1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



329 



kept a dairy, I think the secret lies simply in salt- 

 ing, — either too much or too little, or that of poor 

 quality is used. My neighbor says that he lost 

 twenty -five dollars in one year, by using fine salt, 

 such as is put up in small boxes. A short time 

 ago I saw a statement to the cfl'cct that ordinary 

 fine box salt would not keep butter sweet for any 

 length of time. If it will not preserve butter nei- 

 ther will it keep cheese sweet. m. p. 

 West Westminster, Vt., May 8, 1868. 



TOMATOES vs. THE BORER. 



I saw in your last paper, an inquiry by some one 

 as to what he should do to keep borers out of his 

 trees. Two years ago, in looking over my trees in 

 the fall, I found bore rs in all of them but oub. No- 

 ticing a tomato plant by the side of that tree, I 

 thought that perhaps the smell of the plant might 

 be the reason. Last year I tried it, and found 

 none, where I had tomato plants. Speaking to a 

 neighbor about it, he said he was never troubled 

 with borers, but he had always had tomatoes by 

 the side of the trees. I shall try it this year, set- 

 ting the plant as near the trunk of the tree as pos- 

 sible. Give it a trial, all of you who are troubled 

 with borers. b. 



East Randolph, Mass., May 26, 1868. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 OPEN AND TIGHT BAKNS. 



Having read the discussion In the FAR>rER 

 on the subject of open and tight barns, I will 

 give you my experience, with the remark that 

 while I consider theory on this, as on other 

 subjects, very good, I think practice a little 

 better. 



In 1840 I built a common barn for the times, 

 finishing with unseasoned boards, put on singh'. 

 Consequently, 1 had plenty of side ventilators, 

 as the cracks were neither small nor ^Qyv. I 

 soon learned that the hay must be well cured 

 before being put in, or it would heat, mould, 

 and sometimes spoil in the centre of the mows, 

 while near the walls of the barn the hay was 

 bright and good. I also learned that In leav- 

 ing the barn doors open during the hay season, 

 as many farmers did, the hay next the floor, 

 especially near the door, looked like hay which 

 had taken the storm and been badly washed. 

 From old farmers I furthermore learned that 

 hay Intended for the stack must be thoroughly 

 cured, even more so than for the barn. 



In 1850 I built another barn, and acting 

 upon the knowledge gained so far, I made the 

 •walls tight as common double boarding would 

 make them. And now for the result. I have 

 not during the sixteen years I have used this 

 barn, had a particle of mouldy or burnt hay, 

 except It was wet by storms and pat in before 

 dry. I cart my bay much greener than for- 

 merly. I do not hesitate to cart English hay 

 that is sufficiently ripe, as soon as I can after 

 it Is cut, provided there is no dew or wet on It 

 when mowed. My hay Is relished by the stock 

 better than that which is all dried up. If the 

 grass is very green, or stout clover, I would 

 prefer to kt it stand in the cock over night, 

 hut think that too much drying Injures the hay. 

 A mixture of herdtgrass, just in the blow, 



and western clover, the blows half turned, 

 which yielded two and a half tons per acre, 

 actual weight, was out in the forenoon and 

 carted in the afternoon of same day Into the 

 last built barn, and came out nice and bright 

 in the spring. For an experiment, I spread 

 some of this hay upon the beams of the barn, 

 turning It occasionally for two weeks, to ascer- 

 tain the shrinkage when thoroughly dried under 

 cover, and found It to be seven hundred 

 pounds to the acre, or two hundred and eighty 

 pounds per ton. 



With the knowledge thus gained, I conclude 

 that the less the air circulates through the 

 mows, or the less exposed the hay Is to the 

 weather, the better for the hay, and the less 

 is It liable to heat ; that by closing all cracks 

 or avenues for the v/ind and storms what heat 

 there may be In the hay Is equally dissemin- 

 ated through the entire mass without injury to 

 the hay ; but that if the heaf be forced from 

 the outside surface to the centre, the outside 

 hay will be bright while the centre will be 

 more or less injured, — sometimes burnt and 

 mouldy. With this experience I shall con- 

 tinue to store hay in barns made tight as prac- 

 ticable, notwithstanding there may be much 

 theory not base'd upon practice, to the con- 

 trary. 



I have also learned that cattle thrive best. 

 In winter, when kept at a temperature little 

 above the freezing point ; but that If kept so 

 close and warm as to sweat, or become moist, 

 they will not eat. I prefer to have the stable 

 a little cold.. rather than too warm. If too 

 cold, however, food does not seem to make 

 them thrive, although they may eat enough to 

 satisfy the most skeptical ; especially if short 

 of bay. A very little trouble will regulate 

 the temperature of a stable, and is well paid 

 for In the satisfaction one enjoys in the comfort 

 and thrift of his animals. a. 



Washington County, Vt., 1868. 



Remarks. — For Its usefulness the New 

 England Farmer Is largely Indebted to such 

 practical articles of Its correspondents as the 

 forecolnsr. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 ITEMS OF A FARMER'S EXPERIENCE. 



Feeding Young Pigs. — I once bought six 

 pigs of neighbor Flint, taking them at an early 

 age, because we had an abundance of skim 

 milk to feed them with. In the course of a 

 fortnight, first one and then another sickened. 

 The prominent symptoms were, loss of appe- 

 tite, staggering with a backward motion and 

 falling on the haunches, and finally inability to 

 rise at all. The first two that were attacked 

 died In a few days. One of the others seemed 

 near death, and all were more or less affected. 

 At my request Mr. Flint examined them, and 

 thought the trouble was a costiveness caused 



