1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



575 



been filled in an incredibly short space of time, 

 and they are now on their way to Africa, and 

 perhaps to turn up the fertile soil which has so 

 long been supposed to be an inhospitable desert 



Mr. Livingstone, the intrepid African explor- 

 er, will find a greater civilizing power in these 

 plows, than he could in as many batteries and 

 soldiers as sat themselves down in front of the 

 Malakoff Tower ! 



In addition to this monstrous exodus of plows 

 for the East, we also learn that within a twelve- 

 month, two thousand plows, with steel plate 

 mould-boards, have been sent to one customer 

 of this house, for a single port, with a prospect 

 of still heavier orders in the future. 



What worlds of grass and grain and good 

 things will spring up in the track of these pio- 

 neers of civilization ! What abodes of comfort 

 and plenty, and refinement and moral power, and 

 what influences will flow from them to bring na- 

 tions into harmony, to make glad all people, and 

 to cover unbounded lands with freshness and 

 beauty. 



"God Speed the Plow." 



SULPHUR FOR STOCK. 



The benefit derived by stock from the use of 

 sulphur is not sufficiently well known. 



Most farmers are well aware that there are cer- 

 tain seasons in the year when animals of every 

 description on the farm — from the finest colt 

 down to the poorest calf — become afflicted with 

 (in plain English) lice (one of the ten plagues of 

 Egypt,) or "ticks." 



To become free from any trouble or injuries 

 from the attacks of these pests, we have only to 

 put sulphur in the feed or salt of stock so infested ; 

 or mix a little in lard, and rub it on the small 

 and young animals. A speedy cure may be de- 

 pended upon. 



I think a teaspoonful two or three times a 

 week — four or five times a year — will generally 

 keep hogs and sheep entirely clear of such ver- 

 min. 



The above article is more particularly appli- 

 cable to sheep and hogs. It has been said, and, 

 I believe, with some show of truth, that sulphur 

 has another effect on sheep ; that, given plenti- 

 fully at the beginning of warm weather, as above 

 directed every other week, till shearing time, it 

 opens the pores of the skin, curing cough, and 

 whitening the wool ; and, as evidence of which, 

 look at the big, snow-white sheep on the moun- 

 tains of Virginia, in the vicinity of the sulphur 

 springs. — Ohio Valley Farmer. 



Feeding on Earth. — The earthworm not 

 only inhabits the earth, but also feeds upon the 

 element in which it exists : and although some 

 naturalists have declared that it derives its nutri- 

 ment from the roots of plants, yet this statement, 

 according to the most reliable authority, is now 

 pronounced to be a pure fable. The soil is, as 

 you will probably be aware, impregnated with 

 decaying organic substances of various kinds, 



and in order to secure these for its sustenance, 

 the worm gorges itself with earth ; the nutritive 

 constituents are extracted in its stomach by the 

 digestive process, and the indigestible portion 

 ejected in little worm-shaped masses, well known 

 to gardeners and others as "worm castings." — 

 Tlie Earthworm and the Housefly. By James 

 Samuelson. 



THE CLOSE OP THE YEAR. 



"Stbek 'Winter throws bis icy chains, 



Encircling nature round ; 

 How bleak, how comfortless the plains, 



Late with gay verdure crowned 1" 



The Year that is now about closing upon us, 

 has not been marked by any general fatality to 

 the herds or crops of the farmer, nor has any 

 sweeping scourge decimated his household and 

 brought universal sorrow upon the land ; but 

 warm suns, fruitful showers, and healthful breez- 

 es, have invigorated himself and brought to per- 

 fection the crops which he had committed to the 

 earth in confidence and hope. These crops have 

 been abundant, and the season has favored the 

 Harvest, so that his garners are full, and the 

 means of comfort and comparative independence 

 are secured through the more rigorous months 

 of the year. 



The Year has been one of progress in nearly 

 all the departments of the farm. There is a bet- 

 ter appreciation, in the first place, of the advan- 

 tages to be derived from the application of scien- 

 tific principles to our labor, and a better disposi- 

 tion on the part of the farmer to avail himself of 

 such helps. The stony walls of his prejudices 

 have been modified, or broken down, by the in- 

 troduction of new machines or new modes of cul- 

 ture, once considered as useless innovations, but 

 upon trial, found to be important and profitable 

 changes. 



Another gain is in the opinion which has tak- 

 en strong hold of our people, that y^e have here- 

 tofore cultivated too much, and have not done it 

 well enough — that there is great loss in working 

 over two acres to get sixty bushels of corn, when 

 we might have got it from one. 



More attention has also been paid to our cat- 

 tle, in obtaining breeds adapted to our climate, 

 and means of feeding them, and to the manner of 

 managing them as regards health and comfort, 

 so as to obtain the largest possible product from 

 a given cost. 



New devices in plows, mowing and reaping 

 machines, hoes, seed-sowers and draining tools, 

 promise to mitigate human toil, while they will 

 increase the profits of the farm. 



Another improvement, which promises happier 

 I'esults than any, or all of these combined, is the 

 belief which is rapidly gaining ground, that it is 

 as advantageous, and as important, that a farmer 



