370 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Aug. 



horse that cannot easily go more than eight miles 

 an hour, and force him ten miles an hour with a 

 whip. The continual snapping of the whip excites 

 and worries the horse. The horse, to labor much, 

 or travel much, should be well nourished and gared 

 for. Some persons are so unwise and inhuman — 

 have so little knowledge of economj-, and are so ig- 

 norant of their own interests, as to think it more 

 profitable to miserably and cheaply provide and 

 care for the horse, and force him to work or to 

 speed with the whip, than to spare the whip, and 

 increase the feed. 



It is pleasing to notice that the horse railroad 

 companies have dispensed with the use of the whip. 

 That instrument of cruelty and injury is not seen 

 upon the car. It is more pleasant to ride in the 

 car, because the ear is not pained with the frequent 

 abusive or unwise use of the whip. In the days of om- 

 nibusses, the whip was more brutally or cruelly used 

 than now. It is agreeable to walk or ride in Tre- 

 niont Street, now, as the cars have banished almost 

 entirely the use of the whip. Drivers of other car- 

 riages do not, seemingly, dare use the whip so much 

 there as formerly. The whip has ever been highly 

 injurious to omnibus horses. If a man has a slow 

 horse, it is to be hoped that he will exchange him 

 for a more speedy one ; or a weak one for a strong 

 one, if he desires more strength or speed, rather 

 than use the whip to effect his desire. P. 



For the New England Farmer. 



WANTED, A PULVERIZER. 



"The mechanical working of the soil is the simplest and 

 cheapest method of rendering the elements of of nutrition con- 

 tained in it accessible to plants." — Prof. Liebig. 



A desideratum in agriculture is an implement or 

 machine which will thoroughly pulverize a portion 

 of the soil. Too much importance can hardly be 

 attached to the thorough pulverization of the soil. 



The impalpable powder is alone active — no oth- 

 er part has any direct influence upcn vegetation. 



Jethro Trull, an eminent English agriculturist, 

 claims, that if the soil is pulverized well, manure 

 may be dispensed with. 



It was said that Whitney, by his cotton gin, 

 "trebled the value of land, created capital, rescued 

 the population from the necessity of emigrating, 

 and covered a waste with plenty." But a greater 

 service to the country will that inventor do, who 

 shall- give us a machine which will pulverize and 

 reduce to powder, a portion of the soil in our fields, 

 thereby "rendering the elements of nutrition con- 

 tained in it accessibl'e to plants." E. 



Royalston, Mass. 



{jd^" Messrs. J. J. Adams & Co., brush manufac 

 turers, at 99 Washington St., have sent us a sam- 

 pie of ivaste hair, which seems to be admirably 

 adapted for mulching. Hair is well known to be 

 cooling and retentive of moisture, and would make 

 a valuable article for mulching purposes, if not too 

 expensive. For rose bushes, shrubbery, and for use 

 in garden beds where straw and common litter 

 would be too coarse, hair seems to be just the thing 

 Any one disposed to try it can be informed as to 

 its cost on application to the above firm. 



For the Netc England Farmer. 



RECORDS OF THE WEATHER. 



Mr. Editor: — In looking over old Almanacs, 

 I find the following, among other things, set down 

 with pen and ink in the margin of their pages: 



SNOWS IN MAY. 



1799. May 8 and 12, some snow. 

 1803. May 8, snow. 

 1807. May 9, snow. 

 1812. May 4, snow. 



1815. May 8, snow. *i 



1816. May 15, snow fell 2h hours. 

 1823. May 4, snow. 



1825. May 2, snow. 



1832. May 25, remarkably cold storm with lit- 

 tle snow. 



1842. Hail and a little snow on the 20?b. 



1855. May 9, little snow. 



1856. May 4, snow at half past 8, P. M. 



Remarks. — It thus appears that snow has faJie'^ 

 in May for 12 years out of 58. 



FROSTS IN SUMMER MONTHS. 

 1794. June 16, frost. 



1800. June 6, frost. 



1801. June 7, frost. 

 1806, June 2, frost. 



1808. June 16, frost. 



1809. Aug. 9 and 19, frost. 



1816. June 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11, frost. 



1816. Aug. 19, 21 and 22, frost. 



1816 was the coldest season known ia this cen- 

 tury. September 1, frost, and on the 28th hard frost 

 that completely killed and destroyed all the corn, 

 it being green and soft — some not half grown. Ju- 

 ly 8, a large spot seen with the naked eye in the 

 centre of the sun. Seen also again October 1. 



1817. June l,hard frost. 2, little frost. 17, 

 frost. Aug. 24, little frost. 



1819. July 5, little frost. Aug. 24, little frost. 

 1826. June 17, frost; severe drought, no rain of 

 consequence from April 20 to June 24. 



1834. June 15, little frost. 



1835. June 22, frost. Aug. 3, frost. 



1836. Aug. 10, 21,22 and 24, frost. On the 

 24th, hard enough to kill corn and potatoes on low 

 ground. 



1837. Aug. 24, frost. 

 1840. June 5, frost. 



1842. June 1, 2, 3 and 4, frosty mornings. 7, 

 frost in low land. 13, hard frost. 



1843. June 2, frost. 



1845. June 1, frost. Aug. 29, frcst. 

 1849. June 13, frost. 

 1851. June 6 and 19, frost. 



1855. Aug. 31, very hard frost that killed corn, 

 potatoes, &c. Thermometer 28° at sunrise. 



1856. June 1, ground white with frost. 



Remarks. — Thus there appears to have been 

 frost in some of the summer months, (principally 

 June,) for 23 years out of 62 years. The spring this 

 year, (1857) was rat^-er backward, the apple_ trees 

 were not in full bloom here, in Mansfield, till the 

 30th of May. For 00 years, beginning in 1798 

 and ending in 1857, there have been but four years 

 so late : namely, 1812, 1837, 1838, and 1850. 

 INIost respectfully yours, 



Mansfield, June 8, 1857. Isaac Stearns. 



