1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FAllMEll. 



63 



ago led off in their addresses to the farmers of 

 Essex county, were not competent to teach the 

 farmers what was best to be done on tlieir farms? 

 Who will presume to say that Henry Colman 

 was not fit to make an address to farmers ? — 

 Those M'ho cavil in this manner are wise without 

 knowledge, not understanding what they say. 

 Farmers should rejoice that other professions are 

 ready and able to lend a helping hand. Some of 

 the best agricultural teachings we have ever known 

 have come from those who gave attention to oth- 

 er things besides farming. The truth is, no man 

 is fit to teach others, Avho has limited his inquiries 

 to one subject alone. Such direction of the at- 

 tention has a tendency to contract and narrow 

 the faculties — and as was said of Burke, to in- 

 duce "the giving up to party, what was meant for 

 mankind." EsSEX. 



November 30, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE CHOW. 



Mr. Editor : — Noticing a piece in the N', E. 

 i^o?'mer with the above caption, I thought I would 

 give you my experience with the crow the present 

 year. I broke a small piece of land of just 100 

 rods, manured in the hill and planted with corn. 

 As soon as it was planted I put a line all around 

 it. About the time the corn made its appearance, 

 I put up two images on either end of the field 

 The corn came up arid stood finely. The crows 

 came on and pulled up about 700 hills, as I esti- 

 mated, and I planted it over again with corn 

 The newly planted corn soon came up, and with 

 it came the crows. I then put up one or two 

 young crows attached with a string to a pole, al 

 so shingles and a bell attached to a shingle so as 

 to ring with the least wind, and still they came 

 on. I then took sulphur and ashes, mixed, and 

 put on each hill ; this they did not like for a day 

 or two, but then came again. I sowed dry corn 

 about the field, but to no purpose. I put on a 

 steel trap and fish hooks, baited with chaff and 

 corn, but it did no good. I then built a small 

 house of boards, large enough for a man to get 

 into with a gun, and placed it close by the field ; 

 then with a man in it, they would come within a 

 few rods of it, and if fired at, they M'ould fly a 

 short distance, but would return in one hour. 



After all the above had been done, they took 

 about two-thirds of the field clean. I then thought 

 I would hoe the remainder ; I did so, (as they 

 worked on the end opposite the bell first,) and in 

 less than one week they took tJiat, every hill 

 there was not a whole hill upon the field ; leav- 

 ing only some ten or twelve scattering stalks. 

 It was then loo late for corn or beans, and I sowed 

 it with buckwheat. I had another piece of about 

 three-fourths of an acre, which was lined when 

 it was first planted, and had six or ten crows hung 

 about upon it, and flags, windmills, &c. t\:c., and 

 they would come and pull up corn within one 

 foot of them all, and they destroyed about two- 

 thirds of this piece. 



If my friend, "A Subscriber," doubts the above 

 statement, I can prove it to be true, and I think 

 when he gets "crowed" as badly as I did, he will 

 cry let the crow die. YbuxG Farmer, 



North Charlestoicn, N. ff., Dec. 7, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HEIFERS AND HEIFER CALVES. 



Mr. Editor : — I was gratified to see so many 

 fine heifers and heifer calves on exhibition, at the 

 annual cattle show at Concord on the 29th of 

 September, and learn with much satisfaction that 

 the number exhibited at many other cattle shoMS 

 in the State was unusually large. This fact shows 

 that the farmers of our State have taken hold in 

 earnest of the work of raising their own milch 

 cows, and affords greater promise of improve- 

 ment in our stock than any other fact that has 

 come to my knowledge. Our farmers, especially 

 in the eastern part of the State, aim to produce 

 good milkers, rather than stock for the butcher. 

 Hence it is desirable to be able to determine, at 

 as early a period as possible, the properties that 

 denote good milkers, that such animals only as 

 possess these properties may be raised. Those 

 whose points indicate only a large growth and 

 early fattening, may be more profitably raised at 

 a greater distance from the milk market. 



There are three things which appear to me es- 

 sential to success in raising good milking stock. 

 These I will briefly point out. 



First; — raise only those calves whose mothers 

 are good milkers, and belong to good milking 

 families. Be very careful, also, that the sires be- 

 long to good milking families. In order that the 

 properties of an animal may be inherited by its 

 offspring with anj- degree of certainty, it is not 

 sufficient that they should be possessed by the in- 

 dividual parent. This may be accidental. They 

 must be established as the permanent properties 

 of the family or breed to which it belongs. So 

 long as farmers purchase from drovers those heif- 

 ers and young cows on which they depend for 

 milkers, they cannot be sure that the progeny of 

 those even that prove good milkers, will inherit 

 the same character. But a calf that has sprung 

 from several successive generations of gcod milk- 

 ers, may be relied upon M^ith a good degree of 

 certainty. 



In the second place, good milch cows possess 

 certain physical marks or characteristics, which, 

 although not absolutely certain indications, should 

 never be neglected. These marks are well known 

 to all observing men, and may be seen in the calf, 

 at least the most prominent of them, at an early 

 period. I think no farmer wishing to obtain a 

 good milker, would raise a calf wdth a large head 

 and short muzzle, large, thick neck, full, high 

 shoulders, large legs, thick tail and coarse hair. 

 He would rather select one with a small head and 

 long muzzle, bright eyes, thin, tapering neck, 

 small legs, large hind quarters, long, slim tail, 

 soft skin and fine hair. Guenon and Haxton af- 

 firm that the form and size of the escutcheon, up- 

 on which they greatly rely, in determining the 

 character of the cow, may be ascertained in the 

 calf — that it is not fully developed, only because 

 the parts on which it is placed are not fully de- 

 veloped at this period of life — but that a careful 

 examination will reveal its true character. Now, 

 although there are apparent exceptions to Guen- 

 on's rules, yet I believe that most good milker'^ 

 possess the marks which he points out. If these 

 marks can be ascertained in the calf, they will af- 

 ford a guide of no small value, in determining 

 what heifer calves to raise, and what to send to 



