NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



29 



profession and their fellow-men for this day's fes- 

 tivities. 



We have made the farmers' club a topic of this 

 communication, because we have long thought that 

 such institutions may be productive of a more gen- 

 eral advancement of agricultural progress and of 

 social intercourse among all our farmers. 



We have introduced this farmers' club, because 

 we have known its progress from the commence- 

 ment, and it is just such a light shining here, 

 where its brilliancy gladdens our eyes, as we wish 

 to hold up before the agricultural world, and say, 

 as we exhibit its brillancy from our right hand to 

 every town where our sayings may be read, "go 

 thou and do likewise." Do not, gentle reader, if 

 your patience lias permitted you to follow us thus 

 far, throw down the paper, with the exclamation. 

 "it may be a good thing, but we can't make a thing 

 of that sort go here, so it is no use to try ;" but 

 commence, though at first you may have no one 

 but your next door neighbor to commence with you, 

 and make a matter-of-fact business of it, and our 

 prediction for it, your number will soon increase. 

 Have not the time ! What a foolish idea, with all 

 the long evenings which must necesarily pass be- 

 tween now and the 20th of March, to suppose that 

 you cannot visit your friends and neighbors once in 

 two weeks to discuss some subject of practical util- 

 ity to each of you. And supposing you do now 

 know pretty much all that is to be known about the 

 farm, the garden (O ! I'm sorry that's so odious a 

 word with many farmers) and the orchard, you may 

 have the blessed privilege of enlightening others, 

 and therefore making their labor lighter, and per- 

 haps add a few new ideas to scatter gladness in 

 your path. 



Come, then, in every community where no such 

 organization exists, let one commence, and howev- 

 er feeble may be its origin, let it go forward. The 

 progress of the age, and more than that, that of 

 the profession, in which every farmer should pride 

 himself, demands that every means which can bear 

 upon the advancement of agriculture, should be 

 brought into action to effect the object. Knowl- 

 edge is the great lever which is to accomplish 

 wondrous things in increasing the fertility of the 

 earth. It is sure to be so, for its movements areal 

 ways visible beyond mistake. Let every farmer 

 lay his hands firmly upon this lever, and its effect 

 will become more efficient and more active. 



We may, circumstances permitting, at some oth- 

 er time, allude to other ways of advancing agricul- 

 tural knowledge ; but to-night our business is with 

 the farmers' club, and we urge our appeal in its 

 behalf, because it is a means of which every far- 

 mer and every farmer's son may at once, without 

 money and without price, avail himself. It is only 

 to meet your neighbors, as we have already said, 

 once in one, two or three weeks, as you see best, 

 and exchange the knowledge you have gained by 

 experience, for theirs. How cheap and yet how- 

 valuable it may prove. What queries may be 

 raised and how many inquiries may be excited by 

 the operation, we don't know and don't care. A 

 spirit of investigation will probably be aroused, 

 which, if properly nourished, will not be satisfied 

 with the aliment it receives at the club-room, but 

 it will go to the press and to the school-room, and 

 eventually to the farmers' institute, for large, 

 draughts of wisdom and knowledge than the hum- 

 ble fountains where its slakings were first attempt- 



ed can supply. And then, when the farmer em- 

 ploys practice for the line and knowledge for the- 

 plummet to regulate his movements, the golden 

 age of agriculture will commence, and labor well 

 directed, bringing abundant harvest to gladden the 

 hearts of all, from spots now blushing in sterility, 

 will cause greatful hearts and wise heads to bless 

 the day when farmers' clubs were scattered like 

 tall beacons of light over the land. w. b. 



Dec. 1, 1851. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 BLOODY MILK. 



Mr. Editor: — In looking over your last No., 

 (Nov. 8,) I observe the trouble of your correspon- 

 dent, J. E. Upham, and your perplexity to satisfy 

 his queries, with your request for light on the sub- 

 ject. Without pretending to *an " acquaintance 

 with the physiology of the cow," or the proper 

 term for the disease, causing his cow to give 

 "bloody milk," I will state a simple remedy, which 

 I have always found efficacious under similar cir- 

 cumstances, viz : 



When one of my cows is affected, I procure a 

 root of the Phytolacca (Poke) plant, which I pre- 

 sume grows wild with you. Of this I cut up fine- 

 ly five to six ounces, and mix with the food. I re- 

 peat this, if once does not effect a cure. 



Truly yours, A. H. Ernst. 



Spring Garden, Cincinnati, Nov. 24. 



Remarks. — A gentleman who keeps a stock of 

 sixty to seventy cows, recently informed us that he 

 had lost in cows and milk equal to $500 by the dis- 

 ease called garget, some one or more among his 

 cows constantly giving bloody milk. We give the 

 remedy of our correspondent, as above, only re- 

 marking, that we should suppose one-tenth part of 

 the amount he prescribes would be as efficacious in 

 arresting the disease, as "five or six ounces." It 

 is not the amount of medicine administered, but 

 whether that medicine is a specific for the disease. 

 To prescribe understandingly, we first ought to 

 know how, and what organs are affected ; and un- 

 til we do know this, we should "shudder to destroy 

 life, either by the naked knife, or by the surer and 

 safer medium of empiricism." 



DISCOVERY OF NEW FARMS. 

 Lawyers have known for a long time, that a 

 land-holder owned evei so far down below the sur- 

 face. But farmers never have seemed to suspect, 

 that their deeds gave them a right to more than 

 six inches of the surface. Nobody hardly has 

 thought of looking deeper than that, except the 

 diggers for gold and water. We have all heard of 

 the classics being covered all over by the prosy 

 homilies of the monks of the Middle Ages ; in con- 

 sequence of which generations have been content 

 with the comparatively worthless surface of their 

 parchments, in ignorance of the rich deposits be- 

 neath. Out agriculturists have had a similar ex- 

 perience till now, when the sub-soil plow is re- 

 vealing to them treasures before unknown. Dis- 

 coveries in the earth are keeping pace now with 

 those in the sky, and a new ea<rth is open to the 

 culivator, as a new heaven is to the astronomer. 



