50 



NEW ENGLAND FARlVrER. 



Jan. 



bub a tin tube was set in brimstone, ■which ex- 

 tended from the surface through the hub and 

 the tube box to the iron axle, so that by tak- 

 ing out the stopper, the oil could be turned 

 upon the axle through the tube, without re- 

 moving the wheel. This has proved a great 

 convenience, as sometimes it is desirable to oil 

 the axles when loaded. 



Bye, or 'Witch Grass. 

 On the farms in this section of New Hamp- 

 shire this grass grows very commonly, and is 

 now regarded by many with favor, as it does 

 not seriously interfere with raising grain, and 

 is sure to grow after the ground is seeded to 

 grass ; giving, if cut early, a crop of nutritious 

 hay. Some say that witch grass alone will 

 cause a horse to thrive as well as other hay 

 accompanied by four quarts of oats. 



Black Iieg. 

 A disease among young cattle, known by 

 this name, has caused great losses here, but 

 bleeding has been found a sure preventive, 

 and. if resorted to in season, a cure in most 

 cases. Mr. Prescott Locke had 15 calves, of 

 which seven drooped and died of black leg ; 

 and another was attacked when he had the re- 

 maining eight bled, all of which lived. A 

 fattening ox also was attacked and saved by 

 bleeding and exercise. I believe that young 

 cattle should be bled in the spring, and just 

 before thoy go into the fields in the fall ; but 

 this is often delayed until the death of one 

 gives warning of danger. The black leg is 

 the result of the coagulation of blood in the 

 kgs or some parts of the body. When the 

 animal is skinned, it looks quite dark and 

 bloody, but bleeding makes the blood thinner, 

 and has proved a satisfactory remedy. 



Smoking Hams. 



I received a new idea from Mr. Locke in 

 regard to smoking hams. Let the hams re- 

 main frozen and wrapped in papers through 

 cold weather. In the spring, smoke your bar- 

 rel by gradually burning under it, when in- 

 verted, a bushel of cobs, then rinse the barrel 

 with warm water that is to be used in making 

 the brine. For 100 pounds of meat, use ten 

 lbs. salt, 2 qts. molasses, 2 ozs. saltpetre, 

 with water enough to cover the meat. Scald 

 the brine, skim it, and put it with the hams, 

 packed in the smoked barrel. Treated in this 

 way the hams have the taste of smoked meat, 

 without smoking, and will keep, like other salt 

 meat, through the summer. 



Cob Meal for Man as well as Beast. 



I went with Mr. A. Locke to the saw and 

 grist mill owned by him, in Epsom village. I 

 found it was customary for farmers to bring 

 their corn in the ear and have cobs and corn 

 ground together. This has become rather un- 

 popular in Vermont. In my vicinity such 

 meal is only fed to animals, — here in New 

 Hampshire it is ground finer and used for 

 making bread, as well as fattening animals. 



Having partaken of this bread freely at sev- 

 eral meals, I must say it was excellent. In 

 Coventry, Vt., Mr. Daily, the miller, has 

 completely worn out a cast iron corn-cracker, 

 and those who used the large amount of meal 

 thus made came to the conclusion that grind- 

 ing cobs did not pay ; but here it is regarded 

 with favor, and if the results continue satis- 

 factory, I must think it is because it is ground 

 very fine, so that no hard indigestible chips of 

 the cob remain. 



Oxen as a Farm. Team, 



Are regarded with more favor in New Hamp- 

 shire than in Northern Vermont. I saw one 

 farmer using eight oxen, another drawing 

 muck with six, and from conversation I found 

 them to be a favorite team. On the farm of 

 Augustus Lord, in Epsom, the stock is nearly 

 all oxen. Last winter forty-two oxen were 

 fattened that girthed from seven to nine feet 

 each. The largest pair sold for $700. The 

 last summer they were fed they had meal reg- 

 ularly and gained five inches in girth. At 

 present there are only eight oxen in the stalls ; 

 the largest pair are five years old, and girth 

 eight feet two inches. These steers did not 

 have meal through the summer, and did not 

 gain in size. Would it have been more prof- 

 itable to meal them ? The usual daily ration 

 is a peck each. 



At Suncook a factory to run 1000 looms is 

 being built, in which three and a half millions 

 of brick are used. Z. E. Jameson. 



Irasburg, Vt., Nov. 19, 1868. 



Remarks. — We thank our correspondent 

 for the foregoing communication. Might not 

 many farmers furnish similar articles, based 

 on what they see abroad, if their home expe- 

 rience fails to furnish matter for an occasional 

 letter? We can hardly endorse, however, 

 the writer's recommendation of fall and spring 

 bleeding of stock. This was more customary 

 in our boyhood than it is now. We remember 

 that the old fleams and the jack-knife were 

 often used, — the first on the neck and the lat- 

 ter on the tails of cattle. We should not care 

 to see in one bloody heap all the "scalps" 

 which we have taken from the caudal append- 

 age of young cattle suspected of "horn-aiP' in 

 the "fly-brush!" In the days and in the 

 neighborhood of our boyhood men as well as 

 animals were bled not only to restore, but to 

 preserve health. But so far as we know our 

 best family physicians have abandoned the use 

 of the lancet to a very great degree ; and we 

 had supposed that our veterinary surgeons and 

 most careful farmers were following the exam- 

 ple of the "M. D.'s" in this respect. Still in 



