1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



397 



for lSo5, were near $15,000, or one-third of the 

 gross revenues and three-fourths of the net reve- 

 nues. The estate jmid no city tax for 1854, which 

 would have been for Baltimore's half over $15,000, 

 and for the whole $30,000 — or a sum greater than 

 the whole net revenue. Such are the naked and 

 startling facts displayed by the rejiort. Nor is the 

 end yet ; three suits are now pending against the 

 estate, each involving a large sum, and each carry- 

 ing a new burden of expense." 



FvT the New England Farmer. 



LITTLE THINGS. 



Or, a Walk in My Garden....No. 8. 



Ha ! ha ! ha ! There is a Tomato in blossom ! 

 How long I have nursed it to secure a feast of to- 

 matoes. The richest, loveliest and healthiest of all 

 the productions of my garden. Then why not 

 laugh, and call out the wife to see it ? Much of our 

 pleasure is derived from witnessing the improve- 

 ments around us. Our eldest daughter grows tall- 

 er every day, and the heart of the parent is set 

 aglow with "the thought that she will soon be a 

 woman. Those tomatoes, too, will soon be ripe, 

 and the ingenuity of the cook will be put to the test 

 in serving them up. Speaking of the tomato, one 

 thing will be noticed by those who have had but 

 little experience in their cultivation, and that is, 

 that when started in the house we should not be in 

 too great a hurry to transplant them. Not till the 

 warm weather in June, will they grow in open air. 

 I would like to know from medical men, whether 

 they have met with cases of our autumnal fevers in 

 persons who have made a daily, or even weekly use 

 of tomatoes. My impression is that such cases are 

 rare. But let us go along and look at those 



EARLY FRENCH EMPEROR PEAS, 



which I received from the Governor of Maine. — 

 How beautiful and prolific they look. Then there 

 is another nameless kind, which they say is just as 

 good to boil when dry, as when green. Who can 

 give me its name ? Then there are the Prince 

 Albert, the Marrow-fat, and several other kinds re- 

 ceived from the Patent Office, all doing finely. I 

 have learned a little secret, I believe, in raising peas. 

 Spade up a strip in the fall, and incorporate some 

 manure with the soil, and in the spring, stir the 

 ground lightly with hoe and rake, ])lant them an 

 inch in dej^th, and they will come forward earlier 

 and bear the drought better than when planted 

 shallow. The ground will be porous and allow the 

 water to drain from it better than when spaded in 

 the spring. But let us glance at the 



They are doing well. The onion maggot has not 

 disturbed them. A neighbor tells me that no in- 

 sect will eat tansy, (Tanacetum vulgare.) If so, 

 why will not the expressed juice keep off the mag- 

 got, and that prince of rascals, the 



CURCULIO, 



who has taken nearly all my plums this year. I 

 have no confidence in any remedy yet suggested, 

 though it is best to keep experimenting, for I nev- 

 er yet saw so malevolent a looking fidlow as this 

 same curculio. 1 don't think much of the naturalist 

 who should bestow on him so euphonious a name. 



I have thought of trimming some of my trees as 

 compactly as possible, and putting round some mil- 

 linet until they close their career for the season, I 

 notice that they have also bitten the apple. 

 Bethel, Me., July 5, 1856. N. T. T. 



CURRANT WINE. 



The following recipe for making currant wine is 

 s«nt us by one of the best physicians in Middlesex 

 County : 



Let the currants be thoroughly ripened before 

 gathering, and squeeze them with the hand in a 

 sieve, to avoid any mixture of seeds and stem with 

 the juice. Strain the juice, and to every quart, add 

 two quarts of water. To every quart of the mix- 

 ture add one pound of sugar. Put this mixture in- 

 to a clean keg, of a size adapted to the quantity, in 

 order that by filling the keg the refuse matter of 

 fermentation maybe thrown out of the bung. 



When all fermentation has ceased, bung the 

 cask, and let it remain in a cool cellar a few weeks, 

 until all sediment has subsided ; then draw off the 

 clear liquor into bottles. Very much of the future 

 good character of the wine will depend upon the 

 manner of corking, and as you may not be provid- 

 ed with a machine for the purpose, let me suggest 

 to throw the corks into boiling water, which pro- 

 cess will render them very soft in a few minutes, 

 and in this condition they may be driven very tight 

 with great ease. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



BRAKES AND "LHTFOREVER." 



Please communicate through the Farmer the best 

 method of killing brakes on land too wet and stony 

 to plow ; and also how to destroy liveforever. 



Chittenden, Vl. r. e. b. 



Remarks. — We know of no other method of 

 destroying brakes than that of cutting them in Au- 

 gust two or three times and grubbing with the hoe ; 

 after this is done fine manure spread on with some 

 grass seed will be well, — for if the grass seed should 

 start, and the brakes were kept down for a while, 

 the grass might eventually get the upper hand and 

 clothe your land with grass instead of brakes. That 

 which is destined to "live forever" we cannot kill, 

 but the attempt may be made on the plant which 

 you call liveforever, the same as on the brakes. 

 The first and essential thing to be done, in such a 

 case as you describe, is thorough draining — that 

 will accomplish more towards the destruction of the 

 offensive plants than all cutting and grubbing. — 

 Drain it. 



DOUBLE SWARD PLOW, 



I would inquire through the columns of the JV. 

 E. Farmer, if there is such an implement as a double 

 side-hill ploiv, made, used or sold in this part of 

 the country ? If so, where can they be oblained? 



Sunapee, J\t. H.,June, 185G. 



Remarks. — A double side hill plow is manufac- 

 tured and sold by Nourse, Mason & Co., Ouincy 

 Hall, Boston. 



