44 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEE, 



AUGl'ST 10, Igir. 



(From the (J-lit'sec Fanner.) 

 W V S H I N G S II 15 E P . 



Ill oriler to liave \V(j!t1 foiiiiiiaiiil a grxid priru 

 ill the market, or be in the liest state tor iiiaiiu- 

 faetiire in tlie family of the ("armer, it is in(li.s()cii- 

 salilo that it he well washeil ; am! wo have reason 

 to helievo that this |ncicess is hut very iiri|i:'r(ectlv' 

 (icrfoniied in pro[i(jrlioii to iis iiii|)ortaii(;e. In 

 the first place, shee|) arc usually washefl too ear- 

 ly in the season. The weather slionid be warm, 

 anil the water should have time lo be freed from 

 its winter cljill, before the washing of sheep is 

 undertaken. Sheep now rarely lose their wool 

 in the spring ; a reason that once was the most 

 successfully urged for early washing, and no loss 

 from this cause rises from wailing. 'Iheheallli 

 of the sheep, and the comfort of the washer, both 

 demand that regard should he had to the temjier- 

 atiire of tin; weather and the water, before the 

 process is undertaken. Sufficient attention is not 

 paid to tagging the sheep, or freeing them from 

 hardened and accumulated dirt, liefore washiiii;. 

 Neglect here will always cause a serious loss, by 

 injuring the quality, as well as lesseningtlie (|uan- 

 lity fit for market. 



There is great deficiency in another respect, 

 which should be corrected. Sheep are fref^uent- 

 ly washed, or rather wet, as if the process w. is 

 here intended for a frolic, not for use. Only "ct 

 them into the water, and in the opinion of many, 

 the grand object is accomplished. Now sheep 

 should be wash.:d clean ; if they are not,thev may 

 ns well he let alone, and the time and iieuble of 

 wetting them be saved. Soap should b,; used 

 when necessary, and the whole business should 

 be conducted with care and attention. No more 

 should be penned at once, than can be washed 

 well and thoronglily within a reasonable time; 

 to shut them up and keep them eight or ten 

 hours without food, is a needless piecJ of cruel- 



of the margin of the tub, iiir through a suitable 

 sized opening near the bottom. 



We arc also convinced that a majority of our 

 farmers shear Iheir sheep too soon after washing. 

 If sheep are washed as they should be to render 

 the wool clean, mu(-h of the natural yolk or oil 

 of the wood, a substance that conlrihntes much to 

 its smoothness and ease of working, is taken away. 

 If sh(-ared too .soon after washing, the wool is 

 destitute of this principle, and is apt to be harsh 

 or tender, an evil that Ihe greasing given by the 

 mannfictuier, but imperfectly remedies. Sheep 

 should be allowed to run several days after their 

 wool is dry, always being careful to confine them 

 to clean (lasture.s, and tne benefit of the delay will 

 be felt not only in suj)erior softness and quality 

 of the fleece, but in the greater weight and con- 

 sequent profit of sale. 



stage, am! feeds on the pulp that snrioun ds the 

 green clevel of the grain. ]t remains in this state 

 but a few days, and then changes to a chrysalis 

 when he is generally deposited at the bottom of 

 the hull that surrounds the clevel, or on the sides 

 of the clevel. He is seen in this stage long before 

 the grain is ripe, and after it is ripe, and I have 

 also .seen him in this state in mid-winter and I 

 iiresume he remainsihus till the warmth ol'anoth- 

 er spring brings him out a fly, prepared to go the 

 round again. tj j^ 



it is the practice of many [» drive their sheep 

 some two or three miles to a lake or river, for 

 washing, but the practice is a bad one, and gen- 

 erally entirely needless. By driving them so'' far 

 they fruqnenlly tire out, and alwavs get more or 

 less dust and dirt fastened to their" wool. There 

 are but few farms, certainly but few neighbor- 

 hoods, in which clear running brooks cannot be- 

 iound, and with these, places for wasbiiH' ,„.,> ca 

 s.ly made. A tub, four or five feet in .lepth, and 

 iis many in diameter, such as is frequentiv used 

 by the farmer for holding raiu water, a trou-li or 

 spout large enough to convey a .suitable quanlily 

 o( water to the tub, ,,,.,1 a pen for yarding the 

 sheep, are all that is required ; and "these can in 

 most cases be provided in a few hours. At such 

 a tub two men can wash easily, without bein- .se 

 riously wet Ihein.selve.s, ami with an entire com- 

 maml of the sheep ut all times. Some prefer vats 

 of a suitable depth ; but ihe fa.'t that vats are as 

 e.\pei,8,veastubs; that they can be used fornoth-' 

 mg else, while tubs when not wanted here are 

 always useful elsewhere, would seem to render 

 tubs preferable. This is, however, of little con- 

 sequence compared with Ihe benefits of washin" 

 sheep at home ; a system which when onceadon- 

 te.l by the farmer, will be rarely exchanged for 

 the laborious one of driving abroad. This meth 

 od ol washing requires but litlle water; only*just 

 enough to flow od' freely, washing away the dirt 

 and other impurities, either over u depressed part 



(from the Maine Farmer.) 

 ■4VEEVII. OR WORM I]V AVIIEAT. 



Mr Holmf.s: I have just returned from an ex- 

 amination of a field of wheat that 1 sowed over 

 with lime, soon after it headed oul, and I found 

 an innumerable number of flies going u[) and 

 down on t.'ie straw, and the beards of the grain, 

 to the almost total destruction of my crop of wheat! 

 I have also examined other fiehLsof wheat, some 

 sowed with lime at a'n early peiioil, and others at 

 later period.s, and some not limed at all, and I 



found them all nearly in the like conditicm 



Therefore I must come to the conclusion that the 

 system of sowing lime or ashes on wheat to pre- 

 vent the fly or weevil from injuring it, is far from 

 being a sure preventive. I examined a fleld of 

 wheat a few days since, belonging to a friend 

 who is much in favor of the 'old tin pan system,' 

 or ralher the system of sifting the seed through a 

 wire sieve, or an old tin pan |)repared forthe pur- 

 pose, in order to separate the eggs of the fly from 

 the wheat. The gentlemen to whom 1 relW sift- 

 ed, and sifted, last spring, until lie shook hisarn.s 

 almost from his shoulders, and he was confidently 

 counting on his hundreds of bushels of good clean 

 wheat, fiee entirely from the weevils, ami bis 

 neighbois' wheat cut ofl^ through tiieir iipo-|ect to 

 sift their seed; but lo ! his wheat is as much in- 

 jiired as his neighbors' ; this .system is all moon- 

 shme. 



I believe we do not understand the nature or 

 habits of this fly— we must rub all out, and beo-in 

 anew— and now is the time to learn, while he is 

 here with n.s, a living evidence < f his exi.stence. 

 I here IS an opinion prevailing anion..- farmers 

 that the fly lays the egg by the side of'the clevel 

 of wheat, and the egg hatches there.and the ma.' 

 got commences eating the flour of the clevel as 

 .soon as he is hatched, and continues to eat till 

 there is nothing but the hull left. This is a mis- 

 take. 'J'he weevils do not eat the flour of the 

 wheat, and I challenge any one to show that he 

 ever does so much as to make an incision throuo-h 

 the hull. " 



The fly that deposits the egg is a very small 

 brownish fly, and 1 believe deposiis its egg in the 

 crevice of the hull that surrounds the kernel or 

 clevel of wheat, but it remains there a short time 

 only before it hatches, and then the maggot finds 

 Its way down in the hull to the clevel of wheat 

 At this stage, he is extremely small, neither the 

 eg- nor the maggot can har.lly b.. discerned by the 

 "'■lied eye. The maggot is very active at this 



SAW DUST FOR PACKING PiAKTS. 



1 have noticed in the agricultural papers, some 

 accounts of the loss of a large number of Morus 

 Miiliicanlis imported from France dnringthc past 

 spring, occasioned by neglect or inefBciency in 

 packing. I presume the material commonly used 

 or preserving vitality of plants is moss. The 

 kind denominated S;)Aan-„»„, is the best for' that 

 purpo.se, as it retains moisture for a length of time 

 and is not liable to fermentation. 



Thp.mo.ss however, besides that it is not alwavs 

 ••eaddy accessible, is, I believe, inferior to saw 

 dust, in boih the qualities adverted to When 

 mixeil with earth in equal proportions and wi'h 

 I a prol.er allowance of water, it will be many 

 months before it can become dry, when .securely 

 closed in a box. By the way, boxes should be 

 used m preference lo mats— in all rases at least 

 I" whft-h plants are impatient of a removal ; or 

 when they are to be transmitted to :. consi.'erable 

 distance. 



SomJf years ago, I received a box of plants from 

 he soi.lb, which were put up in the fall ami sent 

 to Charleston, to await the sailing of a packet — 

 It by there three months, and did not reach me 

 until quite late in the spring ; but on opening it 

 I fo.md the contents in a fine growing condition' 

 About the first of this year, 1 put up two hexes 

 "1 the same manner— one to be sent to Boston' 

 the other to Columbus, in Ohio. On the twentyl 

 'Im-d of May, the former was opened, and all the 

 plants were in a state of perfect preservati.m •— 

 having laid undisturbed for nearly five months. 

 In the other case, though th,; box was small, and 

 almost as late in reaching its destination yet the 

 plants were in a condition equally good." 



1 have reason to believe that many of the losses 

 sustained in the removal of trees and plants to i 

 distance-and they are not few-are to be ascri 

 be.l to the imperfect manner in which the pu-k 

 ages are ina.le. Anaccident.d delay, or nnoxl.ec" 

 ted change of weather may materially retard .he 

 operation of planting ; and if such occurrences 

 are not guarded against by the care of the nur.se 

 p'-nian, disappointment must frequentiv be the 

 lot of cnsujmers. A Ho«t,cl-x.tur,st 



— Maine Farmer. 



RASPt.vG M^cHi.NE.-!n Thorndike, we .saw a 

 ■eiy simple apparatus for grinding or raspino- „„ 

 pies, to nmke ci.ler-, which we thought nould an 

 swer very well for rasping beets. It consisted oi 

 a short cylinder, about S or 10 inches in dim.n 

 ter, 111 which were driven bits of wire or headless 

 hoard nails, in columns, about thr-ee or four in 

 ches apart, running spirally, lengthwise of ,1 "' 

 .-.Vlmder, and t!ie nails or wires separated ,1' 

 hap.s, a quarter of an inch. This is made lo' 

 volve at the bottom of a hopper, and close , ' „" 

 har.l facing on one side. The apples are crush , 

 between the teeth on the cylinder, and the '/d 



