238 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ging lengthwise of the furrow before sowing, and 

 the wheat was lightly dragged in so as not to raise 

 the sod. Sown in this way it will be fit to harvest 

 the latter part of July. Wheat which ripens in 

 July is seldom affected by mildew. Two bushels 

 of seed should be sown per acre. 



I have tried the Baltic wheat, which is said to 

 be successfully cultivated in Vermont, but it is 

 greatly inferior in quality as well as quantity to 

 the Italian. — Granite Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HOGS. 



It is an old adage that "a sick pig is sure to die," 

 but there are exceptions to all general rules, as the 

 sequel will prove. I had a fine lot of pigs about 

 three months old, which had been confined in a 

 pen where they had no access to the earth since 

 they were a week old, all of which appeared in 

 good health until a few days since, when one morn- 

 ing on feeding them, one, while eating, fell down 

 apparently in a fit ; his breathing was scarcely per- 

 ceptible. After a few minutes he began to recov- 

 er and to breathe not unlike a horse severely af- 

 flicted with the heaves, but soon appeared entire- 

 ly recovered and ate as usual. The next day he 

 had another attack, but much more severe than 

 the first ; these continued daily for four days, when 

 he died. Having in my possession several volumes 

 of the Albany Cultivator, I examined them, but did 

 not notice any thing that applied to this case. 

 Soon two others were attacked in the same man- 

 ner, when I bled them by cutting a slit in the ear, 

 and cutting off a piece of the tail. On examining 

 their bed it was found very wet and uncomfortable. 

 Dry straw was substituted, and the pen opened so 

 that they could pass out and in as they pleased. 

 It was observed that they spent a great part of 

 the time, after being permitted to go at large, at a 

 pile of old wood which had been recently cut and 

 lay near the pen ; this excited sufficient curiosity 

 to notice more particularly the reason of this choice 

 of location, which was found to be the great quan- 

 tities of decayed or rotten wood which lay scat- 

 tered about the pile, and which they ate immod- 

 erate quantities. Perhaps it should be mentioned, 

 that they were not fed for several days after being- 

 let out of the pen. The pigs, however, have en- 

 tirely recovered. 



Having but recently engaged in farming, I took 

 the liberty to inquire of some of our best farmers 

 in regard to the disease, and they pronounced it 

 what is commonly known in this section of the 

 country as the Thumps. One of my friends in- 

 formed me lie had lost several last spring, and had 

 cured several. His method is as follows : — As 

 soon as the pig is attacked, take a sharp knife and 

 make a severe cut entirely to the bone directly be- 

 tween the eyes, about three or four inches in length, 

 and put in a mixture, in equal quantities, of black 

 pepper and salt, and give the animal three or four 

 days in succession one-sixth part of a teaspoonful 

 of antimony mixed in a soft mash of bran and 

 water ; as the antimony is liable to settle at the 

 bottom, it is well to stir it at short intervals while 

 the pig is eating, that it may be well mixed with 

 the food. I have nothing to say as to cause or ef- 

 fect, but give the simple facts, and let every read- 

 er draw his own inferences. P. s. b. 



Salisbury, Feb. 13, 1852. 



Remarks. — As the sick pigs of our correspondent 

 recovered by being permitted to come to the ground, 

 he will probably never split their heads open as a 

 remedy. We hope none of his neighbors ever will 

 These rash experiments are cruel and dangerous 

 When the pig rushes furiously about the pen and 

 strikes his head and nose against its sides, it is 

 quite evident that the brain is affected ; but it 

 would seem about as rational to us, to apply a blis- 

 ter to the end of a cow's tail for a dislocated hip, 

 as to "cut a slit in a hog's head entirely to the 

 bone, about three or four inches long, directly be- 

 tween the eyes, and fill it with black pepper and 

 salt." A milder and better course would be, 

 when the paroxysm has subsided, to let the poor 

 beast loose and drive or lead him gently to running 

 water, a brook or pond, and his own instinct will 

 teach him how to allay the inflammation which is 

 raging in his system. A stout hog is an uncom- 

 fortable patient, and nostrums, of any kind, are of 

 little service. An ounce of prevention is worth a 

 good deal more than a pound of cure with the hog. 

 Swine are rarely sick, if properly managed. They 

 require regular feeding, both as to time and quan- 

 tity, salt in their food two or three times a week, 

 and what is absolutely indispensable to profit, a 

 dry and ivarm place to lie in. They should have 

 grass, or other green and succulent food, in the 

 summer, and access to the fresh earth always. If 

 your pig has not already contracted disease, he will 

 remain healthy, and afford a profit under such treat- 

 ment as we have described above. 



TRANSPLANTING, BUDDING AND 

 GRAFTING. 



In the agricultural department of the Patent 

 Office Report for 1850 — 51, is a large amount of 

 practical agricultural information. Gershom Wil- 

 born, of Essex County, Mass., communicates the 

 following upon Transplanting, Budding and Graft- 

 ing:— 



Transplanting. — Land to be set with fruit trees 

 should be plowed in the fall, or very early in the 

 spring ; it should be plowed very deep or subsoiled. 

 When the ground is quite ready, get your ti-ees, 

 and set them the same day if you can ; never buy 

 trees that have been dug over winter, and "lain by 

 the heel," nor plant so late in the season as when 

 the leaves have started : trees of this kind may 

 live, but you lose the growth of them the first 

 season, whereas, by the right kind of management, 

 transplanting will hardly put them back at all. I 

 have often planted trees wlich grew four feet the 

 first year. Holes should be dug of sufficient width 

 and depth to extend the roots to their original ca- 

 pacity. When the trees are placed in the holes, 

 spread out the lower roots and cover them with 

 line earth, as also all the rest in like manner ; get 

 the roots into the earth so that they will stand in- 

 terspersed, in regular system, with the soil, as the 

 roots of a growing tree always do. The practice 

 of thrusting the roots of a tree all in a heap, then 

 piling on hard earth, manure, &c, and stamping 

 it down hard, is sometimes successful, but no sci- 



