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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JULT 



A WORD OF ADVICE. 



Spring is a season which tries the energy and pa- 

 tience of farmers' wives and daughters, especially of 

 those whose husbands, fathers, and brothers think 

 that no work nearer home than that in the fields 

 and barn-yards belongs to them. There are such 

 men living, though, we are glad to say, they are 

 not so common now as formerly. They cannot be 

 troubled with "doing the chores," and consequent-, 

 ly upon the women and girls of the family falls the 

 burden of milking the cows, rearing the calves, nur-- 

 ing sickly lambs, feeding the pigs, raising chickens 

 and working the garden. We have known many 

 housewives, who from having been subjected to 

 such labors and the exposures incident to them, in- 

 stead of continuing the healthy, active, cheerful 

 ■Women they were when married, have, in a few 

 years, become confirmed invalids, racked with rheu- 

 matic pains and consumptive coughs. 



But, thanks to the interest recently awakened 

 among farmers in regard to the improvement of 

 stock, they have taken the matter more into their 

 own hands ; and now, among all enterprising and 

 progressive men, the care of calves and pigs has 

 come to be of as much imjiortance as the culture 

 of the wheat and corn fields. The excitement about 

 poultry, too, took man into the hen-yard who never 

 before considered eggs or chickens worthy of his 

 notice, except when they appeared on the table. 

 \nd the healthful stimulus given to the horticultu- 

 rist and gardener, by our agricultural exhibitions, 

 has exalted gardening into a manly occupation. 

 Thus in many families the rougher out-door bur- 

 dens have been taken upon the stronger shoulders 

 made to bear them, leaving woman more free to do 

 justice to herself and family in her own proper 

 sphere — the household. But in many others, the 

 old customs still prevail. The father and sons rise 

 early enough to feed their teams before breakfast, 

 and then sit around impatiently waiting for the 

 morning meal, while the mother or sister may be 

 in the muddy cow-yard, or scuffling with half a 

 dozen greedy calves to the accompaniment of the 

 squealing pigs, whose cries may have penetrated the 

 ears, but do not move the feet of their masters to 

 their relief. "Mother will see that they are fed," 

 is the secret thought of those beings in the form 

 of men, as they swallow their own food, and then 

 hurry away to the fields to be out of the way of 

 such disagreeable noises as mother's scolding, the 

 fretful complaints of the girls, and the squealing of 

 hungry pigs. 



If there is one thing more than another for which 

 farmer's wives should be thankful, and which they 

 should try by all means.in their power to promote, 

 it is the spread of agricultural knowledge. Noth- 

 ing more than this will contribute to their domestic 

 comfort. It teaches men that their greatest inter- 

 est lies in taking the best care of everything, and 

 that no animal worthy of being kept on a farm at 

 all, is of so little consequence that it cannot be made 

 a source of pleasure and profit. No reading farmer 

 will sacrifice the pleasure and profit to be gained 

 by improvement, for a few hours of daily idleness, 

 nor will a thinking man suffer his wife to spoil her 

 temper, ruin her health and make all about her un- 

 happy, by obliging her to perform duties for which 

 neither her strength nor sex are fitted. 



We would not have women deprived of all out- 

 door employments. No farmer's wife or daughter, 



who loves her garden flowers, her yards and shrub- 

 bery, would thank us for advancing such an idea ; 

 we only speak of such as are unbecoming for her 

 and injurious to her health, and which, at the same 

 time, can be more easily and profitably attended to 

 by men. 



If any of our readers are so unfortunate as to 

 have such husbands and brothers as those above 

 described, we would suggest to them a surer reme- 

 dy than fretting or scolding. Get (hem to read ag- 

 ricvltural papers. Let them know what other men 

 are doing, and what they may do. If they will not 

 read, get the papers and read to them. If their old 

 habits are too thoroughly confirmed to be broken 

 in upon by reading, begin yourselves and put in 

 practice, as far as you can, some of the suggestions 

 for improvement. Let them see that there is some- 

 thing to be gained by a change, excite a spirit of 

 emulation with some of your neighbors — anything 

 to break up the old routine, to get an idea started 



and our word for it, jour labor will not be lost. 

 Try it, you who are tired of being cow-boys and 

 swine-herds, whose yards are out of repair, whose 

 gardens are half cultivated, whose fire-wood is nev- 

 er cut till it is wanted to burn, and who have grown 

 heart-sick and weary of this retrograde progres- 

 sion in farm experience. 



This is the season when your trials are greatest, 

 and now is the time to look about for a remedy. 

 Try this one. — Michigan Farmer. 



For the Nete England Farmer. 



HOW TO RAISE YOUNG STOCK. 



Messes. Editors : — I have been a constant read- 

 er of your paper for some three years past, and I 

 do not recollect of having read any particular de- 

 scription how to raise calves ; as this is an impor- 

 tant subject, which farmers should thoroughly un- 

 derstand, I have, after considerable delay, prepared 

 a statement of my experiments in relation to rais- 

 ing young stock. Perhaps one of the most impor- 

 tant points is to obtain such as are well calculated 

 from breed, disposition and^ symmetry, to mature 

 with a constant growth. 



When calves are young, they should be permit- 

 ted to suck the cow until they are about six or 

 eight weeks old, then commence with new milk for 

 a week or more, until they get well to drinking ; 

 then begin with skim milk, and add a little meal, 

 together with a small portion of salt. After they 

 are ten or twelve weeks old, increase the quantity 

 of meal, and lessen that of milk ; and from sweet 

 milk, add slops, sour milk, or even whey, until 

 there is a sufficient quantity of fresh food to supply 

 their immediate wants. If this method is pursued, 

 the calf will become weaned, and it will supersede 

 the necessity of referring to the almanac to know 

 where the sign is. 



When calves are taken to the barn for wintering, 

 they should have a little extra feed, daily, such as 

 a few ears of corn, or a few oats, carrots or pota- 

 toes. When the young animals have attained^ to 

 eight times their bodily weight, or original size, 

 which will be the case in about eighteen months, 

 with proper feed, then they are nearly the size of 

 their dams. The process of feeding being always 

 proportionably increased, the animal grows in the 

 same manner as at the beginning, yet, as mentioned, 

 it is always proportionably weaned, until its bo(}y 



