1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARJ^IER. 



405 



all its habits. 



PON many 6elds 

 this pest to the 

 farmer seems 

 to be in greater 

 abundance this 

 year than ever 

 before. What 

 Mjositmadefor? 

 Who can eat it, 

 sleep on it, or 

 use it in any 

 possible way ? 

 '"Witch grass" 

 is bad enough, 

 but the sorrel 

 keeps an even 

 pace with it in 

 Nothing will "thoroughly" kill 

 it. It scoins fire and flood, unless they arc 

 unusually persistent. It roots deeply, and 

 perambulates the soil as completely as does a 

 country peddler a New England village. 



We think we have seen one hundred acres 

 of it, at least, in some recent travels about the 

 country. On farms which are called "well 

 managed" it stands in acres together, and has 

 so completely taken possession of the soil as 

 to prevent any other plants from coming to 

 sight. Large fields presented an unbroken ap- 

 pear nee of brownish-red, thecolor of the blos- 

 som of this pernicious weed. What was it made 

 for ? Who will ascertain some practical use for 

 it, and help us to turn it to account ? It certainly 

 was not made in vain. Now that men are de- 

 vising means of turning the trees and grasses 

 and flags into sheets of beautiful note paper, 

 why will not some one find means of convert- 

 ing this incorrigible pest into something that 

 will be pleasant and useful ! 



We saw a single field where acres were cov- 

 ered with sorrel, and forming seed sufllcient, 

 we bhould think, to sow a township of land. 

 This is one of several varieties of sorrel, and 

 called sheep, or field sorrel. Some writer 

 aptly calls it "Nature's grave-clothes," a title 

 which it richly deserves, for if it continues to 

 increase as it has done, there will be a fair 

 chance of its overshadowing all other minor 

 plants, and bury them beneath its remorseless 

 embrace. 



It is said that the best way to subdue it is by 

 means of liberal dressings of lime. This has 



bften disputed by some, but the experiment is 

 worth making, as the lime will be useful to the 

 soil, if it does not destroy the sorrel. 



One cause of the abundance of sorrel on 

 our farms may fairly be imputed to its seeds 

 which are introduced in the grass seeds that 

 are sown. And not only sorrel seeds, but oth- 

 ers, which fpring up and infest the land and 

 plague the farmer. 



A remedy for this evil may be found in the 

 use of seed separators, in the form of fan mills. 

 These are carried to such perfect on that a 

 dozen dilferent kinds of seeds may be mixed 

 togei her, thro wn into the hopper and separated , 

 each kind by itself, in the course of a few 

 minutes. The sieves of the separator are so 

 arranged that they separate and carry to dif- 

 ferent boxes, all seeds that are of different 

 sizes, and at the same time all chaff and dirt 

 is blown out from among them. 



Such a machine has been devised and manu- 

 factured by ]\Ir. Sanford Adams, which will 

 separate twelve different kinds of beans, seeds 

 and grain at once. One of these, or another 

 as good, ought to be introduced into every farm- 

 ing neighborhood In New England, or at least, 

 one in every town. A single machine would 

 be sufficient for twenty-five farmers, and abo t 

 two dollars each would pay for one. It should 

 be kept at one place, and all seeds brought to 

 it be cleared by the same person, — unless 

 when used for winnowing large crops of a sin- 

 gle grain. Then, of course, it would be taken 

 to the place where the grain was threshed. 



Who will start this in each town, and begin 

 the process of making fairer fields and in- 

 creasing the profits of crops ? 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE HIGH PRICE OF BUTTER. 



The gieat advance in the price of this im- 

 portant article of fcod has probably ocasioned 

 more feeling and talk than the rise of any 

 other product of the firm of the same vaiue. 

 All classes of people, appear alike interested 

 in this subject, and are ever leady to disfu<3 

 it. What keeps up the price of butter ? Why 

 is it so scarce."* Ihese and similar expres- 

 sions are continually heard. They show that 

 the present high prices aie generally regarded 

 as unnecessary, and more like an extortion 

 than the direct results of simple and legiti- 

 mate causes, and that many are much irritated 

 by being obliged to pay them. During the 

 war, consumers consoled themselves by be- 

 lieving that the causes of the advance were 



