54 



NEAV ENGLAND F.\RMER. 



Jax. 



vous connection, (spinal marrow and nerves) or in 

 the peripheral termination of these nerves." Par- 

 alysis is, therefore, a symptom rather than a dis- 

 ease, — a result rather than a cause, — and our in- 

 quiry should be directed rather to the cause than 

 the effect. Mr. Youatt says when paralysis is con- 

 fined to certain parts alone, such as the ear, lips 

 and larynx, anj^ apparent cause should be at once 

 removed, and then treated by counter irritants, 

 such as blisters and setons. 



OXFORD DOWN SHEEP. — DRYING MUCK. 



In looking over your paper this evening I sec an 

 article headed "Long Wooled Sheep," and in 

 reading it I see the writer mentions tlie Oxford 

 Downs as a valuable breed. From what he says, 

 and from the description I have seen before of 

 them, I think I should like them, and I wish to 

 inquire of you or your contributor Mentor, where 

 they can be found. 



1 would also lilic to inquire of your subscribers 

 who are accustomed to using muck, if it can be dried 

 without great expense so it can be used under the 

 cattle inthe winter, and if so, what is the best way 

 of doing it. B. B. Smith. 



Dover, Me., Nov. 14, 1868. 



Remarks. — In relation to the Oxford Downs we 

 can give our correspondent little information. It 

 was originally a cross of the Hampshire and South 

 Down ewes with a Cotswold ram, which has been 

 bred in England with sufficient care to produce a 

 sheep of uniform character. Mr. Richard S. Fay, 

 of Lynn, Mass., imported some of them a few 

 years ago, and was well pleased with them, but we 

 do not know whether he has them now or not. 



Muck for bedding cattle is dried simply by ex- 

 posure to the weather for several months after 

 being dug. out of the bog, carted in a drj' time to 

 some shed, barn cellar, leanto or other shelter, 

 and of convenient access to the cattle stalls. Some 

 adopt the plan of beginning an excavation at the 

 border of the marsh sufficiently wide for a cart 

 path, throwing the muck out on boards or planks 

 laid upon the surface on each side, to prevent it 

 from absorbing moisture from the wet ground be- 

 neath ; this broad ditch being carried to a sufficient 

 length and depth to obtain the requisite quantity 

 of muck. Thus thrown out, the tvvo piles are cov- 

 ered wi.h boards, and in fi'oni six to twelvemonths 

 will be found to be dry and light. If the bottom 

 of the ditch is solid a cart may be backed into it 

 and very easily filled ; or, if soft, wait till the 

 ground is sufficiently frozen to bear the team and 

 cart or sled. 



This exposure of the muck has other beneficial 

 effects beside that of drying. The filjres of moss, 

 grass roots, &c., are decomposed so that the tough 

 blocks arc readily pulverized. "Another advan- 

 tage," says Pi'of. S. W. Johnson, "of exposure is 

 to bring the peat into a state of more active chem- 

 ical change. Peat of the deeper, denser sorts, is 

 generally too inert ('sour,' cold) to be directly 

 useful to the plant. By exposure to the air it ap- 

 pears gradually to acquire the properties of the 

 humus of the soil, or of stable manure, which are 



vegetable matters, altered by the same exposures. 

 It appears to become more readily oxidable, more 

 active, chemically, and thus more capable of ex- 

 citing or rather aiding vegetable growth, which so 

 far as the soil is concerned, is the result of chemi- 

 cal activities." Peat used for fuel is sometimes 

 kiln-dried, but we have never known of any such 

 expensive process in preparing it for bedding; nor 

 do we think there is any need of it. If thrown 

 out upon dry land in fall, winteror spring, without 

 any covering, it will become sufficiently dry dur- 

 ing the summer to answer a good purpose, if 

 housed when thus dry. 



HOUSE CELLARS. 



While engaged in banking the liouse this week, 

 at odd jobs, the question occurred to me, ^ow 

 much does it cost first to bank a house every fall 

 and then to take it away every spring ? Not less 

 than one day's work for each operation. This in 

 forty years would amount to $80 at only ^1 per 

 day,— quite a sum for a farmer to spend. Besides 

 this, there is the wear of the house to be taken into 

 account. I have inquired of several of my neigh- 

 bors how all this expense can be saved. "Better 

 underpinning," is all the answer I get from some ; 

 others say "lay your wall in mortar." Some say 

 that it is enough to lay two feet of the top in mor- 

 tar; others that it should be so laid from top to 

 bottom. Some say that the wall should be double 

 with a space for air ; others that a single wall is 

 sufficient. It is very important that we should be 

 aijie to keep our potatoes, apples, vegetables, &c., 

 from frost. How would it do to point an ordinary 

 wall with mortar, then set up some two-inch stuff 

 and lath and plaster on that ? A reply to these 

 questions by the editor or some of the correspon- 

 dents of the Farmer will confer a favor on 



A Young Farmer. 



Wallingford, Vt., Nov. 2, 1868. 



Remarks. — A cellar may be kept from freezing 

 by setting the house on a stone or brick under- 

 pinning which is from twelve to eighteen inches 

 thick, lining up inside with bricks or flat stones, 

 and leaving a space of an inch to six inches for 

 "dead air" between the two. But where a house 

 is set directly upon the cellar wall this cannot 

 well be done. In such cases it is a dirty, expen- 

 sive and ruinous practice to bank up with earth. 

 It requires a team to do it, cuts up and defaces 

 the yard about the house, and rots the wood-work 

 and sills when it is done. In the spring the earth 

 is to be removed when the ground is soft, and the 

 dirty process is to be gone over with again. 



A better way is to "bank up" with some light 

 substance. Frost will penetrate a granite slab two 

 feet thick, quicker than it will a bag of feathers 

 of half that thickness. If dry leaves are at hand, 

 put up the boards edgewise so as to leave a space 

 twelve to eighteen inches wide between them and 

 the house and fill it with dry leaves, tread them 

 down, and cover them over with boards laid on so 

 as to conduct the rain away. If leaves arc not at 

 hand, refuse hay or straw may be used. 



I'he best substance, however, that we have found 

 is branches of the white pine, hemlock or other 

 evergreen trees. It is easily procured, and re- 

 quires no use of boards in banking. Cover a space 



