1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



659 



for the injuries which would result from any at- 

 tempt to render art subservient to the "almighty 

 dollar." 



It is not to be disguised, that of all the new 

 fruit,-, or new plants, or new vegetables which are 

 yearly originated and brought to notice, not one 

 in fifty is worthj' of notice, and the few which are 

 really meritorious scarcely ever fail to bring a 

 rca-onahle reward to the pi'oducer, not by any 

 nn ans oftentimes in proportion to their value, Iwit 

 siifHcient to stimulate and encourage to continued 

 exertions 



A patent which would have secured to Mr. 

 Knight ten thousand pounds sterling for the vari- 

 ous Iruits which he originated, valueless as they 

 mostly are now, would have been of far less value 

 than the gratitude of millions for his life-long 

 laljor in ttie hybridization and production of new 

 varieties; and the same may be said of tho.re who 

 have succeeded him in similar woiks. Tlie inven- 

 tor of the clothes pin or the goose yoke will be 

 forgotten, if indeed he be known at all, when the 

 origmaior of a really valuable fruit or flower will 

 be known to millions. 



We would do all in our power to encourage and 

 reward the producer of new varieties. But first 

 educate the public taste to the appreciation of those 

 only of superior excellence, and to ignore those 

 which do not come up to the standard. This hav- 

 ing l)cen accomplished, the really meritorious will 

 ntvtr lack aiipreciation or the originator fail to re- 

 ceive his due reward. 



Chester Pig. — At a late meeting of the 

 Irasburg, Vt., Farmers' Club, Dea. Fassett, on 

 being asked how he liked the Chester pig that 

 he bought of Mr. Baker, replied, "At the 

 time I carried home that pig I bad some others 

 that I called good pigs of about the same age. 

 Out of curiosity I weighed them. I put the 

 Chester pig with one of mine that weighed ten 

 pounds the most, and have fed them together. 

 The Chester pig will now weigh ten ^lounds 

 more than the one I raised. This shows that 

 there is something in blood." These were 

 July pigs put together when five weeks old. 

 October 24 our cattle market reporter men- 

 tioned a Chester hog that he saw at Medford, 

 •which weighed 855 pounds, having gained 531 

 from the 10th of June, till he was sent off to 

 marke;t, — a little short of five pounds per day. 

 It was raised in Burke, Vt., by J. Hunter, 

 Esq. 



Corn Harvester. — A machine was exhi- 

 bited and tested at the late Fair at St. Louis, 

 which is claimed to be the first machine ever 

 invented and successfully used for harvesting 

 corn. In company with a special committee, 

 a large number of gentlemen witnessed its 

 operation in a field of corn, and after explana- 

 tions and speeches it was voted a complete 

 success. The Journal of Agriculture says it 

 is pushed before two or four horses, and in 



general appearance resembles Rugg's Reaper. 

 Its shucking or snapping principle consists in 

 two grooved cylinders which are turned by a 

 drive wheel with great velocity. The stock is 

 passed between these cylinders, and the ear 

 being larger is caught, snapped, thrown into a 

 receiver, and from thence carried by means of 

 an elevator into the wagon, which is driven 

 alongside of the machine. It is designed to 

 take two rows at a time, and to be managed 

 by one man, so that by means of two or three 

 wagons, some fifteen or twenty acres of corn 

 can be gathered in a day. 



For the New Fnglavd Farmer, 

 FERTILITY OP OUR FARMS. 

 How can an Upland Farm he Cultivated and kept 



from Running Downi 

 The following abstract of '.he discussion of this ques- 

 tion by the Irasburg, Vt., Farmer's Ciuh, was written 

 out by the Secretary, Z. E.Jameson, Eeq.. for the 

 Farmer. 



Geo. B. Brewster said that, in his opinion, it 

 is a difficult matter to keep a farm up, unless 

 you can draw on muck or manure. By doing 

 this you can get the farm started in raising 

 good crops, and then by feeding thetn upon 

 the farm, more manure is ma(;e and good 

 crops can be raised right along. He thought 

 it one of our greatest errors to graze our 

 fields in spring and fall. We should have 

 pasturing enough to carry the cattle all through 

 the grazing season till winter. Cattle in the 

 fields will tear up the roots of grass and di- 

 minish the hay crop. If we plough up pas- 

 tures we should manure them, unless it may 

 be some knolls enriched by sheep. 



A. Jameson thought it a good plan to plough 

 the pastures, as the crops raised will make 

 manure to bring up the rest of the faim, and 

 then when they are stocked to grass again, the 

 feed is sweeter, more of it, aiKl cattle like it 

 better. He had seen pastures in New Hamp- 

 shire ploughed up in June and summer fal- 

 lowed, that yielded first-rate crops of wheat, 

 rye or potatoes, especially on ground where 

 sheep had lain. He thought that muck, unless 

 mixed with manure or something else, is poor 

 stuff, — hardly worth drawing. He had tried 

 it on his land, by putting a number of loads 

 on a dry knoll and ploughing it in, and he 

 never could see that the crops were a mite 

 better, and where Mr. Brewster used it he 

 could see no benefit from it. 



Geo. B. Brewster admitted that pasture 

 turned over will give a good crop, but asked 

 will it be as good in future ? His experience 

 is that where he ploughed his pasture the A ed 

 is much less than on land adjoining whiih has 

 been in grass ever since it was cleared. On 

 the unploughed part, the feed i- a complete 

 mat; but where it had boen plougtied and 



