274 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



GROUND PLAN OF THE DESIGN. 



Construclion. — This is a frame house. The out- 

 side covering:: to be vertical wealher-lioarding, of 

 uniform width ; the joints to be tonj^ued and 

 grooved and covered with battens. The verge- 

 boards, window and door-trimmings, and other 

 ornamental details, to be sawn from 3-] inch plank. 

 The interior is to be plain finished in the two prin- 

 cipal stories, and the attic may be left unfinished, 

 if desired. Cost from $2800 "to $;iOOO. 



G. E. H. ' 



For the New England Farmer. 

 TARRING SEED CORN. 



Mr. Brown: — Mr. R. Mansfield, in the 

 Farmer for April 23d, says "that after an expe- 

 rience of forty-three years he is satisfied that 

 crows and birds may be permitted to range the 

 fields at will, and that tarring seed corn, if it is 

 done correctly, will prevent the destruction of 

 corn by crows so that no 'scare-crows' need be 

 used in the fields at all." 



After twenty years' experience, I can bear tes- 

 mony also, that Mr. Mansfield, on this point, is 

 substantially correct; and also, that the "tarring 

 of the seed corn" is a pretty safe remedy against 

 the ravages of the cut worm, grub and wire 

 worm. 



Probably, of all the farmers that have tried 

 "tarring seed" in the past fifteen years, not one- 

 third now continue the ])ractice. One farmer 

 tried the tar and he got on so much that the 

 corn would not come up. Another farmer poured 

 stiff' tar among his seed corn, and tried to stir it 

 up ; some of it was tarred, but a good deal more 

 was not, and the crows pulled it just as fast as 

 they could get to it. A third farmer said that 

 the tar stuck, so to his hand that he could not 

 plant it, 8zc. Mr. Mansfield has not given us 

 his plan of preparing seed corn in this way for 

 planting. But you have given yours, and your 

 neighbor's plan, which seems to me a vei-y good 

 way. 



During the past twelve years I have given a 

 plan of preparing seed corn for planting in sev- 



eral agricultural journals. But it may be worth 

 repeating. First put the seed corn to soak for 

 twelve or twenty-four hours, in water, previous 

 to planting. If you have some saltpetre handy, 

 dissolve half a pound in warm water and turn to 

 the corn in soak. Then take out a peck of this 

 swelled corn, put it into an old half bushel meas- 

 ure or small tub ; raise up the corn round the 

 measure in form of a tunnel ; then take a gill of 

 tar, (pitch tar is the best, though coal tar will 

 answer,) put it into a half-new tin pan, pour on 

 water enough to cover the tar and then set the 

 pan over a furnace. When it boils, stir the tar 

 and water until it has become entirely dissolved 

 in the water. Then pour it on hot to the corn, 

 and stir it w'ell until all the corn has become 

 well smeared with tar. When you stop stirring, 

 the corn will crawl together like a pail of small 

 live crabs. Then take your plaster and scatter 

 it on, stirring it till every kernel is coated with 

 plaster, and the corn is ready for planting. 



Of course, it is understood by farmers that 

 the seed corn after this preparation must be kept 

 moist in the field. If the seed is allowed to get 

 dry and parched for any length of time in the 

 sun, it will not germinate, and must not be plant- 

 ed. When seed corn is treated after this plan 

 no farmer need fear but that his corn will come 

 up in good time, if the seed is good. 



Derby, Ct., 1859. L. DuRANU. 



Hydrophobia. — A man was cured of hydro- 

 phobia in Italy lately, by swallowing vinegar, in 

 mistake for a medicinal potion. A physician at 

 Padua heard of this, and tried the remedy on a 

 patient ; he gave him a pint of vinegar in the 

 morning, another at noon, and a third at sunset, 

 which cured him. 



To Take Rust out of Steel. — Cover the 

 steel with sweet-oil, well rubbed on. In forty- 

 eight hours, rub with finely powdered, unslaked 

 lime, until the rust disappears. 



