1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



145 



animals fed on salt visibly improved in health and 

 appearance, being lively and smooth-coated, while 

 others without salt were fhaggy and rough, their 

 gait slow and heavy, indicating want of tone in 

 the system. 



Of course salt,' like grain, sTiould be fed with 

 judgment, as salt-hungry animals often eat too 

 much, if allowed all they will take. When cattle 

 are allowed constant access to salt, as is the prac- 

 tice of many farmers, they eat a little at a time 

 and without injuring themselves. 



CALEDONIA CO., (VT.,) AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



At the annual meeting of this Societj', held at 

 St. Johnsbur}', Tuesday, January 19, the following 

 oflSicers were elected for the year ensuing: — 



President— Tiarley M. Hall, of Burke. 



Vice Presidents — Chas. A. bylvester, Barnet; Calvin 

 MorriU, tt Johusbury. 



Secretaries — I. w . Sanborn, Lyndon ; T. M. Ilow.ard, 

 Elifiha May, St. Johnsbury ; C. *E. Parke, Wtiteil'ord; 

 A. P. Water, Burke; C. J. B. Ilarris, Danville. 



Treasurer— C M. Stone, St. Johnebury. 



The following resolution, introduced by David 

 Boynton, of St. Jobnsbury, was favorably consid- 

 ered and referred to the Exteutive Committee : — 



Resolved, That it is desirable for this Society to 

 encour.jge the growth and preservation of forest 

 trees in the county ; and that the committee on 

 premiums be instructed to include this subject in 

 their awards for the ensuing year. 



The meeting was fully attended, and the discus- 

 sions on rotations of crops, artificial manures and 

 their application, and the growth and perkction of 

 forest trees, especially the sugar maple, were ani- 

 mated and interesting. I. \V. Sanborn. 



Lyndon, Vt., Jan. 22, 1869. 



CULTIVATION OF PEAS. 



Some weeks since I read in the New England 

 Farmer an article in regard to raising peas. I 

 wish to a^k if they will do to sow alone, also, the 

 best kind, the quantity per acre, and how they are 

 used for feed ? Will it do to sow them on rich 

 land, and if with oats, in v/hat proportion ? 



An Old Subscriber. 



Warren, Mass., Jan. 12, 1869. 



Remarks. — W^ill the writer of the article alluded 

 to by our correspondent, or some one who raises 

 peas, reply to the above inquiries. Peas are raised 

 extensively in Canada ; but we think less are raised 

 in the States than formerly, partlj', perhaps, in 

 consequence of the bug which injures the crop, 

 particularly in the southern part of New England. 

 A heavy soil is considered best. They are often 

 cultivated as a renovating crop, and there has 

 been considerable discussion in the New York 

 papers as to their value for this purpose, compared 

 with clover. 



ROOTING APPLE TREE LIMBS AND GRAFTS. 



In answer to "One Interested" in the Farmer 

 of Jan. 9, 1 will say that I have had some experi- 

 ence in rooting the apple tree limb. I find l)Ut 

 little trouble in their striking root the first jear. 

 My method is to lay the limb of a small tree, and 

 cut a slanting cut towards the top and pin the limb 

 down with the top sticking out of the grouiid. I 

 have some 30 or 40 trees well under way, treateil 

 as above — some large enough to bear. My 

 object is to get a tree that is what we might 



call "full blood," and not wounded by graft- 

 ing. I have another method of getting a "full 

 blood," as I call it, and that is to take a small 

 ti'ce and run a sharp knife or chisel through 

 the body at points four to six inches apart ; then 

 insert scions ; lay the tree in the ground with just 

 the top of the scion sticking out. Let them grow 

 one or two years, and I generally find roots enough 

 that have started out of the scion above the old 

 stock to support the tree. If so cut the scion on 

 young tree above the old stock and you have 

 nothing but a "full blood" left. 



W. V. Tainter. 

 South Carthage, Me., Jan. 19, 1869. 



LIME AS A TOP DRESSING. 



I would like to ask through your valuable paper 

 what the effects are of dry slacked lime, sowed on 

 a meadow that is becoming mossy ; the best 

 time to sow it; the amount to the acre, and if 

 it will pay, lime being worth ($1.50) one dollar 

 and one-half a cask ? 



The meadow cannot be drained, but where it 

 has been top-dressed the moss has disappeared 

 and English grass has come in. It was so wet last 

 fall I could not get on my dressing, and I would 

 like something that will take its place. 



A Subscriber. 



Ricmney, N. H., Dec. 12, 1868. 



Remarks. — Lime will make an excellent top- 

 dressing for your meadow. Let it air-slack. You 

 will sow it more comfortably if it is mingled with 

 loam or moist sand. What its precise effect is on 

 the meadow, is more than we can tell. It is quite 

 probable, however, that other and better grasses 

 than those which have been growing upon the 

 meadow, will find congenial food after the lime is 

 sowed, and will flourish there. 



SLABBERS IN HORSES. 



I am feeding this winter two three-year-old 

 colts, side by side, in the same stable, from the 

 same mow of hay, and in every way they are 

 treated alike. One of them slabbers badly, the 

 other not at all. Can cither editors or readers of 

 the Farmer tell the cause and cure of this diffi- 

 culty, and oblige not only myself but others in 

 this section whose horses are troubled with the 

 same disease. Jack. 



East Jay, Me., Dec. 7, 1868. 



Remarks. — We have rarely found ahorse "slav- 

 ering" when fed on dry hay of a good quality. 

 Musty, or otherwise poor fodder, will sometimes 

 affect the digestion, and cause slavering. It may 

 be occasioned, in your case, by the feed, although 

 only one horse is affected by it. Try a change of 

 food, and give a tablespoonful of sulphur mixed 

 with meal, two or three times in the course often 

 days. 



A GOOD PAIR OF STEER CALVES. 



Thouch fifty-seven years of age and in poor 



health, I take much interest in stock, and for want 

 of boys, handy my steers myself. I have a pair of 

 calves this year that are superior to those I generally 

 raise, and as I like to read about good calves raised 

 by others, perhaps a notice of my steers will in- 

 terest some of your readers. They were sired by 

 my thoroiighl'red Durham bull out of Madonna 

 Sth, by John Dull, outof a native'or common cow. 

 My steers are now tea months old and Aveigh 1400 

 pounds, and are perfectly handy in or out of the 



