1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



259 



plough — both having the same sound and pronun- 

 ciation. Why these different modes of spelling 

 the same thing is thus continued, it is not easy to 

 (say. The shorter mode, unless some good reason 

 can be given for adhering to the longer, is certain- 

 ly preferable. It is certainly no sufficient reason 

 to say it used to be so. Because such a reason 

 once adaiitted would exclude all improvements. 

 On referring to dictionaries, we find both modes 

 of spelling inserted, with no preference given. On 

 referring to agricultural journals we find both 

 modes adopted — the "eminent guide" in this op- 

 eration, in Massachusetts, uses six letters — the 

 equally respectable guides in New York, Pennsyl- 

 nia and Ohio, use only four. "Who shall decide 

 •when doctors disagree?" v. 



FARMER'S GIRLS. 



XT.p in t}ie early morniii?, ju>t at the peep of d;iy, 

 Straining the milk in tlio d;ury, turning the cot\s a\ray, 

 Sweeping the flcor in the kitchen making the bed* up stairs, 

 Washing the bre;ikfast dishes, dusting the parlor chairs. 



Brushing the crumbs rrom the pantry, hunting the eggs at the 



burn, 

 Cleaning the turnips for dinner, spinning the stocking yarn. 

 Spreading the whitening linen down on the bushes below, 

 Bansacking every meadow where the red strawberries grow ; 



Starching the "fixens"for Sunday, churning the snowy cream. 

 Rinsing the pails and strainer down in the running stream, 

 Feeding the geese ami turkies, making the pumkiu pies, 

 .Jogging the little one's cradle, driving away tlie flies ; 



<jri»ce in every motion, music in every tone, 

 Beauty of form and feature thousands might covet to own, 

 Cheeks that rival spring roses, teeth the whitest of pearls, 

 One of these country maids is wortt a score of your city girls. 

 —Seic York Tribicne Hm-len M. I/ADD 



FARMERS' ARITHMETIC. 



Perhaps in no one thing is the "arithmetic" of 

 the farmers put to aseverer test than in ascertain- 

 ing the value (perhaps with cold fingers) of a 

 ^iven number of pounds of hay at a given price 

 To those I would recommended the following 

 rule of Adams, as easy, practicable, and infallible : 



Rltle. — Multiply the number of pounds of hay, 

 or coal, by one Lalf the price per ton, pointing off 

 three figures from the right hand. The remain- 

 ing figures will be the price of the hay, or coal, 

 (or any other article by the ton,) in cents and 

 mills, which can easily be reduced to dollars. 



Example. — What will be the cost of 058 pounds 

 of hay, at $7.50 per toni 



SoLUTio.v. — $7.50 divided by two, equals $3.75 

 —by which multiply the numb !r of pounds, thus : 

 058 

 $3.75 



3290 

 4(100 

 1974 



$2.4G||750 



The principle in this operation is the same as 

 in interest — ilividiug the price by two giv(!8 us tlie 

 price of half a ton, or 1,000 lbs., and pointing off 

 the three figuros to the right is dividing by 1,000 

 — the sime as in interest. The result above we 

 have found to be $2.46, which is correct. And 

 now, brother farmer, get youi pencil, and see if 

 jou cau find the abovti rule ia fault. 



Fur the New England Farmer. 



MILCH COWS. 



Mr. Editor :— I received from you, by hand of 

 B. F. Cutter, Esq., a copy of the transactions cf 

 the Middle.'^i^x Agricultural Society, (for which I 

 am much obliged to you,) and at the same time 

 an invitation to write an article for your paper, 

 on milch cows, for wliich I am not so much 

 obliged, l)ut will try and give a few ideas on the 

 su])ject. I have never kept more than from 

 twelve to fourteen cows, and so fur as my experi- 

 ence goes, I have come to the conclusion that it 

 is best to keep good ones, and no more than I can 

 keep leell. When they come to the barn in the 

 fall, I am careful to give them a change of feed 

 as much as jiossible. To those that do not give 

 milk, I give tlic poorer hay, and occasionally corn 

 husLs, stalks, tl'C, until about six weeks before 

 calving, when I give them better haj', and some 

 grain. By this way of managing, the flesh that 

 the cow |,uts on by her own industry in summer, 

 is easily kept on through the winter, witli a little 

 extra care, which enables her to bring us a good, 

 strong, healthj^ calf, worth at least five dollai-s, 

 when four weeks old. To the cows that 1 milk 

 through the winter, I give good hay, giving them 

 for a change a foddering, of clover, husks and roir- 

 en (if y.e liave it,) almo^ every day. The clover 

 I always intend to use up before the first of 

 March. I feed them on chop twice a day, mix 

 ing a few hours before feeding, giving them about 

 four quarts of shorts and two quarts of cob-meal 

 a day with about half a bushel of cut hay of poor 

 quality, with a table spoonful of salt at each tiia" 

 of feeding. Thi-s I think produces more milk 

 than the same quantity of grain given in any oth- 

 er way. Great care should be taken not to excite 

 the cow when driving to water or the pasture. If 

 the boys must drive them, do not let but one drive 

 at a time. Kindness pours out the milk and lays 

 on the f\xt. Kicking cows, are always plenty,, 

 where there are kicking milkers; / linow it by ex- 

 perience. It is an old and true saying, that "good 

 pastures make fat calves," and it is equally true, 

 that much feed make much milk. As to the dif- 

 ferent breeds of cow;^, I have not had much ex 

 perience. I have one that is called the cream- 

 pot breed, which is one of the beat I have ever 

 owned for milk. There are quite a number of 

 half blooded Ayrshire in the neighborhood, which 

 have the name and appearanceofbeinggood milk- 

 ers. I am rather partial to the old native breed 

 for milkers, when I can get tlie right pattern ; 

 that is, I want a cow of good size, one that will 

 make 5.^ or hundred of beef when fatted, wide 

 between the eyes, small horns, long slender neck, 

 head inclining downwards, rather a thin skin, 

 l)road across the kidni3's, small tail, small flattish 

 leg, the udder larg'*, running well forward and 

 back, equally qu;u-tvi\:d, and the teats well apart, 

 thin thighs, and last, bat not lea.st, a large crooked 

 milk vein running well forward with a large hole 

 at tlie end. One thing more should l)e takon into 

 consideration, and tliat is, the disposition, which 

 can almost always be told by the (cuncenancc. 

 Tameness and docility of temper greatly enhauccH 

 the value. One tiiat feeds at ease and does not 

 linjixk over fences, and is kind to her a9.sociatc6, 

 will always yield more milk, than one of the op- 

 posite disposition. Wl\cn I buy a cow of the 



