26 



NEW IJK GLAND FARMER, 



AiGi'ST a. i8'>r. 



the larg<'St and finest we 



\vei'|> Riisplienies are 

 Imve ever seel). 



I'hiiits of hotli these hikI of other varieties, will 

 1)8 fiirDished by Mr Mason at llie [n-oper season 

 anil tliosc wlio want a rioh and 



will find it to their advaiitaj 



of them, l>efoi-e they are all 



rcooiiiineiii 



Jiurora. 



lieioLis irnit, 

 ; to ohtaii) some of 

 eiiKaifed. We eaii 



1 both to our friends. — Banker Hill 



iKroni the Maine Farmer.) 

 HAKVESTING WHEAT. 



The CradU. 

 Mr Holmes: The wise and liberal cncoiii-ap- 

 nient given by this State to the fannei-.s to brintl 

 into view its Hl)i:ity to iiirnish bread tor its popu- 

 lation, has been well ret-eived, and will probably 

 proihice the end proposed —fi-ee the Stale IVom 

 the ai)iin«l e.vpenditnre probably of $90(,0()0 to 

 $1:000,000, aeeording to the season, for the pur- 

 chase of flour.* 'J he iinportalion has drained 

 our eoiiDiry of .'ipeeie, or its equivalent, lias mis- 

 applied its labors, and dii-erted it lioMi that ehan- 

 !iel so essential for the supply of f od for onrex- 

 istenee, to other less profitable obj(M-ts. 



It is the purpose of this eonimiiiiiealion to ofl'cr 

 to the {growers of grain, but partieiilarly of wheat, 

 n mode of reaping it wbieh may save a sum 

 9<liial to, if not greater, than theboimty offered 

 by the State. 



It must be evident that to harvest sueh an in- 

 creased quantity -of wlieacf.s from |.ri;setit appear- 

 ances will he grown this year, ^vill lake more la- 

 lior than may at H)st be sup| oscd ; and m-ust en- 

 hance the price of labor, or cause the wheat toiiie 

 ireafied out of season, to the material injury of tt^^e 

 quality, and also a loss in qiiantitj from what vvilJ 

 be shed in thfi act of reaping. and housju^; it. Let 

 lie suppose t.he Iwuinty to amount-to $96,000, and 

 ;at6iCents per bushel as the amount of bounty, 

 ithere will be 1,600,000 bushels, and it will take 

 160,000 <lays work to reap them with the sjeUle ; 

 allowing 20 bushels to the acre, and that half an 

 acre pi;r day is reaped with the sickle. 'J'bepro- 

 jioaed saving is by substituting a scyibo, with a 

 bow or ejttdle on the snaiih, instead of the old 

 fasirnmed heavy cradle over the scythe. With 

 this scythe, a good mower will reiip two acres m 

 n <lay witli more eaise thaii the half acre with the 

 uickle. 'I'hc l^lior iii this case ^aved will be 120,- 

 000 days, which iiujst exceed the bounty to be 

 paid, and from my own experience lor six years, 

 the wheat ran be placed in the best state forgath- 

 ering and biuding. 



The scythe so fixed is described as follows: 

 J. The preparatioi) of tl).e onailh, 



* It is estimated that in the lust yecr, about 20,- 

 000 barrels of flour have been brought into and 

 through Hallowell, Augusta and Walerville, for 

 the consumption of the counties of Kennebec and 

 Somerset, (|ontaii)ing n population of 62,377. — 

 These two counties may be considered as agri- 

 cultural, and needing n less .supply on an average 

 than the whole state ; but if we make our estimae 

 from this, the population of the state being 475,- 

 4.51, vvill take 1,50,000 barrels for its support, which 

 at .$10 pi.T barrel, is eiiuid to one and a half mil- 

 lions of dollars ! In coniinon seasons the price 

 of lloiir, and of course ibir lixpenditure, would be 

 under this valuation of $10. 



1. A staple is to he inserted in the inner part 

 of the snaith, about 4 1-2 inches above the ring 

 that secures the scythe. 



2. A hole is to be made through the snaith 

 from the upper fart of it, alioiit 3 inches above 

 the ring ; this is for the upright stake or statT that 

 supports the bow. 



3. Another hole is to be made in the up| er jiart 

 of the snaith to receive the smaller end of the 

 bow. 'ibis should be made about 23 inches a- 

 hove the other hole. 



II. 'Ihe staff is 



4. To be made of a stiff stird(, as it is to give 

 stren-ith to the bow, and enable it to support the 

 weight of the grain. In wheat, the top should be 

 as b gh as the lower end of the ear, in oats a lit- 

 tle higher. 



11!. The bow 



5. Is to be made of a supple but tough twig. 



6. The larger end 3-4 of an inch in thickness. 

 This end may be reduced a little, and then luit 

 into the stap!e No. 1. 



7. Then seimie on the heel of the scythe, bend 

 it njiwards, making tiie bow project about rive 

 inches beyond the heel or back of the scythe ; — 

 then bend it over to the top of the stalV, into a 

 crotch left to r.ceive it ; then the small end is to 

 be secured in the hole 3, next the nib. 



S. There is a S| ace between the staff and the 

 swell of the bow, through which the grain may 

 p: ss. To prevent this, a string is to be used. — 

 Tie the end of it to the lower part of the staff, 

 then pass it to the middle of the swell of the bow, 

 secure it there, and then pass it to the top of the 

 staff', and secure it there. 



A s;i( rt trial will regulate a loan's practice in 

 the use of the above. Jf be he a good mower, 

 and can leave a snug swath, and not leave scat- 

 tering grass on the ground where mowed, he will 

 make a good reaper. At the end of the strokes, 

 in cutting grain, there should be a slight elevation 

 of the heel of the scytlie, and a little cant in with- 

 drawing it. This course v^ill leave the grain in 

 a good state for gathering and binding, and as 

 good as when reaped with a sickle. 



To this 1 add my practice in binding the sheaf. 

 The English use the grain for bands, but whatev- 

 er is used, the iiractice is to prepare tin bands, 

 then rake up together what is needed for a sheaf, 

 and take the ends of the band in each hand, lay 

 the band oil the top of the grain, pass the hands 

 under it until tliey meet, turn the grain up and 

 secure the band. 



1 have been infortned this has been a practice 

 in some part of Connecticut, and that one good 

 hand will bind as fast as one can reap with the 

 sickle. 



In England, where division of labor has been 

 so profitable, a boy makes the band, and a man 

 binds the sheaf as fast as one man will cut down 

 the grain. I have never made the comparison, 

 but am satisfied this is a quicker mode than the 

 old one. Chables Vaughan. 



Hallowell, July 14. 



He finds advantages in putting tan around liia 

 vines besides that of prevei.iing the depredations 

 of insects. '1 he tan retains the moisture, and 

 those hills on which it was put are consideralily 

 the largest. — When water or suds are applied, the 

 tan wifi hold it and cause it to run into the ground, 

 when without the tan, if the ground he very ilry, 

 the water will run off instead of soaking into the 

 irround. It remains to be seen whether tan. 



though at first beneficial, proves to be favorable to 

 the !.'rowth of the vines through the season. As 

 the greater liart of the gallic aeid is extracleil from 

 the bark in the vat, that which remains would not 

 be likely to injure vegetation in the small quantity 

 necessary to be used as a protection to vines. — 

 Yankee Fanner. 



The raising of Ducks. — These birds being 

 aquatic in their habits, most persons suppose they 

 ou"ht to give the young ones a great deal of water. 

 The consequence is, they soon take colds, become 

 droopy, and die. This mode should be avoided. 

 Ducks, when first hatched, are always inclined to 

 fever, from their pinii n-wings coming out so 

 soon. 'IMiis acts upon tliein as teething does on 

 children. The young ducks should, consequently, 

 be kept from everything, which may have a ten- 

 dency to create cold in them. To prevent this, 

 therefore, I always allow my young ducks as lit- 

 tle water as possible. In fact, they should only 

 have enough to allay their thirst, and should on^ 

 no account be permitted to play in the water. If 

 the person lives near the city, liver and lites shoiiUI 

 be procured ; and these should be boiled, and 

 clio| ped up fine, and given to the young ducks. 

 Or, if fish, crabs, oysters, or clams, can be procur- 

 ed, these should he given. In case none of these 

 can be got, all the victuals should be boiled be- 

 fore feeding. Boiled potatoes mixed with homo- 

 nie are also excellent. Half of the ducks which 

 are lost, are, because raw food is given them. To 

 sum up all in a word — if you wish to raise al- 

 most every duck that is hatched, give them little 

 water, and feed them on no food which is not 

 boiled. By observing this plan, I raise for mar- 

 ket, and for my own table, between two and three 

 humlred ducks every year. — Soidhern Agr. 



The fish in the Thames are stated to have suf- 

 fered greatly from the ravages of influenza, and 

 odd as it may seem, many of them have in con- 

 sequence met with " a watery grave." Nothing, 

 in truth, either on earth or under the earth, seems 

 to have escaped the wide-destroying [lest. Hor- 

 ses, dogs, sheep, and rabbit.s, have all suffered 

 from symptons of influenza, but we have not heard 

 that they have died a bit the faster for want of, 

 regular doctors. As regards the fish, Dr Roche,,, 

 physician to her Grace cf St Alban's has given iji 

 as his opinion, that they have suffered a good deal 

 from the late dump weather! , 



To DESTROY Insects on Vines. — A gentleman 

 informs us that he put tan (tanner's waste) around 

 bis vines, covering the hill with it, and found it 

 an exirellent remedy against the ground fiea. lie 

 put the tan on every seconil hill, and found that 

 it saved the vines, while those not pri^lected in 

 tbi" inanner, were much eaten. He thinks that 

 the tan will be a protection against the yellow bug. 



Grf.at BuTTONWOon Thee. — A correspondent 

 of the Boston Transcript says ibat the great but. 

 to., wood tree in South Reading has been felled, 

 'i he main body of this tree, is twenty-eight feet 

 long, and of this length, sixteen feet is hollow. Al 

 one foot from the butt end, its circumference is 

 twenty feet. At six and a half feet, it is sixteen 

 and a half feet. And at twelve feet, it is nearly 

 fifteen feet in circumfl^rence. The hollow trunk 

 now lies nearly horizontal, and a man six feet in 

 height may stand erect within it. 



