1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



13 



oceans of it. Sometimes soil from the wayside is 

 carted to the barn yard containing tlie mischiev- 

 ous article. Don't j^ou think that the stamping 

 of the cattle or the composting will kill it, or 

 render it harmless' Jnst give it a fair chance in 

 your fields and you will see something green, if 

 such has been your management. 



I have spent a good many dollars to keep the 

 upper hands of my piper grass. I have hired 

 land dug all over with a ten-tined fork, but then 

 it would be left so midlow and fine that the few 

 remaining bits would take courage and give me 

 the most unquestionable evidence of their exist- 

 ence in a few days. 



It won't pay to plant small seeds in this foul 

 soil. You may get along with corn and potatoes 

 by great 'care, but any weaker plants are too 

 easily overpowered. I have found a great sav- 

 ing in the culture of such land, to plant as late 

 as it would do, so that the corn might get up as 

 soon as the witch grass, if not a little before. If 

 yDU plant early in May, during the cold days 

 that may follow, the grass will be pushing up, 

 while the seed sown will remain inactive. It is 

 better, therefore, to plant later, so that the 

 weather will encourage for«the corn a growth as 

 rapid as possible. A laborious hoeing may thus 

 be saved. And when you consider how constant- 

 ly the soil, mellowed by the plow before plant- 

 ing, is settling down, compact and solid, it may 

 be questioned if the advantages claimed for early 

 planting counterbalance those in favor of deposit- 

 ing the seed upon the warm furrows, recently 

 turned, after the season has become fjivorable for 

 their rapid germination. 



The quicker you can ^ct your corn to shade 

 your land, the less expense for hoeing. I, there- 

 fore, plant the hills, (anl yet I never make hills) 

 two and a half feet one w^ and four feet the 

 other. Thus I am able to drive tiie horse through 

 with the new cultivator, and by going close to 

 the corn I leave very little land to be hoed over. 

 1 suppose some may not understand to what cul- 

 tivator I refer. It is one that has saved me its 

 cost many times in two summers, and added to 

 the crops raised by the deep tillage it gives. It 

 has three teeth, which look like iron duck's-feet, 

 at the bottom of three legs about fifteen inches 

 long. It seldom clogs and runs deep and througli 

 the ground, leaving it very light, and effectually 

 disturbing the piper roots, a good portion ot 

 which it brings to the surface. I can unsolicited 

 say, that tliis implement cannot be used and pi- 

 per grass flourish on the same piece of land, the 

 same summer. It is the only practical approach 

 to the "piper" aforesaid, Avith which I am ac- 

 quainted. 



1 suggest then, for piper grass lands intended 

 for tillage — to plow deep at the last moment — 

 plant always late — manure broadcast liberally, 

 and in the hill moderately — and, after perhaps 

 once plowing between the corn, comb the land 

 with the cultivator to whicli I have alluded. 



Piper grass around fruit trees may be kept 

 down in this wa^'. Take some old hay, or litter 

 of any kind, and cover the ground under the 

 limbs. Lay sticks upon it — boards are better — 

 to keep it from blowing away. Tliis is every- 

 thing cheaper than the dig;zing necessary to keep 

 the trees in order where the ground is exposed. 

 The litter should all be removed in the fall to 



prevent the mice establishing very pleasant win- 

 ter quarters. b. 

 Concord, Mass., March 18, 1852. 



For the .Vf lo England Farmer. 



RUMINATING ANIMALS. 



Mr. Editor : — I send you some remarks upon 

 ruminating animals, by an aged farmer of Wor- 

 cester County. The character, long experience 

 and accurate observation of the writer of these re- 

 marks, entitle whatever he may say upon the 

 structure and habits of animals, or the culture of 

 the soil, to respectful consideration ; and such 

 consideration will often prove an advantage to the 

 farmer. 



Will you please to insert in your paper, these 

 remarks, and any others which may follow them 

 at a future time and be worthy of notice, and 

 oblige, Yours respectfully, 



A CoxsTAXT Reader of the Farmer. 



Medfield, Nov. 24, 1854. 



"Some years ago, I saw in print this assertion: 

 — 'all ruminating animals bring up and remasti- 

 cate all their food, and when it is swallowed, it 

 goes directly into the third stomach.^ To this as- 

 sertion there are several objections. There can 

 be no such thing as bringing up and remasticat- 

 ing their food by tliese animals. Examine the 

 paunch, or, in modern expression, the first stom- 

 ach, and you will find there a mixed mass, such 

 as no animal would have in its mouth if it could 

 be avoided, and it cannot be separated. Besides, 

 if the assertion were true, the animal must keep 

 his jaws in motion all the time. This is never 

 seen to be done. Feed a p>air of oxen in the morn- 

 ing until they are full ; put them to work and 

 keep them steadily working, and it will be found 

 that they have chewed the cud but a very small 

 part of the time.. Then what has become of tlieir 

 breakfast? It remains in the animal, undergoing 

 the operation of digestion. 



Again, it is said, food, when remasticated and 

 swallowed, 'goes directly into the l/tird stomach.^ 

 Tliis is impossible, because there is but one pas- 

 sage from the throat to the stomach, and to go 

 directly into the third stomach, it would need an- 

 other passage. I presume no such passage has 

 ever been discovered; and no man, who has ex- 

 amined the inside of an animal, could ever have 

 come to such a conclusion. The assertion betrays 

 the i^-norance of its author." 



THE ILLUSTRATED ANNUAL, 



Register op Rural Ai'faiks and Cultivator Almanac for 

 1855. 



This is the title of an Annual, published at 

 Albany, N. Y., by Lutuer Ticker, Esq., Editor 

 of the Cultivator and Country G-:nllcnian. A 

 part of the title-page states that the work con- 

 tains brief and practical suggestions for the con- 

 sideration of the farmer and horticulturist, and 

 embellished with one hundred and twenty en- 

 gravings, including houses, farm Ijuildings, im- 

 plements, domestic animals, fruits, flowers, &c. 

 This book is one of convenience, and will prove of 

 practical utility to any farmer. Price 50 cents. 



