410 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



Each cock of the. oats thus secured contained 

 at least 200 pounds. If they had not been cov- 

 ered they could not have been sufficiently dried 

 to go in between the time of spreading in the 

 morning, and the time of the storm, which came 

 on at a little past one, and it is a fair value we 

 think to say that they were worth 80 cts. a hun- 

 dred, and would have depreciated to 60 cts. if 

 they had been wet again. 



If this is right — and we believe every candid 

 mind will concede it — the caps used for covering 

 this crop, and which cost just 40 cts. each, were 

 entirely paid for in this single use of them. There 

 is no doubt whatever in our mind but such is 

 the fact, and that hereafter we shall have the 

 benefit of them as long as they shall last, with- 

 out any cost whatever. 



Hay caps will- be nearly as common by-and- 

 bye as hay cocks in haying time, merely because 

 farmers will find out that they cannot afford to do 

 without them. Of course, there will be some tim- 

 id and scrimping geniuses that don't usually 

 wake up till the next day, who will denounce the 

 use of hay caps. That is all well enough with 

 them, however, for if they had them, they would 

 never find time to put them on. 



BUTTER PASTURES. 



There is a neglect in many of us in regard to 

 pastures of any kind, and a serious neglect in re- 

 gard to the pasturing for milch cows. With too 

 many of us, if the herbage in a pasture comes 

 up green in the spring, and continues so through 

 the summer, it is a pasture. No matter what 

 the kind of grass or herbage it is that gives 

 the green color to the face of it, we turn in our 

 cattle and let them "take chance," as the Irish- 

 men say. Now the cow if she could speak would 

 tell you in strong language, that every green 

 field is not a pasture for her. Indeed, she does 

 tell you every day in tlic quantity and quality of 

 her milk, and in the quality of her butter and 

 cheese, what the character of the pasture is. 



The cow is an animo chemico manufacturer. 

 Her duty is to manufacture the food that you 

 supply her with into milk, butter, cheese, &c. 

 According to the quality of the raw material 

 given, will be the quality of the product. Often- 

 times the poor cow is blamed and considered 

 good for nothing, when her owner is to blame 

 for supplying her with good for no hing material 

 from which to make the product required. 



A little observation will convince any one of 

 this fact. In some rough pastures it is difficult 

 to make much improvements or changes, but yet 

 much can be done by the use of plaster, bone- 

 dust, &c., and by scattering occasionally the seed 

 of the best kinds of grasses. 



Mr. Dickinson in an address delivered before 

 the Tioga Agricultural Society in Peimsylvania, 

 said, the "first qualiJ,y of butter land is confined 

 to portions of New England, New Jersey, and 

 Pennsylvania and New Y.)rK., while cheese and 

 sheep can be grown wherever grass grows. 



For this you must have in your pastures, Tim- 

 othy (Herdsgrass,) white clover, blue grass, [what 

 we call June grass. — Ed.] red-top, pure soft wa- 

 ter, and a rolling or hilly country. There will 

 be then (when swarded over,) a solidity and 

 sweetness to the grass, that will give to the but- 

 ter that rich, sweet flavor that makes it so desi- 

 rable. Butter partakes not only of everything 

 the cow eats and drinks, but of every offensive 

 thing within its reach after it is made." 



He also advances the theory that butter made 

 from red clover fed to cows, is good when first 

 made, but when laid down in packages six months 

 it seems to lose its flavor, and becomes more or 

 less rancid, according as the clover she eat was 

 rank and of rapid growth or not. — Maine Farmer. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 

 OPEKATION OF MOWERS. 



Last week I saw four of these implements at 

 work in the same field at the same time ; with 

 teams well trained and experienced guides. It 

 appeared to be their purpose to show the com- 

 parative power of the machines. On looking at 

 the ground on which they operated, after the 

 crop was cleared away, the average width of the 

 swath cut by each was found as follows : 



Allen's 4 feet. 



* Heath's 41 feet. 



Manny's 3| feet. 



Russell's Sj feet. 



One of the Manny machines was drawn a part 

 of the time by a single horse, showing that the 

 power necessary for the operation was at the 

 command of the animal. I have heard of ma- 

 chines, designed to be drawn by single horses, 

 cutting swaths three and three and a half feet in 

 width, operating with entire success. Such a 

 one is said to be made by Mr. Thompson, of 

 Greenfield. I know a distinguished farmer who 

 has ordered one for use on his own grounds, 

 where I hope soon to see it in operation ; for I 

 have learned that actual view is the best evidence 

 in these matters. 



July 19, 1858. Essex. 



* It is proper to say that the work done by the Heath or Ea- 

 gle machine, was equal to that done by either of the others ; 

 while Allen's and Manny's machines were guided by men as ex- 

 pert at the business as any in the county. 



POSTS FOR FENCES. 

 I wish to inquire about the best fence posts ; 

 where cedar cannot be obtained, what kind will 

 last'the longest — hemlock, black cherry, spruce, 

 pine, cherry, beech, birch or maple ? 



W. C. Walker. 

 . Centre Rutland, Vt., July, 1858. 



Remarks. — Chestnut is undoubtedly among 

 our best timber for fence posts. Cut it in Sep- 

 tember, take off the bark and set the posts on 

 their ends, butt end down, and let them remain 

 until the next spring. Then kindle a fire and 

 char the end to be inserted in the ground, taking 

 special pains to char two or three inches of the 

 part that is to remain out of the ground. Good 

 posts, say six inches in diameter, will last from 

 twenty to fifty years, according to the nature of 



