1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



481 



cutting grass when the dew was off, for the reason 

 that they could not keep their scythes sharp enough 

 to cut their thin grass. 



The great art of hand mowing (all things else be- 

 ing equal) consists in keeping a perfect edge on the 

 scythe. My men did not need "two scythes each," 

 but they mowed as long as I wished with one, on 

 meadows thoroughly rolled in the Spring, and they 

 understood how to keep a fine edge all the time. 



The idea of scythes slipping over grass is simply 

 ridiculous. On my meadows they must have slip- 

 ped some two or three feet into the air, and on my 

 reclaimed meadows over four feet. What kinds of 

 grass can your correspondent raise, if, as he says, 

 "the fine cuts like wood, and the coarse like wire ?" 

 Surely no cultivated grasses can be guilty of any 

 such absurdity. 



My article, written under the old regime, was pub- 

 lished in the Homestead as containing suggestions 

 worthy the attention of those who still do their hay- 

 ing without labor-saving machines. Were I now 

 cultivating a farm, however, I should as soon think 

 of using wooden plows, as scythes and hand rakes, 

 or unloading hay by hand. 



There are certain kinds of work which can bet- 

 ter be done in the early morning, and for myself I 

 have ever been actively employed before the rising 

 of the sim, but my great anxiety in respect to my 

 men as well as my teams, when a farmer, was al- 

 ways lest they should be over worked. Doubtless 

 this same fear arose" from the fact that my men 

 were sons of farmers, brought up at home to New 

 England industry and energy, and over-will'ng to 

 work, and my teams were the best the country af- 

 forded, and kept in high condition. With such men 

 and teams, an amount of labor can be accomplished 

 which would seem a mountain to one who fears the 

 sun, and can only do light work in the heat of the day, 



"Dew is only vapor condensed !" Pray what else 

 is rain ? And will not rain injure cut grass, even if 

 dried out immediately ? Dew and rain on standing 

 crops are beneficial, but all moisture on cut grass 

 is highly injurious, because, when it evaporates, it 

 carries off from the grass the finer juices and es' 

 sential oils which alone give flavor and fragrance to 

 the hay. In curing hay, a shower gives no more 

 extra labor than a heavy dew, nor is it more inju 

 rious. It is not strange that grass, however thin, 

 if cut with the dew upon it, should require extra 

 ventilation in the mow when cut and carted the same 

 day. Charles Robinson. 



A*ei» Haven, Conn., Jiug. 31, 1857. 



Chinese Sugar Cane. — The New Orleans Mc- 

 ayune announces the arrival, by the steamer Le- 

 comte, Capt. Johnson, of sixty-five barrels new mo- 

 lasses, made from the Chinese Sugar Cane, on the 

 plantation of Mr. Delery, parish of St. Bernard. 

 This is in anticipation of usual receipts of new mo- 

 lasses. It is considered an excellent article. The 

 Plaquemine (La.) Sentinel learns that Michael 

 Schlatre, Jr., of Iberville parish, succeeded a few 

 days ago in making nearly two hundred gallons of 

 excellent syrup from the Chinese Sugar Cane. 



(Cf* The receipts of the U. S. Agricultural Ex- 

 hibition at Louisville, Ky., amount to over $21,000, 

 which will pay the premiums and all expenses — and 

 probably leave a small surplus. 



LETTER FROM MR. BROWN. 



Montpelier, Vt, Sept. 8, 1857. 

 My Dear Sir : — I came here to attend the 

 Seventh Anniversary of the 



\'ERMONT STATE FAIR. 



The exhibition of its objects, however, does not 

 really take place to-day : this is a day of prepara- 

 tion, and its notes are everywhere heard, — cattle 

 low and sheep bleat in the streets, — the splendid 

 Black Hawk and Morgan horses prance and neigh, 

 and step as though they were fearful of hurting 

 some one's toes — while pigs and poultry go more 

 demurely in wagons, drawn by the staid and sober 

 nags of the farm who have had their young day 

 and don't care to kick up their heels any more. 

 About the grounds, the note of preparation is also 

 heard — heavy machinery is lumbering along, mow- 

 ers and reapers, and saw-mills and grain-mills, with 

 horse-rakes, plows, fan-mills, cooking-stoves, wash- 

 ing-machines, bee-palaces, et cetera and so on. 

 And so as to-day is but the beginning of what ia 

 to be, I will use this sheet for the consideration of 

 other matters. 



Montpelier is really a delightful place — not 

 unique, because in this mountain region there are 

 others located like it, — but is a gem among the 

 green hills, which stretch away to the skies on 

 every side, scarcely affording room for the railroad 

 track to squeeze in on one side, and the modest 

 Onion river to flow out on the other. Many of the 

 dwellings indicate thrift, and a degree of elegance, 

 with their miniature parks of rock maples around 

 them, which at once attract and please the observ- 

 ing traveller. This is the capital of the State, and 

 a new State-house is now in the process of con- 

 struction, in place of a former one which was de- 

 stroyed by fire in February last. The large front 

 pillars and the walls are partly up, backed by a re- 

 spectable mountain which will overlook its dome 

 and arrest the north winds in their course. Two or 

 three of the main streets are lined with commodi- 

 ous hotels and the shops of artists and tradesmen, 

 which, with the pleasant homesteads and the busy 

 river, give the village a lively and happy appear- 

 ance. Here, as in all my rambles, I find persons 

 earnestly interested in the subject of farming ; but 

 in this State, the particular kind of farming to which 

 attention is given, is different from that occupying 

 the people in Massachusetts. Butter, cheese and 

 stock, chiefly horses, are the items which afford the 

 most profit, and consequently receive the most at- 

 tention. Nature has adapted this country to these 

 pursuits, and the people wisely work in her direc- 

 tion ; nothing can exceed the beauty of these 

 smooth green hills and the lovely valleys, spark- 

 ling with the crystal streams that are perpetually 

 fed by the generous springs in the recesses of the 

 hills. Was not this the garden of Eden ? It cer- 



