278 



NEW ENGL^yj^D FARMER. 



June 



the corn crop. In sliort, thorough farming — 

 every tiling well and seasonably porfunued — is 

 approeiatod and repaid as well by tliis, as by any 

 product to whioh the faroier can turn his atten- 

 tion. — Rural New-Yorker . 



For the Nctr England Farmer. 



STONE FOR BUILDING. 



Friend Browx : — About a year ago, 1 saw in 

 the Fanner some remarks from you upon atone 

 buildiiirjs, requesting some one to write upon the 

 subject, as to the expense between stone and 

 wood. I have been hoping to see something 

 written upon the subject, from some one better 

 qualified than m^-self. I constructed a dwelling- 

 house, about eighteen years since, of this ever- 

 enduring material, and have found it, as you 

 then remarked, "much less expensive to keep in 

 repair, and warmer in Aviutor and cooler in sum- 

 mer," &c. As to the first cost, I tliink it n(jt 

 much more expensive than wood ; and if I were 

 to build again, I sliould build of stone, though in 

 some manner diifercnt from what I built at first. 

 I should Uvse cement instead of lime, and should 

 not guagc the stone to a width and lay in courses 

 as brick, as this is more expensive. But I should 

 split out stone underpinning, long or short, as 

 they might happen to be, of sufficient thickness 

 to square the ends where needed, as against win- 

 dows, doors and corners, and chink up so as to 

 » make strong work. In this way I built the L 

 part of my house, and it is much less expensive. 

 I think where stone is near at hand and of the 

 right kind, the walls of a house can be erected in 

 this way as cheap as wood. And it is strange, 

 where Lstones are plenty, people do not build more 

 with this enduring substance, especially when 

 lumber is so high. 



Many have an idea that a stone house is damp 

 and unliealthy, but it is not so if constructed 

 rightly. The wood-work should be set off from 

 the stone, giving room for the air. The house I 

 built is thirty-nine by twenty-nine feet ; the av- 

 erage thickness of stone on the lower stoi*y is one 

 foot — upper story eight inches. The expense of 

 the walls at the time it was built, about $400. 

 It has cost but a trifle to keep it in repair com- 

 pared to that of wood. 



As mucli is said and done in these days about 

 poultry, I add a word; if not for the benefit of 

 owners of fowls, it may afford some relief to the 

 poor biddic while in distress. I lost a number of 

 fowls, year after year, by a disease in the crop. 

 There seemed to l)e a stoppage, and most of the 

 food they ate would remain there, till it swelled 

 so much it became a burden ; they would linger 

 along a week or two, then die. At last I tried 

 an experiment upon a hen that was al)()ut to die. 

 I laid the fowl on its back, and while my son held 

 the legs and head, with a sharp knife I cut a slit, 

 an inch or more in length, in the skin, then cut 

 the skin of the crop cross ways, in form of an X, 

 and with a crooked wire hooked out the contents. 

 The crop was stuffed full of grass and grain, and 

 scented very much. I washe<l the inside (jf the 

 crop clean with cold water, then with a needle 

 and strong thread sewed it up, and after that the 

 outward skin. I then set the hen down upon the 

 floor, when she immediately went off singin;/, ex- 

 pressing all the thankfulness the poor creature 



was capable of. In a few days the wound was 

 healed, and in a short time she was laying eggs 

 again. 



The Fanner comes to us, bringing a multiplicity 

 of good things. I am glad to see it take such a 

 stand against intemperance and slavery. Have 

 occasionally seen a notice of revivals of religion, 

 and such news is cheering to every Christian 

 reader. Jonx Fiske. 



Ilollislon, Feb., 1855. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PRUNING. 



Mr. Editor : — I have lately noticed some of my 

 neighbors, with jackknife, handsaw and hatchet 

 in hand, attacking their fruit trees as though 

 they were enemies whom it was their purpose to 

 wound and mutilate and disable by all means in 

 their power. After the battle has been fought I 

 have seen the ground covered with branches, and 

 in some cases, with heads and trunks lying scat- 

 tered in all directions around the scathed and 

 bleeding trees, that remain like wounded and 

 maimed soldiers, after a hard fought conflict. 

 And the trophies of the victory thus obtained 

 are carried off by whole cart-loads, in the shape 

 of sound, healtliy sprouts and branches, covered 

 with leaf and fruit-bud, and consigned to the 

 wood-pile. 



It seems to me, sir, that these good neighbors 

 of mine are trying an experiment to see how much 

 injury they can inflict upon their trees, without 

 destroying their lives. When the Inquisitors 

 stretch a heretic upon the rack, they place a sur- 

 geon by his side, with his fingers upon the pulse, 

 to decide Avhen the torture has been carried to 

 the limits of human endurance. But not so with 

 our tree-trimmers. They seem to think that 

 there is no limit to the endurance of vegetable 

 life. This subject has often been referred to in 

 your paper, and the evil consequences of such a 

 course have been frequently pointed out. But 

 the fact that this practice still continues, shows 

 that enough has not yet been said. "Line upon 

 line, and precept upon precept," seems to be the 

 only way in which truth can be fixed in the pub- 

 lic mind. If those, who pursue this course will 

 watch their trees carefully, and observe the ef- 

 fects of their treatment for two or three years, 

 I think they will be satisfied, tliat it is not only 

 useless, but highly injurious. When the trees 

 are trimmed in March, April and ]May,as soon as 

 the warm weather comes on, and the sap presses 

 into and distends the sap vessels, it bursts out of 

 the recently wounded vessels, and runs down and 

 blackens and poisons the bark, and causes it to 

 crack and separate from the underlying albur- 

 num, and thus effectually prevents the healing of 

 the wound. Gangrene and deatli of a portion of 

 the wood necessarily follow. AV^here several such 

 wounds are made in a tree, its whole constitution 

 will soon become impaired. It ceases to grow, 

 and in a few years droops and dints. 



Trees that are trimmed the least, Avill general- 

 ly be found to be the most vigorous, and to devel- 

 op the best formed and most beautiful heads. 

 Now and then, a limb tliat is putting forth in an 

 inconvenient direction, or in a direction which 

 will injure the symmetry of the head, should be 

 taken away. A limb that is shooting out more 



