102 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



Plant shallow, not over one inch deep, and tread 

 the ground or roll it after the seed is in. Rows 

 about four feet apart, and seeds three or four 

 inches apart in the row ; so as to insure plants 

 enough for one to each space of twelve to eigh- 

 teen inches. Hoe them as soon as they are fairly 

 up, which will bo in fifteen to twenty days after 

 planting. With these, as with every other young 

 plant, careful attention is necessary, to insure 

 the best success. If well attended to, an aver- 

 age growth of four feet each may be expected 

 the first season. After the first year, but little 

 attention is needed. Do not undertake to im- 

 prove them by trimming, except to prevent 

 crotches, which are objectionable if timber is the 

 object. 



They will withstand the winds, as well proba- 

 bly as any other tree. The only enemy we dread 

 is the borer, which is sometimes troublesome, 

 but not seriously so. The general advantages 

 are, rapid growth, fourteen to sixteen years pro- 

 ducing trees large enough for posts, great dura- 

 bility and weight, with strength and toughness, 

 fitting them for wagon-hubs, railroad-ties, &c. 

 No other timber, I think, equals it for the pur- 

 poses desired, and certainly none in the facilities 

 with which it can be produced. — Levi J. Hop- 

 kins, in the Country Gentleman. 



FIRST LEGISLATIVK AGRICULTURAIi 

 MEETING. 



It v*'as ordered by the Legislature on Monday, 

 Jan. 10th, that the use of the hall of the House 

 of Representatives be granted for the purpose 

 of holding the usual Legislative Agricultural 

 meetings during each Monday evening of the 

 session. 



The first of the series was accordingly held on 

 last Monday evening. The meeting was called 

 to order by the Secretary of the State Board of 

 Agriculture, who stated the objects for which the 

 meetings were held, with a sketch of what they 

 had hitherto been, and what they had accom- 

 plished, and suggested by way of organization, 

 that a chairman be appointed for the evening, 

 when Mr. Miller, of Coleraine, was called to 

 the chair, and Mr. G. P. Sargent, of Newbury, 

 to whom our reporter is indebted, was chosen 

 Secretary. 



The Chairman stated what had been done in 

 his own town by way of forming a farmers' club, 

 how it had been conducted, and what its influence 

 had been. 



Mr. Flint suggested the propriety of appoint- 

 ing a committee to nominate a permanent com- 

 mittee of arrangements to have the general su- 

 pervision of the meetings, when Messrs. Peck, 

 of Sterling, Paige, of Brimfield, and the Secre- 

 tary of the Board of Agriculture, were appointed. 



Interesting remarks were made by Messrs. 

 Martin, of Warren, Haynes, of Sturbridge, 

 Paige, of Brimfield, and several others. 



Mr. Flint gave a general account of the origin 



and condition of the agricultural societies of the 

 State, and what they had done and were doing, 

 and of the origin and manner in which the Board 

 of Agriculture was constituted, and a succinct 

 statement of the connection of the Board with 

 the management of the State Farm at Westboro'. 

 Questions being asked with regard to the State 

 Society, he answered, by giving an account of its 

 operations and management, in the impoi-tation 

 of stock, in offering premiums, &c. It was 



Voted, That the subject of the next evening's 

 discussion be, The interest and the duty of the 

 Oovernment to develop and encourage the devel- 

 opment of industrial resources of the State, and 

 that His Excellency, the Governor, be invited to 

 preside. 



Adjourned to Monday, Jan. 17th, at 7 o'clock, 

 P.M. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 COUNTY AGKICUIiTUKAL SOCIETIES. 



Mr. Editor: — Sir,—1 like the plain talk in 

 your columns of this morning, about our County 

 Agricultural Societies, and the support they re- 

 ceive from the State. The original design, at 

 the commencement of the organization, (for I re- 

 member it well,) was, that there should be one 

 State society, and one Society in each of the 

 counties of the Commonwealth, and no more, 

 and that each of these should receive $600 a year 

 from the Treasury of the State. This, if my es- 

 timate is right, would amount to a sum not ex- 

 ceeding $9000 — a moderate contribution for the 

 benefit of the farmer. But since then, there have 

 grown up some eight or ten other excrescencies, 

 receiving four or five thousand dollars annually, 

 together with the State Farm at Westboro', three 

 to six thousand more, all of which in my judg- 

 ment are misappropriations of the funds of the 

 State, that demand immediate correction, inas- 

 much as they endanger the entire fabric. 



A Massachusetts Farmer. 



JDcc. 25, 1858. 



A SINGING MOUSE. 



One of these little animals inhabits our office. 

 For several years past he has made his home in 

 it. He has become very familiar with all hands, 

 and in broad daylight he can be seen playing 

 around the feet of the compositors, or dancing 

 about the cases, seemingly as little apprehensive 

 of danger as if snugly away in his nest. The 

 paste-cup is his delight, but he never objects to a 

 bit of cake, or fruit, with which his admirers oc- 

 casionally supply him. He is a most remarkable 

 little animal. A piece of cake puts him in high 

 glee, and when he has devoured it, he gets in a 

 corner and sings like a canary bird, his notes be- 

 ing sweet and melodious. Sometimes he will 

 sing for an hour without intermission. He is a 

 general favorite — does what he pleases with im- 

 punity — and is regarded as a sort of fixture in 

 the office. Even while we are writing he is play- 

 ing on the table, and is so tame that he suffers 

 himself to be handled without any show of fear. 

 — Cumberland Telegraph. 



