1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



367 



of air to pass when the cows are lying down, by 

 which they take cold, or by some s-iniilar expos- 

 ure. 



CATTLE FOR THE DAIRY. 



What breed of cattle is the best for dairy pur- 

 poses ? Are the Jersey or Alderney cattle what 

 they are recommended? Would they make a 

 good cross with other breeds, such as Durhams, 

 Natives, &c. ? s. G. H. 



Walpole, N. H., June, 1858. 



Remarks. — No five men in New England 

 would probably answer your question alike. The 

 best cows for the dairy we have ever seen were a 

 mixture of Short Horn Durhams with our native 

 stock, as it is called. But it is said by many that 

 where the A3'rshire blood prevails the cows are 

 better. The Jerseys give very rich milk, and are 

 capital cows in some positions, — but we should 

 scarcely dare recommend them for our common 

 dairy purposes just yet. 



GALLS ox HORSES. 



In perusing your Farmer, I noticed an inquiry, 

 ''WTiat is the best remedy for sores on horses ?" 

 I feel prepared to give you a recipe for a safe and 

 sure cure : 



Take one quart of soft water, one table spoon- 

 ful of gunpowder, one ounce of white vitriol, 

 and half an ounce of copperas. Shake them well 

 together, and it will soon be fit for use. Apply 

 to fresh or old sores. 



I would inquire if it is beneficial to give cows 

 their milk after the cream is taken off. 



Felchville, Vt. T. 



Remarks, — Skimmed milk is excellent for 

 cows. 



WOOD ASHES. 



I wish to inquire the best use to be made of 

 wood ashes. M. v. 



New Hampsldre. 



Remarks. — Scatter them on your grass land, 

 apply to corn crops, cabbages — they do not come 

 amiss on any crop — save them all. 



"No Man Liveth unto Himself." — God has 

 written on the flowers that sweeten the air — up- 

 on the breeze that rocks the flowers upon the 

 stem — upon the rain-drops that refresh the sprig 

 of moss that lifts its head in the desert — upon its 

 deep chambers — upon every penciled sheet that 

 sleeps in the caverns of the deep no less than 

 upon the mighty sun that warms and cheers mil- 

 lions of creatures which live in its light — upon 

 all His works He has written, "None liveth for 

 himself." 



SooT TO Destroy Vermin.— I have been in- 

 formed by a gentleman from England that they 

 pay $45 per load for chimney soot, to spread on 

 their land for the purpose of killing vermin. 

 Soot is a capital fertilizer, and is frequently used 

 to kill insects. It is certainly advisable to save 

 it all and apply it in some way to the crops. 



THE "WONDERS OF INANIMATE 

 NATUBE. 



"There are objects always before the rural cul- 

 tivator, the result of Creative Wisdom, constant- 

 ly tending to excite his wonder and admiration. 

 A single tree is as a continued miracle before 

 him. The germination of the embryo is a beau- 

 tiful and mysterious process — the circulation of 

 the sap, through innumerable tubes, each smaller 

 than the finest hair, yet showing a perfection of 

 finish under a powerful achromatic microscope, 

 far excelling the most elaborately made parts of 

 the finest watch — and these tubes in such amaz- 

 ing numbers, that I have counted and estimated 

 in a single apple tree limb, one inch only in di- 

 ameter, no less than one million. The leaves on 

 a fully grown pear tree are half a million in num- 

 ber : yet every one of these leaves is divided up 

 into minutely branching veins, and every branch 

 is furnished with great numbers of these sap 

 tubes or vessels — every part of the leaf is made 

 up of millions of microscopic cells, more perfect 

 than the cells of the honey bee, — and the minute 

 pores on the surface of the leaves, through which 

 the ascending sap evaporates, while changing its 

 nature to descend again to form new wood, are 

 so small that 30,000 are found on a single square 

 inch of surface — while the beautiful process con- 

 stantly going on for months together, in the cir- 

 culation of food for the growing leaves and form- 

 ing fruit, through these myriads of pores, is im- 

 measurably more complex, more complete, and 

 more really wonderful, than the working of the 

 most perfect steam engine ever made by man. 



"We see in the water only, M'hich supplies the 

 wants of the growing tree, several most remarka- 

 ble properties, without which every living organ- 

 ization in the vegetable world must perish — and 

 those gone, what would become of the human 

 race ? Were it not for the capillary attraction 

 between the particles of soil and those of water, 

 the earth would not retain moisture a moment — 

 it would instantly pass downward through the 

 soil ; and blooming gardens and refreshing land- 

 scapes would soon become a frightful desert. 

 Were it not for the latent heat contained in wa- 

 ter, the whole upper portion of the soil would 

 freeze instantly as soon as the thermometer sunk 

 below the freezing point ; and no matter how 

 deep the snow might be upon the surface of the 

 earth, the very moment the temperature of the 

 air rose above freezing, the whole would instant- 

 ly dissolve into water and cause the most des- 

 tructive floods. The latent heat of vapors pre- 

 vents the instant expansion of all the water 

 which moistens the ground, on the first warm 

 day. And these and many other most accurate 

 contrivances, show beyond contradiction, that all 

 that supports us and maintains our existence, 

 and that sustains us during every breath we 

 draw, Is the design of a Superior Power on whom 

 we constantly depend. But the thinking mind 

 does not stop at the boundaries of his own gar- 

 den. 



"What a theme for contemplation Is the view 

 of a broad meadow, consisting as it does of count- 

 less millions ot blades, and every one of these 

 made up of myriads of beautiful vessels and 

 tubes, all having the most perfect finish. Every 

 tree of the thousands which compose the broad 

 landscape is so wonderfully constructed, that an 



