1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



247 



sod, for if broken up, it will take two or three years 

 to get a firm sod, and the land is more liable to get 

 thrown up with the frost." 



The inquiry then which I wish to make is, would 

 you recommend the above plan, or would you rath- 

 er bi*eak up the land, and seed down with oats ? for 

 which the land is well suited. T. Bkidge. 



JS/orth Tewksbury, 1856. 



Remarks. — Undertake no more than you can ac- 

 complish, and do it well. Plow, by all means, ma- 

 nure liberally, pulverize thoroughly, sow about two 

 bushels of oats per acre and cut them for fodder, 

 and with the oats sow one bushel of red-top and 

 eight or ten quarts of herds grass seed per acre. 

 Top dressing will not give new roots to your grass 

 — at least, not very readily. 



MY MODE OF FARMING. 



Mr. Farmer: — In 1842 I purchased a wild lot 

 of land, commenced clearing it, seeding down with 

 the first crop. Some part of my land is very dry, 

 getting no more than ten or twelve hundred pounds 

 of hay per acre. In 1847, I commenced breaking 

 up, plowing five or six inches deep, sowing the first 

 year with oats and getting a light crop. But since 

 I have become a constant reader of the ..V. E. 

 Farmer, I have plowed eight inches deep, (and more) 

 sowed the first crop to oats, peas and oats together, 

 and peas separate, turning under the stubble in the 

 fall. In the spring I harrow it well. I then haul 

 the manure from the yard and stable, drop in 

 small heaps, spread it even and plow in before it 

 dries, usually about thirty loads per acre. For corn, 

 I dung in the hill with what I make yarding my 

 cattle nights the previous summer. 



The next spring I sowed 1^ bushels wheat, | 

 bushel timothy and four lbs. clover seed per acre. 

 After the above treatment I got li to 2 tons per 

 acre, instead of ten or twelve Inmdred pounds. I 

 never allow myself to take more than three crops 

 before seeding down. Shall we, as Vermont or 

 New England farmers, take a few acres of our best 

 land and wear it out by keeping it under the plow 

 for six or eight years in succession ? Nay, but let 

 us cultivate our poorest part, so that we shall have 

 none but good. Freeman. 



Korthjield, Vt., Feb. 26th, 1855. 



VALUABLE SHEEP. 



Mr. Nathaniel M. True, of Meriden, N. H., 

 has the present season shorn 100 sheep which av- 

 eraged 6 pounds 14 ounces per head, of good wool, 

 well washed, and sold readily for the highest jn-ice 

 paid at time of sale. They are remarkably healthy, 

 easily domesticated, quiet, cheaply kept and in 

 length, thickness and compactness of fleece, are un- 

 surpassed. A Friend to Improvement. 



the red spider on roses. 



Mr. Editor : — Will you have the goodness, 

 through your valuable paper, to tell me what will 

 kill the red spider, that is so destructive to house 

 plants ? I have a choice rose that they have almost 

 destroyed. A SUBSCRIBER. 



Hopkinton, Feb., 1856. 



Reaiarks. — Whale oil soap, largely diluted, or 

 soap-suds and tobacco water, are said to destroy 

 the Acarus, or red spider. We have not tested it. 



MICE GNAWING YOUNG TREES. 



Mr. Editor : — I find upon examination of my 

 young apple trees, that the mice are making havoc 

 among them by gnawing ofi' the bark, near the 

 ground, where the snow is deep. I think many 

 valuable young trees are ruined already, and more 

 will be, if neglected. For prevention I tread down 

 the snow around the trees. Will you give us a 

 method to save the trees that have been gnawed by 

 the mice. j. n. w. 



JV. E. Village, March, 1856. 



Remarks. — If the tree is a valuable one, it may 

 be saved by cutting the edges of the bark smooth 

 and inserting, perpendicularly, three or four strips 

 of fresh bark from another tree, binding it up care- 

 fully from the air. 



native stock and MILK. 



Genti^emen : — Glancing the eye over the reports 

 of the discussions on Neat Stock, that took place at 

 the farmers' meeting, in the State House, on Tues- 

 day evening last, though it is not easy to conceive, 

 how such varied reports of the same thing could be 

 given, one thing is clear, that JVative Stock advan- 

 ced very considerably on this occasion. Thanks to 

 our noble friend, Mr. Fay, for the views he ex- 

 pressed. He is discriminating in observation, and 

 independent in the expression of his opinions. He 

 is above all sideway or sinister influences. He has 

 no "axe to grind" on the iai-m, or any where else. 



Several facts seem to have been admitted by all 

 the speakers. 



First, that the best butter-producing cows, or dai- 

 ry stock, they have ever know were natives, or the 

 common stock of New England. 



Second, that not less than six quaiis of milk can 

 be relied on, under circumstances most favorable, 

 for the production of a pound of butter. EsSEX. 



now to kill ticks on sheep. 



Mr. Editor : — I saw in the last number of your 

 paper a method by which to kill ticks on sheep, 

 put in by E. B. M. I think he must be some years 

 behind the times. My method to kill ticks on sheep 

 is, to feed them on sul])hur, mixed with salt, in the 

 month of March or April, before they leave the 

 barn; give them three or four ]jounds to one hun- 

 dred sheep, given at three diflereut times, and I 

 will warrant you not to have any ticks at shearing 

 time. I have tried it three times, and it proved a 

 killer to every tick. 1 have a small flock of sheep, 

 and there has not been a tick on them for two years. 



Ludlow, Vt. R. c. h. 



a LARGE HOG. 

 Mr. Wm. Childs, of Union Village, has this day 

 slaughtered his hog, whose weight was as follows : 



Round hog 803 lbs. 



Rough fat 40 



Total 843 lbs. 



and was two years and nine months old. 



Union Village, March 5. M. R. Walker. 



the concord GRAPE. 



A. E. p., Springfield, Vt.—The price of the Con- 

 cord grape, this spring, is $2 00 ; or for a dozen 

 plants, $18 00. 



