NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



475 



respondents, inform me when is the proper time to 

 transplant the common field blackberry, — and 

 whether there is anything peculiar in the treat- 

 ment of the shrub to insure success 1 ? 



Yours with respect, William Storer. 



West liar/ford, Ct., Aug. 18, 1852. 



Remarks. — We are glad to find such testimony 

 in favor of coal ashes; it has been rather a drug 

 and peBt. It is hoped this will induce all to gather 

 it up and make farther trial. There is no diffi- 

 culty in transplanting the high blackberry, so that 

 it shall live and fruit abundantly ; but to bring 

 that fruit to perfection is a secret not yet divulged 

 to us. When half grown it seems to rest there 

 fa- awhile, and then die. It is sufficiently hardy 

 to stand the winter. We have always trans- 

 planted in the spring. Shall be happy to hear 

 from our friends who have had experience with 

 the plant. Please write again. 



of this penetrating and volatile alkali. A small 

 quantity introduced into the wound on the point 

 of a needle, or fine nibbed pen, and applied as soon 

 as possible, will scarcely ever fail. 



MAN'S FOOD. 



What do you really live upon? The answer 

 will be various enough. The Guacho, who in the 

 will pampas of Buenos Ayres, managing his half- 

 wild horse with incredible dexterity, throws a las- 

 so, or bolas, to catch the ostrich, the guanaco, or 

 the wild bull, consumes daily ten or twelve pounds 

 of meat, and regards it as a high feast day when 

 in any hacienda, he gains a variety in the shape 

 of a morsel of pumpkin. The word bread does not 

 exist in his vocabulary. The Irishman, on the 

 other hand, regales himself in careless mirth on his 

 "potatoes and point," after a day of painful labor 

 he who cannot help making a joke even of the name 

 he gives to his scanty meal. Meat is a strange 

 idea to him, and he is happy indeed if, four times 

 a year, he can add a herring to season the mealy 

 tubers. The hunter of the prairies lays the buffalo 

 with sure bullet ; and its juicy, fat-streaked hump, 

 roasted between two hot stones, is to him the 

 greatest of delicacies. Meanwhile, the industrious 

 Chinese carries to market his carefully fattened 

 rats, delicately arranged upon white sticks, certain 

 to find a good customer among the epicures of 

 Pekin ; and in his hot smoky hut, fast buried be- 

 neath the snow and ice, the Greenlander consumes 

 his fat, which he has just carved, rejoicing over 

 the costly prize, from a stranded whale. Here 

 the black slave sucks the sugar-cane, and cats his 

 banana ; there the African merchant fills his wal- 

 let with sweet dates, his sole sustenance in the 

 long desert journey ; and there the Siamese crams 

 himself with a quantity of rice from which a Euro- 

 pean would shrink appalled. And wheresoever 

 over the whole inhabited earth we approach and 

 demand hospitality, in almost every little spot a 

 different kind of food is set before us, and the 

 "daily bread" offered in another form. 



The Sting of a Bee. — In most cases the person 

 stung can instantaneously obtain relief by press- 

 ing on the part stung with the tube of a key 

 This will extract the pain and the application of 

 o L ua amonia (common spirits of hartshorn) will 

 immediately remove it. The poison being of an acid 

 nature, is at once neutralized by the application 



For the New England Farmer. 

 AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. 



In looking over the June number of the Farmer, 

 I was surprised to see an article by "W A.," op- 

 posing the establishment of an Agricultural Col- 

 lege. His objections may be classed under two 

 heads. 1st, That there is no necessity of such an 

 institution. 2d, That it would not be properly 

 conducted. He says, "the means for obtaining all 

 necessary knowledge on agriculture already exist, 

 and are aff irded in books, periodicals and agricul- 

 tural exhibitions." 



Agriculture is both a science and an art ; can 

 both of these be thoroughly learned from books and 

 agricultural fairs ? He admits the art can only be 

 learned by practice; then the art cannot be learned 

 by the means which he named as being sufficient 

 for all " increased and necessary knowledge on 

 agriculture!" Can the art be taught effecicntly 

 without combining it with a knowledge of the sci- 

 ence ? Certainly not. And is the science of agri- 

 culture so simple, that unlike all others, it requires 

 no teachers to explain and enforce its principles 1 

 On the contrary, so profound a science is agricul- 

 ture, that it has required the wisdom and expe- 

 rience of ages to bring it to its present imperfect 

 state of advancement. Ages more will be required 

 to reveal all the philosophy necessary for its per- 

 fection. No profession requires so much study and 

 preparation as that of agriculture ; yet many act 

 as if it could be learned by intuition. A knowl- 

 edge of more sciences is comprised in a thorough 

 agricultural education than in any other ; yet many 

 of those, the most intimately connected with it, 

 are imperfectly taught, if at all, in our best col- 

 leges. Agriculture is the leading pursuit of our 

 country, and its unbounded importance to all 

 classes, is denied by none ; yet even in the Old 

 Bay State, where farmers have paid liberally for 

 the support of other colleges, we are told it would 

 not be economy to endow an agricultural institu- 

 tion ! Heretofore it has been the boast and glory 

 of New England, that the State governments have 

 been so efficient in sustaining schools for the edu- 

 cation of her youth. The intelligence of New Eng- 

 land is proverbial, and every census attests her 

 rapid increase in wealth and importance. To con- 

 tinue this progression, improved systems of educa- 

 tion must be fostered, and superior institutions of 

 learning liberally encouraged. Agriculture is sus- 

 ceptible of more rapid progression than any other 

 pursuit, yet its advancement does not keep pace 

 with others of less interest. Private individuals 

 do not often possess the means or disposition to 

 make experiments in agriculture on an extensive 

 and reliable scale. If a State Institution Avere es- 

 tablished, liberally endowed, provided with com- 

 petent professors and tutors, and a farm of suffi- 

 cient extent connected with it, an opportunity 

 would be afforded, not only of obtaining liberal 

 education, but of becoming thoroughly acquainted 

 with the physical sciences, nearly all of which 

 have a direct bearing on practical farming. Dr. 

 Lee, in speaking of the necessity of such an insti- 

 tution, makes the following remarks : — "The peo- 



