348 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



out the State came up to an average of four quarts 

 a day during the year, and this result would be 

 found owing in no small degree to the manner in 

 which they are kept. The opinion still extensive- 

 ly prevails that the cheapest way, for the time, 

 is the best — that cows in calf, and dry, may be 

 kept just as well upon meadow hay, with an occa- 

 sional foddering of something better. He believed 

 that the profit of cows during their milking season 

 in summer depended very much upon the manner 

 in which they had been wintered. There should 

 be more regularity in tending them; attention 

 should be reduced to a system. Cleanliness and 

 an even temperature are also important. To show 

 their sensitiveness to a change of temperature, he 

 stated that a friend had told him that his cows, 28 

 in number, had shrunk eight quarts by having the 

 barn doors open on a cold day, during the time 

 they were engaged in stowing away a load of hay, 

 being a little less than half a pint to each cow. 

 He was strongly of the opinion that a manifest 

 improvement may be made in our common stock, 

 even without the aid of foreign blood, by plenty of 

 good feed, at proper times, and by uniform kind 

 care. In conclusion, Mr. Brown wished the laws 

 might be enforced against the barbarians who 

 daily maltreat their animals in our streets. 



Mr. Brigham, of Westboro' , expressed the opinion 

 that dairy stock is the only stock which the farm- 

 ers of Massachusetts can raise with profit. In his 

 vicinity farmers keep cows for their milk to sell, 

 and they have animals, a class of the Durham, 

 which produce sixteen quarts per day when in full 

 flow ; some even go as high as 20 or 21 quarts, but 

 these latter are not common. He thought cows 

 in his vicinity would average as much as Mr. 

 Motley's — 6 quarts per day. Farmers in his vicin- 

 ity expect to sell $50 of milk from a cow a year. 

 In some dairies they average $70, and that with- 

 out using the "irontailed cow." There is none of 

 that breed, he says, in his vicinity. He believed 

 that by careful selection, and proper care in breed- 

 ing, we can in a few years be sure of a generation 

 of cattle which will be truly valuable. He had 

 tried this method with good results. 



Mr. Sheldon, of Wilmington, said we can raise 

 our heifers cheaper here than we can get them 

 from Vermont and New Hampshire. To prove 

 this he went into a calculation of the expense of 

 raising a two-year old in Massachusetts and in 

 Vermont, the result of which was that the Massa- 

 chusetts farmer would make $3 by raising his own 

 heifers. Steers can be raised cheaper in Vermont 

 or New Hampshire — and a good two year old 

 heifer raised in the vicinity of Boston will sell for 

 enough to buy a pair of two year old steers. He 

 could sell 50 cows to-day for $50 each, if he could 

 find those which are worth it. In raising stock 

 for the dairy, great kindness should be used. The 

 native breed he believed as good as any. He had 



crossed the native with the Ayreshire, which he 

 believed to be the best milkers of any imported 

 breeds. The great trouble with them is their 

 teats are too small. For cream and beef the Dur- 

 hams are good — of the Devons he had a very poor 

 opinion. For pigs he preferred a cross of the 

 Suffolk with the Middlesex, or Hampshire, to a 

 pure Suffolk. He could not raise so many pigs 

 with full blooded Suffolk sows as with those of a 

 mixed breed. 



A letter from Col. Newhall, of Essex County, 

 was then read, detailing his experience in the 

 management of dairy stock and the meeting then 

 adjourned. 



Next Tuesday evening Hoii.IsaacDavis, of Wor- 

 cester, will preside. Subject for discussion — Grass- 

 es and Grain Crops. 



Caotes' pcpartment. 



TASTE IN FURNITURE. 



It is scarcely possible to lay down a rule with re- 

 spect to the ordinary furniture of a room, yet 

 there is a general law of propriety which ought 

 as much as possible to be observed. Regard must 

 be had to what is called "the fitness of things," 

 and thereby the avoiding of violent contrasts. 

 For instance, sometimes a showy centre-table is 

 seen in the middle of a room, where the carpet 

 and every other article is shabby and out of 

 repair ; or a flashy looking-glass stands above the 

 chimney-piece, as though to reflect the incongru- 

 ous taste of its owner. Shabby things always 

 look the shabbier when thus contrasted with what 

 is bright and new. We do not mean to say that 

 new articles should never be purchased ; we re- 

 mark only, that in buying furniture, regard should 

 be had to the condition of the room in which it is 

 to be placed. For this reason, second-hand fur- 

 niture is sometimes preferable to new. 



"So many men, so many minds," is an old say- 

 ing ; and scarcely two people agree in choosing 

 their assortment of furniture. What is conven- 

 ient for one is inconvenient for another, and that 

 which is considered ornamental by one family, 

 would be thought ugly by their neighbors. There 

 are, however, certain articles suited to most rooms 



an ordinary parlor, for example. The number 

 of chairs depends on the size of the room ; eight 

 are usually chosen, two of them being elbows. 

 A square two-flap pembroke table, or a circular one 

 with tripod stand, occupies the centre of the 

 apartment. At one side stands a sofa, a sideboard, 

 a chiffonier, or perhaps a bookcase. Sometimes 

 the chiffonier, with a few shelves fixed to the wall 

 above it, is made to do the duty as a bookcase, 

 and it answers the purpose very well. If there 

 be no sofa, there will be probably an easy chair, 

 in a snug corner, not far from the fire-place ; in 

 another corner stands a small work-table, or a 

 light occasional table is placed near the window, 

 to hold a flower-basket, or some other ornamental 

 article. These constitute the articles most needed 

 in a room ; there arc several smaller things which 

 may bo added according to circumstances. 



It is one thing to have furniture in a room, and 



