1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



191 



coating of straw or hay, a practice always to be 

 recommended, be brought forward even in 

 March. It is much better when it is blanched, 

 and this is done by keeping the plants from the 

 sun under pots, boxes or straw. The seed can 

 be purchased at our seed-stores, or if not at all 

 of them, at that of Curtis & Cobb, in Washing- 

 ton Street. Every farmer should have a bed of 

 this vegetable for his own use, and our market- 

 gardeners would find nothing more profitable to 

 cultivate. F. 



EXTBACTS AND REPLIES. 

 POTATOES FROM THE BALL. 



In the fall of 1854 I saved a dozen potato balls 

 (all from peach blows) and planted them in a 

 seed bed the following spring, from which I dug 

 about two quarts of 'small specimens" of every 

 conceivable shape and color. There are over thir-j 

 ty distinct varieties — some very poor and much 

 aJffected with the rot — others white, mealy and 

 nice, and not much affected — some yield well, [ 

 and are good sized, others produce just enough i 

 fcr seed, and little, watery, soggy things at that, j 

 I have planted such as I thought to be the most 

 promising, and from my experience in the matter 

 I am of the opinion that there will be a few among 

 them that will prove productive and profitable. 



I raised last year from a bushel and a half of 

 these potatoes, thirty-five bushels of sound ones, 

 on ordinary ground, without taking any extra 

 pains with them. J. J. Watson. 



Orange, Vt.,Feb.7, 1859. 



HOW TO CURE KICKING COWS. 



In last week's Farmer I noticed an inquiry by 

 R subscriber in South Weymouth for a remedy for 

 a kicking cow. I have had many such, and have 

 used various remedies, I have sometimes put a 

 rope or small chain around the cow's body just 

 back of the fore legs, and with a small stick, twist 

 it quite tight. Occasionally it does very well. If 

 the cow is not very bad, put a strap around the 

 hind legs in the form of an 8, and draw it pretty 

 tight. I had very good success the last season, 

 in subduing some turbulent heifers, by applying 

 a sort of ring with a spring to it, called a bull- 

 holder, to the nose of the animal, and drawing 

 the head pretty high ; after a few lessons they 

 generally give up. Abel F. Adams. 



Fitchhurg, 1859. 



a COMPLIMENT — BOOK-FARMING — USEFUL 

 MANURES. 



It is a paper which ought to be read by every 

 farmer in New England. Many of the single ar- 

 ticles it contains of themselves are worth the 

 price of the paper. I am not one of those who 

 declaim against book-farming, but am willing to 

 receive instruction from any source. It seems to 

 me that book-farming and practical experience 

 can be made to harmonize. Who, in reading 

 some agricultural journal, has not had his atten- 

 tion called to some valuable muck deposit, or 

 other material, upon his farm, which may prove a 

 mine of wealth or a bank from which to draw in 

 time of need, rather than from the purse to pay 

 for adulterated manures ? 



Again, the success of our farmers carefully no- 



ted down and laid before the public, has proba- 

 bly done much towards reclaiming that swamp, 

 underdraining this wet field, sinking tliose bould- 

 ers, and a hundred other like improvement. 



By the way, I beg leave to differ from your 

 correspondent from West Needham, wliere he 

 says "there is no place more suitable for manure 

 in winter than under the eaves of the south side 

 of the barn." He seems to think that manure 

 made in a barn-cellar is too strong for growing 

 plants — but where is there not a chance for mel- 

 lowing it with muck, forest scrapings, leaves, or 

 even saw-dust, if too strong, and thus increase 

 the farmer's bank, rather than diminish it by 

 soaking eaves and washing showers ? 



Pottersville, N. H., Feb., 1859. 



GARGET POISON TO HORSES. 



Last May, one of my neighbors had a cow to 

 which he wished to feed some garget, and to cut 

 it used a hay-cutter, the one that they cut hay 

 with for two horses ; the result was, the horses 

 got some small pieces of the garget, and they 

 both died in a few days from the effects of the 

 poison. I mention this for the good of the pub- 

 lic, as I think there are many farmers who do 

 not know that garget is a deadly poison to 

 horses. A SUBSCRIBEB. 



Putney, Vt., 1859. _ 



"SPARE THE BIRDS." 



I have just met in Vol. X. of the Farmer, p. 

 306, a well- written article on this subject, which 

 I refer to with the greatest pleasure, as it contro- 

 verts the notions of Mr. N. Page, Jr., put forth 

 with adroitness in the lately published transac- 

 tions of the Essex Society. I admire to see the 

 beautiful robin hopping and chirping about, and 

 would not have them wantonly killed. I cannot 

 agree with Mr. Page, that they deserve to be 

 killed, because they pick a part, it may be the 

 larger part, of currants, strawberries or cherries. 



RULES FOR MEASURING LUMBER. 



Can you inform me where I can get a log-book 

 for measuring round timber of any size or length, 

 or scantling ? A book that will tell or give the 

 measure of any kind of lumber ? 



Marshjield, Vt., Feb., 1859. C. H. Lewis. 



Remarks. — The Text Book of Modern Car- 

 pentry, published by Crosby, Nichols cS; Co., of 

 this city, contains more that you want than any 

 other book we know. We find very little on the 

 measurement of timber in any of the mechanics' 

 text-books. 



MAPLE SUGAR. 



I send you a sample of maple sugar made on 

 the 18th of February. I tapped eight small sec- 

 ond-growth trees on the I7th, from which I ob- 

 tained eight pails of sap of the sweetest flavor. I 

 do not believe any one in Vermont has got the 

 start of me in making maple sugar this year. 



Poultney Vt., Feb. 22, 1859. J. E. Cobb. 



Remarks. — Excellent — excellent. Hope you 

 have a good memory ! 



