478 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARMER. 



Oct. 



yourself, be regretting that they do not see as 

 much in the Farmek. on the treatment of horses 

 as they wish to f 



A DAMP HOUSE. — PRrNINO WHITE PINE TREES. 



The New England Farmer being a sort of 

 farmer's Bible, it is almost indispen^al)le in every 

 family. And the eleventh commandment is this : 

 "Thou Shalt take the New England Farmer to 

 obtain a knowledge of all earthly blessings." It 

 also informs us to "ask and we shall receive. 

 Seek and we shall find." 



Therefore, Mr. Editor. I wish to ask a few ques- 

 tions: What shall I do to prevent my house, and 

 the things therem, from moulding in the winter? 

 The dampne&s seems to come up through the 

 floor, and wets and even moulds the paper; and in 

 fact everything in that part of the house where 

 there is no tire kept. It is a plank house, so called, 

 and the finish put on the plank both sides. It Has 

 a small, wet cellar, only under the kitchen. Will 

 enlarging the cellar be the cure ? When is the best 

 time to trim little pine trees ? W. D. Colby. 



West Springfield, N. H., July 7, 1869. 



Remarks. — A damp house is not only an un- 

 comfortable, but an unhealthy house. The first 

 thing to be done is, to secure quick and thorough 

 drainage all about it. Follow this up by digging 

 a cellar under all that part of It, at least, where 

 you live and sleep, and provide such windows in 

 the cellar as will atford free ventilation through it. 

 In clear, windy weather, open these windows for 

 a few hours, frequently. 



If the sills of the house rest very near the ground, 

 and the planking stands perpendicularly upon 

 them, it Is possible that dampness may be carried 

 up by what is called capillary attraction. If so, 

 the sills should be raised and set on stone under- 

 pinning. 



Trim the little pines when they are making the 

 least growth, because then there is the least sap in 

 motion to run out. 



But why do you prune the pines ? Are they 

 forest pines ? We ask for information, not being 

 decided as to whether it is best to trim a young 

 evergreen forest or not. 



GEOFFREY PIT. 



I saw in the last Farmer a description of the 

 "Geoffrey pit." I wish to inquire the proportions 

 used of the saltpetre and sal ammoniac to a gal'on 

 of water; also the price by the hundred pounds. 

 What we want is manure and that properly ap- 

 plied. I told my neighbors about ten years ago, 

 when I first began here, that the great study of 

 the farmer should be to make manure. To this 

 some repliad the great study of the farmer is to 

 get a living. Well, I built a barn svith a cellar 

 under it. I have drained my moist land, an4 re- 

 moved the stumps and stones. Where I then <',ut 

 about one ton of hay, I now cut six. The work 

 has been done mostly by odd jobs. I recollect 

 well the expression used by one man, who came 

 along as I was digging up a large stump in a 

 slough hole, — "ihat land will not be good for any- 

 thing after you get it out." A few days since I 

 cut at the rate of two tons of hay to the acre^ on 

 the spot. L. 



Winchendon, Mass., July 29, 1869. 



Remarks. — Mr. Baker, in his description of the 

 "Geoffrey pit," does not give the strength of the 



solution of saltpetre and sal ammoniac. Refined 

 saltpetre requires about five times its weight of 

 cold water to dissolve it. Sal ammoniac about three 

 times. Crude saltpetre, which contains common 

 salt and nitrate of lime, is imported largely from 

 Calcutta, and is probably obtained in Ceylon very 

 much cheaper than it can be here. The powder 

 makers and the dry salters can tell the price. 

 This would be the article wanted in agriculture. 

 We presume that one pound, perhaps less, to a 

 gallon would be sufficient. The muriate of am- 

 monia or sal ammoniac is obtained chiefly from 

 the "gas liquor" at the gas works, by means of 

 sulphuric acid and common salt and heat. From 

 the sal ammoniac thus obtained, are made the car- 

 bonate, sulphate and other preparations of ammo- 

 nia. Crude sal ammoniac ought to be very cheap. 

 A few pounds to a barrel of water would be sufB- 

 cient. 



IS MUCK A profitable TOP-DRESSING ? 



Can muck be profitably used for a top-dressing 

 to mowing lands ? The soil in this section is of slate 

 formation, rather stony. Our muck is rich both 

 wich animal and vegetable deposits, black, ammo- 

 niacal. If you will inform me on this point, you 

 wil'l also settle a question which is very generally 

 talked, but never acted upon by our farmers of 

 Northeastern Vermont. a. 



Waterford, Vt., 1869. 



Remarks. — The use of good muck is profitable 

 on all soils ; on moist granite soils, on clay loams, 

 and especially on sandy lands. It adds vegetable 

 matter, acts mechanically on heavy soils by separ- 

 ating the heavy particles and lightening them, col- 

 lects and retains moisture on dry lands, and is an 

 excellent absorbent of ammonia, and whatever 

 other salts come within its reach. Its effects on 

 sandy lands are usually more striking than on any 

 other, because such lands are lacking in vegetable 

 matter. When added liberally, its influences arc 

 quite permanent, as after a lapse of more than 

 twenty years, they may be distinctly seen. The 

 blacker mutk is, the better the quality. When it 

 is reddish, or pale brown, and soft, it is less valua- 

 ble. 



An excellent way to use it is to have it where 

 it can be thrown into the trench behind the cattle, 

 and thus become thoroughly incorporated with 

 the droppings of the cattle. 



With most muck it is far better if thrown out 

 and exposed to the atmosphere for a year before 

 using it. In that condition it costs only about half 

 as much to cart it. If you test old muck in the 

 garden — M'hatever the soil may be — you will find 

 the roots of nearly all plants clustering about and 

 passing through it in every direction, and the 

 growth of the plant will be vigorous. 



peach leaves. 

 My purpose of writing is to inquire of you about 

 the properties of peach leaves. Is it a fact, as I 

 have been xold, that peach leaves when eaten by 

 cattle will cause death ? If so, please state at 

 what season they are most deleterious, whether 

 when cropped from the tree or in a wilted state. 



