326 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JULT 



Her horns were quite cold all the time. I put her 

 in a loose box without tying her up, and kept her 

 in for several dajs. Fed out corn stalks and hay 

 with a few mangolds and swedes and six ears of 

 corn twice a day. I gave her about two table- 

 spoonsful of saltpetre in three warm bran mashes 

 in two days. I also pave her boiled oats same day, 

 with aboiit a small tablespooful of pulverized rosin 

 in bran nuish in the niorninir, and one large tea- 

 spoonful of spirits of sweet nitre in bran mash at 

 noon and night. She had a good brushing down 

 every day with a regular hand horse washing 

 brush. The cow always calves standing up. It 

 was a cold rainy night when she calved. The day 

 she refused her food I slit her ear which bled pro- 

 fusely, and I think did her a deal of good. I 

 always tind rosin to assist my cows in cleansing, 

 and attiilnite the sickness of this cow to her con- 

 fined position when she calved. She is of a most 

 irritable temper. Her calf was strong and healthy 

 and now living. I never let the calves suck but 

 two days, which is a great saving of time and 

 trouble. John Whatmore. 



Bridgnorth Farm, DunMth, III., May 8, 1868. 



farmers' wives. 



I am one of the many housekeepers who have 

 been much interestpd by the articles in the Far- 

 mer on domestic duties and economy. Some of 

 these writers, I think, are rather free with their 

 "advice to hous'?keepers" of my sex, and some- 

 what reserved in their hints and suggestions to the 

 men and boys. Some men not only thoughtlessly 

 neglect to assist and encourage their wives and 

 daughters in the labor necessary to make "home 

 pleasant" and attractive, but actually thwart and 

 discourage such efforts, and by example, if not by 

 precept, "encourage in the minds of the boys the 

 notion that care for, or interest in, woman's work 

 is derogatory to the dignity of manhood ! Is not 

 such an education of the masculine element as 

 faulty as the training of girls of which "Mattie" 

 and others have so justly complained ? 



For seventeen years I have endeavored to dis- 

 charge the duties of a farmer's wife. I have 

 usually done "my own work" with the help of my 

 children, of which I have seven. I have two daugh- 

 ters which attend school, and who, though young, 

 assist me when not at their studies, and I intend 

 that instruction in the duties of housekeeping shall 

 accompany their srhool lessons. As I am not only 

 cook and chambormaid, but nurse and seamstress 

 for the f\imily, I intend that they shall have 

 at least a "smattering" of each of these branches. 

 Since our marriage, I have made many of my hus- 

 band's garments, and for my oldest boy, fifteen 

 years of age, wc have not bought a single suit. I 

 have been encouraged in my labors by the example 

 of a wealthy woman of my acijuaintance who had 

 four daughters whom she carefully trained to the 

 performance of all kinds of housework, including 

 making and mending garments, especially those 

 which were cast off, — even to their old stockings, — 

 all of which must be neatly repaired before they 

 were piven away. In insisting on this she very 

 sensibly admonished her daughters that though 

 thev might then be aliove the necessity of such 

 work, they miL'ht not always remain so. Wealthy 

 people may do this without lo-^ing caste, but how 

 is it with tho>^e of us who are obliged to pursue this 

 course to make a living ? I do not ask, how it 

 ought to be, — but as my daughters see it, — and, 

 I must confess, as I have observed it, — what is its 

 effect on our "respectiibility," or "standing" in 

 society ? Is not another class of "accomplish- 

 ments" at a premium even in agricultural commu- 

 nities ? Is not a white hand, especially if it is sup- 

 posed to hold a few greenbacks, preferred to one a 

 little browned by ctlorts ty save the same green- 



backs and to acquire that knowledge and those 

 habits which will enable them to become help- 

 meets and co-workers with their partners in life ? 

 An Old Fashioned Woman. 

 Lexington, Mass., 1868. 



excelsior horse hoe. 



This implement, known also as the Chandler 

 Hoe, is well and favorably known in Maine, where 

 it originated, and is becoming popular in other 

 States. It may be so arranged as to furrow, cover, 

 cultivate or hoe the crop, and used with one or two 

 horses, or oxen, as may be desired. Its first cost 

 is not excessive, and it is said to do its work in a 

 thorough and satisfactory manner. It is manu- 

 factured by Dunham & Currier, Bangor, Me., and 

 we have noticed it for sale at the leading agricul- 

 tural warehouses in this city. 



raising cvcimbers and making pickles. 



Some two or three years since I saw a communi- 

 cation in the Farmer rela'ive to the raiving of 

 cucumbers for pickles, and as I am unable to find 

 the paper will you please tind the article above 

 alluded to, and insert it again ? I wish to know 

 what kind of land is most suitable ; what kind of 

 fertilizer is best adapted to them ; what is the best 

 mode of pickling; and for what they generally 

 sell in the Boston market. Should you answer 

 this you will greatly oblige a subscriber. s. 



Mansjield, Mass., Mag 2.5, 1868. 



Remarks. — "We have never raised cucumbers or 

 made pickles for the market, and cannot answer 

 the above questions as fully as we could wish. In 

 his Gardening for Profit, Mr. Henderson recom- 

 mends sod or stubble land, which should be plough- 

 ed in early fall, and turned over twice or thrice in 

 the spring before planting. The ground is marked 

 out as for corn, four feet each waj-, and a good 

 shovelful of well rotted manure dug in at the an- 

 gle of marking, which forms the hill ; the seed is 

 sown, about a dozen in each hill, from the 20th of 

 June to the middle of July. The average price of 

 late years has been about $1.50 per 1000 in New 

 York, without pickling we suppose. An average 

 yield is stated at 150,000 per acre. A Cambridge 

 market gardener once told us tliat as ipuch as five 

 cords of manure should be used per acre. The 

 "Striped Bug"' is a gieat annoyance, and must be 

 closely attended to. Plaster of Paris is usually 

 employed, as a preventive. 



We do not know the process adopted by market 

 gardeners for making pickles, but believe that they 

 are generally preserved in brine. Cut the cucum- 

 ber from the vine so as not to tear the end. Some 

 families then scald them with boiling water, others 



