1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



179 



old Middlesex Canal Company, but was told by 

 those who had, that it restricted the company to 

 no limits except those of the State itself, and that 

 it could traverse at will over any person's do- 

 main, wherever it saw fit to go ! Mr. B. spoke 

 at considerable length on other points. 



Mr. Fairbanks was glad to learn that the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee was active, and had consulted 

 counsel. The town of Sudbury was ready to 

 act — the selectmen had been authorized to em- 

 ploy counsel and prosecute whenever they 

 thought proper. 



Rev. Isaac Jennison, of Natick, said a mea- 

 dow which he could have once sold to a gentle- 

 man now present for $90, he could not now give 

 away to the same person ! He wished the move- 

 ment success, and was ready to expend time and 

 money to get it. 



Several other persons addressed the meeting 

 with great enthusiasm, and after the passage of 

 the following votes the meeting adjourned. 



Voted, That the memorial now in preparation by the Com- 

 mittee, be signed by the Selectmen of the several towns on the 

 river, and presented to the Legislature iu behalf of these towns. 



Voted., That the Executive Committee be authorized to print 

 any matter that they may deem important to promote the 

 cause. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



LEACHED ASHES ON A CLAY SOIL. 



Will leached ashes benefit a clay soil ? I make 

 this inquiry because large quantities of ashes are 

 lying in several places in this vicinity, and might 

 be procured at a very low price, probably for 

 drawing. Aquila. 



Fth., 1859. 



Remarks. — Leached wood-ashes are regarded 

 as the most beneficial to clayey soils. The high 

 temperature at which wood is commonly burned, 

 causes a greater or less portion of the potash 

 and soda to combine with the silica, (sand.) and 

 form insoluble silicates, which remain behind 

 along with lime and other earthy matter when 

 the ash is washed with water. These are just 

 what the clay soil needs. 



HUNGARIAN GRASS. 



In your paper of the 5th inst., 1 noticed an ar- 

 ticle on "Hungarian Grass Seed ;"' will you please 

 advise me at what season of the year it should 

 be sowed ; how much does it require per acre ; 

 is once sowing sufficient for more than one crop ; 

 what particular advantage will be derived from 

 its cultivation, instead of other grass ; in short, 

 tell us all you know about it. 



Charlotte, Vt., Feb., 1859. T. D. Chapman. 



Remarks. — We are told by those acquainted 

 with this grass that the same rules observed in 

 sowing herdsgrass seed are applicable to the 

 Hungarian grass, as to soil and season. From 

 12 to 16 quarts of seed are used, per acre. — 

 Good land for herdsgrass or red top, is suitable 

 for this. If the grass is intended to be used for 



green fodder, sow a little thicker than when it is 

 to be made into hay — and if for seed, do not 

 crowd it. 



"E. P. M 1, of Cambridge, Vt.," will please 



consider this in reply to his fnquiries. 



We advise our friends not to be over san- 

 guine about this new grass. Test it, by all 

 means, but in a small and careful manner. There 

 are a thousand idlers ever standing ready to get 

 a living out of the earnings of the farmer, and 

 sing such syren songs as are apt to make too 

 many persons think that all is gold that glitters. 

 Sow a quart of seed this year, and note the re- 

 sults carefully. If it does well, continue it ; if not 

 reject it. 



MANGOLD WURTZEL. 



In a former number of the i^rt/7?ier, Inoticeda 

 finely written article from Mr. French on the cul- 

 tivation of the above root in Europe ; from his 

 speaking of their roots "running down to the 

 bottom of a drain four feet deep," he, of course, 

 refers to the long, fibrous variety. A friend of 

 mine informed me, that in his tour through the 

 sugar districts of France, a few years since, the 

 Orange Globe variety was in high repute for the 

 feeding of neat cattle ; that it was considered 

 vastly better than the tap-rooted, not only in be- 

 ing of a finer grain, but that it was harvested so 

 much easier ; from his recommendation, I ob- 

 tained a few pounds of the seed, which was sown 

 on my farm at Framingham with good success ; 

 my neighbor, an experienced farmer, was so much 

 pleased with this root, that he now cultivates it 

 in preference to almost any other root for his 

 cattle. I. 



MILK, PRICE AND MEASURE. 



I was greatly rejoiced to see an article on the 

 price and measurement of milk, in your last pa- 

 per. I had concluded we were some of the most 

 duped people in the world, for we are so fasci- 

 nated with this milk fever that we believe av,-ay 

 up in New Hampshire, forty miles from market, 

 if we should patronize our milkmen faithfully, 

 we were on the sure road to fortune. Many of 

 our farmers are enlisted in the enterprise and all 

 are losing money, every day. We do not know 

 what quantity we are selling for a gallon, nor 

 the consumer in Boston what he is using that he 

 calls milk ! A Subscriber. 



Berry, N. H., Feb., 1859. 



equality illustrated. 



$12,000 a year is annually paid from the Treas- 

 ury of the State for the support of experiments 

 in culture, whereby the people of the State are 

 sustained ; $00,000 a year is annually paid for 

 sustaining the military of the Commonwealth, 

 whereby their vanity is inflated, their morals de- 

 praved, and their lives destroyed. 



It is respectfully suggested that tliese topics 

 be referred to the joint consideration of the 

 House Committees on Agriculture and on the 

 Militia — and that the great gun of the House be 

 instructed to report thereon. ^W» 



Jan., 1859. 



