160 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Apkil 



"Well," says I, "you are good for addition and 

 multiplication ; enough said. I'll go it, by ginger, 

 for once. So I sent down a dollar by Squire Good- 

 man, the representative from ower town, to have 

 you send the Farmer books; this, you know, was 

 last winter, and 'twan't long after this I got the 

 first book for January. I sett right down and be- 

 gan to read ; it was after supper, you know, and 

 I read till wife says, 



"Come, Dave, it's time to go to bed." 



"Well," says I, "I always mean to do as my 

 woman says, but I want to finish this story first ; 

 80 to keep her good-natured, I began to read 

 'lowd. After reading the story through, 'there, 

 Dave,' says she, 'that book alone is worth more than 

 the dollar.' So I've got eleven more books coming 

 for nothing." 



Now, Mr. Brown, let me tell you, my wife's con- 

 trivance has helped me a great many times, since 

 we paired ; and, I am satisfied that in taking her 

 advice in this matter, I have saved enough to pay 

 for the books twice over, and have learned enough 

 from your books to furnish me the means to give 

 her a new silk gown, besides sending you the dol 

 lar for another year's books. The worst of it is, 

 the neighbors all want to borrow them as soon as 

 they come ; now, if you print this, don't call any 

 names — if you should, they wont com3 to our house 

 again ; but what I want, is this ; to tell them how 

 they can have the books and jxiy for them too, 

 and show them the true way is, to make the farm 

 pay for its own improvements. My woman says, 

 "she shan't do without it, if she haves to take in 

 washing to pay for it." So you must keep on 

 sending it, till I tell you to stop. Till then ever 

 yours, &c. 'S^ 



THE CULTIVATION OF PUMPKINS. 



A PRODUCTIVE VINE. 



I noticed in a late number of the JV. E. Farmer 

 that mention is made of a very long pumpkin vine, 

 that produced ten pumpkins, weighing one hundred 

 and seventy-five pounds. I, last summer, treated a 

 vine to experimental culture, which produced twen- 

 ty-two full sized pumpkins. 



I neglected to weigh them at the time of gather- 

 ing ; but from one of them of average size, that 

 I have just now weighed, I judge the weight of 

 the whole twenty-two to have been not less than 

 two hundred and sixty pounds. 



In the cultivation of this vine, the experiment 

 was mostly made in pruning it. The soil, which 

 was a light grey sandy one, mixed with vegetable 

 matter, had no previous extra preparation. At the 

 time of plowing, it was treated to a light dressing 

 of poudrette, and plowed under ; and another light 

 dressing of the same was worked into the soil after 

 it was plowed, and before planting the seed. The 

 vine at first was allowed to run several feet, which 

 it did without putting out but one pumpkin, al- 

 though it bloomed beautifullj^ The end of the vine 

 was then pinched off" ; by so doing, lateral branches 

 were forced out from the main vine. These branches 

 were kept clean, or nearly so, of side shoots and 

 allowed to run from six to ten feet each, in doing 

 which, each branch put out two or three pumpkins, 

 when the ends of the branches were pinched off" in 

 the same manner as the vine had been. This pro- 

 cess was continued, until it was no longer thought 

 necessary to force the vine to cut out any more 



fruit, as it would probably not have time to ripen 

 before the coming of frost. 



This is by far the greatest number of pumpkins 

 that I have ever known or heard of having been 

 raised, from a single seed ; and had they been of a 

 large variety or kind, I have no doubt but that they 

 would have exceeded in weight the produce of any 

 one squash or pumpkin vine in the United States. — 

 Travdkr. 



For the New England Farmer. 



MILK PRODUCE. 



Mr. Editor : — I lately learned from Mr. N. P. 

 C. Patterson, an intelligent and efficient laboring 

 man, as any in this place, that when he had charge 

 of the Burley farm, in Beverly, where were kept 

 40 or more cows, for their milk to be marketed, 

 an exact account of which he kept and showed me, 

 that the most he ever obtained from the cows was 

 one gallon a day each through the year, which 

 would equal about 5 quarts of the present straight- 

 ened legal measure. I have also heard the late J. 

 Nichols, of Salem, who kept about 40 cows on his 

 farm, say that he never could obtain a herd of 

 cows that would average more that li gallons from 

 each cow per day through the year. So that Jive 

 quarts a day may be set down as a" full compli- 

 ment from each cow, through the year. This, at 5 

 cents per quart, a fair estimate of prices, would be 

 about $90 per year. Probably there are more 

 herds that yield less, than more than this amount, 

 though the same gentleman informed me, that he 

 has now in his stable a cow that calved 20 months 

 since, and gives 10 quarts of milk per day. From 

 this cow he has taken milk that has sold for more 

 than two hundred dollars in a single year. At the 

 same time he remarked, that the quantity of milk 

 to be expected from a cow, depended more upon 

 the kind and quantity of feed they consumed, than 

 any other consideration. P. 



January 24, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



HEDGES. 



A. R. Ober inquires where he can procure cut- 

 tings or plants of the Privet. Mr. Ober, like one- 

 half of "the rest of mankind," omits half his post- 

 office address, or I would answer his letter pri- 

 vately. Mr. William Hall, of Bradford, Mass., 

 will furnish the Privet plants very cheap, a dollar 

 or two per hundred. Mr. Ober inquires as to the 

 soil and cultivation. 



Line out your ground, and spade out a trench 

 three feet wide, and fifteen inches deep, and fill it 

 up with a rich soil. Set the plants one foot apart 

 in a single row, cut them down to within two inch- 

 es of the ground, repeat the cutting every spring, 

 so that they will gain about eight inches a year in 

 height, and you may have a regular, uniform, beau- 

 tiful hedge, that may be cut as square as a birch, 

 or in any other shape you prefer. And be sure to 

 give your address, State and all. 



Exeter, JV. H., Feb. 5, 1857. 



H. F. French. 



