84 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AUGUST 9, I-.IT. 



.Stave Cutting Machine. — We vveiu interes- 

 ted the other day, in lookiiii; iit ;i Stave Cutliii^r 

 Macliiiie, the hue invention of iMessri? Merrick & 

 Lancey, two ingenions iiiaehinit-ts of tliis town. 

 The present method of working ont a .stave with 

 n shave by hand, we take it, is llie tnosl sU)W and 

 dillicult |>art of the o|)eralioii in niakinj: a barrel. 

 This machine, willi its eompaiiion for jointing;- 

 and matchinf;-, ninst therefore piove of {jt'eat in]- 

 portance and saving of labor, it mnst pnjvo a 

 great facility in those places where flonr and pro- 

 visions are pnt up in large ijuantities. It is a very 

 eimpie a fair, to be operated by horse power. — 

 The saws are like two cylinders, or two halves of 

 a barrel, revolving swiftly, .striking the wood at 

 each end, and running to the centre, till the stave 

 is sawed out, the shape o( tbesart' giving the stave 

 its snitable bend. At the instant the stave is cut 

 to the centre, it falls under the machine, and at 

 the same instant, a spring throws back the saws 

 to their starting point, for another stave, and so 

 on, with great rapidity. Another machine joints 

 and matches them ready for pntting up. With 

 these machines we are assured that two men can 

 make the staves ready for a barrel in thrte min- 

 utes ! With larger or sjn.dlef saws, casks of any 

 size may be made, from a hogshead to a powder 

 or white lead cask. There is no loss of tindier 

 by the pro(-ess, an<l the sta\es may be sawed of 

 any thickness desireil. 'J'he inventors have ob- 

 tained a putent. 



Mr Merrick has recently invented an engraving 

 machine. An iron or sealing wax i-ast is made 

 of the medal to be, engraved. 'I'his is so plaeeil 

 in the machine (which is turned with a craidf ,by 

 liand) as to control the movements of the graving 

 tool, as it traces the lines on the copper, in ol>e. 

 dience to its pattern, with the accuracy of a liu- 

 inan liand. The graver may be so fixed as to in- 

 crease or diminish the size of the engraving from 

 that of the pattern or medal. — Sprin^fidd Repub- 

 lican. 



A SUGGESTION FOK THE COMING YEAR. — A gen- 

 tleman of high respectability, iuferms ns that ttie 

 loilowing mode of sowing winter wheat in the 

 fepring, has been partially adopted in Tenoessee, 

 with the happiest success. 



In early winter the seed grain is put into casks, 

 and water enough added to soak and cover it. It 

 is then exposed, so that the water becomes fio- 

 zen, and it is kept in this state as far as practica- 

 ble, until the soil is lit for its reception in the 

 spring. It is well known that the operation of 

 Ii-ost n|)on the seed of winter grain, lias the same 

 efl'ect as if it is sown in autumn — as wheat or rye 

 sown at the S(-tting in of winter, will grow and 

 mature. The advantages which are experienceil 

 from sowing in the Si;ring, are, M, that the grain 

 is not snbjpct to be wintc:r killed ; Oil, it escapes 

 the hessian lly in autumn, and po.ssihiy it may es- 

 cape it in the spring ; 3d, the ground being fresh 

 stirred for spring .sowing, the growth will be more 

 vigorous; and 4th, a.s it will come into ear late, 

 there is at least a probability that the crop may 

 escape the grain worm. 'J'he advantages are so 



manifest, that the experiment is worth a trial ; 



and we shall feel greatly obliged to some Ten- 

 nessee corresi)ondent who will give us lhe,details 



and result of the jHactice in that state Jllbany 



Cultivator. 



Corn begins to look up. 



Cr^INlS'S COMBINED PLOUGH. 



The inventor of this implement made a trial of 

 one of them at our place, a few days since, in the 

 presence of several gentlemen, farmers and ma- 

 chinists, the result of which was highly satisfac- 

 tory to air present. '! hey are constructed with 

 from two to five shares. 'J he one i|t-ed upon this 

 occasion, had two steel shares, and was worked 

 by one horse, which power was suf5ii'ient to ena- 

 ble it to do its work with great ease and exact- 

 ness. As the reader will suppose, it carried two 

 furrows, which were laid with much nicety. From 

 the jieculiar mathematical propriety with which 

 the proportions of the plough are arranged, there 

 is no jostling or inequality in the resistance, so 

 that whether regard be liad to the horse or the 

 ploughman, the labor is lighter, iinudi lighter, 

 than with the common fdough. Mr Cline man- 

 aged it most of the time with his finger and thumb 

 resting on the reins |>laced on the cross-bar ex- 

 tendiiig from handle to handle. The wood-work 

 is got np pretty much upon the plan of a harrow 

 with handles, is ctunpact, strong, and competent 

 to perform any work with jiruper force. Tlie 

 work performed at my place, was ploughing in a 

 small field of corn, and we were surprised to ob- 

 serve the r!ose:iess with which Mr C. was era- 

 bl.e.d to approach the corn without injury. Indeed 

 so e-tactly does it do its work, that there is little 

 left for the hoers to perform ; for, in fact, that as 

 well as turning np the ground is done by the im- 

 plement itself. So satisfied are we of its immense 

 superiority, that we have engaged one, with a view 

 of working our corn. To us it appears, that his 

 double shared implements are competent, with the 

 propelling force, to do as nmch more work, in 

 any given time, as any other plough we have ever 

 seen, without increasing the labor to either man 

 or beast. 



Mr Cline is a resident of Bucks county, Penn- 

 sylvania, a practical farmer, and knovi'iiig the de- 

 ficiences of the old plough, set himself sedulous. 

 ly to work to produce tm implement that should 

 supply them; and we think we hazard nothing in 

 saying, that he tias been triumphantly successful. 

 He has a patent, and as we believe he deserves it, 

 we sincerely hope Ife may reap a fruitful harvest 

 of profit, as the reward of his ingenuity and perse- 

 verance; forcertflinly he has rendered a most im- 

 portant service to his agricultural brethren, by re- 

 ducing llie expenses of cultivation, so far as the 

 jilongh is concerned, fifty per centum. As "mo- 

 ney saved, is money gained," so has Mr Cline 

 placed it within the power of every husbandman 

 to e^cononiize his ploughing exjienditures to the 

 amount named by us. At times like the present, 

 when, from the precariousness of our seasons, 

 crops are uncertain, it becomes the farmer or the 

 planter, to avail niniself of every possible opportu- 

 nity to curtail his costs of labor, therefore, it ap- 

 pears to ns, that a more eligible means of effectu- 

 ating this object, has seldom been presented to the 

 public than the present, in the sha[)e of labor-sa- 

 ving machinery. 



We diti not learn from Mr Clinch that he had 

 disjiosed of any rights ; but for the benefit of the 

 community, we trust he may diffuse them in ev- 

 ery direction of our widely spread country ; for 

 his plough is worthy of the most exteinled pat- 

 ronage, and we iloiibt not, wlien its advantages 

 bec^ome generally i<nown, it will receive it. — Bal- 

 timore Farmtr. 



Messrn Gcrrish and Edwards : I notice by the 

 public journals, that the fields of wheat in our 

 State look finely, and our farmers feel much en- 

 couraged tliat they shall reap an abundant crop — 

 hut I feel they are not aware of the danger of the 

 weevil fly. Now is the time for them to deposit 

 their eggs. They begin to work as soon as the 

 head of the wheat shoots fairly out, and while it 

 is in blossom. I have recently examined several 

 fields of wheat, and find the f!y very nnmerons. 

 They work most just before sunset, when the air 

 is still. Ill the middle of the day, but very few 

 can be found. They are during the day, down 

 upon the ground, under the sods, and about the 

 roots of the grain. Here they do no damage. — 

 'I hey come up just before night, and begin their 

 work of destruction. The fly is very small, deli- 

 cate, and of a lightish red color. Now the ques- 

 is, what can be done to stay their ravages? Some 

 talk of lime as being a good remedy. I have but 

 little faith in it. You cannot put enough on the 

 wheat le kill the iasects, or destroy tlieir eggs. — 

 And is not offensive enough to drive them away. 

 My remedy is this : take brimstone and wrap it 

 np in rags, and set it on fire in several places, 

 through the field — the wind will drive the smoke 

 in every direction through the grain; and my 

 word for it, tlie little fellows won't stand this. — 

 Tills ought to be done several days, and just be- 

 fore sunset, and now is the time, i believe it will 

 ' slay proceedings.' New Gloucester. 



— Portland Adv. 



A corresiiondent wishes to know how the re- 

 quisite space i'or a given number of silk worms, 

 as described in the various works on llie culture 

 of silk, is to be determined.^ It is stated, for in- 

 stance, that during the fifth age, an ounce of eggs 

 producing 30,000 worms, will require 184 feet. — 

 Is this the superficial extent of tlie whole num- 

 ber of shelves combined — or is it the supcrficita 

 of the apartment in wliicli they are to be fed .' — 

 In the fomer case, each worm will have less than 

 one square inch allotted to it, which is perhaps 

 less tlian the space it would cover, &c. 



Answer. — It means the superficial extent of the 

 shelv::s on which the worms are fed ; but instead 

 of computing the ounce of worms at 30,000, it 

 should be estimated at 20,000, making allowances 

 for deaths by sickness, casualties, &c. — Editor 

 Farmer Sf Gard. i 



Soiling Milch Cows. — The Zoarites, a relig- , 

 ous sect of Germans, on the Muskingum river in, 

 Ohio, keep their milch cows constantly . in the 

 stall, and feed them with the oftal of the milk, 

 hay, roots, &c.; and they are said to yield an ex-, 

 traordinary quantity of milk — some twenty quarts 

 a day thr'.ugh the year. They also pay particu- 

 lar attention to their cleanliness. Their stalls are , 

 thoroughly washed daily, and the water used for 

 this purpose, is carefully collected in reservoirs, 

 and applied in the form of liquid mannre, to their 

 hot houses and gard iMis. j 



In a late communication to the British board of, 

 Agr. it is stated that 30 cow.s, 1 hull, 4 calves and 

 5 horses, were fed through ihe summer from IS' 

 acres of clover sown the preceding year. The la- ^; 

 bor of 2 men and 2 women was sufficient to tend 1 

 them, and the net produce of the season, in hut-ji 

 ter from June to Oclolier, was ,£19 10s. nearly; 

 $90 from each cow. — Silk Cult. 



