138 



THE farmers' cabinet 



VOL. I, 



my pleasure garden," says a practical gar- 

 dener, " I have no shrubs but evergreens, and 

 the more I view them in the winter, the more 

 I rejoice that I had planted no others; always 

 green and cheerful in the gloomy months of 

 winter, they give a beauty to my garden 

 which it otherwise would not possess. The 

 Portugal and common laurel, and broad leav- 

 ed phillarea, the red cedar and evergreen oak 

 — these, as they grow to such a considerable 

 height, may, with here and there a yew, be 

 planted in the back ground, and form a rich 

 variety; while these, the Grecian and Sibe- 

 rian arbor vitaj, the juniper, orbutus, the cy- 

 press, the silver holly, the laurustina, &c., 

 should be planted in the fore ground, espe- 

 cially the laurustina, which is handsome in 

 its growth, as well as beautiful in its flower. 

 As it is rather a tender shrub it is better to 

 buy them in pots and then turn them out 

 carefully and plant them in a sheltered warm 

 situation, with the soil adhering to the root. 

 But no evergreens should be planted thickly, 

 as they do not like the knife, and few persons 

 have resolution enough to remove a tree, be- 

 fore it has materially injured, and perhaps 

 spoiled the growth of its neighbor. Where 

 the soil is good and the situation open, ever- 

 greens planted in October will make some 

 vigorous shoots the second spring, and will 

 fill the ground they are intended to occupy, 

 with astonishing rapidity." 



Housing; and Wintering Pota- 

 toes. 



The erroneous practice pursued by our 

 best farmers generally, induces me to state 

 the manner 1 have pursued for years with 

 unvaried success. To preserve 500 or 600 

 bushels, I make a box or bin, 4 feet wide, 3 

 feet high, and of sufficient length to contain 

 the required quantity; have the joints well fas- 

 tened and made as tight as possible — put into 

 the cellar bottom. If the potatoes are intended 

 to be taken out at different times, two or 

 three petitions should be put in, crosswise of 

 the bin, to preserve such as are not required 

 for immediate use from exposure to the at- 

 mosphere. After this preparation is complet- 

 ed, the next operation is gathering and hous- 

 ing them. Here I must again dissent from 

 the usual practice of farmers generally. In- 

 stead of leaving them in the sun and wind to 

 dry, after digging in small parcels, in carts 

 or heaps, they should be immediately cov- 

 ered with tops, or something else, even if 

 they remain in the field but a few hours. 

 This destructive practice must, I think, be 

 attributed to want of reflection. It is the 

 sole cause which produces the evils so much 

 complained of by us, called the watery po- 

 tatoe — by the Irish, the winded potatoe — de- 



stroying not only the flavor, but a great por- 

 tion of the nutriment. In fact, sun, wind and 

 rain, are as destructive to a new dug potatoe, 

 as moonlight is to a fresh caught fish. When 

 your potatoes are removed to the cellar, put 

 into the bottom of the bin two inches of fresh 

 earth; then fill one apartment with potatoes, 

 within three or four inches of the top — imme- 

 diately cover it with tough grass turf, cut up 

 with the spade a little dovetaiiing,to the thick- 

 ness of three or four inches — cover them with 

 turf, grass side up, packed close, and pounded 

 down witha wooden maul, to exclude as much 

 air as possible. In this manner, in a cellar 

 of suitable temperature, they may be kept 

 fresh and good for a year, without germinat- 

 ing. No danger is to be apprehended of 

 having too much dirt stick to the potatoes, — 

 it assists in preserving them. An occasional 

 sprinkling of fresh earth among them will be 

 found serviceable. — Genesee Farmer. 



Diseases of Sheep. 



The following excellent article we copy 

 from the " Silk Culturist." The Editor of 

 that useful paper says, " The great losses 

 which wool growers frequently sustain in 

 consequence of the sickness and death cl 

 large numbers of their flocks, has induced U8 

 to compile from a rare and valuable English 

 work a synopsis of the diseases to which 

 sheep are liable, together with the symptoms 

 by which they are known and the treatmeni 

 by which they are remedied. The causes oi 

 the disease are in some cases assigned, anc 

 it is believed if they are carefully avoidec 

 and the remedies promptly and faithfully ap- 

 plied, the losses from disease and death 

 would in a great degree be prevented, anc 

 the profits arising from their fleeces anc 

 young materially increased. As the reme 

 dies are simple and the ingredients compos 

 ing the prescriptions within the reach o 

 every farmer, it is to be hoped that every woo 

 grower who has the misfortune to have z 

 diseased flock will give them a thorough 

 trial. 



Fever. 



Fever in sheep is an inflamed state of thf 

 blood, disordering the eyes and mouth, anc 

 affecting the whole body, though not visibly 

 When any of the symptoms of a fever ap- 

 pear, the feet of the sheep should be exam- 

 ined, and if found to be hot, there is no doub : 



