352 



NEW ENGLAND EARMEK. 



Aug. 



thing needful ;" and if he or his neighbors should 

 see tit to try it, I think they must be satisfied 

 with the result. J. B. Freeman. 



Lebanon, N. H., June 18, 1855. 



GREEN LICE ON FRUIT TREES. 



Mr. Editor : — Will you inform me of the best 

 remedy for the destruction of green lice on young 

 fruit trees, and confer a favor on s. s. n. 



Waterford, Me., 1855. 



Remarks. — We have never found these insects 

 essentially destructive to the foliage of trees. 

 They may be destroyed hj a sprinkling of whale- 

 oil soap, perliaps common strong soap-suds, or by 

 sifting ashes over them. 



PLOWING MANURING GUANO . 



Mr. Editor : — In looking over the June num- 

 ber of the Farmer, I find an article from "Agri- 

 cola" on plowing, and I wish to ask if he means 

 to be understood that by plowing alone we can 

 raise good crops? As I am not much experi- 

 enced in farming, I wish to inquire of you, or 

 some one, who will be kind enough to answer the 

 following question : When is the best time to 

 plow, and when should the manure be put on ? 

 Should it be before it is plowed, or after it has 

 been plowed, if it is to be plowed a second time? 



If guano will kill plants, if too much is ap- 

 plied, will it kill the brake that grows in our 

 pastures? If so, will any thing else (as grass) 

 come in to take its place 1 



In i^lowing land, is it best to work on one piece 

 until it is fit to sow or plant, or let it lay and 

 warm before it is further worked upon ? 



Is it beneficial to roll land when it is sowed, 

 whether it is lain down to grass or not? 



A Subscriber. 



Ludlow, Vl, June 2, 1855. 



Remarks. — The above are questions of impor- 

 tance, and we should be glad to have "Agricola" 

 reply to them himself. 



now shall i use blacksmith's cinders? 



Mr. Brown : — Will you, or some of your cor- 

 respondents, through the medium of your paper, 

 inform me the best use which I can make of some 

 ten cart-loads of cinder and dirt, such as is 

 usually thrown out of a blacksmith's shop? 

 What kind of soil will it benefit most, wet or 

 dry, liglit or heavy? Or what crops is it best 

 adapted to as a dressing? Will it be useful to 

 put around apple and other fruit trees? 



Chester, N. IL, 1855. L. f. 



Remarks. — Will some correspondent reply to 

 these inquiries who has a practical knowledge ? 



Uses of Tobacco. — In the United States, phy- 

 sicians have estimated that 20,000 persons die 

 every year from the use of tol)acco. In Germany 

 the physicians have calculated that, of all the 

 deaths which occur between the ages of 18 and 

 26, one-half originate in the loaste of the constitu- 

 tion by srnohinc/. They say that the article ex- 

 hausts and deranges the nervous powers, and pro- 

 duces a long train of nervous diseases, to which 

 the stomach is liable, and especially those forms 



that go under the name of dyspepsia. It also 

 exerts a disastrous influence on the mind. 



For the New England Farmer. 



AGRICULTURE IN MAINE. 



Mr. Editor : — I have penned a few facts in re- 

 gard to the agricultural interest of Maine, which 

 you are at liberty to publisli, if you feel so dis- 

 posed. The present extravagant price of bread- 

 stuffs has at length aroused the farming comuni- 

 ty of this State from their agricultural lethargy, 

 to a consciousness of their dependence on the 

 southern and western States for bread. And they 

 have resolved that if pi-ovisions retain their pre- 

 sent prices another year, to be the gainers there- 

 by. There has been more planted in Maine, this 

 year, by one-third, perhaps I may be justified by 

 saying one-half, than any previous year for ten 

 years past ; and I am led to suppose that Maine 

 will now take a deeper interest in farming than 

 she ever has before, from the fact, that for years 

 past the agricultural portions of our State have 

 had other resources than farming, — that of lum- 

 bering. Lumbering has been the chief cause of 

 the neglect which a very large majority of our 

 farms exhibit. That, however, in most of our 

 farming districts, is growing scarce. This, with 

 the present high price of provisions, renders it 

 highly necessary that our agricultui-al friends 

 should take more interest and display more ener- 

 gy in farming than they have heretofore. A very 

 large portion of our land has become exhausted 

 and almost worthless from continually taking 

 away from the soil, without returning anything 

 in the shape of manures. Consequently an extra 

 effort will have to be made to renovate such lands. 

 Another hindrance to the promotion of agricul- 

 ture in this State is, that a great many who farm 

 it are decidedly behind the times. You talk to 

 them oi muck, which is a very common fertilizer, 

 and they will deny its fertilizing qualities, and 

 pronounce it one of the humbugs of book-farming. 



Last winter I hauled a load of sawdust from a 

 neighboring mill to litter my cattle with. One 

 of my neighbors was present, who, perhaps, had 

 farmed it fifty years ; he inquired what use I 

 should make of it ; on learning that I was going 

 to bed my cattle with it, he expressed much sur- 

 prise, and inquired if it ivould not spoil the ma- 

 nure. There is an immense quantity of swamp 

 land in Maine, which might be cleared and 

 drained, and rendered very valuable as grass 

 lands, which are considered by many as worth- 

 less, and are left for foul weeds and all kinds of 

 shrubbery to spring up and decorate the farm. — 

 There are some, however, who appreciate the va- 

 lue of such lands, and are not afraid of investing 

 a sum requisite to reclaim them into fine meadows 

 of grass, which amply pay for their time and 

 trouble, and a good profit besides. 



Maine has every facility for becoming one of 

 the first farming States of New England. Her 

 soil is good — her sons hardy. But farming has 

 been considered, liere as elsewhere, a low occupa- 

 tion, and those that till the soil have been looked 

 uj^on as little better than the slaves of the south. 

 They begin, however, to look at it in a different 

 light, and the time is not far distant when it will 

 be considered a science, and brought on an equal 

 with other professions. J. m. 



Scarsmont, Me., June 15, 1855. 



