1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



213 



When their necessities taught thcui the value j 

 of those plants, they were not slow in adopting 

 the Indian methods of cultivating them. As the] 

 general cultivation, in the colonies, continued] 

 much the same fc^r many jears, with only sliglit 

 modifications on the introduction of the plow, it 

 may not be inappropriate to turn our attrition, 

 for a moment, to tlio agriculture of the natives. 



It is well known, that most of the hard work 

 necessary to supply their limited wants, fell to the 

 lot of the women, assisted, sometimes, by old 

 men and little boj's. Among their thankless tasks 

 was that of farming, which they carried on to an 

 extent quite remarkable, when we consider the 

 rudeness of the tools with Avhieh they worked, and 

 the circumstances in which they were placed. 

 They had no art of manufacturing metal, and of 

 course could have no proper implements of agri- 

 culture. Their cultivation was not so rude, how- 

 ever, as one would naturally supftose. Tliey made 

 a kind of hoe by tying the shoulder bhide of a 

 moose, bear or deer, to a stick or pole. 



The land, when selected, was clexircd, hy keep- 

 ing up a fn-e around the foot of each tree till its 

 bark was so burned that it would die. They then 

 planted their corn. When a tree fell, it was 

 burned into pieces of such a length that they 

 could be rolled into a heap and burned to ashes. 

 fn this way, by degrees, a piece covered Avith 

 wood, was wholly cleared. An industrious wo- 

 man could burn off as many dry fallen logs in a 

 day, as a strong man could, at that tkne, cut "with 

 an a.Ke in two or three. They used a stone axe, 

 made much in the same way as the hoe above de- 

 scribed, to scrape the charred surface of the logs, 

 and hasten the burning. This mode of clearing 

 was common through the western part of the 

 State. In'tlie eastern part, the tree was some- 

 times girdled Avith the axe, and thus killed, Avas 

 allowed to dry, and then burned by kindling 

 fire around it, as above described. 



They taught the settlers to select the finest ears 

 of corn for seed, to plant it at the proper time, 

 and in a proper manner, to weed it, and to hill it. 

 They Avere accustomed to dig small holes four feet 

 apart, Avith a clumsy instrument, resembling the 

 one described, which, in the eastern part of the 

 State, was sometimes made of large clam-shells. 

 Those living in the vicinity of the sea-shore, put 

 into each hole a horse-shoe crab or tAA'O, upoi 

 which they dropped four, and sometimes six ker 

 nels of corn, and covered it Avith the implement 

 with which they had dug the hole. In the inte- 

 rior, a few small fishes in each hill Avere used as 

 a fertilizer. Beans were planted with the corn 

 after it had come up, and grew up supported by 

 it. Great attention Avas paid by them to the 

 protection of their growing crops. Not a weed 

 was to be seen in their fields, and the corn Avas 

 carefully guarded against destruction by insects 

 and birds. To prevent loss by the latter, a small 

 watch-house was erected in the midst of a field of 

 corn, in Avhich one of the family, often the oldest 

 child, slept, and early in the morning rose to watch 

 the blackbirds. It was their universal custom to 

 hill the corn about tAvo feet high, for its 8uj)port, 

 and spots may often be seen at the present day, 

 which were evidently cultivated by them. The 

 colonists very generally imitated this custom, and 

 it has been continued down to our own times. 

 The men planted and cured their tobacco, which 



Avas, ordinarily', the &nly plant they worked up- 

 on, the Avomen managing all the rest. — Flint''s 

 Report of Mass. Board of Agriculture. 



For the Ifew England Farmer. 



THE CROW- WINTER WORMS. 



Friend Brown : — I find in the Aveekly New Eng- 

 landFaxmrr, Vol. 9, No. 3, an "Ode to the Crow," 

 Avritten by Mr. Soul, in Avhich he giA'es that bird 

 a bad name, looking only at the dark side of his 

 character ; now if this rule alone is to be ol>served, 

 of judging of evil deeds, I fear Ave should have but 

 very few l)irds, l)easts, or men, that Avould not 

 stand as low as Mr. Soul places the crow. It ia 

 my purpose now, hoAVCA'cr, to mention but one act 

 of his kindness, Avhicb I noticed to-day. 



You proltably have received those Avorms I sent 

 you, yesterday, Avhich I found by the side of my 

 meadoAV. As I AA^as passing over that meadoAV 

 my attention Avas draAvn to something on tlie snow 

 and ice. I accordingly stopped, and on examin- 

 ation found great uuml)crs of Avorms, AvMch in 

 their acts and looks, Avere unlike any thine I eA"er 

 saAV. I will not attempt to describe them, but as 

 you have some of them, I wish you or some one of 

 your friends, more al)lc than myself, Avould do it. 

 They were as thick in spots as a person Avould soav 

 oats ; some of them crawling on the top of the 

 snoAV and ice, others in the AA-ater, whilst a great 

 many Avere apparently craAvling up through the 

 ice and suoAv, all having life anii animation. I 

 looked on the ground Avhere the snoAV Avas all 

 gone, and there I found a number, but not hav- 

 ing my glai^ses Avith me, I couldn't readily see 

 them. But I haAC strayed a little from the crow, 

 but not from his food. To-day, I heard a great 

 caAving of the croAvs, and on looking up, beiiold ! 

 there Avei-e hundreds of them lighting and lit on 

 the same piece of land Avhere I had discovered the 

 worms, apparently as happy as CA'cr Avere. pii^s in 

 clover, and as busy picking up somethino' as ever 

 a hen was picking oats. I Avaited until they AA'ere 

 all gone, then went to see if they had taken any 

 of the AVorms, and to my delight they had takta 

 nearly CA'cry one of them that were on the snoAV 

 but I noticed that they Avere just as busy on tlie 

 bare ground as they were on the snow, and I have 

 no doubt but they found the worms as plenty 

 there, although I could not see as many ; neither 

 have I any reason to believe that the Avorms were 

 gone before the crows came, for there was a corner 

 of the field on Avhich the crows did not go, and 

 there I found tlie worms after the croAvs had gone. 

 Here, now, is one kind act which I believe to be 

 of more real value than all the damage tlie crowo 

 ever did me. I hope they Avill continue to visit 

 me daily for one nu)nth,. at least. My particular 

 object in writing this, is to know if these worms 

 may not be the same :is the palmer worm that in- 

 fested our country last year, although they are 

 somcAvhat changed in their looks and actions. If 

 you, or any one else can give an account of them 

 and their habits you Avill much oblige, 



J. B. Farmer. 



Concord, March 10, 1854. 



Rem.\rks. — We would inform Mr. F.vrmek, tha 



Ave sent the bottle of Avorms to Professor Harris 

 at Cambridge, and that to-day. the 18th, we have 



