1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARIMER. 



^9 



lished in regard to them. I count 143 hulls or pods, 

 and there are two grains in most of them, making 

 nearly 286 grains on the head ; and there are any 

 quantity of heads like it. They are the genuine 

 Norways, sown alter a crop of )jotatoes with no 

 manure this sca'-on. All crops look well except 

 corn. The principal crop here, is potatoes for the 

 factory. G. H. Watson. 



Lancaster, N. H., Sept. 7, 1869. 



While visiting the farm of H. II. Sargent in Ply- 

 moutli, Vt., last week, my attention was called to 

 a ticld of Norway oats, from half a bushel, sowed 

 May 12. There are from four to nine stalks from 

 eath sied. The average height from ground to 

 top oat is four fvCt. Average number of grains to 

 each head, as far as counted, was 175; in one head 

 from a bunch of nine straws we counted 224 good 

 oats, and 28 missing, as was seen by the enipty 

 hulls. Heads generally from eight to sixteen 

 inches, though there were those twenty-two inches 

 in length. All measured with a pocket rule, not 

 guessed at. When threshed will report result. 



Ludlow, Vt., Se2}t. G, 1869. James Pollard. 



BUNCH on a house's SHOULDER. 



What shall I do for a colt that has a bunch on 

 the upper point of his shoulder blade. I expect it 

 was caused by a bruise some six months ago. 



Blaudford,Mass., Sept., 1869. A Subsckiber. 



Remakks. — Rub it daily with the hand, with 

 the tincture of arnica. Get arnica blossoms of the 

 apothecary, put them into alcohol until they are 

 thoroughly soaked. Put twenty drops of this 

 tincture into a wine glass full of water, and rub 

 the bunch, and about it, for twenty minutes once 

 or twice each day. Keep the tincture corked 

 tightly, and have it always on hand, as it is the 

 best remedy for kicks or bruises of any Kind, of 

 anything in our knowledge. It is also among the 

 cheapest, as a half pint of alcohol, and ten cents 

 worth of arnica will last a year or two if used 

 judiciously. 



WILD CHERRY LEAVES. 



Perhaps you will remember of my writing you 

 about a sick yearling, which I lost near this time 

 a year ago. From the descripdon I gave, you 

 thought cherry leaves must be the cause. 1 have 

 since moved into York State with my stock, where 

 they browse daily on cherry leaves ; and I think 

 if -.hey live through the fall, I shall beof the opin- 

 ion that cherry leaves are good for cattle instead 

 of poisonous. The cattle are now in good order. 

 The cows give a good quantity of milk, and our 

 butter is nice and of a rich color. Grass, as well 

 as cherry leaves, grows here. I saved a single 

 stalk which grew near ray house, that measured 

 six feet and seven inches. If tlie farmers of New 

 England can produce a taller one, I hope they 

 will measure it, and let us know. A. Niles. 



Irona, N. Y., Aug. 23, 1869. 



Remarks. — The statement above would scarcely 

 change our opinion with regard to the poisonous 

 qualities of wild cherry leaves. People have been 

 known to chew opium and swallow arsenic, and 

 live many years afterwards, but when they in- 

 crease the quantity too much, they suddenly die. 

 And so it may be with cattle. Where the feed is 

 good, they may take an occasional nip of wild 

 cherry leaves, and suffer no harm ; but if the grass 



is scanty and dry, they would be quite likely to 

 eat sufficiently of the fresh and juicy cherry leaves 

 to cause death. 



"Grass, as well as cherry leaves, grows here," 

 says our correspondent, and we think that is the 

 reason why his cattle are not injured in their new 

 pasture. 



Our advice would be to cut down and cast into 

 the fire every wild cherry tree on the farm, as they 

 are a complete nursery for caterpillars, and are, 

 without much doubt, poisonous to cattle, under 

 some circumstances, which may not be well under- 

 stood. 



SWALLOW-TAIL BUTTERFLY — TapUio TumUS. 



The worm you h?vc just sent me from Mr. J. T. 

 Lurvey, of Melrose, Mass., is the full grown cater- 

 pillar of Pff/)j7jo Turnus, our large, ])lack striped, 

 yellow "swallow-tail" butterfly. Very tiuly, 



Sam'l H. Scudder. 



Natural History Rooms, Bostott, Sept 13, 1869. 



Remarks. — We copy the following description 

 of the larva, or worm state, of this species, from 

 a publication by the Smithsonian Institute, entitled 

 "Synopsis of the Lepidoptera of North America" 

 — "green above, whitish below; sides with seven 

 oblique, greenish stripes ; between the fourth and 

 fifth segments a transverse band, yellow before, 

 black behind ; on the third segment a lateral, as- 

 cellated spot, with two blue pupils; head flesh 

 color, neck yellow; feeds on various species of 

 Primus." The two horns or feelers, which par- 

 ticularly attracted the attention of Mr. Lurvey, 

 are noticed as "two retractile tentacles protruding 

 from the first segment." The perfect insect or 

 butterfly measures from three to four inches across 

 the wings, and is found in the United States gen- 

 erally. 



NORWAY OATS. 



I have a small lot of the "Norways," one head 

 of which I send you, which according to my count 

 contains 175 oats and measures fifteen inches. 

 As many as nineteen stalks have sprung from a 

 single oat, the straw of which is from four to six 

 feet in length. f. g. e. 



Rutland, Mass., Aug., 1869. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent's measure of 

 the head of oats received is correct, and we pre- 

 sume his count is also. A fine head of grain. 



We have also received from "A Subscriber to 

 the Eleventh Commandment," Whitefield, N. H., 

 a handsome head of white oats, eleven inches in 

 length, and well filled. 



MANURING IN THE FALL. 



I have a lot of manure in my barn cellar, just 

 as it was dropped from the stable through the 

 scuttles. It is mixed with an equal amount of 

 loam, used as an absorbent. The horse and the 

 cow manure are separate. 



Now suppose after harvesting, I spread this ma- 

 nure on my corn ground, and plough it in three 

 inches, will it not thoroughly ferment and become 

 impregnated with the soil ? Where it now lies, it 

 is not wet — only damp, and lies up light, and I had 

 the impression that the horse manure would be- 



