1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



479 



"Be sure you are right — then fear not to go ahead," 

 and God liless vou. N. Q. T. 



East Heymoidh, Sept. 11th, 1855. 



THE FARMER'S LIFE FOR ME. 



BY HENETTE. 



Wealth maj' boast her huarded treasures, 



Pride no joy like her's may see. 

 Dissipation vaunt her pleasures, 



Yet the farmer's life is the life for me — 



With its freedom blest, 



From the stern unrest 

 Of the crowded marts of life. 



With its rosy health, 



What a mine of wealth ! 

 With its quiet unmarred by strife. 



Toil it hath, yet with it there is 

 Sunli}.'ht of a willing mind, 

 And the farmer's home so fair is, 

 None a fairer e'er can find — 



With its glowing hearth, 



With its heartfelt mirth. 

 When the winter fire burns bright ; 



0, the farmer's cot 



Is a cosy spot 

 In a chill December's night. 



His are Summer's richest treasures, 



All her wealth of fruit and flowers, 

 All the intellectual pleasures 



Of her bright instructive hours, — 

 His the golden gleam 

 Of the sunset beam. 

 And the mild majestic night ; 

 His the first soft ray 

 Of the rising day. 

 And the dew-drops sheen and bright. 



Far from heartless Fashion's empire, 



Far from Mammon's haunts of sin, 

 From the dens of Dissipation, 

 And the crowded city's din — 

 He may safely rest, 

 0, how truly blest, 

 With the friends he holds most dear — 

 And the great world's noise 

 Cannot mar his joys. 

 In his calm, secluded sphere. 



Michiaan Farmer. 



For the New Fnglavd Fanner. 



HARVESTING CORN. 



Mr. Editor : — As the time is close at hand for 

 the farmer to be densing and adopting the best 

 method by which his corn crops may be secured in 

 the best manner and to the best advantage, I 

 thought a few words written upon the subject 

 might not come amiss, and bo acceptable too. 



It is well known that there are many and vari- 

 ous ways pursued by farmers in harvesting this, his 

 most important crop ; some take one way and some 

 another, and therefore it would l)e well to adopt 

 the best jjlan both as regards the grain and the sto- 

 ver. 



In a communication in your ])aper of August 25, 

 a writer, who signs himsell' "I''. C. P.," says, "all 

 good farmers will cut uj) their corn directly after it 

 is out of the milk, and 'stock it' to dry; tlien, after 

 a reasonable time will husk it and ])ut the stover 

 away in the b;\rn, where his stock in the winter will 



S refer it to the best English hay." Now with all 

 ue deference to his oi)inion, I must say that all 

 good f;u-mers will not piusue sucli a course in the 



harvesting of their corn for good reasons : for who 

 does not know that corn so treated would result 

 in the shrivelling of the grain in a great degree, and 

 consequently in the loss of its\-itality ? If "E. C. P." 

 should cut up his popping corn in the manner he 

 spealis of, I rather thinlv that the ])ortion of his 

 corn that would "pop" would be small indeed, be- 

 cause it would be deficient in that oleaginous sub- 

 stance he so highly extols — the nutritive matter 

 that forms the "unleavened bread." 



The best way for farmers to manage their com, 

 which is usually done by the most of them, is, 

 about the second week in September, when the 

 tassels are dry and crumpy, to cut off the tops, 

 and lay them in the hills so they will not touch the 

 ground, then after having dried one or two days, 

 tie them up in small bundles, and stand them up 

 fii'mly against the corn and let them stand for a 

 number of days if the weather will permit, and 

 then put away in the barn. The tops of corn se- 

 cured in this way makes good feed for cows in the 

 winter, and is no small item in their keejHng. Al- 

 though it is valuable for the purpose of feeding 

 stock, it will not do for the sake of the stover to 

 sacrifice the corn, as no farmer will do that, unless 

 he goes on the princi])le of "robbing Peter to pay 

 Paul." Every one that raises corn, will of course, 

 secure it as he can liest, and as shall result in the 

 best good of the whole. J. Ukderwood. 



Lexington, Mass., 1855. 



APPLES-WINTER KEEPING, ETC. 



Prof. J. J. Mai'ES : — Sir, — A constant and in- 

 terested reader of the Working Farmer would be 

 pleased to see appear in the columns of the Sep- 

 tember number, if possible, an article ujion the 

 Sweating of Apples, describing the process, &c. 

 Also the best method of packing fruit for shipping. 

 Truly yours, J. c. K. 



Dunstable, August dlh, 1855. 



In reply to the above we would state, that the 

 finer class of fruit should be gathered bj' hand, and 

 so placed in barrels, and not ])()urcd from a basket, 

 as every apple slightly indented Mill be sure to de- 

 cay. When apples are intended for shipment, an- 

 other ])rocess seems necessarj'. 



Apj)les contain a large amount of water, jjart of 

 which should be got rid of, when intended for ship- 

 ment, and this may be done without any alteration 

 in the figure or a])pearance of the ajjjilc, provided 

 that they receive no indentations or bruises. 



They must be ])laced in heaps, when a slight 

 sweating will occur, which will cause a jMirtlon of 

 the water to exude to their surfaces and dry off. 

 After a short time a second sweating m ill occur. 

 They should then be thorouglily dried, jilaccd in 

 barrels by hand, and shijiijed. .Vpplcs so treated, 

 if they arrive at their jjort of destination before the 

 third sweating tiikes j)lacc, will be in jjcrfect order ; 

 but if a single aj)i)le in a barrel be dented or bruised, 

 it will cause the whole to decay or partially decay, 

 on shi])-board. This third sweating usually occurs 

 in about six weeks after the second sweating. For 

 home consumption, a])j)les should betaken Irom the 

 tree as late as the weatlier will permit, aiul should 

 l)e i)laced in the final i)lace for winter keejiing, at 

 once. If i)ut on the north side of a house with 

 l)oard covering, and suffered to remain until the cold 

 becomes very severe, they may then be moved in 



