi- na, and the Yellow Noisette. The weather had been hot and dry for several days, so as to injure considerably the beauty of the roses, liut the display by Mrs. R. W. Emer- son, was very fine, in great variety and the finest in the room. A fine Pittosporam from David Lor- ing, and a superb Cactus Speciocissima, from Miss Thoreau, added much to the beauty of the show. Magnificent bouquets were contributed by Mrs. E. R. Hoar, Mrs. F. R. Gourgas, Mrs. Frost, Miss F. J. Pritchard, Miss E. Hoar, and others ; and a beautiful Rhododendron, and the delicate Linnaea, by Mrs. Pratt. A wreath of Euphorbia and scar- let Honeysuckle, by Miss Reynolds, was very hand- some, and the Fuchsia and Cactus by Mr. John Brown, were rare and beautiful. William Mun- roo shewed a dish of superb Pansies and cut flow- ers, C. W. Davis, a dish of fine cherries, and W. W. Whieldon, a fine display of moss and otiier ro- ses, and plants in great variety and beauty, and a pair of large cucumbers. J. B Moore, contribu- ted a large basket of Strawberries, Verbenas, Pan- sies and Geraniums, very fine ; and Aliiel H. Wheeler, shewed the first potatoes of the season. Col. Ilolbrook, sent a magnificent bouquet ; Mr. Pratt, a monstrous bouquet of Laurel, Mrs. Pratt, Moss Roses, from plants raised from cutting, which is an achievement in floriculture; Rev.B. Frost, fine strawberries, M. Pritchard, Boston Pine strawberries, and C. W. Goodenov**, Hunt.Russett apples in fine preservation ; E. W. Bull, shewed Chinese Peonies, in four varieties, Roses in fifty va- rieties, and cut flowers. Charming bouquets were contributed by Mrs. C. W. Goodenow, J. M. Dodd, Miss Mary Howe, IMiss Wetherbee, Miss Rebecca Barrett, Misses Brown, Fred. Brown, John Ho-smer, Mrs. N. Brooks, Miss Mackay, who shewed a fine Gladio- lus, Mrs. S. G. Wheeler, Mrs. J. Heywood, Miss Sophia Ripley, Mr. Hudson, Miss Bates, and many others not marked with the name of the contribu- tor. Altogether, the show was very beautiful, and indicated both skill in cultivation, and good taste in the selection of plants, many of them being of the choicest kinds. At the next exhibition — which will take place on Saturday, the 3d of September, we hope to have a still larger number of contributors, and to show fruits and vegetables in abundance. For the Committe, E. W. Buli . THS MOTH. A great fuss is usually made "about this time" to keep off that delicate and beautiful little insect, the Moth Miller. She has certain instincts, as well as other people, and they lead her to deposit her eggs where food can be found when her young are "born into the world." So she, like a good mother, looks about industriously and claps an egg here and there under the seams of our best woollen coat, or in madam's wrist-cuSs, or boas, or muff; or, for want of better shelter and more refined feeding, will deposit half a score of eggs among the hair of the buffalo robes that hang in the carriage house. Now this is very innocent and commendable conduct throughout all bug- dom, but is looked upon by us as a peculiarly in- sinuating proceeding by the bugs, and a form of deposit not altogether approved. So the good housewife tries to defend herself with cedar closets, camphor draws, rosemary, sas- safras leaves and other delectable odors, but the bugs care no more for them than does a hectoring [gallant for a tap with his lady's fan; they are I true to their instincts still, and will continue to be ' so in spite of all the nostrums of ^sculapius and I all his disciples! j But, fiiir lady, there is one infallible remedy; simple, and always within reach. Shake your gar- I ments or furs well, and tie them up light in ja pillow-casejar any cotton or linen bag, and hang 'that in the garret, or any where under cover, and ' your valuables tcill be perfectly safe from the ravages of the moth. 362 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. For the New England Farmer. A NEW INSECT. Mr. Brown : — I have noticed in some of the ag- ricultural papers, accounts of the depredations of the canker worm ; but in our vicinity an enemy has appeared upon our fruit trees, the apple and cherry, which threatens to destroy our entire crop. So far as I can learn, the foe is a stranger to our fruit-growers, and for some days was thought to be the canker worm of former days ; but on ex- amination it appears very different. It is similar to our former foe in some points — it is spread upon all parts of the tree, upon every branch, and when the limb is shaken, it drops from it, suspended by a web, then winds up its web and again gains its position on the tree. The trees, when badly eat- en, present a dry and sere appearance. In all these points it is like the canker worm, as it is al- so in size, and to a casual observer, in passing by an orchard, it would be pronounced their work. — In many respects it is dissimilar, and evidently be- longs to another class of insects. The canker worm is brown, this is nearly white, with two lon- gitudinal stripes running its whole length ; the canker worm is slow of motion, this is very quick and moves rapidly from place to place in all di- rections to escape an enemy — the canker worm moves forward by doubling or opening and throw- ing forward its head and forepart ; — this is pro- vided with IG legs — 6 near the head, 8 near the middle, and 2 at the tail, and uses them with great celerity in running. The canker worm has no shelter upon the tree, but lies out upon the leaf or branch ; this forms itself a house by webbing the corner of a leaf, into which it retreats on the first appearance of danger ; the canker worm rare- ly eats the fruit, if it can get leaves ; this is now eating into and spoiling and disfiguring the fruit. Of the insect which produces them, I know no- thing. My neighbors say about 3 or 4 weeks aince, they noticed an abundance of small millers of an ash color, and they may have proceeded from them. If this insect, with its habits, are unknown, we have before us a work of careful observation, as the first descent of these depredators threatens more injury to our fruit than any other insect which has attacked our trees. If there is not enough to spoil my trees and fruit entirely now, I am sure that double the present number on those of my trees which are most eaten would not leave me an apple or a leaf remaining. I wish for in- formation on this subject — are they in other pla- ces? Or is Sherburne exclusively favored with their presence ? Have they been known before ? if so, can they be prevented or driven ofi"? R. C. Stone. Sherburne, June 21, 1853. on each side, a short space intervenes, and then there are four legs, two on each side. Halfway along the body, there are two protuberances which strongly resemble the spinneret of the house-spider, and two more of nearly the same shape at the tail or termination of the body. These do not termi- ntae with claws as do the legs, but are blunt and have the appearance of being soft and spongy, and if used in walking, operate as does the flies foot on the pane of glass. We are inclined to think that these instruments are used both for walking and spinning its web, though in our examination of the insect under a pretty good glass, we did not see it spin as we have the spider. We have received several short communications relating to the insect which we shall publish, but look, with some impatience, as we know many others do, to Professor Harris for a better knowl- edge of this new invader. Remarks. — We regret that this article came a few hours too late for last week's paper. The in- sects spoken of have been numerous in this State, in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and New York, and probably in other States : but we have heard only from those mentioned above. Your description of the insect generally agrees with our observation ; but we can ^nd only six legs instead of sixteen, as you say. The head is shaped like that of an otter, and near the back ex- tremity of the under jaw tliere are two legs, one IS THE MOLE A DEVOURER OF VEG- ETABLES ? We answer no — he is a benefactor to the plant- er and gardener, instead of a destroyer of vegeta- bles. Away, say we, with the erroneous ideas that they feed on garden vegetables and the newly plant- ed seeds of the field crops ; let us hear no more complaints against this little royal ermine coated friend, who is only a seeker and devourer of earth- worms, and bugs, and the larvEC of insects deposit- ed in the rich garden mould, or the manure drills of the cultivated fields. Ignorance is a greater ty- rant than Robespierre ever was, and it is surpris- ing that the natural history of at least all the more common animals, is not better understood, even amongst the educated aud intelligent. Thank God ! with all the introductions from old Europe, — she has never sent us a professional mole catch- er— such lazy louts, as those who, with springs and snares, do jobs of mole-hanging for the garden- ers of old England, at so much a head. The mole is a study for the lover of nature. His snug nest, deep in the earth, with walls of oak leaves, and lined with the most delicate grasses, shows that he is a considerable architect. The long galleries which lead out into those pasture grounds abound- ing in his favorite food, are scientifically construct- ed, and show him to be nature's engineer. His in- dustry— flying by peculiar locomotion, with great rapidity, from one point to another — is a lesson to biped sluggards. It is true, that in search of food, he is a perfect earthquake amongst young vegeta- bles ;. for he has no respect for their radicles when he plunges through the soft mould in quest of the insects and their larvce, which feed upon their roots. The chief food of the mole, according to Bacuman, is the earth worm, (Lumbricus terrenus,) and he says that they would each devour forty or fifty worms to satiate their inordinate appetites. They invariably rejected vegetables of all kinds, but would feed on flesh, chrysolides, and, even on each other, when not supplied with their proper food. One lived on a d«ad pigeon for a long time. These facts prove their carnivorous nature ; and we would hazard little in saying that the mole is highly beneficial in destroying these insects. Veg- etables are often cut and drawn into the ground, 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 363 and the chartfe is laid upon onr scraping favorites. 'inefficiency of kyanizing from a conversation with Another animal, says Bacuman, one exceedingly [a gentleman recently an engineer on one of the shy in its habits, does the mischief; Lkconte's ^^^,1;^ ^.^rkg of the general government. We pine mouse, {Arincoja pincfm;um,)\s the destroyer ^j^^^j^ ,^^ ,^ ^^ ^^^^ ^,^^^ j.,^^ ^^ j^ ^ ^^j^. 80 much complained of and is truly very injurious , , ^ ^ to vegetables. Since the innocent character of, ^'^le one. the mole is established, upon the authority of the greatest of living naturalists, we hope that this numerous and varied family will be allowed, in un interrupted safety, to dig and delve for the good of man, and thus keep under those insects which, For the New England Farmer. COWS SHEDDING MILK— BUTTER- MAKING. I Gentlemen: — Can you, or any of your corres- breeding and dwelling in the earth, cannot he de-j^^jg^^^g^ ^^^i^q known a simple and effectual stroyed by the birds. They are both wise checks, I ^^^,^,,^1 ^^ prevent cows from shedding milk? which tlio Creator has placed here, to aid and re- 1 ^yill some one who has practical experience, strain nature, by the exercise of their peculiar I ^^^3^^.^),^ in the Far/Hcr, the whole process of but- functions, and we say again, protect (he moles and tcr-making, including the place for keeping milk, I (its ventilation,) the kind of pans, de()th of milk in them, churning, salting, (and other ingredients, if any,) and place of keeping it in the tub, espe- 'cially as respects dryness, or moisture, &c. R. P. t/ie birds. — Southern AsricuUurist. For tlie New England Farmer. KYANIZING TIMBER. Mr. Brown : — I saw in your last Farmer an in- quiry respecting the kyanizing of timber. In your remarks you say that "the process has been abandoned, it having been ascertained that it does Doctoring Cattle. — The following remarks un- der the head of Veterinary, in the Dec. No. of the Prairie Farmer, are so physiological, just, sensible . ig y anizing in this place. In 1847, I was employed to kyauize the bridge-timber and cross-ties, for a part of the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The ties were of spruce, and hemlock, six inches square. From the small size of the ties, they soon began to fail to hold the spikes, many of the hem- lock ones proving sliaky. As kyanizing was a new thing to me, I felt a curiosity to see the re-, suit, and accordingly watched the appearance of I fj^^^®' the timber as the ties were from time to time ta- ' ^ ^'"^ ken up to substitute larger ones ; and recently, a very large part of the ties at the joints of the rails have been taken up, and out of the several hun- dred which I have seen, not more than two or three ties were decayed at all, and those were ev- idently from unsound trees. The general appear- and furrow deep, never fail to float something ashore worthy to be picked up and garnered among our choice things. Dr. Kennicott always, gener- ally says good things: "We have one piece of general advice to offer, under this head. Treat all domestic animals upon the same principle that you would the animal man _j — making due allowances for the circumstances of 3 case. The best general remedy is care ; a comfortable shelter, and a kind and timely attention to natu- ral wants ; and the less medicine and the fewer medications the better. But if you will "doctor" your cattle, do not employ quacks, nor follow ev- ery floating recipe ; but get a good veterinary prac- titioner, if to be had, who has read the books of ance of the kyanized ties is such, that the people l^^'.^P'-ofess'^"- a°f understands them; or better in the vicinity are purchasing those taken up, and still, perhaps, read yourselves ; and follow the in- setting them for fence posts, after having been' ^'cations, it you are right. And if not, better used for ties about .six years. Mr. Thompson, (the *^"^<^ ^^ "'^■^"r^' ^^i''^® ^^"^f «"* f ^""'"v, ^^^""^ man who has the charge of keeping the road in|^a"le,_as well as me.v, are doctored to death than repair at this end) tells me that he finds all the people in general suspect, kyanized ties and timber free from rot. I will add that T have an open trough (for carrying off the water from a sink spout) made of kyanized spruce plank, partly in the ground and partly out, which has been in that positiorTsix years, and ap- pears to be perfectly sound. I know that it may be said that six years is not sufficiently long to 'posts by frost, an evil which is more or less expe- test the value of the process, yet as I see chestnut 'rienced among fence holders in proportion as the ties unkyanized, rotting sooner than the spruce 'soil in which they are set is more or less wet, and hemlock, I must wait a longer time to be ; clayey, &c. satisfied that the kyanizing does no good. An excellent preventive forthis action of frost, Respectfully yours, J. H. Benculey. [and one highly beneficial to the yard and contigu- Fur the New England Farmer. SETTING FENCE POSTS. Dear Sir : — A correspondent, in your paper of June 4 asks a remedy for the upheaval of fence Milbvry, June 20, 1853. P. S. Should any one be disposed to try thel^^ t a- ^ c .. /i «.„ r^^^ frnm ;<■ kyanizing, I will cheerfully impart such in.forma-!^^"^^ ^* ^ ^'^^^"«' «^ *'^^ *''' ^'^'"' ^''* ^'^"^ '^' ous grounds, may be found in thoroughly under- draining. Let the drain run parallel with the tion as I possess respecting the process, &c. Remarks. — Mr. B. will- please accept thanks for the above remarks. We formed our opinion of the and be of a depth greater than that to which the posts are set ; where there is no superabundance of water, there will be but little action of frost. Another method which we have often seen tried, was, to dig the hole considerably larger than the 3M NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. post that was to occupy it, setting the post in the centre and filling around it with small stones, pounding them down — as the earth was replaced. By this operation great firmness can be given to posts. The higher and heavier the post, the deeper it must be set in the earth to give it firmness, and the more care must be had to keep it in a perpen- dicular position while setting. If it inclines but slightly, either way, it will commence acting on the principal of tlic lever to throw the fence over. To secure the durability of his posts, S. G. B. will find it for his advantage to invert them or set the top end downwards. In our own experience, we have found that a post from the same tree, will last one-fourth longer when so set, than it will if set 03 it grew butt end down, in which way mois- ture will arise from the earth through the sap vessels and dififase itself through the post, — dry- ness follows, and moisture again succeeds, and rot- tenness ensues before due time has passed. If the post is inverted, the sap vessels can no longer give ascent to liquids, and no absorbing process will be going on. But where posts are inverted the part above ground should be reduced so that the diam- eter shall be no greater than it is below the sur- face, and if less, the less liable the frost will be to upheaval, leaning, &c. If the posts your corres- pondent proposes to use have been cut a year, and lain with the bark off, their durability will in no way be diminished but rather increased by the process. Yours truly, w. b. Elinwood, June 6, 1853. WHAT THE FARMER MOST NEEDS. It is not a college endowed by the State, says a cotemporary ; it is primary schools, to prepare farmers' sons and daughters for the higher walks in science as applied to agriculture. They need organization. They want farmers' clubs and neighborhood libraries of agricultural books. They need discussion. They need more intercourse, not only in their own town and county, but through- out the State and country, to see and learn what other farmers are doing, and if they have improve- ments, learn what they are, and adopt them. This is the greatest need of fiirmers. They need to be- come satisfied with their vocation ; to get rid of the prevailing notion that farming is, necessarily, an unmental employment ; that is, that the farm- er has no occasion to think ; has no occasion for education, and never can become wealthy or what the world would call respectable, while engaged in the culture of the earth, and therefore he seeks the first opportunity to escape from an avocation placed under ban not only by all others, but his own class also. The great need of the farmer is, that he shall declare himself independent of all other classes; at least, more so than they are of [will, upon°carefal examination,' appear wholly un- him, and of course he IS entitled to engage in any I „,(.,• „j u„ .,„, u mi, c it- i-i ftfKa^ «.,n;.,^ T^i 1.^ jTu • o t' »,.,•' I sustained by results, ihe fermentation which pu- otner calling whatever ; and if he is a man of toil, L "^ , , , ^ that is no reason why he should not be a man of^'^^^'^'^nt manure undergoes— unless under very pe- intellect. The great need of the farmer is organ- culiar circumstances — is rarely, if ever, found to ization, and this must be accomplished by a few rise sufficiently high to ensure this object. The WEEDS. "One year's seeding makes seven year's weeding." This old proverb conveys an important truth. Thoroughly to eradicate the plants to which one prolific parent will give birth, is a matter of no small trouble and expense. The prolification of some species of noxious weeds, is almost beyond conception, and when permitted to mature their seeds on soils under cultivation, and well fitted for their support, they are a great evil, and a source of no small trouble and annoyance to the farmer, to say nothing of the injury they inflict upon hia crops. It is an excellent plan, therefore, to go over the cultivated fields and lands late in autumn and eradicate every weed that can be found. No matter how small or insignificant may be its ap- pearance, it will assuredly produce seed ; and this, when disseminated broadcast over the fields by the winds, will germinate, and give birth to a progeny, the perfect eradication of which will take more of the time and energies of the laborers, than the crops will warrant. It has been remarked by the moralist that the thistle and mullein are ever the inseparable com- panions of the sluggard, and it must be confessed that the atmosphere which appears so congenial to the one, appears to possess something in its con- stitution highly advantageous to the other. Wher- ever found, weeds indicate one of two things : — that the farmer has injudiciously undertaken more than he can accomplish, and do the work well, or they indicate a state of indolence and inactivity. Some of our agricultural friends are in the ha- bit of gathering up the spurious vegetation of their fields, and depositing it in their yards and styes. This is an admirable plan, provided the vegetables have not become mature. In all eases, however, where the ripening of the seed has been effected, and the vital principle is sufBciently de- veloped to ensure propagation, the practice can scarcely be attended Avith other than the worst re- sults. A very erroneous opinion appears to prevail in relation to the degree of heat engendered by ma- nure while undergoing the process of fermenta- tion ; the commojj presumption being that it is sufficiently intense to ensure the destruction of any seed which may be exposed to the influence of the fermenting mass. This supposition, however, self-sacrificing men, who will undertake the labor of establishing and maintaining farmers' clubs, in every neighborhood. Farmers need to drop pol- itics and take up agriculture. They must talk, read and think, and they will be sure to act or their children will act for them. seeds of the common red sorrel — one of the most pestiferous of all weeds in cultivated land, as well as those of the mullein, white weed, and numerous other plants which so annoy us, appear to be in no way injured by the utmost degree of heat that 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 365 can be produced without an actual combustion of the heap. On the contrary, many seeds appear to derive an actual advantage from it,— the heat to which they are subjected, inducing a more speedy germination and development, so that by the time the soil is fit for their reception, or for the reception of the ma- nure in which they are contained, they are Justin the proper condition to take root and vegetate, be- fore those upon which the husbandman bases his expectation of a crop, have had time to swell. Owing to this premature development, the fields are often stocked with a spurious vegetation, and that which was supposed to be the true economy, results in a ruinous waste ; the small quantity of manure accruing from the decomposition of the haulm, being purchavsed at an enormous outlay of labor ; and what is still worse, the soil instead of being purged of its noxious weeds is fouler and more prodigally infested than before. Those per- sons, therefore, who contemplate cleanliness of cultivation, should destroy the weeds that infest their fields before they mature their seeds. This may require care and labor but is not impractica- ble. But s]iould any escape the hoe, the scythe, or the hand, let them be carefully gathered to- gether in some convenient place and burnt. The thistle, in some districts is one of the most troublesome weeds with which the American far- mer is called to contend. Yet we often see it growing in farm yards, gardens, by the road-side, and even in the corners of cultivated fields, in patches sufficiently extensive to ensure the pro- duction of seed enough to "stock" an entire town- ship ! This is bad policy. Although the thistle is a "hard customer," and a most impoverishing ten- ant, it is yet a harder master. "When once per- mitted to usurp the soil, its eradication is attend- ed with much difficulty, and its toleration with ruin to the richest soil. It is now common to consider all productions as loeeds, which are not purposely planted or sowed. The wheat that veg- etates in the corn field, and the corn plant that springs up accidentally among the cultivated plants of the garden, is as much a weed in the strict ac eeptation of the term, aS the burdock which rears itself in the pasture, or the thistle which fouls the mowing field. As most species of spurious vegetation are of an indigenous character, they possess, naturally, a hardiness and vigor of constitution which enables them to subsist and flourish on soils which are poor and thin, and to survive injuries, which no valuable or cultivated plant, not indigenous in the soil, can do. This tenacity of life will suggest the necessity of extra hoeings, and greater care in their eradication than is usually bestowed. For the New England Farmer. STATE REFORM SCHOOL AGAIN. Mr. Editor: — Some of your correspondents kindly endeavor to remove the stigma impressed on the Institutiim at Westborough, by the sup- posed neglect of the personal condition of the boys. No one will more heartily rejoice, than myself, if this can be fairly done. Having advised to the committant there of several boys, and given the assurance, that they would be well cared for, I could not endure the thought, that anything should appear to the contrary. An Institution like this, under the special guardianship of the State, espe- cially the State of Massachusetts, which has the reputation of being the model example in all be- nevolent enterprises, should be, like Uissar's wife, above suspicion. I perceive that something is said about using the lands connected with this farm, and the two other farms lately purchased by the State, for the purpose of experiments in agriculture. Why may not this be done ? At either of the Institutions, it will be easy to command any amount of labor that may be desired, at the same time promoting the health and comfort of those that labor. Will it be said that the lands are not fitted for successful experiments 1 Then let the experiments be fitted to the lands. The lands are a part of the Commonwealth, and we want to know, how all our lands can be turned to the best account. He who can show how two bushels of grain can be made to grow, where but one grew before, will deserve well of his country. A proper examina- tion and analysis of the soils on these estates, will soon enable the Board of Agriculture to do this. My notion is, to place the cultivation of these lands under their direction, so far as it can be done with- out prejudice to other more imperative purposes of these establishments. June loth, 1853. For the New England Farmer. GIRDLED APPLE TREES. Mr. Brown : — Dear Sir, — I noticed in the last number of your valuable paper, an article respect- ing apple trees ; stating that they would grow af- ter being girdled, if taken care of. I have a case to prove that they will grow without any care. Last June I grafted some small trees in my pas- ture, leaving some of the larger limbs to grow un- til this season. In July I visited them, and found one had too many limbs, taking all of the sap from the scions. I took my pen-knife and cut away the bark from two of them, for the space of five inches, thinking it would kill them. I did not visit them again until a few days before I re- ceived your June number of the Farmer. Judge my surprise, when I found these limbs all in full leaf, drawing from the others nearly all of the sap. I examined them closely, to see if their was not some communication, but found none. I saw, how- ever, that new bark had been formed on the limb part, nearly three inches, but none on the part next the body. This led me to conclude that the watery matter collected from the ground by the spongioles, is sent up through the woody fibres to the leaves, and there changes its oxygen for carbon, the material it wants to form wood ; and descends along the trunk forming a layer of wood next to the bark. Now if there is a place denuded 366 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. AVG. it cannot pass it, leaving the part below without this fibrous matter, unless there should be twigs and leaves below the girdle, and consequently no growth. This is my theory; please set me right if I am in the wrong, remembering that I am a young farmer. L. w. c. Globe Village, June 20, 1853. For the i\'ew Enslnnd Farme.r. CROSS FERTILIZATION. Mr. Editor : — My experience does not corres- pond with the theory of your correspondent of June 22ii, in relation to producing fruit trees from seeds. He says, "the farmer selects his best ap- ples for eating and the market, and makes the rest into cider. The pomace he plants for a nursery. These seedlings will be of the poorest kind." I think it best to select seeds from young, healthy and unworked trees, and these are generally un- palatable apples, fit only for cider. What is the aim of nature? It is to furnish a healthy repro- duction of the plant, having the characteristics of the parent or parents, as the case may be. And to continue its species it must have perfect seeds. The object to be attained by the fruit grower is pulp, not seeds. It is a well known fact, that when we obtain a good fruit, it has a good and large pulp, with small seeds. With many of our good stone fruits, the seeds will not germinate. — Therefore we must not begin with fruita that have reached their highest limit of perfection. In these days of cross breeding, when the prin- ciple has been reduced to a science, will it be good policy to plant seeds from good trees, which he says are the production of seed of two varieties, mixed by the pollen ? It is obvious to all ac- quainted with fruit or plants, that there are cer- tain limits in crossing plants. The ofispring of many of our crossings, (being mules) will not pro- duce perfect seeds. Seeds produced by crossing are found to possess a character composed of the characteristics of both their parents, although some may be superior to their parents. Would it not be a better way to plant seeds produced by cross fertilization, than those gathered promiscu- ously from a good fruit-bearing orchard ? Certain- ly a much larger proportion of our seedlings would bear good fruit, therefore we should need fewer trees, because we could have a few seeds of each crop. While in the other way they might all be crossed by the earliest blossoming tree in the or- chard, and in that case would all have the same male parent. Each seed has a pistil, and at its summit the stigma. Some fruits, as the strawber- ry,have many pistils. By cross breeding,each pistil may be impregnated by the same male, by keep- ing the flower covered with a gauze bag. A stig- ma once impregnated, cannot be impregnated again. In the natural method of impregnation, 1 think it would be an uncertain business. It might be fertilized by its own pollen — or a part of the seeds, or a part of a tree might be so fertilized. The stigaui is not always iu a right condition to receive the pollen. It may be too late, or too early. The wind or insects may bring pollen from different and far off trees, and ca'*h seed may be fertilized by pollen of different trees. Such being the case, can we adopt his mode of planting seeds with a reasonable prospect of success ! M. Poi- teau informs us, that the celebrated Duhamel, during the long course of his scientific career, planted the seeds of all the best fruits that were eaten at his table, and not one produced fruit wor- thy of cultivation. This French mode has long since exploded. The Belgians are admitted to be the gardeners of the world, and as their mode of producing new fruits has been more successful than any other, will it not be better to follow them ? — Their theory is, that in proportion as a fruit is re- moved from a wild state or state of nature, byre- productions, or by planting the seeds of the last production, the fruit will become ameliorated un- til it reaches the highest state of perfection of which it is susceptible, which is usually about the fourth or fifth generation, and that from this point it deteriorates or passes back to its original quali- ties. Remark-s. — We believe there is much more talk than actual knowledge upon the subject of the above communication. We know not that we are prepared to endorse fully the leading idea of our friend N. Are the labors of the past all to be thrown away ? Are our labors to be of no use to posterity ? Would we improve our apples, must we go back to the native crabs ? Would we improve our stock of cattle, must we go to the buffaloes on the prairies of the West, or to the wild herds of the Tartars on the steppes of Central Asia? — Would we improve the race of men, must we seek our wives among savages, or train up the children of savages instead of our own ? Has it ever been demonstrated that native stocks do not deteriorate with the lapse of time ? But we leave the subject to our correspondents. For the New England Farmer. A NEV/ WEED. Mr. Editor : — I send you here enclosed a speci- men of weed, found on the farm belonging to Wm. C , in the town of T , N. II., and is no- where else to be produced, in this vicinity. When first discovered, which was five or six years ago, there were but a few sprigs ; now it covers nearly the half of an acre. It is very troublesome, and difficult to eradicate. No one that has seen it, 13 able to identify its name ; and, as I presume you are a botanist, you may be able to give me informa- tion respecting it. Such information, if in your power, will be gratefully received. W. K Y. Tuftonborough, N. H. Remarks. — The plant enclosed is the "snap dragon," or "toad flax," {Antirrhinum linaria.) It is not supposed to be a native, but that it has been introduced. It is, however, very common by the road-sides about Boston, and is now probably following the fashion, and taking a trip to the mountains. It is a perennial, and should be im- mediately exterminated by mowing when in flower, as it seeds abundantly, and by plowing. Every farmer should be willing to do something for the public good, even though he be not immediately rewarded thereby — so plow it under. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 367 CULTURE AND VALUE OF THE PARS- NIP. The following excellent article on the culture and value ofthe parsnip, is worth a careful perusal by ev- ery cultivator of roots. We think the writer mis- *-,aken in saying "that no insect or bug attacks , them at any stage of their growth . ' ' They are al- ways infested in a greater or less degree, with a worm which grows to a large size and becomes very beautiful before changing (as we suppose he does) into the butterfly form. They are very de- structive to the parsnips set for seed, so that many cultivators have abandoned raising parsnip seeds for the market. We have never sowed them in the fall, and cannot say, from our own knowledge, how they would succeed. Culture and Value of the Parsnip. Messrs. Editors : — As one who has lived twen- ty years upon a farm, searching all the while for reliable information, both from his own experience and from that of others, ought to be in possession of some "fixed facts" and settled opinions ; and as duty, propriety, and fraternity require that we should allow others the oppurtuuity of beiiefitiug by our experience, I feel moved to give you a few items of information which I think very satisfac- torily settled by evidence within ipy owu obser- vation. Disliking long prefaces, and trusting that all your correspondents will dispense witli them, I commence the brief summary of my experience and observations of twenty years, by a statement in regard to the value ef parsnips. Parsnips for Hogs. — One of the things which I consider well settled, and a reliable and useful item of knowledge, is this : that parsnips, either raw or cooked, but preferably cooked, with the ad- dition of apples, potatoes, &c., occasionally, were it only to prevent the appetite from being cloyed by "eternal sameness," constitute the best kind of food wliereonto fotten a hog. They are also the best kind of roots for milch cows. Both hogs and cows eat them with avidity, and to the milk and butter they communicate a good, a delicious flavor. I have seen it stated some years ago, that beef made from parsnips brings the highest price in the Lofton market. I think, though I may be de- ceived by imagination, that pork made from feed chiefly composed of parsnips, is sweeter than when made from anything else. This is not the only recommendation which may be justly bestowed on the parsnip. Among its other good qualities is this — that it requires no care or housing in the fall, as all other roots do. In all the Middle, Northern, and Western States, potatoes, carrots, and turnips must he harvested and housed, or buried ; and even when all this is done, and with good care and judgment too, a por- tion will frequently be ruined and lost by frost- ing, overheating, or decay from other causes. — Parsnips, on the other hand, require no care in the fall, as they may be left without injury in the ground all winter. They may also be planted ear- lier in the spring, as the frost does not injure them, even at the earliest stage of their growth, so that this root crop interferes the least of any with employments which crowd upon the farmer in the spring and fall. It continues to grow through the whole season, until the ground freez- es in winter ; it requires no expenditure to gather or store it ; it may be taken up on several occa- sions during the winter, and the roots that stay in the ground all winter, are not injured, and proba- bly improved, by the frost. Parsnips seem to be eaten with more relish than either turnips or po- tatoes, and yield, in the raw state at least, a great- er amount of nutriment. Another advantage in cultivating parsnips is, that on a suitable soil— sand or loam, rich or well manured, and deep plowed— a large growth may be secured. At the rate of 1,200 bushels have been gathered from an acre of ground. Parsnips may be planted either in spring, or in the latter part of summer, in August or September. The ground should be well manured, mellow, and deeply plowed, and the seed sown in drills, so as to have plants to thin out, while preserving them at about eight inches apart. This will prolmbly re- quire at about the rate of two pounds seed to the acre. The drills should be two feet apart, and the space between well cultivated and kept clear of weeds. If sown in the spring, the earlier the better. A larger growth may be secured, however, by sowing the seed in September. There will be some considerable growth before the ground freez- es up, and the growth will commence again as soon as the frost leaves the ground in the spring, which will continue throughout the whole season, without running to seed. They will thus have a |o-rowing season of about twelve months; where- as, when sown in the spring, they can grow only eight or nine months. All the advantages of this root crop have not yet been named. Among them are these — that Ithey seem uninjured by either a wet or dry season, [and that no insect nor bug attacks them at any stage of their growth. Observer. AGRICULTURE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. The extract below, is from the late message of Gov. Martin to the Legislature of New Hamp- shire : — Agriculture is our leading interest, and although our State is more mountainous than any of our neighboring States, yet we can justly boast of large quantities of luxuriant interval ; our uplands are productive and afford a pasturage unrivalled in excellence, and nowhere can the necessaries, convenience and comforts of life be found, com- bined in greater abundance. Our agricultural so- cieties, both State and county, are doing much for husbandry, and the growing interest in them evinced by most of our citizens is a favorable indi- cation of their utility and of the benefits to be derived from them. The free interchange of infor- mation, scientific and practical, can not be too in- timate, and the analysis of soils, their adaptation to the different crops, the various and best modes of culture, the rearing of stock, and orcharding in all its varieties, are matters ofthe deepest inter- est to the agriculturist. The three State Fairs which have been held have proved highly success- ful, and have afforded gratifying evidence of their usefulness. Our landsimproved and under tillage number 2,251,488 acres ; value of farms f 55,245,- 997 ; farming implements and machinery $2,314,- 125; livestock $8,871,901; orchard products $248,563; domestic manufactory $393,455. We 368 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Arc. raise an average crop of 185,658 bushels of wheat ; 183,117 bushels of rye; 1, 573, 67^ bushels of Indi- an corn ; 973,381 bushels of oats ; 70,856 bushels of buck-wheat, 4,304,919 bushels of potatoes ; and we produce 1,108,476 lbs. of wool; 6,977 lbs. of butter; 3,196,663 lbs. of cheese; 1,294,863 lbs. of maple sui;ar ; and 598,854 tons of hay. Let the younj>; farmers of this State estimate the fore- going products of the farm and dairy at fair aver- age prices, and see what a fine ajigregate of val- ues they will have as the result, bearing in mind the while, that lie who most increases the pro- ductiveness of the earth, is the greatest benefactor of his race. I would renew my suggestions of last June, in regard to the establishment of an Agri- cultural Commission. USS OP FLOWERS. All things have their uses. The flowers not only please the eye but improve the thoughts, making them more gentle and better. The full- blown rose, expanded to its utmost limits, and shedding its fragrance on all within its reach, seems emblematic of a good heart, beaming forth its kind influences on all around. If the flowers could thinh, and feel, and talk, what lessons of gentleness and love would they teach us. All children luve them ; the old man leaning on his staCF, pauses by the wayside and contemplates them with delight. A vase of fresh flowers in the sick- room stands as an emblem of the new life that will come when the tried spirit shall bloom with perennial lustre in the skies. Flowers have kindly influences upon all ; we can almost believe that there were no flowers in Paradise, or Eve had not yielded to the tempter. Bacon and Burleigh did not disdain to bend their intellects and find recreation from their cares in the flower garden. Pope and Lord Peterdorol'GH, and Rousseau, thought they could find friends in the flowers when they had no others. The Em- peror DiocLESiAN preferred his garden to a throne, at least, so Cowley said, and Sir William Temple had the amiable weakness to desire to have his heart buried in his garden. What a beautiful custom was that in the island of Delos, at a marriage ceremony, where the in- habitants '-assembled at day-break, crowned with flowers ; flowers were strewed in the path of the bride and Ijride-groom ; the house was garlanded with them ; singers and dancers appeared, crowned with oak, myrtle, and hawthorne, the bride and bridegroom were crowned with poppies ; and up- on their approacli to tlie temple a priest received them at the entrance, presenting to each a branch of ivy, — a symbol of the tie wliich was to unite them forever." The Greeks crowned the dead with fluwei's, and the mourners wore them in the funeral ceremonies. And we love them and feel tlieir influence here, cold and indifferent, as some say New England people are. No custom prevailed among the Greeks more appropriate and beautiful than that of placing flowers before the congregation in our churches. This may be seen on any Sabbath in the First church in the old town of Concord, Mass. They have long been furnished by our fellow towns- man, W. W. Wheildon, Esq. On the last Sabbath the bouquet was in the firm of a cross, and noth- ing could be more suggestive of every thing that is "lovely and of good report." The cross was there, to be sure, but covered with nature's sweetest offerings ; rosea, the fox-glove, phloxes, the mountain laurel, double seringa, larkspur, spirea, and under the arms of the cross the beau- tiful Dsutzia scalva, with its modest bell-like flowers. Did not sincere heart -offerings go up with the fragrance of the flowers to the Elysian fields above ? Flowers do speak, then, a clear and intelligible language ; all, in a greater or less degree, find en- joyment in flowers. "Are they not all proofs. That man immured in cities, still retains His inborn, inextinguishable thirst Of rural scenes f" For the New England Farmer. WARTS. Mr. Brown": — Dear Sir, — Seeing that you are ever ready to answer any inquiries, I would like to know what will take warts from the teats of cows. By answering the above, you will oblige, Geo. Cruickshakks. Swamfscot, June 21, 1853. Remarks. — We have known warts in numbers on the hands, cured by wetting and rubbing them occasionally, with a pencil of lunar caustic. Of course it must be used with care. We copy a par- agraph from Cole's "Diseases of Animals." "For warts, cut them open, and apply blue vit- riol, {sulphate of copper,) in powder. A physician was induced to try this, (and it was attended with excellent success,) from learning that a boy had many warts cured on his hands by sorting brass nails, from the influence of the copper in the brass. Neither the cutting nor the application is pafcful. Or apply to warts raw grated carrots, mixed with salt. Warts are sometimes cured by the applica- tion of spirits of turpentine, or lunar caustic." We would not advise, however, to ciit the ivarts open, as there is danger of making a sore more troublesome than the warts. Fine Cherries. — Mr. Mirick, one of our friends from the United Family, at Harvard, handed us a branch from a cherry tree, the other day, loaded with most delicious fruit. It was so large as to spoil the old saying that "it isn't worth while to make two bites of a cherry," dark red, sweet, flesh firm, and heart-shaped. They call it by its French name, Look-no-furtiier, and really, with plenty of such at command, one would scarcely care to trouble himself for other kinds. We have rarely seen a finer cherry. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 369 FRENCH BUCK, "MATCHJLBSS." This is the figure of a fine French Buck, owned by Mr. George Campbell, of West Westminster, Vt. In his description, he says the French Sheep are so well known at the present time, that it is necessary to say but little of them. "Match- less" may truly be said to belong to the "upper ten." lie proves to be an excellent stock getter ; is four years old, and weighed, on the first of last March, 280 lbs. His wool is very thick, good length, and fine. The French sheep are large and strong, and are well calculated fur the production of both wool and mutton. The ewes are good breeders, and generally good nursers, and if well kept, will breed twice a year, if desired. They require good rich sweet pastures in summer, and good keeping in winter. These sheep are well adapted to locations where mutton, as well as wool, is considerable of an object. They are ex- cellent feeders and if fed high will gain in flesh while suckling their young. 3^ Horticulture is that great gift of God to man, which makes desert places into gardens, and so beautifies the abodes of men as to resemble Paradise. Buildings without Horticulture, are but landmarks in a wilderness. For the New England Farmer. PALMER WORM. Mr. Editor : —After a lapse of upwards of forty years he has made his appearance this season ; fulfilling tlie declaration of Scripture, that what the canker worm hath left, the Palmer ivorm has eaten. The habits of this worm are much like those of the canker worm ; by a sudden shake of the tree it webs down in the same manner ; it is not much more than half as large, and is of vari- ous colors. You take him in your hand and then touch him and he will snap out at once. This insect you will find in many of our or- chards, gardens and groves ; he makes the most tender leaves his food ; for instance, the Hub- bardston Nonsuch apple tree has been eaten more than any other. The trees that leaved out late, or w^ere transplanted this spring, have in man^ places been made entirely bare. He dogs not attack the peach or pear tree, or grape vine. In the forest, he devours all that comes in the way; not even the white pine escapes its ravages. This old enemy of trees is thrice as formidable as the canker worm, and I know of no way to check his ravages except in the use of whale oil soap, and this can be applied to small trees with good success, by the use of the syringe. The sprinkling of air-slaked lime over the small trees, I have found to have good effect. The plum trees that I had limed over to keep 370 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. the curculio from, have not been eaten by this in- sect, while those that had not this preparation, have been injured. _ I notice that his ravages have been very exten- sive in Lynn, Danvers, Topsfield; and more or less in most of the towns in Essex county. If its true character and habits are not found out and a remedy applied, all will be lost. Topsfield, June 2b, \^bZ. J.Lake. For the New England Farmer. THE PALMER WORM. An insect, formerly known by this name, has appeared in great .numbers upon fruit and forest trees, during the past month. Apple, cherry, and plum trees, and, among forest trees, the white oak, have suffered more or less from its depreda- tions in all parts of New England, and in the State of New York. Communications concerning it, accompanied by specimens, have been sent to me from Bradford, Andover and Westboro', Massa- chusetts ; from New Haven and Salisbury, Con- necticut ; and from Keene and New Boston, New Hampshire. About the 10th of June, the same insects were first observed on fruit trees in my own garden, where, however, they have not been nu- merous, and have not done much injury. In oth- er places, their ravages have been deplorable, and have beeu compared to those of canker worms ; the leaves of trees attacked by them looking as though they had been scorched by fire. In some orchards, they have not spared even the fruit, which has been attacked and mostly destroyed by them. They have now come to their growth, and have finished the course, in their present form, for this season. These insects agree, in all respects, with the accounts given of the palmer worms that prevailed in many parts of New England, in June, 1791. It was remarked, after this great visitation, that they did not return the next year in the same places. Whether, until the present season, they have ever again been observed, in the hke profusion, is un- known to me. Probably some of these insects might have been found almost every year by dili- gent search. Perhaps they are the same as those heretofore called fire-worms, of whose history I cannot find anything in print. A particular description of the palmer worm ,may be thought unnecessary and superfluous, since the insect has been so recently and so widely ob- served, and has been pretty well described in the newspapers. But, as I have little more to add concerning it, and have been applied to publicly and privately, for information on the subject, it may be proper to put on record an account of it as ik has passed under my own observation. In its early stages, this worm, or caterpillar, though va- rying somewhat in color, is mostly pal« green, with two slender brown lines along the top of the back, and a pale brown head. It has sixteen feet, six of which, near the head, are jointed, ahid end with a single claw ; the others are merely fleshy protuberances without joints, the terminal pair beinw the longest. When fully grown, the insect measures half an inch, or rather more, in length, and then bears a striking resemblance to the com- mon bud-worm of the apple tree ; the back assum- ing, generally, a darker color, and the sides of the body being marked with black points, arranged three together on each side of every ring. Two blackish semicircular spots or marks, may also gen- erally be observed, at this period, on the top of the first ring. A few short hairs may be seen on the body by means of a magnifying glass. On my own trees, these insects have confined themselves mostly to the terminal leaves and buds ; on others, in places where they have been numerous, they have spread over all the leaves, and have devoured the whole green substance, leaving only the net- work of veins untouched. They are exceedingly active in their motions, moving either forwards or backwards at pleasure, with a kind of impatient jerking motion, which renders it difficult to hold them. When the trees are shaken, these worms drop, and hang suspended by threads, like canker worms. Whether they leave the trees in the same way, when they have finished their course, — if in- deed they do leave them at this time, and where they undergo their final transformations, I have not ascertained, being prevented by other engage- ments from watching their further progress. One of my correspondents has informed me that these worms mostly disappeared after a late hail storm; and another one states that they all took lesive during a heavy shower on Monday last. A few, that were kept for observation in a glass jar, have covered themselves with a thin web of silk, and some of these have already taken the chrysalis from within their webs. More than half of my specimens have been stung by ichneumon flies, which have deposited a single egg in each one of their victims. The maggots bred from these eggs, are now leaving the lifeless worms, and are spin- ning themselves up in white, oblong oval, silken pods or cocoons. If the palmer worms elsewhere have suffered the same fate in the like proportion, we have little cause to fear for their ravages next year. The chrysalis is about one quarter of an inch long, of a pale yellowish brown color, and differs from that of the bud-worm in not having transverse rows of teeth, or little notches, around its body. The final transformation remains to be observed ; and, until the insect is obtained in the winged or moth state, its scientific name cannot be determined. On the morning of the 28th of May, I saw, in the cemetery at Worcester, immense numbers of gray or whitish moths, about twice the size of the common clothes' moth, flying about almost in swarms, being disturbed from the grass and trees by my passing. Two days afterwards, a few of the same little moths were seen in my garden ; and Dr. Sanborn informed me that his garden was alive witti them on the 2.3d of May. They were also very numerous, about the same time, at New Elaven, and in other places since visited by the palmer worms. But vrhether the latter were, or were not, the descendants of these little moths, it would not be safe now to say. The moths, tliough not wholly unknown to me by sight, before this spring, have heretofore been so rare tliat my col- lection contained only a single specimen, and that in too poor a condition to enable me satisfactorily to investigate its scientific character and ascertain to what modern genus it belonged. As attention has been generally directed to the habits of the palmer worm during the present sea- son, other persons, more favorably situated than I am, may be expected to pursue and make known the further history and transformations of this de- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 371 structive insect. I regret not beiog able to give a better account of it at this tiuie, and still more that the pressure of my official duties necessarily interferes witli the continued and further investi- gation it would otherwise please me to make upon ft. T. W. Harris. Cambridge, Mass., July 6, 1853. Remarks. — Professor Harris will please accept our tlianks for the above interesting and valuable paper. We can find no account of the worms that appeared in 1791, and are at a loss to know why this insect is called a palmer worm. In the book of Joel i : 4, it is written ; "That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten ; and tliat which the locust hath left hath the canker worm eaten ; and that which the can- ker worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten." On reference to the edition of the Scriptures pub- lished by Knight, London, we find the following : ^^ The palmer worm. — The Hebrew writers gen- erally agree that the four insects mentioned in this verse are different species of the locust ; and this opinion has been supported by Bochart, with his usual ability and research. There is, howev- er, a very strong objection to this conclusion, in the fixct, that the three rendered 'palmer worm,' 'canker worm,' and 'caterpillar,' in our version, were not regarded as locusts by the Seventy, who were likely, in this matter, to be acquainted with the real meaning of the Hebrew words, and who wrote much earlier than any of those Hebrew wri- ters who consider all the words to denote varieties of the locust. "The original name, palmer worm, is gazam, of the Septuagint. This seems to be the caterpillar which was called by the Roman ab erodendo, from gnawing, as Isidore remarks. The ancients de- scribe it as a worm, which rolls up itself in the leaves of herbs, and especially of the vine, includ- ing perhaps several species of insect under one name. Plautus, an old Latin poet, speaks of it as a mischievous "beast," that rolls itself up in a vine leaf. It does not fly like the locust from plant to plant, or run hither and thither like some other insects, and leave them half eaten, but con- tinues upon the perishing herbage, till, by its sluggish motion and lazy jaws, it has devoured the whole. The ravages made by caterpillars are too familiar to render any expatiation upon them neces- sary. A reference to the respective meaning of the Hebrew, Latin and Greek terms, makes it proba- ble that the same kind of insect was intended by ab erodendo. The Hebrew meaning to cut, to shear. The Greek, to bend, and the Latin gnawing — the first and last pointing out to us its mischievous operations, and the second, the habit of rolling itself up in the leaf, to protect itself against those enemies which are every moment upon the watch to secure it. The Arabic version has dud, which seems to be a general denomination for what we I call the larva state of an insect, such as, for in- stance, the caterpillar is in regard to the butter- fly, l)eing then in the second grade of its progress towards the perfect or 2ma^'0 condition." If this gives a correct description, the insect which has come upon us with such a withering power is not the palmer loorm ! For the New England Farmer. STATE REFORM SCHOOL. Mr. Editor : — I perceive your brother editor of the Culturist and Gazette, at Pittsfield, has kindly copied my remarks, supplementary to your article on the State Reform School at Westborough, and interlarded such exceptions, as tend to put the boot on the other leg. Can it be, sir, that we, and those who were with us, were entirely in error, in our conception of the condition of things at this establishment? I should like to know whether the good doctor has ever been there himself. He expresses a quere, whether it is possible to keep so many boys in a clean and healthy condition. If it is not, I should say, they should never be brought together. Even the State itself has no authority to administer a slow poison, i» the form 0^ filth and vermin. His notions of "the connection between sin and punishment" are so abstract, that I must leave them to be settled by the theologians of the schools. I make no pretension to such knowledge. If I rightly comprehend the purpose of this Insti- tution, it is for the reception and education of boys during their minority ; of those not suffi- ciently matured in crime, to be fit subjects for punishment in our gaols and houses of correction. He speaks of the benefits that may accrue from keeping alive in their memory, the errors of which they have been guilty. With all due respect to the doctor's opinion, I think it will be better to obliterate the recollection of past errors, by excit- ing a generous ambition to do well. Sir, what hope is there of a man or boy, who constantly feels, that he is looked upon with an eye of jealousy and suspicion ! If you would have improvement, you should inspire confidence. "To err is human, to forgive divine." June 30, 1853. Essex. Cows Holding up their Milk. — Itis well known that many cows when they first come in, when their calves are taken from them, will hold up their milk, sometimes to such a degree as almost to dry themselves before they will give it down. "A few years ago," writes a correspondent of an English newspaper, "I bought a young cow which proved to be very wild, and when I took away her first calf she would not give her milk. I had heard it remarked that putting a weight on the cow's back would make her give her milk down. I ac- cordingly drove her into a stable, got a bushel of grain and put it on her back. VVhile in this po- sition she had no power to hold up her milk, for it came down freely. After doing this a few times, and afterwards putting my hand on the back of the cow, it would give way and she would imme- diately give down her milk." The rationale of this treatment appears to be that the weight coun- teracts the upward tendency of the animal's mus- cular action. — Rural New- Yorker. 372 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug PRACTICE OP SHOEING HORSES. Mr. Chas. Percival, veterinary surgeon of the Royal artillery, Furnishes the following communi- cation to one of the Duhlin papers : I have lately been devoting much attention to shoeing, and flatter myself that the horses under my care arc as well shod as any in lier Majesty's service. The shoe I found in use here was made concave next to the foot, and flat on the ground surface, than whicli, in my opinion, nothing could be .worse. This shoe I have had reversed, making farriers are very apt to apply the edge of the rasp improperly to the crust, forming a deep gn'ove round the same, which cannot but be injurious to the foot, and, together with taking away too much of the crust in finishing oif the foot, must have a tendency to render it shelly. Curving the shoe at the toe, after the French fashion, where horses go near the ground, I am very fond of; but I cannot see any advantage in it as a general practice. Remarks. — We hope every shoer of horses who reads this, will compare its suggestions with his the latter as concave as the foot will possibly ad- practice. As is the case with most of the me- mit of, leaving only sufficient room between the shoe and the foot, for the pricker to pass freely round, to remove dirt, &c. To the heels of the shoe I have given an inclined plane outwards on the foot surface, with three nails on the inside and four on the outside. The heels, instead of being cut off straight, are well sloped, and about the same thickness as the toe. The shoe, one-third as thick at the heel as the toe, recommended by the late professor, the majority of our horses could not travel in. There are many pernicious practi- ces which smiths in general, if left to themselves, fall into, viz : 1. Mutilating the frogs by improper cutting. I have at length got my farriers to understand that the only part of the frog which ever requires cut- ting, unless ragged, is the point, to prevent the sensible frog being bruised between it and the cof- fin bone. 2. Inflicting serious injury to the crus* by an improper use of the rasp, but especially the coarse side of it. 3. In fitting the shoes, by cutting too much out of the crust at the toe to admit the clip. The shoe is consequently set too far back, instead of being fitted full to the crust, and afterwards rasping away the crust, making the foot, in fact, to fie the shoe, instead of the shoe to fit the foot. This is a faulty practice, and very seriously so, which smiths in general are very apt to fall into ; one, too, which renders the crust shelly, for that part Into which the nails are driven from time to time is in this way rendered weak. 4. In turning shoes, smiths in general do not attend sufliciently to beveling or sloping the edge of the shoe from the foot to the ground surface, which I consider of great importance, especially if horses are given to cut or interfere in their action. 5. Cutting the heels of the shoe oS" straight. This is also a very bad practice. If well sloped, like a shoe for hunting, to which there cannot be any objection, they are less liable to be pulled off by the hind shoe catching in them, and contribute more to safety of both horse and rider. 6. Leaving the inner edges of the hind shoes at the toe sharp, which, if rounded, will in a great measure prevent over-reaches, as well as render the fore shoes less liable to be pulled off by their catching in the heels of the former. Squaring the toe of the hind shoe for horses that forge, or "car- ry the hammer and pincers," as it is termed, leav- ing the horn projecting over the shoe, is, in my opinion, good as a general rule, not only prevent- ing that unpleasant noise, but rendering horses less liable to overreach and pull off their fore shoes, provided, however, attention be paid to rounding the inner edge. 7. la rasping the under part of the clinches chanics of this country, there is only one in a hun- dred that understands his business. It requires art, to shoe a horse properly, as well as to make a watch. There are important principles involved in the operation which the smith should study and understand. We believe there are more horses led into shambling gaits, and awkward overreach- ing and stumbling habits, by bad shoeing, than by all other causes combined. And when the horse has acquired these habits, he is check-reined, mar- tingaled, and abused in other abominable ways, because he does«just as his owner ought to have known he would do under such a course of shoe- ing ! IiOVE ALL. BY C. D. STUART. Love all ! There is no living thing Which God has not created ; Love all ! There is no living thing Which God has ever hated. His love sustains the meanest life — Whate'er dolh live or perish — And man ma)' not disdain to love What God has loved to cherish. Love all 1 For hate begettelh hale, And love through love increaseth; Love all ! For hate shall faint and fall, While love, like God, ne'er ceaselh. Love is the law, the life supreme, The goal where all are tending; The hate shall die, the strife shall cease, But love is never-ending. ENTOMOLOGICAL DISCOVERY. The following note from our friend, Mr. S. Max- well, Jr., describes a discovery he has made, which will prove of considerable value, on account of the ease with which the nit is removed. We have ex- amined a number of plums since receiving the note and find in every case the nit under the brown speck, except where the punctui-ehas exuded gum — then the worm is hatched out and has com- menced his depredations. CuRCULio. — I have within a week discovered a fact about the curculio which was new to me, and have also found it entii'ely new to others to whom I have communicated it. All those who have had fruit bitten by the curculio, have probably noticed a little brown spot on the inner edge of the cres- cent-shaped puncture. That little brow spot covers the egg left by the bug, and the puncture seems to be made for a place of safety for the young i worm when hatched, and also to facilitate its oper- 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 373 atioDs ia boring into the fruit. Persons having plum-trees, and leisure, and wishing to preserve f few of tlie fruit after it lias been bitten, can witl the point of a penknife, or with the thumb or fin ger nail, easily remove the spot from its place, and no harm will come to the fruit except the scar left by it. — Greenfield Reptiblican. For the Neiu England Farmer. BARN CELLARS, RESTORATIVE GAS ES, AND OTHER SPECULATIONS. jMessrs. Editous : — Most of the farmers in this vicinity who have renewed their barns have also built capacious, well-constructed cellars under the whole building, at a large additional expense. A little experience has led me to make the following remarks on the subject of barn cellars. Eleven years ago, I had a cellar constructed un- der my cow hovel with the intention of sheltering my manure from the weather and saving the liquid excrements, which, under our former manage- ment, without a cellar, were mostly lost. The ad- vantages I have realized from my cellar have not but partially answered my expectations. The cel- lar was closed with matched boards in front, and walled with stones at the sides to keep it tight ; the floor over it had openings to let the excrements pass from the hovel into the cellar, which would be nearly full in the spring when wanted for use. On removing the dung from the cellar we found a large part of it dry and hard, and in no condition to de- compose into suitable nourishment for immediate food for growing vegetables, the urine not being sufficient to supply the required amount of hu- midity necessary to promote fermentation, its state of decomposition being quite behind that thrown out at the hovel window and lying the same length of time, which had been kept damp by snow and rain. I am not able to compi-ehend what loss green manure can sustain in a few weeks while lying in a conical form as thrown from the window before the process of fermentation takes place to disengage the gases, or even afterward within the space of a year. I have known some of our best practical farmers prefer to have their dung heaps lay in that form till tliey were rotten enough to put in the hills or to spread to top dress grass land. How much the loss is, during the process of fermentation, in the escape of nutritive gases, cannot be ascertained without accurate chemical experiments and nice observation. We cannot make a perfect compost without a large supply of water in the form of rain, or from some other source, and, therefore, I think the rains which fall upon a heap of green manure must rath- er benefit than injure the process of fermentation and rotting. After housing my dung four or five winters, I have turned back to the old custom of throwing it through the hovel windows again. I believe the gases which escape and ascend from our manure wliile in a state of fermentation and decomposition descend again on being condensed by some chemical agency in the laboratory of the atmospliere, and fertilize our lands which lie in a state of rest, and as evidence of the truth of my theory, I will refer to practical facts flimiliar to all farmers of observation who have reared herds of cattle and sheep. Lands which have been exhausted by cropping are restored to fertility again after supplying a flock of sheep with their food, and their owners with wool, pelts and mutton, after a lapse of a few years, so that they will produce respectable crops of grain again without manure ; now how does this happen if the nutritive gases do not re- turn again to the earth in such large quantities as to furnish the sheep with a living, the farmer, with wool, meat, and pelts, and at the same time (after so large a deduction and draught ujion the soil) it should continue to gain in fertility so as to produce one or two crops of grain (mce in five or more years ? Those who keep swine in their barn cellars, perhaps have much the advantngc of those who do not, as a hog is an animal that never leaves a moveable thing as he finds it, generally examining all sides of it, even if it is excrement of the most offensive kind ; his olfactories are such that he appears to enjoy the odor as he would the most delicate perfume, and as willingly works among the most nauseous filth as sport in the fra- grance of the garden of Eden. liogs are called dung makers, which is a very appropriate name, and to those educated in a barn-cellar no one will dispute their merit to the title, but the idea of eat- ing pork saturated with the filth of a barn cellar is revolting to the sensibilities of those who are so particular as to trace effects to causes. TMe great- est advantage, and that a real one, that I have found from having a barn cellar, is from the liquid excrements being all saved and conveyed through holes in the floor into the cellar where quantities of earthy and vegetable materials are deposited purposely to absorb the urinous effusions from above ; in this way we have made very valuable manure for top-dressing of grass land or for grain crops, and are compensated for the extra expense of making a cellar. The first barn cellar within my knowledge in this neighborhood was made by Col. Loammi Bald- win, the noted engineer of Middlesex Canal, more than half a century ago ; after trying it a few years he told a friend of mine who was about building a barn, that he could not advise him to make a cellar under it from any beneficial experi- ence he had received from his own cellar ; and my neighbor built a large barn without a cellar, influ- enced, as he told me, by the Col.'s advice. The effluvia which fly off from our barn cellars and dung heaps are not lost but return again to us with interest, though the same gases may not de- scend upon the same man's premises where they originated ; they appear to be equally distributed by an impartial Providence upon everyman's fixrm, according to his number of acres. The man who enriches his land by plowingjn his clover or buck- wheat is indebted to the nutritive gases which es- cape from the decomposition of animal and vege- table substances, and enter life in another form af- ter descending from the great atmospheric labora- tory. Nutritive gases transferred from the decomposi- tion of animal and vegetable substances to he re- organized in the form of buckwheat and clover, constitute a considerable portion of those produc- tions as well as other vegetables ; or why should those plants which are entirely indebted to the earth for their sustenance add any fertility to it by being plowed under to decompose there, as the earth would only take back what she gave, and gain nothing by the operation. The chemical operations of the Divine mind as much surpass the 374 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. researches of human chemists, as the formation of living animals surpass the manufiicture of the im- itations contrived by man to represent birds, beasts, and men, or as the power of the Almighty to cre- ate is beyond man who tries to imitate. Silas Brown. 'Wilmington, June 28, 1853. APPLE TREES KILLED BY POTASH. The ISew England Farmer mentions a case where an orchard of one hundred and six thrifty Bald- wins were washed with a solution of potash of the strength of a pound to a gallon of water, which killed the whole of them in a few days. In all at- tempts to doctor seeds, plants, trees, or animals, great caution should be observed. Guano is often used in a way that destroys the vitality of seeds ; and in soaking seed wheat in brine, blue stone or copperas water, a similar disaster frequently re- sults by steeping the seed too long. It is better to spread caustic ashes, guano and urine too spar- ingly than in excessive quantities, or in a too con- centrated form. First and last, we have used a good deal of liquid manure, and never add less than five parts of water to one of urine. A pound of potalh to five or six gallons of water instead of one, will form a wash of sufficient strength to kill moss on apple trees, and probably the cotton aphis which so abounds at the South. The finest peach trees that we ever saw in any part of our extend- ed country, were treated frequently to a wash of soap-suds after the servants had washed the linen and other clothes for the week. Spent ashes from which soap has been made, and the refuse wash- water are of great value as manures, and particu- larly to apply to the soil over the roots of all fruit trees. Many thoughtful economical fiirmers at the North, are careful to apply all soap-suds and kitchen slops not suitable food for hogs, to their compost heaps, which is an excellent plan, for the alkalies in wash-water, in all cases where soap is used, or ley, aids in rendering the silica in the straw, corn-stalks, grass or weeds composted, soluble manure. The object of composting coarse vegetables, is to break down their tissues, and ren- der them an unctious, soluble mass. The caustic ammonia developed in putrid urine ; the alkalies in ashes, and alkaline minerals, lime and magnesia, all extract oils from plants and favor their decom- position.— D. Lee, in Southern Cultivator. Remarks — That is good sound teaching, and just such as we should expect from Dr. Lee. He not only understands the chemical nature of pot- ash, but by ample experience, its action upon veg- etable life. If all agricultural editors could come to the opinion that they not only do not know ev- erything, but that many things which they think they know should be dealt out sparingly to the people, there would be less error in practice. We were called a few days since to look at a beautiful lot of plum trees, filled witli fruit, which had been syringed with a solution of the salts of ammonia ; nearly every leaf of them was as dead as they ev- er are in December ; even the hardy currant and strawberry leaves were as dead as though they had been laid on a hot iron, wherever the solution had touched them. The proprietor of the garden in- formed us that he found this nostrum recommend- ed in the same paper where the "pound and gal- lon" potash theory comes from. We do not doubt but either of these may be used without injury to the tree, under certain cir- cumstances, but the practice ought to be aban- doned entirely, because we can never control those circumstances. Fur the New Ensland Farmer. TRIMMING PINE TREES. 25th Mr. Editor : — Sir, in your paper of the 21 inst., I notice an inquiry of G. F. W., about tri ming pine trees, and in your remarks you ask for information upon the subject. I have a piece of land which has for the last twenty years been coming into pitch pines, and as I use evergreen boughs to shelter my strawberry beds, &c., in win- ter, I have, annually, pruned the young pines in November, for the last twelve or fifteen years. I cut the limbs with a saw, close to the trunk; pitch exudes from the wound, and becomes hardened by spring, effectually protecting the wound from the weather. I do not think any injury results from the pruning; it has the same effect as upon decidu- ous trees, making them grow less stocky ,vih\ch is an advantage where the trees are not close together. Where they grow in thick groves, the limbs die while the trunk is small, leaving a clean trunk, free from large knots. I have occasitmally cut limbs from them in spring — a much larger quantity of pitch exudes, and as the weather is warm, it does not harden over the wound. Yours respectfully, F. W. Mason. Dartmouth, June 27, 1853. Remarks. — Mr. Mason has done the public a favor in giving his experience on this subject. We had made many personal inquiries among our best farmers, but found none who had made experi- ments. There is, indeed, very little known among us in relation to the treatment which our forests ought to receive. For the New England Farmer. CANKER, OR SOME OTHER WORMS. Mr. Editor: — The canker worms, in countless numbers and with astonishing rapidity, are almost universally desolating our orchards. Many noble trees, which a few short weeks ago enlivened the scenery with their beautiful green, now look al- most as brown as though the frosts of Autumn had swept over them, and the rest will be likely to share their fate unless speedy measures are taken to cheek or destroy the little invaders — if they can be called invaders, living, as they do, just where they were born. Of course, all will depend upon your valuable paper, for information upon this subject, and prob- ably they will not be disappointed. I have heard some express an opinion, that the insect now so common, is not tlie real canker worm ; I think it is; but should be glad to have some one wlio knows, settle the question; anyway, they are bad enough, and they seem almost exclusively to at- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 375 tack our most valuable trees— viz, apple trees — as though they owed mankind a peculiar grudge. While looking over the third volume of- the old New England Farmer, published in 1825, I think, after something relative to the canker worm, I found on page 327 an article, recommending locust trees, planted thickly through the orchard, as a remedy for their ravages ; after reading this I re- membered that on my father's farm there was a small locust grove with two or three apple trees standing almost in contact with it. Upon exami- nation, these trees proved to be equally infested with the rest, thus disproving that theory. Should you think it worth while to insert this, it may lielp some who, like myself, may be referr- ing to old papers, and find this suggestion, and may not, as I had, have the means of judging of its merits. s. g. e. Chester, June, 25lh, 1853. THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE MIGNONETTE. The following, written by Dennis Murray, one of the best gardeners in or around Boston, for the Journal of Agriculture, will be read with inter- est : It is now an age since this fragrant weed of Egypt first perfumed the European gardens, and it is so tar climated, as to spring from seed of its own sowings. The Reseda Odorata first found its way to the south of France, where it was wel- comed by the name oi Mignonette, (Little Darling,) which was found too appropriate for this sweet little flower to be ever afterwards exchanged for any other. By a manuscript note in the library of the late Sir Joseph Banks, it appears that the seed of the mignonette was sent in 1742, by Lord Bate man, from the Royal Garden at Paris, to Mr. Richard Bateman, at Old Windsor ; butweshould presume that this seed was not dispersed, and perhaps not cultivated beyond Mr. Bateman's gar- den, as we find that Mr. Miller received the seed from Dr. Adrian Van Royen, of Leyden, and cul- tivated it in the Botanic Garden at Chelsea in the year 1752. From Chelsea it soon got into the gardens of the London florists, so as to enable them to supply the metropolis with plants to fur- nish out the balconies, — a fact noticed by Cowper, who attained the age of twenty-one in the year that this flower first perfumed the British atmos- phere by its fragrance. The author of the Task soon afterwards celebrates it as a favorite plant in London — the sashes fronted wiili a range Oforan^e, myrtle, or the fragrant weed.' The odor which this little flower exhales is thought by some to be too powerful for the house; but even those persons, we presume, must be de- lighted wicli the fragrance which it throws from the balconies into the streets, giving something like a breath of garden air to the "close-pent man" whose avocations will not permit a ramble beyond the squares of the fashionable part of the town. To such persons it must bo a lusuriims treat to catch a few ambrosial gales on a summer evening, from the heated pavement where offensive odors are but too frequently met with. We have fre- quently found the perfume of the mignonette so powerful in some of the better streets, that we have considered it sufficient to protect the inhabi- tants from those effluvia that bring disorder with them in the air. This genus of plants, of wliich there are a good many species, was named Rcsca- da by the ancients, from resedare, to assuage, be- cause some of the species were esteemed good for mitigating pain. We find that this sweet Reseda hns crept into the armorial bearings of an illustrious family of Saxony, by the following romantic tale ; the Count of Walsthim was the declared lover and intended spouse of Amelia de Nordbourg, a young lady pos- sessing all the charms necessary for the heroine of a modern novel, excepting that she took delight in creating little jealousies in the breast of her destined husband. As the beautiful Amelia was an only child of a widowed mother, a female cous- in, possessing but few personal charms, and still less fortune, had been brought up with her from inflmcy as a companion, and as a stimulus to her education. The amiable and humble Charlotte was too insignificant to attract much attention in the circles in which her gay cousin shone with so much splendor, which gave her frequent opportu- nities of dispensing a part of that instruction she had received on the more humble class of her own sex. Returning from one of those charitable vis- its and euteiiug the gay saloon of her aunt, where her entry or exit was now scarcely noticed, she found the party amused in selecting flowers, while the couut and the ot'uer beaux were to make vers- es on the choice of each of the ladies. Charlotte was desired to make herselection of a flower. The sprightly Amelia had taken a rose, others a carna- tion, a lily, or the flower most likely to call forth compliment ; and the delicate idea of Charlotte in selecting the most humble flower, by placing a sprig of mignonette in her bosom, would proba- bly have passed unnoticed, had not the flirtation of her gay cousin with a dashing colonel, who was more celebrated for his conquests in the draw- ing-room than in the field of battle, attracted the notice of the Count, so as to make his uneasiness visible ; which the amiable Charlotte, ever stu- dious of Amelia's real happiness, wished to amuse ; and, to call back the mind of her cousin demand- ed the verses for the rose. The Count saw this af- fectionate trait in Charlotte'sconduct, took out his pencil and wrote for the rose — "Elle ne vit qu' un jour, et ne plait qu'un momeiit." which he gave to the lovely daughter, at the same time presenting the humble cousin with this line on the mignonette : — "Vos qualites surpassant vos charmes," Amelia's pride was aroused, and she retaliated by her attention to the Colonel and neglect of the Count, which she carried so far as to throw herself into the power of a profligate, who brought her to ruin. The Count transferred his affections from beauty to amiability, and, rejoicing in the ex- change and as well to commemorate the event which brought about his happiness and delivered him from a coquette, he added a branch of the sweet Reseda to the ancient arms of his family, with the motto : Your qualities surpass your charms. The mignonette is transformed into a perennial shrub, which dispenses its odors at till season of the year, by the following simple treatment : ^ A young plant should be placedin a garden pot, with 37G NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug- a stick of about eighteen inches in height inserted by its side, to tie up its branches to ; as it advan- ces in height, the leaves and young branches being kept stripped off from the lower part, so as to form a stem to the height required, this stem will be- come sufficiently hard and woody to endure the winter, by being placed in a green house or the window of a sitting room, and may be preserved for several yeass, if air is given to it whenever the weather will allow, so that the young branches do not become too delicate. As soon as the seed vessels begin to form, they should be cut off, wliich will cause the plant to throw out a fresh supply of blossoms ; but these plants should never be suf- fered to perfect their seed, as it would greatly weaken them, and generally cause their entire de- cay ; for the sweet Reseda is an annual in its prop- er climate, and therefore naturally decays when it has ripened its seed. It is frequently observed that the seeds of the mignonette which scattered themselves in the autumn produce finer plants than those that are sown in the spring, which should teach us to sow a part of our seed at that season of the year in pots or boxes, kept iu frames through the winter, or in a green house. while the black knot insect appears as yet unknown to him. I have made the above remarks more to arouse a spirit of inquiry and investigation, than to arro- gate to myself any superior knowledge of the sub- ject. For the study of Entomology is one so intri- ' cate and difficult, that one short life is too little to )btain a thorough knowledge of it ; it appears, therefore, to be the duty of students in the science to assist each other, although they may differ for a while in tlieir opinions ; patient investigation will, in time, bring them to the same conclusions. Very respectfully, Mrs. Notes Darling. New Haven, June 18/A, 1853. For the Neio England Farmer. BLACK KNOTS AGAIN. Mr. Brown: — Respected Sir, — I have read with considerable interest the communication Cor rath- er the postscript) of your correspondent J. Lee, of Salisbury, Conn. My object in noticing it at this time, is not so much to convince Mr. L. by my words, but to put him as well as others in a way to convince themselves. It is no wonder that he did not find very distinct traces of insects in old knots of last year's growth, for the grubs leave early in August, and the knots enlarge and alter their shape very mueh after that time. But now is the time, the present month of July. Watch carefully the first swellings, (they will be difficult to find, for they do not turn black until late in au- tumn,) mark them well, and dissect them from time to time. The grubs are so minute at first that it will require a lens to discover them, but will in a short time become visible to the naked eye, then cut out sections of the limbs, and follow the prac- tice described in my communication published in the March number of the New England Farmer . And if the result does not prove the same, Black Knots must be different, in different localities. I stated in my communication to the March number, that the warts had almost entirely disap- peared in New Haven, and its vicinity within three or four years. Such was the fact for two or three years, but I find, upon examination, that they were as numerous as ever last year in some locations. I have perused, also, with much interest, the ar- ticle on black knots, copied from the Horticulturist, published in the June number. The writer has evidently paid much attention to the science of Entomology, and has folk) wed a very judicious course in his war of extermination. But in my opinion he has carried on his operations against three distinct species of insects, instead of one. The one that punctured the twigs with a sting or Ovapositor, must have been a species of Cicadae, has the usual appearance of grain that js sown For the New England Farmer. PROSPECTS OF THES SEASON. BY A. G. COMINGS. It is well sometimes to take a look ahead, and see how things are likely to turn out. We are now, [June 25,] sufl5ciently near the top of the hill, in the season, to desire to see what our ag- ricultural prospects are. Grass. — Never during May and June, in any season remembered, have our New England pas- tures been clothed with a garment of more beauti- ful green. In the mowing fields grass has come forward early, and in this vicinity it now appears as though the crop would be light. Old fields require a cool, wet May, for the best product of mowing grass. The month was not dry ; but much warmer than usual, this year. The grass shot up readily and rapidly, but not thick. On old fields, where the soil was not wet and cold, grass is thin, and the crop will be light. On new ground, much of what was sown to grass last year failed to "catch" well. Such ground will of course give but a light crop. Ground newly seed- ed with clover, in some parts of this county, has suffered much from the absence of the ueual cov- ering of snow, during the winter. Many fields show an entire or almost entire loss of the clover, by winter killing. I have seen acres together where the surface of the ground was covered with the roots of clover which had been thrown out of the gound by freezing and thawing. The season is now forward, and much grass, in this vicinty, is losing vitality, for want of more rain. The prospect is not favorable to the idea of a very heavy hay crop. Indian Corn looks remarkably well for the time of year. If the latter part of summer should be as favorable as the first part has been, the corn crop will be very fine this year. But while we ought always to hope, we ought never to presume. Our expectations may be cut short. Potatoes have not reached their critical time of life. There has been a great planting, and if there should be a great rotting before the twentieth of September, it will not very much surprise some people. But we hope for the best of potatoes. Spring Grain has mostly suffered somewhat from the forwardness of the season. Much of it Locust, for such is the course that species of iu' sect follows. The cluster of eggs, covered with varnish, was probably that of the tent caterpillar, when the season is so far advanced that it comes on too rapidly. It grows up tliin on the ground, is light strawed and light headed. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 377 The mischievous bugs have annoyed farmers very much. They have left hardly a hope of pumpkins "for Thanksgiving." They have eaten the cucumbers before they could be picked. They have not even waited fur a preparation of salt and vinegar. Squashes, summer and winter kinds, have been most mercilessly treated by the army of bugs. But somebody will raise some of all these things "for seed," undoubtedly. The prospect is that there will not be much crowing about fruit, next fall. Tliere are two reasons. One is, there are not so many of those wonderful roosters kept now, as were once. Crow ing is therefore becoming a little unpopular, since the big Shanghai rooster burst his windpipe in an attempt to give a speciuien of Chinese music. The other reason is, the fruit is, evidently, the most of it, destined to be "food for worms," like all fruit eaters. Apple trees in many places look as though some sudden stop had been put to the course of nature. I suppose, however, that it is all very natural for worms to eat, and for trees to look very bare when their leaves are gone, or very uninterestingly when the leaves appear to be dry on the tree. If good winter fruit does not com- mand a price, next fall, it will be a little strange. There is hope, yet, for a good lot of peaclies. The little mischievous chap that bites the plums and tlie apples does not seem to be so fond of peaches. That is really encouraging. It is al- ways a lucky idea to those who do not raise any, but have some cousins who do, to remember the relationship just at the best time to "go and see the folks and get some peaches." Well, who wouldn't? We, here in New Hampshire, have our particu- lar prospects. Our Agricultural Societies are wide awake, to make the year tell. Our legisla- ture has had "the ague" over the part of Gov- ernor JMartin's Message concerning an agricultu- ral Commission. They have finally put a wet blanket upon the whole subject and sent it to bed. Whether it will be found to sleep a whole year re- mains for time and tide to tell and establish. At any rate, the wisdom of this legislature has taken its shape. On this subject the mass of the peo- pte have no definite idea, and it is therefore, to them, a matter of indifference whether it goes this way or that. The hay-season is now upon us. The ground is becoming very dry. The old idea of making hay while the sun shines will not be forgotten. But if hay is scorched excessively under a burning sun it will lose very much of its value, by the crum- bling of the leaves and heads. We are all looking forward for better success in all our efforts, in the future. Of what has been, and of what now is, we have some knowledge. But ctmcerning the future all is conjecture. Yet we humbly hope, and every mind struggles in the world of mind to accomplish some desired and de- sirable service. The agricultural student wrestles violently with the difficulties which oppose his progress ; and the plowman studies deep philoso- phy while he treads the newly opened furrow, and pushes his conquest at the point of the plow. An interest for the honor of agriculture is fast ripening to maturity. Things as of old are pass- ing away. Scholars will be plow-boys, and phi- losophers will be farmers. The spirit of this change is touching the springs of motion, and what is to be very soon will be. Ignorance must learn to be ashamed, and the rage of dandyism, in its thousand forms, must give place to that prac- tical comuum sense upon which the weal of the world depends. a. g c. Mason, N. H. The figure above represents a pair of Sliding Pruning Shears. They have a movable centre for the motion of one of the blades, by which means, instead of a crushing cut, they make a draw cut, leaving the section of the part attached to the tree or shrub smooth, as if cut off with a knife. These shears are especially convenient and com- fortable in trimming raspberry, blackberry, goose- berry and other bushes that have thorns, or for heading in peach or plum trees. GARDEN OR HEDGE SHEARS. These are admirably adapted for shearing hedg- es, borders of walks, or, if set with a keen edge, for heading in small trees. GRASS EDGING OR BORDER SHEARS. These are used for trimming the sides of box and grass edgings, and are constructed with a roller so that the operator may stand upright whilst using them ; the one figured here has a wheel attached, which is generally considered an advantage. Errors in Growing Beans. — Lima bean vines are usually suffered to wind themselves tiDund a pole twelve or fifteen feet high, and before the vine reaches the top of the pole, some beans are already of a size to be pulled, near its bottom. Lima beans should be pinched off when five and a half feet high, and they will readily throw out side shoots well filled with pods, which will ripen ,:*. 378 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. before frost ; whereas, when not shortened in, the beans on the upper ends of the vine cannot per- fect themselves in time to be saved. It is unfair to expect a gill of sap to travel through forty feet of vine wrapped around a pole, and make a perfect bean at the extreme end of it. BLACK KNOT IN PLUM TREES. Mr. Editor : — When the carrier brought the last Farmer into uij door-yard, I met him, as I was returning from my garden, where I had been carefully examining some of the newly forming "knots'* upon some young sprouts growing, or trying to grow in the vicinity of an old "purple damson" tree. I took the paper, and the first ar- ticle I noticed, was the one on the first page, call- ing attention once more to this subject. After reading the article, which afforded but little light upon this perplexing point of inquiry, and which was chiefly designed to induce careful observation, at this favorable season of the year, I returned to the garden and renewed my examinations, and I will give you what /arts I have discovered, and my speculations upon them. First the facts. These protuberances, or "knots," commence about the time the leaves open upon the trees, in the charac- ter of a swelling, or enlargement upon the side of the limb, and generally upon wood of the lastyear's growth ; always upon young, fresh and sappy wood. Soon the bark cracks open for considerable extent upon the limb, varying from one to six inch es, and sometimes extending along continuously for half a yai'd. This opening in the bark is rapid- ly filled with a sort of fungus, or porous woody substance, in which the regular fibres of healthy wood do not appear, but which will readily sug- gest to the observer the idea of disease — of a bad sore — of a cancer upon a human limb. Indeed, I can think of nothing they so much resemble as can- cers, or scrofulous sores, I have seen upon the hu- man body. As these sores progress, they extend into the bone, or into the wood, come to the heart of it, and frequently nearly, or quite round and through the entire limb, and the wood becomes porous, resembling a diseased, carious bone, and dies. Now for another fact : in examining these pro- tuberances, at this season of the year, I have found, on examining them carefully, near the cen- tral parts of the branches, or more prominent por- tions, a small maggot, very small, but large enough to be seen with the naked eye. My ob- servations this morning, have detected, at least, half a dozen of them, finding one or more in every branch, and often discovering the path, half an inch or more in length, which had undoubtedly been his "path of life," aflbrding him food and shelter thus far in his maggot, or first form of ex- istence. Two or three weeks later than this date, these maggots may be found considerably larger ; but never, I think, attaining to moi-e than three- eighths of an inch in length, and the size of a com- mon pin ; or possibly a little more. Later in the season I have often discovered their path, extend- ing along an inch or more, through the central part of this fungus matter, and leading out at length, where we may suppose he found himself possessed of a pair of wings, and the power of using them. Now for my speculations. The inquiry may arise, are these fungi, or sores, thrown out as eruptions appear upon the surface of the human body, from disease in the sap, the blood of the tree ? and thus afibrding a convenient place for the moth, or fly, in which to deposit its egg, become incidentally its birth place and cradle ? Or does the insect, the moth or fly, in the latter part of the season, insert its egg in the healthy i)ark, or soft wood of the summer's growth, to be hatched out the ensuing season, as the sap flows freely, and the warm sun is felt by it ■? This lat- ter is, I am confident, the true view of the subject. But what is the cause of such an extensive "knot" or sore upon the limb? Certainly no such result follows a slight incision or wound made in the or- dinary way. Is it not probable that N&.ture has prepared this insect, to propogate its kind, through this peculiar process 1 and accordingly by a law we cannot fully scan, made its sting, or the depos- ited egg, act upon the wood as a poison, throwing out just such an excrescence as is necessary to its existence? This is my opinion. And I think the vegetable world affords many examples analogous to this theory. Many a time, in my boyhood, have I plucked a certain forest weed in the pasture, or by the road side, growing perhaps to the height of three feet ; the stock grown, and about as large as a pipe stem, and having, somewhere mid way of it, a ball or bulge, an inch in diameter, and perfectly sound. A careful examination of this ball, showed clearly that some insect had inserted an egg in the stock of the young weed, which caused the fibres to part in the centre, and swell out to the size above described, and containing within a pulpy substance, in the midst of which would be, at first, an egg, and then in due time a maggot, which feeds upon the tender juicy sub- stance, Nature has so wonderfully provided for it. In Autumn these balls will be found to have, in the side of them, a small round hole, through which the imprisoned maggot makes his escape. Similar to this are the round balls often seen at- tached to the leaves of the oak, and familiarly called "oak apples." They are composed of veg- etable matter ; their formation is a wonderful specimen of mechanical precision and skill ; and yet they grow, or result from the insertion of the egg of a moth or fly, in the fibrous substance of the young and tender leaf. They form a perfect ball, the wall of which is in substance much like the leaf itself, while in the centre of the large cham- ber within, suspended by fine fibres, extending to the wall all round, is a small sack, or shell, in which at first is an egg, then a maggot, which finally escapes by crawling through the wall of its prison. Now in these cases, certainly the hermit insect is the prime cause. She lays her egg, and Nature takes it into its fostering care ; and though we cannot fully comprehend the subtle principles, by which the process is carried on, yet the facts can- not be disputed. Nature, in her beneficence, re- gards not man alone, but all living things. By laws the most subtle, by arrangements the most complete, as they often appear to us, yet really the most free and simple, are the wants of all sup- plied. Possibly in some non-essentials in the above theory, I may have erred ; I may not be correct as to the time when the egg is inserted ; when it takes its wings and moves in the air. I have 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 379 m:ide no discoveries, that fully determined every difficulty of these points ;— but that I am right, as to the prime cause of the "Black Knots in Plum Trees,'' I have no doubt. In respect to a prevention, I can only say, that in case of the "Uurculio" that works upon tiie young fruit, upon the same trees, vre must make our effjrts in the direction of the insect itself. \Ve cannot prevent the injury to the tree, when the sting is made, the poison inserted. We must find out the fly and destroy him, or apply something to the bark of the trees that will prevent its ravages. — Maine Farmer. z. t. HAY CAPS. With the almost uniformly dry months of July and August, as we have had for three years past in this region, the haymaker may say, perhaps, that coverings for the protection of his hay-cocks are unnecessary. But there are sections of country every summer, where the "weather is catching," and large quantities of hay are ruined or much injured. After the grass has been made nearly ready for the barn, the loss is not that of the grass alone, hut of the labor also that has been bestowed upon it, and which has now become a part of the value of the crop. Besides, if there is a way to protect the partial- ly made crop out of doors, it prevents many tons from being injured after being taken in. When the rain comes, the length of its duration is un- certain, and the farmer will often hurry in hay that is not sufficiently cured, and that will heat and become musty in the barn. And tlien there springs, both from the wetting and the moulding, a disappointment and uneasiness of feeling, that should be avoided, if it can be done without too expensive an outlay. Again, in curing clover hay, it is absolutely necessary that it should remain out two or three nights, and there is too much risk without some protection to the cocks. A simple, cheap, and thoroughly effectual rem- edy ag linst losses by wetting hay, may be found by using sheeting a yard wide, and sewing two pieces two yards long, each, together; hem the edges; turn down the corner an inch, and then that turn another inch, and sew it d(iwn strong. This will form a loop, into which a strong twine must be placed. When the cap is thrown over the cock, thrust a pine pin about a foot long through the string at each corner, and up into the hay, which will keep the cap in place, unless the whole cock is overturned. Your cap, made as above, v^ill be two yards square, which will be sufficiently large to cover half or two-thirds the way down of a common cock ; beyond this the rain will do no harm, as the water will not penetrate the hay. Good firm sheeting, worth eight to nine cents a yard, will slied the rain from the hay through a storm of three or four days' continuance ; and the caps will last a lifetime by taking good care of them when not in use. Take a light nail cask and make a bail to it from part of a hoop, to keep and carry the pins in, and you are then provided with a remedy which will pay its cost in a single season of "catching weather." For the New Em^land Farmer. EFFECT OF HIGH CULTURE ON FRUIT TREES, Mr. Editor : — Your Topsfield correspondent, M., in the Farmer for June, has started a very interest- ing and important question to the Horticulturist, and one which I should be glad to have fully dis- cussed in your columns, — The effect of high culture upon the longevity as well as the froduitivtness of fruit trees. Cultivators very generally agree that {jrevious to planting an orchard the soil should be enriched and deepened by manuring and thorough cultivation. Subsoiling or trench-phnving tlie soil, when practicable, and that for the first tew years at least after planting, the ground should be kept mellow by constant cultivation. The late Mr. Downing says, in his "Fruit and Fruit Trees," "That, before planting, the ground should be well prepared for the trees," and, that "it is an indis- pensable requisite in all young orchards to keep the ground mallow and loose by cultivation ; in- deed,of two adjoining orchardsjone planted and kept in grass, and the other plowed for the first five years, there will be an incredible difference in favor of the later ; not only will these trees show rich, dark, luxuriant foliage, and clean smooth stems, while those neglected will have a starved and sick- ly look, but the size of the trees in the cultivated orchard will be treble those of the others at the end of this time, and a tree in one will be ready to bear an abundant crop, before the other has com- menced yielding a peck of good fruit. Mr. J. J. Thomas, in his "Fruit Culturist, " strono-- ly recommends "very thorough preparation of the soil by manuring and deep plowing previous to planting, and that when trench plowing cannot be accomplished, tlie holes should be 7 or 8 feet in diameter and from one and a half to two feet deep. The earth should be mixed with a liberal allow- ance of well-rotted manure, or still better with a compost made and woiked over some weeks pre- viously, consisting of 2 or 3 parts of muck or peat, one of barn manure, and a filth part of leached ishes. After planting, thorough, constant cultiva- tion with low hoed crops, and the more frequently the plow or cultivator passes among tliem the greater will be the benefit to the soil." Again, he says, "The truth should be unalterably fixed on every farmer's mind, that the orchard should have the best piece of land on the (arm, so long as clean, thrifty trees, loaded with fair, large and highly fla- vored fruit, are to be preferred to light cmps of half grown and distorted fruit, deficient in flavor; with the additi(mal difference, that the former may be brought into full bearing in one-third of tin; time required for the later." "If two specimens could be exhibited side by side, the one showing the stunted, lingering, mice eaten and moss covered trees, caused by neglect: and the other, the vig- orous and thrifiy growth, and the fair and abund- ant crops, resulting from fine and clean culture ; 380 JSEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. none could fiiil to be satisfied of the superiority of the one and the impolicy of the other." Mr. Barry, in his "Fruit Garden," says, "No soil, whatever may be its original fertility, can sustain a heavy and continued vegetation for many years without becoming, to some extent exhausted. Indeed there are few people so fortunate, except those who settle upon new, uncultivated lands, as to procure a soil that does not need manuring to fit it for the first planting with trees." The very common practice in regard to the use of manure, is to apply none for several years, until the trees have begun to show signs of feebleness and ex- haustion when large quantities are applied, thus inducing a rank and plethoric growth, that can scarcely fail to be seized with diseases. The proper way is lo apply a small dressing of well decomposed material, like some of the composts recommended, every autumn." Instances have come under my own observation where trees have been planted by neighbors at the same time with like preparation and procured from the same source ; by difference in after cultivation those of one have in the course of five years doubled in size those of the other which were planted in ground seeded down the second year from planting. My own conviction, Mr. Editor, is, that to obtain the highest possible results from orcharding, the ground should be well prepared — enriched and constantly cultivated. In all published examples of the unusual yield of trees where the attendant circumstances are narrated — we find high culture' proved to be an important and inducing cause. The following statement which I cut from a news- paper a short time since will illustrate : — "Mr. Mo- ses Jones, of Brookline, near Boston, a most skil- ful cultivator, set 112 apple trees, two rods apart, and peach trees between both ways. The eighth year he had 228 barrels of apples, and in a few years from setting the trees $400 worth of peaches in a single year ; and the best part of the story is, that large crops of vegetables were raised upon the same land, nearly paying for the manure and labor. The tenth year from setting, many of the apple trees produced four or five barrels each."| What effect this forcing, (if furnishing trees every} element required to annually perfect large crops of fruit may be thus termed,) will have upon their longevity, I cannot speak from experience. I hope those of your correspondents in possession of fiicts on this subject will communicate them for the ben- efit of those less experienced. Will it not be bet- ter for the orchardist who seeks the largest profit from his investment, to pursue that course of cul- ture which shall secure to him quick returns with annual dividends, even though it may be proved that trees thus highly cultivated may not endure 80 long as when the orchard is seeded down and the trees pretty much left to themselves. If by care and culture an orchard may be made to av- erage one barrel of apples per tree, per annum for fifty years, and by a different course the same orchard shall endure for an hundred years and av- erage but half a barrel, which think you, sir, would be the most useful and profitable mode'? A. G. Hanford. Waukesha, Wis., June 28, 1853. by surgeons, but I am not aware that it has ever been used to prevent the loss of milk by leakage from the udder of the cow. The mode of apply- ing is as follows : After milking, take a thin piece of muslin, the size of a three cent piece, wet it in the collodion and apply it quickly to the end of the teat. It dries immediately, and adhering firmly, prevents the escape of milk from the orifice. It can readily be removed at the next milking. On first making use of this means I did not an- ticipate anything more than temporarily to pre- vent the evil. After making a few applications it was discontinued, and I was somewhat surprised to find that it had permanently lessened the fault. Upon reflection, the modus operandi appeared as follows : First, the collodion contracts the orifice and thus prevents the escape of milk ; and second, the bag becoming distended, its capacity is per- manently enlarged. Try it. Another useful purpose of this article may be mentioned. Cows' teats often become tender from chaps and deep fissures in them. They may readi- ly be cured by moistening a piece of muslin in this liquid and applying it smoothly to the parts af- fected. It adheres so firmly that it will not be loosened even if the calf is allowed to draw the milk. — Neiu York As:ricuItor. To Prevent Cows from Shedding Milk. — Col- lodion [Liquid cuticle] is a somewhat recent dis- covery, and has been applied to useful purposes CIRCULATION OP SAP. A clergyman of some distinction not long since commenced his Sabbath discourse as follows : "There are some things that I know I know, some things that I think I know, and some things that I know I do not know." We have often thought of this comprehensive sentence when we have read the philosophical explanation of some of our con- temporaries, in regard to subjects which we are very much inclined to think might better be classed in the last division of subjects above given, while they speak as if with authority. One of our most ju- dicious writers, who seldom mistakes the imagina- tion for the actual perception, (the learned editor of the New England Farmer,) in a recent number says, "The sap is elevated (in the tree) in the same manner as oil rises in the wick of the lamp." We "do not know" that this is not true, but it seems to us safer and therefore wiser to give only as hy- pothesis what must be acknowledged so very far from absolute demonstration. Perhaps the elabo- rated sap descends "in the same manner," and perhaps too it does not. There are very serious difficulties attending any theory which has under- taken to provide for the circulation of fluids in veg- etables. We have little doubt that it is the same system of influences which causes the entire cir- culation of vegetable juices, which first sets it in motion at the root. But we should be unwilling to assert any thing on this subject, as a matter of absolute truth, beyond the mere fact that their cir- culation is actually carried on. Some recent investigations in Europe have been published, which are of considerable importance, fhey refer to the formation and propagation of cells, &c., and to the circulation of the sap. The former are too purely scientific, without much practical importance, to receive very general at- tention. The theory on the latter branch of the subject approaches the point of actual demonstra- tion. The results arrived at are, that the nitro- genized elements, which are used by the plant, are 1S53. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 381 conveyed upwards from the root exclusively through the woody tissue of trees, while oxygen and carbon are absorbed and given out only by the leaf. As this process is essential to growth, the inference is inevitable that there can be no growth when there are no leaves. AVhether this is in accordance with supposed facts, we are not so clear. Tlie descend- ing sap, after its preparation in the leaf, descends only in the hark, forming new layers on the outside of the wood already formed. Hence cutting a ring through the bark does not prevent the_ ascent of sap, nor its elaboration in the leaf, nor its descent until it encounters the ring. Here its progress is stayed. The result is a greater growth above the ring, more wood, and more fruit. Hence this may prove of practical benefit to the fruit-grower. The excess of sap, or that portion which is not used up in new formations, enters the wood through the horizontal organs, and again ascends, thus making a constant circuit, as in animals. We can- not believe that capillary attraction does all this. — Plousrh, Loom and Anvil. bor and care of the gardener in stirring the ground and regulating the amount of sun and shade, air and moisture they received. — Ham-pshire Express. Remarks. — Most of us assert that things are so, and so, when we have neither felt them nor seen them. Now we hav e never dearly seen the sap ascend in the plant, yet, from much reading, from long observation, and some investigation, we have become so thoroughly satisfied with this and other theories as to speak of them unqualifiedly as facts. At the same time we suppose the general appre- hension is, with nearly all, as we have stated. Not that we know things as we assume to know when we repeat them under the solemnities of an oath, but use unqualified expressions with I'egard to things which all know it is not given to finite wisdom fully to comprehend. We are glad to copy the whole article, that we may preserve the additional value which the wri- ter has connected with'our poor remarks. HOEING CORN. Some ask how many times it is best to hoe coi'n and other crops. The best answer to that ques- tion was given us a few days since by a farmer whom we had observed often at work in a field of corn in sight of our window. In going over the piece with him, and remarking the remarkable growth, we asked him how many times he usual- ly hoed his corn. "Why," said he, "I do as I was brought up by my father to do. He never had any particular number of times, but hoed it all he could. I find it grows faster, and stands dry weather better, the oftener it is hqed." This is the true philosophy of culture ; stir the ground. The direction for early and good crops, after the proper previous preparation, would be to stir the ground. Crops are like animals — they need pet- ting and care. A friend was remarking to us one evening, the difference in the growth of melon vines in a neighbor's garden and in his own, side by side, of the same kind of soil and both rich, with the same kind of preparation for t'le seed, and the seed sown at the same time. The neigh- bor's melons were in blossom, while his own, he said, were but three or four inches in height. The difference has been produced by the constant la- A RESIDENCE IN CHINA. Settled down in the wilds of Kaffraria, away from libraries and books of reference, having no fear of "reviewers" to daunt him, but having a huge and weighty ennui to be cheated occasional- ly during the uncertain leisure of a tent life, Mr. Power, son of the incomparat)le and unriplaccable Power, turns over the old journals recording his nomadic life, and from their somewhat illegible pages he constructs a most readable and agreea- ble book. Mr. Power has not only travelled, he has lived in the countries he visited ; by which we mean that he not only saw them, but tried to realize their life ; and his sketches, even when of merely slight externals are always vivid and suggestive. A few extracts will suffice to indicate the variety and amusement crowded into this single volume: — A TETUAN CAID "RAISING THE WIND." "He was by no means scrupulous in his mode of acquiring wealth, and regularly 'squeezed' every individual under his government. One in- genious plan of extorting a loan from an unwill- ing capitalist, was to tie his hands together, and introduce a couple of wild cats into the wide seat of his inexpressibles. This was a way of bring- ing them to the scratch, which never failed, and by degrees this excellent ruler grew to be enor- mously rich. The Emperor, thinkiiig at last that his sponge must be full, sent for him to Fez, to have a grand squeeze. "The wretched old victim was thrown into pri- son and soundly bastinadoed, a process which re- lieved him of some of his too plethoric wealth. Strips of cotton, dipped in turpentine, were tied round his fingers and toes, and lighted, which produced a grand haul. The wild cats continued for half an hour to produce revelati(ras of fresh hoards. A knight templar or a Norman king could scarcely have been more ingenious in their financial experiments on a miserable Jew. Re- newed tortures produced further discoveries of treasure, till the old man's last doubloon and last breath were yielded up together." Mr. Power's estimate of the Chinese is by no means flattering : a cowardly, sensual, floolish set of barbarians, for whom no interest but that of curiosity can be excited. THE VALUE OF AN OLD MAN IN CHINA. "The reasonableness and placability of the na- tives were, on one occasion, evinced in rather a remarkable manner at Chusan, while I was there. An Englishman had come across some wild ducks in the canal inside the city, at which he fired with ball, all his shot having been previously expended. The bullet missed the birds, and glancing from the water, killed an old Chinaman, who was sit- ting at his own door, enjoying his pipe. "The unfortunate sportsman, horrified at the result of his silly thoughtlessness, hurried away to take counsel with his friends, who recommended liim to try to settle the matter with the relatives of the deceased, to prevent their complaint from being laid formally before the authorities, who would be obliged to award a heavy punishment for 382 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. such reckless carelessness. With this view one of his friends was dispatched to visit the family, tocond'ile with them for their loss, and to explain how thoroughly it was the result of accident. He deplored the unhappy circumstance which had deprived the family of 80 valuable and so respec- table a member, and pointed out the cheering fact that he was very old, and, in the natural course of things, could not have been expected to live much longer, and that pecuniary recompense should be made to console the family fnr the few months' society they might have anticipated en- joying with him. They admitted that he was old, very old, and as he could not have lived long, they mentioned a hundred dollars, as a sum likely to have a good effect in assuaging the bitterness of their afiiiction. The ambassador, delighted at hearing a demand so much more reasonable than he had anticipated, but concealing his satisfaction, pointed out that the deceased was so old that he could hardly have estimated his short remnant of existence at such a large sum ; that he had died a very quiet and easy death, and that very like- ly he was wanted in the other world, so that the unlucky bullet might be esteemed a messenger despatched by the gods. He thought, therefore, that fifty dollars, to make a feast and burn plenty of joss-stick and paper money, would be sufficient- ly satisfactory to the spirit of their departed an- cestor. The matter was finally settled to the sat- isfaction of all parties by the payment of seventy- five dollars; and I question whether one might not have shot two-thirds of the old boys of Ting-liae at the same reasonable rate, notwithstanding the veneration in which age is held." ART IN CHINA. "The drama in China is at a very low ebb. It is still in the strolling state : such as it might have been when Thcspis and his company de- claimed from a wagon, or rather, such as it was in the middle ages, when mysteries weni per- formed in the open streets and squares for popular edification. "A wealthy citizen, or, sometimes, the parish or municipality, hire a company of strollers, who erect their stage across a thoroughfare, with little respect for the public right of way. The enter- tainer and his friends occupy seats in front of the stage, and the tag-rag and bobtail stand in the rear. "The actors are mere boys, who are dressed in robes of silk and satin, rich with embroidery, but much tarnished and rumpled. "The subject of the play is usually taken from the life of some hero of mythology or history of China, and the plot is constructed with an atten- tion to the unities of the drama that would have charmed a critic of the French school. "'1 he narrative begins with the earliest events of the hero's existence, carrying them on in unin- terrupted dulness to his apotheosis. The play usually takes hours, and some of them, 1 have been informed, some days. The spouting and pos- turing are varied by recitative singing in a shrill contralto key ; and every scene begins and ends with banging of gongs and squealing of pipes, oc- casionally varied by the exolosion of crackers, when the interest becomes thrilling, and some great event is enveloped in the noise and smoke, being left, in otiier respects, to the imagination of the audience." "There are some dramas which treat of the loves of the heroes, in which little is left to the imagination, although the dialogue is carried on in a lofty rant which never descends toconjtdy,much less to farce. With such taste, it is not surpris- ing that this species of amusement is not in much repute, and that its professors should be classed with the mountebanks and vagabonds, to whose ranks they properly belong. "There are no moral lessons to be learnt from the Chinese drama : it inculcates no good princi- ples, nor does it hold the mirror up to nature. Buffoonery, coarse ribaldry, and exaggerated pas- sion, are its chief characteristics ; one cannot wonder at the low esteem in which it is held. "Music is not more advanced. All the singing is in an unnatural falsetto key, pitched as high as possible, so that anything more hideous and ludi- crous than the sounds produced can scarcely be imagined. A tom cat caterwauling on the pan- tiles is the nearest approach I know to the vocal music of this refined nation. They frequently ac- company the voice with a kind of violin, the scrap- ing of which is sufficient to put one's teeth on edge. A lute with wire strings and a very wiry tone is sometimes used for the same purpose. Tiie in- strument, however, that is to be heard on all oc- casions, is a sort of pipe, very much resembling the bagpipe in tone. "The songs I have heard were all of very simi- lar character, and were sung in short cadences, alternating with the symphony, reminding me very muoii of the Spanish seguidilla, as it is heard screeched by the muleteers in the mountain paths of Andalusia ; only that while the muleteer screeches, thfi Chinaman howls in a way that would excite the sympathy of a whole kennel of hounds, compelling them to join in an obligato chorus. "Chinese poetry is on a par with the music. It either delights in namby-pamby sentimentality, or puerile conceits. Graceful metaphor, subtle allegory, warmth of sentiment, a picturesque feel- ing for the beauties of nature, are all utterly un- known ; while pliys-upon-words, and a studied arrangement of jihrases, delight the most fastidious critics, and satisfy their tastes." — London Li ader . For the Neiv Ensland Farn^r. STATE REFORM SCHOOL. Dear Sir : — The remarks in your paper of late, in relation to the Farm School in this place have astounded us all. We had supposed it to be a star of first magnitude in the constellation of the charities of Massachusetts. VVe were aware that little had been done to increase the ]»roducts of the farm, hut attributed this to the spending of lab(jr in more permanent improvements. It had not occurred to us to suppose any want of care as to the personal condition of the boys ; or any defect in the system of instruction pursued. While the lamented Denny lived, we knew its welfare was a prominent object of his attention, and judging from the report annually published, we had supposed the same vigilant supervision had constantly been exercised. We knew that the late superintendent had been confident in his own opinions — liut we supposed this confidence had arisen from his long experience and not from any disposition to resist improvements suggested by 1851. NEW KNGLAND FARMER. 383 others. It will be a subject of deep regret, if any permanent reproach shall be cast iiponthe insti- tution, by recent examinations, and still deeper if any radical defects shall be found to exist. If any such do exist, the sooner they arc corrected the better. No good reason can be given, why the farm and the institution, shall not be made models worthy of imitation in every State of the Union. When the venerable farmer Peters owned the place, it was looked upon as one of the best farms in the county of Worcester. Wtslburo\June 20, 1853. INSECT DESTRUCTIVE TO THE APPLE. The following article which we find in the Transcript is timely and appropriate, and we give it in connection with a letter on the preceding page letter from Professor Harris. NOTES FROM THE MEMORANDCM-BOOK OF H. M. SIMPSON, OF SAXONVILLE. June l^th, 1853. — Noticed a new worm upon the apple, cherry, and plum trees, that eats the leaves and fruit. They are upon all the trees of these kinds in the garden. June V)th. — The worm before noticed, which is to me entirely new, is very destructive ; it eats the tender shoots and also the fruit. The egg of the perfect insect must be deposited on the end of the shoot as it is growing, and between two apples, if they chance to touch each other ; also, between two leaves. If all the worms go through their transformations, there must be swarms enough to destroy the trees in the next generation. This lit- tle new comer will require looking after. By jarr- ing the trees, they spin a fine fibre towards the ground, suspending themselves by it, and then again ascend, to commit depredations upon the leaves and fruit. Deposited three of the larvae with an apple under glass to note their habits and changes. They may be known by three longitu dinal stripes on the back ; the one in the centre more faint than the other two. They have a bufi" colored, heart-shaped head, and are naked ; have six fore, true legs, and eight fleshy projections, ■with distinct prop-legs. June 23rf. — rhe larvae deposited on the 19th have changed to chrysalides. It is very remarkable that this itisect is pervading the State and also the ad oining States. Almost every person I meet, who lives in the country, has noticed them. Many persons suppose it to be the canker worm, but this is a mi-!take. The canker worm belongs to a fam- ily called Geometers, or earth measurers, that creep, with the habit of forming a loop in the back, by extending the fore part of the body and then drawing up the centre in the shape of a loop. This insect creeps like the commmon caterpillar, and has a remarkable habit of springing backwards when taken in the hand. They do not spin a cocoon, nor any tissue of silk for protection, while going through their chrysalid state. Their length is about five-eighths of an inch. July G/h. — The chrysalides have opened, and the perfect insect proves to be a little moth, with wings of a dark bronze, wavy, changeable appear ance. When at rest, they have one scollop at the termination, and are very slender and long in pro- portion to their breadth ; have two feathery pro jections at the head, with long antennas, and have a regular taper from the end of the wing to the head. The abdomen is like a delicate, light col- ored satin, the legs nearly the same, and the insect presents a beautiful appearance under the micro- scope. They deposit their eggs separately, and do not live in society on the trees, as many of the Caterpillar tribe, but solitary ; each one looking out for himself. When at rest, the fore legs ele- vate the head and thorax, presenting an angle from the ends of the wings to the head, of about thirty degrees. These insects, it is to be hoped, may disappear as suddenly as they have come upon us ; if however, they remain, their number must be legion, as already we have had two generations this season. They may be destroyed by syringing the trees with whale oil soap, when the worm is first hatched ; also by placing a sheet under the tree, and jarring it, when those that fall upon the cloth can be easily destroyed, as well as those which sus- pend themselves by the silken thread which they spin. I suppose the egg to be laid about the first of June. They extend their wings about seven- eighths of an inch. SALERATUS. Saleratus is said to be injurious to the human system, and that it destroys thousands of children and some adults every year. In New Brunswick, contiguous to Maine, the physicians are wont to say that half the children are killed by the use of saleratus. The evil is fiist spreading throughout the Union. Families of moderate size already use from ten to twenty-five pounds yearly. Remarks. — Storekeepers who have been engaged in the business for many years, have told us, that formerly they used to purchase three or four small kegs of saleratus for a year's supply in a country village, but that now they purchase more than as many large casks, weighing some six or eight hun- dred pounds each. Large quantities are used in making bread , the most common food , and of which all partake. Milk should take its place there. Many persons are in the habit of adding a little saleratus to most kinds of pastry. We are inclined to believe the remarks quoted above have much truth in them. We do not know how far the power of saleratus may be neutralized by a mixture of other substances used as food, but it may be known by the chemist, and should be explained to the people. For the Neio England Farmer. FERRY'S PATENT CROSS-CUT FEED CUTTER. Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent from Brat- tleboro',-Mr. Holbrook, says, "farmers are very much in want of a powerful effective chaflT-cutter, which shall take in a generous mouthful of corn- stalks," &c. I have long felt the need of an im- provement in machines for feed cutting ; and first I would say they should be so constructed that all stiff stem hay or straw, may be cut at least four inches long ; this will induce the animal more ef- fectually to masticate it, thereby giving more nour- ishment to his feed, and will not be as likely to 384 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. injure the passage to the stomach, as when fed on very short hay or straw. In answer to your correspondent I would say, I think a machine "with a fly wheel, and taking in a generous mouthful, cannot be worked with ease by one man." I intend to manufacture for delivery in October, a machine with a cross-cut motion, cheap, simple, and one that will cut through a sheaf at every stroke of the knife. L. Ferky. East Hamfton, June 18, 1853. MUCH LABOR ON LITTLE LAND. The Farmer^ s Companion, in an article on Small Farms, marks out the following course for the far mer of small capital to pursue : You have 100 acres clear, 50 of which you keep as pasture and for meadow. Make up your mind to work only 25 acres ; the other 25 being put down to clover and timothy, as you best can. You have manure enough in and about your farm for six acres. This year, haul that on to your land, plow it and put in corn ; with a little ashes, and, ifyou can get it, slaked lime or phister to every hill. — Plow twice as deep as usual ; and drag twice as long, with a long-toothed drag, till the land is like a garden. If you have got 35 bushels of corn t( the acre before, we can warrant you now 70 or 80 ; for you cultivate and hoe the corn twice as mud likewise. You double your crop at a very little in creased cost. Having no more manure, you must depend on deeper plowing and better dragging for the other 10 acres for this year ; not forgetting to sow a little more seed than usual, if it is oats or barley. In the fall, sow wheat where the corn was, with the same care ; and next spring, ma- nure the next six acres for corn. Yes, but you may manure 10 "or 12 acres ; for you have had 25 more acres for hay, or oat straw cut green for fod der, and can keep 25 more cows through the win- ter ; and knowing the value of the manure — that it is as important to you as the very soil itself — you will take much better care of it. Thus, every two or three years, all your land will get a dressing of manure, and every year you will have a diffrfrent crop on it. Every year it will improve, and you grow rich, with about half your work. But after a while sow a few acres of this land witli clover and timothy, and break up as much of your old grass. Y(ju will get doubly the crop of hay on the new piece, and a good crop of grain on the old piece. In one word, of all men in the world, a small farmer should work a small piece of land; work it thoroughly well; keep all the stock he can to make manure ; keep the manure dry, and he will not be a small far- mer long. We have tried it and we know it. For the rest, take and read a good formers' newspaper. WAR. All wars are demoralizing and ruinously espen sive, — they blunt the feelings, repress the senti ments of love and mercy, and turn men into hunt ers' of each other more furious than the beasts of prey. Standing armies, the great provocatives of war, should not be allowed in times of peace. Let those in power so govern as to gain the hearts of the people, and in those hearts they will find the na- ti(m's bulwark of safety when dangers threaten. With these willing hearts, and their energetic hands, the raw materials of the mine and the for- est would be transformed into engines of destruc- tion, or arks of safety, with more wonderful rapid- ity than any of the transmutations wrought by the magic influence of Aladdin's lamp. Gnarled oaks, pigs of iron, and bars of copper, fields of hemp, and rivulets of turpentine, would be changed, swifter than vision of alchemist of old ever saw, into the means of aggression or defence. Those hearts, stimulated by the spirit of liberty, by a love of country, of home and our institutions, would be stouter than the ribs of oak and iron themselves, and unconquerable, so long as their cause is just. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. Mr. George J. Colby, of JanfsviJle, Vt., in- quires : — "Why could not the price of the Osier Willow be quoted with other products of the firm. I think there are many engaging in the business that would like to see the prices of the imported and American article. If there are any of your correspondents engaged in the cultivation of the willow, I wish they would tell us with what success." Mr. T. C. Branch, of Cornwall, Vt., in reply to the inquiries of S. G. B. in a late number of the Farmer, says that the bottom of the post may be framed into a sill or a pin inserted in it which will prevent its being raised by the frost. He would cut alder bushes after they are done growing ; has seldom known them to sprout when so cut. Mr. Horace II. Winchester, of Mar/6oro', Vt., says that cows afllicted with garget may be cured by a few doses of the root called garget. This remedy has been often mentioned in the Farmer, and is probably used to some extent throughout New England ; but it very often fails to perform the cure. "J. D.," East Barnard, Vt., says the best way to set posts to prevent the frost from throwing them, is to dig a hole 2 feet deep, 18 or 20 inches across, and fill up within 6 or 7 inches of the top with small stones, then drive tight with the head of an iron bar, then fill the remainder with tan bark. lie would cut alder bushes in the latter part of August. Another writer, "S. W.," agrees with "J. D.," that the earth must not come in contact with the posts. He says "alders should be cut in winter when the ground is frozen, and they will die with a very little sprouting. I have long been used to them, have cut them in the full of the moon, in August, and at various other times, and care not whether the sign is in the head or heart, they will sprout unless cut as above stated." 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 385 THE BLACK TARTAREAN CHERRY. This was formerly called the Duuhle Heart, in New England, and has also been known by sever- al other names, such as Circassian Cherry, Black Russian, Fr user's Black Heart, &c. The fruit is very large ; heart-shaped ; skin glossy, purplish black; flesh purple, half tender, juicy, with a rich pleasant flavor ; stone small. Ripens, generally, from June 23 to July 4. Mr. Robert B. Flush- ing, L. I., a successful fruit grower, gave an ac- count of this cherry in the American Agricultur- ist in 1845. He says the variety is supposed to have origina- ted in Spain, whence it was transmitted to Russia, and was carried from the last named country to England by Mr. John Fraser. In the account giv- en of it in the "Pomona Londinensis," it is stated to have been introduced into Britain from Circas- sia, by Mr. John Ronalds, of Brentford, in 1794. It is distinguished for its large, obtuse-heart- shaped, shining purplish black fruit, with an un- even surface, containing a rich, juicy, tender, pur- plish ilesh, and differs from many other varieties in hanging in clusters, which usually occurs early in July, it readily commands in market, double the price of the ordinary kinds. This tree is valuable also, not only for its fruit alone, but from its vigorous growth, spreading branches, and symmetrical form, it is well adapt- ed for the purposes of ornament, and is well wor- thy of general cultivation, Downing and Cole, supposed it to be of Russian origin. HOW THE WATER BOILED AWAY FROM THE POTATOES. BY J. B. NEWMAN, SI. D. I am residing for the summer with my family in a retired and very romantic place in Connecticut, seven miles from a railroad depot, and some thirty in all from New York city. The distance from the depot makes the weather an object of some consid- eration in visiting the city. Yesterday was a fine clear day, pleasant for either walking or riding, there being sufficient breeze to moderate to comfort the heat of the sun. Quite exhilarated by these circumstances, I declared at dinner my determina- tion to go early the next morning to New York, as it was just the weather for travelling. "You cannot go to-morrow," said my aunt gravely; "it is going to rain." "I see no signs of it," said my wife ; "wind like this often continues for days together without any storm." "I do not judge from the wind, but from a sign that never fails, and that is, the boiling entirely away of the water from the potatoes this morn- ing." "Did you put in as much water as usual V "About the same. You laugh, I see ;_ but it will rain to-morrow in spite of your laughing." Incredulity did make us merry, and each one began to recount tales of country superstitions generally. In the course of the conversation, some one told a story of an English gentleman, well known in the scientific world, who, while on a visit to a friend, started one morning on a huntuig ex- pedition, but missed his way, and inquired ot a lad tending sheep to direct him. The boy showed the desired path, but told him it would rain shortly, and he had better return home as soon as possi- 386 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. bl3. The gentleman, observing no signs of the repulsion. Bodies exist in three forms, as solids, predicted storm, ridiculed the boy's notions, and liquids, and gases. When the attractive force pre proceeded. In the course of two "hours, however, he was retracing his steps completely drenched, and found the J)oy eating his dinner in a little hut near where he had left him. Curiosity as to the source of the knowledge which he had found thus verified prevailed over Jiis desire for speedy shelter, and he stopped his horse, and offered the boy a guinea to enlighten him on this point. The boy took the guinea, and pointed to the closed flowers of the Scarlet Pimpernel, some plants of which happened to be growing near the hut. The gen- tleman himself had written about this very fact, mentioning that its open buds betokened fiiir weather and its closed flowers abundance of rain, and hence its title to its common name of Shep- herd's Weather- Glass. Fully satisfied, he rode on. ^ We all allowed that there was some sense in this sign, and that it could be ascribed to the instinct with which nature endowed her children, to guard them from injury. "But are there not," said my aunt, "some con- trivances made to foretell rain 1 I have seen a long glass tube filled with quicksilver, to which there was a dial-plate attached, and the rise and fall of the quicksilver regulated the hand on the dial, so that changes of weather could be told. I do not see why the boiling away of the water from the potatoes may not be as good a sign as the rise and fall of the quicksilver." Again there was a laugh at the comparison of the vpater around the potatoes with the handsome- ly-finished and expensive philosophical instrument termed a barometer. The weather continued as pleaeant as before, so last evening I packed up my carpet-bag, and made the necessary preparations, requesting them to wake me at five o'clock, and have the carriage ready in time to convey me to the depot. I awoke this morning, and all was still in the house. Quite pleased to be beforehand with them, I looked at my watch, and with some difficulty, on account of the dim light, found it to be fifteen minutes after six. Much surprised at not having been called, I jumped up, and threw open one of the blinds of the window, but directly closed it again, as a driving rain poured in. The reason why I had been permitted to sleep on was evident enough. I dressed, and went down to the break- fast-table, where sat Aunt H. enjoying her tri- umph. ^ On my return to my study, forced as it were by circumstances to do so, I began to reflect on the boiling away of the water from the potatoes, and tried to discover whether the ensuing rain was mere coincidence, or due in some way to cause and effect ; whether in reality connected with it or not. The result of my deliberations and subsequent conviction of the connection of the phenomenon with rain I will now proceed to give. The pressure of the atmosphere, which is about fifteen pounds to the square inch, forces many sub- stances to retain the liquid condition that would, were that pressure removed, assume the form of gases. Of this, ether is an example. Chemistry assumes that all matter is made up of exceedingly small particles called atoms, and that around every atom there are two atmospheres, the inner one of attraction and the outer one of dominates, the form is a solid ; when the attrac- tive and repulsive forces are balanced, the form is a gas. Caloric, or the principle of heat, is consid- ered by many, and perhaps rightly so, as synony- mous with the repulsive force. Hence an increase of heat will make the solid become fluid, and the fluid become gaseous. Thus ice changes to water, and water to steam. The atmosphere, by its pressure, assists the at- tractive force in the same manner that heat assists the repulsive, the pressure and heat, of coui'se, act- ing in opposite ways. Whatever, then, would lessen the amount of pressure, would enable the heat to act more powerfully. A certain amount of heat, under the ordinary pressure of the atmos- phere, is required to convert water into steam. The less the pressure, the less the heat required; but if the same amount of heat is applied to the same quantity of water, under such circumstances, the more rapidly will it be evaporated, or, in other words, boiled away. It is evident, enough, then, that if the atmospheric pressure is less at times preceding rain, the water will boil away more rap- idly than usual from the potatoes. I was frequently puzzled in my boyish days by the assertion in scientific books, that the air is hghter in rainy than it is in dry weather. It seemed to me as if the air at such times should be heavier, as, in addition to its own substance, it holds suspended abundance of heavy clouds, which uiust surely increase its weight. For many years the problem remained unsolved in my own mind, as it is yet unsolved, perhaps, in the minds of many who read this. At last the thought occurred to me, that as the weight of the air per se must re- main the same at all times, taking it as a whole, did it not really contain more moisture in solution in clear than in rainy weather? And such is real- ly the fact. As water, by the addition of salt, can be made dense enough to float an egg, and as the more the brine is diluted with fresh water, the deeper will the egg sink in it ; so is the air, by holding water in solution, rendered dense enough to float clouds at a great height, and the greater the amount of water it loses, the lower do the clouds fall. This very dryness of the air is, in fact, one of the many circumstances that cause rain. The air then is lighter, the pressure consequent- ly less, and the unusually rapid evaporation of water from the potato-pot is as good and trust- worthy a sign of approaching rain as the falling of the mercury in the barometer ; and thus the cook in the kitchen may foretel as confidently as the natural philosopher in his cabinet. And yet more, for nature is bountiful : even where the apparatus of the kitchen and the cabinet are denied, she fur- nishes, without expense to her faithful observers, means even more certain ; for the shepherd boy has an unerring guide in the Scarlet Pimpernel. — Plow, Loom and Anvil. d^" The Australian Movement. — The London correspondent of the Philadelphia jYorth American states that emigration to the Australian colonies has almost entirely ceased, but shipments continue ac- tive. The vessels now in the port of London under despatch to the colonies amount in number to 73, and iu tonnage 4i,G57 tons. Freightage is much lower. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 387 PROSPECTS OF THE SEASON. The drouglit in all this region continues severe. The hay crop op old grounds will be very light ; on rather low and moist lands better than last year. Although the present crop is more abund- ant than last years, there will not probably be more hay in the barn in September, as the high prices since that time have drawn it all out. There is, however, much less stock than there was last year at this time, so that upon the whole, hay will not command a higher price than it brought last year. Corn has had a fine color from its first appear- ance and now looks well, and unless on quite dry lands has not yet suffered much. The rye crop is good ; oals light and barky good. Some fields of the Hue stem wheat, which we have recently seen are very fine. Potatoes are suffering ; no rains having pene- trated to the roots since they were planted. The root crops, unless those sowed quite early, are not promising. The cabbage crop has been extensively injured by the cut worm, in addition to the little imp that usually makes a home in the root^ Vines, such as the various squashes, melons and cucumbers are not looking fresh and vigorous. — They have had to contend with armies of insects as well as drought. The apple crop must be unusually light. One gentleman who usually puts up a hundred barrels has sold his whole crop, whatever it may be, for ten dollars. On the whole, there is no good cause for de- spondency. Earnest hearts and hands and econ- omical habits will bring all out right. The Giver of sunshine and rain deals gently and kindly with us in this garden of the world, and home of the oppressed. We shall have enough and to spare. following spring they had gone the way of beef, and their place was filled by a new generation al- together. So soon, therefore, as the Ilaff was clear of ice, and the steamers again began to ply daily upon the route between Elbing and Konigs- berg, the sailors were on the alert again to witness the old scene of uproar by the water side. But they were disappointed. Though there was the pasture grounds well stocked with new recruits for the market, who had come from distant island farms or out of stalls within the town, though scarcely one of them — if anyone — had ever seen the apparition of a steamboat, not a cow flinched. The members of the whole herd went on grazing or stared imperturbably at the phenomenon. It was a new thing no doubt for them to see — but they had already been told of it. Every spring the first passing of the steamer is in this way re- garded by a fresh generation on the common with complete indifference. The experience acquired by its forefathers ten or twelve years ago seems to be now added to the knowledge of every calf, born in any corner of our province. And yet, in what way have these calves been educated ' or, if this fact has been taught to them at all, what else may they not know? — Dickens' Household Words. COMMUNICATION OF IDEAS AMONG . CATTLE. There is a large shallow inlet on the Prussian shore known as the Frische Ilaff, crossed for the first time by steamers ten or twelve years ago. Upon their way the vessels paddle by a common near the Elbing river, upon which the towns-peo- ple turn cattle out to graze. AYhen the first steam- ers passed this common they caused every flank of beef to quake ; such fiends in dragon shape had never appeared before to try the nerves of any cow, or to excite wrath in the bully busom of the experienced among the warriors of the herd. With tails erect, tlierefore, and heads bent down, the whole colony upon the common charged over dykes and ditches inland, roaring horribly. Every appearance of the steamer, to the great joy of the crew, caused a panic and a scattering of oxen , un- til after a few days, the animals had become hard- ened to the sight, and took it as a thing of course, and meant no harm to them. Now, all the horned beasts on the common during that first year were in the usual way placed there to be ilitted. In the For the New England Farmer. MANURE FOR LAYING DOWN GRASS LANDS. Dkar Sir : — I have several acres of land which I wish to bring into grass for anotler year, by turning over, top-dressing and seeding the pres- ent season. The soil is a sandy loam, not poor at all, but in common parlance good, though consid- erably run out. What article will be the most profitable for me to use, considering expense, time, labor and amount of crop ? Please answer, (a.) I have seen oyster shell lime advertised as an ar- ticle desirable to use for such purposes. Please inform me how much should be used to the acre ? and what kind of soil it best suits? {b.) Muriate of lime, I also notice. What is the expense per hundred lbs? and how much per acre ? (c.) How is guano for similar purposes . What quan- tity and expense to the acre ? Any information on these subjects will be thank- fully received by your friend and subscriber. L. W. Daggett. Attleboro' Falls, July 4, 1853. Remarks. — (a.) If near your barn, good compost- ed barn cellar manure. Ifnot near the barn, Peruvian guano, 300 pounds to the acre, worked in two or three inches with the cultivator after plowing and before sowing the seed. {h.) The oyster shell lime would scarcely be mis- applied on any of our lands that have been frequent- ly cropt. The quantity of pure lime contained in the crops produced upon one acre, according to Prof. Johnston, during a four years' rotation, amounts, on an average, to 242 pounds, which are equal to about 430 pounds of carbonate of lime, in the state of marl, shell, sand or limestone gray- 388 JSEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. el. Two three and sometimes four hundred bush els are applied to the acre in England, but we think it a better plan to begin with a smaller quantity, say from 10 to 25 or 50 bushels to the acre. The tendency of lime is to stiffen very loose soils and open the stiffen clays. (c.) Five or six barrels of the muriate of lime to the acre. Price $1,50 per barrel. For the. New England Farmer. PRESERVING TIMBER. Copperas Hill, V(., July 9, 1853. Mr. a. D. IIager : — Dear Sir, — I notice in the Neiu England Farmer, your inquiries respecting "Kyani/.ing timber." I can inform you, that our timber wliich baa been saturated with copperas and exposed to all weather for forty years, is per- fectly sound and hard, and has become something of the nature of stone. Timber that has been soaked in copperas water, say one pound copperas to one pail of water, will last more than twice as long as that which has not been thus prepared. Yours truly, John Reynolds, Agent Vermont Copperas Company. N. B. Copperas is cheap, l| cents per pound. Proctorsville, Vt., July 12, 1853. Friend Brown : — I received the above in answer to my inquii-y in the Neiv England Farmer, and although from a stranger, I take the liberty of |i7n7;c.;p;;7]7e"Jl7;tt;,f;pa7e"fOT^^ The first rain drop had no sooner started for the field, than the second one said, "Well, if you are going, I believe I will go too, so here I come ;" and down dropped the rain drop on another stalk. By this time a great many rain-drops had come together to hear what their companions were talking about, and when they heard them, and saw them going to cheer the former and water the corn, one said, "If you're going on such a good errand, I'll go too ;" and down he came. "And I," said another, "and I," "and I," and so on, till a whole shower of them came, and the corn was watered, and it grew and ripened, all because the first little rain-drop determined to do ivhat it could. Never be discouraged, children, because you can't do much. Do ivhat you can. Angels can do no more. — Anonymous. AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE. A letter writer for The Rppuhlic says a trip of six hundred and fifty miles, from the northern to the southern extremity of France justifies me in the expression of my opinion that God's sun does not elsewhere shed its rays on so fair a land, or one so thoroughly cultivated. The whole country is literally a garden. Every square foot, from the mountain top to the lowest ravine, is made to produce something, if it be susceptible of it. Their mode of j^'lanting or sow- ing their crops whether on plain or hill side, pro- duces the finest effect on the appearance of the sending it to you, as the facts may be thought of sufficient importance to claim a place in that bun die of valuable fiicts — the New England Farmer Respectfully yours, A. D. Hager. THE FABLE OF THE RAIN DROP. There was once a farmer who had a large field of corn ; he ploughed it and planted the corn, and harrowed it and weeded it with great care, and on his field he depended for the support of his family. But after he had worked hard, he saw the corn begin to wither and droop for want of rain, and he thought he should lose his crop. He felt very sad, and went out every day to look at his corn, and see if there was any hope of rain. One day, as he stood there looking at the sky, and almost in despair, two little rain di'ops up in the clouds over his head saw him, and one said to the other. "Look at that poor farmer ; I feel sorry for him; he has taken so much pains with his field of corn, and now it is all drying up ; I wish I could do him some good." "Yes," said the other, "but you are only a little rain drop, what can you do? You can't even wet one liillock." ""Well," said tlie first, "to be sure I can't do much, but I can cheer the farmer a little at any rate, and I am resolved to do my best. I'll try. I'll go to the field to show my good will, if I can do no more : so, here I go." And down went the rain drop, and came pat on the farmer's nose, and then fell on one stalk of corn. "Dear me," said the farmer putting his finger to his nose, "what's that ■? A rain drop. Where did that come from ? I do believe we shall have a show- er." out in squares or parallelograms with mathemati- cal pi-ecision, and whether large or small, the best garden could not be divided with greater accuracy. As there are no fences or hedges, and as the different crops are in various stages of maturity you can imagine the variety of hues that meet the eye, and the magnificence of the panorama that stretches out in every direction as f\ir as the vision can penetrate. I am sorry to add in this connec- tion that seven-eighths of the labor is performed by females, while two or three hundred thousand stalwart men are idling away their time in the barracks in the cities and villages. In the absence of fences, cattle secured by ropes are driven about their pasturage by females, and sheep are confined within the required limits by boys, assisted by a shepherd's dog. Speaking of cattle reminds me that notwithstanding fresh pork is abundant enough in market, both in England and France, I have not seen a live porker in either country. Excerpts. — Every plant that is produced, every child that is born, is a new idea, a fresh expres- sion of the wisdom and goodness of our Creator. Revenge reaps no reward. It is its own most fearful punishment. Its thirst is death. Deeds of horror are its luxuries. Custom will have the same effect, with respect to death, as to other frightful things ; it will take offits terror. The noblest remedy for injuries is oblivion. Light injuries are made lighter by not regarding them. No poultice has ever been discovered to draw out man's virtues so fully as the sod that covers his grave. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 389 For the New Enfuland Farmer. SETTING POSTS. Mr. Editor : — On pa^e 303 of New England Former, monthly, is an inquiry for the best way of setting posts and manner of building front fence, by S. G. B. A very durable, and not very expensive way, is to take ilat pieces of granite of sufficient size and weight, and in the centre of these, drill a round hole 3 inches deep , then take a piece of round inch iron 20 inches long, and wedge it fast into the hole you have drilled ; place the surface of the granite an inch higher than the surface of the ground. Then take a post about 3i feet long, and in one end of it bore an inch auger hole the length of the iron, 17 inches, and drive on the iron. This makes -a very durable post, not muved by frost. After setting the posts the desired length of the fence, placing the posts about 8 feet apart, you can saw into your posts near the bottom, and nail on a joist 2 by 4, and on the top another ; to these you can nail your pickets, or you can build with small rails without pickets. Another way is, and it may not be more expen- sive whei'e lumber is high, take round iron, same as above, the height you wish to build the fence, sharpen the top as rounds are turned for fence, and on these put two rails lengthwise, one near the bottom, and the other near the top, bored with holes the proper distance for rounds, with an inch auger. This painted, makes a very durable and neat fence for front yards. e. g. c. Canaan, Mc., 1853. CANADA THISTLES. Mr. Tappan, in the Plow, Loom and Anvil, says that Canada Thistles can be killed by deep and thorough plowing. Or they may be killed by mow- ing them when they have attained to their full size. He says then the stalks are hollow ; the blossoms are red — not much faded ; the lower leaves are dead ; and the weather warm and dry. J. H., in the Rural New-Yorker, plants his corn on the thistle ground, and after the corn is hoed the last time passes through with a spade and takes ou.t every thistle, root and branch, shakes off the earth, and leaves the thistle on the ground, where the first few hour's sun kills it. This pro- cess he follows up for a week or ten days, and the work is thoroughly accomplished. GOOD TOOLS FOR THE BOYS. The editor of the Portland Pleasure Boat gives the public some excellent practical advice. In an article in which he furnishes some hints in regard to making agriculture a cheerful and agreable oc- cupation, he closes the subjects thus : Farmers, furnish your young boys with light, neat and good tools, and teach them how to keep them in good order, if you would have them love agriculture, and give them a little lot for their own use. If you wish to discourage them and drive them off to the city, to sea, or to California, give them rusty hoes, broken shovels, dull scythes, &c., to work with, and not allow them to plant a seed or a tree for themselves. Every boy on a farm should he allowed a lot on which to make a miniature farm, lie may have a row of ccrn, a row of po- tatoes, a patch of wheat, oats, beans, grass, and if you keep animals give him a calf, a colt, or a lamb to raise. With the products of his little farm he can sup- ply himself witli books, clothes, &c., so that you will be gainers by being liberal, and will encourage industry and beget a love for agriculture in your sons, wliich will in future years lead them on to perfection in the art, and place them among the highest of nature's noblemen. LIME FROM GAS WORKS. Mr. Brown : — Please inform me in your usual way, of the principal qualities, and relative value of the refuse lime of gas factories, when the gas is obtained from bituminous coal, and best time and mode of applying it as manure. Yours, respectfully, t. h. c. Locust Lawn, Indiana, 1853. LIME FROM GAS WORKS. Gentlemen : — A subscriber to your useful New England Farmer solicits the inquiry respecting the lime used at the gas works, for tlie purpose of purifying the rosin and extracting the ammonia. It is very powerful, and retains a peculiar, strong smell. Can it be used for agricultural purposes? It is very cheap, 25 cents a ban-el. Will it an- swer for decomposing peat — earth, or muck. I have heard of its being used in Essex county, but have not seen notice of it in any paper. Yours, respectfully, h. s. Portsmouth, June, 1853. Remarks. — W^ill some of our correspondents re- ply to these letters of inquiry 1 33ou'3 Department. DUTIES AT SCHOOL. Quinctilian includes most all the duties of schol ars in this one piece of advice which he gives them — to love those who teach them as they love the science which they learn of their instructors, and to look upon their teacher as fathers, from whom they derive not the life of the body, but that instruction which is in a manner the life of the soul. If they possess this sentiment of affec- tion and respect, it suffices to make them apt to learn during the time of their studies, and full of gratitude all the rest of their lives. Ducility, which consists in submitting to the directions given to them, in readily receiving the instruction of their master, and in reducing them to practice, is as properly the virtue of scholars as that of masters is to teach well. The one can do nothing without the other, as it is not sufficient for a la- borer to sow the seed unless the eartli, after hav- ing opened her bosom to receive it, encourage its growth by warmtli and moisture; so the whole fruit of instruction depends upon a good corres- pondence between the master and scholar. Grat- itude for tliose who have labored in our education is the characteristic of an honest man and the tribute of a good heart. "Who is there amongst 390 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aug. us," gays Cicero "that has been instructed with any care, that is not highly delighted with the sight, or even the bare remembrance of his precep- tors, masters, and the place where he was taught and brought up ?" Seneca exhorts young men to preserve always a greater respect for the masters, to whose care they are indebted for the amendment of their faults, and for having imbibed sentiments of honor and prosperity. The exactness and se- verity of our teachers may displease sometimes at an age when we are not in a condition to judge of the ohligation we owe them ; but when years have ripened our understanding and judgment, we dis- cern tliat their admonitions, and a severe exact- ness in restraining the passions of an imprudent and inconsiderate age, are the very things which should make us esteem and love them. Thus Marcus Aurelius,one of the wisest and most illus- trious Emperors that Rome ever had, thanked heaven for two things especially — for his having had excellent tutors himself, and that he had found the like fur his children. The duties of school-boys consist in docility and obedience, re- spect for their masters, zeal for study, and a thirst after the sciences, joined to an abhorrance of vice and irregularity, together with a sincere and fer- vent desire of pleasing God and referring all their actions to him. A Promise. — A promise should be given with caution and kept with care. A promise should be made by the heart and remembered by the head. A promise is the offspring of the intention, and should be nurtured by recollection. A promise and its performance should, like the scales of a true balance, always present a mutual adjustment. A promise delayed is justice deferred. A promise neglected is an untruth told. A promise attended to is a debt settled. Caliies' IDepartmcnt. An English Woman's Opinion of Husbands. — As a general rule, we know that men have, by na- ture, a superiority in strength which enables them to go through labors and dangers, mental as well as bodily, from which females should be exempt ; and that by education they are qualified for exer- cising the several trades or professions by which they arc to maintain their families. On the other hand, women are endowed (besides all the graces and amiabilities of the sex) with a great superiori- •ty of quickness, tact, and delicate discernment, in all the every-day afikirs of life. In all these, there- fore, the iiusband ought to be completely guided by his wife. And this shows the Avisdom of our ancchtors in making the husband "endow with all his worldly goods" the wife he has chosen. The wife is dependent on the husband, and clings to him for support, just as a hop-plant climbs on its pole, and a sweet pea on the stick to support it, and as the vine in Italy was, according to the lan- guage of the poets, "married to an elm." But if you could only conceive a hop-pole, or a pea- stick, or an elm, imagining that those plants were put there on purpose for its adornment, you would tell them that this was quite a mistake ; that the climbers are cultivated for tiie flowers or fruit; and that the stakes are placed there merely for their sake, and must not claim any superior dignity or worth over the plants they support. Now just such is the office of the husband ; and this state- ment of things is what people approach to more in proportion as they advance in civilzation. Household Measures. — As all families are not provided with scales and weights referring to in- gredients in general use by every housewife, the following may be useful : — Wheat flour, one pound is one quart. Indian meal, one pound two ounces is one quart. Butter, when soft, one pound one ounce is one quart. Loaf sugar, broken, one pound is one quart. White sugar, powdered, one pound one ounce is one quart. Best brown sugar, one pound two ounces is one quart. Eggs, average size, ten eggs are one pound. Sixteen large table-spoonfuls are half a pint, eight are one gill, four half a gill, &c. Wash for the Head. — "A Mother" asks, "What is an eflicient remedy for removing dand- ruff in the hair, as she has an objection to using an ivory comb?" This objection is well founded, as it increases the evil. The following wash, ap- plied with a small piece of flannel, to the roots of the hair, will be found excellent : Three parts of oil of almonds ; one part lime-water ; to be shaken up well, and can be procured of any chemist. — La- dy's Book. TlLinertislng ll^fpartnunt. O" A limited niimber of advertisements of an appropriate character will be inserted in the monthly Farmer at the fol owing RATES. For one square of 15 lines, one insertion $1,00 For CHch subsequent insertion 50 XT The'iibove rates will be charged for all advertisements whether longer or shorter. Farm in Westboro', Mass., For sale or exchange, for Boston property, sit uated on the old Grafton road, within \ mile of the Railroad Depot, containing 27 acres of as good lai;d as any other 27 acres laying in one body, in the town; it is elevated about 75 feet MlHJVf the railroad, and overlooks the town, and is within 7 minutes walk of three churches and the town house, which for healthy location is unsurpassed. The buildings consist of a modern house, buili by Boston mechanics in 1851, and is 32 by 22 feet, with a kitchen attached, 16 by 23 feet, two stories high, with a cellar under the whole. Wood-house, 16 by 20 feet; work-shop 16 by '2 feet; carriage and hen house, 16 by 21 feet; poultry yard, 30 by 53 feet, enclosed by slat fence 8 feet high; barn, 60 by 36 feet, with celbir under the same, so divided as to give a vegetable cellar containing about 2000 bushels; cistern and well water is brought into the. house, and all the wash of the kitchen and privy is conducted by a drain to the barn cellar; likewise a farm house 24 feet square, li stories high, cellar under the same; there are three good wells of water and one good brick and cement cistern on the prem- ises. There are now on the farm 142 large apple trees, most- ly grafted, also 220 young thriving apple trees, mostly Bald- wins, from 4 lo ' years from the bud, some of them have borne fruit; likewise 34 peach trees of early choice variety, 10 pear trees, Orchard, the Garden, &c. o.??-y)n7'rf, RAYNOLDS &o NOURSE, (ii'i.NCY Hall, Sodtii Market Street, Boston. English Fancy Lop-ear Iial)l)i(s. THE undersigned will be happy to sBow a choice lot of im ported Lop-eared Rahbitu, to gentlemen interested, at his residence in Melrose. This stock is from the best in England, and was selected with care. I have a few younz Rabbits for sale, which will be ready to deliver in July and August. Address, GEO. P. BURNHAM, Box 22, Post office. Boston, June 11, 1853. 4w'-3 Fruit anil Ornamental Trees, HEDGE PLANTS, SHRUBS, &c. WILLIAM HALL, Bradford, Mass., offers for sale his usual assortment of Apple, Pear, I'lum, Peach, Cherry, Apricot, Quince, Currant and Gooseberry Trees. Ornamental trees of large size. A fine collection of Roses incluiiing the New and Yellow Climbers. A fine stork of liucklhorn, Privett, Arbor Vitas and Norway Spruce, plants for Hedges. Orders promptly attended to. April y, i853. tf Whiit O" Postage. — The postage on the New England Farmer monthly, is Ji cents per quarter, or 6 cents per year, to any part of the United States, to be paid in advance at the office where the same is received. LANGSTROTH'S Movable Comb Hive, (Patented Oct. 5th, 1&52.) EACH comb is built on a movable frame, and in five min- utes they may all be taken out, without cutting them or enraging the bees. Weak stocks may be helped in honey and brood froiTi stronger ones; queenless colonies supplied; the worms caught; and new colonies formed in less time than in usually required to hive a natural swarm. Thhl the snfe and easy control of the combs, makes a complete revoliiiion in bee-keeping the subscriber prefers to prove rather than as- sert. At his Apiary, combs, honey and bees will be taken from the hives, the queen exhibited, and new colonies formed. By the close of May his work (350 pages) on the Honey-IJee will be pul)lished. It contains many new and highly impor- tant discoveries, and gives full directions for managiiig bees, in the author's hive, or any other. Cost of hives from one to five dollars; farm rights five dollars. For one doll ir, postage paid, the book will be sent free by mail. On receipt of eleven dollars, a beautiful hive showing all the combs, (with gluss on four sides,) will be sent with book and right, freight paid, to any Railroad station in New England; a right, book and hive for two colonies, with glass on each side, for §13; a thorough- ly made hive for two colonies, glass on the bank only, with book and right, for $11. Address. L. L. LANGSTROTH, Greenfield, Mass. May 14, 1853. 3w*3 Bound Volumes. BACK VOLUMES ol ,he NEW ENGLAND FARMER, el«s- gantly bound in Muslin, Gilt and Embossed, are now for sale Hi this office. Suffolk Pigs. The undersigned can supply a few or- ders for choice Suffolk Pigs of the best blood in the country Also, a few Bleed- ing Sows and 2 Boars. Address, post- ^^^_. paid, LUTHER GILBERT, June 11, 1853. Newton, Liwer Falls, tf DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. VOL. V. BOSTON, SEPTEMBER, 1853. NO. 9. RAYNOLBS rd them the chauce of an entire new growth. The meadows, with their small produce, will soon be eaten up; and let a dressing of two or three cwt. of the best guano be then applied to them, and a beautiful new crop, and not very late, will yet be secured, the mowing machine and haymaker will soon get 404 NEW ENGLAIND FARMER. Sept. it, even if it should clash with the harvest ; but we are clear that on all kinds of land more prod- uce, with the present crop given in, will be ob- tained by such a course, and the present crop will be very acceptable of itself. The fog, or aftermath, has also every prospect of being better after thus supplying the deficiency of the year. For the New England Farmer. HIGHWAYS— A BEAUTIFUL FEATURE. Mr. Editor : — In a recent excursion in my own vicinity, a few days since, I was gladdened by a prospect such as I had long desired to look upon in our hill country, but after years of patient wish- ing and waiting, had almost despaired of ever see- ing, unless it were in anticipation. It was the beautiful sight of a highway free from all wander- ing animals, with no long furrows plowed on the sides of the travel path to produce a harvest of weeds, whose feathery seeds may be blown for miles, perhaps to vegetate and disfigure some field now smiling in fresh and valuable herbage ; no deep gullies or dangerous ditches to disfigure the scenery, and render all '■burning ouV when two conveyances met, dangerous to the nerves, if not to the life and limbs of passengers, but a gentle slop- ing declivity, just enough to turn the water oS. Then the grass, tall, beautiful grass, waving in the light breeze and reflecting bright jewels in the dew drops which hung upon it ! how rich it looked, skirting that smooth, well- wrought highway ! and how beautiful the ground will look again, when the mijwer has smoothly shorn it of its heavy burthen anl it is gathered into the garner, all fresh and green and lovely as the earliest her bage of spring. It has been a source of continued wonder tome, that in a civilized age this street feeding should be tolerated at all. The practice has always looked as a relict of dark and barbarous times, originat- ing and continued more from a desire to invade the rights of others, rather than in adopting the precept of doing justly and loving mercy. I re- joice to see the practice so far abandoned, as to develop some bright spots along our waysides. — While I feel a comfortable assurance that no rea- sonable bcin^, where he once sees and experiences the benefits, will willingly return to the old way of turning sheep, geese, hogs, cattle, horses, pell- mell into the street, to the annoyance of every- body and the neighborhood in particular. Then, when the streets are once cleared of these wandering, mischievous herds or collection of beasts that go about without owner and keeper to ex- hibit themselves, admitting themselves freely wher- ever they find a deficiency offence, into the grain- field or mowing land of orderly and quiet citizens instead of taxing an admittance fee, what improve- ments in our highways may we not reasonably ex- pect? Instead of the too common and disagreea- ble fallows left by the wayside, we shall see the sod remain firm and protected beyond the necessa- ry requirements for the preservation of the road, rough places will be made smooth by the wayside as well as in the way, and handsomely laid to grass. Trees will be planted all along, and in variety as great as the neighboring woodlands will permit, giving shade to the traveller, beauty to the sce- nery, and furnishing subjects of various investi- gations, to awaken the mind and enrich the heart. Then, too, if men cannot sit under their own vines and fig-trees with nothing to molest or make them afraid, they may stand a much better chance than we fear many now do, of retiring for the night, quiet in the reflection that the crops on which they have spent so much care, and which promise to repay their labor so generously, will not ere the morning, be destroyed by some troop of wandering animals. I have not written supposing^hat I have seen is a solitary sight confined to a single town or neighborhood. There are many such places, but not all,- and I have been induced to hold up this one example as a subject of imitation, to places where no such beauties mark the landscape, and encourage them to hasten the day when our coun- try shall be free from a loathsome, disagreeable, unjust, unneighborly and unlawful practice. Yours, truly, w. b. Elmwood, July 20, 1853. For the New England Farmer. GARDEN AND FIRE ENGINES. Mr. Editor : — In a late number of your paper, in a notice of a garden engine, you say "It will throw water to the height of forty feet, and to the distance of seventy feet horizontally. It may, therefore, be found of use in extinguishing fires in buildings." That remark is in accordance with the general belief of the use of such engines for ex- tinguishing fires. I have no doubt but that if any twelve of your customers who live a mile from a large fire engine, should purchase a small one, and their buildings should take fire, they would at least, eleven of them, run fur the large one at the village, and never once think of trying their own, or if they thought of it, would give it up as a fool- ish idea. A more mistaken idea than this, of fire engines, never entered the mind of man. Fire does not wait while we run for engines, but increases in arithmetical progression, and therefore if the engine yon have described, will not put it out when first discovered, the largest in the world cannot, if we have to run but half a mile and it then has to be drawn to the fire. I want to see a better de- scription of the new Hitchcock engine. I know its power, and I tell you it is to create an entire change in our fire departments. Hundreds of towns in the State cannot aSbrd to purchase a large one, who could have half a dozen of these ; and three of these at proper distances, are better than a large one, because so much sooner brought to work. Again, many towns who have the large ones should purchase small ones for the "outsiders," who pay their part of the expense while they are wholly unprotected. But enough for tliis time. If you please, I will again trouble you upon this impor- tant subject, and now only say that any of your friends who purchase the engine for garden pur- poses, will have a most useful and effectual fire en- gine. B. Water/own, 1853. Remarks. — Having used the engine you speak of, and "knowing its power," we hope you will furnish the description which the puVjlic needs. The sub- ject is one of importance to all, but especially to farmers, and we thank you for calling attention to it. ' 1853, NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 405 THE HIVE AND HONEY BEE. This is the title of a new work on the Hive and Honey Bee, or a Manual for Bee keepers, by Rev. L. L. Langstroth, of Greenfield, Mass. "We have not only read the book, bat conversed with the Author, with interest and delight. Hu- ber, and several other writers on bees, were some- what familiar to us, and we bad mingled consider- ble practice witR our reading and observation, and our conviction is, that the writer of this work understands the habits and wants of the Bee This week we give an extract, and take the statement of what may be done by the use of this hive. L. L. Langstroth's Movable Comb Hive. Patented, Oct. 5th, 1852. Each comb in this hive is attached to a separ- ate, movable frame, and in less than five minutes they may all be taken out, without cutting or in- juring them, or at all enraging the bees. "Weak stocks may be quickly strengthened by helping them to honey and maturing brood from stronger better than any other person who has writen up- ones ; queenless colonies may be rescued from cer on the subject. Huber devoted eight years to a study of them : our author has given a large por- tion of his time to this study for sixteen years, and during a considerable portion of the lime has been tain ruin by supplying them with the means of obtaining another queen ; and the ravages of the moth effectually prevented, as at any time the hive may be readily examined and all the worms, &c., a bee master, having a personal care of numerous removed from the combs. New colonies may be swarms. We can use no language more pleasant and ap- propriate than that used below by the Christian Register, in noticing this interesting book. It says : — "This treatise is written by one who evi- dently delights in his theme, whose failing health has compelled him to leave the field of theology for one of Natural History, but who finds there not less incitements to the highest sentiments. Every line has traces of being written con amore, (for the love of it.) The book will be interesting and valuable to two classes of readers, who delight in studies of natural history formed in less time than is usually required to hive a natural swarm ; or the hive may be used as a non-swarmer, or managed on the common swarm- ing plan. The surplus honey may be taken from the interior of the hive on the frames or in up- per boxes or glasses, in the most convenient, beau- tiful and saleable forms. Colonies may be safely transferred from any other hive to this, at any season of the year from April to October, as the brood, combs, honey and all the contents of the hive are transferred with them, and securely fas- To those tened in the frames. That the combs can always and who be removed from this hive in ease and safety, and sbould not? this work, and especially the first six chapters, which treat of the "manners and cus- toms" and wonderful instincts of these little peo- ple, will be of special value. It details some facts which would be incredible did they not seem veri- fied by careful experiment. It seems that if you adopt the same rule in treating with bees that Shakespeare recommended in treating with irascible and crusty people in general, you will never get stung — that is, always approach them after din- ner. Bees on a full stomach are as harmless as so many flies, unless you insult them . The author says too — and he is borne out fully not only by his own observation but by good authority — that the queen bee and the worker, so vastly different in all their instincts and habits and their form and organization, are yet produced from the same kind of egg, all the difference being produced by the difference in the food given to the larvfe — a fact worth something in showing what circumstances can do in producing diversity of races. "Another class of readers will value this book for its practical lessons in the management of bees. The author is the inventor of a new hive, which he thinks of very great value. The book is very full on the treatment, feeding and management of bees, and though we cannot judge of this portion from any experience we have had, we can yet say that the author writes like one who thoroughly understands his subject." that the new system, by giving perfect control over all the combs, effects a complete revolution in practical bee-keeping, the subscriber prefers to prove rather than assert. Those who have any considerable number of bees, will find it to their interests to have at least one movable comb hive in their Apiary, from which they may, in a few minutes, supply any colony which has lost its queen, with the means of rearing another. For the New England Farmer. THE CANKER WORM. Mr. Editor : — In the last Farmer their is a de- scription of the "Palmer worm," by Dr. Harris. According to his description of the insect they are the same worm which has committed such rava- ges in this section, and all through this region of country. They are known here by the name of "canker worm," and as near as our memory ex- tends they are the same worm which made such destruction here in 1836. We have seen these worms in small numbers, several times since that period, but not to do any particular damage to trees. In the eastern part of this State, near the sea-shore, they have made their appearance sever- al times in the last ten or twelve years. Being in the northern part of this State last week, (Win- chester and Norfolk,) we found that there the worms had not troubled them at all. This goes to prove our previous convictions that this worm does most of its work near the sea-shore, extending some forty or fifty miles inland. From all accounts 406 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. and descriptions of this worm in different sections, the present year, this insect appears to be one and the same thing. Now, whether this be the genuine canker or palmer worm, we cannot say. But one thing is certain, they are destructive everywhere, let them be called by one name or another. They make their appearance in this section, about the 6th or lOth of June, and by the Ist of July they are gone. They confined most of their work here, to the ap- ple tree and shrub oak bushes, and this faat we re- member, was the same in 1836. Now if Dr. Har- ris, or any one else, will give us the habits of both the palmar and canker worm, and wherein they differ in character, they will confer a great favor on the public. Yours truly, L. DtiRANT. Derby, Ct., July 18, 1853. Fiyr the New England Farmer. TURNIPS AND GRASS SEifJD. H. F. French, Esq., of Exeter, N. H., suggested in the JVew England Farmer, not long ago, what was to us a novel method of laying down land to grass. He says, "I last year laid down about a half acre with grass seed and English turnips, the last of July. Most of my turnip seed prove! to be mustard, but not all, and I picked up between thirty and forty bushels of excellent turnips, with no extra la- bor or expense but the gathering. I did, however, apply one barrel of bone dust to the land, for the good of the turnip crop especially." Mr. Fi-ench does not say what grass seed he put upon it, or how it succeeded. We presume, howev- er, that it WAS herds' grass and red top, as in anoth- er place he recommends sowing clover on the snowsin spring, as clover, he says, is apt to die during the winter, when sowed in the fall. I cut the above from the Maine Farmer, one of the best papers in the country. I am proud to be able to give its learned editor information, even upon a small matter. I did, as he supposes, sow herds' grass and red top, at the rate of about a half bushel of the former, and a bushel of the lat- ter, to the acre, with the turnip seed, all mixed to- gether, on the 28th day of July. 1 he ground was so dry when I plowed that no moisture was percep- tible at the bottom of a deep furrow. It was sowed, brushed and rolled, and left literally in dust and ashes (one barrel of bone dust to 25 bushels of ashes ! ) We tiad very little rain till the last week in August. The grass seed came up well, in the fall. I sowed clover seed on the snow in spring. The grass was cut last week, a heavy crop, more than half clover, at the rate of about two tons to the acre. This fact about the clover deserves no- tice. No clover seed was sowed last summer — the land had not been in grass for six years, and the clover did not grow from the seed sowed in the spring. Sowed in spring It does not head be- fore haying time, and this clover was of full size, 80 as to lodge in spots. It must have grown from seed which had long laid in the ground, or what perhaps is more probable, which had been carried on in manure the year before I sowed it. No ma- nure except the dust and ashes was applied in 1852, and there probably was no clover seed in that ! One fact seems to be indicated by this experiment, namely, that clover sown in July does not always winter kill. I sowed one acre of new land with herds' grass seed and turnips, on the first day of the present July, with two bags of superphosphate of lime, putting on at the same titne, six pounds of clover. The turnips and grass seed are up and promise well. I omitted the red top, because it could n(jt l)e procured at a reasonable price. Hay is worth sixteen dollars a ton here from the field, and turnips are valuable. Try the experiment. Any time before the middle of August, will be in sea- son. H. F. French. Exeter N. H., JulylSth, 185a. AMMONIA. We have been supplied by the Publisher with the sheets of a forthcoming work on the Elements of Agricultural Chemistry, by Prof. Johnston, af England. It treats apoa the operations of the farm, and explains the nature of the substances used as fertilizers with more clearness than any other work we have seen. The language em- ployed is simple, yet expressive, and any farmer will scarcely fail to find important aid, and much gratification, in frequent reference to its pages. As there is much use made of the term, ammo nia, we have selected a section briefly describing it, and stating its effects and value to the farmer. Next week we propose to give- another extract on the ^^improvement of the soil by laying down lands to grass," and when the whole work is before us, shall speak of it more particularly. It is to be published by Saxton, the indefatiga- ble Agricultural Publisher of New York. OF AMMONIA, ITS PROPERTIES AND PRODUCTION IN NATURE. If thg sal-ammoniac, or the sulphate of ammo- nia of the shops, be mixed with quick-lime, a powerful odor is immediately perceived, and an invisible gas is given off, which strongly affects the eyes. This gas is ammonia. Water dissolves or absorbs it in very large quantity, and this solution of the gas in water forms the common hartshorn of the shops. The white solid smelling- Siilts of the shops (carbonate of ammonia) are a compound of ammonia with carbonic acid and a little water. Ammonia consists of nitrogen and hydrogen only, in the proportion of 14 of the former to 3 of the latter by weight ; or 17 lb. af ammonia con- tain 14 lb. of nitrogen and 3 lb. of hydr;>gen. The decay of animal substances is an important natural source of this compound. During the putrefaction of dead animal bodies, ammonia is invariably given off. From the animal substances of the farm-yard it is evolved during their decay or putrefactiun, as well as from all solid and liquid manures of animal origin. Ammonia is naturally formed, also, during the decay of vegetable substances in the soil. This happens in one or other of three ways. a. As in animal bodies, by the direct union of the nitrogen with a portion of the hydrogen of which they consist. b. Or by the combination of a portion of the hydiwen of the decaying plants with the nitro- gen of the air. c. Or when they decompose in contact, at the same time, with both air and water— by their taking the oxygen of a quantity of the water, and 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 407 disposing its hydrogen at the moment of libera- tion, to combine with the nitrogen of the air, and form ammonia. The production of ammonia by either of the two latter modes, takes place most abundantly when the oxygen of the air does not gain very ready access. Such arc open subsoils in which vegeta- ble matter abounds. And thus one of the benefits which follow from thorough draining and subsoil plowing is, that the roots penetrate and fill the subsoil with vegetable matter, which, by its decay in the confined atmosphere of the subsoil, gives rise to this production of ammonia. When thus formed in the soil, it is at once absorbed and retained by the humic and ulmic acids already described, renders them soluble, and enters with them into the roots of living plants. Ammonia is also formed naturally during the chemical changes that are produced in volcanic countries, through the agency of subterranean fires. It escapes often in considerable quantities from the hot lavas, and from crevices in the heated rocks. It is produced artificially by the distillation of animal substances, (hoofs, horns, a„.in„ -^^-^r/i^rSLtwI'TpoSt^f ■* bed^ producing generally an abundance of luscious and ' Qtatoes started into growth, and thisl^^^^; ^^J ,He Vound with a -ost lux™ coating of vines. A part of these the/arhest kinds,°.ave come to maturity and yield a fa r saleable fruit. We hope, ere long, to see department of domestic industry elevated to the rank and position it so eminently deserves. We forbear to repeat any of the different modes of budding, now, but refer the reader to the previous columns of the Farmer, where he will find the whole subject minutely described, as well as in most of the books on the subject of fruits. crop oF'superior quality. An adjoining piece ot ground was cultivated in the same ^^J' ^e last year, and when the crop was 8^*^,?^^^ ' *^^" J^^' and Cubbish were thrown into the ditches, and the whole surfi^ce was levelled off, and sown with grass seed,' herds grass, red top and clover, and ?he present season has yielded hay of good quality to the amount of three tons to the acre, with a SALE OP EARL DUCIE>S STOCK. respect of a second cutting of half as much more. 24th AND 25th OF August. The crop of potatoes grown tl^.^ /it^y^'^y^^^^ The late lamented Earl Ducie having requested paid for all the ^^^^^PPj ^ en^y LSs ^er acre . his executors to dispose of his Agricultural ^t°ck, of the land M not ex^^^^^^^^^ Mr. Strafford has instructions to sell by auction. If any one can siiow^g ^ j ^^ould like without any reserve, at Tortworth Court, Glouces- procur d at an e^pen « ^^ -^s more than one hun- tershire, on Wednesday and Thursday, the 24th to see it Y^P"^,,^,^, that has heretofore and 25th days of August next the entire and f^^" f/f^.^.t 'e of the co.rsest kind ; all of which fomed herd of Short-horned Cattle belon-img to ff^«^^^^^^ Wmgmg into English mowing by his lordship, consisting of upwards of sixty head ofl^.^;fj;;3^'' o^e peculiarity about this culture Bulls, Cows and Heifers, comprising the ^h«^« «f t" JZ'n 'Ts needed ™ " '~ '''"' °'^"' the justly celebrated "Duchess" and ^'OKfovd^'lrio hoeing is ne^^^aea tribes of Short-horns, which with the "Fourth Duke of York," were purchased at the late Mr. Bates's sale at Kirklevington, in 1850 ; also the "Duke of Glo'ster," and many other very promis- ing young Bulls and Heifers bred from them, as well as others from the most celebrated herds in The few weeds that start are'easiiy pulTed up by the roots. My impression is if the ^potato crop should be continued /lOO ;';.;, the Iround woiSdbe left in '-tter condition and be likely to remain redeemed. I ^^ lU be oD served that no coating of gravel or other mateiia has been carried upon this meadow -noi does any appear to be needed. I forbear to name the the kingdom ; with the splendid flock of 800 South "J J JP^J^ ^^ ^^ 1° abundantly capable of makinc Down Sheep, bred from the renowned stock of F0P"e*^^^^^^ ^ disposed to do so. Ilis Grace the Duke of Richmond, Col. Kingcote, his own statement, wben aisp ^^ Capt. Pelham, Messrs. EUman, Barclay, Harris, Juiy^l,iooo. and others ; since which have been used the very ^ __ ^^T , ^^ rarely received a commu- best Tups that could be obtained from Mr. Jonas Ke iarks. ^ ^^^^ more interested, Webb. Also, the unrivalled stock of Pigs, descend- nication m which ^^^^^^^ ^"'^^ ._^t and its ed from the most distinguished breeds in the coun- 1 than in the above. Such an e^peum , 414 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Se?t. intelligihle announcement, will often do mure good in its results, than a whole volume of learned argument. We are, therefore, particularly obliged to our observing correspondent, "P.," for ena- bling us to record it. The mode of culture will be certainly new to most persons, and its results must be satisfactory to all. A NOVEL ENCOUNTER. During an afternoon lately several of Mr. Rose'; men, whe were chattering together in that gen tleman's stable-jard, in Pitt Street, became spec- tators of a singula? conflict, the issue of which was the signal defeat aad death of one of the combatants. A "clucking" hen was busy at work upon the dunghill, and had pursued her scratching vocation for some time, when a plump, sleek-skinned rat, about three parts grown, pre- sented his whiskered face at a neighboring hole, and, after reconnoitering for awhile, ventured forth in searcli of food. Dame Tattle, viewing his presence in the light of a trespass upon her domains, ceased her scratching operations and prepared to dispute the rat's right to feed upon her territory, probably thinking the old feudal law would hold good in her case, that " He may takejvho has the power, and be may keep who can." _ With outspread wings and a look of fierce determination, her ladyship made a sudden ad- vance upon tlie enemy, and, with a well-directed peck, inflicted a severe wound upon the back of the intruder. Smarting with pain, the vat turned upon the courageous dame, and forthwith a battle ensued, — peck for bite and bite for peck being the order of the day. The sharp beak of the hen lell " flist and furious upon the rafs carcase, and, LIST OF STATE FAIRS IN 1853. Vermont, Montpelier Sepieniber 13, 14, 1.5, Kentucky, Le.xington. . ,...., Septe.'iiber 13, 14, isj 16, 17. New York, SaraZoga ., September 20, 21, 22, 23. Ohio, Dayton Sepiembey 20, 21^ 22^ 23. PeniLsylvania, Pittsburgh September 27, 28, 29, 30. Michigan, Detroit .September 28, 29, 30. Wisconsin, Watertown October 4, 5, 6, 7. New Hampshire, Manchester ....October 5, 6 7. Indiana, Lafayette.. October 11, 12, 13, 14. Illinois, Springfield October 11, 12, 13, 14. North Carolina, Raleigh , October IS. Maryland, — ■ October 25 , 26, ic7, 28. Virginia, Richmond November 1,2 3. Lower Canada September 27 to 30, Upper Canada October 5 to 7. Southern Central Ag. Society, Augusta, Geo Oct. 17 to 20. Agricultural Exhibitions in Massachusetts FOE 1853. Worcester County Society September 21, J2. Norfolk County goeiety September 27, 28. Esse.v County Society September 28, 29. Hou.satonic Society September 28, 29, Worcester West County Society September 30. Bristol County Society October 4 5. Middlfse.x County Society October 4 5. Berkshire County Society October 5,' 6. Plymouth County Society October 6. Frank)in County Society Octobers 7. Barnstable County Society.... October 7. Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Society Oct. 11, 12. Hampden County Society October 13,' 14. Hampshire County Society , October 26, finding himself coming off second best, he sprang from the midden ; but the plucky dame, havino- got " !ier pecker up," pursued and again seized the fugitive, when the latter instantly turned and inflicted a savage bite upon the old lady's orna- mental comb, completely severing that appendage in two. The hen, however, nothing daunted, followed up her success, and in a few minutes the luckless rat lay at her feet an " inanimate piece of clay," when chuckie returned to the dunghill, uttering, as she strode across the yard, triumph- ant " cackles." The spectators, who had been highly amu.'^ed with the fight, then examined the remains of the rat, and, to their astonishment, it was ascertained that so furious and effectual had been the onslaught of Dame Tattle, that the var- mint's legs had all been broken in the conflict Presto -I {English) Chronicle Mr. B t^or the New Ensland Farmer. TRIMMING PINES. KOW\ ; — I see of late there is an inquiry m regard to trimming pine trees, and will say that for tlie last r(3\v yoar.s I have been in the practice of transplanting white pine trees and trimming them. Some of those tliat I liave trimmed, are young trees, from 5 to 10 or 12 vears old ; the time of triiaming, from the time the buds are from 1 inch long to 0 or 8 inches, and they have gen- erally liealed (iver smooth without any pitch dis- figuring the tree. A. F. North Reading, July 19, 1853. TREES. Persons who take no particular interest in im- proving the streets and spare ground in their gar- dens, hardly realize how soon they are repaid for the slight trouble of planting, and little subsequent care of watching the growth of shade trees. The first impulse in regard to tree planting seems to be checked by the thought that it will be so long before it will grow to a size to be serviceable. From our desk we can see five horse chestnut trees that were set out only five years ago, and they now throw a delightful shade, and pay for their original^ cost besides, in obviating the necessity foy an awning, which disfigures a street, while a tree IS an appropriate and delightful ornament, as well as protector from the sun. There has been some question about what we shall do for fuel and shipbuilding when the forests within reasonable distance of the seaboard are all destroyed. A prudent foresight would suggest that foiest trees should be planted; there will al- ways be spots of land enough between our large towns and villages, to have a grove of such kinds of trees raised as are best adapted to the soil. We believe every town and city that has the land to spare, along the shores of New England, or with- in a few miles of our railways that connect wilh seaport towns, could add greatly to the value of their otherwise unoccupied lands, by planti; ^y for- est trees. ° Many a man in Essex County could, we are sat- isfied, secure a fortune to his son, if not tol.iiuself, by planting forest trees on his land, which would be used to build the future ships of the Meiriiuac. Some land might be taken for this purpose which 18 almost useless for anything else.' And «/,' land whicli is not profitable for other cultivation, should be brought into wood. The pine may be raised 1S53. NEW ENGLAND EARMRR. 415 from the seed to the height of ten feet in as manj years, and to a si/.e profitable for firewood m twen- ty years and of course much sooner %yhen trans- For the New Ens^land Farmer. GARGET IN COWS. ty years ; ana ot cuuisc mv^v.. """"-, ; , .,, i Mk. Editor :— Seeing in one of the late numbers planted; and these may be planned and w, ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ Lurish in the poorest soil; that which 18 fat ior^^^^^^^^ . .1 ... _... .u. „.,. nothing else. Between here and Plum Island with a'small outlay, pine trees might be set ou and pine trees line the road side on land which now yields little or nothing, which would furnisl timber for spars and many other purposes, in the have taken the first opportunity while the rain is wetting our hay, to reply to the inquiry. Mr. Cole, in his "Diseases of Animals, page 239 says, "This disorder attacks the udders of cow's, particularly young ones, after their first calving— or cows in high condition. Ihe internal course of a few years ; before the present genera- ^| ^^^ ^^^^^ becomes inflamed, generally in tion of ship-builders and mast-makers have given ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ relieved, it often ex- „i„^« ^•,^ fiini'r nntnr.il HuccessoTS. L_ j.i.. j.i ,1,^1^ K.:,n. Tf, hofmnes tender, much Dlace to their natural successors- Every one that plants a tree invests its value in tends to the whole bag. It becomes tender ,_much Every one that plants a tree invests its value in ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^_ T^e milk co- bank which never breaks, and which pays g«o«L<,^iat(.g ^ud is drawn oflF in thick masses, often interest; while it lives it is grateful to the eye, and if cut down will always bring more than the orK^inal cost. Let every one that can, plantatruit tree in his garden, and a shade tree on the way- side, and another on any spare spot for tuture use, and we shall not in future years, have to goto Maine or Georgia for fuel and ship timber or de- pend on imported and half decayed fruit, from Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.— iVeioiwri/- port Herald. Fur the New Eii^unid Fanner. THE WEATHER. Mr. Editor :— I see by your paper, and by oth' ao-ulates, and is drawn oflF in thick masses, often bFoody. The causes are too high feeding ; allow- ing the cows to go dry too long ; not drawing off the milk when the bag becomes full before calving, humors in the system that collect at this tender place; and taking cold." "For remedy," he says, "bleed, physic, give garget root either in their food, or use as a seton. Saltpetre, tobacco and urine, and vinegar or spirits as a wash." I I find that all farmers who feed high and de- pend principally on grain or green food for keep- - lieir cows, aie most troubled with this disease. ling then v^uvro, i">j "^-^"^ ^ , I It does not seem to be very dangerous to the gen- leral health of the cow but only injures or spoils . Editor :— 1 see by your paper, auu uy «..i.- ,^^^ ^-^^^ vessels. V,'Wi\6 visiting the farm o. Hon. ers that you have had severe drought in the last Ug y French, last winter, his foreman showed me six'weeks. I do not remember a season when veg- 1 g^^^ ^^^^^^ cow that bad brought three calves o-et a pineh of drought in the next six weeks here, i shall be mistaken. Yours, &o., L. DURANT. Derby, Ct., July 1^, 1853. For the New England Farmer. PEAS— AN EXPERIMENT. Mr. Editor :— Being a genuine Yankee, and pos- sessincr that spirit of inquiry which, to so great a degree, characterizes them as a people, I was in- duced to try the following experiment with peas. I planted in drills 2 f(*t apart, on land that was in corn the year previous, manuring one-third with decoiiiposed stable manure, one-third with chip- manure and planted the other third without any. Those, where the chip manure was used, were since her udder had been destroyed by garget, so jthat not a single gill of milk could be drawn away. Yet the cow enjoyed good health otherwise. A ereat many fine cows lose part of the bag, gener- tuy one quarter at a time. Now I should say that the target is nothing more than long continued inflammation of the udder, caused by too great a flow of milk— for it.is our best cows only, that are troubled in this way. A fat cow, or one that in- clines more to take on fat than to "run to milk, seldom has this disease, except immediately after calving. A sudden change from poor to good teed- in- while the cow is thin of flesh, is generally the immediate cause of garget. Cows that are poor should be brought up to good feeding very gradu- ally If you feed fast you will soon be warned ot dant'er, by fever in one or more parts of the udder, thick, and perhaps bloody milk. The first thing to do, is to take away all extra feed, draw oflfall the milk, and wash the fevered parts in cold spring or well water. You cannot wash or shower too much as long as the fever remains. Mr. French uses a small force pump. The amount of washing or showering, depends entirely on the severity _o the case. If the cow has only just calved, it will often be brought down soft by the bunting of the calf, if you keep him a little hungry W ashmg every morning and night will generally bring out the fever, but if a very bad case, wash twenty times if necessary. , We once stufted cold wet moss all around the udder, and confined it by tying a banket over the etation of all kinds has continued to grow and flourish as it has here, thus far the present season. We had a fruitful rain here on Saturday, tne 10th inst., from twelve till half past one o'clock. The streets and low grounds were completely flooded, ^.nother fine shower we had on Wednesday raorn- ino- the 20th, and still another fine rain on Satur- day the 23d. This morning, the 26th, another iieavy shower of some two hours in length. V\ e had in the two first weeks in the present month, ten days of as good hay weather as any farmer need ask for. So that haying and harvest have been but little retarded by rain. We think the grass ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^ ^ ^ crop is rather large in this section, while grain o jj^^^g^jate cause of garget. Cows that are poor all kinds has come In well. Corn never looked , _,^ x.. better at this season than now. But if we do not -""- - - --i^ . '^^Kock and letting the cow remain in that fax o\er one-third heavier than those were where no ma- '^i^ck anu i«i, g nure was used; and those where the stable manure p'gn^_ .^ ^^^^ condition, feed regular- was used, were twice as heavy ; or i" o^^'^/o"^."' W milk dean akd use cold water in cases of fever where no manure was used they produced 3 parts, >y. Thllvev is -one I think we need be troubled where the chip manure was used -i parts, where tmtne^^^^ ^ith'cows having the garget, the stable manure was used 6 parts. | J/^,^^,^,,;/,, Mass, Lewistvn Falls, Me. o- lENNE-i. A. W. C. 416 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. FOOD FOR CROPS. This is the ^^ grand question''^ among Cirmers at the present day. In new countries, where the land has not been cultivated much, little is thought about giving the crop any food, in order to make it into food for ourselves, but after the fresh soil has become exhausted by constant cropping — after the "wew" is off, or rather out, the farmer finds, that to make food for himself, he must give food to the plants he wishes to raise. Yv'ell w!iat must it be ? To answer it with per- fect accuracy, you should first know what the soil is made of, and f.hen what the plant is made of — or, in other words, botli should be analyzed, and the ingredients ascertained, both as to their quali- ty and quantity. But this requires a greater knowledge of practical chemistry than the majori- ty of the people as yet possess, and also more ex- pense than most fiirmers are able to meet. What is the nest best thing to be done ? For- tunately the remains of organic bodies, (by which we mean those bodies both of animal and vegeta- ble origin, that have had life and a set of organs forming tlieir bodies,) pijssess most of the ingre- dients required for this purpose. Although some of these ingredients which make up the mass of organic manures may not be needed in this crop, they will not be lost, and will come in play for some future one. We are aware that there is much said about specific manure, and this article and that article is loudly recommended as the very thing, and the only thing needed. We do not undervalue them, and at the same time we would caution our read- ers not to overvalue them. Watch all experiments — use everything of the specific kind, such as plas- ter, super-phosphate of lime, sulphate of ammo- nia, guano, &e., &c., as you know will be benefi- cial, but at the same time don't give up your ma- nure heap. As a general rule, the remains of manure, made from the remains of organic bodies the nearest re- lated, that is tlie nearest in kind and quality to those which you wish to raise, will make the best manure for them. Return to the soil again, as much of the same crop as you can, in order to make another one. Nature gives you this advice. IIow is it that yonder forest has kept up for so many years such a heavy crop of wood ? IIow is it, that for as long as you can remember, there has not only been a heavy burthen of wood on that soil, but it has been constantly increasing in growth? It is ma- nuredevery fall, as sure as tlie fall comes, by a thick deposit of leaves, and twigs, and small branches, which the frosts, and the winds and snow break ofi'and sjiread around tlicir roots. These leaves and twigs are made up of material, in part drawn from the soil, and in part drawn from the air, and of the same kind as the rest of the wood, and so t!iey decay and supply food for the standing, growing wood. The vine growers in some parts of France find the clippings :ind prunings of thoir vines to be a valuable dressing for their vineyards. The cotton growers f«f the soutii begin to find that the cotton seeds and refuse cotton is a valuable dressing for cotton plants. Many of our farmers begin to find that the stalks and husks of Indian corn, ploughed undtT, make a valuable manure for the corn crop, and that the prunings of the orchard, chipped up and applied to the trees from which they were taken, make a valuable dressing for the orchard. — Maine Farmer. For the New England Farmer. MOWING MACHINES. Mk. Editor : — It has long been the wish of far- mers in New England, to see a mowing machine suitable for our small farms, and, after having tried one of the kinds now offered, I had concluded that none now made would answer. I was in- duced this spring, to try ''Ketchum's," made by Howard, & Co., of Buffalo, and find that works well. I have tried it in thin "June grass," in clo- ver and herdsgrass, both standing and lodged, and in coarse meadow grass, and it does the work ful- ly equal to the best mowers'. All who have seen it express this opinion. It works better on une- ven ground than any one would suppose. It is strong and durable, and will, I think, be used suc- cessfully on nine-tenths of the mowing fields of New England if properly prepared. The machine requires two good horses of even spirit, good life, weighing not less than 1000 lbs. The knives should be sharp, (though they leave no grass if dull) and the best of machinery oil should be used plentifully; the cost of oil is trifling compared to the expense of unnecessary friction. The driver should be a person of judgment, and observe the directions, which are few and simple. Hon. Samuel D. Hubbard, of the city of Middle- ton, uses his with a yoke of oxen. I can in three hours cut over as much surface as five men usually mow in the forenoon. And in one and one-half hours, I can rake it all, with Delano's Independent Horse Rake, which is very far superior to any kind now in use. Requir- ing not half the attendance in labor, does the work better, and leaves the hay much lighter than the revolving rake. It has all the advantages of all the other kinds and none of the disadvantages. In raking hay mowed by a machine, the rake should go in the same direction of the mowing ma- chine or directly across the snaths. David Lyman. Middletown, Ct., July 26, 1853. Remarks. — The mowing machine is an imple- ment of great importance to the farmer, and, ere long, will be in use in most neighborhoods of pro- gressive and intelligent cultivators. In our week- ly number of July 10, 1852, and in the Monthly Farmer for August, 1852, we gave a figure of the mowing machine spoken of by our correspondent, and appended some remarks. We believe there is plenty of land sufficiently level in nearly every neighborhood, to justify the purchase of a moAing machine. This might l)e done by several p rsons owning it jointly, and the expense of cuttiuiz; their grass materially reduced. We hope to see one in use among us soon. (3^ A. pear bud inserted into a quince stock last August, by M. D. Eaton, of Barre, has grown eleven feet and seven inches. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 417 THOROUGH BRED AYRSHIRE BULL, PRINCE ALBERT. This engraving is a fine portrait of an Ayrshire Bull, the property of Mr. John Raynolds, one of the proprietors of the Farmer. He is three years old, of a dark brown color, becoming almost black on some parts, and beautifully dappled. The white parts are studded with small spots of mingled black and l)rown of varied shades. His disposition is gentle, so that he is handled and controlled with ease, while he is almost as agile as a cat. In a "Treatise on the Dairy Breed of Cows," by Mr. Aiton, one of the best writers on cattle, he describes the Ayrshire breed as follows : — "The shapes most approved of, are, head small, but rather long and narrow at the muzzle; the eye small, but smart and lively ; the horns small, clear, crooked, and their roots at considerable distance from each other ; neck long and slender, tapering toward the head, with no loose skin below ; shoul- ders thin; fore-quarters light; hind-quarters large; back straight, broad behind, the joints rather loose and open; carcass deep, and pelvis capacious, and wide over the hips, with round fleshy buttocks; tail long and small ; legs small and short, with firm joints; udder capacious, broad and square, stretching fjrward, and neither fleshy, low hung, nor loose ; the milk veins^ large and prominent ; teats short, all pointing outward, and at consider- able distance from each other ; skin thin and loose; hair soft and woolly. The head, bones, horns, and all parts of least value, small; and the general figure compact and well proportioned." Mr. Ran- kine very properly remarks, that, "compared with other improved breeds, the thighs, or what is called the twist of the Ayrshire cow, are thin. She is, characteristically, not a fleshy animal." In the edition of Youatt and M.\rtin on Cattle, published by Saxton, N. Y., they state that the breed has much improved since Mr. Aiton described it, and is short in the leg, the neck a little short- er at the shoulder, but finely shaped toward the head; the horns smaller than those of the High- lander, but clear and smooth, pointing forward, turning upward, and tapering to a point. They are deep in the carcass, but not round and ample, and especially not so in the loins and haunches. Some, however, have suspected, and not without reason, that an attention to the shape and beauty, and an attempt to 'produce fat and sleeky cattle, which may be admired at the show, has a tenden- cy to improve what is only their quality as graz- ing cattle— and that at the certainty of diminish- ing their value as milkers. The excellency of a dairy cow is estimated by the quantity and quality of her milk. The quan- tity yielded by the Ayrshire cow, is, considering her size, very great. Five gallons daily, for two or three months after calving, may be considered as not more than an average quantity. Three gal- lons daily will be given for the next three months, and one gallon and a half during the succeeding four months. This would amount to more than 850 gallons ; but allowing for some unproductive cows, 600 gallons per year may be the average quantity annually from each cow. Several importations of Ayrshire cattle have been made, and enough of them, we hope, are now among our people to afford a fair trial of their qual- ities, both for milk and beef. There will be^ ten- dency to over-feed, at first, which must be gaurd- ed against, or their true qualities when k-^pt on the common feed of the farms will not be fairly tested. Prince Albert is one of the finest bulls 418 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. we have ever seen, and may be examined at the stable of the proprietor, near the depot in Concord For the New England Farmer. ANALYZING SOILS— FARMING SCI- ENCE, &C. Mr. Editor: — At the present day much is writ- ten and said about analyzing soils on the farm. Some contend that each l)arren field should have its soil analyzed, and then what ingredients are wanting to make it productive might be easily add- ed in the shape of "special manures," and then, as each field could be gone over with, the whole farm would be renovated. While others say that an analysis of soil is very well in its way, and is important, yet no cultivator must expect that from a simple analysis he can go forward and make his barren fields at once highly productive by add- ing a few mineral manures. This latter doct;-ine looks much the most reasonable of the two to any candid, well-meaning, practical cultivator. This bringing upa ''barren field" to a high or good state of cultivation in a few weeks, in the way we have named, is but a humbug, and it is just as well to say so in the first place, as to mince 7nat- ters about it hereafter. All real, substantial farm improvements are brought about gradually, from year to year ; although it is not necessary, always, that a farmer should be a certain number of years in renovating a barren field. Of course much of this vrill .depend on the means, skill and manner in which the farmer manages to bring about the improvement. But the only sure way to have these improvements tliorough is for the farmer to spend a short life in practical labor on the farm, in connexion with a large share of patience, per- severance, cares, troubles and disappointments from all quarters ; if he can live above all these, and still keep his eye on the main chance, im- provement, all will come out right in the end. — But we have plenty of "agricultural chemists" now, who tell us that the best way to improve our worn-out lands is, to send them a specimen of soil for analysis, and they will sell us a special ma- nure which will restore it, and that, too, at a much_ cheaper rate than by the ordinary way of farm improvements. But there seems to be a clashing of ideas among the "chemical manure operators" themselves in this business. Hence we see one of these men advertises the "Superphosphate of Lime," as man- ufactured by him, to be a great fertilzer. Reading on still further down the column, we find another advertisement headed the "Improved Superphos- phate of Lime," which is manufactured by the subscriber at so much per hundred or ton, war- ranted a pure and good article, &c. We have no doubt but this is a very good special manure, if well made. So is Guano, Poudrette, Gypsum, Bone-dust, and many other kinds of these ma- nures. But when the manufacturers of these pa- tent tnanures tell the farmers that for ordinary farming purposes they are cheaper and better than barn-yard manure, they are telling that of which there is no truth in, to say the least of it. While on this point, we cannot do better than to give an extract from the late Prof. Norton's ad- dress before the New York State Society, in 1848. "Jt will have been noticed, perhaps, that I have during all my remarks spoken of inorganic and or- ganic manures as alike necessary ; this may have seemed strange to those who have seen many of the views now entertained by others on these points. No agricultural questions have been more vexed. At first we were required by a high au- thority to fasten our faith upon 'ammonia' alone ; if we succeeded in adding that to the soil, the work was nearly all done. Within the last two or three years, however, a wonderful change has occurred; the same high authority assures us that all our trouble in trying to catch ammonia, our precautions to prevent its escape have been, per- haps, not exactly useless, but rather unnecssary, for inorganic manures are what we want ; ammo- nia is very good, but there is an abundance of it in the soil already. The ammonia theory was very beautiful, and was received with great eagerness, ' but by the time that the mineral manure theory appeared, many had tired of nothing but mineral, others were disappointed in their expectations of success through its use, and all of these turned naturally to the new light. In England, specific mineral manures were patented, which were to work wonders under all circumstances. There was a manure for wheat, one for oats, one for tur- nips, and so on, all infallible. It is just to say that there is no doubt but many of these extrava- gancies were put forth by interested parties in England, witliout the knowledge of the inventor. Tliose who have pieserved the English agricultu- ral papers during the last few years, cannot have failed to perceive how general has been the disap- pointment in the use of these manures, and how much harm has resulted to the cause of rational improvement." Without doubt Prof. Norton had particular re- ference to the great German chemist, Liebig, who was, we beheve, the great author and leader of the ammonia theory, as he is now of the special manure theory. After reading such language, from the source whence it comes, we ask every candid, thinking man or farmer to judge for himself, and see how far it will do to trust these special manures to do up the work of farm improvement. On the point of the analysis of soils. Prof. Norton is equally ex- plicit. In fact, we have no confidence ourselves in farmers turning chemists, or that they can learn to analyze a soil in three or four weeks' practice, nor any thing like it. The analyzing of soils is a nice business, which belongs strictly to the labo- ratory, to the student and practical chemist, of which a two years' course of study and practice is a short time enough for the most quick and expert scholar to make a good and thorough analysis. — And if an analysis is not a thorough and correct one, what is it good for, only to lead the farmer further in the dark. In Prof. Norton's "Elements of Scientific Agriculture and Scientific Farming," in the chapter on Chemical Analyses, he says : "Among all of the subjects that have been pre^ sented to the consideration of fiirmcrs, since the work of agricultural improvement commenced, none has been less understood even by many of those who have pretended to be its expounders, than that of analytical chemistry as applied to agriculture. Many authors and speakers have la- bored to establish it as a fact that there is no diffi- culty in chemical investigations beyond what may be overcome by a few days of study ; thus a large portion of the farming community have been led 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMEH. 419 into the belief that when proper institutions are established, they themselves, or at least their chil- dren, mav in a few weeks' time do all of their own anaWtieal work, just as well as the most accom- pUshed chemist can do it. That such ideas as S esc are totally at variance with the truth none who have ever studied the subject thoroughly can for a moment doubt. It is a perfectly safe con- clusion, when any man asserts, for instance, the entire simplicity and ease of analyzing a soil that his anayses would not be of a very accurate de- scription. Chemistry is a science that must be studied earnestly and perseveringly, just like any other branch of knowledge which has a wide ranse In order to know what is in a soil, and to determine what are the quantities of its constitu- ents an intimate acquaintance is necessary n()t only with the substances themselves in their al- most endless relations and changes, but with great numbers of other substances from which they must be distinguished, and with which they are likely to be confounded by an inexperienced per- son We can determine quantities by means ot certain chemical processes ; most of these depend on the addition of other bodies to a solution in which are dissolved those that we wish to sepa- rate. Suppose now these bodies which are thus added to be impure ; obviously the whole result will be erroneous. The chemist then must know how to distinguish with certainty between pure and impure substances, and to tell what the im- purities are. When he knows all of these things, there are still a great number of minor but very important points, that require attention. He must use absolutely purer water, must filter his liquids through paper that has very little ash, and must wei«-h every thing upon a balance that is sensitive to a" least the tenth of a grain. I might go on and mention other requisites necessary to a good analysis ; but those already noted are sufficient to show that greater care, skill and experience are absolutely essential in this business, that unm- Btructed persons must constantly be making mis- takes of the most flagrant description. The worst difficulty ofcall is, that in many cases not having even knowledge enough to know when ihey have gone astray, they actually rely upon their work as trustworthy, and lead others to do so too. Results produced by such deficients are unhappily too com- mon and are always productive of harm wherever they go. The farmer who knows little or nothing of even chemical names, perhaps is not competent to iudrdinary crops on the gi'ounds of Mr. Mason — particularly rMhba^es, squashes and onions. By some magic or other, his grounds turn out products exceeding anything before vritnessed. I presume this mag- ic arises from the materials collected on the beach near by — unlimited quantities of which come in for his use. Notwithstanding many apologies made for the appearance of his grounds, by reason of a want of sufficient help to look after the weeds at _ the proper time, the crops are luxuriant— the onions, many of them already two inches in diam- eter, and so thick that a dozen or more could be counted in the space of one foot — all as viu;orou8 and healthy as possible. The cabbages bi7l fair to cover the ground completely — scarcely a space occurs through the entire field, in which there will not be a perfect head. Mr. Osbokn's field of onions is more extensive than jMr Mason's, and if I do not mistake, will yield 2000 bushels on his four acres. Mr. Proctor has a field nearly as large. I had no time to examine the crops on the farms of Mr. Felton and Mr. Watkrs. Their barns and stock, are in the best condition. On the fiirm of Mr. Rogers' culture of the first order is to be seen. His field of carrots promises well. His Avorking oxen, three pair, are equal to any others to be found. They cost as I was informed about $200 a pair. I was shown a grass field on this farm, that has yielded 4 tons of hay to the acre, the present season, caused chiefly by the dressing of liquid manure applied — the machine for distributing which, I examined. It consists of a large cask mounted on wheels, into which the liquid is pumped from a cistern, from which it flows into a distributor that scatters it like drops 426 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. of rain, as the wheels pass along. Here is a sav- ing of fertilizing material, not often witnessed. Ten acres or more, were thus enriched on this farm. All the arrangements about the extensive farm of Mr. Rogers, are in the most complete or- der. On the farm of Mr. Waters, I saw a mowing machine, that had been operated a little; laid aside for want of skill in those who worked it. I have good reason to believe, that machines for mowing will ere long be in as common use, as machiues fur raking now are. The corn-fields-, as I passed along, appeared in fine condition. There is no crop, in ray judgment as a whole, superior to Indian corn. The manner in which it leaves the land for other crops, is one of its best features. I felt in duty bound, as I passed, to pay my respects to the venerable pear tree on the Gov. Endicott es- tate, without question more than 200 years old. I found it growing vigorously, some of the branches having extended more than a foot the present season — and all of them being fully laden with fruit; it is indeed a curiosity. I saw also the original stump of the Eppes' sweeting, with a tree growing out of it — but like most other apple trees, it bears no fruit this season. I have rare- ly passed through a section of country, with scen- ery more variegated and beautiful — particularly the views from the summits visited in Danvers and Beverly. The beauty of Mr. Water's position is only sur- passed by the gentlemanly hospitality of its pro- prietor, p. N. B. Mr. Mason, showed me his onli/ cow, an animal of native breed, now about ten years old, of large size and prime condition — whose calf, killed at the age of 3 weeks and 2 days, weighed 168 pounds — from which cow 33 lbs of milk had been taken at a single milking — and 17i lbs of butter made in one week. Such facts need no comment. There may be breeds of cows that do better than this, but I have yet to see them. For the New England Farmer. SALERATUS. Mr. Brown : — I noticed in your August No. of Neio England Farmer, an article on the use of saleratus. I had seen several articles on the same subject elsewhere. They seem to be written by men who are not aware that it is never used by good housekeepers, except in connexion with some acid, which destroys its alkaline properties. In the country, sour milk is much used, and Cream of Tartar has of late come into use exten- sively. The evil is in using too much, i. e. more than sufficient to neutralize the acid. When this is the cage, the bread will be discolored, and smell and taste of saleratus. Bread raised with yeast is, no doubt, healthiest, best, and most economical for common use. But as this is a process requiring usually four or five hours, how shall we "hurry up those cakes," of which our men folks are so fond, without salera- tus? Milk may be used with it, but can hardly " take its place there," as you suggest. Meg. Remarks. — Well, Mistress " Meg," we thank you for your pleasant article above, and are confi dent you are one of the wives that the scripture speaks of as " rising in the morning and looking to the ways of her household." But we shall be obliged to fiill back on our " reserved rights " in this case, and get our loife, who uses little or no saleratus, to tell us how she manages! We will " stake her bread against the world," and invite you to call at River Cottage and test it yourself. For the New England Farrner. OLD FIELDS. An unpromising subject, you will say, Mr. Ed- itor. I grant it, but still argue that it should be discussed. Are you aware what an amount of land in Massachusetts comes under this denomi- nation 1 Suffice to say it is very great. In the old county of Hampshire, are tens of thousands of acres of this character. Land originally produc- tive, though light and sandy, which by continual draining, or perhaps more properly, skimming, haa been so far reduced as to be regarded as almost worthless. These "old fields" are, for the most part, sup- posed incapable of producing anything but rye, and that in very small quantities. The common practice is to sow rye once in three years ; fallow plowing in June, and again plowing and sowing early in September. No grass seed is sown, nor is it expected the ground will produce anything but weeds during the Jtwo intervening years — but seek repose in a short Van Winkle nap. The product varies from five to nine bushels. We will allow seven to be the average, which is liberal. The expense of plowing twice, harrowing and sowing, is at least three dollars. Such land is estimated at from ten to twenty-five dollars per acre. Call the interest sixty cents for three years $1,80. Taxes and fencing, say fifty cents per acre, $1,50. Making an aggregate cost of $6,30 for the production of seven bushels of rye. One bushel of which must be deducted for seed, leaving six bushels, worth, on an average, 5s per bushel=$5, as a return for a cash outlay of six dollars and thirty cents. I allow that the straw will pay for harvesting and threshing, still the cultivator does not get pay for his labor, and would be better off without land. This I call an impoverishing process. It im- poveri,shes both the soil and the tiller. That the cultivator is made poorer, is shown by figures which can't lie. Experience and common sense prove that land will depreciate and be rendered less productive by this process. Let the farmer skin his horse and turn him out to pasture. He may save the hide, but a long time will elapse be- fore he will obtain another, or any service from his horse. A process somewhat analogous is pur- sued by those who crop old fields with rye and nothing but that. Agricultural products have become too valuable in New England to suffer land to remain thus un- productive. The cause of agricultural science de- mands that labor, expended upon the cultivation of the soil, should be remunerative. We hear much said of the old fields in the Southern States, — tracts of land, which, by con- tinuous cropping and bad tillage, have been ren- dered worthless, and turned out as part of the public goose-pasture. We New Englanders regard this as bad hus- 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 427 bandry and bad economy. And I regard as bad economy every system of crojiping which reduces the strength of the soil,— which diminishes the real value of the land. I say system. The removal of a specific crop may exhaust the land more than is equivalent to the manure applied for tliat crop, and the land not bo injured in the long run. But every circle or rotation of crops should leave the land in as good heart, at least, as it finds it. Oth- erwise there is bad husbandry and must be ulti- mate failure. Good teamsters understand that it costs less to keep a horse in good condition than otherwise. — They know also that a horse thus kept will per- form more labor and endure more hardships, and that, too, far more to the satisfaction of his own- er, than one which seems vacillating near the star- vation point, and is permitted to eat only to live and not die. They know, too, that when a horse begins to "run down hill," 'tis hard keeping him back. So of the soil. Newly cleared land, which will produce thirty bushels of rye to the acre, requires no more labor for tillage than the same land will require when so reduced as to produce no more than seven bushels. If there is more profit in raising the former crop than the latter, why will not farmers take the necessary step to secure it ? As in the case of the horse, the soil, when in a good condition, is easily kept so. These need on- ly to supply from year to year the mineral ingre- dient of which the crop has robbed the soil. All the other ingredients necessary to fin-m the pabu lum of plants, the soil, with the combined agen- cy of water, air and caloric, will elaborate for it self. Here we see, Mr. Editor, the necessity of a lit- tle "book knowledge." Thefarmer needs to know what his soil contams, — in what it is deficient, ol what his crop of rye has robbed it. This can be learned only by analysis. But when learned, the remedy is at hand, and can easily be applied. — And when agriculture is conducted with the same regard to economy and thrift as other depart- ments of industry, this will be understood and practised. But to return from this digression to the oil fields. They were compelled to submit to a constant drain, with no means of redress. Soon they were so far reduced as not to be capable (tl producing corn, and rye was thought the onl} cro]^ #iat would pay. Consequently these field,- have long been in the condition of the "poor old horse." It is not that the soil is entirely worn out, that its productive pn)perties have all been exhausted. There is still vegetable mould ; and the pabulum of other plants, than rye, still exist in suflicient quantities. Tliere needs but a husbanding of the resources which abound and a change of crops. It is often easier to locate disease and give it a "name, than to prescribe a remedy. I do not lay claim to superior knowledge in this matter, nor have I had much experience. I will venture, however, a few suggestions, which, if in themselves worthless, may elicit from others in- formation upon this important topic. I. These lands should be properly plowed. Thi.- has seldom been done. The number of farmer.- who plow well, is small indeed. The number i- still smaller of those who pljw old fields properly The belief is common, that these worn-out land; have but little soil, — that that lies near the sur- face and that, in "plowing," care must be used not to disturb the subsoil. The truth lies much deeper. One cause of the deterioration of these lands is improper plowing. I believe in making soil. Let the subsoil, or "yel- low dirt," — be exposed to the sun and rain, — let it absorb the carbun, which is afloat in the at- mosphere, and the other fertilizing elements with which it is charged, and in one year it changes ita cojor and assumes the appearance and actually possesses the properties of vegetable mould. — Hence the importance of deep plowing. And these old fields should be disturbed with a "deep tiller," to the depth of six inches, and then sev- en, and so on to at last ten. Then let the sub- soil plow foUdW. Or, if manure is to be applied, in the first in- stance, in sufficient quantity to secure a crop of corn, let the subsoil be disturbed to the depth of at least twelve inches from the surface. I have said that these exhausted lands might be reclaimed by supplying the mineral substances of wliich they have been deprived ; that the veget;ible would be procured or elaborated by a natural process. Land, from which a heavy growth of pine timber has been removed, will not yield another crop of [lines. But oaks, chestnuts, or some otlier spe- cies will spring up and grow vigorously. Let the mineral ingredients of the pine be supplied, in sufficient quantities, and I suppose a second crop of pines would grow and equal the first. So with these old fields. If you would continue the grow- ing of rye, you must apply lime, potash and phos- phorus, and other minerals which enter into the composition of rye. 2. These fields should be plowed frequently , — plowed, not for the purpose of cropping, but for fertilizing. If light, heat, moisture and atmo- spheric agencies are relied upon to work the change, the soil, and the whole soil must be kept in such a condition that these agencies may act freely. 3d. The products of the soil must be used to en- rich it. One of the most common errors of farm- ers is the cropping of lands to exhaustion. The wool-grower, who in December shears liis sheep, luay save his wool iind get a quick return. But he injures and probably destroys his flock, and in the end sustains a great loss. Not less unwise is the husbandman wlio carefully removes from the soil everything it produces. When in good lieart, lands will make liberal re- turns for all they receive. But when exhausted, when bankrupt, — when they have been "run"' till their vaults are empty, they cannot be expected to make dividends. Tliey must keep what tliey have got and get what they can, or become hope- lessly insolvent. If the merchant were to abstract every dollar he makes in trade, and invest it in real estate, his business would sufler. If wise, he keeps it as a working capital. Let the farmer^mitate his ex- .imple and he will reap a like reward. When he has succeeded in growing alight crop of clover or buckwheat or rye upon this long abused and ex- liausted soil instead of removing it to his barn, let him deposit it, furrow deep just where it grew to be reserved as a working capital. Let every thing which grows from the soil be re- turned to it, and in a short time, "with no outlay 428 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. or expenditures, save the cost of plowing, the use of the land, and a small amount, for some miner- al manures, fertility may be restored. 4. Tillage lands should always be seeded with grass, when suffered to rest. The man, who, after driving a horae hard all day, should take his teeth out and then tie him to a rack, filled with hay, would be denominated both inhuman and unwise. Equally unwise is the cul- tivator, who suffers his land to rest, without the means of deriving nourishment from the great storehouse of fertilizing matters, — the atmosphere. Where muck may be easily obtained; the sa'me result may be secured, by a shorter process. Af- ter plowing, spread a liberal dressing of muck up- on the surfice and pulverize thoroughly with the harrow. Then sow clover seed, rolled in dry ash- es,— ten bushels of ashes to the acre. Plow in the first crop of clover, — sow rye and the last of May following, turn in tlie rye, and plant corn. Should these crude suggestions lead to examina- tion and farther elucidation of this subject, my ob- ject will have been gained. R. B. H. STUBBLE LANDS— THE ROLLER. Lands from which exuberant crops of hay have been taken, ordinarily produce a heavy aftermath, or as it is commonly called ''Fall feed.'" This when the sod is carefully inverted and suffered to decompose, furnishes a most excellent and sal- utary manure. According to some writers who have experimented accurately, an acre of well set grass land contains (after the grass has been cut for hay,) from thirty to forty tons of soluble mat- ter "fit for the food of plants." This, by being turned under after haying, is in a condition to operate a highly salutary influence upon the soil and its subsequent crops. Science has already de- monstrated that no manure which it is within the capacity of man to apply to the soil, is so efficient as that produced by the decomposition of the plants it is required to support. In France, and other countries where the grape is one of the chief staples, the leaves and tendrils of the vine are used, and wheat of the most sur- prising luxuriance is produced by a compost formed of the chaff and straw of that production. When sprinkled on grass, grains of wheat have vegeta- ted and produced sound seed, when simply covered with this "manure,'" and "watered with pure water." In the case of turning in stubble, the laws of chemistry act with the greatest facility, and produce, without any extraneous assistance, the accomplishment of all the important results affected by the best manure. A field that has be- come so far exhausted as to require manuring, harrowed and smved with grass seed, without the impoverishing effect of an intervening crop of roots or grains, would be at once iTCstored and made ca- pable of the production of good and remunerating harvests for a period of several years. This practice has already been extensively adopt- ed among us, and with satisfactory results. It is true, that in consequence of the practice of "lone cropping," some fields are so far exhausted as to be able to produce enough to repay the cost of turning down. On this subject a late writer re- marks : — "There are some hay fields, however, the vege- table matter contained in which, would be found scarcely sufficient to remunerate one for the cost of turning it in. On light, thin, and exhausted, or "worn out" lands, this is often the case. Yet even such lands, (however weakening may have been the system of cropping previously pursued,) are by no means undeserving of regard. It is bad policy to neglect land simply because it has been neglected. If I have a poor field, which, instead of droducing enough*to pay the expense of carrying it on, annually runs me in debt, my own interest demands that I immediately set about its improve- ment, and that I endeavor to effect this by the adoption of some method that, without involving too heavy an outlay ,will ultimately secure the de- sired end. Rather than permit the soil to contin- ue longer in this expensive, exhausted, and emas- culate condition, I should disburse liberally, for Hke bad habits in a man, the evil., instead of di- minishing, will increase the longer it is indulged. By turning in, therefore, whatever they have vigor to produce, I necessarily augment the productive- ness of such soils ; and if the texture be of a light, calcareous description, the roller should be applied. The application of this instrument, indeed, is in- dispensable, in order to consolidate, and give firm- ness to the constituent particles which otherwise would remain too loose and porous to permit the ready decomposition of the substances turned in. This operation also facilitates, in a very important degree, the salutary influences resulting to the soil from the ameliorating agencies of irosts and rains ; — a body, the atoms of which exist in a state of extreme compression, being much more efficiently operated on by these principles, than one whose constituent corpuscles exist in astate of separation, or farther apart." "All kinds of lands," says Von Thaer, in his principles of Agriculture, have a tendency to ag- glomerate, or become too close, either in conse- quence of the attraction of cohesion of their parti- cles, or of the pressure exercised on them by the atmosphere. The more argillaceous (clayey,) a soil is, the greater is the consistence and agglo- meration. But most of the plants I cultivate, are unable to penetrate so hard a soil, or to derive from it the nourishment requisite for their support. It is, therefore, necessary that the soil should be loosened by some mechanical process ; and this should be done as perfectly as possible, in order that rich vegetation may be produced, and all the nutritive matters contained in the ground be placed within the reach of the roots of the plants. In order to effect this, it is necessary that the lay- ' er of vegetable earth should be pulverized till not a clod or lump be left. The fibrous roots of plants do not penetrate these clods ; all they can do is to wind themselves around them, and consequent- ly, clods of earth scarcely yield more nutriment than stones." 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 429 In selecting hay seed, great care is requisite to prevent deception. Much of the clover seed now retailed, is damaged by fermentation. Seed "got out" in a proper condition, if "packed" or stored in large masses, always undergoes a process which, if not actually fatal to the germinating principle, at least greatly diminishes its vigor. A healthy and vigorous plant can only spring from a healthy and vigorous seed. For the Neio England Farmer. MONTHLY FARMER FOR AUGUST. For our bird's-eye view of the contents of this number, we propose to attempt an arrangement by subjects. First then, in alphabetical as well as numerical order, belongs what is said of AUGUST. Editorial observations on the characteristics of the month, with regrets that the merry-making? with which our ancestors celebrated the close of harvest-time, are not observed by us. Followed by hints for the month on the turnip crop, re- claiming meadows, grapes, grains, celery, budding, muck, &c. BUTTER. " How is it produced 1 " The writer doubts the ability of any butter-maker in the State to answer the question, and he wants some chemist to do it. Chaptal, he says, dodges it. Perhaps he did not know. Chemists don't know every thing. The $10,000 offered by the State for the " application of science " to the cause and remedy of the potato- rot, is yet in the treasury ! while the insiduous disease, nothing daunted, is still doing its fatal work, mysteriously alike to the learned Professor and the unlearned Plowboy. CULTIVATION. " Swamps — di-aining." On land drained by the Editor, according to the directions of this article, three tons to the acre of herdsgrass, red-top and clover, were harvested this year, whei'e one ton of meadow grass, skunk cabbage, hardback and hassock grass grew two years ago I " " The Drought " does not injure thoroughly cultivated land. ." Hoeing Corn," the more the better; but we are cautioned against " Hilling Plants," be- cause nature don't. But nature does mulch; how far is this an argument for hilling? " Much labor on little land " recommended, and an instance of the " Effects of deep Plowing " in Maine is given, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. " Down East," by Mr. Taylor, gives us infor mation on raising oats, and on various other farm- ing matters, in New Brunswick. In addition to the reply of the Editor to Mr. T.'s inquiries in relation to threshing clover seed, I will say that years ago I saw a mill for this purpose, in which been first separated from the haulm or straw. We have here also a flattering notice of " Agri- culture in France ; " and " A Residence in China'' gives us some queer things about the Celestials ; but the question asked some time ago in the Farmer, How do the Chinese preserve the fertility of their soill is not answered. Pity there are so few farmers among the multitude of Americana abroad. FRUIT. An inquiry for information on raising and iin- proving our " Indigenous Fruits and Shrubs," has called out a very able reply ; in eonnectiofl with which the article on " Cross Fertilization " should be read. We have also an article on the " Effect of high Culture on Fruit Trees," a notice of a " Rare and Pleasant Book," printed in 1631 ; In- stances and theory of " Girdled Apple Trees" living after the bark was removed for the space of five inches; a picture, description, and recom- mendation of " The Black Tartarean Cherry ; " and in the article, " Apple trees killed by Potash," are suggestions and facts in relation to other washes. GARDEN. " History and Culture of the Mignonette ; " Report of the "Horticultural Exhibition at Con- cord, Mass. ; " A pleasant article on the "Use of Flowers " — their being placed in church is new to us ; with Figures and description of " Pruning Shears." GRAIN. " Ergot in Rye" — an account of a paper on this subject, read before the French Academy of Science. HAT. The haying season being over, we find but little on this topic, except some remarks on "Hay Caps." IMPLEMENTS. A cut and description of a simple apparatus for " Raising Water by Wind ; " " Pruning Shears " illustrated and described ; " Cross-cut Feed Cut- ter," about to be made by Mr. Ferry; "The Wheel Hoe " recommended; and some hints on " Good Tools for Boys," from which I must quote one sentence : — " If you wish to discourage your boys, and drive them off to the city, to sea, to California, give them rusty hoes, broken shovels, dull scythes, &c., to work with." The various articles on this subject, in the num- ber before us, are worth the subscription price of the Farmer for a year to every person who cultivates a single plant or tree, or who has a spark of curi- osity for the " little folk " of the animal kingdom. On the " Palmer Worm," or " New Insect," we find communications from Professor Harris, Cam- bridge ; II. M. Stimpson, Saxonville ; R.C.Stone, Sherburne ; S. G. E., Chester ; J Lake, Topsfield ; the work was done by water-power. I can give'B. M., York Co., Me., and remarks by the editor no description of it, further than to say, it was aiAn article by Mrs. DarUng, New Ha\en, Ct., and cheap, simple machine, fitted up I think in a saw-ione copied from the Maine Farmer, charging in mill l)uilding, and, like it, served a whole neigh borhood. A shaft faced with sheet iron, punched like a grater, two or three feet wide, and perhaps twice as deep, played up and down, nearly in contact with a similar stationai-y grater-plate. Between these two rough surfaces the seed was rapidly and effectively " threshed," after having sects with producing the black knot in plum trees, are certainly interesting if not conclusive. The ladies will thank the Editor for an infallible pro- tection against " The Moth." Tlie " Rose Bugs," and other insects injurious to vegetation, the wri- ter thinks may be greatly tlnnned off by a union of effort for their destruction on the part of those 430 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. interested. I have sometimes thought one design of insect depredations is to teach man humility — to show him the weakness of his power, the fool- ishness of his wisdom, the fallibility of his sci- ence. One year, for instance, the grasshopper may be a burden — literally swarming in our fields, and filling every square foot of the soil with their eggs. But in lace of your mathematical demon- strations that millions must cover the land next year, there may not be a dozen found on a ten- acre lot. " Is the mole a devourer of vegetables ? " The writer says " No ; he lives on earth worms." " Entomological Discovery " — to destroy the nit of the Curculio. MANURES. Hints on " Composting," by 11. F. French ; Effects of Potash as a " Special Manure for Grapes ; " different kinds of " Manure for laying down Grass Lands ; " inquiries about " Limefirom Gas Works; " " Barn Cellars, Restorative Gases, and other Speculations," by Silas Brown. MECHANICS. Mr. Pei'cival, Veterinary Surgeon of the Royal Artillery, Dublin, points out several pernicious " Practices in Shoeing Horses " that smiths often fall into, and gives many practical hints on the subject. Appended to the article on " Raising Water by Wind," are some suggestive remarks on agricultural mechanics. PRESERVING TIMBER. A communication of facts, showing the practi- cal value of the process of " Kyanizing." The timber used last year in rebuilding the Lowell R. R. bridge over Charles river was, I believe, sub- jected to this process. John Reynolds, agent Vermont Copperas Company, give's a statement of the preservative qualities of Copperas, that may prove of great importance. ROOTS. A well written article on the " Culture and value of the Parsnip." SCIENTIFIC. This proves a troublesome "heading." Of the ninety distinct articles in this single number of the Farmer, there is scarcely one that is not more (jr less tinctured with science. Which, then, shall enjoy the distinction of scientific ? I have placed those here which do not appropriately belong to any of our other captions. I could tliink of no better rule. " Lnjjortance of the Leaf to the Plant," and "Circulation of Sap," treat of the growth of plants, and must prove interesting to thinking, inquisitive farmers, although the writer of the latter article says, " There are very serious difficulties attending any theory which has under- taken tn provide fur the circulation of fluids in vegetables." Some account of the newly-estab- lished " New York State Agricultural College," and an exhortation to the Massachusetts B >ard of Agriculture, as "a class of men, hopeful and courageous because they have clear, comprehensive, and wtll defined views of what can be beneficially done in the way of agricultural education," to abandon their " mere discussions," and proceed at once to give " life and an active practical use- fulness to an agricultural College" in Massachu- setts. Illustrating in a familiar manner several scientific principles, we find an article with the caption " How the water boiled away from th.e Potatoes." SETTING POSTS — FRONT FENCES — ALDERS. The inquiries of a correspondent fur information on these topics, has occasioned a pretty full dis- cussion— the views and suggestions of five or six writers being given in this number. STATE INSTITUTIONS. On this subject we find two short communica- tions. STOCK. "Cows and Tar" — a remedy for the garget. The use of collodion recommended "to prevent Cows shedding Milk," and to cure sore teats. " Cows holding up their Milk" cured by putting a weight upon the back. Illustration of the " French Buck Matchless." What a sheep ! THE SEASON. " Prospects of the Season," in New Hampshire, by A. G. Comings; and in Massachusetts, by the Editor. WARTS. Recipes for curing warts. We once dislodged a numerous company from our hand by occasion- ally putting a very little spirits of turpentine around the roots of the "old seeder," whose great length exposed it to so frequent rubs as to be kept sore, until it was finally extracted. The small fry, following the footsteps of their illus- trious predecessor, soon disappeared. WEEDS. A valuable editorial on the subject ; a descrip- tion of a new weed in New Hampshire ; and a sure method of destroying " Canada thistles " in one season. Even the foregoing comprehensive summary leaves on hand several articles, that do not seem to belong to either of our divisions, but which have a good claim to especial notice. Auumg them are, " What Farmers most need ; " Statistics of" Agriculture in New Hampshire ; " on "Trim- ming Pine Trees ; " " Saleratus " injurious to health ; " Monthly Farmer for July ; " " Com- munication of Ideas among Cattle; " " Fable of the Rain Drop," and articles appropriate to the Ladies" and to the Boys' Departments. }A'inchister, Aug., 1853. A Reader. For the New England Ftirmer. TOMATOES. Mr. Editor : — For several years past, I have been in the habit of trimming up my tomato vines pretty closely. After as much fruit is set as will ripen before frost, I go among thera with a pair f shears, cutting off the tops and all young shoots, to prevent any more fruit being formed. In this way they grow larjjer, fairer, and ripen much earlier, as I think. Without this thinning out, the sun's rays can hardly reach them through the rank growth of leaves. I have recommended this plan to sjme of my neighbors, but as they have seen nothing of the kind " in the books," they cannot venture to cut off " such beautiful I tranches, " though they see my tomatoes ripe one or two weeks earlier than any in the neighbor- hood. Now, Mr. Editor, if you think I am right, just give this a little corner in the New England Fanner, and my neighbors will receive it as " by authority." Meg. 1853. NEW ENGLAND J Committee. SIMON BROWN, Concord. ) July 23, 1653. 6w 438 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Sept. Fishkill Landing Mrsery. 2i MILES NORTH FROM THE NEWBURGH FERRY. THE subscriber respectfully solicits the atten- tion of Fruit GnowEns and dealers in Fruit Trees, to his large slock for sale this fall, consist- ing of FORTY THOUSAND APPLE TREES, ^^^^^^ of the most aijproved varieties, 6 to 10 feet high, at'l* cents each, or $12 per hundred. TWENTY THOUSAND PEAR TREES, embracing all the varieties in general cultivation, 5 to 7 feet hioh, 30 cents each, on Pear stocks. On quince the trees are ve'ry thrifty, and include, in addition to the leading stanilard sorts, many of the new varieties cf recent introduction, which promise well. THIRTY THOUSAND CHERRY TREES, two to three years old, of nearly all the popular kinds in cul- tivation -—Dwarfs, on Mahaleb stocks, of the choicest varie- ties, can also be supplied, 6 to 8 feet high, §18 to $30 per hun- dred. TWENTY THOUSAND PLUM TREES, of the most highly esteemed sorts, 34 cents each, $30 per hun- dred ; Trees thrifty, pretty, and of fine size. A large stock of Apricot, mostly on Plum stocks, at $30 on Plum, $12,50 on Peach, per hundred. THIRTY THOUSAND PEACH TREES, of the most valuable standard varieties, one to two yeiirs growth on the inoculation, 10 cents each, $8 per hundred. No peach pits are planted but from a district where the "Yel lows " has not yet made its appearance. The stock of Isabella and Catawba Crape Vines is very large, two to four years old, with line roots ; having been an- nually cut back, they are in fine condition for vineyard plant- ing—$10 to $16 per hundred. TWO THOUSAND QUINCE TREES, mostly of the Apple variety ; Currant and Raspbeiry bushes. Strawberry plants. Hybrid Perpetual and other Roses, &c.&c. FIFTY THOUSAND Deciduous and Evergreen Ornament- al Trees, suitable for Lawns and Avenues, many of which are of large size and fine form — among which are 10,000 Arborviia>, ij feet to 5 feet high, $12 to $-30 per hundred. (Not from the State of Maine.) EIGHTEEN THOUSAND Balsam Fir, l.J to 5 feet high, at from $15 to 30 per hundred— together with Norway Spruce, Native Spruce, Scotch, Austrian and Weymouth Pines, Ju- nipers, Deoaar Cedar, Cedar of Lebanon, English and Irish Yew, &c. FIVE THOUSAND Red Cedars, of suitable size for screens. The most highly prized varieties of the Apple, Peach, Pear, Plum, Apricot, Cherry, &c., which have recently originated in this country and Europe, have been procured as early as practicable, and tested, or are in the course of being tested, on the grounds of the proprietor. The new and rare Deciduous *^nd Evergreen Ornamental Trees are annually imported, of which fine plants can be furnished. 4,000 seeding Oaks and Elms, imported four years since, are among the Deciduous Trees, many of them very remarkable in their growth and up- pearanue. The past summer has been favorable, and trees of every des- cription have made a fine growth. The Nursery is located within 21 miles of the Hudson River Railroad Depot, at Fishkill Landing. Steamboats run daily to New York and Albany, from Newburgh. Trees, &c., when ordered will be taken up carefully, cor- rectly labelled, packed in the best manner, forwarded agreea- ble to order, and with the least possible delay. Charges for packing made only to cover cost. Catalogues sent in exchange for a letter stamp. DANIEL BRINCKERHOFF. Fishkill Landing, N. Y , Aug. 18, 1853. Sijper-Pliospliate of Lime, IN bags and barrels, made by C D. DeBURG, a warranted pure and genuine article, with full directions for use. For sale by GEO. DAVENPORT, 5 Commercial, corner of Chat- ham St., Boston, agent for the manufacturer, Also, for sale, Ground Bone, Bone Dust, Burnt Bone, Gua- no, and Grass Seeds of reliable quality. March 26, 1853. tf* Garden Seeds. WE respectfully solicit the attention of purchasers of GAR DEN SEEDS to our extensive stock, which we offer foj sale. We have all the sorts of Vegetable Seeds that havt proved worthy of cultivation; also. Grain, Grass and Flowei Seeds. All the varieties are raised and selected expressly for our trade, and we do with confidence recommend them to all 'who desire to procure seeds that will prove true to their names. XT Catalogues gratis, on application. RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO., Jan. 1. Over Uuincy Market, Boston. Highland Nurseries, Newburgli, NEW YORK. A. SAUL & CO., in calling the attention of their patrons and public in general to their very extensive stock of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. &c., which they offer for sale the __ coming autumn, would remark, that owing to the past summer being one of the n)ost favorable for the growth of trees which they have had for many years in this ' vicinity, their slock of trees and plants in every department is large, more thrifty, and in every respect y?ner than usual. To particularize within the limiis of an advertisement would be impossible ; they therefore rekr planters and deal- ers in trees to iheir Catalogue, a copy of which will be sent to dWpost paid applicants, on enclosing a Post Office stamp for the same. They invite especial attention to their slock of Standard and Dwf. Pear Trees, which are unusually fine ; also Cherry Trees, as well as Plum, Peach, Apricot ar,d Nectarine ; also Crape Vines, Gooseberrries, Currants, Raspberries, Strawber- ries, &c., in every known variety. 500,000 very strong two year old Osage Orange Plants, in three sizes, at ten, eight, and six dollars per It 00. Together with Buckthorn Plants, Arbor Vita;, Arc. Highland Nurseries, Newburgh, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1853. 2t THE BOSTON AND WORCESTER EAGLE DOUBLE PLOWS. THE superior merits of these Plows, consist in, 1. The mode of attaching the forward mould-board to the beam, by which great strength and durability are secured, as also the various desirable changes in depth of work, and rela- tive depth of each plow, the same being regul-ated to any shade of nicety, with perfect facility. 2. The entire and handsome overturning of the sod furrow, by the forward mould-board, to the extent of the whole width of furrow taken by ihe plow, placing it beneath, out of the way of the teeth of the harrow, cultivator, or other imple- ment, so that it is in no case dragged to the surface in the af- ter-cultivation of the crop: 3. The thorough and finished work done by the rear mould- board, in taking up its furrow of under soil and sifting or scat- tering it over the inverted sod, so as to entirely fill to the sur- face, and at the same time break open any undue cohesion oi the soil, leaving the plowed land in a finely pulverized condi- tion, requiring little labor with the harrow or other surface- working instrument,— and indeed, in all tolerably free loams, rendering the use of these instruments, as pulverizers, quite unnecessary: 4. The remarkably light draught of the plow, in proportion to the amount of work and the thoroughness of pulverization accomplished. Several sizes of the BOSTON & WORCESTER EAGLE DOUBLE PLOW, are made by the subscribers, from patterns of their own original invention. They invite their friends and customers to examine these Plows, as to quality and durabil- ity of material, thoroughness and finish of construction, and to test.their working properties. Manufactory at Worcester, and VVarehouse Quincy Hall, over the Market, Boston. RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON &;CO. April 30, 1S53. Cliiircli and Barn Yanes. THE Vane as used on either churches or barns combines both usefulness and ornament. The subscriber ha* had many years' experience in the making of V.anes, and has man- ufactured a large number which have given uniform satisfac- tion. His patlerns have been procured *it much pains and expense, and embrace quite a variety of those most approved and sought after. His construction of Vanes is under his own eye and of the best and most durable material, copper only being used. Those in want of Vanes for either churches or barns, are invited to make trial of those made by the subscri- ber. On the score of expense, strength and beauty, they will be found to be what is required. I. S. TOMPKINS, 54 (formerly 21) Union, near Hanover St., Boston. May 21, 1853. 6mr 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 439 The Farmers' Library. JUST RECEIVED, the lollowiiig assortment of Agricultural and irorticultural Books, embracing the standarii works of eminent American and European writers, on the Farm, thi Orchard, the Garden, &c, &c. PRICK American Farm Book, by Allen, ®''5lc Farmer's Treasure, by Faulkner and Smith, 75 Dana's Muck Manual, 1)0C Prize Essay on Manures, by Dana, 25 American Muck Book, by Browne, 1,25 Lectures on Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, 75 Elemtuts of Scienlilic Agriculture, by Norton, 50 .Piinciples of Agriculture, by Thaer, 2,50 Practical Agriculture, by Johnstone, 75 Agriculture for Schools, by Blake, 1,00 Catechism of Agriculture and Chemistry, by John- stone and Norton, 25 American Agriculturist, by Allen, 1,0C Liebig's Complete Work on Chemistry, 1,00 Farmer's and Emigrant's Hand Book, by Marshall, 75 Home for all, by Fowler, 50 Book of the Farm, by Stephens and Skinner, 4,00 Cottage and Farm Houses, by Downing, 2,00 Downing's Country Houses, 4,0f Rural Architecture, by Allen, 1,25 Downing's Landscape Gardening and Rural Archi- tecture, 3,50 Downing's Cottage Residences, 2,0C Fruit Garden, by Barry, 1,2'> Complete Gardener and Farmer, by Fessendea, 1,25 Bridgenian's Gardener's Assistant, 2,00 Bridgeman's Kitchen Gardener's Instructor, 50 American Fruit Culfurist, by Thomas, 1,00 Gardener and Complete Florist, 25 Florist's Guide, by Bridgemau, 5C New England Fruit Book, by Ives, Youatt and Martin on Cattle, by Stevens, 1,2' Rose Culturist, 3£ Johnson's Gardener's Dictionary, by Landreth, 1,5' Rural Economy, by Boussiugault, l,Oi American Rose Culturist, it Bigelow's Plants of Boston, 1,2^ Genera of Plants of the U. S., by Gray, 2 vola. 12,0( Gray's Botany, 2,00 Parnell's Chemistry, 1,00 New England Farmer, by Cole, 1,0C Ladies' Guide and Skilful Housewife, by Mrs. Abel, 25 Hive and Honey Bee, by Richardson, 25 Bee Keeper's Manual, by Miner, 50 Bird Fancier, by Browne, paper 25 centa, 50 Townley on Bees, 5( American Poultry Yard, by Browne, 1,00 Americ-in Poulterers' Companion, by Bement, l,0l' American Fowl Breeder, by Moore, 25 American Herd Book, by Allen, 3,00 American Shepherd, by Morrill, 1,00 Domestic Animals, by Allen, 75 Diseases of Animals, by Cole, 50 Hints to Sportsmen, by Lewis, 1,25 Dadd's Anatomy and Physiology of the Horse, 1.00 Mason's Farrier and Stud Book, by Skinner, 1,26 Management of Sheep, by Canfield, 1,00 Yowatt on the Pig, 6'. Knowlson's Complete Cow Doctor, 26 Horse Doctor, 25 Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows, 36 Treatise on Hot Houses, by Leuchara, 1,00 Allen on the Grape, 1,25 Schenck's Text Book, 50 Breck's Book of Flowers, 75 Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees, 1,50 For sale at the Publishers' prices by RUGGLES, N0UR8 MASON &. Co., Quincy Hall, (over the Market,) Boston. Jan. 1, 1S53. tf* ^^^.. English FSiicy Lop-ear Rabbits. THE undersigned will be happy to show a choice lot of im ported Lop-eared Ratibiln, to gentlemen interested, at his residence in Melrose. This stock is from the best in England, and WIS selected with care. I have a few young Rabbits for sale, which willbe ready to deliver in July and August. Address, GEO. P. BURNHAM, Box 22, Postofiice. Boston, June 11, 18o3. 4w'3 Fjirm in Westhoro', Mass., For sale or exchange, for Boston projierly, sit uated on the old Grafton road, within J mile of the Railroad Depot, containing 27 acres of as 2y hanging them up in rooms where they will not freeze. They surely rot if laid in a mass, touching each other. Pumpkins may be packed in straw or hay in warm barns and kept a long time without freezing, and then make a change of food for milch cows which they highly relish. Seeds. — Too much care cannot be taken to pre- serve the best seeds for future planting, and have them placed where they will be free from the dep- redations of mice, and from dampness. It is a poor time to hunt up seeds and decide what it is best to sow and plant after the soil is ready for the seed. Timber and Fuel. — It is said that timber and fuel cut from July to November is more valuable than if prepared at any other season. Hpsking. — This work is toooftendonein a care less and slovenly manner. The tips and butts of the ear should be taken off, as well as the silks To do this work well, pays well in the end. — Large quantities of corn piled in the barn at once, are liable to heat, and injure the grain. It is much less liable to hurt in the field. October is one of the most delightful months of our. climate. No blight has fallen upon the crops to make futile the labors of the farmer's hands, and amid the ingathering of the bountiful products of the year, he ought to possess a con stantly greatful heart, and realize a great deal of enjoyment. For the Neiv England Farmer. .NORTHERN APPLES. Mr. Editor : — At the State Fair recently held at Montpelier, several varieties of apples which were new to me were presented by Mr. Bailey, of Plattsburgh , N. Y., a gentleman of much ur- banity, and of great intelligence in all matters re- lating to the growing of fruit. Perhaps your read- ers are better acquainted with them than I am. But they seemed to me worthy of a passing no- tice. The Bailey Spice, a seedling which Mi*. Bailey has introduced, is a beautiful white apple, with furrows running from the stem to the calyx, of medium size, sprightly, pleasant, comes to maturi- ty about the last of September, a fine apple for the table and for cooking. The Champlain is a smaller white apple. The flesh is white and delicate, of agreeable flavor. The Sally Autumn, a delicate light red apple, ta- pering towards the calyx, ripe in October. The Walworth, a small white apple, with a rich blush on one side, and the St. Laivrence, a good sized apple, green, with a few red stripes near the stem, rather tart for a table apple, but juicy, and good for cooking, hardj and a good bearer. He had al- BO some fine specimens of the Alexander, an apple I think already known to our nurserymen — a large, fine looking red apple, and the Rosseau, which I need not describe. The first four varie- ties seem to me worthy of attention. I think if introduced into our gardens, they would become larger under the influence of our more genial cli- mate. The Bailey Spice would probably reach maturity early in September, as it would blossom somewhat earlier with us, and would prove a fine fixll apple. Pei'haps it would equal the Porter, which it somewhat resembles. At any rate, ii would increase the number of our fine autumnal apples ; I have engaged some grafts for next spring. Mr. B. will supply all orders for them. Yours, &c., J. R. Concord, Sept. 24. For the New England Farmer. LYNN HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION. Friend Brown: — Lynn has become proverbial for its enterprise in the department of Shoes, of ev- ery grade and size. You may go east or west, north or south ; from the Atlantic to the Pacific — Flori- da to the Provinces ; and the name of Lynn is as familiar as household words ; Moll Pitcher, and her mysterious acts, are famous in story and song ; and who has not heard of '■'■High Rock V Still, there are other things in which ij/^^n is not behind the times ; it is in her fine schools and beautiful gardens. The first, to raise plants of "rertojA'w," the other to please the eye, and gratify the sense and taste. Last evening, I had the extreme pleasure of attending one of those exhibitions of fruits and fiowers, (so common at the present time,) at Exchange Hall. The fruit and flowers exhibited, were the productions of the gardens in this City, and under the direction of the Horticul- tural Society. Among the managers are the names of B. F. INIuDGE, Ex-Mayor of this city, Ebenezer Brown, Rev. Mr. Shackford, Otis Johnson, Rob- ert Bartlett, and H. A. Breed. H. A. Breed had 42 varieties of pears, and other choice fruit and flowers. B. Brown had 40 varieties of pears and 24 kinds of apples. Otis Johnson had 24 kinds of pears, and other choice fruit. Rev. Mr. Shackford had a good assortment of apples ; pears, peaches, quinces, &c. Otis Johnson had a large variety of rare fruit. Robert Bartlett had some fine Seckel pears, the largest I have ever seen, also grapes, peaches, pears, flowers, &c. The whole afiPair was well got up, and spiced by the presence of a large number of ladies. This looks well for this young city — may prosperity attend her in the future. Sept. 17th, 1853. J. Robinson. English Horses. — Horses in England are dete- riorating ; as a race, they are growing more del- icate. At the military encampment at Cobham, the horses are carefully housed ; whereas in former times, they could do very well in the open air. Modern English horses are also liable to have sore backs after a short march, and they are so weak in the legs that a number of such marches would soon produce lameness. The useful class of horses which formerly supplied the cavalry no longer ex- ists. Breeders confine themselves to raising thor- ough-breds for the turf, to cart-horses, harness- horses, and hunters. J^" lu some parts of London, land is valued at the rate of two million dollar* an acre. 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 443 For the New Eni^land Farmer. "OLD FIELDS." Messrs. Editors : — Your correspondent R. B. H. in the N. E. Farmer 20th of August, expresses a correct idea of the land called "old fields" at the present day, and the bad treatment they have re- ceived from their owners. These old fields were considered the best land by the first settlers ; they most readily yielded the important articles which constitute the "staff of life." If they could talk, it would be on this wise to the proprietors : "you have shown partiality; you have bestowed labor and manure on lands less deserving than we are, because they were obstinate and would not pro- duce without; while we were ever obedient and freely yielded our utmost mite for your benefit, without manure or much labor ; and now, because we cannot do more, you despise us and show your ingratitude by giving us a bad character and be- stowing all your favors on hard, stony, cold lands you could not coax nor drive to produce a crop without manure and an abundance of labor ; whereas, if you had treated us so and not slighted and starved us, but had bestowed upon us the same amount of manure and half the labor, we should have continued to reward you with as val- uable, if not better crops, to this day, than your favorites, mud, clay and stones." I have had an opportunity to be acquainted with the use, and have seen the abuse of "old fields" or pine plains ; it was my lot to be born on old fields; I received my nourishment from old fields, and a plenty of it too, and grew six feet high on old fields, and was educated on old fields, as any one would readily suppose by reading this. The times have strangely altered since the war of 1812 ; corn and rye were dear and labor cheap, during a period of twenty years or more dating from 1792. Rye, if I remember aright, averaged as high as $1,25 or $1,50 a bushel from that time till 1820 ; it sold at f 2,50 in the time of the last war with England,and in the years 1836 and 1837 it sold for $2 or more a bushel, so that skinning old fields in those days was a kind of necessary evil. At the above named periods farmers in New England were compelled to raise their own bread stuff; very few were able to eat wheat flour brought from the West, it being proportionably dear, which made the skinning of old fields a more excusable business than at the present day. When a man's labor was worth but 75 cents a day and rye worth $1,25 or $1,50 a bushel, there was an inducement to encourage the farmers to raise Tye ; but now la- bor is worth a dollar a day and rye but 83 cents, the farmer can sell his time at a higher price than he would get by continuing t]ie process of skin- ning old fields. At the former period spoken of above, it was difficult for a farmer to fi^d employ- ment off from his own farm ; and if he could it was more difficult to get cash pay ; and he could do better at raising rye on old fields, even at 7 bush- els to the acre, than doing nothing. Now he had better convert his old fields into sheep-pastures or woodlots than raise rye upon them at the high price of labor and the low price of rye. Summer fallow- ing was formerly practised in Middlesex, as now stated to be the case by R. B. H, in Hampshire County; but the practice has been abandoned for years by many of the rye producers here, because frequent plowings they consider injures light soils by exposing them so much to the weather that the fertilizing principles in the soil are dissipated. The most successful method of raising rye on old fields that I have witnessed, and least injurious to the soil, is to plow the ground well in June when the full coat of grass and weeds have at- tained a good growth, then not disturb it again till the middle or last of August, then sow from 16 to 24 quarts of rye to the acre, which is a plen- ty for old fields, and a bushel of red-top seed; then harrow with an iron harrow well both ways, and smooth off with the bush harrow. The March fol- lowing sow any quantity of clover seed on top of a light snow. It is an object of importance on such land to start a coat of some kind of herbage which goes far towards restoring it to a state of fertility ; the naked soil exposed to the drying winds and scorching rays of the sun will not im- prove much in value. On this plan I have raised 15 or more bushels of good rye to the acre on old fields. These old fields ought to rest more than three years between cropping,everyseventhyeari3 often enough to skin them unless manure can be applied. I cannot recommend the above system of farming, where a better one can be adopted. I was told yesterday by a man from Connecticut, that a farmer there bought a large tract of old, worn out fields of the worst description for five dollars an acre, and by sowing seed and plowing in herbage, he restored it to such a state of fertility that it produced fine crops and was worth fifty dollars an acre ; this man was an eye-witness to what he re- lated to me. It strikes me that such a course of enriching land must be more economical than buy- ing manure at the customary price. While the farmer is plowing in the green crops, his land is rising in value probably to the amount of what he would derive from the crops on the same land ma- nured in the same amount of time. I think old fields may be much improved without manure by a judicious system of management; plowing in any of the natural herbage of the soil is better than nothing. All kinds of grass and weeds, as well as clover and buckwheat, derive a great part of their sub- stance from the nutritive gases of the air, which plowed in at a proper time, will fertilize the soil. I believe that old fields in different locations of the State require different fertilizing materi- als. Gypsum and lime seem to be useless in this neighborhood, but in some other sections of the State the best results have followed their use. I have found mud, ashes and coal dust excellent ap- plications to my light land for the production of corn and rye. I concur withR. B. H. in his opin- ion in regard to rotation and making a deep soil by gradually deeper plowings and exposing earth to the sun that never felt its influences before. These old fields have experienced the blighting curse of thoughtless man's cupidity, and restoring them to fertility again is all up-hill work, but science can accomplish it, and at the same time remunerate the skilful cultivator for his labor. Old fields so much despised will compare with a benevolent class of people who give away all they have, and for a com- pensation, are rewarded with a privilege and the honor of a seat in the poor-house. If they had been so obstinate that they would not have produced without manure at first, they, some of them, would have ranked with our best lands at the present time. 444 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Oct. Every observing farmer who has seen much of the world has seen the advantages and disadvan- tages of the different kinds of soils ; he has seen a great variety which are denominated old 6elds; some loamy and fine, some coarse and gravelly; the lofty cliffs, there is a curious recess, called the Swallow's Cave. Great numbers of swallows in- habit this cavern in the summer season, and build their nests in the upper part. The Chimney Swallow attached its nest to the some a loose quicksand to a great depth, which I, inside of hollow buttonwoods, and other trees. — should advise no man to cultivate where land is' At the present day, in the fir countries at the cheap ; the expense of carting on clay and other materials to enrich and restore this leachy kind of land would be more than it would be worth when done. Let such land be planted with pine trees. On the other hand he has seen a great variety of the heavy, strong soils, some fine and productive, some coarse, stony and cold, some with too much clay ; I have seen hundreds of acres of handaome- ly located land in the county of Esses covered with kill-lamb, forming a complete contrast with the leachy quicksand, and like self-righteousness, the less a man has of it the better he is off, unless he can reclaim it by trenching, or with the subsoil plow ; manure has done but little good on it, where I have seen it applied. Silas Brown. Wilmington, August, 1853. For the New England Farmer. BIRDS OP NEW ENGLAND. THEIR PAST AND PRESENT HISTORY No. 6. BY S. P. FOWLER. THE SWALLOW TRIBE. We are now about to describe a class of birds, on many accounts, interesting to the cultivators of the soil. They are all insectiverous, never dis- turbing the crops of the farmer, or the fruit of the horticulturist. But perhaps we should make one exception to the general .good character of the swallow tribe, when we come to speak of the Pur- ple Martin. They are in general, social, intelli- gent, volatile, active birds, and being fond of the society of men, they invariably, with one exception leave the forests and solitary places, and seek his presence and protection, whether it be found near the wigwam of the Indian, the log cabin of the Squatter, the quarters of the slave, or the culti- vated gardens and fields of the farmer or horti- culturist. There are eight species of the swallow tribe found in the United States, six of whom, and per- haps seven, are to be seen not un frequently, on one farm or in one village in Massachusetts. These eight are the Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Cliff! Swallow, White Bellied Swallow, Bank Swallow, Chimney Swallow, Rough-Winged Swallow, and Violet Green Swallow. Many opinions have been expressed, and no- tions entertained, in regard to the first appear- ance of the swallow tribe in this country. And we have been frequently asked the question, did these birds visit the several parts of our Union, as they do at present, before the settlement of the country by Europeans'? And particularly was the Purple Martin unknown in New England previ- ous to the Revolution. In answer to these ques- tions, we would say, we have evidence that the Barn and Chimney Swallows were known from the first settlement of New England. Josselyn de- scribed these birds as early as 1G38. At tliis early period, the Barn Swallow built its nest under the shelving ledges and beetling cliffs, around our shores. At Nahant, in one of North, where there are no human habitations to invite the swallow, they build their nests in the lime stone caves. The Purple Martin was known to inhabit the Carolinas more than one hundred and twenty years since. Mr. Catesby, in 1732, published his Natural History of Carolina, Flori- da, &c., where he describes ninety-four species of our birds, and enumerates two Ilirundos — to wit. the Purple Martin and the Barn Swallow. It would seem, by an examination of the very in- teresting correspondence which took place in 1759, between John Bartram and Peter Collinson, up- on the subject of our Natural History, that Mr. Bartram discovered in Pennsylvania four species of swallows, namely the Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Bank Swallow and Chimney Swallow. William Bartram, the fourth son of John Bar- tram, one of our early and most distinguished nat- uralists, the friend and patron of Alexander Wil- son, published in 1782 what has been considered the most complete and correct list of American birds, prior to the work of Wilson, in which he has four species of swallows, viz. : The Barn Swal- low, Purple Martin, Bank Swallow and Chimney Swallow. It will be seen that up to the appear- ance of the American Ornithology by Wilson, in 1808, no notice had been taken by our ornitholo- gists of the White Bellied Swallow, it being pro- bably confounded with the Bank Swallow, and by some European writers, with the English Martin. So far as our observation extends, we should think the White-Bellied Swallow in Massachusetts was much less common than the other species, which may be another reason why it was not earlier no- ticed by ornithologists. We have now traced the history of the swallow tribe in this country to the time of Wilson, when there were five species of these birds. It was in the spring of 1815, when a new and very distinct species of swallow was just seen by Audubon, at Henderson, on the banks of the Ohio River. He drew up a description of it at the time, and named it the Republican Swallow. This was probably their first appearance in our Union. In 1817, they made their appearance at Whitehall, near Lake Champlain. In 1818, they began to build at Crawford's, at the White Mountains in New Hampshire. In 1827, we saw a large number of these swallows building their nest under the eaves of a barn, situated near the entrance of the Penob- scot River, in Maine. In 1820, they made their appearance on the banks of Point Lake, in lat. 65*^ north, as noticed by Sir John Franklin. We first noticed them in Dan vers, in the spring of 1839. The question has been frequently asked, where did the Cliff Swallows come from ? In an- swer, we would say, they probably came from the westerly side of the Rocky Mountains. Those seen by Sir John Franklin's party in June, 1825, along the whole course of the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers, came undoubtedly from the opposite side of the Rocky Mountains, and not from the Atlantic coasts, as it is found that those mountain ranges do not present a barrier to the 1853. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 445 migratory feathered tribes. We may suppose that the Cliff Swallows enter the northern part of the union from this quarter. They have been for some years generally known in Nova Scotia and in Labrador — hence, by some persons, they have been called the Labrador Swallow. The discovery of the seventh species of our swal- lows was made on the 20th of October, in the year 1819, by Mr. Audubon, as he was walking along the shores of a forest margined lake, a few miles from Bayou Sara, in pursuit of some Ibises. But very little is known as yet of this bird by or- nithologists. Mr. Audubon has named it the Rough- Winged Swallow, and has given us a col- ored plate of it in his Birds of America. They so much resemble the Bank Swallow, that a care- less observer would not notice the distinction. — Mr. Audubon supposes, that its most habitual residence will be found to be in the valleys of the Columbia River. The eighth and last species of our swallows whose first appearance we shall no- tice, is a most beautiful little bird, judging from the figure given it by Mr. Audubon, for as yet we have not seen a specimen. It is called by him the Violet Green Swallow, and he speaks of its first discovery as follows : — "Of this, the most beautiful swallow hitherto discovered within the limits of the United States, the foUowhig account has been transmitted to me, by my friend Mr. Nuttall. " 'We first met with this elegant species, within the table-land of the Rocky Mountains, and they were particularly abundant around our encamp- ment on Harris Fork, a branch of the Colorado|of the West." ' In this account of the first notice of this swallow we have no dates but we find in an exploring. tour beyond the Rocky Mountains, per- formed by the Rev. Samuel Parker, in the year 183G, when in the Oregon Territory, he made this record in his journal. "Swallows made their ap- pearance on tlie 12th of March ; and among them a new species, characterized by the plumage of their head and back, being a most beautiful change- able green, with other parts purple and white." This no doubt was the little beautiful Violet Green Swallow, that arrested the attention of the missionary. IIow much earlier, if any, this new species of swallow was seen, we do not know. — It affjrds us pleasure to believe that this fine bird, whose home is at present beyond the Rocky Moun- tains, it having never as yet visited its eastern slope, will, at some period more or less remote, visit and take up its residence with us, who live on the Atlantic coast. This belief we entertain, from the well known and constant habit of the swallow tribe of leaving the accommodations and shelter affjrded by nature in the wilderness, and seeking those better ones furnished by man. When Fort Franklin was erected on the shores of Gseat Bear Lake, in the autumn of 1825, Dr. R.ichard- son says, they found many nests of swallows in the ruins of a house, that had been abandoned for more than ten years. In this case, these birds left the Tunestone caves, where they had been ac customed to breed, for the houses erected by the fur company. One other reason for believing that we shall yet see in Massachusetts the Violet Green Swallow, arises from the fact of their usually as- sociating with the Cliff Swallows, and frequently occupying their deserted nests. Under these cir- cumstances, they would be likely to accompany them to the Eastern States in their migrations. — We had intended to give a short descrip- tion of the several species, composing the swal- low tribe, together with some facts respecting their habits and particularly their migrations, as we have observed them for many years ; but we notice that our communication already exceeds your limits. With your own desire, and that of some of your readers, to know more of the histo- ry of our swallows, and with your permission, I will conclude what I have to communicate upon the character and habits of our Hirundos in my next article. s. p. f. Danvcrsport, Sept. 3, 1853. ROCKINGHAM CATTIiE SHOW AND FAIR. For some twentjT years, no Cattle Show has been held in Rockingham County, the old Agricultural Society having died about so long ago. The new society, organized within a year, appointed for its first exhibition, Thursday, the 15th of September, at Exeter; liberal preparations were made for the occasion, although there were many, we under- stand, who echoed the ill-omened cry, that it could not succeed. The day came, and with it a storm from the South, such as is only introduced on occasions ex- traordinary. It seemed as if the windows of Heav- en were opened anew, as in the days of the first navigator of whom the good book speaks. As one gentleman said, it was a storm of some character, and everybody understood that it meant very de- cidedly, that nq, Cattle Show should be held on that day. Forty cattle had already arrived, and a small supply of articles for the hall exhibition. After mutually criticising each other's long faces, and wondering what good designs of Provi- dence could lie concealed under so manifestly a wet blanket, the officers of the society decided to adjourn the show till Friday, hoping better times, though sorely distrustful. Friday came, bringing a fair west wind, and clear sunlight over the green and beautiful lawns and trees of old Exeter, and it was manifest at once, that the power which guides the storm had not visited the enterprise in anger. At about seven o'clock the noise of prepara- tion commenced ; Marshals on prancing steeds were seen hurrying through the streets, the low- ing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the rattle of wheels sent up a confused sound. At eight, the Brentwood band, in an open carriage drawn by four elegant horses, made its appearance, and the performances of the day began. THE HEAMPTOX-FALLS TE.\M. The grand entry of the Hampton-Falls delega- tion of members, with ladies, was a beautiul open- ing of the display. The band led by the marshal, went out to meet them a mile from the village, and escorted them into the town. Twenty yoke of 446 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Oct. handsome oxen, with their horns tastefully dressed ia blue and yellow streamers of ribbon, were at- tached to a car, mounted upon four wheels, and containing twenty-seven young ladies of Hamp- ton Falls. The car was roofed over with green corn leaves, for a screen from the sun, and carpet- ed and cushioned like a church. The outside was beautifully decorated with evergreens and bou- quets of flowers. Indeed, no part of the wood ev- en of the wheels could be seen, but it was an ele- gant combination of the brillant colors of Autumn flowers, with the fresh green of the forest trees and vines. Upon the sides, curiously formed in large letters, witWegetables of all kinds, was an inscription of the name of the town. Snugly seat- ed among the fair occupants of the car, were seen the President of the Society, and Orator of the day, who had gone out topay their early respects. On the square, teams from other towns were ad- ded to the procession, to the number, in all, of soaae seventy yoke of oxen, and at nine, by the music of the band, and with occasional songs by the ladies, amid shouts and cheers of the multi- tude already assembled, the procession moved on to the cattle grounds by the depot. Coaches were then furnished by the Society to the la- dies, who were driven about the grounds to view the animals, and then escorted by the marshals to the exhibition hall. All honor to the ladies of Hampton-Falls, who have set an example to their sisters through the county, of incalculable value to this new Agricultural Society. THE CATTLE PENS.* Time and space cannot now be spared to give details. About one hundred and twenty yoke of oxen were upon the field, and the pens contained, of horned cattle, about one hundred head. Gen- tlemen from our own State familiar with such scenes declared that so fine a display of working oxen they had rarely witnessed. After organizing the various committees, the word was given to proceed to witness the PLOWING MATCH. But seven teams were entered for plowing. Al- though the knowing ones could well enough see, that no great affair could be made of this part of the show, yet nothing could exceed the interest manifested by the spectators, to most of whom the spectacle was new. The plowing was tolerably well done, but many such trials are wanting, to bring the farmers of old Rockingham up to their proper mark in this department. THE PROCESSION AND ADDRESS. At the close of the plowing match, a procession was formed, of tTie officers and members of the so- ciety, and invited guests, in Pine Street, and marched to the church. The Hampton Falls car with its twenty yoke of oxen bringing up the rear. The wall pews of the house were filled with la- dies, and the members of the society filled the rest, standing in the aisles in crowds, after the seats were all taken. A voluntary was played by the band, a beauti- ful selection of scripture was read by the Rev. Mr. Mann, who in language appropriate and elo- quent, also made a prayer, and a hymn was sung by the choir. The address, falling from our own lips, forbids our saying anything more about it than that it was attentively listened to. THE EXHIBITION HALL. The ancient and dusty old Town Hall was ele- gantly decorated, with evergreen and oak leaves, by the young ladies of Exeter, whose presence at the tables, added not a little to the attractions of the scene. Tables more than two hundred feet in length, in all, were arranged through the room, completely covered with fruit and flowers, and ar- ticles of needlework, and embodiments of a thous- and curious fancies, while the benches were loaded with mammoth vegetables, and the walls adorned with pictures and embroidery. The show of fruit was a surprise to all. Baskets of peaches and pears were as fine as can any where be produced. To give some idea of the number of persons pres- ent on the occasion, we have more reliable data, than mere real estimates, which ranged all the way, from five to ten thousand. We heard an old gentleman say, that he had lived in Exeter sixty years, and that never before had he seen so many people in the town at one time. The exhibition at the Hall was free to members of the Society, more than four hundred, in number, and to all members of their families, and all who claimed to be such, yet more than 2,000 persons paid an ad- mission fee at the door ! The Committee of man- agers at the Hall estimated that more than one- half entered without payment. THE AWARD OF PREIIICMS. At four o'clock, the music called together in front of tha Squamscot House a crowd, such as is seldom anywhere witnessed. The President, Mr. French, from one of the porticos, read the reports of the various commit- tees while " a sea of upturned faces " anxiously awaited the decisions. He also introduced to the meeting, several gen- tlemen from abroad, who made short addresses. Col. Newell, President of the Essex Society, a vet- eran in the cause of Agriculture, was among them. He complimented, in the highest terms, the exhi- bitions of cattle and of fruit, pronouncing them equal to any he had ever seen. Remarks were also made by Mr. Farnum, of Boston. A spectacle was here presented, such as we have never witnessed at any show before. The President, with several invited guests, stood upon the balcony of the porch, while the multitude be- 1853. I'^W ENGLAND FARMER, 447 low amounted to between 3,000 and 4,000 persons ;| and there they remained, listening to remarks from the strangers who addressed them, and the dec- laration of the awards,. from 4 till half past 5 o'clock. ^Ye haver rarely witnessed a more impo- sing and gratifying sight. At about sis o'clock, the crowd dispersed, and most of the people from abroad were supposed to have left town. The evening, however, brought a crowd of peo- ple again to the Hall, and the committee, at a late hour,'' was obliged to insist upon closing the doors, and the first annual exhibition of the Rockingham The whole affiiir has been highly creditable to our enterprising neighbors. There can no longer be any doubters as to the success of the exper iment. We saw, of course, some errors which their sagacity will correct as they proceed. If so lusty and strong in their youth, how will they ex- cel us in their manhood! Massachusetts must look out for her laurels ! For the Neiv Ens^land Farmer. A NEW HSLP FOR THS FARMEH. Elements of Aoriculthral Chemistry and Geology By J*.MSs F. VV. Johnston, M. A.. F. R. S. S., -fe-^- with a Preface and Index. By Simon Brown, Editor of the New England Farmer. New York : C. M. Saxton We are glad to see a new edition of this most excellent work. It is a seasonable publication. Both the publisher and the editor have done a good thing for the rising generation of farmers, and we trust it will prove a good thing for them- selves. The preface contains several judicious and sensible remarks, and, like all the writings of Mr. Brown, is marked by careful observation and practical good sense. The index appears to be prepared with much care, and adds materially to the value of the book. This is true of every good index ; and, indeed, we consider no scientific work eompletvj without an index. We wish authors and publishers would lay this remark to heart and re- duce it to practice. Many scientific books are chiefly valuable as books of reference. But who can refer to a book without an index? The labor of turning over a score of pages, or reading a whole chapter to find a single remark or a fact which a writer wishes to use, is often more than the remark or fact is worth, and is any thing but There is one observation in the preface upop which we beg leave to offer a remark. The wri- ter speaks of instructions upon the science of ag- riculture as necessarily abstruse. We take the lib- erty to dissent from this idea. It is indeed true that they are often abstruse, but we do not believe they are necessarily so. Chemistry had its origin in Alchemy. It was long in the hands of astrolo- gers and pseudo-philosophers, who were searching for the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone. Its terms were borrowed from the Greek and Arabic, and it was clothed in the language of mysticism. The days of Astrology and Alchemy passed away with Paracelsus and his school, and Chemistry passed with them from the laboratories of the monks into the hands of the physicians, who did little to divest it of the mystery which enveloped it until the time of Lavoisier and his illustrious coadjutors, who gathered up its scatterd elements and reduced it to the true form of a sci- ence, and gave it a nomenclature foundedupon a perfectly simple and most beautiful idea, viz : that every term describing a chemical substance, should, at the same time, designate its composition if a compound body, and its most important use if a simple body. "For example, oxygen is _ derived from oxus, signifying acid, and gigno signifying to generate ; by which we are taught that oxygen is the source or generator of all acids. Hydrogen comes from hudor, water and the same word gigno, indicating that hydrogen is the principal element in water. Of compound bodies we will take sul- phurate of lime as an example. This term teaches that the body which it designates is composed of sulphuric a3id and lime, mixed together in propor- tions just sufficient to neutralize each other. Mu- riate of soda indicates that the substance thus designated is composed of muriatic acid and soda, combined in the same proportions. So with all the terms used in Chemistry. Give the chemist the name of a substance, and he will tell you its composition ; or give him the composition of a body, and he will give you its name. A most beautiful simplicity runs through the whole system. The number of elementary bodies with which the chemist has to do, is hmlted to between fifty and sixty. The terms which he uses, are com- pounded of the few elementary terms which des- cribe these elem-entary bodies. For example, sul- phuric acid, which shows that this acid is com- posed of sulphur and oxygen, the common parent of all acids ; carbonic acid, consisting of carbon and oxygen. Nothing can be more simple than this whole system. The great difficulty in under- standing chemical instruction consists in the want of a proper explanation of the terms, or rather in the want of a proper explanation of the princi- ples upon which the terms are constructed. Where these principles are fully comprehended, and any man of common intelligence may comprehend them in an hour, the teachings of the chemist be- come at once intelligible and interesting. The abstruseness, the mystery that hangs over the subiect like a dense fog, is dissipated by the clear sunlight of simple truth. It is true that many subjects that present themselves to the chemist are exceedingly complex, but patient and careful analysis can reduce them to their constituent ele- ments, and the patience of the chemist is re- warded by the discovery of new and beautiful combinations of simple elements. Now there is nothin