334 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



the handsome jjrofit of $1,426, besides what he| ONION SEED, 



-would make on his pork at 13 els. per lb. by the! The cultivators of Danvers and vicinity would 

 "whole hog." And what need of our younjj farm-i answer to the inquiries from Illinois, as to "what 

 ers goin^ fFest when such results can be obtainedjsort of onion seed would do for fall crops, and in 

 at home? _ _• ! what way they would require to be sowed ?" that 



Having been desirous for some time of obtain- 1 the silver skin onion is the variety most generally 



ing a good cow, (as I cannot afford to keep a poor 

 one,) will you do me the favor to ask "South Read- 

 ing" to name a price for the cow which is the sub- 

 ject of this statement ? and if within my means, 1 

 will purchase her; believing when I get her here, 

 that there is not another cow in Bristol County 

 that will give an average of 12 7-12 quarts of milk 

 per day for 365 consecutive days. 

 Fairhaven, May, 1857. F. Stoddard. 



MALADY AMONG HOGS. 



Can you give your readers any information as to 

 the fiital malady prevailing among the hogs? Since 

 the 1st of March, full three-fourths of our stock on 

 the town farm have sickened and died— and this with- 

 out remedy ; the same thing has happened in other 

 ])laces. One town has lost forty-three. I mention 

 this because I have considered the hog and his la- 

 bors the best feature in conducting the farm. By 

 their aid, several hundred loads of manure have 

 been annually prepared, which has contributed 

 mo^t essentially to the growth of grass, corn, grain 

 and vegetables which they have realized. Noth- 

 ing helps out the accounts of a poor farmer so 

 much as a well regulated pig-pen. 



May 25, 1857. South Danvers. 



Remarks. — We are not much surprised that 

 Western hogs driven here sicken and die. They are 

 driven a long distance in all weather, often heated 

 through a long day's travel, and then exposed 

 through a cold night, perhaps a stormy one, and 

 only half fed. In this way they contract colds 

 which often end in consumption and death. Or, if 

 they survive, it requires months to get them in a 

 condition to grow rapidly. They are of course, un- 

 profitable. We must raise more among ourselves, 

 as it can be done profitably. Losses like those 

 mentioned by our attentive correspondent have 

 been numerous all about us, but are confined most- 

 ly to Western hogs. Were your hogs of home 

 production ? 



We are not acquainted with the malady which is 

 sweeping them off in such large numbers. 



WHAT PAINT IS BEST? 



What is the cheapest and most durable white 

 paint for painting a fence or house ? Is there not 

 something chea|)er than the white lead paint ? 1 

 hope some kind friend will inform me through 

 your columns, and oblige N. r. 



South Londonderry, Vl., 1857. 



A SWALLOW STORY. 



I saw yesterdav taken from one chimney in this 

 town, seven hundred and tifry-three chimney swal 

 lows ; all but about fifty were dead. It was at the 

 farm-house owned by John P. Tarbell, Esq., of 

 Boston. Lemuel L. Lakin 



East Peppered, May 22, 1857. 



rown hereabouts ; and that, after the land is fully 

 fertilized, fined, and made free from all obstruc- 

 tions, the seed planted is sown by the aid of a ma- 

 chine constructed for the purpose, in rows fourteen 

 inches apart. It is better to deposite too much, 

 than too little seed — because the surplus plants can 

 be easily thinned, when young — but the vacancies 

 in rows cannot be supplied — and the onion does 

 not admit of being transplanted when young. Any 

 disturbance of the delicate fibres of the onion op- 

 erates as a serious injury to the maturing of the 

 cro]). Care therefore should be taken, that weeds 

 do not grow so large as to disturb these fibres by 

 their removal. No plant suffers more by negli- 

 gence than the onion. Most of the experienced 

 cultivators in this vicinity raise their own seed, tak- 

 ing care to set out for this purpose plants of the 

 form and dimension they wish to raise. Great im- 

 provements in this way have been made by the 

 most successful cultivators — by none more than the 

 Messrs. Wilsons, Buxtons and Bushbys, and in the 

 neighboring town of Marblehead, by Messrs. 

 Stone and Ware. 



The season for planting is now past — so that I 

 cannot say where seed can be obtained ; but I have 

 always found it easy to obtain good seed, by apply- 

 ing to any of these men. They are men of hum- 

 ble pretensions, indefatigable industry and entire 

 reliability. P. 



South Danvers, May 18, 1857. 



FOOD FOR PIGS. 



Can pigs be made to grow well when but a little 

 milk can be spared for them, after they are seven 

 weeks old ? If so, I should like to know what is 

 the best kind of food for them. 



A friend of mine has a. sow which lost her appe- 

 tite six weeks ago, and has eaten but little since 

 then ; what will restore her former appetite ? 



May 20, 1857. Reader. 



BOOKS ON FRUIT CULTURE. 



Can you give me a little information through the 

 Farmer in regard to the best work or works on 

 fruit culture'? and oblige Lyman Chamberlain. 



Remarks. — Downing's Fruit and Fruit Trees of 

 America ; The Fruit Garden, by P. Barry ; Ameri- 

 can Fruit Grower's Guide, by Elli<|t ; Cole's Fruit 

 Book, &c.,are good. 



For the New England Farmer. 



KEEP WATERING-POTS PAINTED. 



Thirty-one years ago, a second hand watering- 

 pot was purchased at auction, and is still in fair con- 

 dition, though it has been exposed without shelt«»r 

 to all the demands that the elements could bring 

 against it. But, though never sheltered, it has al- 

 ways been well protected inside and out, by a coat- 

 ing of paint. Don't forget that almost all our tin 

 ware is rusted out, not worn out. Examine the tin 

 pans and sheets used in the stove ovens, perhaps 



