574 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



tains as great a per centage of water when nearly 

 full grown, as at any other time ; and of course as 

 little solid or nutritious matter as at any other time, 

 unless the saccharine juice with which it is charged 

 possesses that quality, Mhich is quite improbable. 

 Were this juice extracted and fed to the animal 

 alone, it would, doubtless, pine away and die. Nor 

 can it be expected that the small amount of solid, 

 say six to ten per cent, that is consumed along with 

 it, will of itself be sufficient to counteract the dele- 

 terious efl'ects of so large a share of juice, and at the 

 same time, keep the aiumal ui a health} and thriv- 

 ing condition. 



At the commencement of feeding stalks, cows 

 vdll not generally eat much of them, unless they 

 are partly cured, which goes, I think, to show, that 

 the juice which they contain is not, at the time, 

 highly relished by them. 



Three years ago I fed seven cows quite liberally, 

 for a month or more, on green stalks. My custom 

 was to feed in the morning, as it was the only con- 

 venient time of doing it, and to scatter the stalks 

 over a portion of an adjoining pasture on which 

 they had not of late been fed, so as to give them as 

 clean a place for eating as possible, taking care to 

 give them much more than they would immediately 

 consume, which they would generally finish off in 

 the course of the day. I could not perceive that the 

 stalks made much if any difference in the quantity 

 of milk produced, but the cows continued to give 

 less and less about as the grass failed them, although 

 they continued to consume a projiortionably larger 

 amount of stalks. I have this fall made another 

 trial of this kind of feed, and with results less flat- 

 tering than before. For several weeks I could not 

 conveniently fui'nish my cows \\ith any but the poor- 

 est pasturage, but attempted to make up this defi- 

 ciency by feeding them what stalks they would eat 

 at night and morning. 



But they did not thrive or even hold their own 

 on this kind of keeping, but began to appear gaunt, 

 were dissatisfied with their condition, which they 

 manifested by being cross and ill-natured towards 

 each other, and by a disposition to roam abroad, 

 whenever an opportimity was presented, in quest of 

 something more satisfying. And worse than all, 

 some five or six of the seven cows thus treated, 

 commenced -witholding their milk entirely for half 

 the time or more, so that I feared that all, a new 

 milch cow included, would become entirely dry 

 before I could give them a change of feed. Finally 

 I began to practice reform ; gave them yellow pumj)- 

 kins, carrots, cabl)ages and good rowen feed ; but 

 they have not yet, after the lapse of a month, recov- 

 ered from the effects of dieting on green com ! I 

 once kept a horse for a few days on the same kind 

 of food, with the ordinary su])ply of grain, but as it 

 seemed not to be doing well, I soon discontinued it. 

 The horse dranlc but very little water during the 

 time it was thus kept, refusing it, some days, entire- 

 ly- , 



If the cows were, in like manner, affected by the 

 stalks, as is highly probable, that may account, in 

 part, for their drying. I have, in a few instances, 

 fed ears of corn with the stalks as they -were culti- 

 vated for a field crop, so as to produce an increase 

 of milk. I M'ould advise those Avho may have stalks 

 to feed, whether green or dry, not to feed them en- 

 tu'ely alone, but Avith other kinds of feed. Some 

 years since, I fed a yoke of oxen entirely on stalks 

 nearly, or quite through the winter. They appeared 



to be doing well dui-ing all this time. They were 

 plajful and lively, and their hair was bright, but 

 when put to doing the spring woi'k of the farm, they 

 were greatly deficient in strength and durability. 



Thus I have given you, briefly, my experience in 

 part, ho})ing that a further and more careful exam- 

 ination of the subject, by practical men, may lead to 

 more reliable and satisfactory results. It is very 

 important that something of abundant and rapid 

 growth should be available as a sui:>stitute for the 

 ordinary supply of feed in case of drought, but I ap- 

 preliend that those who may depend almost entirely 

 on green corn for such a purpose, are destined to 

 meet mth disappointment. C. Blakely. 



Bristol, Ct. 



PROSPECTS. 



If an increase of business is an endence of Suc- 

 cess, we are abundantly assured that our efforts to 

 furnish to the fanner the materials for more thor- 

 ough and efficient operations upon his lands, and 

 thereby to increase his annual profits, have not 

 failed of their object. New friends have come to 

 us from every quarter, both as subscribers and con- 

 tributors. The list of the Monthly Farmer has more 

 than doubled during the past year, Avhile large ad- 

 ditions have been made to the Weekly, so that we 

 have the prospect of starting on the new year ■with 

 a combined edition of some Twenty-four Thousand 

 coj^ies. This will enable us to can-y out designs 

 long contemplated, of furnishing more and better 

 engravings, and in various ways, of giving the paper 

 a greater value. We have recently exjDcnded sev- 

 eral hundred dollars for designs and engi-avings, 

 which will be given from time to time, and which, 

 while they will elegantly illustrate the work, will 

 also add to its practical character. 



We have no important changes to announce, 

 with the exception, perhaps, that we may obtain 

 regular contributions fi-om the able pen of Prof. 

 Nash, of Amherst. Each of the Editors will re- 

 main at his post, and devote himself to the appro- 

 priate duties of his charge, while our numerous and 

 able correspondents Avill faithfully contribute to the 

 common weal of all. 



Such are the encouraging prospects for the year 

 1856. We have bowed out the Old Year ^nth such 

 grace as we could command, and have buckled on 

 the harness with stout and cheerful hearts for the 

 labors of the New. It is but a matter of "changing 

 ivork" between us, after all. So let us go at it with 

 a will, and make this year what we shall wish it 

 may have heen when we have got through it. 



War and Agriculture. — The United States 

 army consists of about 10,000 men, and costs 

 $8,525,240 a year. All the result is, a few ragged 

 uniforms, dismantled forts, rusty guns, and still 

 more ragged and rusty characters called veterans. 



The Illinois central raikoad has about the same 

 number of men who, receive from the company, 

 $3,700,000 per annum, and make over one hundred 

 miles of railroad each yeai\ 



