1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



573 



portable iron mill, such as is made by Mr. Bogard- 

 as of New York. The cost will be trifling. The 

 discovery, if carried into operation to the extent 

 that it may be, may make New Hampshire one of 

 the richest agricultural States in the Union, and I 

 take great pleasure in making it public. — Poris- 

 nwuth Journal. 



NEW BOOKS. 



The Muck Manual, by Samup:l L. Dana, of 

 Lowell : a new edition, with an additional chapter on 

 "bones, superphosphate of lime, and its preparation." 

 We have often spoken of this work as of impor- 

 tance to all who cultivate the soil. 



The general subjects discussed are — Geology of 

 soil ; chemical constitution of rocks and soils ; the 

 elements of soil, their properties and chemical ac- 

 tion ; the organic constituents of soil ; the mutual 

 action of the organic and inorganic elements of soil ; 

 manure ; artificial manures and irrigation ; ])hysical 

 jjroperties of soil, and bones; superphosphate of 

 lime, and its preparation. Prigp $1,00. 



The Rabbit Fancier, by C. N. Bement, Albany. 

 This is a treatise upon the breeding, reai-ing, feed- 

 ing, and general management of Rabbits ; with re- 

 marks upon their diseases and remedies. An ad- 

 mirable way to interest children is to supply them 

 with a pair of these pretty animals, where the situa- 

 tion will allow of their being kept, and then they 

 will need the Rabbit Fancier to teach them the true 

 course of management. Handsomely illustrated. 

 Price 50 cents. 



The Vine-Dresser's Manual, by Charles Ree- 

 MERLIN, of Ohio. This work, of 103 pages, gives 

 minute directions for the choice of location and soil, 

 preparation of the ground, kind of grapes to culti- 

 vate, trellis work, trimming, gathering, manuring, 

 and wine-making. Price 50 cents. 



The Stable Book, by John W. Stewart, vet- 

 erinary surgeon, Glasgow, with notes and additions, 

 adajiting it to American food and climate, by A. B. 

 Allen, Editor of the ^/Imericim -igricuUurist. Il- 

 lustrated with twent}--three engravings. An excel- 

 lent work for any who use the horse. Price $1,00. 



All these works are issued by Saxton & Co., Ag- 

 ricultural publishers, N.,Y. They are handsomely 

 printed and bound, and for sale by S. R. Whipple 

 & Co., and Ruggles, Noui-sc, Mason & Co., Boston. 



Instruction in Agriculture. — In the kingdom 

 of Prussia there are five Agricultural Colleges, and 

 a sixth is about to be opened ; in these are taught 

 by l)oth theory and i)ractiee, the highest branches 

 of science connected with the culture and improve- 

 ment of the soil ; of Agricultural schools of a more 

 elementary order, there are ten ; there are also 

 seven schools devoted to instruction in the culture 

 of flax ; two s])ecially devoted to instruction in the 

 management of meadow lands ; one for instruction 

 in the management of slieej) : and there are also 

 forty-five model farms, intended to serve in intro- 

 ducing better modes of agriculture ; in all, seventy- 



one public establishments for agricultural education, 

 not to mention others of a kindred nature, or those 

 private schools where the art and science of good 

 forming are taught. 



Prussia is a monarchy, with fifteen millions of 

 people. New York is a republic, with three mil- 

 Uons, and a territory, which, though not quite half 

 as large, is richer and better situated, with means 

 of transportation incomparably superior. Prussia 

 has seventy-one public establishments to instruct 

 her people in farming, the science of sciences, and 

 the art of arts. New York has not one ; and the 

 proposition to estal)lish a single Agricultural Col- 

 lege has again and again been voted down in her 

 Legislature. Ought so shameful a contrast to ex- 

 ist between that monarchy and this republic. — Tri- 

 bune, 



For the Keic England Fanner. 



GREEN CORN FOR SOILING. 



In the October number of the Farmer, I find that 

 the milk-producing qualities of green corn have been 

 called in question, by one at least, who seems to 

 have had opportunity of testing their value for such 

 a purpose, and that you, ^Ir. Editor, like the "rest 

 of mankind," are quite confident in your opinion re- 

 specting the utility of raising and feeding it for the 

 purpose above mentioned. Your opinion, so far as 

 my knowledge extends, coincides with that of near- 

 ly all who have written upon the subject. Our ag- 

 ricultural papers, our patent office reports, together 

 with the oral testimony of many excellent practical 

 farmers, furnish a mass of evidence in favor of using 

 green corn for milch cows, to which individual ex- 

 perience, of an opposite character, can oppose but 

 Httle weight or influence. And yet I must say, that, 

 so far as my own experience goes, I have foimd this 

 kind of feed to fall far short of the expectiition which 

 its numerous commendations would strictly justify, 

 and have sometimes been inclined to regard it, for 

 producing milk, as almost worthless, and even in- 

 jurious. That it contains some nutriment, and that 

 cattle may subsist better with than without it, along 

 with a moderate sujjply of other Ibod, or that it is 

 better, under certain circumstances, than nothing, I 

 do not doubt ; but for working cattle, horses, or 

 milch cows, when given in a crude state, I do think 

 it a very poor substitute for good hay or grass. So 

 for as a])pearances go, very few kinds of food would 

 seem better adapted to produce an abundant flow of 

 milk than this, and such I have expected, in accord- 

 ance with opinions so generally and confidently ex- 

 pressed, M'ould be the result in my own jn-actice ; a 

 residt which I have never yet reached, with several 

 years of experience. 



An acquaintance of mine, and a careful observer 

 of the habits of cattle, once told me that green stalks 

 should never be fed to cows in the morning, previ- 

 ously to going to pastm-e, as they would so far in- 

 jure the animals' appetite for grass, that instead of 

 feeding as they otherwise would, on more mitritious 

 food, they M'oidd go and lie much of the day in the 

 shade. 



Whether it does satisfy the appetite, without yield- 

 ing corresponding su])port, I cannot say, but am in- 

 clined to that belief. In its various stages of 

 growth, from that of the tender plant, to the fully 

 grown stalk, green corn — other things l)eiug equal, 

 contains, acording to analytical ex])erinient, from 

 eight)-four to ninety-four per cent, of watei\ It con- 



