1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



123 



a good many such farmers that will sell their hay, 

 and cheat their cattle, and soil, for the sake of a 

 few dollars, for the present time, G. D. s. 



West Danville, Me., 1859. 



INJURED HORSES. 



To "Taunton" — I have known a horse to re- 

 ceive a very severe cut from kicking against the 

 plate that attaches the whiffletree to the crossbar, 

 severing the cord so that it protruded from the 

 wound, to recover, so as to perform carriage and 

 farm work without inconvenience. Three-fourths 

 of an inch was cut off, and it was then placed 

 back, and, as is well known in surgery, the inter- 

 stice filled and restored the ankle to nearly its 

 former strength and flexibility. V. C. G. 



NafJiua, 1859. 



Remarks. — We are glad to hear it. The one 

 or two horses we have seen thus injured, were 

 utterly ruined. 



FLOORS IN HORSE STALLS. 



"W. D. L." is informed that it is customary to 

 build horse stalls with inclined floors, but they 

 are usually inclined more than is necessary to se- 

 cure the object — cleanliness, particularly in sale- 

 stables, as it makes a horse look larger to have 

 his forward feet elevated three or four inches, 

 but it is very objectionable for a horse that stands 

 much in the stall. One-half inch to the yard is 

 amply sufficient. 



It is a very good way to construct the floor of 

 two thicknesses of inch boards instead of one of 

 plank, matching the under layer, and placing the 

 upper boards about three-eighths of an inch 

 apart, using boards about six inches wide, It 

 economises the bedding twenty-five per cent. 



Nashua, N. II., 1859. v. c. G. 



DANVERS RED POTATOES. 



Mr. William Hanson, of Barre, Vt., raised the 

 past season, 505 bushels of Danvers red potatoes 

 on 1^ acres ; also 725 bushels of oats on 13 acres 

 (10 acres greensward.) L. H. Thurber. 



Washington, Vt., 1859. 



DUCHESSE D'aNGOULEME PEARS. 



J. H. Jones, Esq., Clinton, Illinois, writes us 

 that he raised the above named variety of pear 

 last season that weighed from 12 to 17 ounces 

 each. 



Should like the volume mentioned, if it can be 

 sent free of cost. 



BUNCH ON A horse's LEG. 



Can you or your readers tell me the cause of 

 a bunch on a horse's forward leg, bt-low the knee 

 on the inside ; I think it is called a splint ; and 

 if it can he taken off', or if it bur's a horse ? The 

 bunch is as hard as bone. A SUBSCRIBER. 



Millbury, Mass., Jan., 1859. 



A MORRILL COLT. 

 Mr. Perley Roberts, of Washington, Vt., 

 has a Morrill colt, foaled June loth, 1857, which 

 weighed, Dec. 29Lh, 1858, 947^ pounds. He had 

 no extra keeping. 



for the New England Farmer. 

 KOOFING MATERIALS. 



Dear Sir : — When I answered your questions 

 about roofing materials through your paper, I 

 did not expect to arouse the wrath of all the pro- 

 prietors of unmentioned small quarries in Ver- 

 mont, nor did I wish to involvemyself in a news- 

 paper controversy, nor did I suppose I should be 

 purposely misrepresented. 



I did not say that slates must fade to be as 

 good as the Welsh, but that all the strong and best 

 Vermont slates do fade upon continued exposure 

 to the weather, whilst all which do not fade 

 are soft and of little value for roofing, however 

 well they maybe adapted to slabs, &c. The fact 

 is unquestionable, and may be proved by any one 

 who will trouble himself to try the experiment of 

 wetting a slate which soaks water, and exposing 

 it to the action of frost. The same power which 

 will break your pitcher when full of water, by 

 freezing the water, will in a few seasons' expos- 

 ure, disintegrate the slate. 



My object in writing you was to convey desi- 

 rable information to those of your readers who 

 may have buildings to cover, and to facilitate 

 their researches ; after giving the merits of slate 

 for a roof, I gave tests of value. These tests are 

 admitted by the best authorities to be of absolute 

 importance, and properly applied, will satisfy any 

 experimenter. 



For power of resistance to frost and consequent 

 power to resist disintegration, the quantity of 

 water a slate will absorb in a given time, the one 

 absorbing the most is the poorest. 



For strength, elasticity, toughness and long 

 resistance to strain when laid on the roof, or to 

 concussion of hail, of falling stones, bricks, or the 

 tread of persons moving over the roof, the weight 

 a given slate will bear without breaking when 

 supported by its extremeties and loaded in the 

 middle. 



These two points settled for or against any dif- 

 ferent specimens of slate, that one will be best 

 for general use which is equal to or better than 

 all others in strength, 8cc., and in inability to 

 soak water, and which splits with the greatest 

 uniformity and smoothness, and yields the larg- 

 ests number of squares to the ton. 



I am aware that slates according to their size 

 should be thicker or thinner, and that some ab- 

 solute thickness is proper for each size, but the 

 least increase over this pi'oper thickness, is a loss 

 to the purchaser, in the strain of unnecessary 

 weight upon the roof, in the extra freight paid 

 for that increased and useless weijrht ; and is a 

 loss to the producer in waste of stock. I mf^n- 

 tioned the Glen Lake and Eagle as the best Ver- 

 mont slates, because the Glen Lake first and Eagle 

 next, are uniformly best in all these three qual- 

 ities. The Eagle is necessarily thickest for the 

 character of the stone, and is thicker than use re- 

 quires. 



The Forest slate I know very well ; it is an ex- 

 cellent slate, as are many others, l)ut when sul)mit- 

 ted to the water test, it will be found to soak more 

 water than they. I have seen the exp'-riment care- 

 fully tried by disinterested persons, and it always 

 soaked most water of the three. 



The Farnham quarries of mottled slate I know 

 very well. The writer who describes them says, 



