406 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



I 



JVXEHS, 1S41. 



AM) llORTICULTLliAL RtGISTER. 



^ Boston, Wednesday, Juke 2J, 1841. 



HAVMAKING. 

 Scythes. Procure a gnod scythe for every man and 

 boy on tlie (arm wlioisto do any thing al mowing. This 

 work of cutting the iirass is hard enough, with the hest 

 implement that can he made. And where the tool is 

 poor, the work most he done either poorly or slowly — 

 and in either c:ise the farTner is losing moro than the 

 cost of l'urni,shing a better instrument. IVe know not — 

 (by the way, this lerm we, I am tired of, and shall, 

 when it so pleases me, use the more proper representa- 

 tive of my single self, 7)^'l know not that any one of 

 the manufacturers of this article e.xcels all o'.hers-: some 

 scythes from each factory. are good, and others are not 

 so; — if you are unfortunate enough to get a poor one, 

 there is no economy in trying to worry through the sea- 

 son with it ; snawing off your grass; w'leiting every 

 five minutes; fretting y.onr own body or that of your 

 hired man ; going to the grindstone eyery two hours ; — 

 these attendants upon a poor scythe are such consumers 

 of time that it is better to throw the .soft or the brittle 

 thinu- aside at once and -purchase another. As n genctral 

 rule the srythe that crooks towards the puint works bet- 

 ter than tlie straight one — at lea.=t il is so in my hands. 

 The cast-off scythe should not be put into the hands of 

 the boy who is learning to mow — he wants in his feebler 

 and unpractiged hand,.a sharper edge than is required 

 by the mau. 'Give hi(n a goad and a light loo! ; or else 

 excuse him from this work. 



Horse Rake. The value of this implement for use on 

 a farm of common inequalities of surface, and of com- 

 mon size is often over-stated in the advertisements and 

 pufFi. But the ac(u«? toor^A of it justifies its purchase. 

 VVe have used the revolving hoise-rake for four or five 

 seasons, on a farm where two acres is perhaps the amount 

 mowed per day ; the raking up of tile thick green morn- 

 ing's mowing in the latter part of the afternoon, is a fa- 

 tiguing appendage to tlie previous hard work of the day. 

 The old horse who has been in the pasture all day, and 

 has nothing to do at present but kirk flies, can greatly 

 li<jhten and considerably shorten this labor: v^■e gene- 

 rally save in time probably from 45 to GO minutes, and 

 in. strenutk more than half. This saving toward the 

 close of the day, comes in very opportunely, and we 

 would not pait with the rake for twice its cost. 



To manage this instrument skilfully, requires some 

 practice — but as soon as one gets a little accustomed to 

 il, he can lay the winrow very well. On large farm.* 

 its use must be more valuable than on small ones. — 

 Where grain is mowed and raked up, this r.-.ke is very 

 convenient and comfortable; it takes all clean, and 

 saves from hard hand raking. 



This instrument deserves more extensive use than it 

 has found hitherto. 



Time of Cutting . Where grasses are not lodged, it is 

 well to cut when they are fairly and fully in blossom ; 

 but to avoid having some of them get far past this stale 

 before time can be found for securing, it is prudent to 

 beoin upon the more luxuriant fields before they reach 

 full blossom. 



Curinir. In the early part of the hayirigseason, while 

 the grass n quite green, and much tjme is required for 

 curing, it is well to he busy in turning it up to wind and 

 sun ; help it along as fast as you can — but later in the 

 season, if the weather be good, it will be sufficiently 

 cured the day after mowing without much assistance. 

 Some little matters amount to considerable in the 



course <tf the season ; — in turning np hay, take the help 

 of the wind; do this too in raking; — in raking after 

 the cart, regard the course of the wind and the direc 

 lion in which the team will next move, and so arrange 

 as not to be obliged to rake the ground over twice. In 

 this simple labor of raking after the cart., I have fiiuiid 

 '• head work" as profitable as in any of the operations 

 upon the faifu. 



Sail. Hay that would be liable to heat and sour he- 

 cause not quite cured, may ofteti he mowed away with 

 safely, if six to ten qu irts of salt to the ton are applied. 

 The use of salt upon nearly all the hay as it goes into 

 the barn may be wise. I am inclined to the belief that a 

 farm in my neighborhood on which salt has been very 

 freely used in tliat way, had been greatly improved by 

 it; that is, I think the manure has been much more 

 efficacious in consequence of the salt applied to the h,ay. 

 At iiomo we find no hay so palatable to the stock as 

 that which is cut young, three-fourths dried and well 

 salted. 



Clover. This should be cured without much expo- 

 sure to the sun. I can tell a story thatgoes to show 

 that clover need not be so thoroughly dried as many 

 suppose. Last year, about the middle of June we 

 mowed some very coarse clover, scarcely beginning to 

 blossom, and as full of sap as clover ever was. The 

 weather was cloudy and foggy for several days, so that 

 but little progress was made in curing it ; it continued 

 heavy and green ; after four or five days, and while the 

 cocks were damp with fog we loaded it because the in- 

 dications of.rain were strong. It was taken to the barn, 

 stowed away and very thoroughly salted. In four or 

 five days it was.dripping wet and burning hot : in 15 

 days it was mouldy ; in December, it was the hay pre- 

 ferred above all others in the barn, by " old Bug Hum," 

 a dainty cow that was destined to the shambles; every 

 animal in the barn would devour it greedily — and this 

 too, when most of the hay, and all the corn stalks in the 

 barn liad been salted ; — the salt taste was no rarity. 



Drinks. The hiiy-maker must have a full supply of 

 drink ; persperation will be free, and he must have 

 something to support it. There i^ no danger from fre- 

 quent drinking in the hottest wea^|lor. Take cold water 

 as often and as /reely as you please ; there is no danger 

 from it, if you have not been to long without drink. 

 Cold water is the besf of all drinks for slacking thirst — 

 it iiiay be sweetened with molasses or with sugar; and 

 if milk is taken with them, the drink is the most servi- 

 cable we have ever fyund — furnishing nourishment, 

 while it slakes thirst. Rum and Cider and their kin- 

 dred spirits .are not to be admitted to the field of ihe pru- 

 dent und worthy farmer. I know they are not needed; 

 1 know they are not useful there. The hay will be 

 cut and cured with more .despatch apd comfort when 

 true temperance practices prevail, than where alcohol 

 intrqdes. 



None but the intenxperale are injured by drinking cold 

 water. II" told that 1 know not the hardship of swing- 

 ino- llw scj'the, and the need a man then has for the 

 stimulus, I reply that 1 do know what it is to swing the 

 scythe, and that on the very hottest day of I84II, I was 

 mowing from half past four in the. morning until three 

 in the afternoon, witli the exception of time epough to 

 eat, drink and grind the scythe; ijnd neither then nor 

 on any other day of the season, did 1. require the use of 

 any drinks sironger than milk and water. And no man, 

 after one month of temperanoe, will ever require any 

 thing stronger. 



NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



We publish today the invitation of Solon Robinson tO' 

 the firmers <if the country. Our views are not diffe- 

 rent from what they were when we spoke upon the 

 subject several weeks since ; but we honor the zeal of 

 IMr Robinson, and will most cheerfully help to bring his 

 great project to a fair and deliberate consideration in an 

 assembly of the friends of agriculture, if any gentle- 

 men in this vicinity desire us to act as agent in receiv- 

 ing contributions towards defraying the expenses of a 

 preliminary meeting, or in sending information to Mr 

 Robinson, we will do it with pleasure. 



MILK— EXTRAORDINARY. 

 Mr Denny, of Westboro', has made us a present of 

 two or three pounds of very good butter; its color is 

 fine and its flavor good. The milk from which it was 

 |;roduced, was taken from a tioo year old heifer, that 

 nevir had a calf, and will not have one until four or five 

 months from this time. If we understand the case, 

 calves were in the pasture with the heifer, and by their 

 sucking caused the flow of milk. The flow has been so 

 great that it has been necessary to milk her regularly. 



By the politeness of Mr Ellsworth, of the Patent Of- 

 fice, we have been favored with parcels of ^* Kentucky 

 Pumpkin seed," and " Kentucky Cusliaw seed," 



Massachusetts Horticultural Societjr* 



Saturday, June 19. 



XIHIBITION OF rLOWEBS. 



Frorn.Jiihn Kenrick — Pa3ony Whittleji, Huniei, fra- 

 grans and Reevesii. Several varieties of Roses — He- 

 merocallis lutea, Magnolia glauca and macrophylla, 

 Valerian, Rose acacia, Glycene frutescens. Phloxes, 

 Larkspurs, &c. 



From W Kenrick — P^onia Whittleji, Humei, fra- 

 grans, carnea .-" Rosea and Reevesii. Also, Honeysuck- 

 les, including Douglassii ; Iris, various kinds; Hemero- 

 cailis flora ; Red and White Fraxinella, Guelder rose 

 iSpirsea, Scotch Laburnum, and a variety of Rose.i. Some 

 of the bouquets and baskets of Preonies were very tasti- 

 ly arranged. 



From Messrs Winship — a great display of flowers, in- 

 cluding PnBonies Whittleji, Humei and fragrans. The 

 houqupts were very large and showy. 



Fi;om the President — Pceonics Whittleji, Humei and 

 Reevesii, Lonicera grata and Canadense, Saxifragra ar- 

 borea, Clematis ozurea grandiflora, Gillenia trifoliata, 

 Double Rockets, (the latter very iine specimens.) and 

 Rosea. 



From W. Meller — a great variety of fine Geraniume. 



From S. R. Johnson — Hardy and tender Roses— a 

 fine collection. 



From W. K. Carter — Pffionies Whittleji, Humei and 

 Fragrans — all fine. Also, bouquets and other flowers. 



From J. L. L. F. VVarren-.-bouquets. 



New Geraniums and Seedling Verbenas, from Mr 

 Wales, Dorchester. 



Bouquets from A. Bnwditch. 



Harriy Roses, from C. Jiewhall. 



From S. Walker — fine large bouquets. 



Native plants, upwards of d5 species, from 3 E. Cot- 

 ting. 



Sarraecnia purpurea and other native plants, from 

 Win. Lincoln, Esq., Worcester. 



Bouquets and Poeonies, from Hovey & Co. 



The exhibition today was for Pteonies for premium, 

 agreeably to notice. The following is the award of the 

 (-oromittee : 



The subscribers, appointed to award the premium on 

 Pffionies, have attended to the duty assigned to them, 

 and aw.ird the Society's premiums for the l>est speci- 

 mens and display of the Pasony, and give the 



First premium to W. E. Carter ; 



Second do. to Wm. Kenrick. 



Committee. 



S. Walker, 

 D Haggerstom, 

 Boston, June 19,1841. 



C. M. HOVEY, Chairman. 



..! 



I NOTICE. 



The Society's Premiums for Roses, (both hardy and 



