J64 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aran, 



two shells and tan bark, with the end of the pipe 

 turned up sufficiently to keep the pipe filled with 

 the waste water, to prevent the air from passing 

 into the ice. In the space between the 16i feet 

 shell and the 32 feet house, is formed a trough out 

 of brick and cement, where we keep milk ; in the 

 lowest end of the trough are 2 copper pipes, one at 

 the surface, the other at the height I want the wa- 

 ter to reach, which is o])en, the lower is kept corked, 

 save when the trough needs to be washed, the two 

 pipes discharging into an underground drain. Thus 

 we have had ice in abundance, and about one cord 

 left over, and a stream of water colder than any 

 natural s])ring, and perfectly controlable. The oth- 

 er 3 spaces between the outside and ice-house prop- 

 er are used for a carriage-house and wood-house. 

 Locust Lawn. T. H. Collins. 



Remarks. — We are not able to refer you to such 

 a barn as you inquire for in another part of your 

 letter. 



For the New England Fanner. 



EGYPTIAN MILLET. 



Mr. Editor : — Franklin H. Williams, of Sun- 

 derland, says the Springfield Republican, writes to 

 the Homestead, in favor of Egyptian millet for 

 green fodder. He represents it to be very profit- 

 able, growing ten feet high, if it is not disturbed by 

 the scythe, and sprouting from the root immedi- 

 ately after it is cut, and can be mowed four times 

 in one season. Mr. Williams has raised it in the 

 Southern States. I wish to know if it has ever 

 been raised in the Northern States. What is the 

 appearance of the plant and what are its character- 

 istics? To what kind of soil is it adapted? Is 

 there any kind of plant by the name of millet which 

 has been successfully raised in the Northern States ? 

 If you or any of your subscribers or correspondents 

 can give me information on this subject, I should 

 be much obliged. 



I have been much interested in your article on 

 "Feeding Cattle," in which you notice the manner 

 in which Mr. Horsfall, of England, manages his 

 cows. I am anxious to know what feed for cows 

 is best adapted to increase the quality and quanti- 

 ty of their milk. Mr. H., it seems, gave two quarts 

 of bran meal to cows in full milk, but to those 

 which gave but little milk, he gave little or no bran 

 meal. Are we to conclude from this, that he con- 

 sidered bran meal the best food to promote the se- 

 crelioi\ of milk ? 



He fed also rape oake, an article generally used 

 for manure, but wliich, by being steamed with the 

 bran, &c., is rendered palatable. What is rape 

 cake? How does it look, and how is it produced? 



Mr. 11. 's principle was, that substances rich in 

 albumen, oil, phosphoric acid. Sec, were best cal- 

 culated to produce rich milk. Can any one tell 

 me what those substances are ? Perhaps, Mr, Ed- 

 itor, you can give us an analysis of those articles 

 of food which New England farmers generally have, 

 and then we can apply Mr. H.'s principle in mak- 

 ing our selection. W. W. Baldwin. 



fVest Granville, 1857. 



Remarks. — At the earliest moment we can com- 

 mand, we will reply as well as we can to these in- 

 teresting inquiries. 



LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL r:i EI 

 ING. 



[Repoeted for the Farmer bt H. E. RockWelu ' 

 The Fijlh of the series of meetings of the juegis* 

 lative Agricultural Society was held Tuesday eve- 

 ning, agreeably to usage. Hon. MARSHALL P. 

 Wilder was called on to preside. Mr. Wilder 

 spoke directly of the subject to which the attention 

 of the meeting would be called viz., a lecture upon 

 the Chinese sugar cane, and after referring to the 

 origin of the plant, he stated that, although it was 

 now for the first time coming into notice, it had 

 been known for many years to a few Europeans, 

 and the fact that it had been long cultivated in the 

 north of China was known to some of our own 

 ship-masters. He had no doubt that it would be 

 more generally cultivated the coming season than 

 any other new agricultural product. It has the 

 advantage over sugar cane in being raised from 

 seed at a trifling expense. The seed may now be 

 obtained for one dollar a pound, and that would be 

 sufficient to plant an acre. It is well adapted to a 

 northern climate, and thrives as far north as Min- 

 nesota. Mr. Wilder exhibited a very fine sample 

 of the syrup made by ]\Ir. Boylstox, the editor 

 of the Farmer's Cabinet, Amherst, N. H. The 

 names of several others who have cultivated it with 

 success were also given. It has been cultivated in 

 South America and Liberia, and has been tested 

 here as food for milk cows, and found to increase 

 their milking qualities, and at the same time to in- 

 crease their flesh. There are many varieties of the 

 plant, some of which are very large, and require one 

 hundred and thirty days to ripen ; but that which 

 has been introduced into this country requires only 

 about seventy-five or eighty days. Mr. Wilder 

 then introduced Mr. Henry S. Olcutt, of the 

 Farm School, Westchester, N. Y., as the lecturer 

 of the evening. 



The lecturer first spoke of the plant with refer- 

 ence to its qualities for a forage crop. Every far- 

 mer could not make sugar from the plant, nor 

 even syrup, perhaps ; but if it was found to be a 

 very valuable plant for fodder, that would be a mat- 

 ter of importance for farmers to ascertain. The 

 seed as well as the stalk is valuable for fodder; 

 and it may prove that it can be cultivated for the 

 seed in part, as good for horses, with as much profit 

 as barley. There is no doubt that much excite- 

 ment is likely to arise in regard to this plant, and 

 there is danger that many may receive such ex- 

 travagant notions in regard to it that they will in 

 the end be disappointed, and denounce it as a hum- 

 bug, merely because they allowed themselves to be 

 led away by too high ideas in regard to it. The 

 lecturer gave a description of the general appear- 

 ance of the plant in its different stages of growth. 

 The plant, as cultivated at the Farm School, av- 

 eraged eleven feet in height the last season, 



