674 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



now SUALL I RAISE MY COLT? 



Will you be so kind as to inform me, through the 

 medium of your paper, what measures you should 

 adopt in raising a colt after he has attained the age 

 of one year ; that is, should he have grain ? Should 

 he be blanketed ? Should he stand any lime on a 

 floor ? When should he be broke, &c. 



Brattleboro\ 1857. John C. Gray. 



Remarks. — Among our correspondents are those 

 thoroughly acquainted with this matter, and able to 

 answer Mr. Gray. The subject is one of importance 

 always, but especially so when horses command 

 such prices as they do at present. Perhaps Mr. 

 ViNiNG, of Plainfield, will give us his ideas on the 

 subject. 



CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 



Numerous experiments, in growing this plant, 

 have been made the present season. There can re- 

 main no doubt on this point. A sweet juice and 

 fair molasses can be made from it, and in quantity 

 exceeding 200 gallons to the acre. But I have not 

 yet met the individual who has succeeded in con- 

 verting the juice into sugar. I learn from a gen- 

 tleman, who has paid more attention to this than 

 any other among us, that some chemical process 

 with which I am not acquainted, is necessary before 

 this can be done. Where are the State assayers 

 and other gentlemen of learning, at this time ? — 

 Now is the day, now is the hour, to come forth and 

 show your power. Sugar is made in other coun- 

 tries, and can be made here. There is nothing that 

 cannot be done by a genuine, full-blooded 



October 23, 1857. Yankee. 



ROLLERS FOR MOVING BUILDINGS. 



Can you or any of your correspondents give me in- 

 formation in regard to the cheapest and best plan for 

 rollers for moving buildings ? 1 have used the com- 

 mon kind, which are about 3.^ ft. long, and from 

 6 to 8 inches in diameter, which are very good for 

 a short distance, but for a long pull they require 

 too much labor. My plan is to have some made of 

 logs about two feet diameter, and 15 or 18 inches 

 long, with an axle of suitable size and length, using 

 four pairs ; that is, two pairs at each side of the 

 building. Is that a good proportion, and what 

 should be the size of the axle to sustain a house of 

 moderate size, say 20 by 30 ft., or thereabouts ? 

 Would they be preferable to those first described ? 

 Any otlier information through the Farmer would 

 be thankfully received. A. Atwater. 



Burlivgion, 1857. 



Remarks. — This communication was received 

 some time since, but was accidentally mislaid. We 

 possess little knowledge of the matter of inquiry, 

 but have no doubt some of our intelligent corres- 

 pondents will be able to suggest valuable facts. 



THE PURPLE WASP. 



In answer to your correspondent from Chester, 

 N. H., in regard to the purple, mud, or mason 

 wasp, and the spiders so mysteriously found stowed 

 away in its nest, which seems to have been to him 

 so unaccountable, I would say that the last-named 



insects were packed down without salt, by the little 

 mason, as food for its young. How wonderful the 

 instinct that prompts it thus to provide for the fu- 

 ture wants of its offspring, the helpless maggot or 

 grub, which when first awakened into life in its nar- 

 row cell, finds its provisions within reach at the 

 head of its bunk. If Mr. Dunlap will consult "Kir- 

 by and Spence's Introduction to Entomology," he 

 will learn more of the mason wasp, as well as many 

 other insects. A new and cheap edition, published 

 in England, of this excellent and standard work on 

 entomology, can now be obtained, and should be in 

 every farmer's library. S. P. FoWLER. 



Danvers-port, Oct. 20, 1857. 



HORSE POWER GRIST MILL. 



I would like some information in regard to the 

 "Horse Power Portable Grist Mill." What is your 

 opinion of them ? Would it be profitable for a 

 person who raises two hundred bushels of corn to 

 purchase one ? Which kind is the best, if there is 

 more than one ? If you will give the desired infor- 

 mation you will much oblige E. S. 



Stoitghton, Oct. 22, 1857. 



Remarks. — There are several kinds of horse 

 portable grist-mills, but we cannot say which is the 

 best. We have seen some of the cast iron mills in 

 operation where they made good meal at the rate 

 of three or four bushels an hour, or perhaps some- 

 thing more than that, but this gave us no knowl- 

 edge of how long they would wear, or what the 

 cost of running would be. The "Little Giant," 

 "Magic" and "Young America" are cast iron ;."Fel 

 ton's Patent Self- Sharpening Grist mill" we have 

 never seen at work ; "Brown's Grist Mill" is made 

 of the French Burr Stone, and always works well, 

 but is somewhat more expensive ihan others. Our 

 opinion is, however, if you wish to grind two hun- 

 dred bushels of corn annuallj', that it would be a 

 matter of economy to procure a good mill — not a 

 cheap one in the common sense — and do your own 

 grinding, provided you always have plenty of horse 

 power of your own. 



For the New England Farmer. 



DISEASE IN COWS. 



Mr. Editor :— Having lost two cows the present 

 year with what some call the dry month, I wish to 

 know, through you or some one of your numerous 

 subscribers, a remedy for such cases. I tried salt 

 and senna, and last I tried thoroughwort, but ofno 

 avail. This last cow was very valuable, and the 

 value of the two wss one hundred and twenty-five 

 dollars. This sum is too large for a common far- 

 mer to loi^e. Farmers are often afflicted in thie 

 way in their stock of cattle. My case is not an is- 

 olated one. I have examined the peak after death, 

 and in the last case it was as dry as it would be if 

 it had been dried by a hot fire, and especially in 

 the middle ; on either side there was some mois- 

 ture. This cow lived one week, but in great dis- 

 tress, appetite all gone ; everything had to be 

 turned into her. I could not force her to go more 

 than one or two rods before she would lie down. 



Derry, JV. H., 1857. W. N. Wilkinson 



