506 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



* For the Hew England Farmer. 



CITTLE THINGS BY THE WAY-SIDE 



NO. III. — MUCK. 



Muck is now extensivelj' used, and many have 

 been so loud in its praise as to declare that "old 

 swamps are our most valuable lands." Practically 

 in agriculture, muck seems to vibrate between a 

 positive and negative quality. It is a powerful ab- 

 sorbant, but a weak retainer of fertilizing liquids. 

 For the purpose of securing liquids for the ordinary 

 manure or compost heaps, one load of native soil, 

 (not essentially sand or gravel,) from the bank, is 

 worth two of muck. As a top-dressing for grass 

 lands the former excels the latter as four to one, 



CUCUMBER, SQUASH, PUMPKIN, AND OTHER MEL- 

 LON SEEDS, 



' Should be saved from the first that set near the 

 roots. Seeds raised near the extremity of the vine 

 ■want vitality — generally blast or produce weak and 

 sickly vines. Such a production fails to fulfil the 

 laws of propagation. 



STONES vs. MANURE. 



A load of small stones spread or left upon a field 

 newly laid-down to grass, is worth more than a 

 load of manure to protect and increase the growth 

 of the grass. The process of close-paring upon a 

 smooth surface, weakens its power of annual resus- 

 citation, and its vitality is prematurely destroyed. 

 So says "Uncle Billy," and no grass fields hold out 

 like his. 



FALL-SET TREES. 



While in the West, two years since, an old nur- 

 sery man told me he had been setting fruit trees for 

 fifteen years, and those he set in the fall bore an- 

 nually, while those set in spring were very indiffer- 

 ent bearers. My experience and observations sat- 

 isfy me that fall-setting is much the best, aside from 

 this consideration. They should be well mulched 

 the first winter to protect the roots from frost, and 

 the next summer, to guard against drought. 



ELDERBERRY WINE 



In ray last, I promised you a receipt for the man- 

 ufacture of this valuable wine (not syrup, as made 

 by boiling or simmering, as many do.) Take the 

 berries when ripe, to one quart of juice add two 

 quarts of water and three and a half pounds of su- 

 gar; all together makes about one gallon. Set 

 away to ferment. When fermented and settled, 

 bottle up. 



CURING AND KEEPING HAM, 



So as to have it keep sweet and good the year 

 round, is a matter which interests every house- 

 keeper and lover of good ham. Through the sum- 

 mer and autumn months nothing can be more de- 

 sirable than a good supply of this delicious food. 

 To 80 pounds of ham take 4 ounces brown sugar, 

 3 ounces of saltpetre and 1 pint of fine salt. Mix 

 well together and rub the paste all over the hams. 

 Let them lay 48 hours, then pack away in casks, 

 adding 1 quart of salt to each 80 pounds of ham. 

 In 15 or 20 days smoke, and return them to the 

 brine, where they will keep a year or more, per- 

 fectly sweet and good. 



SALT PORK CAKE. 



1 pound of salt pork, chopped very fine, tea cup 

 of hot water turned on to the pork, 1 quart of 

 flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup of molasses, 1 teaspoon- 



ful saleratus. Spice with cloves, cassia, pimento, 

 or any other spice you choose. An Ohio cake — 

 try it ; you will declare in its favor. 



"WORM AND JAUNDICE BITTERS. 



1 ounce gum aloes, .J ounce gum myrrh, h. ounca 

 rhubarb (powdered,) 1 gill of beef-gall. Steep in 

 1 quart pure alcohol, then add 1 quart of water. 

 Take 6 mornings, then miss 6. Dose, a teaspoon- 

 ful for a child, a tablespoonful for an adult. This 

 is worth more for worms in children than all the 

 vermifuges in Christendom. 



IRON CEMENT. 



J teacup of iron dust or filings, ^ teaspoonful of 

 sal-ammonia, 1 teaspoonful pf sulphur. Mix in 

 chamber lye. Fill up cracks and holes in old 

 bottles, and in a few days it becomes perfectly sol- 

 id and tight. 



SEED CAKES. 



2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of butter, 1 of cream, 2 

 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of saleratus, and as much cara- 

 way as you please. Rub in the butter and mix 

 with flour as hard as possible. Keep from touch- 

 ing each other while baking. 



ACID PIE. 



1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water, a small teaspoon- 

 full of tartaric acid and 2 crackers. 



CHOLERA MEDICINE. 



To 1 quart of blackberry jell)'', add 1 ounce India 

 ginger-root, 1 spoonful of cayenne pepper. To a 

 wineglass full of this add 20 drops of laudanum, 20 

 of camphor, and 40 of best French brandy. Give 

 the last named quantity every 20 minutes until relief 

 is obtained. This preparation will usually arrest 

 cholera in its various forms ; also dysentery. I ob- 

 tained this of a gentleman on board of a steamer 

 on Lake Ontario, two years since, who had the 

 charge of a plantation in Mississippi, upon which 

 were 30 slaves, and he had carried them through 

 the cholera seasons for fifteen years without losing 

 a single slave, without a physician. 



I have learned a lesson this season in regard to 



CULTIVATION OF VINES. 



I have, until this season, dug holes in the ground, 

 filled them even full with manure, then planted 

 my seeds. The cold rains of spring and early sum- 

 mer would nearly drown them out by water set- 

 tling- into the holes, the vines make a slow growth, 

 and be easily devoured by the bugs. I now build my 

 hills upon the top of the ground ; the rains do not 

 affect them but to make them grow. They come 

 forward more rapidly, and defy the ravages of the 

 bugs. L. L. Pierce. 



East Jaffrey, JV. H., J3ug., 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PROFITS OF SHEEP. 



A man in my neighborhood informs me that, 

 since June, 1856, he has sold from 27 sheep bought 

 the March previous, and 165 bought the August fol- 

 lowing, $700, in lambs and wool, and has 15 sheep, 

 worth $3 per head, more than his whole flock, (192,) 

 after making the last purchase. He sold the wool 

 at 40 cents per pound, and had extremely poor luck 

 in raising his lambs the first year. They are about 

 one-half blood Merino. 



Another, from 100 sheep has sold $500 worth, 



