238 



NFAV ENGLAND FARMER. 



or value of these I have as yet no positive informa- 

 tion. I wish to see in the Farmer an article on the 

 value and proper use of oystcr-shcll lime ; and if 

 these remarks shall be abridged, or left out altogeth- 

 er, to make room for it, I will not complain. 



Kespecifully thine, N. 



D.vv\ERS, Ith mo. 1, 1S50. 



For the New Eiigland Farmer. 

 FOWLS. 



Mr. Cole : The poultry mania still continues to 

 rage ; it has caused considerable excitement and 

 speculation, has been carried on to a great extent, 

 while at the same time it is our humble opinion that 

 there has been " more cry than wool." "Will some 

 one tell us how or in what time will a purchaser who 

 pays from ten to fifteen dollars for a pair of fowls be 

 remunerably compensated ? 



It is an old adage that " money makes the mare 

 go." So in this case with fowls, at the present time, 

 a few persons have imported a new breed, some, per- 

 haps, of superior size, and, after a considerable " puff- 

 ing and blowing," they have got the " wind up," and 

 thus induced some with whom " tin " is plenty to 

 purchase them at an exorbitant price. What supe- 

 rior qualities are there about the Cochin China fowls, 

 which have been sold at twelve dollars per pair ? 

 Certainly it did not cost near that sum to import 

 them ; and as to the size of their eggs, thej' are no 

 larger than many of our common native breed ; but 

 from the external appearance or color of their eggs, 

 they may be filled with some rich and valuable lucre 

 — who knows ? Again, the size of the Cochin China 

 docs not vary much from that of some native fowls, 

 which may be purchased from a dollar and a half to 

 two dollars per pair. 



The Shanghae fowls are very large ; but is their 

 difference in size so much more than that of our 

 common fowls as to augment their price from two to 

 fifteen dollars per pair ? We like to see consistency 

 used in all things ; but it seems evident that glitter- 

 ing gold is the chief desire with some persons. 



Correspondents are considered the bono and sinew 

 of an agricultural paper, because experience is their 

 teacher ; but with them it sometimes happens that 

 "chaff is m.Lxed with the wheat." 



MIDDLESEX. 



Winchester, June 27, 1850. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 GRAFTING CEMENT-ITS APPLICATION. 



Friend Cole : Having derived much useful infor- 

 mation through the medium of agricultural papers 

 like tlic Farmer, I sometimes venture 'to throw some 

 of my ideas into the public fund ; and if any thing 

 can be gleaned from them of any worth, I shall feel 

 rewarded for any thing I can do. 



For two years past we have made grafting cement 

 as follows : One pint of linseed oil, five ])ounds of 

 rosin and one of beeswax, which we apply warm 

 with a small painter's brush. It requires much less 

 labor to put it on, and not so much cement is used 

 as when applied cold in the ordinary way. In addi- 

 tion to the saving of time and cement, it is prefera- 

 ble on account of adhering more closely and remain- 

 ing longer. Our success in grafting is better in this 

 way than with clay or cement api^lied as formerly. 



D. TAI30K. 



Vassalboro, Cth mo., 1850. 



For the New England Farmer. g 



GOOSEBERRIES. 



Mr. Cole. Sir : I send you some specimens of 

 gooseberries that were grown on new land, in a cold 

 situation, the soil not more than six inches deep ; it 

 has been under-drained, and, in the three years that 

 it has been under cultivation, it has in all never had 

 more than at the rate of four cords of good manure 

 to the acre. Tlie cultivation of all the specimens 

 was alike, and, with the exception of No. 2, grew 

 within a few feet of each other. 



No. 1 is an English variety, and the best I ever 

 raised. 



No. 2 is a great bearer, and the bush a thrifty 

 grower ; it was taken from the Avoods five years ago. 



No. 3 I got, sixteen years ago, in the garden of 

 Richard Harbank, in Newtown, near the Kenrick 

 nurseries ; this bush grows large, is a great bearer, 

 good only for cooking. It is bad to pick on account 

 of thorns. 



No. 4 was taken from the woods in the fall of 1848, 

 and from many difi'erent bushes, and is no better 

 than hundreds of others in the nursery, where they 

 stand in rows three and a half feet by one foot in the 

 row. I never saw any mildew, on No. 1, before 

 this year, and tliis, I suppose, is owing to the bushes 

 being so thick. 



No. 5 is one of a different variety, which I brought 

 from the Crawford Place, at the SVhite Mountains ; 

 they are not near as good as the specimens I had last 

 year, and for eating I think are better than any of 

 the others. The bush grows long; it bears well gen- 

 erally ; but there has not been much more than half 

 a crop this year on any kind. This last kind grew 

 on hard, gravelly land, not very favorable for this 

 fruit, and the bushes were more than twice as thick 

 as they should be. Yours, &c., 



B. F. CUTTER. 



Pelham, N. II., July 10, 1850. 



Remarks. — We are much obliged to our friend 

 for his box of gooseberries. The general injury to 

 this fruit of foreign origin, and the remarkably 

 healthy appearance of our native varieties, shows 

 that we must rely on seedlings of our wild goose- 

 berries, or crosses of them with the foreign.- Hough- 

 ton's Seedling is such a cross, and it is doubtless 

 worth more than all the foreign kinds that have been 

 tried in this country. 



The experiments of Mr. Cutter show, that, by 

 cultivation, our native wild gooseberries may be in- 

 creased in size and production ; and, as to quality, 

 they generally rank much higher than the foreign, 

 being of a finer texture, thinner skin, and of a milder 

 and superior quality. 



The varieties Nos. 2 and 3, sent to us by Mr. C, 

 appear to be great bearers ; and they are nearly as 

 large as gooseberries generally sold in this market, 

 and of superior texture. We have no doubt that 

 superior varieties of our wild fruit would be profit- 

 able to cultivate for the market. 



The Wheat of Ohio. — In many parts of the 

 state the wheat liarvcst has commenced, and the 

 promise for an aliundant harvest has never been 

 better. In the south part of the state, much of the 

 crop is already safe. It is too late now to have the 

 crops affected by bliglit. The heads are well filled, 

 and the kernel plump. — Ohio Journal, July 1. 



