1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



139 



no mystery at all, to those who have seen the vast, 

 unbroken prairies, on every side. Please send us 

 S07tie of your best farmers ; and many of your most 

 sterling men and women. Yours, &c., M. K. C. 

 Tipton, Iowa, 1856. 



Fvr the New England Farmer. 



THE GOLDEN RULE. 



AiE : — '■'■Green grow the rushes, O .'" 



BY THE "peasant BARD." 



T/te Gulden Rule 's the rule of rules, 

 But few there be who fullmc it; 



Have ijuu 'it not ? — hare you forgot 1 

 G'J buy, beg or borrow it. 



See'st thou within thy brother's eye 



The mote, when thine is full of stuff 

 Enougli to take, and easy make 



Your Human lout; and strong enough ! — 

 The Golden Rule, &c. 



Why take advantage of the weak 



And simple-minded Josey, ? 

 Why him deceive, and make believe 



A cat-tail is a posey, i" — 



The Golden Rule, &c. 



Why hold the noses of the poor 



Hard down upon the grinding-stone ? 



Full many flaws have Fortune's laws. 

 And you may yet be finding one. 

 The Golden Rule, &c. 



O, dweller in the house of glass ! 



Why will you aye be throwing stone .' 

 If one you crack should cast it back, 



I tell you what it is — you're done. 

 The Golden Rule, &c. 



We know the human craft is weak. 

 The sport of Sootie's bellows, Sirj 

 But let us see if we can't be 

 Confounded clever fellows, Sir ! 



The Golden Rule's the rule of rules, 

 ' But few there be who follow it ; 

 Have you forgot .'^have you it not ' 

 Go buy, beg, or borrow it. 



For the New England Farmer. 



FLANNEL NEXT TO THE SKIN. 



Mr. Editor : — I like your occasional instructions 

 as to domestic duties — and was particularly pleased 

 with your remarks on the use of flannel next to the 

 skin — and the mode of washing to prevent its full- 

 ing. This accords with my own experience in years 

 gone by. But, for two years last past, I have worn 

 a vest made of raw silk next to the skin, with de- 

 cided comfort and convenience — and like it better 

 than any flannel I ever used, and find it quite as 

 good economy. Two such vests, that cost in the 

 first instance five dollars, I have now worn two 

 years, having them washed about once a fortnight, 

 and they are good ve->ts yet. During this period, 

 I have taken no cold, nor had any sickness that con- 

 fined me to my house. To be sure, I take care to 

 have a thorough ablution with cold water every 

 morning, and a dry wiping afterwards. If any one 

 can find a better prescription for the preservation 

 of health, I should like to know how it reads. 



1 do not boast of knowledge in these matters, I 

 only give my own EXPERIENCE. 



Feb. 4, 185G. 



FIFTH LEGISLATIVE AGHICULTURAL 

 MEETING. 



Reported fob the Farmer bt H. E. Rockwell. 

 The,^j!/i regular meeting of the Legislative Agri- 

 cultural Society was held on Tuesday evening in 

 the Hall of the House of Representatives. 



The subject for discussion was the same as that 

 at the last meeting, "Manures, and their Applica- 

 tion:'' 



The meeting was called to order by Dr. FiSHEK, 

 of Fitchburg, Chairman of the Executive Commit- 

 tee, who invited ]Mr. E. T. Parsons, of Ludlow, to 

 act as chairman of the meeting. He said that he 

 regarded the subject which was to be discussed this 

 evening, as at the foundation of all successful farm- 

 ing. He had had little experience in the use of 

 guano or the other concentrated manures. He 

 had been obliged to manufactui'e his own manures 

 by taking peat, muck, mud, and the earth from un- 

 der old fences, removed for the purpose, and putting 

 it into compost heaps. He then urged gentlemen 

 present to take up the subject, and to express their 

 views in their own way. 



Mr. CooLEY, of Conway, said his practice had 

 been to raise everything he could on his farm, and 

 to feed out upon it everything he raised. He cut 

 brakes and swamp grass, and Avorked it into ma- 

 nure by using it as litter. He thought it better to 

 apply manure, especially on wet land, before it is 

 fermented ; he did not therefore work over his ma- 

 nure much, or allow it to ferment much before ap- 

 plying it. 



Dr. Reynolds, of Concord, was next called on, 

 who commenced his remarks by speaking of the 

 very great importance of the subject of manures. 

 We need to study vegetable physiology, and apply 

 food or stimulus to their support and growth, as 

 we study human physiology and apply either cod 

 or stimulus as we need. It is important, therefore, 

 to know what is food, and what is stimulus merely, 

 and to know how to apply them in due proportion. 

 It is important to understand the difference between 

 a stimulus and a nutriment to plants. We may 

 have a thrifty plant with little seed or grain ; and, 

 on the other hand, we may have much gi-ain with 

 small stalks. We need both, and must therefore 

 furnish the material which will produce them. 



In most New England soils, humus and lime are 

 needed. Our soils are exhausted, by carrying off 

 the humus in crops, without returning to them 

 enough to compensate for it ; and it is therefore 

 necessary to supply it artificially. The lime is car- 

 ried off in the bones and milk of the cows, in large 

 quantities, and both these — the humus and the lime 

 - -should be restored to the land in such a form 

 that they can be taken up by the plants easily. The 

 question arises as to the form in which they shall 

 be applied. This is for experience to determine ; 

 and farmers should all make a record of thf^'v '^t- 



