16f) 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



Good elliptic springs between two metallic saddle- 

 trees Avoukl save the horse from the jars of the 

 pavement, and the present unrelieved crushing 

 efl'ects of a load. The under saddle-plate or tree 

 could have interstices in it for ventilation. The 

 padding of it would not be difRcult, with such 

 spaces open for the cool air to touch the back 

 beneath the saddle. By a suitable contrivance a 

 rod would shove up the weight at any time jjress- 

 ing upon the back of the horse. p. 



"GOD SEXDS MEATS AND TIIE DEVIL SENDS 

 COOKS." 



Do any of your readers know, Mr. Editor, the 

 origin of this saying ? It is one of long stand- 

 ing ; and it is found in more than one language. 



And, what is vastly more important, do you or 

 your readers know what is its meaning ? Mean- 

 ing it has. undoubtedly ; its meaning may be im- 

 portant ; it is my opinion it is so. But before I 

 venture any comments on it, I prefer to await a 

 rejjly from yourself, or from some of your intel- 

 ligent readers, male or female. May I not hope 

 for an early response — at least, to my first in- 

 quiry ? W. A. A. 



Remakks. — What its meaning is, my dear sir ? 

 Yes, every time we sit at the table. God did 

 send meats, and they are good. He also sent 

 medicines, and they are good in their place. But 

 something, or somebody, whether "Old Cloots" 

 or not, we don't know, has induced our cooks, 

 all over the land, to 7nix the medicines icith the 

 meats, and it makes a compound too villanous 

 "to take." Why, sir, half the trade of the apoth- 

 ecary has gone into the grocer's hands. It is 

 difRcult now to get a dish of ineat, even, to say 

 nothing of pies and puddings, that is unpolluted 

 with some sort of drug. There is scarcely any- 

 tliing that needs reformation more than our 

 present modes of cooking. 



CULTURE OF INDIAN CORN. 



I am truly sorry to learn from your venerable 

 Plymouth correspondent, that the culture of this 

 most reliable and valuable crop of our fields is 

 falling off". I had hoped, under the influence of 

 the improved varieties introduced by himself and 

 others, and the multiplication of ears upon the 

 stock, by artistic arrangement in the selection of 

 seeds, that the farmers of Massachusetts would 

 have found their best interests advanced by stick- 

 ing closely to this crop. Instead of introducing 

 "new crops," Chinese sugar cane, for instance, if 

 they Avould do what they might to perfect their 

 own johnny-cakes, they would better their own 

 and their children's condition. I have heard, 

 years ago, of a class of persons who were con- 

 stantly looking after "some new thing," but I nev- 

 es heard that they were to be regarded as the bet- 

 ter class of the community ; I would much rath- 

 er train under the banner of the justly styled 

 "model farmer of Plymouth," though I confess I 

 do not like the Plymouth mode of measurement, 

 by weighing green in the ear. Give me the stan- 

 dard bushel, well matured, fit to be ground ; this 

 alone Mill satisfy me. p. 



Feb. 8, 1858. 



CRANBERRIES. 



Mr. Editor : — Will you, or some cultivator of 

 cranberries, oblige liy replying to the following : 



I have removed the muck, &c., from a piece of 

 low land down to a hard sand pan mixed with a 

 little clay. For certain purposes, I intend to flow 

 this in winter as a pond. In case the water dries 

 away in summer, my plan is to plant it with cran- 

 berries. The place can be flowed or drained at 

 pleasure, except in a dry time; by one year's 

 freezing and thawing, and other means of pul- 

 verizing, I have no doid:)t a friable soil can be 

 made. The questions are, will cranberries do 

 well in such a soil ? Can they with safety or 

 benefit be flowed permanently during cold weath- 

 er? Or will they rot by excluding air so long? 



R Y. 



Real\rks. — There are many valuable facts 

 among Massachusetts men, on this subject, that 

 ought to be more generally knoAvn, and we hope 

 some of them will be given in reply to the inqui- 

 ries of R y. We think cranberry plants may 



be flowed from November to April Avithout inju- 

 ry, as we have observed a meadow for more than 

 tAventy years that has been regularly flowed all 

 through the winter, which has yielded a good 

 crop of cranberries during that time, and contin- 

 ued to do so as late as last autumn. It has been 

 flowed purposely, with the intention of jyresen'ing 

 the plants ! Judging from this example, there 

 can be no doubt but that the plants receive ben- 

 efit— at least, protection — from the water, and 

 ■will not rot when thus immersed. 



U. S. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 Won't you be good enough to publish, in full, 

 the proceedings of the late annual meeting of the 

 U. S. Agricultural Society, in your next. Many 

 of your subscribers in this place would like to 

 see them in print. H. H. Huntley. 



Remarks. — We have already given an outline 

 of said proceedings ; to publish the whole would 

 occupy our columns for some weeks to come. 

 We can fill our sheet more profitably to the gen- 

 eral reader, than with the long speeches made 

 on that occasion. 



LICE ON CATTLE. 



The best remedy for lice on cattle or ticks on 

 sheep, is a little sulphur, mixed Avith salt or a lit- 

 tle meal. It is less trouble than grease, and I 

 have found it much more cfl'ective. 



Athens, Pa., Jan., 1858. C. Tiiurstojj. 



DIRECTIONS FOR SETTING POSTS. 



Dig a hole two feet in diameter, and four feet 

 deep ; set the post in the centre, and fill with stone 

 18 inches, then one foot of tan, or fine chips, and 

 fill up with gravel or coarse sand and tamp well. 



I have found by experience that posts set in 

 this way will stand, even in a clay soil, and will 

 not be thrown out by the frost, Avhich is the main 

 difficulty to overcome ; it is a very essential 

 point, not only for the practicability, but for the 

 durability of a gate of any kind. 



L. D. Woodbury. 



