2857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



169 



with rich cream. Most persons who are fond of 

 raw tomatoes relish this dish very highly, 

 Chester, III. 3. H. I. 



For the New England Farmer, 



CABBAGES-HOW TO GROW ? 



Mr. Editor : — A subscriber will find an answer 

 to his queries, as to Mr. Hathaway's crop of cab- 

 bage, on pages 100 and 101 of Essex Transactions 

 for 1856. There can be no doubt of the truth of 

 what is there said; I am assured of it by his neigh- 

 bor Ware, who knows all about growing fine crops. 

 These Marblehead boys are not to be beaten, ex- 

 cept by those who rise early in the morning — and 

 some of them, at all times, tell stories entirely 

 worthy of credit. 



To begin with, their soil is first-rate ; their fa- 

 cilities for obtaining manure ample ; and their dili- 

 gence is equal to their facilities. I have often seen 

 their fine cultivated fields along the shores of the 

 .Bay, bounded by the overhanging cliffs, that have 

 withstood the surges of the waves for thousands of 

 years. They have their own manner of growing 

 the cabbage. After the ground is fully and com- 

 pletely prepared, they plant where they expect 

 the plant to grow, and when up, they thin out, 

 leaving just enough to cover the ground when grown. 

 In this way I have seen from four to six thousand 

 heads, of the drumhead variety, growing on a 

 single acre, — some of which weighed nearly 50 

 pounds — averaging at least 25 pounds. If any one 

 would be better informed on this subject, I would 

 advise them to go in the month of September, and 

 look for themselves. I have no doubt a larger 

 amount of nutritive food for stock can be grown in 

 this M-ay than any other. There are other cultiva- 

 tors, along shore, in Lynn, Beverly, &c., that grow 

 equally good crops. Whoever would have good 

 crops, must plow deep, manure full, and learn to 

 use the shovel and the hoe, and not be sparing of 

 elbow grease. It takes raiv honed, firm masdcd fel- 

 lows, to do these things well. p. 



South Danvers, Jan. 27, 1857. 



For the New England Fanner. 



HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURAL 

 TRANSACTIONS. 



This young society seems to have come into be- 

 ing full grown, and to have gone ahead of many of 

 the older branches of the family, in the size and 

 substance of its transactions. The first thing that 

 arrests the attention, on opening their book, is the 

 unprepared address of Dr. Hitchcock. If such 

 things can come without preparation, what might 

 be expected of a labored effort. We have rarely 

 read anything of the kind that pleased better. The 

 description of the Christian farmer, on page 22, is 

 striiiingly beautiful. "What spectacle can be more 

 impressive, than to see the well-ordered and affec- 

 tionate family, bowing in unison at the still hour cf 

 the rising sun, around the domestic altar, and to 

 hear the hymn of praise from sweet voices, stealing 

 softly through the morning air, hallowed by the 

 tones of prayer from the reverend head of the fami- 

 ly." 



Who would not be a farmer under such influen- 

 ces ? Our memory brings to view many such in- 

 stances. Contrast this state of things with the noise 



and bustle of the city — with the profanity and vul- 

 garity that meet you on every side. 



We have glanced our eye hastily over the other 

 papers in this well-arranged pam*phlet of nearly 100 

 pages, and have no hesitation in saying that they 

 all bear marks of the skill and adroitness of the 

 hand that "prepared" them. For ourselves, we ad- 

 mire occasionally the substantial, but less savory 

 dishes cooked by the farmers themselves. In truth, 

 we like real better than fancy farmers, hasty pud 

 di~ng better than fricasees of any description'. 



Agricola. 



For the New England Farmer. 



POULTRY AND ITS CARE. 



Mr. Editor : — I was recently asked by a friend, 

 what I would give him for his hens ? Said he, I 

 last fall was at a great deal of trouble and expense 

 to obtain a good breed of fowls, and notwithstand- 

 ing they have had all the corn they would cat, they 

 lay me no eggs. I said to my friend, will you show 

 me your hens, and where you keep them ? He 

 said that when he last had hens, he kept them shut 

 up, and they laid no eggs, got lousy, and picked 

 the feathers off themselves, and his neighbors told 

 him that he must let them run If he wanted eggs, 

 and this time he had let them run. He was care- 

 ful to keep them out of his barn, as he believed 

 they scattered their lice on the cattle. He led me 

 to a shed that opened to the east, 8 by 12 feet, on 

 the west or back side of which were large cracks 

 of one-half inch or more between the boards, and 

 in a corner of which were placed some poles for 

 roosts. "There," said he, "are my Bolton Grays, 

 some on the roosts, and some on the ground ; (or 

 manure, for the manure was thrown out of the barn 

 under the shed.) I said to him, "where is their dry 

 earth and ashes to v\'allow in, and gravel to grind 

 their food with ?" He put on a doubtful look, 

 and said, "do you suppose it necessary for a hen to 



eat dirt, that she may lay eggs ?" I said, "]\Ir, , 



I have got as many hens at home that lay, as 

 you have that do not ; we will exchange ; in ten 

 days time, your fowls transferred shall lay, and 

 mine that you have, will not." In a few words I 

 explained to him what was necessary to do. First, 

 provide them with a warm place in the barn, not 

 over the cattle, but behind them. Provide them 

 with fresh water every day, plenty of food which 

 must be varied, such as corn, buckwheat, oatff, and 

 an occasional dish, in a cold morning, of warm cob- 

 meal dough ; also, raw carrots pulverized, two or 

 three times a week, together with fresh m.eat, and 

 lastly, to grind their food and make an eggshell, 

 you must furnish gravel stones, and oyster shells, 

 I left, which was some eleven days since, and yester- . 

 day called again. I inquired after the poultry. 

 "Why," said he, "I this day sold my first tivo doz- 

 en of eggs for forty cents per dozen, and the hens 

 are doing finely." 



1 obtained permission of him to state his case in 

 tne Farmer, providing I gave no name, for the 

 benefit of others. Thus it is, that folks think hens 

 and corn in summer produce eggs, and why not in 

 winter ? What would be thought of a farmer, who 

 should pay an extra price for a cow, take her home, 

 tie her up in a cold barn, or shed, feed her on hay 

 alone, turn her out to lap snow for drink, and de- 

 prive her of her teeth, and expect to obtain much 

 milk. I think our friend himself would say it was 



