1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



549 



neighbors ;" and to gain this even level is the 

 struggle of its -whole life. Its "cap of leaves" is 

 borne upon a naked bole. It throws out no stur- 

 dy arms laden with fruit and foliage, yielding 

 shelter and nourishment to "the beasts of the 

 field and the fowls of the air." It is like its 

 neighbors. It has no individual character. Who 

 ever looks for a tree of the "first-class" in the 

 forest ? Did the "autocrat" ever put his "wed- 

 ding-ring" on such a tree ? Did his heart "ever 

 stop short and then jump in his ribs," when he 

 looked on such a tree ? It is the tree occupying 

 a "rood" that "lifts in Olympian majesty and im- 



{)erial supremacy" "its great green cloud" of fo- 

 iage. When did the tree which "seeks for life 

 among a million roots" ever spread its symmet- 

 rical branches over a "diameter of a hundred 

 feet ? The "autocrat" certainly exhibits the most 

 extensive and accurate knowledge of the natural 

 history of trees, even of the trees of the river 

 towns, and of their individual character, as they 

 stand "alone in their glory." And when "some- 

 body" publishes his photographs of New Eng- 

 land elms and other trees," we shall have addi- 

 tional evidence that trees which grow up in "Iso- 

 lation" have not therefore a hard and stunted 

 growth. We present this illustration of one of 

 the reasons of the "deterioration of agriculture" 

 as a fair sample of the writer's correctness in the 

 observation of facts. It is a good specimen of 

 his accuracy, and quite as reliable as any other 

 "sketch" he has drawn. The inferences which 

 he deduces from his facts, are worth as much and 

 no more than the facts themselves, and indicate 

 a judgment equalled only by his power of obser- 

 vation. Had not this outrage upon New Eng- 

 land character been found in company that gives 

 it credit and currency, we would not have trou- 

 bled you with these remarks. R. 

 Oct. 15. 



under the knife, at the same time the man above 

 reflecting the sun's light upon it. This being 

 done, the object of search was brought up within 

 eight inches of the surface, when it glided off and 

 went to the bottom again ; this was tried over 

 again, and the same result. But a third time se- 

 cured it by thrusting the arm into the water and 

 meeting the knife before it came to the surface. 



This was the first practical application of my 

 early discovery of reflecting light, and was of 

 great worth to me, when in the pump business. 

 Not only was it useful to me where the sun shone 

 over the well, but I could reflect froin one mirror 

 to another into any room, down any well, 

 through any tunnel or into any pump, and see 

 the inside of anything as well as tbe outside. 



Boston, Oct., 1858. s. A. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 BEFLECTINQ LIGHT INTO A WELL. 

 Mr. Editor : — I recently noticed in your col- 

 umns the old story revived of looking into wells 

 by a looking-glass, which carried my mind back 

 some twenty-three years. When standing in Dr. 

 Bond's well, in Waltham, the well being about 

 thirty-six feet deep, and had six feet of water in 

 it, after connecting the pipe by soldering, to lead 

 the water from it into a house, and while gather- 

 ing up my tools, a valuable jackknife slipt from 

 my hands to the bottom. I looked wishfully af- 

 ter it till it struck the water, then it was out of 

 sight, and I knew just as well where it was as 

 though it had been in my pocket. While stand- 

 ing on the stoning, some ten feet down, I re- 

 solved that I must have it, but how to get it was 

 the knotty question. I bethought myself as be- 

 ing once a rogue in school, playing with a piece 

 of looking-glass, refleciing the sun's light on the 

 walls and ceiling of the room, to attract the lit- 

 tle rogues like myself. While reflecting, and the 

 sun shining, philosophy told me that he would 

 show me where the knife lay. The water being 

 clear, a mirror was brought, the experiment made, 

 and the knife brought clearly to view under six 

 feet of -wro+ov, TI?r" vis the treasure in sight. 

 Wh.dt ftext ? Perseverance said — get a hoe, 

 splice out the handle, lower It down and work it 



MILK FROM SPAYED COWS— INTEREST. 

 INO- TO DAIRYMEN. 



It is known to all our dairymen, that the milk 

 of cows varies greatly. In a period when the 

 cows are in heat, the milk is very unhealthy and 

 injurious to other milk in contact with it. The 

 milk of cows, for a time after calving, is also not 

 as good as at a subsequent period. A French 

 gentleman, "Delamarre," proprietor of a milk 

 establishment in Paris, gives the following ac- 

 count of f 



THE MILK OF SPAYED COWS. 



This milk is produced from cows which, after 

 the fifth or sixth gestation, and five or six weeks 

 after calving, undergo an operation which con- 

 sists in the removal of the ovaries, thus render- 

 ing the cows, henceforth, incapable of re-produc- 

 tion. From this time, as happens to the ox, the 

 animal changes in its nature, and its milk, which 

 we have named milk of spayed cows, is free from 

 all perturbations. The spayed cow does not un- 

 dergo those disturbances arising from being in 

 heat, from gestation, and pertui'bation, she is free 

 from those causes which produce such eff'ects in 

 the quality of the milk. 



In this new condition her milk becomes regu- 

 lated, and, which is important to the farmer, lac- 

 tation is maintained in full quantity, for a year 

 at least, and is prolonged, diminishing in quanti- 

 ty but increasing In quality, two and even three 

 years, when she is not too old, and is properly 

 kept. When lactation has ceased, the cow, which 

 has by a quiet and reposed life become consider- 

 ably increased in flesh, may be delivered to the 

 butcher in perfect condition, and the meat is su- 

 perior to that of ordinary cows. By generaliz- 

 ing the spaying of cows, after the fifth or sixth 

 gestation, there would be introduced into com- 

 mon use milk of an irreproachable quality. 



The spaying of cows was known in remote an- 

 tiquity. In modern times the practice dates back 

 about twenty-five years, with the design to in- 

 crease the quality of milk in cows. In 1830, Mr. 

 Winn, Natchez, Miss., applied it with advantage 

 in the production of milk. Mr. Winn proceeded 

 by the cesarian operation, which is still pursued 

 in the United States, but it presents serious diffi- 

 culties, resulting occasionally in the death of the 

 animal. In France, M. Charlier, Veterinary Sur- 

 geon, executes the operation without externa! in- 



