1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



299 



plains of Chili and Peru, where no rain ever falls, 

 are watered by the streams that flow from the An- 

 des, and preserve them in a state of perpetual fer 

 tility. 



For the New England Fanner. 



LITTLE THINGS BY THE WAY-SIDE. 



Number Two. 



How many quarts of milk will produce a pound of 

 butter, is a question the answer to which depends 

 very much upon circumstances. "Some things may 

 be done as well as others," as Mr, Plummer, of 

 this State, said when he cast his electoral vote for 

 John Q. Adams, at the re-election of James Monroe, 

 in 1821. A cow will give about twice as much milk 

 the first year after calving, as she will the second 

 year, (every thing else being equal,) and yet it is 

 held by many good farmers that she will make as 

 much butter the second as the first year, and of finer 

 quality. The last two quarts of a cow's milk at a 

 milking of eight quarts, will contain about as much 

 cream as the first six quarts. Now I do not say 

 the breeders of fancy stock cows would resort to 

 this stratagem — use the last two quarts of two dif- 

 ferent milkings to obtain a pound of butter. O, no ! 

 I would merely suggest that "some things might be 

 done as well as others." I once heard of a man 

 who was in the practice of selling two-thirds of his 

 milk, and made about as much butter as when he 

 sold no milk. If the editor of the Ploughman, or 

 any other person in Massachusetts, has a cow that 

 will produce a pound of butter from four quarts of 

 milk the first year after calving, I venture the opin- 

 ion that the product depends upon things aside 

 from the quality of the breed. The cultivation of 



THE GRAPE FOR WINE 



has elicited an inquiry in the minds of cultivators, 

 as to its being the most profitable berry for that 

 purpose. That there are other berries which are 

 more prodigious bearers under the same cultiva- 

 tion, and which possess equal if not superior med- 

 icinal qualities, in my mind is beyond a doubt. 



THE COMMON ELDER, 



under good cultivation, is a profuse bearer, and 

 makes wine of a superior quality, excelling the best 

 imported "port wine," for sacred and medicinal pur- 

 poses ; can be cultivated in rows in pastures, by the 

 road-side, and other exposed localities, without 

 those depredations by cattle and lawless persons, 

 so frequently attending the cultivation of the grape. 

 I have no doubt a much greater number of bushels 

 of berries can be grown upon an acre in elder, than 

 in grape, at less expense, and more easily gathered. 

 Receipts for the manufacture of both, which I have, 

 (and which I will send you in some future commu- 

 nication,) lead me directly to the conclusion that 

 the elder wine will cost less* per gallon than the 

 grape, in its manufacture. I have some elder wine 

 which I believe will compare favorably with the 

 best grape wine of the same age. 



THE CULTIVATION OF THE CRANBERRY 



is warmly engaging the attention of cultivators 

 generally, and its failure or success is a very inter- 

 esting question with us all at the present time. I 

 believe we have few plants among us which will 

 grow in such a variety of soils as the cranberry. 

 In this vicinity, it may be seen upon the compari- 

 tively worthless bog, in the wash by the road-side, 



and upon the hill-top, in the very home of the 

 white grass. By seed, I think it will propagate as 

 readily as clover, timothy, or red-top. "Why will 

 not every farmer grow a sufficient quantity for his 

 own use, at least ? The neglect of cultivation of 

 this valuable berry has been engendered by the 

 wild enthusiasm of emigration, which has nearly 

 rent in pieces the most sacred associations of the 

 old homesteads of "happy New England." 

 The cultivation of 



PEARS ON MOLTs'TAIN ASH ' 



has engaged my attention to a limited extent. It 

 is a question in my mind whether the pear will not 

 flourish as well on the ash as on pear or quince 

 stock s. The ash is a rapid grower, furnishes a good 

 supply of sap, is a native of these mountain regions, 

 and fome beautiful Bartletts have been raised upon 

 it in this vicinity. My experiments with it thus far 

 have been satisfactory. 



THE BOB-O'-LINK 



is the great singing bird of America, and the elo- 

 quent notes of this little warbler are not surpassed 

 by any other bird. They arrive in this town the 

 11th day of May, seldom deviating 24 hours, be 

 the weather what it may. During nearly three 

 years stay in Ohio, I never heard the voice of one 

 of these little songsters in that section of country. 

 Who shall write its history ? L. L. Pierce. 

 East Jaffrey, JV. H., 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



BADEN CORN-SEED CORN. 



Mr. Editor : — Some years since, (say about 

 twenty,) I received from Hon. C. Gushing, then 

 member of Congress from Essex north, a specimen 

 of Baden corn, the peculiar characteristics of which 

 were that it yielded two or more ears to each and 

 every stalk, and produced corn that would yield in 

 the same manner. It having been grown in Mary- 

 land, it was valueless as seed in New England. 

 But the principle on which it was grown is a uni- 

 versal one, equally valuable here as there, and 

 equally applicable to the best varieties of corn grown 

 here. 



I remember to have heard my father say, more 

 than fifty years ago, the best way to get good corn 

 was to select the fairest ears in the field, gather them, 

 braid them, and hang them up to dry,and keep them 

 until they wei-e needed for planting, I know it was 

 his custom, in shelling his corn for seed, to leave out 

 those kernels at the end that were improperly grown 

 and filled. Perhaps due regard to these simple rules 

 of selecting and preserving the seed of this most 

 valuable crop of our New England farms, would 

 essentially aid in improving our products. When 

 I speak of improved products, I mean eighty or 

 ninety bushels to the acre, on good land, well ma- 

 nured. I do not expect to see crops of one hun- 

 dred bushels and more to the acre, fair measure, 

 for I never have seen them. J. W. Proctor. 



Sotdh Danvers, May, 18o7. 



P. S, — This being the time to plant corn — the 

 buds upon the oaks just begiiyiing to expand, and 

 the bob-o-links just beginning to chatter their end 

 less jargon — is my apology for troubling you with 

 this communication. 



