390 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



No hemming is required, as the wax and oil will 

 keep the edges sufficiently firm. 



I don't think I am extravagant in saying that 

 they will pay the cost in one season, and will 

 last ten years, if taken good care of. Within the 

 last week we have had one entire rainy day, when 

 my neighbors' hay was thoroughly soaked, while 

 mine was as safely covered as if it had been 

 packed away in the barn. j\Iy manager thinks 

 that one-third of the cost of some new covers just 

 made, were paid for on that day. 



Large covers, made in the same manner, to 

 cover the whole of a load of hay, with heavier 

 weights, of course, would be an admirable pro- 

 tection against sudden showers ; but, as I have 

 not often made hay at a distance from home, I 

 have never required them. 



Respectfully yours, 



Edward Clarke. 



Round Hill, Northampton, July 11, 1855. 



experiment. The straw of my wheat — that which 

 was first cut — was all consumed by my cows, 

 while that wliich was left till ripe, was rejected. 

 — Germantown Telegraph. 



Tor the i"'ew England Farmer. 



CUTTING GRAm. 



Mr. Editor : — In harvesting gram of all kinds, 

 1 am convinced from my own observation and ex- 

 perience, that we do not commence early enough. 

 Grain that stands until it is dead ripe — especially 

 wheat — makes darker flour than that which is 

 cut when in the milk, or about the time the ker- 

 nels bsgin to glaze. Last year, in order satisfac- 

 torily to test the correctness of this position, I 

 cut one-half of a piece of wheat just at the time 

 the grain was beginning to harden, and allowed 

 the remainder of the piece to stand till it had 

 matured. The grain cut in the milk, was bound 

 in small bundles, and stocked on grass lands, 

 where it remained for a fortnight, being protect- 

 ed from rain and heavy dews, by caps, but ex- 

 posed to the sun by removing them during the 

 day-time, when the weather was clear and fair. 

 Both parcels were threshed sepai-ately, and 

 weighed, and the first cut was found to be in 

 every respect superior to that cut last ; the ker- 

 nels wore finer in the sample — more plump and 

 farinaceous, the skin thinner and whiter, and the 

 general appearance so different that, when placed 

 beside the other, it did not look like the same va- 

 riety of wheat. 



A like experiment on oats resulted in a simi- 

 lar way ; and I am confidently persuaded that 

 early cutting will be found in every respect pref- 

 erable to late cutting. Another, and by no 

 moans unimportant consideration, is the superi- 

 ority of the straw for fodder. Grain straw that 

 stands until it is perfectly or "dead ripe," con- 

 tains but little nutriment; all the saccharine 

 juices are abstracted, and little except the fibrous 

 substance of the plant remains ; but when it is 

 cut early, and properly cured, there is nearly as 

 much alimentary matter in it, as in hay. Oat 

 straw is generally regarded — and with justice — 

 as of much greater value for feeding purposes, 

 than the straw of wheat, barley or rye. Early 

 cutting, with reference to the harvesting of this 

 grain, is therefore of more consequence, so far as 

 the straw is concerned, than it is of either of the 

 varieties. But in all cases, the practice possess- 

 es a decided advantage over the old method. 



Any poi'son who is at all skeptical on this 

 point, Clin, with a very little difficulty, satisfy 

 himself of its correctness ; he has but to make the 



WHO WOULD NOT BE A FARMER. 



1!Y IIYRA MYRTLE. 



Who would not be a farmer, and till tbe grateful soil, 

 Which yields in golden harvests rich recompense for toil ? 

 Who would not be a farmer, and work the precious mine 

 Which feeds the hungry nations, yields food for all mankind .' 



Who would not be a farmer, and walk his own domain. 

 Behold his cattle grazing, and his fields of waving grain ; 

 List to the wild-birds' warblings, as they flit from tree to tree; 

 They the farmer's feathered minstrels, his their gushing melody. 



Who would not be a farmer, live in a rural cot. 

 Inhale the balmy breezes, with healthful odors fraught; 

 Possess a gentle, virtuous wife, and little folks a few, 

 Take an agricultural pajier, and pay the printer, too ? 

 Somerset, July 6, 1S55. 



For the Ncv: England Farmer. 



ABOUT TRAPPING WORMS. 



Mr. Editor : — I perceive, by the New England 

 Farmer of June 23d, that "C. Q." recommends 

 the trapping of worms. I hardly know whether 

 he intended to joke or not, for, after reading the 

 article referred to, I thought I would try tije ex- 

 periment. After making the holes per direction, 

 I tumbled a "fellow" (rather odd) into each hole, 

 and, if the original experimenter, "C. Q." had 

 been there, he would have wondered, for no 

 sooner in, than, to show their smartness, they 

 turned "head over heels" two or three times, 

 then, by watching all of them, I saw they had 

 suddenly disappeared. I began to tliink the 

 paper is not to be relied on, for there were no 

 birds near, nor did the sun draw them up, nor 

 did starvation put an end to them. I rather think 

 that "C. Q." must have been a grave-digger, and 

 lying down to try the size of tlie grave he was 

 digging, finds such a snug fit that he can't get 

 out, and lying there "twenty-four hours," be- 

 gins to think that a hot sun and starvation will 

 kill any worm. This is reasoning in a practical 

 manner, and there is a great deal of sucli reason- 

 ing in the farming journals of the day. xVll 

 have some wonderful working plan, something 

 no one else can follow but themselves. About 

 the middle of June, I find the lumps of manure 

 plowed in in the spring to be impregnated with 

 almost a countless number of worms. Now, what 

 is best to do with the manure? And what is 

 liest, and what can a farmer afford to l)uy in- 

 stead of home-made manure ? e. 



Remarks. — If home-made manure is thoroughly 

 worked over and made fine, there will be few 

 lumps in Avhich the worms may congregate. 



The firmer, in our opinion, cannot afford to 

 purchase any manure instead of the common barn 

 manure, only under peculiar circumstances ; such 

 as where the land is difficult of access, or far 

 from home, or where he has team and help suffi- 

 cient to cultivate more land, but has not manure. 

 In such cases, he will be quite likely to be re- 



