96 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



again with the Durhams, These half and three- 

 fourths blood cows have generally good size, ex- 

 cellent constitution, great milking capacity, and 

 for practical ])urposcs are generally superior to 

 either the full blood Durham or original "native" 

 Btock. 



12. I should certainly always look for the 

 marks laid down by Guenon, when buying a 

 dairy cow. I have never known a cow with all 

 the "escutcheons," as he terms them, fully devel- 

 oped, that did not prove an A No. 1 milker. I 

 have, however, known cows showing these, marks 

 only in part, that proved better than one would 

 expect who went by Guenon's theory. 



13. The Improved Hinge Harrow, made by 

 Noursc, Mason & Co., is the best kind I have 

 used. It is a square harrow, made heavy for 

 rough land, or light for mellow land, and for cov- 

 ering grain and grass seeds. It is composed of 

 two pieces of frame-work, connected to each oth- 

 er by iron hinges, and carries a breadth of five 

 feet. The independent and easy play of the parts, 

 on the hinges, enaliles the harrow to shape itself 

 to the ground continually, so that whether going 

 over knolls and ridges, or through hollows, it al- 

 ways hugs the ground, and every tooth has an 

 operation on the soil. It has thirty teeth, which 

 stand a foot apart every way, so that they are not 

 liable to clog, and yet their number and arrange- 

 ment is such as to work the ground very fine. 



14. The Roller is very useful on any farm, 

 large or small. It smooths the plowed land on 

 seeding it down to grass, forcing the small stones 

 into tlie soft ground, pulverizing the lumps of 

 earth, securing a sure and quick germination of 

 the grain and grass seeds, and preparing an even 

 surface for mowing and raking. It is particular 

 ly useful on loose and porous sandy and gravelly 

 lands, which incline to part too freely with mois 

 ture and manure, in a dry season. It makes them 

 more compact at the surface, so that they are less 

 exposed to injury by evaporation, and presses the 

 loose earth around the seeds, giving the plants a 

 good foothold in the soil, so that they the better 

 resist the effects of dry weather. 



Brattleboro' , Dec. 30, 1857. F. Holbrook. 



DIFFERENCE IN COWS. 



Cows, under certain constitutional ciscumstan- 

 ces, are naturally disposed to convert their food 

 into fat, so much so that there is great difficulty 

 in keeping some classes in a breeding state, more 

 especially improved Short Horns, Devons and 

 Herefords. Turn a cow of this description into 

 rich grass, and she is soon useless for anything 

 but the shambles. The quality of the milk she 

 gives may be fine, but the quantity almost noth- 

 ing. We had a Devon, the property of a noble 

 Duke, which carried off t!ie first prize of her class 

 at one of the Royal Agricultural Society's meet- 

 ings, not giving m<n-e than one quart at a milking. 



On the other hand, there is a class of cows 

 naturally inclined to turn all their food into the 

 pail. Turn a cow of this kind along with the one 

 a')Ove, and she will rather get poorer every day, 

 if the milk is taken from her, while her plump 

 and sleek rival is gaining weight. The former 

 Mill consume greatly more grass and water than 

 tae latter, returning for it in proportion a still 

 jrreater quantity of milk, but inferior in quality. 



In town dairies, when fed on sour grains, distil- 

 lers' wash, &c., the quantity sometimes yielded is 

 almost incredible. When such is the case, how- 

 ever, life is generally short, especially if cow3 

 are in a low state at calving. Hence the reason 

 why dairymen purchase near-calves of this class 

 in good condition. 



The above two classes may be called extremes, 

 between which there is a mean, and this latter 

 class of cows, if turned into a rich pasture along 

 with the others, Mould keep themselves in good 

 condition, and give a medium quantity of milk, 

 the quality depending upon the richness of tlie 

 food. — Mark Lane Express. 



FvT the New England Fanner. 

 CHINESE SUGAR CANE— RESULTS. 



Friend Brown : — Although you have many 

 friends who have communicated their experience 

 in the culture of the Sorgho siicre, the last season, 

 still I have thought a few facts, elicited in the 

 natural M'ay, from sources reliable, would be ac- 

 ceptable. Being disappointed in not receiving 

 in season for our pamphlet, which is now fully 

 printed, an account of the culture of this plant, 

 on about one-eighth of an acre, by a friend, 

 which I M'itnessed when on a visit to his place in 

 August last — I extract the substance of what he 

 says — because I know that Mhat he says is tnie. 



"The patch of cane (some 20 square rods) 

 proved very uneven in its growth, some hills be- 

 ing not more than one foot in height, early in 

 October ; vhile others, in the immediate vicinity, 

 M-ere ten feet high — -and the sto^'ks from one to 

 one and a half inches in diameter. I cannot un- 

 derstand this difference in the growth, as all the 

 hills Mere treated in the same manner. I made 

 no use of mine except to let my calves feed it, 

 they being very fond of it — always selecting the 

 largest and most mature stalks. 



"Many of my neighbors grew small patches, 

 from 9 to 12 feet in height, as even as Indian 

 corn. Some fed it to their cattle green, others 

 cured it for winter feed ; and some expressed 

 the juice, from M'hich very fair syrup was made. 

 But for lack of suitable mills for crushing the 

 canes, and kettles for boiling, none here have 

 made any large quantity of syrup. Some parcels 

 M'ere very good — others not so good, the syrup 

 having a rank, harsh taste." 



The foregoing account, given by one of the 

 most intelligent cultivators in the State of New 

 Hampshire, is a fair statement of the success at- 

 tending the culture of the Chinese Sugar Cane in 

 New England. Nobody here, that I can learn, 

 has made sugar from it — nobody made any mo- 

 lasses that is equal to M'hat Me have been accus- 

 tomed to use. 



That this plant will grow — that it will afford a 

 syrup in fair quantity, is proved beyond question 

 — but that it is worth groM'ing for the stigar that 

 can be made from it, M-ill require all the energy, 

 perseverance and skill of a Hyde, a Lake or a 

 Choate, for more than one season's experiments, 

 to satisfy a doubting public. Do not inierstand 

 me as denouncing this culture — all I say is, tha 

 it has not yet been shoM'n to be M'orth pursuing. 

 J. W. FiiOCTOR. 



South Dauvers, Dec, 1857. 



