486 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



gestation. This discussion is conducted in a 

 very able manner. It occupies some ten 

 pages. The uterus and the udder are the two 

 most important organs in reproduction. Each 

 has its dibtinct function. That of the first is 

 to protect and nourish the foetus until its or- 

 gans of digestion and locomotion fit it to be 

 separated from the mother. Then the func- 

 tion of the udder comes into play, which is to 

 furnish suitable nutriment to the young ani- 

 mal when separated from the mother. 



Nature never intended that these two or- 

 gans should carry on their functions at the 

 same time. While the mother is carrying and 

 feeding directly from her blood the joung 

 within her, she should not be required to feed 

 another, or other animals, by secretions from 

 her blood through the udder. This is an un- 

 natural and excessive drain upon the system. 

 Although habit, great caie and abundant food 

 enable a large part of the cows in a domestic 

 state to endure this for a few years, j et very 

 many fail to complete the reproductive pro- 

 cess under this system — and the profitable 

 term of life of almost all is shortened by it. 



The cow, in a state of nature, ceases to give 

 milk some months before the end of preg- 

 nancy. If compelled to give milk by con- 

 stant milking and high feeding, in a certain 

 number of cates the uterus refuses to continue 

 to perform its function. The connection be- 

 tween it and the foetus is separated, and the 

 young dies, and is thrown off. 



Nature does not allow her laws to be vio- 

 lated with impunity. It is becoming a practi- 

 cal question of great importance, whether high 

 feeding and prolonged milking are on the whole 

 profit ible. We commend this Report to the 

 careful attention tf dairymen and stock raisers. 



Greasing Wagons — Few people fully ap- 

 preciate the importance of thoroughly lubri- 

 cating the axles, &c., of wagons and carriages, 

 and .still fewer know what are the b^st mate- 

 rials and the best methods of applying them. 

 A well made wheel will endure couuuun wear 

 from ten to twenty -five years, if care is taken 

 to use the right kind and proper amount of 

 grease ; but if this matter is not attended to, 

 they will be used up in five or six years. Lard 

 should never be used on a wagon, for it will 

 penetrate the hub, and work its way out around 

 the tenons of the spokes, and s-poil the wheel. 

 Tallow is the best lubricator for wood^-n axle- 

 trees, and castor oil for iron. Just grease 

 enough should be applied to the spindle of a 



wagon to give it a light coating ; this is better 

 than more, for the surplus put on will work 

 out at the ends, and be forced by the hhouMer 

 bands and nut was-hers into the hub around 

 the outside of the boxes. To oil an axle-tree, 

 first wipe the spindle clean with a cloth wet 

 with spirits of turpentine, and then apply a 

 few drops of castor- oil near the shoulders and 

 end. One tea spoonful is sufficient for the 

 whole. — Exchange. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 SUNFLOWERS. 



A new interest appears to be awakened in 

 Europe in reference to this plant by reason of 

 the evidence that has been gradually accumu- 

 lating for some years past, of its possessing 

 medicinal properties. If we are to ciedit the 

 tales that are told, it is a sure specific against 

 intermittent fevers. M. Martin, in a paper 

 read before the Societe Therapeutique de 

 France, says, that the experiment of planting 

 sunflowers on a large scale has heretofore 

 been successful in the fenny districts by Roche- 

 fort, and has been proved by the Dutch to be 

 beneficial in neutralizing the deleterious effects 

 of marshy exhalations. M. Martin states that 

 it is a proved fact, that the sunflower possesses 

 the power of fre/ing the atmosphere from 

 those germs, animal and vegetable, which are 

 supposed to constitute the miasms that are 

 productive of fever and ague. 



If this be the case, is it not well for our 

 fever and ague afflicted sections to be made 

 aware of it? Much suffering might thus be 

 avoided, and a new impetus given to immisira- 

 tion to those long neglected and f rtile spots 

 in the West and South, that have been preg- 

 nant with miasma. 



Hitherto the culture of the sunflower has 

 been quite limited in this country. Experi- 

 ments serve to show that it is a valuable feed 

 for poultry. It also yields a large return in 

 oil. An Ohio farmer, several }eavs since, 

 averred that it would give more bushels of 

 seed, year by year, than corn on the same sur- 

 face. Admitting his statement t ) be true, we 

 may from tables I find in an old enc\clopa3dia, 

 estimate the returns in oil that an ai;rc will 

 pioduce, planted after the manner the work 

 indicates. One hundred plants are allowi d to 

 produce one bushel of seed, from which three 

 quarts of oil are obtained. This would yive us 

 about fort) gallons to the acre and leave us 

 the refuse for feed, the value of which is not 

 given. May not this refuse be as valuable as 

 cotton seed meal ? 



My impression is, that the plants might, 

 without detriment, be increased one hundred 

 per cent, on an acre over and above the num- 

 ber btated, and the profits increa-ed in the 

 »^aine ratio. The present facilities for extract- 

 ing the oil over those in use fifty j ears ago, 

 will also give us a much larger return than 

 three quarts to the bushel. 



