NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



dress and afterwards a discussion on the question 

 —^'Hoiv can fanning be made so profitable and at- 

 tractive that farmers'' sons loill choose their fathers'' 

 occupationV Messrs. P. Johnson, C. Capen, C. 

 R. Train, Major Wheeler, Simon Brown, Thomas 

 Gould, Wm. Buckminster, and others, took part 

 in the discussion, and many valuable facts were 

 elicited. We are glad to find the citizens of that 

 wealthy and beautiful town so earnestly engaged 

 in promoting the interests of agriculture. 



EXTKACTS AND REPLIES. 



milk weed MOWING MACHINES. 



Can you tell me of any practicable method to 

 destr^ ??zzVA: weed'? I have it on my farm, and it 

 is increasing very fast, (a.) 



Are 3'Ou acquainted with the mowing machines 

 now in use, and Avili j^ou give me your opinion 

 which is the best ? I have come to the conclusion 

 that I must have one for the next season, and it is 

 very important to get the best. (6.) 



York, Me. Charles Moody. 



{a.) Thorough cultivation will eradicate milk 

 weed, sorrel, ivhite weed, (ox-eye daisy,) and this- 

 tles, from a single field ; but if milk weed pre- 

 vails in the pasture lands, and springs up, as we 

 have sometimes seen it, extensively, under the 

 walls and other pi ices where the soil is not culti- 

 vated, you must cut them down about the time of 

 their flowering, and persist iu it as often as they 

 spring up. They will not live long, deprived of 

 their stems and leaves. 



(b.) In the Monthly Farmer, vol. 4, p. 370, you 

 will find an engraving of Ketchum's Mowing Ma- 

 chine, and in vol. 5, p. 457, a description of the 

 machine, and the manner of working it, by Mr. 

 K. himself. Not having yet used any of these 

 machines, we can only give the opinion formed 

 by seeing several kinds, and by what others have 

 said of them. This opinion is that the machine 

 spoken of above is the best yet introduced. They 

 are manufactui-ed and sold by Messrs. Ruggles, 

 Nourse, Mason & Co., who have the right for New 

 England. In their Illustrated Catalogue (a copy 

 of which we have requested them to send you) you 

 will find a faithful drawing of the machine, with 

 some testimonials of its qualifications. It is our 

 intention to try one of them next season. 



MAPLE SUGAR. 



Gents : — Below you have an answer to "Who 

 can beat this?" Your humble namesake, Ruel 

 Smith, made this season past, 4250 ll)s. maple su 

 gar on his farm, and in this town was made the 

 same spring, 135,000 lbs.! a. b. c. 



COUNTY SOCIETIES. 



Dear Sir : — I should like to see an article thor- 

 oughly canvassing the merits of County Agricultu- 

 ral Societies — giving instances of their practical 

 benefit, the best mode of conducting the same — 

 officers and committees necessary — mode of con- 

 ducting fairs — systems of premiums, &c., also 

 presenting the obstacles to their formation, success 



or practical value — and objections to them enter- 

 tained by any. I have taken your paper the past 

 year, and have been entirely satisfied with, and 

 prize it the more highly as it eschews long, often 

 rejieated personal controversies, which so readily 

 find access to some other papers. 



B. F. Randolph. 

 Freehold, Monroe Co., N. Y., 1854. 



Remarks. — Who will gratify our correspondent 

 and thousands of other inquirers, in the particulars 

 mentioned. Having his thoughts turned to the 

 subject, cannot he write the article himself, as 

 well, or better, than any other person ? We hope 

 he will try. 



a LITTLE, YOUNG, SUFFOLK PIG. 



Mr. Joseph Raymond, of Hubbardston, writes 

 us that Mr. John Browning, of that town, killed 

 a Sufiblk pig on the day that it was nine months 

 old, "which weighed when dressed and well dried 

 oS,four hundred and eighty-five pounds .'" 

 a fine pig. 



Mr. JosiAH W. Pettigrew, of Ludlow, Vt., 

 slauglitered a pig on the 6th of Dec. which was 

 247 days old and weighed 356 pounds ! 

 the concord grape. 



In reply to the inquiries of the Gospel Banner, 

 whether the new grape introduced byE. W.Bull, 

 Esq., "is the Isabella," we have to say that it is 

 not, nor a seedling of the Isabella — ^nor like it, 

 "being of different shape, larger, handsomer, and 

 better," as was pronounced by good judges at the 

 Mass. Horticultural Society, who tested both at 

 the same time. 



In his Magazine for December, Mr. IIovey 

 says : — "It has not only proved by far the earliest 

 grape we have, but also one of the most delicious, 

 having, in the place of the musky flavor of the 

 Isabella, the rich aroma of the Catawba, with 

 which probably its parent was somewhat ferti- 

 lized." We have tested the grape for two years 

 past and have confidence in the statements made of 

 it. 



PASTURE BRAKES. 



Inquiry by T. J. Leonard, Wc5/()?i, Vt. "How 

 shall I destroy the common pasture brake? " Well, 

 we don't know — it is a hard subject to deal with. 

 If it grew in bunches, or the hassock form, you 

 might undermine them with the bog hoc ; but if 

 It is what we suppose you mean, the brake that 

 springs up in nearly all moist lands that are not 

 cultivated, the common pteris aquilina, you will 

 find it a difficult plant to eradicate short of plow- 

 ing and thorough cultivation. Try a thick spot of 

 them with a liberal sprinkling of salt spread on in 

 January, and next summer, when in bloom, try 

 another patch by mowing them off as closely as 

 you can. Burning will not destroy the roots un- 

 less the burn is very deep. We shall look to you 

 for some reliable information in relation to the 

 subject. 



