1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



313 



has developed the mass it was designed at its 

 birth to attaiij. The advantage of the above men- 

 tioned theory is self-evident, for, during every 

 period in its growth, every development which is 

 prevented by any deficiency in food, results in a 

 clear loss. Any careful observer of the method of 

 raising stock will find that the first year's growth 

 of the animal is far the most important in rearing 

 neat stock. J. W. 



East Sullivari, May, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



POULTRY, ROOSTS, &c. 



Mr. Editor : — I am disposed to hold a little 

 chat with your readers about poultry, roosts, &c. 

 Now is the time to fix up their summer quarters, 

 if it has not been attended to before ; and in an- 

 swer to friend Cutter, have as small a number as 

 possible about the roost; one smooth stick or 

 board free from bark or cracks, suspended from the 

 roof with iron rods, or horizontal from the walls, 

 turned up at the ends to hold the roost, is best. 

 The end of the roost should not touch the build- 



Now the object of all this is to rid the fowls of 

 vermin. Those that destroy the poultry, and dis- 

 courage raisers are the insiduous ticks. They do 

 not remain on the poultry, but come in myriads in 

 the night time, and suck their blood, and secrete 

 themselves in the building through the day. They 

 can be discovered in the cracks of the roost, and 

 over the building, by a light color they give the 

 roost, &'C. Exterminate them you cannot, but you 

 can, by attention to the roost as often as once a 

 week, keep them reduced to a small number. 



Now the way : having procured a suitable roost, 

 if there are any cracks, putty them over ; then on 

 the under side bore with an half-inch centre bit as 

 many holes as you please in a straight line, one- 

 fourth of an inch deep, and tack a lath over them 

 loosely, to secure a hiding place ; at any time the 

 roost can be removed, cleansed of vermin with boil- 

 ing water, and returned again. In this way my 

 hens lay all summer, and the chicks are not injured. 

 I would cement the bottom of the building under- 

 neath the roost, and cover the same with meadow 

 muck. H. 



Concord, Mass., 1857- 



Remarks. — Take a feather, friend H., ^dip it in 

 burning fluid or alcohol, and rub the roost with it, 

 then touch it with a lighted match, and if there are 

 any varmint there, their doom is sealed. They will 

 never lay another egg, nor bite another chick. Be 

 careful to keep the roost away from the hay-mow 

 when you burn it ! 



Squashes. — Many persons fail to get good 

 squashes in consequence of the bugs making such 

 havoc with the young and tender plants ; what 

 they do not eat being so mutilated and poisoned as 

 CO prevent their growth. Various modes have been 

 resorted to, to prevent these ravages, but with Ut- 

 ile effect. The squash is a strong feeder, and 

 needs a rich and warm soil, and when it has these, 

 and can be kept out of the way of the bugs, there 



is no difficulty in procuring a good crop. The best 

 preventive, however, of the bugs is to plant late, — 

 say from the 15th to the 20th of June ; the plants 

 come quick at that season if the soil is suitable, and 

 go on with a rapid and uninterrupted growth. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



BARN SWALLOWS. 



These happy and merry guests of summer made 

 their advent on the 9th inst. They appear in their 

 richest conjugal costume, uttering their sweetest 

 and most attractive notes, seemingly delighting 

 themselves and cheering all who hear these joyous 

 and pleasant harbingers of summer. The air seems 

 more soft and delicate when resounding with the 

 music of these aerial inhabitants, so regarded from 

 the fact that they live and feed mostly on the wing. 

 But to him who hath no pleasure in these things, 



"The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark, 

 When neither is attended ; and I think 

 The nightingale, if she should sing by day, 

 When every goose is cackling, would be thought 

 No better a musician than the wren." 



Thus doth it often happen that the most com- 

 mon sources of the highest pleasures of man cease 

 to be enjoyed or appreciated because common. 

 Hence the adage, "Familiarity breeds contempt." 

 This is wrong. The most numerous and valuable 

 blessings of life are things most common, such, for 

 example, as air, light, scenery, &c. He enjoys most 

 who has the fullest appreciation of common things 

 and sounds which occupy most of the attention of 

 daily life. 



The white bellied swallow was first observed here 

 on Sunday, April 26. It nests in boxes about 

 dwellings, and in hollow trees. Its note is a rough, 

 sharp, unmusical sound. Do the swallows, as they 

 appear, look as if they had hybernated during theii 

 absence, as is maintained by some, in some mud- 

 hole ? L. w. 



KUTA BAGA CROP. 



I intend, this season, to sow considerable many 

 of the yellow ruta baga, and wish to receive some 

 information in regard to the culture of it through 

 the columns of the JVeio England Farmer. About 

 what time should they be sown ? Should they be 

 sown on green sward, turned over this spring, or 

 on ground that has been planted one or two years ? 

 And what kind of manure would be best adapted 

 to their growth ? How far apart should the drills 

 be ? About what depth should the ground be 

 plowed ? G. w. D. 



Berry, J^. H., 1857. 



Remarks. — From the 15th to the 25th of June 

 is early enough to sow on warm land. 



In England, they generally succeed a wheat crop ; 

 they will do well on rich sward land deeply plowed. 



Good barn manure in liberal quantity is the ma- 

 nure for them ; then, if you wish to have an extra 

 crop, scatter on at the rate of 300 lbs. of good su- 

 perphosphate of lime per acre, and harrow it in just 

 before sowing. 



The plants should stand 12 or 15 inches apart 

 in the rows, and the rows two feet and a half or 

 three feet apart, so that you may do most of «4he 



