372 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



For the Ncio England Farmer. 

 CARE OF STOCK. 



Mr. Editor : — We often read about the care 

 that should be taken of stock in the winter in 

 order to promote the health and growth of the 

 same, but verj' seldom do we see any thing writ- 

 ten with regard to the treatment they should re- 

 ceive in the summer. Now I do not wish to say 

 that great care should not be taken of stock in 

 the winter, but it also needs care in the summer, 

 and I wish to say a few words with regard to it. 



The difference between stock well provided for 

 and that but half taken care of is apparent to 

 any person who has taken ordinary pains to in- 

 form himself, and I am not afraid to leave it to 

 the readers of your paper to say which pays the 

 best. 



Solomon says, a righteous man regardeth the 

 life of his beast ; he M'as right ; not only would 

 a careful man prove himself a benefactor to his 

 stock, but would increase the profits of the same ; 

 his cows would give more milk, and in conse- 

 quence of which he could sell more butter, fat 

 more hogs, and as a matter of course, make farm- 

 ing more profitable. 



Cows should, during the spring and summer, 

 be provided with warm and dry apartments in case 

 of a storm, more especially, the cold storms of 

 spring, in which case it is better to keep the cat- 

 tle in the barn during the entire day, with the 

 exception of letting them out for the purpose of 

 getting drink. Cows should also have all the 

 salt they wish to eat ; put it before them about 

 twice a week, which will tend very much to keep 

 them hardy. 



A change of pasture, also, is of great advan- 

 tage to cows, more especially in case of a drought, 

 as then the cows can have fresh pasture through 

 the entire summer, by merely transferring them 

 from one lot to another. 



I might say much more about the management 

 of stock at this season of the year but I think 

 that every correct farmer will study the comfort 

 of the animals under his care, not only from a 

 common principle of humanity, but from a healthy 

 and laudable regard for his own interests. 



H. G. Palmer. 



Lebanon, Conn., June, 1838. 



THE TIME TO CUT WHEAT. 



This has been made a matter of careful experi- 

 ment in England, and much more depends upon 

 it than is generally supposed. 



From a very careful series of experiments 

 made in England, in 1840-41, by Mr. John Han- 

 man, of Yorkshire, with a view of determining 

 the proper period of reaping wheat, it was decid- 

 ed that the best time for performing the opera- 

 tion is, when it is in a "raw state," or when the 

 straw, as seen from a distance, appears green, 

 but, closely examined, is found to be approxima- 

 ting to yellow, and the grain itself, being separ- 

 ated from the chaff", is pulpy and soft, but not in 

 the milky stage. This gentleman has shown that, 

 at least six dollars per acre are lost by allowing 

 the wheat to become ripe before it is cut, and, 

 that at the same time, its quality is not so good. 



The chief advantages derived from this meth- 

 od, are stated to be a greater weight of grain to 



a given space of ground, which produces more 

 flour, of a superior quality ; the straw contains 

 more nutritive matter, and is better relished by 

 animals ; and there is a better opportunity of se- 

 curing the crop, and a saving so doing, as there 

 is less waste in moving or reaping the wheat by 

 the dropping out of the seed. 



It will be seen in this matter, how much a far- 

 mer's success depends upon an accurate knowl- 

 edge of his business. Even in so small an item 

 as the cutting of grain, the owner of fifty acres 

 would lose three hundred dollars, by harvesting 

 a few days too late. There are many other farm 

 operations in which accurate knowledge is quite 

 as important. Is it any wonder that so many of 

 our farmers do not make money, when there are 

 a hundred holes in their pockets, through which 

 the money is dripping out in dollars, dimes, and 

 cents ? The whole year is a scene of prodigal 

 waste, for want of a little knowledge. Wood is 

 wasted for want of a good stove, or a tight house. 

 Ashes are wasted for want of a dry place to put 

 them. Fodder is wasted for want of a tight barn 

 to shelter cattle, in the winter nights. Manures 

 are wasted for want of a barn cellar, and sheds, 

 and absorbents. Labor is wasted for Avant of ma- 

 nure to produce maximum crops. Is it strange 

 with all these leaks, that the farmer's till does 

 not fill up faster ? — Homestead. 



TTEW PUBLICATIONS. 



Pear Cdlture. A Manual for the Propagation, Planting, Cul- 

 tivation and Management of the Pear Tree. With Descrip- 

 tions and Illustrations of the most Productive of the Finer Va- 

 rieties, and Selections of Kinds most profitably grown for mar- 

 ket. By Thomas W. Field. A. 0. Moore, Agricultural Book 

 Publisher, 140 Fulton Street, New York. 



A treatise on the culture of the Pear was want- 

 ed, by beginners, and we have no doubt the one 

 before us will pretty generally supply that want. 

 It touches upon every point, we believe, relating 

 to the culture, ripening, and varieties of the pear, 

 and the doctrines it advocates are those usually 

 entertained by persons who profess to under- 

 stand the subject, with, perhaps, one or two ex- 

 ceptions. The doctrine set forth under the head 

 "Season for Pruning," we believe to be er- 

 roneous. In pruning, we must be governed by 

 the physiological condition or habit of the plant, 

 whatever it may be. The author says, "the best 

 season for pruning the pear is after the buds be- 

 gin to swell in April, until the new leaves are 

 half formed." According to our observation, 

 and experience, too, this is the most unsuitable 

 time to prune in the whole twelve months, — be- 

 cause the pores of the wood are distended and 

 filled with a watery fluid on its way to the twigs 

 and leaves there to be elaborated into that pab- 

 ulum which may be the most readily converted 

 into wood and bark. But the wound is made, 

 the thin, watery fluid passes out freely through 

 the open pores, and often continues in this con- 

 dition for years, or, in many cases, until the tree 

 is ruined. If these wounds were made from the 

 10th to the 20th of June, after the limpid sap 



