1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



443 



The remedy, according to the author, rarely 

 fails, and the milk produced some days after its 

 exhibition is found to be richer in cream. The 

 first churning yields a larger quantity of butter, 

 but the second and the third are still more satis- 

 factory in their results. 



A letter from a farmer states that he had four- 

 teen cows in full milk, from which he obtained 

 very little butter, and that of a bad quality. 

 Guided by the statements of M. De:ieuborg, 

 which had appeared in the Annales Veteriaaires, 

 he had separately tested the milk of his cows, 

 and found that the bad quality of it was owing 

 to one cow only, and that the milk of the others 

 yielded good and abundant butter. It was, 

 therefore, clearly established that the loss he had 

 so long sustained was to be attributed to this cow 

 only. He at once administered the remedy rec- 

 ommended by M. Deneubourg, which effected a 

 cure. — Veterinarian. 



Remarks. — We publish the above in order to 

 call the attention of farmers to the subject. The 

 statement is a strong one, that the milk from a 

 single cow should so modify that from thirteen 

 others as to spoil the butter. Still, the milk 

 from a cow who gives a large mess, and that of 

 a thin, watery character, does have, to our per- 

 sonal knowledge, a bad effect upon the milk of 

 other cows, in butter-making. 



BLASTING ROCKS. 



screw, spreads out the plug so that if placed 

 over the powder it completely fills up the space 

 excavated by the drill, and of course none of the 

 explosive power of the powder is lost. A second 

 hole in the plug allows the passage of a safety 

 fuse. It has two or three rings around it, and 

 can be wrapped with two if necessary, so that 

 its hold is perfect. The plug can be lowered in- 

 to the hole above the powder, or placed in a lat- 

 eral drill, the rod be turned, the plug spread out 

 — all in a few minutes, and after the explosion, 

 it can be taken out uninjured." 



An account of a new invention for facilitating 

 rock blasting, and to prevent premature dis- 

 charges, is going the rounds of the newspapers. 

 It is said to be the invention of J. G. Buckley 

 and S. B. Mosher, of Schaghticoke. This is very 

 like an invention or suggestion of Eli Whitney, 

 who, in response to a request from government, 

 if we mistake not, proposed that a wooden cone, 

 having a hole through it for the fuse, should be 

 lowered down directly upon the powder, and 

 then a few coarse, angular stones should be 

 dropped in to wedge down the cone; upon these 

 smaller stones and earth could be filled in. When 

 the powder is ignited, the effect is to force the 

 base of the cone to lift a liitle, thus wedging it 

 firmly in the hole, and splitting and spreading 

 it somewhat to fill the whole ; thus very cheaply 

 effecting what must be attended with considera- 

 ble expense in the contrivance described as fol- 

 lows : 



"As is well known, after a hole has been 

 drilled in the earth to be blasted, and the pow- 

 der inserted, it has to be "tamped," that is, the 

 hole is filled up with some substance, which is 

 rammed down in the most solid manner — a pro- 

 cess that consumes a great deal of time, and is 

 attended wii!i much danger, the blast often ex- 

 ploding prematurely from the blow struck in 

 tamping. This invention obviates the trouble 

 and risk of this process. It is a plug of steel, 

 somewhat in the shape of a syringe. A small 

 hole extends down through the centre. The plug 

 tapers from the bottom towards the top, but as 

 it is partially sawed into four parts, and capable 

 of expansion, a rod worked from above and pass- 

 ing through the centre, fitted to a cone-shaped 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CROPS IN CHESHIRE COUNTY, N. H. 



Messrs. Editors : — The season is now well 

 advanced, and I am prepared to place upon the 

 record a statement of the crops. The last win- 

 ter, with its 30 snow storms, 83 inches of snow, 

 120 days of uninterrupted sleighing, and the 

 thermometer 44° below zero, has not only des- 

 troyed many a pair of good lungs, but left the 

 fatal print of its icy hand upon the whole face of 

 the vegetable world. 



The weather is now delightful, save the cold, 

 chilly nights, which we have had through the 

 season up to this moment. The hay crop is near- 

 ly in, well cured, and a good one. Wheat is re- 

 markably good — the best and heaviest I ever 

 saw in this vicinity. In consequence of the high 

 price of flour in the spring, nearly every farmer 

 has his field of wheat, and it has proved a wor- 

 thy effort — one step more towards his indepen- 

 dence ! 



The sharp frosts of May and June nearly des- 

 troyed our corn crops, and a very small harvest 

 must be the result. Many fine fields were plowed 

 in and sown to Dutch wheat, to the profit of the 

 farmer even. This crop is fast coming into favor 

 with our farmers. It has the advantage of an 

 alternative crop, as it does best when sown as 

 late as the middle or last of July, after the long, 

 hot days have past, and yields well. I am t>y- 

 ing some corn this season where I grew a fi le 

 crop of buckwheat last, which looks like tfie 

 boy's calf, "kind o'gi'nout." Barley and o; 's 

 look well. Potatoes, (don't tell the Irish,) aie 

 vibrating between good and bad. 



Fruit trees seem to present the shadowy spec- 

 tacle of a "dissolving view." The great depth of 

 snow during the winter kept the frost out of the 

 ground, which set the sappy fluids in motion and 

 predisposed the trees and buds to the killing ef- 

 fects of the frost. Never before have I seen so 

 many trees "killed and wounded" in one season. 

 I believe the fruit buds of the apple and pear will 

 successfully resist the action of the frost of the 

 severest cold of our climate if the ground be suf- 

 ficiently frozen to hold the sap in a dormant state. 

 The alternate cold and warm days of early spring 

 are much more destructive. Then, again, after 

 blossoming, the cold, easterly wind, sharp light- 

 ning and heavy thunder will cut off the fruit with 

 an electrical nicety. Immediately after the ex- 

 treme cold of January 9, 10 and 11, I discovered 

 by a black spot upon the ovary of the blossom 

 bud that the peach crop was destroyed. 



L. L. Pierce. 



East Jaffrey, JV. H., Aug., 1859. 



