470 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



frost comes. But we sympathize with you, nev- drenching with water in setting; leave the soil 



ertheless, in the parching drought yc • have ex- 

 perienced. 



SWARMS OF BUGS. 



I send you a sample of bug which I have re- 



cently discovered in large swarms passing up , salt 



around the stem concave ; place them ten feet 

 apart, and the rows twelve feet, prune just after 

 the fall of the leaf, late in the fall, or early in 

 March. Fork in, late in the autumn, three or four 

 shovelfuls of fre^h manui-e. After digging around 

 the trees in spring give the whole a broadcast of 



and down my apple trees, and wish you would 

 tell me their name, and the most effectual method 

 of destroying them. I have never seen the in- 

 sect till last summer I found them in a small fir 

 tree near my house, and thought I killed them 

 all by flashing a small quantity of gunpowder un 



Salem, Mass., 1859. 



J. M. I. 



TO CURE DYSPEPSIA. 



Make a tea of the herb called Bay or Meadow 

 Fern, and drink freely after eating. This herb is 



derneath the tree ; but now my apple trees are' common in this vicinity ; it grows in meadow 

 swarming with them, notwithstanding that I had^ lands, and in low, swampy localities ; it resembles 

 my trees thoroughly scraped and washed with the whortleberry bush, and is covered with small 

 soap-suds in the spring, and have quite recently 



repeated the washing. By replying to this you 

 will much oblige O. s. 



N. B. 1 notice a few amongst them that have 

 wings which they seem to have just come in pos- 

 session of. O. s. 



Broolifidd, Mass., Aug., 1859. 



Remarks. — The hugs you sent were squash 

 when they reached us. Examine them carefully, 

 and then refer to "Harris on Insects," and see if 

 you cannot get their name. 



CURE FOR A RUPTURED COLT. 



In answer to the inquiry of "W. C. B.," I will 

 give him my experience. One year ago I had a 

 colt about the age of yours, which had a breach 

 similar to that on your colt. As soon as I dis- 

 covered it, I took a piece of sheet lead five or 

 six inches square, rounded the corners, so as not 



aromatic burrs. 



(loncord, Mass., Aug., 1859. J. 



GOOD BUTTER. 



"D." is informed that the facts communicated 

 to him by an "old lady," about butter-making, 

 we have already given in former articles. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 LABOK-SA.VING MACHINES. 



Mr. Brown : — Some weeks since I noticed a 

 paragraph in your paper recommending all per- 

 sons to purchase labor-saving machines. We 

 poor farmers in this part of the world, having to 

 practice economy, must in the first place know 

 which the labor-saving machines are. Some per- 

 sons say that the way to find this out is by ex- 

 perience. Now must we buy machines which we 



to chafe him, sewed it to a cloth bandage, and know nothing about, except by persons who 



bound it up tightly ; I fastened it from workin 

 back by attaching a strap to it, passing it around 

 his breast. I let it remain a week, and then took 

 it off to examine it, when it appeared to be well ; 

 but to make it sure, I put it on again, and let it 

 remain another week, which eifected a perfect 

 cure. A. Daggett. 



Farmington, Me., Aug., 1859. 



WEATHER AND CROPS IN HILLSBOROUGH 

 COUNTY. 



We are now in the midst of a pinching drouth. 

 Corn and potatoes are suffering upon light plain 

 land, especially if choked with weeds, as they ab- 

 stract largely from the nourishment and moisture 

 now doubly needed by the plants as they are ap- 

 proaching maturity. Hay and grain are remarka- 

 bly good, and are mostly secured. Apples are 

 very scarce. C. A. Whitaker. 



Hancock, A*. H., Aug., 1859. 



ORANGE QUINCE. 

 In the cultivation of these trees, many think 

 that they require a damp and shady position, and 

 that they do not want manuring ; I apprehend 

 this to be a delusion ; they require to be planted 

 in good loam, and the earth to he loosened 

 deeply by the subsoil plow, or trenched by double 

 spading, and well manured with a good compost 

 in the drills ; shorten in the branches one-half 

 of last year's growth, give the roots a good 



crack them up a great deal on purpose to sell 

 them, and if we find them of no value, throw 

 them aside and lose our money ? Of course not, 

 we must learn from those who have tried them, 

 and if they can make them profitable, we can. 

 One of my neighbors was mowing with a machine 

 last week, and he asked me what I thought of it. 

 I told him that I thought it would do vry well 

 for a rich man, but for me it would not do. It 

 took one man to mow round the edge of the field, 

 one to manage the mower, and the horses were 

 equal to two men, which would make four ; and 

 four men would have mowed it quicker, cheaper 

 and better than the mower did it. Ketchum's 

 one-h:Tse mower is the best one that 1 have 

 seen. It works well on most of our land. Our 

 land is high and the crops generally suffer more 

 from dry weather than from early frosts. 

 Wesihoro\ Aug., 1859. Inquirer. 



Remarks. — "Inquirer" asks us if he must buy 

 machines that he knows nothing about? Cer- 

 tainly not. Exercise the same sound judgment 

 and discretion that you do in purchasing a horse, 

 a farm, or a plow or cart. Go and see those in 

 your neighborhood or town, and criticise them 

 closely, but fairly. 



There is another view to be taken of the value 

 of a mowing machine, beside the one in which 

 you describe it. Suppose you keep a pair of 



