1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



571 



to me this summer, that nothing is lost, and if 

 it goes off in the air, it comes down in the dew. 

 True, 1 said, but it might come down in some old 

 swamp of my neighbor's, and I, as well as he, 

 ■would not get much use of it. To save it, put in 

 anything, even sand, that is worthless, apparent- 

 ly, if you can get nothing better, to take up the 

 moisture, and that, by overhauling, will prevent 

 heating, and double the quantity and value of 

 manure will be made to what would be in the old 

 way of cows in the yard in summer, and manure 

 in winter thawed out under the eaves, and wind 

 and water driving off all this bad odor people are 

 so afraid of in cellars. There is no l)ody so hard 

 up but that they can find sand for this purpose, 

 if nothing better. Keep the cattle in the barn at 

 night and put one or two shovels-full of sand to 

 each animal, together with straw, old meadow 

 hay, saw-dust, or shavings that are fine, to make 

 a good bed, and you will be astonished at the 

 amount of manure you will make. By so doing, 

 you will have it all, and ready for corn. 



Some farmers not only put sand or loam on 

 the floor, but have a pile on the barn cellar to 

 throw upon the droppings every morning. 



People lose much manure by being obliged to 

 let their cattle out in winter, and perhaps summer, 

 to some brooks or springs to obtain their drink. 

 Some let them go as they please, (which is the 

 best way to ensure the cattle to drink what and 

 when they wish.) Others drive them, perhaps 

 twice a day, and if they drink when they drive 

 them, well ; if not, they must go dry. If dry they 

 will not eat their hay well, and cows will not 

 give their expected quantity of milk, and then 

 the boys are found fault with because they gave 

 too much hay and have not milked clean. 



To get water conveniently, dig a well near the 

 yard or under the shed, which should join the 

 cellar, and will not generally be more than some 

 20 or 30 feet, and many of them much less. 

 Should you happen not to find as much water as 

 desired, be sure and dig large, so as to stone up 

 some five feet at bottom, so as to make a reser- 

 voir, put up an eves trough on barn, and conduct 

 the water into the well, and then get one of 

 "Ayer's Self-Acting Farm Wells," and use it. 

 You will find your cattle do much better than 

 they will to go dry, or have to go some 20 to 80 

 rods for their drinks in cold and blustering 

 weather. Your cows will water their milk much 

 better than their owners, and suit their custo- 

 mers a vast deal better, for the quality as well as 

 quantity you will be able to let them have. I 

 have used one of them three years past and know 

 of a certainty the good of them. The cattle will 

 go freely to drink as to an aqueduct, after a few 

 times, and most horses, if dry, will go on the 

 platform the first time without any trouble what- 

 ever. The freezing is not half so bad as in com- 

 mon pumps or aqueducts, as only occasionally 

 any trouble occurs, and that easily corrected by 

 a pitcher of warm water. Alvan Ward. 



Ashburnham, Oct. 31, 1859. 



heard that sour buttermilk was good. I pro- 

 cured some and washed it from head to foot, and 

 in three days his breathing was very regular, and 

 he was as smart as need be. I had no more 

 trouble with him. — Rural JVew- Yorker. 



Lice on Calves. — A number of years ago I 

 had a yearling that grew poor, and I could not 

 help it. Its breathing became so loud that it 

 could be heard several rods. I thought it would 

 die. One of my neighbors told me that he had 



DEEPENING THE SOIL. 



The depth of a cultivated soil is always a mat- 

 ter of importance. Lands on which the vegeta- 

 ble stratum is thin, are deficient in permament 

 productive power, and require a much larger ap- 

 plication of manure, and more thorough work- 

 ing, than those which have a greater depth. Dig- 

 ging two spits deep, as is practiced in Europe, 

 or gradually going deeper with the plow, tends 

 to obviate this difficulty, and will eventually ren- 

 der the soil productive, if the requisite care be 

 exercised in cropping and manuring. 



Where the vegetable stratum is thin, and re- 

 posing on a poor subsoil, a speedy change may 

 be effected in the following manner, although 

 from the great cost of labor in this countrj', it 

 may not be advisable to adopt it except on a lim- 

 ited scale : Along the margin of the piece to 

 be improved, be it more or less, throw the soil, 

 subsoil, sods and all, into si winrow on one side, 

 to the depth which is desired, say twelve or twen- 

 ty-four inches. Then commence on the side in 

 the direction the improvement is to proceed, and 

 deposit all the mould and sods taken from the 

 top in the bottom of the first trench, throwing 

 that taken from the bottom of the second trench 

 over on to the top of the first, and in this man- 

 ner, proceed till the work is done. Then cart 

 on old, well-decomposed compost, mixed with 

 an equal volume of green, unfermented stable 

 manure, and work the whole thoroughly into the 

 yellow earth until the virgin soil is approached. 

 A liberal allowance of manure is requisite in or- 

 der to hasten the decomposition of the soluble 

 silicates contained in the fresh earth, as well as 

 to ensure the more ready absorption of the fer- 

 tilizing gases from the atmosphere which are 

 necessary to impart vigor and activity to its la- 

 tent powers. A small quantity of fresh manure 

 sprinkled in lightly as the filling goes on, will 

 be of great service, and, indeed, any kind of veg- 

 etable matter, such as straw, forest leaves, or 

 chip manure, will materially assist the process 

 of enriching, and furnish food for the plants. 



Lands treated in this manner stand the drought 

 much more successfully than untrenched grounds, 

 and are always found to be more productive, with 

 the same amount of manure, than the deepest 

 soils in their natural and unimproved state. 



On gardens we have seen it tried repeatedly. 

 It is well known that the sand and coarse gravel 

 excavated from wells and cellars, will, when ex- 

 posed t atmospheric influences, imbibe princi- 



