1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



79 



branch of commerce. During tlie current year 

 over one million poles have been received in this 

 city from those places. They sold at an average 

 price of 30 cents a dozen. 



— A farmer in Clinton county, Iowa, tells of cut- 

 ting 35 tons of timothy hay from 15 acres — receiv- 

 ing $350 for this amount. 



— A correspondent of the Gardener's Mo7ithly 

 says he tried six varieties of strawberries last sea- 

 son and found the Hovey's Seedling to produce 

 the sweetest and highest flavored berry. 



— An Ashtabula Co., Ohio, farmer is now en- 

 gaged in buying sheep, believing they are a good 

 investment at present pi'ices. In one case recently 

 he was allowed to pick 50 young ewes out of a 

 good flock of several hundred, at $1.25 each. 



— At the Government Experimental Farm, at 

 "Washington, 576 varieties of cereals and garden 

 vegetables were tested this year. Among these 

 were 109 varieties of wheat, 20 of oats, 10 of corn, 

 29 of grass seeds, and 36 of potatoes. 



— A large deposit of phosphates has been dis- 

 covered near Charleston, S. C, which it is believed 

 is destined to add immensely to the wealth of that 

 section, as it is said to be equal in value to Peru- 

 vian guano. 



— Mr. A. Hoover, of Lockport, Indiana, counted 

 the kernels on an eightecn-rowcd ear of coi-n, 

 which weighed a pound and two ounces, and found 

 them to amount to 1142 sound and plump grains. 

 Some, a thousand fold. 



— To remove warts from horses, the Maine Far- 

 mer recommends passing a considerably large nee- 

 dle with two threads through the centre of the 

 wart, and tie the threads securely on each side of 

 its neck, and let the threads remain until the wart 

 can be rubbed ofi. 



— The New Orleans Picayune proposes to in- 

 crease sugar culture in Louisiana by separating 

 the business of cultivation from that of milling 

 the cane. The land could then be divided into 

 moderate farms, wliich should be united by tram- 

 ways with sugar mills in the center of each dis-^ 

 trict. 



— A correspondent of the Western Rural says 

 that crib-biting in horses is no "vicious habit," as 

 generally believed, but simply an instinctive effort 

 to relieve pain caused by the teeth of the animal 

 being crowded together, and that the proper rem- 

 edy is to run a very thin file betAveen the teeth 

 which press together. 



— The reason why a man lost in the woods in- 

 variably travels in a circle, constantly veering to 

 the left, is said to be because the right side of every 

 human body, except in the case of left-handed 

 people, is more developed than the left ; conse- 

 quently the muscles on that side are strongest, and 

 tend to gradually throw the whole body round, 

 unless the aim is directed to some particular point. 



— The London Globe says a man named Charlier 

 thinks the notion that horses need shoes entirely 



wrong. He himself does not cut a horse's hoof. 

 He merely protects it against violent blows and 

 accidents, and against the wear and tear of the 

 city pavements, by inclosing it in a thin circle of 

 iron, which wards it from danger without com- 

 pressing it. 



—A correspondent of the Maitie Farmer, after 

 travelling extensively in Europe, says that in 

 Switzerland, Eastern France and Prussia, he was 

 struck with the adaptation of the beech for a thin 

 but efiective hedge. It branches little, is stiff and 

 keeps its place. He saw but little that was killed 

 or injured by dry seasons. He thinks it may I)e 

 used here with much success, making a beautiful 

 hedge, if care is used in shortening in. 



— A correspondent of the Western Rural, who has 

 had experience in raising and feeding Hungarian 

 grass, says that if cut as soon as it begins to blos- 

 som, it is prime hay for any kind of stock. If the 

 seed is allowed to mature, it should never be fed 

 to horses or colts. It will either kill or stiffen 

 them up in a short time. It is a very exhaustive 

 crop if allowed to ripen the seed, but makes fine 

 feed for neat cattle. 



— The committee on scoured fleeces appointed by 

 the Illinois State Agricultural Society, have re- 

 cently made a report of an elaborate trial of wool 

 cleansing, with results which are but the repeti- 

 tion of those which have been reached by New 

 York and Vermont trials. They think no new 

 facts can be established or good accomplished by 

 further trials — wool growing tests — and recom- 

 mend the discontinuance of premiums on scoured 

 wool. 



—The Trustees of the Pennsylvania Agricultu- 

 ral College have decided to locate the Experimen- 

 tal College Farm in the county of Chester, pro- 

 vided the citizens thereof will give five thousand 

 dollars as a bonus for this mark of preference. 

 The Germantown Teleg7-aph thinks this will please 

 the Chester county people, but hints that unless 

 the managers of the farm are wide awake they 

 will be excelled in products and management by 

 many of the farmers in that county. 



— Between Cleveland and Sandusky, and within 

 one-half mile to a mile of Lake Erie, and near to 

 railroad stations, as good grape land as any in 

 this grape region can be had for from $50 to $75 

 per acre, not wild land but improved, with some 

 buildings, orchards, and, in some cases, several 

 acres of grapes started. The soil is elay, mixed 

 with slate — what is called shale — and is as good 

 land for grapes as can be found this side of Cali- 

 fornia. 



— In France, milk is packed in small tin cans, 

 easily moved by one man, and by a simple con- 

 trivance the stopper screws close down upon the 

 contents of each can, so that the motion of the 

 railway cannot churn the milk in transitu. The 

 cans are then placed in covered wagons, and in 

 summer are wrapped in cloths, which are watered 



