216 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



graft will frequently grow ten or fifteen feet during 

 the first season, and yield a fair crop the second 

 year." So long as the grape \ine can be obtained 

 so readily by cuttings and layers, it is hardly worth 

 while to gaft much, as new shoots from the original 

 root will constantly sjn'ing up. 



BOILING SHINGLES IN LIME AND S.ALT. 



Mr. Editor : — If the following fact is of any val- 

 ue, it is at your service. 



There is a building in this place, covered with 

 shingles that were taken from another roof, (where 

 they had been in use some years) wei'e boiled in lime 

 and salt about five minutes, and then relaid. This 

 was twenty-seven years ago, and these shingles 



1. Shall I plow the apple trees and cultivate 

 without cropping ? or — 



2. Shall I plow and apply some concentrated 

 manure, and if so, what manure ? oi- — 



3. Shall I keep it in grass and sow guano or 

 some other stimulant ? 



Any suggestions will be thankfully received by 

 Your friend, P. F. 



East Charlemont, Feb., 1856. 



Remarks. — Plow as deeply and thoroughly as 

 possible over every part of the land before the trees 

 make much root. It can be done cheaper and bet- 

 ter before the trees are set. Such a position is the 

 very one whereon to try specific manures. Do not 

 mix them. Try guano, superphosphate, fish guano, 



look, now, as if they would last some years longer, and Gould's muriate. Thorough work as far as 

 _ Other roofs that were treated in the same way ^.jn ^g ^j^^re profitable than to have the 



smce, appear well : tney are clean and smooth, the ;^ . , , ,,..,.„. ^, rn. 



moss does not form on them, and the water rmis ^^^ ^'^^''^^ ^^ ^^'''^ ''^"^ ^'o^'^ '^ mdiflerently. Three 

 off readily. or four hundred pounds of either of the first three, 



There seems to be no reason why white wash, ' or six to ten barrels per acre, of the last, would be 

 with the addition of salt, would not be beneficial 

 when applied to a dry roof, in proportion to the 

 lime and salt absorbed by the shingles. 



Have you not observed that where the rain wash- 

 es the lime from the chimney upon the roof, that 

 the shingles remain sound longer than on the other 

 part ? Yours truly, s. E. P. 



Spnng field, Vt, 1856. 



MEAL FOR CAL\'ES. 



One year I began the wmter with forty calves. 

 The first part of the winter I sold three, as they 

 were wanted for express purposes, which left me a 

 flock of thirty-seven, not to die, but to be wintered, 

 if in my power. All my time was devoted to the 

 care of the calves and the rest of my stock. Dur 

 ing the first of the winter, some of my neighbors 

 would say, as they saw them, "you of course must 

 expect to lose some, out of so large a lot." About 

 the middle of winter, I found some three or four to 

 have failed, or did not appear to look quite as well 

 as formerly. 



Thinking they must have extra feed of some kind, 

 I cut ruta-bagas with a shovel very fine, and allow- 

 ed two quarts, with the addition of a handful of oats, 

 to each calf. They still failed under that feed. I 

 thought of what I had read in the Farmer, of the 

 value of meal ; therefore, instead of the oats, I add- 

 ed a handful of meal. In a few days, I found 

 them to be on the gain. They were all kept through 

 that winter and the next. T. S. Fletcher. 



fVest Windsor, Ft., 1856. 



WHAT TO DO IN A YOUNG ORCHARD. 



Mr. Editor : — I have ten acres of ground near- 

 ly new, of a deep warm loam, one-third is level, 

 and the remainder rather steep, descending to the 



a Hberal dressi 



mg. 



HOW TO KEEP A HORSE. 



Mr. Editor : — I have a valuable horse, and wish 

 to keep him in as good condition as possible, on 

 four quarts of grain daily, and first quality English 

 hay. I wish to know whether it is best to give 

 him all the hay he will eat, or keep him on allow- 

 ance ? Last winter, he was not doing any work, 

 to speak of, and had four quarts of grain and all 

 the hay he would eat, (and he did eat enormous 

 quantities) and was thin at that. 1 am of the ojjin- 

 ion that if he did not eat so much hay he would 

 look better ; he is perfectly healthy. 



A Lover of Agriculture. 



Uxbridge, March, 1856. 



Remarks. — Men who have large interests in 

 horses, study into the various modes of keeping and 

 raising them, and learn the true way, so that their 

 example becomes valuable. There is not an owner 

 of a livery stable, or of stage or omnibus lines, who 

 feeds his horses more than three times a day. 

 Whatever grain is allowed is mixed with cut hay or 

 other fodder, and fed to them in this form. Carrots 

 often take the place of hay and grain at noon. 

 Great regularity should be observed in feeding. 

 Treated in this manner, a horse will not consume 

 moi-e than one-half the hay he would under the 

 course you have practiced, yet he will keep in bet- 

 ter flesh and strength. 



measurement of milk. 

 Mr. Editor : — Four hundred quarts of milk, 



north and north-east. About one-half of it has late- P'^*^!' °^^^^"^'^' »<• ^e^'^" <^e°*^^ 1^^^ quart, will come 

 ly been set to orcharding, and the remainder is des-'*^" ^^^"^J'^g*^^ ^o^^'^^'^ ' ^^^ ^^™^ """^ "^ the 

 tined for that purpose. It is now in mowing, and! '^""^ quart, will measure in round numbers, four 

 yields near one ton to the acre; the grass is thin] hundred and eighty-eight quarts, which at six cents 

 and tall, mostlv herds grass, and the whole is full P^^ ([^^^^'i, will come to twenty-nine dollars and 



of blackberry bushes ; these I wish to exterminate. 

 The land is good for corn, and excellent for pota- 

 toes, but it is so situated that I cannot cart manure 

 on it mthout fording the Deerfield river, which is , 

 generally impracticable at planting time, and al- ■ '^'^^^ measure, sold 

 ways difficult. I wish to make a few inquiries. i March Sth, 1856 



twenty-eight cents. The milkman that alters his 

 measure from beer to wine, and his price from sev- 

 en to six cents per quart, gains one dollar and twen- 

 ty-eight cents on every four hundred quarts of milk, 



J. B. 



