1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



421 



i.\nother item of farm labor for the autumnal 

 months, is that of preparing lands for cultivation. 

 We do not mean to speak now so much of sub- 

 duing the forest or the swamp, as of clearing up 

 fields that have been cultivated, but which were 

 only partially reclaimed. 



That farmer's profits must be large, who can 

 afford to plow, hoe, mow and rake over and 

 around stones that might be sunk or removed. 

 And now that the mowing machine and horse 

 rake have been introduced, it is more important 

 than ever before, that our fields lie smooth and 

 fair, that we may avail ourselves of the advanta- 

 ges which these machines offer. 



For removing the large stones that lie in the 

 way in so many of the fine hay-fields of New 

 England, there is nothing that we have ever seen 

 equal to the Stone Lifter which was figured in 

 our columns last year, and of whose operations 

 we have once or twice given an account. There 

 should be one of them in every rocky town in 

 New England. With this machine, a stony field 

 of ten acres may be cleared in two or three 

 weeks, and the stones laid into a substantial 

 wall, and we think this may be done at less than 

 one-half the cost it would require to do the woik 

 in the common way, with powder, iron bars and 

 oxen. These machines have been taken into 

 New Hampshire and Vermont, and we advise 

 our friends to avail themselves of the first oppor- 

 tunity to see with their own eyes what they are 

 capable of accomplishing. 



There are some other items of autumnal busi- 

 ness which we will speak of at another time. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 EXPERIMENTS WITH THE CORN CROP. 



I send you the following note copied from the 

 Secretary's Report on Massachusetts Agriculture, 

 Abstract of Returns for 18')8, page 2();J. 



'•Mr. Solon Carter, of Worcester North Agri- 

 cultural Society, reported the last year, his expe- 

 riment of the year 1856, with the following re- 

 sult, viz.. Three lots of one hundred hills each, 

 the date of harvesting, husking and shelling t)e- 

 ing the same. After husking, the ears were spread 

 about six inches deep, and remained so until 

 shelled. 



LotJVo. 1 — Cut up whole and stooked. Weight 

 of ears, 189 lbs. ; of corn, 139 lbs. ; of cobs, 24 

 lbs. ; shrinkage, 26 lbs. ; 14 per cent. 



Lot No. 2 — Top stalks cut. Weight of ears, 

 200 lbs.; of corn, 155 lbs. ; of cobs, 26 lbs. ; 

 shrinkage, 19 lbs. — 9.\ per cent. 



Lot JVo. 3 — Left standing whole. We'ght of 

 ears, 196 lbs. ; of corn, 141 lbs. ; of cobs, 23 lbs. ; 

 shrinkage, 32 lbs., or 16 per cent. 



As in 1856, so now, the corn which had the 

 top stalks cut, weighed most at harvesting, and 

 shrunk least before shelling. 



The lots for the above trial were selected by 

 Col. Philips, when examining the field for the 

 committee of which he was chairman." 



For the Ncir England Farmer. 

 VISIT TO MOUNT HORRID. 

 Mr. Editor : — After the labors which confine 

 us to the drudgery of farm-life for the spring are 

 accomplished, it is sometimes delightful to wan- 

 der away into the solitudes of nature, and enjoy 

 communion with the bright scenery of earth, 

 which is so beautifully seen from those elevated 

 peaks of the Green Mountains, spreading far and 

 wide on each side of the green hills of our child- 

 hood; those enchanting elevations, which excit- 

 ed our curiosity in our youthful days, but where 

 n riper years we behold 



"This elder Scripture, writ by God's own hand," 



illustrating the changes of our planet since its 

 primary form in the incandescent state, O, what 

 a mighty change does the infinitude of a past 

 eternity impress upon the mind ! Yet, now, the 

 same workings of natural law, and the same forces, 

 are elevating one part of our globe, and depress- 

 ing another; and yet, the unmatured mind sees 

 no change in all this wreck of matter and crush 

 of former worlds, — while the beauties of the 

 landscape spread out before his vision, with all 

 its enchanting scenes of light and shade, awake 

 no emotions in the soul, send no thrill of joy 

 to the heart ; and even when we call on those 

 people who live on the skirts of this beautiful 

 mountain, and have wandered o'er these hills 

 from boyhood's happy days, we find no emotions 

 of delight exhibited, and an utter ignorance in 

 directing us where we can go to enjoy these beau- 

 tiful views of landscape and mountain scenery. 

 Here we were left to take our own course, and 

 find our way to the summit of Mount Horrid, 

 as best we could. 



It was on the beautiful morning of the last day 

 of May, that our little party, consisting of four, 

 started from Brandon at about eight, A. M., on 

 a visit to Mount Horrid — that awful looking es- 

 carpment which lies a little north of the gorge, 

 through which the road passes from Brandon to 

 Rochester. We rode to the highest habitation 

 of man on this side of the mountain, and there 

 left our team and pursued the journey on foot. 

 The morning was clear and the air salubrious at 

 the time of starting, with all the prospects of a 

 bright and sunny day; but before we reached the 

 summit of the mountain, we observed the form- 

 ing cirrus faintly intercepting the brilliant light 

 from the golden god of day. At noon we stood 

 upon the utmost height of the gorge, on the 

 highway south of Mount Horrid. Cirrus had 

 begun to obscure the sky, and soon there ap- 

 peared a solar halo of unusual brightness. We 

 were neither weary nor hungry, but intended to 

 dine on the margin of some crystal rivulet near 

 the summit of Mount Horrid. We were now 

 in siglit of that rocky escarpment which lies to 

 the north from where we stood. We stood at 

 the termination of a hill, bearing a north-westerly 

 direction, and connected with the western side 

 of Mount Horrid. Then up its eastern slope 

 and across a rocky chasm, we wended our way 

 to the rocky ruins beneath Mount Horrid. 



Here, it seems, nature in her wildest mood 

 scattered her rocky ruins in the most fantastic 

 manner. Here, the frost of ages has been crum- 

 bling the rocks from the brow of this awful emi- 

 nence, and scattering them in rich profusion on 



