1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



427 



its abode. For pies and apple-sauce, we shall have 

 to look to Boxford and Andover. Potatoes never 

 looked better. Onions are pricking up their ears, 

 notwithstanding the assaults made on them ; the 

 lovers of good eating need have no fear, there 

 will not be onions enough to season their soup. 1 

 should think the second crop of grass will almost 

 equal the first. Such is the observations at 

 August 1st, 1857. South D.\n'\'eks. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



It was my privilege, day before yesterday, to 

 partake of as fine a dish of strawberries as I ev- 

 er met, at our town farm under the care of Mr. 

 Adino Page. I asked Mr. P. where he obtained 

 this fine variety ? "In the meadows, upon the 

 farm," said he ; "about six years ago, I gathered 

 some of the most promising plants in the field and 

 transferred them to the garden ; last year, I reset 

 and fertilized them — the result you have before 

 you." 



Thought I, if such be the natural product of our 

 fields, there can be no occasion to pay high prices 

 for superior varieties. For I challenge all the 

 Hoveys in creation to produce berries of better 

 form or better flavor than were those on the Dan- 

 vers Poor-farm ; and I cheerfully summon Messrs. 

 Fay, Loring and Horton to testify in the matter. 



July 11, 1857. _ P. 



DOES MANURE EVAPORATE? 



There was a statement made in your paper of 

 May 23, by a man who said he did not believe 

 that manure lost anything by evaporation. If it is 

 so, it would save many farmers considerable care 

 and labor; I have a neighbor who takes the trou- 

 ble to cover every heap he gets out. I wish the 

 question could be satisfactorily settled. Will some 

 one please give his opinion through your paper ? 

 A Subscriber's Son. 



Cummington, July, 1857. 



Remarks. — Test it for yourself. Saturate some 

 soil with liquid manure, then spread it in the sun, 

 or give it the same exposure that manures com- 

 monly have, and see how long it will retain the 

 odor of the manure. It may be said that rains 

 will wash the manure out and the earth catch it. 

 But this does not affect the question, as manure 

 often lays days, or weeks, when no raia falls. 



When manure is spread upon a field in the 

 spring, and is not thoroughly plowed under, do you 

 not find it in autumn as dry and odorless as a 

 chip ? Can there be any doubt, then, that it loses 

 by evaporation ? You may place it under a board 

 or stone, where no rain shall fall on it, but so that 

 the air shall pass over it freely, and it will be dry 

 and without odor. 



the SEASON AND CROPS IN VERMONT. 



Mr. Editor : — Below I make a statement of the 

 condition and prospect of crops in this section of 

 the country, and hope that some of your numerous 

 and able readers in other parts, will do the same, 

 that a general knowledge of the farming interest 

 may be known. 



The weather for the last two weeks has been 

 very warm and sultry, with frequent showers, some 

 very powerful, attended by an unusual amount of 

 thunder and lightning — more than was ever before 

 known here by the oldest inhabitant. But it has 

 "done the thing" for corn ; should- it continue for 

 the next two weeks as it has for the last two, it 

 will be full up with common seasons. Some pieces 

 are already well silked out, and the prospect is very 

 fair for an average crop. Potatoes look well, have 

 a healthy growth, and if the rot does not strike 

 them, a large crop may be expected. Wheat, cats 

 and rye never promised better, though a little late. 

 Grass is heavy. Farmers have commenced hay- 

 ing, and find an uncommon burden — more than 

 last year, though that was considered, in this re- 

 gion much beyond an average. The fruit crop is 

 flattering; apples, plums, &c., bid defiance to 12i 

 cts. per lb. for dried fruit another year. 



People in this vicinity appear to feel thankful, 

 and have every reason to, for what they see, and 

 the bright prospect before them. "Mark." 



Marshjidd, Vt., July 20, 1857. 



GARGET IN COWS. 



In answer to an inquiry in your paper, I send 

 you the following. Having had a cow that was al- 

 most worthless on account of bunches in the udder 

 which rendered the milk bloody, stringy and not 

 fit for the hogs, I was on the eve of giving her 

 up for lost, when I read in the Boston Cultivator 

 that invaluable recipe which in three weeks re- 

 stored her to perfection, and not the slightest 

 symptom of garget has appeared since. I could 

 cite numerous cases of perfect cure. And not only 

 doubling the quantity, but also improving the qual- 

 ity of the milk and butter. Since I applied this 

 remedy, ray cow has, in two years, risen in value 

 from $20 to $75, and cannot be bought for that. 



I will now give you the recipe as I took it from 

 the paper. This quantity will be sufficient in or- 

 dinary cases, but there may be some protracted 

 and obstinate cases that will require an additional 

 dose. 



RECIPE. 

 "An ounce and a half of hydriodate of potash, at 

 440 grains to the ounce, will contain 660 grains. 

 This will make fifty- five doses of twelve grains 

 each. Put the whole into a glass bottle of sufl^i- 

 cient capacity, with fifty-five table spoonfuls of cold 

 water. Shake brisklj , and it will be thoroughly 

 dissolved in a fev/ minutes; one table spoonful 

 will contain a dose, the requisite quantity of twelve 

 grains. Wet a little Indian meal or shorts and 

 thoroughly stir in the dose. Give ttro or three 

 doses a day. Keep the bottle corked tight." 



Lowell Greenleaf. 



AN INSECT on THE POTATO. 



I enclose an insect which I find is eating the po- 

 tato tops round here, which I never saw before ; 

 perhaps you can enlighten me through the Farmer. 

 Since I killed it, it has shrunk up to one-half its 

 original size. W. Proudman. 



Globe Village, Southbridge, Mass. 



Remarks. — We have examined the insect sent 

 under a powerful microscope, but it is so jammed 

 and imperfect, that we could only see that it had 

 the most brilliant and beautiful colors. The eye ia 



