• 1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



119 



avoid such an unpleasant circumstance, we 



give below a very simple, and what seems to 



us an effective preventive of such loss. It 



was communicated to the lowa Homestead, by 



one of its correspondents from Clinton, In that 



State : — 



Make a follower of inch board (an old barrel 

 head will do) just lar^e enongli to pass through 

 th& huad of the band with eaue. On the top of 

 the follower, aljout four inches from the edge, on 

 opposite sides, fasten two l)races with leather 

 hinges. The braces should be about six inches 

 long, and one inch square, liaving a sharp spike in 

 the upiier end. This done, press tlie follower upon 

 the meat until it is below the brine, then pi-ess the 

 top of the br.ices against the barrel, and the spikes 

 will penetrate tiie side of the barrel, keeping all in 

 place. Few realize tlie itnportatice of keeping 

 meat under the brine. If one piece becomes taint- 

 ed, it will in time convey that taint to all in the 

 barrel. 



BANDOIiPH, VT. FARMER'S CLUB. 

 After the report of the discussion of this 

 club which appears in another column was in 

 the hands of the type-setters, we received the 

 following communiea'ion in relation to its his- 

 tory and management. We hope it may en- 

 courage individuals in neighborhoods where 

 there are no such associations, to move at once 

 in the formation of one. Let the organization 

 and the exercises be as simple as possible at 

 first. Don't try to begin where a club of six 

 years' practice "leaves off." Don't be consti- 

 tutioned to death. Don't be tied to the stake 

 of any two-thirds vote. "We, the undersign- 

 ed, agree to meet once a week to talk over our 

 farming affairs," is about enough of constitu- 

 tion and by-laws to begin with. From evening 

 to evening, such "articles" and "amendments" 

 may be added as shall be found desirable or 

 practicable. Of course the rules which gov- 

 ern gentlemen and ladles in social intercourse, 

 and those which are observed by deliberative 

 bodies, are always and everywhere in force. 

 If one plan of exercises fails, keep yourselves 

 free to try another, and any other, which may 

 be suggested by your own circumstances and 

 means. 



A New Feature. 



In conducting our Farmer's Club, we have con- 

 stantly had in mind, from its commencement, six 

 years ago, to the present time, the personal im- 

 provement of its members, as one of its prominent 

 objects. 



We started with an essay and a discussion, as the 

 chief exercises. But the first year we frequently 

 failed of having the essay. To avoid these fail- 

 ures, wc had six or eight individuals pledged to 



fulfil the appointment whenever it fell upon them, 

 and we were thus sure of the essay every week. 



Last season we added the exercise of an original 

 "oration," and did not fail of having it during the 

 season. 



Tne present term wc have added still another 

 exercise, which proves not only useful and enter- 

 taining, but occasionally very amusing. It also 

 proves quite efficient in increasing the attendance 

 of the outsiders. It consists of an off-hand speech, 

 of five minutes, on the spur of the moment, with- 

 out any possibility of preparation, or previous 

 thought. The President calls to the stand, any 

 one of those who have agreed to sustain the exer- 

 cise, and then assigns him some subject pertaining 

 to farming interests, upon which he holds forth, 

 not exceeding £ive minutes. 



This and all the other exercises continue to be 

 well sustained, and our attendance is good, from 

 20 to 6i, every Monday evening, "rain or shine," 

 some coming six or eight miles — and we are al- 

 ways glad to see strangers frequently present, who 

 are no doubt readers of the Farmer — as they are 

 generally of the more intelligent and efficient 

 class of farmers. Our Club is one of the most in- 

 terestmg and useful institutions in this section. 



Randolph, Vt., Jan. 7, 1868. Lectum. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 A LARGE MANURE HEAP, 



THE farmer's great MISTAKE. 



Messrs. Editors : — In your paper of Jan- 

 uary 4th, I asked for information respecting 

 the success of the pupils of Professor Dodge 

 Hayward. On Thursday evening last, his lec- 

 ture was intended to show the farmers their 

 great mistake. The following Is the substance 

 of what I understood him to say. 



Farming is destined to be the most profita- 

 ble business men can engage In, In New Eng- 

 land. The soil, as a whole, contains all that 

 is necessary as fertilizers, and the reason why 

 farming does not pay well, lies In the Igno- 

 rance of those engaged in It, m regard to the 

 fertilizers most suited to the lands they occupy, 

 and the crops they attempt to grow. 



The farmer thinks he must have a large heap 

 of manure. In this he is mistaken ; he need 

 not keep cattle to make manure ; the fodder 

 they eat would be of more service to the land 

 if allowed to remain and rot where it grew. 

 He did not advocate the spreading upon the land 

 the substances we give cattle to eat, as even that 

 way of manuring is very much too costly to 

 pay. All vegetable matter. Including the grass 

 of the western prairies, and the leaves of the 

 forests of the north, is useless as manure, ex- 

 cept that in them there is a small amount of 

 mineral which washes down into the soil, while 

 the greatest part of it rises into the air and is 

 lost. The loss of fertility in our lands. East 

 and West, is caused by the loss not of vege- 



