1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



295 



down the slope, below the surface, and above an 

 impervious stratum below, dissolving various hurt- 

 ful ingredients, and becoming worse and worse, the 

 further it goes ; whereas, if you could cause it to 

 flow alternately above and below the surface, it 

 would become surcharged with those poisonous 

 matters when below the surface, would deposite 

 them where they would be neutralized, sink again, 

 and again become charged with the same poisonous 

 matters, and again deposite them, and so on, act- 

 ing as a carrier, carrying out load after load of 

 these poisonous matters, and depositing them 

 where, under the influence of sun and air, they 

 would undergo a change which would render them 

 favorable, or at least, not hurtful, to vegetation. 



EOOTS! ECOTS! ROOTS! 



Farmers, cultivate more roots. Do not delay 

 preparations for this important crop. You can soon 

 increase your ability to feed double the amount of 

 stock you now feed ; this will double the manure, 

 and the manure will double your future crops. An 

 acre, with 20 loads of manure, and well cultivated, 

 will give two tons of hay, as an average. Call it 

 worth $40 ; it will cost $5 to harvest it. Another 

 acre, with the same amount of manure, will give 

 800 bushels of carrots, as an average. Cost of cuL 

 tivation, 840. They are worth 25 cts. a bushel for 

 stock, making $200. Deduct cost of cultivation, 

 $40, and we have $160 to offset against the $35 

 value of the hay. This is one way — and a sure one 

 —to increase the profits of the farm — let us try it, 



INGENUITY OF BIEDS. 



Thrushes feed very much on snails, looking for 

 them in mossy banks. Having frequently observed 

 some broken snail-shells near two projecting peb- 

 bles on a gravel walk, which had a hollow between 

 them, I endeavored to discover the occasion of theii- 

 being brought to that situation. At last, I saw a 

 thrush fly to the spot with a snail-shell in his 

 mouth, which he placed between the two stones, 

 and hammered at it with his beak till he had bro- 

 ken it, and was then able to feed on its contents 

 The bird must have discovered that he could not 

 apply his beak with sufficient force to break the 

 shell when it was rolling about, and he therefore 

 foimd out and made use of a spot which would 

 keep the shell in one position. When the lapwing 

 •wants to procure food, it seeks for a worm's cast, 

 and stamps the ground by the side of it with its 

 feet, somewhat in the same manner as I have often 

 done when a boy, in order to procure worms for 

 fishing. After doing this for a short time, the bird 

 waits for the issue of the worm from its hole, who 

 alarmed at the shaking of the ground, endeavors to 

 make its escape, when it is immediately seized, and 

 becomes the prey of the ingenious bird. The lap- 

 wing also frequents the haunts of moles. These 

 animals, when in pursuit of worms, on which they 

 feed, frighten them, and the worm in attempting to 

 escape, comes to the surface of the ground, where 

 it is seized by the lapwing. The same mode of 

 alarming his prey has been related of the gull. — 

 The Cincinnatus. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SOMETHING ABOUT TEEES AND 

 HEDGES. 



Mr. Editor : — There seems to be a growing 

 conviction among all classes of men who have be- 

 stowed any attention upon the subject, that some 

 other method of enclosing fields besides those in 

 general use must ere long be adopted, and that 

 the hedge is to form an important part of this sub- 

 stitution. 



Many experiments which have been tried with 

 trees and shrubs of foreign growth, have for vari- 

 ous reasons partly or wholly failed; but in this, as 

 in most other new things, a want of knowledge 

 combined with a want of patience, deserves the 

 credit of frustrating a large share of these enter- 

 prises. To me, it seems highly important that our 

 btate and County Societies should take up and in- 

 vestigate the matter, so far, at least, as may be nec- 

 essary in order to relieve indi^'idual enterprise of 

 much of the embarrassment under which it now la- 

 bors, and thus prepare the way by the diffusion of 

 knowledge, for such changes in the art of fencing 

 as necessity may demand. I am not aware that any 

 of our societies have as yet taken this matter in hand. 



Much may be done to relieve this growing want 

 of our country, if those farmers who are beginning 

 to regard it with apprehension, would now take the 

 pains to sow a small patch, such as every farmer 

 can easily spare, with the seeds of those trees 

 which are known to be of rapid growth, and which 

 when sufficiently matured, afford material for all 

 the requisites of the farm. This need not, under 

 ordinary circumstances be regarded as a mere ex- 

 periment ; the economj' of such an attempt has 

 been too thoroughly tested, and your readers have 

 become too well acquainted with the results to 

 doubt its practicability. 



Much has been said in your valuable paper 

 which is calculated to attach interest to the subject, 

 and I hope that those who have made successful ex- 

 periments will continue to afford us the light of 

 fheir example. I would like to call the attention of 

 your readers, at this time, to the Tenth Legislative 

 Agricultural Meeting of last year, as reported in 

 your monthly journal, jiage 194. There was much 

 said at that meeting that is pertinent to our subject. 



Can you tell us, Mr. Editor, what kind of Eng- 

 lish oak Mr. Fay referred to on page 194 ? I 

 would like also to know the price of acorns from 

 the English oak. I will mention but one other 

 tree referred to in that report, at present, for I can 

 not take a ramble through the woods now, and 

 that is the Scotch larch. This is used, as I am in- 

 formed, considerably in England for hedges, espe- 

 cially to fence against cattle. Its very rapid growth, 

 even on poor, worn-out land, together with its 

 adaptation to various uses as an almost indestructi- 

 ble material, would doubtless render it an impor- 

 tant acquisition for general use. Are these trees 

 sufficiently hardy to endure the extremes of our 

 climate? Most trees of rapid growth are liable to 

 injury from frost, especially when young. Again, 

 who has got any of the larch to sell ? If they can 

 be imported, as Mr. Fay says they can, I should 

 like a thousand or two of them. C. Blakeley. 



Bristol, Ct., May, 1856, 



Remarks. — Mr. Fay will oblige more than our 

 correspondent by answering his inquiries. 



