1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



321 



wheels of a loaded team sink over the felloes, 

 or two or three sharp ascents in that distance 

 make the addition of an extra horse necessary 

 to haul a load to market. Were every part of 

 the road as good as nine-tenths of it are, two 

 horses could draw a load over it that now re- 

 quires three. This diminishes the farmer's 

 profit to the extent of the cost and keeping of 

 one horse. It is the hard spots in the road 

 that strain and injure both team and carriage. 

 If the spots of heavy sand or deep mud and 

 the s arp pitches in our roads were once eflfec- 

 tually repaired, we fully believe that one-fourth 

 at least of the horse power now used upon them 

 might be dispensed with, and a large portion 

 of the annual expense of repairs saved. For 

 a road once well made becomes a permanent 

 institution, and is easily and cheaply kept in 

 repair. This is a very important matter to 

 the farming interest, which has to bear the 

 chief burden of repairing country roads. 



In a large portion of the Eastern States, 

 we have arrived at that degree of wealth and 

 density of population which justifies attention 

 not only to the safety and ease of travel, but 

 also to the condition of the enclosing fences 

 and borders. These should be pleasant and 

 agreeable to the eye of travellers. The abut- 

 ters on our roads should feel a pride in keep- 

 ing the fences in a neat and tidy condition. 

 Tumble-down walls and broken fences should 

 no longer be suffered by the road-side. 



A substantial faced stone wall is undoubt- 

 edly the best fence for the road-side in most 

 parts of New England. We have in our mind 

 two gentlemen who have within the past year 

 built a mile of such wall upon the road-side. 

 The walls are straight upon the face, and of 

 uniform height, rising in regular curves over 

 the inequalities of the ground, and present 

 to the passers a beautiful appearance, — if 

 beauty may be predicated of a stone wall ; 

 and so far, at least, as fitness is an element of 

 beauty, we think it may. Good walls indicate 

 not only thrift, but good taste and public spirit 

 in their owners, and not unfrequently add 

 more than their cost to the value of their es- 

 tates. 



There is more attention paid to this subject 

 than formerly, and it indicates increasing in- 

 telligence and good taste in our farming pop- 

 ulation. In many villages ornamental trees 

 are being planted by the road-side, and are 



adding annually to their beauty and attractive- 

 ness. Why should not this be done outside 

 of the village limits, in all parts of our towns? 

 Why should not every farmer, as some have 

 already done, plant trees upon the road pass- 

 ing his own premises ? The practice would 

 add much to the good appearance of their 

 farms and dwellings, and to the pleasure of 

 travelling upon our highways, and also pro- 

 vide a growth of timber that would be of 

 great value in the future. Let trees be se- 

 lected that are suited to the soil, and properly 

 protected, and the work is done. Our chil- 

 dren, as they enjoy the beauty and shade, will 

 bless the memories of those who planted them. 



OHEQON. 



We have received the first number of the Willa- 

 mette Farmer, published weekly, at Salem, Oregon, 

 by A. L. Stinson, at $2.50 per year, — John Minto, 

 editor. It is a fair sized sheet of eight pages, and 

 is better filled than almost any other first number 

 of an agricultural paper that we have ever seen. 

 The first sentence in its first column, "The great 

 want of Oregon is a home market for her pro- 

 ducts," expresses a truth by no means local, but 

 one which is not suflaciently appreciated by far- 

 mers generally, in Oregon or elsewhere. The 

 writer proceeds, — "Oregon needs consumers. She 

 needs a population devoted to other than agricul- 

 tural pursuits. Her grain fields, teeming with 

 superabandant breadstuflfe, yield but a poor profit 

 to the farmer, after deducting the heavy expense of 

 transportation in search of a distant and too often 

 uncertain market. The limited home demand will 

 not permit the transformation of grain into flesh 

 by feeding it to animals, as in other countries. 

 Lands do not increase in value, because profits do 

 not result from investments therein." 



These are words of wisdom, — the teachings of 

 actual experience in a rew country, which are sel- 

 dom appreciated by emigrants from old manufac- 

 turing and mechanical sections, until after they 

 have tried it. 



The last column of this paper contains a very 

 neat report of markets at home and abroad. At 

 Salem, March 1, best wheat 65c, oats 49 and 50c, 

 potatoes 37 and 50c, lard 10 and 15c, flour #1 and 

 5 ; eggs 25c, &c. 



The past winter we judge from several para- 

 graphs has been unusually mild. It is remarked 

 that "in town and country many have commenced 

 gardening, and that the weather during the past 

 ten days (in March) has been almost equal to the 

 warmest of May." Yet it is said that "the more 

 than ordinary length of last year's dry season, 

 made short bites of this winter's grazing, and but 

 for the extraordinary mild weather we have had, 

 many animals that are compelled to shift for them- 



