55, 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



197 



aft is usually a fine, large, beautifully colored 

 irron, about the size of our buckeyes. They 

 e much more delicate in texture and flavor than 

 r own wild chestnut. They are never eaten 

 thout being cooked. The tree is very beau- 

 ul. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



GARDEN VEGETABLES. 



Mr. Browx : — You will greatly oblige a con- 



.nt reader of the Farmer, and a tyro in agricul- 



[■al matters, if you will answer the following 



estions. 



[ have six acres of land, and intend making it 



narket garden. I wish a select list of the ear- 



3t and best varieties of vegetables, as follows : — 



Best early peas for market ; early cabbage ; 



e cabbage ; early cucumber ; early sugar corn ; 



iy potatoes ; early squash. 



I!an the "Valparaiso squash" seed be obtained 



Boston ? 



I!an the "top onions" be obtained in Boston? 



\.t what seed store can 1 best obtain a supply 



the above seeds together with others ? 



^aco, Me., 1855. j. r. 



Remarks. — For peas take the early Kent — cab- 

 les, early York — late cabbage, the Drumhead — 



cucumbers, the ''fiame''' — sugar corn, eight- 

 )ed sweet — potatoes, early white blue-nose — for 

 ashes, early summer crook-neck. We cannot 



you where the Valparaiso squash seed is to be 

 nd — but it isn't worth raising. The "top on- 

 3," and all the other seeds you desire, may be 

 nd at Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co.'s seed 

 •e, at Quincy Hall, and probably at the other 

 1 stores in Boston. 



B(OK^ FOR farmers. 



iMON Brown, Esq. : — Dear Sir, — I have a de- 

 to study the science of agriculture, and re- 

 st you to furnish, a small list of the very best 

 nary works for me to commence with — say to 

 extent of from $10 to $25. 

 everal of my country friends wish a plain 

 •k on agricultural chemistry, and have spoken 

 I!haptal and also of Johnston. Please name 

 best works on that special subject. I am 

 ing to devote my leisure hours for three or 

 r years to a preparation for farming. I wish 

 indcrstand the theory and the practice of true 

 'Culture. B. D. IIolcomb. 



e-itern Christian Advocate office, \ 

 Cincinnati, Feb., 1855. 5 



.emarks. — We reply with pleasure to our cor- 

 )ondent. The book which we shall first re- 

 imend is the Farmers' Encyclopedia, adapted 

 he United States by Gouverneur Emerson. It 

 royal octavo of some 1200 pages, and treats 



I in a scientific and practical manner, of near- 



II the topics coming under the farmer's care, 

 n Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and Ge- 

 y, by James F. W. Johnston ; Davy's Agri- 

 ural Chemistry; Farmer's Companion, by Bu- 



Downing's Fruits and Fruit Trees; Amcri- 

 MuckBook, by D. J. Browne; Harris' Insects 



Injurious to Vegetation ; Youatt and Martin on 

 Cattle, by Stevens ; and Farm Implements, by J. 

 J. Tliomas. 



Begin with these, and as opportunity offers 

 read Loudon's works — especially his Arboretum — 

 which are a library in themselves, Douming's, 

 Stephens', Lmdsley, Sinclair's Code, &c. &c. We 

 can boast now of an elegant agricultural litera- 

 ture, and you will find pleasure in perusing these 

 works, as well as profit. 



sudden DK\Tn OF A COW. 



Mr. Brown : — I had a fine cow, eight years 

 old, tough and hearty, who was apparently well 

 at nine o'clock at night, and in the morning 

 dead. She lay in her usual position, as though 

 there had been no struggle. On an examination 

 the stomach appeared blistered and highly in- 

 flamed, and the blistered part slipt off. There 

 were no other symptoms to describe. Can you 

 or Doct. Dadd throw any light on this case ? 



Bethel, Vt., 1S55. A Young Farmer. 



Remarks. — We cannot enlighten you. Will 

 Dr. Dadd ? 



WHAT PEARS SHALL I SET? 



If you could give us in the Farmer a list of 

 pears hardy enough for this locality, you would 

 do us a great kindness. I have tried the Bart- 

 lett, and several other kinds, but they are not 

 hardy enough ; they grow well in the summer, 

 but the next spring every twig that stood above 

 the snow is dead. John H. Currier. 



Mclndoes Falls, Vt. 



Remarks. — The English Jargonelle, Dunmore, 

 Louise Bonno de Jersey, Urbaniste, Seckel, Buerre 

 Diel, Vicar of Winkfield, Winter Nelis and St. 

 Michael, are hardy varieties. These should be on 

 the quince, except the Jargonelle, Dunmore and 

 Seckel, which are best on the pear stock. The 

 Bartlett is a noble pear, and will do well, we 

 think, if grafted on a hardy pear tree. 



Mr. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PATH-BREAKER. 



Editor : — In these days of snow, take two 



widths of plank (hard wood is the best) 18 in- 

 ches wide, shape in the form of a harrow (trian- 

 gle) with an iron to hook the chain — board 

 over the top, to pile on the boys, and with one 

 yoke of oxen, you break your own paths and can 

 do much for the village, s who do not pay particu- 

 lar attention to these small matters of comforta- 

 ble sidewalks. The cost is a mere trifle, and they 

 last for years if kept under cover. 



Vours respectfully, n. p. 



Brooklyn, New York, Feb. 2G, 1855. 



Pruning. — Thomas says — "The season for prun- 

 ing old orchards is late in autumn, or in winter, 

 or at mid-summe ; but not in spring, when the 

 flow of sap is apt to injure and cause the decay 

 of the wood at the wounds." 



