290 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



June 



Which is the best for green manure, clover or 

 lucerne, and how should it be plowed in ? (e.) 



Will rose-bud seeds come uj), if planted, and 

 when should they be planted ? (f.) 



Branford, Conn., 1858. O. C. Hoadley. 



Remarks. — (a.) September is considered the 

 best time to cut timber. 



(b.) Cannot see why they would not. 



(c.) If the rot is not occasioned by an insect, 

 perhaps the application of some kind of salt, 

 either alkaline, or something else, might prevent 

 the rot. 



(d.) No one in particular. The State of Maine, 

 the Irish Cup, the Chenango, Peach Blow, Jack- 

 son White, Jenny Lind, and many other kinds, 

 are constantly sold, some kinds preferred by one, 

 and some by others. 



(e.) Cannot tell — never tried lucerne. Cut the 

 clover and let it partially dry before it is plowed 

 under. It will not then pass into rapid fermen- 

 tation and drive off the sugar and starch which it 

 contains. 



(f.) Plant the buds in the fall, and cover 

 slightly with leaves and fine loam. 



DOES STJPEKPIIOSPIIATE PAY? 



Last year I planted my corn with about a 

 spoonful of Hoyt's bone superphosphate of lime 

 in the hill, Avhich cost about the same as the la- 

 bor of manuring in the hill ; the manure having 

 been previously spread and plowed in. The corn 

 came up quick, grew fast, ripened early, and 

 produced a rich harvest of good, sound corn. I 

 calculate that I got double pay for the phosphate. 

 First, it saved the labor of manuring in the hill, 

 and secondly, it increased the crop of corn. 



Yours, &c., Samuel W. Foskett. 



Cliarlton, Mass., 1858. 



what will destroy ant-hills? 



Will you inform me how I may kill an ant hill 

 that has been among my flowers two years ? I 

 have tried scalding and ashes, but with no suc- 

 cess. M. Greenleaf. 



Wiscasset, Me., May, 1858. 



Remarks. — Open a hole in the hill, put in 

 some light wood and set it on fire — keep it burn- 

 ing for two or three hours. 



WHICH IS THE best horse-rake ? 



I intend to purchase a hori^e-rake, and wish to 

 inquire which is the best ? The only kinds much 

 used in this vicinity are the revolver and spring 

 tooth ; of the two, I much prefer the revolver, 

 but if there is any kind superior to it, I wish to 

 obtain it. My land is not very stony, neither is 

 it entirely clear of them. W. 



Fitchhury, May, 1858. 



Remarks. — We have used nearly all the horse 

 rakes that are common, and give a decided pref- 

 erence to Delano's Independent action. It is 

 simple, Btrong, and does the work effectually, 



without gathering up any more rubbish than a 

 hand rake will. For sale at Nourse, Mason & 

 Co.'s, Quincy Hall, Boston. Price about $12. 



ashes on potatoes and corn. 



Permit me to ask the opinion of some of your 

 correspondents as to which is the best manner of 

 using ashes on potatoes and corn. 



Atkinson, N. H. Norman Mathews. 



a big calf. 



Mr. Sol' von Richardson, of Westford, 

 Mass., has a calf one year old that weighs 650 

 pounds — native breed. g. b. 



Westford, May, 1858. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 HORSES. 



Mr. Editor : — I have lately read several arti- 

 cles in the newspapers treating of thorough-breds, 

 with occasional sneers at some races of horses 

 that are in high repute among us. As far as I 

 am able to observe, the principal excellence 

 claimed for thorough-breds consists in their ra- 

 cing qualities. I confess myself so "puritanic," 

 that I am unable to see any benefit to the com- 

 munity arising from horse-racing. It does not 

 produce a dollar, or auglit that can feed or clothe 

 or promote the real welfare of the community. I 

 have owned several horses, driven them at the 

 plow and on the road, and though none of them 

 were called thorough-breds, some of them in 

 style, strength and endurance, were good enough 

 to satisfy the most fastidious. We are told that 

 to keep up the blood of our horses, we must re- 

 sort to thorough-bred stock. That the Morgans 

 have deteriorated in size, &c. Now I believe that 

 it is for the interest of the farmer to breed such 

 horses as will work at the plow, or, in short, are 

 "good business horses." 



The attempt to raise and train fast horses has 

 emptied two pockets where it has filled one. I 

 do not deny to imported horses many valuable 

 qualities, and some of them have become the 

 progenitors of excellent animals. But I protest 

 against this attempt to spread the foolish idea 

 that it is for the interest of our farmers to breed 

 from none but thorough-breds, so called. Our 

 Morgans and Black Hawks are not the mere 

 "runts" that some of the city papers speak of. 

 Come up here into the country, and I will show 

 you a plenty of Morgans and Black Hawks, whose 

 weight, from ten to fourteen hundred pounds, is 

 sufficient for most purposes. A writer in the 

 Tribune stated that it was "acknowledged" that 

 the Morgans had deteriorated in size. Acknowl- 

 edged by whom ? Not by Vermonters, in the 

 State where they have been bred for about fifty 

 years. I do not know what kind of a pony has 

 been seen in the city, but so far from deteriora- 

 ting in size, very few can be found that are not 

 heavier than Old Justin, the sire of the race, 

 whose weight never came up to one thousand 

 pounds. 



As for strength or endurance, I had rather 

 have the smallest Morgan pony that can be found, 

 than one of your light-limbed, long legged, long- 

 necked, rat-tailed thorough-breds. Running a 



