250 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



vines are wet with dew, or just after a shower, 

 you will probably do an essential service to your 

 crop, both as regards snails and slugs and the rot. 

 Let your hoeing be thoroughly done. Pick 

 out the weeds carefully from the plants, and thin 

 them where they are too thick. It is much easi- 

 er to do this when the plants are small, and it is 

 much less injurious to them to disturb their 

 roots when small, than when they have reached 

 a larger growth. 



Soils that have been long cultivated, and are 

 manured with manure from the stable, will nec- 

 essarily be weedy, and no inconsiderable part of 

 our farm labor consists in eradicating the weeds 

 from our crops. This will always be so, and we 

 must make our arrangements accordingly. The 

 best means that we can suggest to save labor in 

 this matter, is never to let the weeds go to seed 

 in the field or garden. 



In the eastern and southern parts of Massa- 

 chusetts, work in the hay-field will commence 

 about the close of this month. Mowing ma- 

 chines are now becoming quite common, and up- 

 on many large farms, will greatly facilitate the 

 labOi of haying. We hope it will not be a long 

 time before Yankee ingenuity will provide a light, 

 compact machine that can easily be Avorked by 

 one horse, and will be furnished at a price with- 

 in the means of every farmer in New England. 

 This will reduce the labor of haying, as well as 

 the time occupied by it, at least one-half, *id 

 thus leave much time for the other labors of the 

 farm, which press so urgently at this season of 

 the year. Such a machine would meet the wants 

 of the small farmers of the east, and would put 

 them upon a level with the farmers of the west. 

 In their wide fields, where horses abound, and 

 are cheaply kept, the heavy machines now in use 

 are of inestimable value, and have already in- 

 creased the amount of the grain crop beyond all 

 calculation. Without their aid, it would be im- 

 possible for them to secure their grain before it 

 would spoil in the field. Necessity is the mother 

 of invention, and now that invention has become 

 a profession, the farmer, like the manufacturer, 

 has but to make his wants known, and brains are 

 immediately set to work, to devise means of 

 meeting them. 



But enough of this. We have digressed wide- 

 ly from the point at which we started, and have 

 not yet expressed the thought which was in our 

 mind when we took pen in hand. 



June is the most beautiful month in the year. 

 Its breath is fragrant with the sweet odors of 

 the flowers. The clarion notes of the birds wake 

 the echoes of the morning. The insect tribes, 

 the birds and the animals all wear their bright- 

 est liveries. The vegetable world is clothed in 

 its richest garb. The fields and the forests are 



robed in their brightest green. Every liring 

 thing is fair and fresh, and all is full of hope. 

 Then let us, while the sun, and all the sweet in- 

 fluences of the heavens, and the energies of na- 

 ture around us are working for us, and cheering 

 our labors, not be deficient in eff'orts for our- 

 selves. Let us rise with the lark, and with hearts 

 full of gratitude and cheerful hope, second and 

 guide with skilful hands, the energies which na- 

 ture is putting forth for the sustenance and hap- 

 piness of all her children. 



Let us work in accordance with her laws, and 

 avail ourselves of that assistance which she is 

 ever ready to lend to all our wisely-directed ef- 

 forts, and then when the bright verdure of sum- 

 mer shall be replaced by the russet of autumn, 

 when the music of the feathered songsters is 

 hushed, and the leaves have become brown and 

 sere, we shall rejoice with thankful hearts over 

 the labor of our hands. 



KECIPE FOR MAKING SOAP. 



The following recipe for making soap is by a 

 lady who took the premiums for a very superior 

 article at the late Fair of the Virginia State Ag- 

 ricultural Society. We think it will be found 

 good : 



IJave ready hickory lye, strong enough to bear 

 an egg, slioiciiig the size of a dime above the sur- 

 face of the lye. To three pounds of clean fat, 

 after being melted, add two gallons of the lye 

 and a bit of lime the size of a walnut ; boil it 

 fast, and frequently. Wheji it has boiled an hour 

 stir in two gallons more of the lye ; continue to 

 stir it often, and always one way. After it has 

 boiled for several hours, take out a spoonful and 

 cool it on a plate ; if it does not jell}', add a very 

 little water ; if this cause it to jelly, add water to 

 that in the kettle, — stir very quickly while the 

 water is poured in, till you perceive that it ropes 

 on the stick or becomes heavy. Wh':'n this is the 

 case, you have what is called jelly soap, (or soft 

 soap by some.) To make it hard, stir one quart 

 of salt into the kettle, and let it boil ten minutes 

 longer ; set it by to cool. Next day cut the soap 

 out of the kettle and clarify it by melting it over, 

 adding water enough barely to cover it ; let it 

 just come to a boil, and set it away. When per- 

 fectly cool and firm, turn it out of the oven, 

 scrape off" the residuum that may adhere to the 

 cake of soap, cut it in pieces and place it on the 

 board to harden. 



To make this soap fit for toilet purposes, it is 

 only necessary to cut it into thin shavings, place 

 it in a very nice tin-pan, add a little water, scarcely 

 enough to cover the shavings, set it on some em- 

 bers and stir and beat it with a nice spoon till it 

 becomes a smooth jelly ; while in this state, if 

 you wish to color it, dissolve Chinese vermillion 

 in a little water, and stir it in till you get the de- 

 sired hue ; take it oft" the fire, and add oil of lav- 

 ender, bergamot, sassefras, or any o'cher essential 

 oil, the scent of which you like ; and while it is 

 somewhat liquid, pour it into moulds. 



