220 



NEW ENGLAND FAIi:MER. , 



May 



AGRICULTURAIi ITEMS. 



— It is estimated that there are now at work in 

 England 300 steam ploughs. 



— Ward Knapp, East Lyndon, Vt., has a hen 

 ■which a few days ago laid a sound egg shell, with- 

 out the usual filling. 



— Moses Clough of Orange, Vt., is the owner of 

 a goose 59 years old, whi h has raised an average 

 of six goslings a year for 58 years. 



— The Chicago grain elevators are said to har- 

 bor 10,000 rats apiece, and it is estimated that these 

 vermin eat $400,000 worth of grain and flour an- 

 nually. 



—The Annual Fair of the Addison County, Vt., 

 Agricultural Society will be held this year, on 

 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Sept. 14, 15, 

 and 16. 



— A bill is before the Massachusetts legislature 

 which requires that the constituent parts of fer- 

 tilizers, with a statement of the percentage of each 

 constituent part, shall be marked on each bag. 



— The Ohio Farmer of February 20, says that 

 the sheep panic in that State is subsiding, and that 

 sheep which could not have been sold three months 

 ago for 75 cents each, are now in demand at $1.50 

 to $3.00. 



— The Legislature of Michigan has voted to 

 grant the University of Michigan the sum of $15,- 

 000 annually, without any conditions, such as have 

 hitherto been coupled with propositions to give 

 such aid. 



— The following are the ofHcers of the Attleboro', 

 Mass., Farmers' Club :— President, Geo. Price; 

 Vice Presidents, S. M. Stanley, D. D., W. H. Wil- 

 cox; Secretary, J. E. Hunt; Treasurer, E. G. 

 May ; Executive Committee, G. Price, T. A. Stan- 

 ley, H. Richardson. 



— The following officers of the Somerset Central 

 Me., Agricultural Society for 1869, were elected 

 at a well attendtd meeting February 6th. Ex-Gov. 

 Coburn, President; Col. Daniel Snow and Gen. 

 Isaac Uyer, Vice Presidents ; John Weston, Sec- 

 retary; Wm. B. Snow, Treasurer; B. M. Hight, 

 Horace Eaton and Warren Bussell, Trustees. 



— The editor of the Marysville Tribune has been 

 favored with the hind quarter of a buffalo cow, 

 forwarded by a friend at Fort Harker, Kansas. 

 It was cut up and parcelled out to the citizens of 

 the village at 20 cents per pound. "The sentiment 

 of all Avho were lucky enough to get a steak, was 

 that it was rich, juicy and delicious." 



— Beecher says that "the only way to extermi- 

 nate the Canada thistle is to plant it for a crop and 

 propose to make money out of it. Then worms 

 will gnaw it, bugs will bite it, beetles will bore it, 

 aphides will suck it, birds will peck it, heat will 

 scorch it, rains will drown it, and mildew and 

 blight will cover it. 



— The San Francisco papers complain that the 

 yield of wheat in California has fallen from forty 



bushels an acre down to twenty bushels ; and that, 

 if the present improvident style of farming con- 

 tinues, the crops will not average over twenty 

 buirhels an acre. The old custom of burning the 

 stubble and straw, instead of turning it into com- 

 post, is objected to. 



— The sprouts of the potato contain an alkaloid 

 termed by chemists solanine, which is very pois- 

 onous if taken into the system. This does not ex- 

 ist in the tubers, unless they are exposed to the 

 light and air, which sometimes occurs from the 

 accidental removal of the earth in ciiltiva;ion. A 

 potato that shows a blackish-green tint on one side 

 should never be cooked for the table or ftd to stock. 



— The most common error of men and women 

 is that of looking for happiness somewhere out- 

 side of useful work. It has never yet been found 

 and never will be while the world stands. Of all 

 the miserable human beings it has been our for- 

 tune to know, they were the most wretched who 

 had retired from useful employments, in order to 

 enjoy themselves. 



— A correspondent of the Journal of Agriculture 

 in advocating proper fastenings for open barn 

 doors and gates says that more than half the wear 

 and tear of barn doors comes from slamming, and 

 that when a boy he came very near being killed 

 by a barn door which was closed with great force 

 by a gust of wind. The cattle had knocked down 

 the prop which had been placed against it when 

 opened. 



— A writer for the Turf, Field and Farm in sug- 

 gesting that horses which herd together are oftener 

 injured in their rough sports than in combat, re- 

 marks that the bite of the horse, even in play, is 

 no trifle, for, from some peculiarity in the muscles 

 of the jaws, they do not seem gifted with the 

 facility to let go, like the dog. The jaws become 

 locked and the piece must cut out or the teeth slip 

 ofi" and crack together before he again seems able 

 to control their action. 



— The Dixie Farmer says, all the world wears 

 cotton, and cotton is the only thing that all the 

 world can aff'ord to wear. In round numbers, 

 there is computed to be thirteen hundred millions 

 of people in the world. Of these, it is estimated 

 that twelve hundred and twenty-five millions wear 

 cotton, seven hundred millions exclusively and 

 the balance partially. Of the remaining seventy- 

 five millions, fifty millions go naked and twenty- 

 five millions wear skins of animals. 



— The California Farmer of January 21, speaks 

 quite enthusiastically of the great activity of far- 

 mers in that State. "Hill sides and hill tops to 

 the very summit are being brought under the do- 

 minion of that SiDord of the Earth, that divides 

 limb from limb, and particle from particle, and 

 prepares it for that "Baptismal Font" which shall 

 fulfil its destiny. What would the farmers of the 

 East say to see the furrows of our grain planters, 

 one, two and three miles long 'straight' as an 



