88 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



torpor of old age, may we not believe that the per- 

 severing study of agriculture, involving as it does 

 the most noble and elevating subjects of investiga- 

 tion and thought which the broad fields of science 

 afford, and being withal so congenial to the tastes 

 and habits of the aged, will do still more to pro- 

 mote the vigor of their minds, and to counteract 

 their natural inclination to repose and inaction ? 



With such belief I rene\t my subscription to the 

 Farmer, and hope that it may continue to direct 

 the young, to encourage the middle-aged, and to 

 Bend the invigorating blood of new thought through 

 the minds of the aged. s. F. 



Winchester, Dec. 25, 1855. 



ES9PUS SPITZENBEEG APPLE. 



^ 



Rather large; roundi.=;h ovate; yellow, 

 mostly covered with rich, dark red; stem 

 medial, slender, in a wide cavity ; calyx 

 small, in a shallow basin; flesh yellow, 

 firm, crisp, juicy, of a rich sprightly flavor. 

 Winter.^ A good grower, and sjood bearer. 

 It flourishes well in new lands in Maine, 

 (excepting a defect in the trunk,) and in 

 New York it ranks as their best winter ap- 

 ple. But on old lands in this region, the 

 growth is poor, and the fruit inferior. — 



\ 



When well gro^vn, it is rather superior to the 

 Baldwin in quality, but inferior in growth, fairness, 

 and bearing. Origin, Esopus, N. Y. — CoWs Fruit 

 Book. 



EISH GUANO. 



We have received a sample of Fish Guano, man- 

 ufactured by the Narragansett Manufacturing Com- 

 pany. If taste and smell afford any e\'idence of its 

 virtues as a fertilizer, we think this , article must 

 have a powerful influence on any crop, Th? Indi- 

 ans used a dead herring for each hill of corn, and 

 obtained fine crops ; so people now living near the 

 sea-shore, and having access to fish, increase the 

 fertility of their soil thereby wonderfully. If this 

 article is made up, mainly, of fish, it will prove val- 

 uable, as the bones, in the minute state in which we 

 find them, are exceedingly useful, especially on 

 our old soils. S. B. Halliday, Providence, R. I., 

 is the Agent of the company. 



S^" Rollin H. Sanford's fine house in Brooklyn, 

 furniture, pictures, &c., were nearly destroyed by 

 tire on Saturday morning. 



BEEAKING COLTS TO BIT AND HAR- 

 NESS. 

 Much may done with young horses in the way 

 of culti\ ating their good manners, and forwarding 

 their edi cation — or breaking, as it is termed — be- 

 fore the a d of the colt-breaker is required. Foals 

 should be accustomed to familiarities, fondling, and 

 kind us: ge, from their birth ; and if that kind 

 treatment be continued as they grow up, they will 

 occasion very little trouble when the time arrives 

 for them to be broken. Before that operation is 

 conimeu' ed, it is desirable that a bit should be 

 placed in the young animal's mouth. Any plain 

 snaffle of sufficient substance will answer the pur- 

 pose. There should not be any reins attached to 

 it ; it shi.uld be merely suspended by the head 

 piece. The colt will thus learn to play 

 with the bit, which will tend very ma- 

 terially to the establishment of a good 

 mouth, care being observed that the 

 bit is suspended evenly by the proper 

 length of the head-piece. This may be 

 adjusted by any quiet, good-tempered 

 person, to whose care the young crea- 

 ture is entrusted, and may be left on 

 from one to two hours daily. A loose 

 box, hovel, or small yard, are the most 

 suitable places for the purpose. 



It is a very bad custom, though a 

 very prevalent one, when a young horse 

 is first bitted, to make use of reins, 

 which are drawn tight. A colt-breaker 

 when employed, should therefore be 

 cautioned against it, for it will cause 

 the pupil to contract a habit of leaning 

 on the bit, and probably create a one- 

 sided mouth. By such treatment, ma- 

 ny colts will talve a position in one cor- 

 ner of the box or hovel, and there stand 

 and sulk ; whereas if the bit be used as 

 I have recommended, they will champ 

 and play with it freely, thereby produc- 

 ing the sensibility of mouth which is es- 

 sential to future perfection. 



Breaking to harness may be considered necessary 

 with such horses as are adopted for carriages ; and 

 their services after they are three years old may be 

 advantageously called in requisition on the farm. 

 Their first introduction should never be to a noisy, 

 heavy cart. The plan which 1 have adopted, with 

 invariable success, has been to put the harness on 

 so that the animal may become quite famiHar to it 

 in the stable, after which I have a cord attached to 

 each trace. The horse is then led out_ by an assis- 

 tant, and another man, with the cords in his hands, 

 offers a slight resistance, as the animal moves for- 

 ward ; by this initiation the alarm frequently occa- 

 sioned by the pressure of the collar against the 

 shoulders is avoided, as the man who holds the 

 cords can instantly relax them if necessary. After 

 two or three lessons of this kind, neither trouble 

 nor danger need be apprehended in putting the an- 

 imal to any employment calculated for the advance- 

 ment of his education in the art of drawing. — 

 London Farmers' Magazine. 



IS^The annual value of poultry in the United 

 States is estimated at twenty millions of dollars. 

 The city of New York expends yearly a million 

 and a halt of dollars in the purchase of eggs alone. 



