1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



S31 



SHOEING DISEASED OR FAULTY HORSES. 



As it i-: gettinfj fasliionahle to crack down new 

 thins-, it may be hardly safe for me to take two 

 steps to the front froQi fear of iieiii!? blown up, yet 

 whtn the Farmer came here la^t week with in- 

 quiry about shoeinir a knee-knockinfj horse so that 

 he would go clear, I thought would I run the risk. 

 I have had more than twenty years' experience in 

 shoeing horses, incUiding those with corns, qunr- 

 ter-craVks and had limbs gmerally, in several of 

 the Eastern and some of the Southern cities. I 

 have also read the works of a number of authors 

 up )n horse- shoeing, and have conversed with a 

 great n)aiiy horsemen. And I would say to our 

 friend "R'ader" that horses must be shod accord- 

 ing to iheir individual peculiarities, circumstances 

 and condition— that scarcely any two should be 

 treated alike. Hence no general rule can be laid 

 down, nir any general directions given. But if 

 "Reader" will give me a more definite description 

 of his horse, whether of a nervous or sluggish 

 temuerament, whether light-limbed or clumsy, 

 whether a foxy or logy traveller, I will give direc- 

 tions that will do no harm at least. 



Piease inform me where I can obtain a copy of 

 an American edition of Youatt on the Horse, and 

 at what price, and oblige a Haverhill, Mass. boy 

 and A Shoeing Smith. 



East Rumford, Me., May 5, 18G9. 



Remarks. — A. Williams & Co. advertise Youatt 

 on the Horse, with notes and additions by Spooner 

 and Randall, sent for $1.50, postage paid, on re- 

 ceipt of price. 



RAISING COMMON POTATOES FROM SETS. 



Though my experiment is not complete, I will 

 give it as far as I have gone, in reply to an inquiry 

 of "Subscriber" in a late number of the Farmer. 



I made a cold frame about March 17th, into 

 which I planted potatoes about two and a half 

 inches aixart and two inches deep, and let them re- 

 main until April 16. By that time they were up 

 about one and a half inches high, and looked as 

 well as any potatoes that I ever saw. Then I 

 transplanted them into open ground. Some of the 

 sprouts were planted with the seed on, others with 

 the sprouts off, as an experiment. They have been 

 set out about three weeks, and I think that a per- 

 son could not tell which were planted with the 

 seed on, and both both look very thrifty, and are 

 almost ready to bloom. As to the yield I cannot 

 say as yet, but will let you know when they are 

 matured. They were planted on a southern slope 

 on one of the Elizabeth Islands, in Buzzard's Bay. 

 There has been no frost there since April 9. The 

 potato is called the "Seven Weeks," from Prince 

 Edward's Island. f. h. m. 



New Bedford, Mass., May 8, 1869. 



I north and south. Then pnt in a good layer of rot- 



I ten barnyard manure, with a la> er of fine soil ; 



I fork it over well ; add more manure and more soil ; 



I mixed well together, till within about eight inches 



of the top. Trim off the top of plants with a sharp 



I knife. Plant with a stick about ten or twelve 



j inches apart. Cover over the trench with boards 



■ to keep off the sun till the plants have begun to 



grow and hold up their heads. In about nine days 



I hold up each plant with one hand gently, and 



with a little stick I scrape along on each side of the 



plants and put a very little soil to them ; this I do 



about every other day till the plants are up above 



the trench. I go on in same way till it requires 



banking up with the spade. While in the trench 



I give the plants plenty of water. If treated in 



this manner a good long stick of white celery 



will be the result. John Whatmoke. 



Bridgnorth Farm, Dunleith, 111., May 3, 1869. 



CASTINt^THE WITHERS. 



To prevent the barbarous practice alluded to by 

 Mr. Puffer, of Putney, Vt., I would say that by 

 washing the protruding part with alum water it 

 may generally be returned. It should be held in 

 place until it begins to shrink, when the hand 

 should be gently removed, and the cow rubbed on 

 the back for a short time. I have never known 

 this treatment to fail of effecting a cure. 



Langdon, N. H.,May 3, 1869. W.. F. Loomis. 



growing celery. 



Seeing an article in the Farmer on growing cel- 

 ery, I beg to give my mode of growing it. 



I put down two lines eighteen inches apart ; and 

 dig a trench about twenty inches deep, running 



CUTTING FEED. 



In one of your Massachusetts papers, Mr. J. T. 

 Ellsworth says, 'Cutting and mixing feed I have 

 tried, but could not see that I gained er.ough to 

 pay the extra labor." I have had a leed-cutter — 

 "self-sharpening," Chicopee Falls, Ma'-s., cost #17 

 — for three years and think it has paid for itself 

 every year, even on a small farm of seventy acres. 

 My horse has had but little hay the past winter, 

 having been fed mostly straw, and for three weeks 

 nothing but straw, cut, with the same quantity of 

 meal, com and oats ground together, that I would 

 have put upon cut hay, mixing the whole together 

 with hot water, feeding when cool. The horse eats 

 with relish and has gained in flesh throughout the 

 winter. The cutting of corn-stalks and other 

 coarse fodder for cows has also great advantages. 

 They will eat it up clean, and keep in better con- 

 dition on the same amount of food. The manure 

 is finer, is more easily decomposed, and more 

 easily worked. C. F. Dewey. 



Montpeher, Vt., April 26, 1869. 



CUT TIMBER IN THE OLD OF THE MOON. 



Though aware that it is customary with the 

 learned editors of some papers to btirlesque the 

 idea of the moon having any influence on human 

 affairs, I hope you will allow me to say to those 

 who have been discussing the best season for cut- 

 ting timber to last, that times and seasons are of 

 little avail unless regard is had to the age of the 

 moon. Timber cut in the last quarter of the moon 

 will last twice as long as that cut in the first quar- 

 ter. Sixteen cords of green wood cut in the last 

 quarter is worth twenty cut in the first. This I 

 have proved by experiments on various kinds of 

 wood, continued through many years, and ask 

 others to make like trials for their own satisfac- 

 tion and benefit. Horace Felcher. 



Bakersfield, Vt., 1869. 



TO destroy dock. 



I wish to give the readers of the Farmer my 

 experience in destroying dock. In the spring of 

 1867, I tried the experiment on one-fourth of an 

 acre, and in the spring of 1868, I tried the same on 

 one and a quarter acres, from which I took about 

 2200 plants, and at haying time there were less 

 than one dozen standing. My method is to cut the 

 root about one or one and a half inches below the 

 surface and carry them off from the field. I use a 

 chisel or some implement about two inches wide, 

 with a handle of sufficient length to enable the op- 

 erator to stand erect while u^ing it. I have no 

 particular time for cutting. Any time will answer 

 when chey can be seen. Royal Hinge. 



Wilbraham, Mass., April 25, 1869. 



