NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



459 



gave them to his sous, and put under Jacob's 

 charge only those that remained. Jacob resorted 

 to influence over the imagination, to secure for 

 himself a fair return for his labors. He " took 

 rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut 

 tree, and pilled white streaks in them, and made 

 the white appear that was in the rods." lie 

 placed these rods by the brook, or the gutter of 

 the watering trough when the ilocks came to drink, 

 " that they should conceive when they came to 

 drink." To show clearly that the effect produced 

 was through the eye and mind of the individual 

 operated on, it is remarked, "And it came to 

 pass whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, 

 that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of 

 the cattle in the gutters, that they might con- 

 ceive among the rods. But when the cattle 

 were feeble, he put them not in, so the feeble were 

 Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. 



An instance is recorded that a pure blooded 

 polled cow was served with pure blooded red poll- 

 ed hull. During the day, however, she had been 

 with a red and white horned ox. The calf pro- 

 duced was red and white, and horned. 



An instance was related to us as having oc- 

 curred on the Manchester City Farm. A red cow 

 was served with a red bull. Afterwards the cow 

 was with and had quite an attachment to an ox 

 peculiarly marked with white. The calf was mark- 

 ed with white as was the ox. 



We need more careful observations relative to 

 the results of breeding. There can be, however, 

 no mistake in saying that all breeders should seek 

 out the best animals from which to breed. By 

 best animals we do not mean the best accidental 

 animal, but one who has been closely bred for 

 some years. — Granite Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 MR. WEBSTER'S FARM. 



Friend Brown : — I had the pleasure, a few days 

 since, of looking at the mansion-house, stock, 

 crops, &c, of the distinguished Farmer of Marsh- 

 field, the Hon. Daniel Webster. When I arrived 

 at the place in the afternoon, he was engaged in 

 his favorite recreation of fishing. In compliance 

 with an invitation, 1 called the following morning, 

 Avhen he kindly accompanied me to take a look at 

 his cattle. Among them I noticed an Ayrshire 

 bull, the finest I have ever seen in the country, 

 and the stock generally is of the highest character 

 in most of the points that go to make up our best 

 cattle. 



After a cursory look at the stock, Mr. Porter 

 Wright, the superintendent of the farm, very po- 

 litely answered my numerous inquiries, and showed 

 me such parts of the place as I desired to see. He 

 states that the farm contains about 1800 acres of 

 land ; 300 acres of it is woodland, 300 salt meadow 

 and 200 English grass. They cut 300 tons of salt 

 hay each year, and 175 tons of English hay. They 

 have 75 head of neat cattle ; among that number 

 are 10 yoke of superior oxen. They have 25 hogs, 

 200 fowls of various kinds, 75 sheep, imported 

 stock, South Downs, &c. They plant 35 acres of 

 corn, 12 of turnips, 10 of potatoes, 2 of carrots, 2 

 of beets, G of buckwheat, 7 of rye and 7 of wheat. 

 There are 3000 fruit trees on the farm, of all va- 

 rieties and rare fruit. There are 25 buildings, in- 

 cluding 7 dwelling-houses ; one of the houses be- 



longed formerly to the heirs of Gov. Winslow, and 

 is 175 years old. It is in a dilapidated condition, 

 and is not occupied by any one. Twenty-five men 

 are employed on the farm through the year. They 

 use 1500 tons of manure per year ; a great propor- 

 tion of it' is kelp, which they get from the sea- 

 shore. Mr. Wright says it is good to make into 

 compost manure, and it does well to plow in green. 

 There are a number of different soils on the farm ; 

 clay, loam, sand, peat, muck, &c. After examin- 

 ing the fields and meadows, we returned to the 

 house, and took a look at the garden, which was 

 very fine indeed. It contains about two acres of 

 fine land, abounding with the best and rarest fruits 

 and fragrant flowers. Beyond the garden at the 

 south, there is an artificial grove, and summer 

 house. About the centre of the farm, there is a 

 high elevation overlooking most of the farm and 

 surrounding country, and far out in the sea. Up- 

 on this eminence, Hon. Abbot Lawrence erected a 

 liberty-pole, surrounded by an American eagle, — 

 a fit and appropriate emblem of the defender of 

 the constitution. The library is in the north wing 

 of the mansion, containing the portraits of Lord 

 Ashburton, Mr. Webster, and his son who died 

 in Mexico, and filled with books of all descriptions 

 and languages. 



TIME FOR PRUNING. 



Volumes have been written on this subject, a 

 great part of which is mere theory. Many prune 

 in the spring from custom, and others in June be- 

 cause the wound heals quickly, not reflecting that 

 it is of more importance that the wound heal 

 soundly than quickly. We give directions accord- 

 ing to our experience for thirty years. 



Slight pruning, in which very small limbs, or 

 dead limbs of any size, are removed, may be per- 

 formed, when most convenient, in any season. 

 Moderate pruning should be done in June, July, 

 or August, though it will answer very well till 

 Dec. If trees are pruned in July, Aug., or Sept., 

 the wood will become hard, sound, and well sea- 

 soned, and commence healing over; and it is not 

 material, otherwise than for appearance, whether 

 it heals over the first, second, or third year, as it 

 will remain in a healthy state. 



We should prefer Oct., Nov., or even Dec, to 

 the spring, which is the worst season. The trees 

 then are full of sap, and it oozes out at the wound, 

 which turns black and decays, like a tree cut in 

 the spring, and allowed to retain the bark. But 

 if limbs, ever so large, are cut in Aug., or Sept., 

 the wood will become hard and remain so, if it 

 never heals over. 



Thirty-two years ago, in Sept., we cut a very 

 large branch from an apple-tree, on account of in- 

 juries by a gale. The tree was old, and it has 

 never healed over ; but it is now sound, and almost 

 as hard as horn, and the tree perfectly sound 

 around it. A few years before and after, large 

 limbs were cut from the same tree in spring ; and 

 where they were cut off the tree has rotted, so 

 that a quart measure may be put into the cavities. 

 — Cole. ■ 



The Black Excrescenses on the shoots and limbs 

 of plum trees are now coming, and they sometimes 

 break out on the bodies of small trees in such a 

 way that it is difficult to remove them with the 

 knife, without cutting away the whole tree. I 



