444 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Loose stones will be collected and form the sluice- 

 way for under-ground ditches, and larger ones laid 

 into substantial wall. That fast rock "in the clo- 

 ver lot" upon which three plows have been broken, 

 shall bo blasted and deposited where it can no more 

 mar the beauties of that fine field. The front- 

 yard fence, and all the gates, may be repaired 

 while the fingers are nimble, and he can make a 

 tenon and mortice without "blowing his fingers." 



Compost Heaps. — See to these — you all know 

 how. 



Potatoes. — Dig as soon as they are ripe, lay 

 them in moderate parcels and exclude the light. 



Seeds. — Save the best and earliest of every kind, 

 and, more, satisfy yourselves by observation and 

 inquiry what the effect of so doing will be upon 

 your future crops. 



Corn Fodder. — Carefully secure it all, this year 

 particularly. Do not waste the large stalks, but 

 cut and mix them with meal ; they are nutritious, 

 and in that form will do good service. 



Corn. — Keep it cool in the barn floor before 

 husking ; it had better stand in the field than heat 

 in the barn. Spread the ears thin or pile them in 

 well-aired bins. 



Corn Fields. — Towards the last of the month 

 split the "Indian hills" — it is neater husbandry 

 and we think better economy to gather the roots 

 and stems and add them to the heap of weeds, 

 brush and quick lime. It gives clear and pleasant 

 plowing in the spring. 



Young Trees. — Take away all stubble, grass or 

 weeds from their stems , so that mice may not find ma- 

 terials for their nests ; then bank the trees with 

 clear earth, and they are ready for winter. Where 

 trees stand in mowing ground it will be well to 

 clear away the grass roots and throw fine manure 

 or loam close to their trunks. This will keep the 

 mice away, and be a good fertilizer when spread 

 early in the spring. 



Pruning. — Look after and shape the heads of 

 young trees, and wherever a wound is left half an 

 inch in diameter, cover it with wax cloth, paint or 

 gum. See other articles on this subject in former 

 numbers. 



Roots. — Gather roots before heavy frosts occur, 

 and store them carefully away. Roots should be 

 perfectly matured before gathering, but collected 

 as soon as that takes place, as they then rapidly 

 lose their nutrient properties, a new elaboration 

 of juices taking place, and much of the saccha- 

 rine principle, which is the fattening one, is de- 

 stroyed. 



Apples. — Winter apples should be carefully 

 picked by hand. Keep them in a cold, moist cel- 

 lar, the colder the better if they do not freeze. 



Plow where you can, and do a thousand other 

 things for which the favorable time is October. — 

 Do it all cheerfully, and "with a will," as the sail- 

 ors say, and Heaven will prosper your endeavors. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 POTATO ROT. 



Rumors are in the- wind, that the rot is again 

 coming ; and that it has already appeared, to some 

 extent, in many places. If this be so, it is im- 

 portant to be known, and to have all the facts 

 connected with its appearance minutely registered. 

 I have not myself seen any potatoes, distinctly 

 marked by the rot ; nevertheless, I have seen 

 some fields, with appearances very suspicious. I 

 recollect seeing a large field, on the Maiblehead 

 shore a few days since, where the vines, very lux- 

 uriant, looked as though they had been bitten by 

 a frost ; — they were fallen and dark colored — and 

 many persons were employed in digging the pota- 

 toes, and crowding them off to the market, where 

 they commanded nearly two dollars a bushel. Pos- 

 sibly the early ripening may have caused the dis- 

 coloration of the vines, but such effects have not 

 been produced on other fields that have come 

 within my observation. 



I know that those who have potatoes to sell will 

 not be swift to make proclamation of their be- 

 ing diseased ; and this makes me the more anxious 

 to ascertain all cases of real disease, whenever it 

 may be found to exist. I hope, Mr. Editor, you 

 will not hesitate to record all facts that come to 

 your knowledge. In this way, alone, may a rem- 

 edy ever be applied. p. 



August 27th, 1852. 



Remarks. — The above communication has been 

 inadvertently omitted until this time. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 ADDITIONS TO THE STOCK OF DOMES- 

 TIC ANIMALS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



Mr. Editor: — Within the past year we have 

 witnessed in our community a new ardor and a 

 new movement in the promotion of agricultural 

 improvement. In the meetings of the yeomanry 

 at the State House, there has been a manifest de- 

 monstration that a great number of the farmers of 

 the State are ready, not only to give up the super- 

 annuated implements, and to work with the new 

 and improved tools, but that they seriously con- 

 template taking up new fields ; and, discarding old 

 errors, to enter upon an improved course of hus- 

 bandry. They are willing to hear some things 

 that they did not learn in their apprenticeship, 

 provided there is a rational promise of benefit ap- 

 parent upon the face of them. A Board of Agri- 

 culture has been created, to furnish greater facili- 

 ties to the farmer by the collection of statistics, 

 and to give aid and encouragement to agriculture 

 in other modes. These things appear to mark a 

 new era in the agriculture of the Commonwealth ; 

 to lie the commencement of a new progress ; and 

 I regard it as a favorable time for making the sug- 

 gestion herein contained, to the farmers of the 

 State. 



The question to which I wish now to draw the 

 attention of the New England Fanner is, would 

 it be profitable and expedient to add to the number 

 of the domesticated animals, for the purpose of la- 

 bor or for food, or for use in the arts, by importing 

 or domesticating some not hitherto in use, or to 

 import or cultivate trees or plants hitherto unused 

 by us? Though Cod gave man dominion over all 



