208 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



SWAMP MUCK — CROPS. 



I have a tract of low brook meadows, a large 

 part of which, back from the stream, is so cov- 

 ered in some places I)y white moss, and in others 

 bj- meadow hardback," that it is of little value in 

 its present condition. Can you so describe the I 

 different qualities of muck, that a novice, like my- 1 

 self, can decide its value before it has been test- 

 ed by experience ? 



"What is the most feasible way of reclaiming 

 such land as I have described ? I will state that 

 I have covered a few rods with sandy loam from 

 an adjacent pasture, to the depth of three or four 

 inches. On this I have laid some compost man- 

 ure, which I intend to spread in the spring and 

 seed it down with herds-grass and red-top. On 

 another small piece I have spread loam at the 

 rate of twenty loads to the acre, and have also 

 dug over a small patch on which I mean to see if 

 potatoes can be made to grow. J. WoODS. 



Roijaldon, Feb., 1858. 



Remarks. — You have made a good beginning 

 in the ditching you describe, and in the applica- 

 tion of the sandy loam and compost manure; 

 you Avill undoubtedly get good crops of grass. 

 Potatoes grow finely on such lands, and so will 

 most vegetables, as we have seen fine crops of 

 cabbage, beets, &c., growing luxuriantly in th" 

 warm and porous muck beds. We cannot de- 

 scribe the different qualities of muck so as to be 

 of service to you. If plants spring up and grow 

 well on the ridges you have thrown up, it is evi- 

 dent that the muck is not hurtful. Spread some 

 of it in different places on the uplands'and watch 

 its effects. You will undoubtedly find it piofita- 

 ble to haul up any quantity you can get. 



COVERING ROOFS. 



As a subscriber in your Januaiy number wish- 

 es to know the cheapest and best material for 

 covering flat roofs, I send you the following as 

 the best I am acquainted with. It is composed 

 of equal parts, water, cement and coarse beach 

 sand or gravel mixed up with proper ingredients, 

 for which Mr. W. Sterling, of this place, ob- 

 tained a patent about the year 1852-3. It is im- 

 pervious to frost, sun, air or rain, and if properly 

 laid on I believe will last a century. I have seen 

 several roofs that have been on six or seven 

 years, and covered a veranda myself last fall, the 

 whole expense being (it is covered with cross 

 wire before the mixture is put on) six cents per 

 foot-, including everything, cost of material and 

 laying on, which I believe is forty per cent, less 

 than tin to start with, and five times as durable. 



Bridgeport, Ct., March, 1858. J. Moody. 



SEWING machines— niLLING CORN. 

 One of your correspondents inquires about 

 sewing machines. Let him look at Wheeler & 

 Wilson's before he purchases. Grover & Baker's 

 is a line machine, but I prefer the shuttle stitch; 

 most of the cheap machines are, I think, very im- 

 perfect and liable to get out of order. Most of 

 them use but one thread, which is liable to rip. 

 There is now a great variety of machines, and 



no one is excusable for letting his wife sew by 

 hand if he is able to buy a machine. 



HILLING CORN. 



One writer advocates hilling corn three times. 

 Is he aware tint while his corn is throwing out 

 roots higher upon the stalk every time he hoes, 

 that the lower roots are dying, and that his corn 

 is turning from a seedling plant to a layer? And 

 that a field "hilled" very high will be blown to 

 the ground Avith a M'ind which a field cultivated 

 level will stand with impunity ? This is true in 

 this section, and I guess elsewhere. 



Cultivation, and frequent cultivation, is right ; 

 but no good farmer here, now, advocates the nill- 

 iiig process. D. 



Middlesex Co., Ct., March 2, 1858. 



papers on the POTATO ROT. 



Has any advance, of late, been made in the 

 discovery of the cause or causes, of what is gen- 

 erally termed the potato rot? Several years 

 since, the community was deluged with theories 

 upon this matter. The rot still continues, but the 

 theories have funked out — to use a strong, but 

 coarse expression. 



My attention has recently been called to this 

 matter, by inquiries for a certain letter written 

 by the late Dr. T. W. Harris, of Camliridge, in 

 which he clearly proved that certain insects of 

 .he beetle order, found upon the vines of the po- 

 "^ato, were not the. cause of the decay of the tubers 

 or roots. And particularly, that the little black 

 fly, or beetle, put forward by Mr. Whipple, of 

 Lowell, as the cause, was entirely harmless of 

 this offence. I have looked for these letters of 

 Dr. Harris, (who was authority second to none 

 other on whatever he presumed to speak,) but 

 have not been able to put my hands upon them. 

 If you can point to them you will confer a favor 

 upon all Avho are interested in this subject — as 

 every lover of good potatoes should be. 

 Very truly yours, 



March, 1858. J. W. Proctor. 



Remarks. — We can give no clue to the pa- 

 per's wanted. 



CURE for chilblains. 



Draw off the stockings and sit with the feet to 

 the fire as hot as it can be borne, until the feet 

 feel easy. Repeat this every night, and cure will 

 be certain. I have tried many things beside this 

 without any good effect. 



HILLY FARMS. 



Is a farm located on a side-hill as desirable as 

 one upon level ground ? Is the manure likely to 

 be lost on such lands, or is there any particular 

 manure best adapted to it ? A Reader. 



South Wrentham, Mass. 



Remarks. — Land of the same quality is cer- 

 tainly preferable on a level, or gently rolling sur- 

 face, as it is more easily cultivated and is less 

 likely to wash. Where a field on a side-hill is 

 highly manured, you will usually find the land at 

 the base quite productive, yielding large crops of 

 grass or other crops that may be upon it. We are 

 not aware that any special manure is better adap- 

 ted to side-hill than to other lands 



