464 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



milk ; drink and wash in tlie tea, and by doin 

 so a few times it will effect a complete cure. If 

 the mouse-ear is not taken in season it will help. 

 It is good for sheep when poisoned with lamb- 

 kill. Samuel Wilson, Jr. 

 South Danvers, Aug., 1858. 



REMEDY FOR CURCULIO AND BLACK WART. 



In answer to Mr. Wait, of Danvers, I would 

 say that myself and some half dozen of my neigh- 

 bors have for the last three years scattered air- 

 slaked lime over our plum trees, from the time 

 the blossom leaf begins to fall until the curculio 

 has done working, which I think is about four 

 weeks. Our trees are all in a fine, healthy state, 

 and loaded with good, smooth fruit, and the 

 trees are perfectly free from the black wart, — so 

 much so that they attract the notice of strangers 

 passing through our village. We use lime very 

 freely, as often as the rain or dew takes it off. I 

 don't know of anything the lime injures that it 

 falls on. 



Some throw the lime by hand. I use a box 

 made of tin, the size and shape of a corn popper, 

 the bottom filled with small holes, and this fixed 

 to a pole of any length. I prefer oyster shell 

 lime, as it is cheap and ready prepared. Plum 

 trees are dead and dying all around me where 

 they are left to take care of themselves. 



Gardner, Mass., Aug., 1858. J. W. Hill. 



NATIVE GRAPES. 



Mr. John Fiske, of Holliston, has sent us 

 Bome very' large and nearly ripe native grapes, 

 which he calls August grapes, as they usually 

 ripen in that month. He states that he has tak- 

 en this season, from a single vine, 375 pounds, 

 which he has sold in Boston market for ten and 

 twelve cents per pound. Profitable vine that ! 

 The grapes before us are too acid for our taste, 

 and perhaps would be for dessert fruit — but for 

 preserving and jellies must be valuable. We ac- 

 cept his proposition to furnish us a plant for our 

 own grounds. 



ABORTION IN COWS. 



A correspondent at Groton suggests that the 

 ergot in rye may be the cause of abortion in 

 cows. He says : 



"Rye produces ergot in larger quantities than 

 anything else, and some farmers are in the habit 

 of feeding freely with it to increase the quantity 

 of milk — that may have some effect. Then there 

 are several grasses which produce it to a greater 

 or less degree, depending upon soil, season, &c.: 

 wet seasons, or soil having a tendency to produce 

 larger quantities. If you have not examined it 

 with this view, this suggestion is all that is nec- 

 essary." 



PLANTING PEAS IN THE FALL. 

 As a matter of experiment, I planted in my 

 garden two rows of peas of an early variety the 

 eighth day of December. I buried them some 

 what deeper than my usual custom ; I laid over 

 them a good covering of leaves, on which I put 



boards to keep them in their place. These I re- 

 moved in March. On the sixth of April, I plant- 

 ed, side by side, the same variety of peas. Those 

 planted in December, came up seven days before 

 the others ; were in blossom four days earlier, 

 and were ready for use June 20th, and the spring 

 planting only two days later. Probably not 

 more than one-half the December planting ever 

 vegetated ; and at no time did they look as 

 healthy as the others, and their yield was not 

 half as much. Such is my experience in fall 

 planting. Shall I have the experience of others, 

 or must I try again, before I decide that fall 

 planting is not to be recommended ? 



East Hampton, July, \Sb%. H. s. 



CHAIN PUMPS. 



Will you inform me through the Farmer what 

 is the best kind of pump in a well thirty-two 

 feet deep ? How will a chain pump work ? 

 • West Townsend, 1858. c. w. 



Remarks. — In one of our recent rambles we 

 found a chain pump in use for draM'ing water for 

 the farm stock ; it operated easily, brought wa- 

 ter rapidly, and was cheap. They are now in 

 common use, and we believe they give general 

 satisfaction. 



CREEPER FOWLS. 



Will you, or any of your readers, have the 



goodness to inform me through the medium of 



your columns, where I can buy a few heavy 



fowls of the creeper class, with very short legs ? 



An Old Subscriber. 



Boston, Aug. 31, 1858. 



Rem.\rks. — We cannot — who will ? 



CHERRY CURRANTS. 



Can you inform me through the Farmer where 

 cuttings or plants of the cherry currant can be 

 obtained, and at what price per hundred ? 



Bolton, Mass., Aug., 1858. N. H. 



Remarks. — M. P. Wilder, Boston, has the 

 cherry current in his catalogue, and gives the 

 price as $2,00 per dozen roots or plants. 



The Difference in Cows. — It is not the 

 cow that gives the most milk that will yield the 

 most butter, nor is it the cow that gives the least 

 milk that will yield the best cheese. 



During a discussion upon the breeds of cattle 

 in Scotland, as reported in the Farmei-'s Maga- 

 zine, Mr. Kay, of Hilhead, in a humorous speech 

 advocated the utility of the Ayrshire breed, but 

 said that a good deal depended upon the keep 

 and soil. 



In regard to crossing, he said he had tried it, 

 and found his best plan was to come back to the 

 pure breed again. He said there was no ac- 

 counting for the difference between the richness 

 of cows' milk. He, himself, had an Ayrshire cow 

 that gave IS (Scotch) pints of milk per day (36 

 quarts Imperial,) and only three pounds of but- 

 ter in the week, while he had a little cow whoso 

 milk produced a pound of butter daily. 



