1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



131 



For the New England Farmer. 



BOARB OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Editor : — I was much gratified to see in 

 your paper of the 17th inst. a sketch of the sayings 

 and doings of the Board of Agriculture on the 6th 

 inst. This Board has now been in existence five 

 years or more — and what have they done ? Their 

 accomplished Secretary has given the public an- 

 nually a well digested essay or discussion of some 

 jjarticular topic of agriculture — but if we were to 

 wait as many years, as there are topics worthy of 

 discussion, before their system of beneficial opera- 

 tions are made known, our heads will be tvhiter than 

 the ichitest of them now are, before the utility of 

 the organization of the Board will be discovered. 



We had supposed the Board, abovit thirty in 

 number, coming from all sections of the Common- 

 wealth, intimate with the farming knowledge, and 

 farming events of their respective neighborhoods, 

 would form a sort of club, in which all questions of 

 interest would be discussed, settled and reported, 

 by the Secretary, If such things are not to be done, 

 wherein is the community wiser for having such a 

 Board ? How does the State balance the account 

 of the expenditure for sustaining it ? The Gover- 

 nor discoursed with great particularity on other top- 

 ics — but fights rather shy of this, the most interest- 

 ing of all to the people. 



Far be it from me, an humble ctizan, to presume 

 to dictate this learned Board, at the head of which 

 ex-officio are many wise heads — what is proper for 

 them to do. But this I can say, they are not doing, 

 and have not done, what was expected of them ; 

 and unless they do more, and in a manner more 

 available, the days of their being will soon be num- 

 bered. I have heard many hints of this kind, and 

 you very well know, sir, how easy it is for manag- 

 ing individuals to overturn well arranged enterpris- 

 es. Far be it from me to murmur or complain. 

 I speak what I do feel, and I honestly and truly 

 mean as 1 say. *. 



January 19, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PIGS ON STABLE MANURE. 



Mr. Editor : — Your paper being a medium for 

 exchange of sentiment upon all subjects connected 

 with stock rearing, agriculture, &c., I would like 

 to make the following inquiry of its intelligent rea^ 

 ders. 



Will pigs do as well with the same amount of 

 feed when kept under a horse barn, upon the ma- 

 nure of horses, as they will when kept in a comforta- 

 ble place without being required to lie upon and 

 work over the manure of the horses ? 



In modern times, when a farmer has had occa- 

 eion to repair his barns or build anew, he has con- 

 sidered it very desirable to so arrange them that 

 the manure from his horses and cattle can be de- 

 posited in the cellar underneath, where it is not 

 subjected to the exposm-e of the weather, as it there- 

 by retains much of its fertilizing qualities, which 

 must be lost if left to the exposure of rains, &c. 

 That this is a good idea, all farmers readily testify 

 to, — but is it a good plan to keep their pigs upon 

 it, as many farmers do, — otherwise than that it im- 

 proves the quality of the manure ? 



It has been related to me by one who has had 



experience in the matter, that he had two pigs which 

 were of quite or nearly equal weight, which he was 

 inter.ding to fatten, and to try the experiment, he 

 put one of them where he threw his horse manure, 

 the other he put into a pen with jjlank floor, with 

 plenty of straw to lie upon ; that he fed the two 

 aUke, and the result was when he came to slaughter 

 them, (to use his ownAvords) the one that had been 

 upon the horse manure was not a pound heavier 

 than when he put him there, while the one in tho 

 pen, fed the same, was fifty pounds the heaviest. 



Now if such is the fact, will not some of the nu- 

 merous readers of your valuable paper inform one 

 who is anxious to know ? JosEPii Blake. 



Ashfidd, Jan. 13, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



BUTTERNUTS vs. APPLE TREES. 



Mr. Editor : — Within the last twelve years I 

 have planted some dozens of apple trees in prox- 

 imity to butternut trees ; say from two to four 

 rods, but with uniform ill success. Some of the 

 apple trees would make a fair growth the first sea- 

 son, but notwithstanding they were mulched and 

 properly tended like other trees that throve well, 

 they soon got lousy, the sap refused to circulate, 

 the leaves turned yellow, and if they did not abso- 

 lutely die, (which by the way most of them did,) 

 they were clearly worthless, and were accordingly 

 removed, and another tree planted, which, in most 

 cases, shared the same fate as its predecessor. 

 From a row of trees set in the spring of 1853, on 

 my south line, one rod from the fence where a 

 neighbor suffers a hedge of young butternuts to 

 grow (to his own as well as my detriment,) of the 

 twenty set, only five are now alive, and those are 

 not at all vigorous, yet they all lived the first sea- 

 son, and have been properly cared for since. 



Now, this may be all accidental, but it seems to 

 me there is something in the butternut inimical to 

 the growth of the apple tree in its vicinity. I know 

 of several old apple trees standing near butternuts, 

 that seem to do middling well, but I think the ap- 

 ple tree got a good growth before the butternut 

 was planted. 



It is a well known fact, that no field crop flour- 

 ishes well near the Butternut tree, whose roots e:^- 

 tend a little less than forty rods ; but what its pe- 

 culiar poisoning qualities are, (if any,) I am unable 

 to determine. Perhaps you, or some of your 

 learned subscribers can throw some light upon this 

 butternut colored subject. J. R. W. 



Springfield, Vt, Jan. 12, 1857. 



Horses in the Snow. — The editor of the East- 

 ern Mail, Waterville, Me., and by the way, a capital 

 Mail it is, very politely queries the correctness of 

 our report about Mr. Meech's 100 horses living in 

 the snow all winter, and gathering their own food 

 from under it. Well, we thought it a large story, 

 and so gave our authority for it, as "some of the 

 best farmers of Vermont." And they will back us 

 up still, Mr. Mail. Mr. Meech himself can set this 

 matter right if he will, and we invite him to do so. 

 "More than 400 pounds, avoirdupois." Pretty well 

 that, for one man's weight ! It will do to go with 

 the horse story. Our hat is at your service, Mr. Mail, 



