528 



NEW ENGLAND FAHMER. 



Nov. 



EXTRACTS AND EEPLIES. 



AN INQUIRY. 



An article which was recently copied into your 

 paper from the Ohio Farmer, says* "The fat of an- 

 imals is, in many respects, for man, the best and 

 cheapest of all the heat-producing articles of diet." 



Now, I am not quite sure I understood the writer 

 of the article referred to ; but if by "heat-produc- 

 ing articles of diet," he refers exclusively to meats, 

 then it is possible his statement maj be correct. If, 

 however, he does not mean to exclude the cereal 

 grains — for these are heat-producing substances as 

 well as flesh and fish, only not wholly designed to 

 give out heat — then I shall be obliged to dissent 

 from his opinion. It has long been known to the 

 scientific world that bread or grain give out a suf- 

 ficient quantity of heat to the system ; while they 

 nourish the body — that is a flesh-producing article 

 — as many as six or eight times longer before they 

 are converted into fat, or even into flesh of any kind, 

 than they do afterward. So much for encouraging 

 the farmer to have his cattle well fed. w. A. A. 



La Grange Place, Sept. 29. 



CORN OR MEAL, FOR FATTDCG HOGS. 



Will some one who has learned which is the most 

 profitable for swine, corn or meal, give us the re 

 suit of his experience ? (a.) A. A. w. 



CHINESE SUG.\R CANE. 



Please tell us where the Chinese Sugar Cane seed 

 can be obtained, at what cost, what soil it requires 

 what amount, and what kind of dressing, and if it 

 will grow in our seasons in Maine ? (b.) 



Kennebunk, Me. A. A. Wells. 



(a.) Working animals require considerable bulk 

 in their food, while animals that are merely laying 

 on fat, require concentrated, or highly nutritious 

 food, and the food that is fine, and that can be the 

 most readily assimilated, or brought into a like sub 

 stance with the body, is the best. Can there be 

 any doubt but the meal is that food ? 



(6.) The Chinese sugar cane has been raised the 

 past summer in various places about Boston, and 

 with perfect success. Our crop was planted in a 

 spot rather unfavorable, but grew ten feet high, 

 and has perfectly seeded. We presume that the 

 same soil and culture that suits the Indian corn 

 will be proper for the sugar cane. Growing, as it 

 has in a season with us both cold and wet, it will 

 undoubtedly flourish finely in our usually hot sum- 

 mers. 



COVERED OR OPEN WELLS. 



Mr. Editor : — What effect does it have upon 

 the water in wells (from fifteen to twenty feet deep) 

 to keep them covered air-tight throughout fhe 

 year ; and if there is any efl'ect, does it become in- 

 jurious to its use ? South Dan vers. 



Oct., 1856. _ 



WASHING MACHINES. 



Speaking of Washing ^Machines, in answer to a 

 recent inquiry in the Fanner, a correspondent says, 

 "Try Wisner's Patent, with zinc floats. We, that 

 is, our better half and our children, are using one 



with wooden floats, and think it saves one-half the 

 labor, washes cleaner, and with less wear to the 

 clothes." 



PLUMS. 



The plum scion mentioned by me, that grew 

 nearly 24 feet in a season, was probably the Brad- 

 shaw. I only measured what grew from April to 

 Nov. J. T. w. 



NATIVE GR.\PES. 



The vine on which these grapes grew was taken 

 from the parent vine 56 years since, and set on the 

 west side of a ledge of rocks, and is thirtj--two 

 inches in circumference ; the branches extend 130 

 feet upon a ledge, and would have gone much far- 

 ther, if it had not been stopped. T. Haskell. 



Gloucester, 1856. 



HOW TO SEND POULTHY TO MARKET. 



My daily observation in the poultry market of 

 this city, of the loss suffered by poultry-raisers for 

 want of a little care or else want of proper knowl- 

 edge, prompts me to offer a word, with the hope 

 that some abler pen will continue the subject. It 

 is mortifying to me to see so much good poultry 

 sold by farmers at half-price, simply because not 

 nicely dressed. Half-dressed, half-fattened fowls 

 will not bring half-price. I will not attempt to de- 

 scribe the best method of fattening, but leaving that 

 to others, I will say, that only a little more fat put 

 upon a fowl after it is in bare passable order will 

 not unfrequently double the value. 



Turkeys and geese should be lulled with great 

 care to keep them from bruising themselves. A 

 very good plan is to tie their wings, and hang them 

 on a pole by their legs, before cutting off the head. 

 The same may be said of other fowls. 



All kinds of poultry should be "dry picked" if to 

 be carried far to market, as they keep better if 

 dressed in this way. If scalded, the water should 

 be just below the boiling point. In any case be 

 very careful not to tear the skin or rub off the cuti- 

 cle (or outer skin) from the legs. After being nice- 

 ly picked, wash in clean warm soap-suds, and then 

 "plump" them — as the Jersey men call it — that is, 

 hold them in boiUng water about five seconds. 



Draw back the skin and cut off" the neck bone 

 near the body, and then draw the skin over again 

 and tie it tightly with a string. This keeps the 

 blood from running over and disfiguring the bodies. 



AVhen all the animal heat is entirely gone, pack 

 them in boxes of about 200 lbs., using clean rye 

 straw, as this is less heating than other kinds. A . 

 little attention to these hints will materially in- \ 

 crease the price and give greater satisfaction to the 

 producer, seller, and consumer. 



Isaac Emens, 226 Front St. 



JVew York, Sept. 8, 1856. 



American Agriculturist. 



!EF° The Andover Advertiser says Mr. John 

 Thompson, of Frye Village, last Spring planted two 

 top onions One of them split into thirteen at the 

 root, and had ten stems with, o?ie hundred and forty - 

 one onions on the top of the stems. The other split 

 into twelve at the root, nine stems one hundred and 

 forty on the top ; all the tops had seed on. The 

 seed came from Wisconsin, 



