1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



513 



■with a long and abundant fleece, and the ewes are 

 very prolific and good nurses. The wethers are 

 now sometimes fattened at fourteen months old, 

 when they weigh from fifteen to twenty-four 

 pounds per quarter, and at two years old increase 

 to twenty or thirty pounds. The wool is strong, 

 mellow, and of good color, though rather coarse, 

 six to eight inches in length, and from seven to 

 eight pounds per fleece." The earliest and largest 

 lambs at Brighton market are from the long- 

 wooled English sheep, and the supply of their 

 wool is far below the demand of our manufac- 

 turers. 



BRICK AND STRAW OF AGRIOrLTURAL PAPERS. 



Every man to a very great extent is what he is 

 made by surrounding circumstances. If a child 

 from its earliei^t infancy could be kept free from 

 all untoward influences, he would almost invaria- 

 bly grow up to manhood with refined manners and 

 correct moral habits. On the contrary, if the 

 child is surrounded by adverse influences, and 

 grows up under ihtm to mature years, he will as 

 invariably form evil and corrupt habits, which 

 will cling to him through life. It is impossible to 

 avoid the influence of associations. The same is 

 true of our agricultural papers. The editor can- 

 not make "brick without straw." His paper will 

 be good, liad, or indifferent according as those who 

 take and read it, furnish the material out of which 

 it is to be made ; and a large part of this material 

 should consist of carefully studied and well 

 written articles for its columns, containing the 

 practice and experience of all its readers. With- 

 out liberal patronage, no editor can long furnish a 

 first class agricultural paper, and without reading 

 such a paper no one will be as good a farmer as 

 with it. The agricultural paper is to the farmer 

 what the political paper is to the politician. It 

 seeks to promote his best interests, and to advance 

 him to a higher plain of experience in his chosen 

 pursuit. Enclosed please find five dollars for my- 

 self and a new subscriber. T. L. Hart, 



West Cornwall, Ct., Sept. 15, 1868. 



Remarks. — Although the correspondence of the 

 New England Farmer has been unusually well 

 sustained during the late busy season, by its in- 

 telligent readers, yet we would remind one and 

 all that if they wish its columns to be still more 

 instructive and interesting, they must improve 

 "each shining hour"' of the approaching long 

 evenings by dotting down the facts which have 

 arrested their attention, and the thoughts which 

 have passed through their .minds, while at work 

 in their fields, or while comparing the present 

 with the past. Has not each one learned some- 

 thing new by his experience of the backward wet 

 spring, the hot, dry summer, and the pleasant 

 fall, through which he has watched and tended his 

 crops ? We do not ask for formal essays. Gire 

 us the stray facts and hints of your experience. 



P. S.— The publishers suggest that friend Hart 

 has shown in a most practical manner, one sure 

 method in which subscribers may aid in improv- 

 ing their paper. Were each of our readers to send 

 a new name with his own, when renewing his sub- 

 scription we should soon have a circulation un- 

 equalled by any weekly paper in New England. 

 The close of the political campaign will give them 



an excellent opportunity to enlist new members 

 for the ranks of our agricultural corps. 



TOP-DRESSING GRASS LAND. 



If "Subscriber" of Sabatus, Me., will study he 

 examples of top-dressing to be found upon his and 

 every other farm, he may learn more of^ the effects 

 of manure applied to grass land than "Early Cut" 

 can tell him. He will find the manure drojjped by 

 his stock upon ihe grass and dried in the sun and 

 wind has produced little appareu. improvement of 

 the grass, but that it has become an impediment to 

 the scythe and rake. He will find other places in 

 his field where the water has carried unon the grass, 

 sand, gravel, and a mixture of unknown materials, 

 with no resemlilance to stable-manure, that has 

 greatly improved the crop. 



It is useless to think of raising herdsgrass on 

 any field that docs not contain the roots of that 

 grass, unless the seed is sown, I would not top- 

 dress land that is not well stocked with such grass 

 as we wish to produce. Other fields that are 

 smooth enough to plough well might be turned 

 over in the fall, and a quantity of fine manure har- 

 rowed into the soil with redtop or herdsgrass seed, 

 or both, with encouragement for a good crop of 

 hny the next season. In that way the land may 

 constantly be kept in grass. Tiie high price of 

 labor, and the facility of procuring grain has in- 

 duced many to keep their land in grass as above 

 described. 



The amount of manure to the acre should be as 

 much as our liberality will allow. A little is good, 

 we seldom apply too much. For top-dressing, 

 the manure should be fine, and applied at such 

 time as will enable it to reach the roots of the 

 grass the quickest; — just before the fall rains (for 

 we must have water to carry the plant-food to the 

 roots) or in the early spring. The latter season is 

 objectionable because the ground is too soft to 

 drive the team over itwiihout injury to the field. 



Water is the best and cheapest manure we have, 

 and in a thousand places upon our sterile hil 1-sides 

 it might be used for fertilizing purposes. Now is 

 a good time to turn the water from the springy 

 wet places where it is pent up, destroying all good 

 grass, to the dry fields upon a lower level, to the 

 great improvement of both. There are many 

 small streams that with a little engineering and 

 labor may be turned from their usual channels 

 and made to water dry, and now unfertile fields. 

 I can think of no way the same improvement can 

 be made with the same money as by judiciously 

 using the water upon our hills. Early Cut. 



Mast Yard, N. H., Sept. 14, 1868. 



AGEICULTUKAL ITEMS. 



— The Louisiana rice crop will amount to 60,000 

 barrels, it is thought— the heaviest crop by far 

 ever yet raised in the State. 



—At a late discussion by the Illinois Horticul- 

 tural Society, many reported an unfavorable ex- 

 perience in raising blackberries. 



—There are 7,580,000 sheep in Ohio, 1,481,214 

 cattle and 2,100,000 hogs. The corn crop this 

 year is estimated at 141,000,000 bushels. 



— Near Manchester, Mich., is a hop yard of forty 

 acres. Its manager says it cost twenty-five cents 

 per pound to grow hops and put them in bales, 

 ready for market. 



—Milch cows in the vicinity of Newport, Ky., 

 are going blind. Not less than fifty of them have 



