326 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



never himself have penned such a sentence. If 

 true, I should like to see a more distinct develop- 

 ment of the facts that tend to establish this the- 

 ory. 



I was more ready to notice this exception, 

 because I recognize in many of the papers correc-j 

 tions made that are decided improvements. Thisj 

 volume I think a decided advance upon those 

 before published ; and if I do not mistake, there 

 is still room for further improvements. x. 



May 14, 1855. 



MULCHING. 



This process, although known and practiced 

 for many years by a few cultivators, has become 

 extensively adopted only at a very late period. 

 It seems peculiarly adapted to our hot and dry 

 summers, and operates chiefly in preserving the 

 moisture of the surftice, and in preventing the 

 growth of weeds. The moisture at the surface 

 of the earth from rains and dcAvs, is quickly dis- 

 sipated under a hot sun ; and if this surf\ice is 

 allowed to become covered with a dense growth 

 of living grass and weeds, there pump out of the 

 soil and and throw off into the air a much larger 

 quantity of moisture than is evaporated by a bare 

 surface of earth only. But if this surface is cov- 

 ered with a few inches of old straw, hay or leaves, 

 the moisture is retained in the soil, and the 

 growth of weeds prevented. Asa general rule, 

 we have found it most advantageous to leave the 

 surface l)are and keep the soil well mellowed till 

 near midsummer, and then to apply the mulch- 

 ing. For a covering of litter, while it pro- 

 motes the humidity, also prevents the heating of 

 the soil, in and in this way may retard early 

 growth if applied to soon. There are exceptions, 

 however ; one in the case of large, deeply-rooted 

 trees not aifected by nor needing mulching, and 

 the other which are removed in summer, need the 

 careful and constant retention of the earth. We 

 have succeeded, with scarcely one failure in 

 fifty, in transplanting the strawberry drought 

 and heat of summer, by simply giving the sur- 

 face a mulching of two inches of barn manure, 

 and on which the watering was poured when 

 necessary. Indeed, there is nothing that better 

 prevents the ill effects of baking by surface water- 

 ing, than a covering of this sort of a moderate 

 depth. Mulching will, however, promote mois- 

 ture in the soil, even when neither artificial nor 

 natural watering is given, simply by arresting 

 such as rises upwards through the earth. In one 

 instance a^striking illustration of this effect was 

 furnished during a very long season of drought, 

 which injured and threatened to destroy a row of 

 newly transplanted apple trees. Their leaves 

 had already begun to turn yellow, and growth 

 had ceased, but on coating ground about them 

 with a crop of mown weeds, a change was soon 

 effected, and in three weeks the leaves had re- 

 turned to their deep green hue, and in some in- 

 stances growth had recommenced. But on no 

 kind of tree is mulching more necessary than on 

 newly transplanted cherry trees. Thousands of 

 these are lost every season, after they have com- 

 menced growing, by the drying heat of mid-sum- 

 mer, and the evil is sometimes increased by su- 

 perficial watering. A deep mulching will gener- 

 ally prove a complete remedy if seasonably ap- 

 plied. 



Some interesting facts on this subject were 

 stated, and valuable suggestions made at one of 

 the conversational meetings of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society. S. Walker remarked that 

 he had used tan, sawdust, litter, leaves, &c., but 

 he believed short, newly mown grass one of the 

 best things, — he had mulched a great deal with 

 it, and found it laid close to the soil. He also 

 recommended the succulent weeds of the garden 

 or roadside. He found tan and sawdust to be 

 useful merely by retaining the moisture. D. 

 Haggerston had found sedge from salts marshes 

 best, particularly if cut short ; a good watering 

 upon it made it lay close to the ground. He 

 found it excellent for strawberries. He had also 

 found tree leaves excellent, if they had partlj de- 

 cayed, so as not likely to be blown away. Old 

 hot bed materials made of leaves and manure had 

 proved particularly fine. Several spoke of the 

 ill effects of too deep a mulching, but we think 

 the more common error is in spreading the cover- 

 ing of the soil too thinly. 



Mulching is a very easy and cheap practice, 

 and the season is now at hand when our readers 

 may prove by varying experiments tlie best mode 

 of performance. — Country Gentleman. 



EXTRACTS AKD REPLIES. 



BLACK LEG IN CATTLE. 



Mr. Editor : — I wish to make the following 

 inquiry through the columns of your valuable 

 journal : — "Is there any known remedy for the 

 cure of black leg amongst cattle ?" 



Within the past few years I have lost more cat- 

 tle with this disease than by all others combined. 

 Gladly would I know and seek to obtain that 

 preventive, if any there is, which shall arrest the 

 progress and restore to health the creature that 

 may be attacked with this worst, it seems to me, 

 of all diseases a creature may die with. It has 

 been said that bleeding as soon as they were at- 

 tacked with it, would surely prove a cure ; of 

 tliis I have not much faith, as one of my neigh- 

 bors had one attacked which he bled as soon as 

 he discovered him ailing, and to all appearances 

 it did him no good at all. 



It seems "rather hard" to lose cattle, and gen- 

 erally the best ones in the lot, with this disease, 

 and not be able to afford relief to them in any 

 way. I hope to hear from some of your corres- 

 pondents in regard to this subject. 



Joseph Blake. 



Ashfield, Mass , April, 1855. 



to kill ticks on sheep. 



Mr. Editor : — In looking over the last number 

 of your paper, I noticed an inquiry by a subscri- 

 ber from Deerfield, N. H., "How to kill ticks on 

 sheep and lambs without injuring them?" In 

 answer, I would say kill the ticks on the sheep ; 

 and there will not be any on the lambs ; this may 

 be done by feeding to his sheep sulphur mixed with 

 salt in the month of March, given to them two or 

 three times ; the quantity should be about three 

 pounds to one hundred sheep. I presume that any 

 other time in the season will answer equally as 

 well, although I have never tried it excej^t in 

 March, while the sheep were about the barn. 



Ludlow, Vt. R. C. Haven. 



