1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



305 



er. Hero, too, she is ready to speak. The far- 

 mer who composts a cord of manure, does it at a 

 loss, unless he acts in accordance with chemical 

 principles. Nothing has been added and nothing 

 lost since the creation, and all the varied forms 

 of vegetation are only a change of matter, in 

 form and location, and as these changes are con- 

 stantly going on, not only around us but in our 

 very systems, it must be of vital interest to us to 

 know something of them as they daily occur. I 

 am happy to be able to say that this branch of 

 science, so useful to the former, is beginning to 

 receive a share of the attention due it. 



S. Tenney. 

 West Poland, Me., March, 1855. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SHAPING CATTLSS' HORNS. 



Mr. Editor : — In the Farmer of Jan 27, is an 

 inquiry from Mr. S. F. Alger respecting the shap- 

 ing of young catties' horns ; and as no one has 

 seen fit to impart the information for which he 

 wishes, I thought that I would send you a few 

 lines, stating what little I know of the point in 

 question. 1 have not had the experience of many 

 others ; but 1 have no hesitation in saying, that 

 the horns of cattle if commenced with in season, 

 may be made to assume any form to suit the taste 

 of the operator, (provided it is reasonable.) 



My first attempt to correct the freaks of nature 

 in this matter, was upon the horns of a pair of 

 steers, then owned by my father. AVithout giv- 

 ing the details, suffice it to say, that I compelled 

 the horns of one steer to take a more upright po- 

 sition, and at the same time a broader view, so 

 as to correspond with those of the other. Since 

 that time I have had several cases, and have nev- 

 er failed of success. In my own opinion, the best 

 time is to commence in the mouth of March, and 

 continue the operation until the horns become 

 hardened for the winter. The process is simply 

 this ; if you wish the horns to grow more up- 

 right, you must take a knife or other instrument, 

 and by shaving or scraping, reduce the shell of 

 the horn to about one-half the original thickness, 

 as a, (jcncral rule, (but this must depend on the 

 amount you wish to alter the horn,) upon the un- 

 der sid^a of the horn. And if at the same time you 

 wish to spread, or contract, always upon the oppo- 

 site side of the horn from the direction in which 

 you wish it to turn. The horn should always be 

 h^t perfect I y smooth, and occasionally oiled overj 

 with some penetrating oil. If the horns are to 

 be corrected but little, the operation of thinning 

 once may be sufficient, but if they are more im- 

 perfect, it may Ijc necessary to follow them up 

 with more thinning until they arc made to yield. 

 There may Ite others who will give better light 

 than this, but if no one else shall respond to your 

 request, this small light may be better than none 

 at all. Amflificator. 



West Brookfield, Feb. 12, 1855. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CULTURE OF MADDER. 



Mr. Editor : — Will you be so kind as to give 

 your friends in this region some information in 

 relation to the culture of Madder? This subject 

 is exciting considerable interest in our community 

 of late, and any information you may lie able to 

 impart througli the Farmer, or to me, will be a 

 favor to some of the readers of your valuable 

 paper in this county. There is an old man in 

 Hydepark who tells of working at it some time, 

 when it was very profitable. 1 think information 

 from you would be preferable to his. I wish to 

 know wliether a piece of the root is planted for 

 the first crop, or whether I must start from the 

 seed? Also, where shall I get it, what kind of 

 soil, and what would be the probable income per 

 acre? A Lamoile Farmer. 



Remark-.— Mr. J. Farnum, of Uxbridge, Mass., 

 confirms the above, and says the reason is this : 

 "The side of the horn thus scraped off, by loosen- 

 ing the hard surfiice, grows faster than the un- 

 scraped side, and causes the horn to turn or curl 

 in an opposite direction." 



Remarks. — ]SIr. Russell Bronson, of Birming- 

 ham, Huron County, Ohio, a successful cultivator 

 of madder, has published a communication upon 

 this subject, which contains the following in- 

 formation : — 



"A location facing the south or south-east, is 

 to be preferred. A sandy loam, not over stiff and 

 heavy or light and sandy, or a good brown, deep, 

 rich upland loam, free from foul grass, weeds, 

 stones, or stumps of trees. Where a crop of po- 

 tatoes, peas, corn, or wheat has been cultivated 

 the past season, plow deep twice, once in Sep- 

 tember and once in October, and if rather stiff, 

 let it lie after the plow until spring. When the 

 spring opens, and the ground has become dry 

 and warm — say in Tennessee Ist of April, Ohio 

 15th, and New York 25th to 1st of May, (I speak 

 of the spring of 1836,) — plow again deep, the 

 deeper the better ; then harrow well and strike it 

 it into ridges with a one-horse plow, 3 feet wide 

 and 4 feet vacant, or making a ridge once in 7 

 feet, raising it, if on rather moist ground, 8 or 

 10 inches, and di-y land G or 8 from the natural 

 level ; then, with a light harrow, level and shape 

 the ridges like a well-formed bed of beets, &c. 



We will suppose you intend to plant one acre 

 of ground, and that you have purchased eight 

 bushels of tap roots in the fiiU, and buried them 

 like potatoes on your premises ; count the ridges 

 on your acre, and take out of the ground one 

 bushel of roots and plant it on one eightli of your 

 ridges ; you will then be able to ascertain how 

 to proportion your roots for the remainder. 



The following is the manner of planting, culli- 

 valinrj, &c., when the quantities of ground do not 

 exceed three or four acres. One person on each 

 side of the ridge to make the holes, (plant four 

 inclies below the surface of the bed, or there- 

 abouts, when covered,) one on each side to drop 

 the roots, and one on each side to cover, pressing 

 the hill in the manner of planting corn ; or three 

 persons may lie placed on one side, as the case 

 may be, whether you have one or more acres to 

 plant. Let the owner be the dropper of roots, 

 and his most thoi'ough assistant behind him. 

 Make the holes from 12 to 18 inches apart, and 

 about six inches from the edge of the ridge. As 

 the plants arc supposed to have been purchased 

 in tlie fall, the I'oots may have thrown out sprouts, 

 and possibly have leaved. In this case, in drop- 



