1854. 



NEW ENGLAND F^iRMER. 



323 



roaring of stock, you y\-i\\ be in the y\Ay of niak-( bring a clear day to the farmer, though it may be 

 iug more manure than formerly to give back to: cloudy till ten or eleven o'clock in the forenoon, 

 the land, — especially if you cart waste substances, I Spider-webs will be very numerous about the tops 

 like those above named, to the barn and yards to| of the grass and grain some cloudy mornings, and 

 be mingled with the cattle-droppings, — while atjfifty year's observation has shown the writer of 

 the same time the change will atford more rest to J this tliat these little weathcr-guessers seldom fail 

 the land, so that it will improve in some qualities; in their predictions of a fair day. — Ex. 

 now feeble or raissino;. I 



If in this latter way you can make manure 

 enough to dress the fields Avell, then, inasmuch as 

 you can buy lime and ashes at so very low prices, 

 you may probably find it advantageous to use 

 them as alteratives and stimulants, in the form of 



THE VOICE OF THE GRASS. 



This charming littlo poom we li.ivi; !:itoly seen in tlie English 



papers without a signature, and publislied as btlon^ing to Kng- 



l»nd. It was written by Mrs. Sarah Roberts, of Portsmouth, N. 



. tr J 1 1 1 L • I '^•' •'^"'^ ^^'"* origin.iUy printed in the Portsmouth Journal. — 



top-dressings. iou doubtless understand that it; jiary Ilowitt, in her "Pictorial Calendar of the Seasons," quotes 



is not advisable to put lime with stable-manure,,it witii highprais 

 as it induces violent fermentation and tlirows off 

 the ammonia of the manure. But apjily the ma- 

 nure to your hoed crops, of corn, potatoes, i*co., 

 and then the next year, or whenever you sowj 

 the land with grain and grass seeds, ajiply lime 

 and haiTOw it in with the seeds. It will tend to 

 sweeten the land, increase the grain cri^p, bring 

 in the grasses well, and keep out sorrel. During 

 the time the filed is in grass, you can profitably 

 top-dress it once with ten to twenty bushels of 

 ashes to the acre. 



Tlie quantity of lime which it is politic to spread 

 on an acre of land, depends considerably on ±hc 

 qualitj' of the soil, and the climate in which it is 

 located. Stiff clays, and deep moist loams rich in 

 vegetable sulistance, will bear a larger dose of 

 lime than dry shallow sands or gravel ; and a 

 given variety of soil will bear more lime in a lui- 

 mid than ia a dry climate. The farmers in Eng- 

 land and Scotland are said to use from one to two 

 busliels of lime oa a square rod of ground, or at 

 the rate of 150 to 350 bushels per acre. But tliis 

 is a very heavy dose even on their stiff soils and 

 in their humid climate, and would probably lie of 

 very doubtful utility with us in New England. 

 You had better apply a bushel of lime on from two 

 to six square rods, or from 25 to 80 1>ushels per 

 acre, as experimental trials shall dictate. 



If the stables and yards do not afford all tlie 

 manure you want for the tiilagc-fjclds, you can 

 make up the deficiency by compostii'g lime or 

 ashes with muck, &c. 



Other fields, in grass, which you wish to make 

 more productive than tliey now are, by a cheap 

 process and in the shortest practicalne ]>eriod, may 

 be smoothly turned over in September, dressed 

 with twenty to thirty loads of the compost of lime 

 or ashes with muck, &c., seeded directly with 

 herdsgrass and red-top, and in the s)>ring with 

 clover. This compost will also be good to use on 

 such portions of the pastures as ai-e level enough 

 to plow. 



If your plows are of the too common sort which 

 can only skim the surface of the land, cast them 

 aside and procure larger and ))etter ones, and 

 l)low each field deeper and deeper at each rota 

 tion of crops, till you have made a good active 

 soil nine to twelve inches deep. 



Very truly yours, 



F. IIOhBROOK. 



Farmers, NOTE Til IS. — In a cloudy morning, it is 

 a matter of importance to the farmer to know 

 whether it will be sunshiny or showery in the af- 

 ternoon. If the ants have cleared tlieir liole nice- 

 ly, and piled the dirt up high, it seldom fails to 



It is worthy of it. 

 Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; 



By the dusty roadside, 



On the sunny lull-side. 



Close by tlie noisy brook, 



In every shady nook, 

 I come creeping, creeping cverywhera. 



Here I come creeping, smiling everywhere; 

 All round the open door, 

 Where sit the aged poor. 

 Here with the children play, 

 In the bright and merry May, 



I come creeping, creeping everywhere. _ 



Here I come creeping, creeping evei-y where; 



In the noisy city street, 



My pleasant face you'll meet, 



Cheering the sick at heart. 



Toiling his busy part. 

 Silently creeping, creeping everywhere. 



Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; 

 You cannot see me coming. 

 Nor hear my low sweet humming; 

 For in the starry night. 

 And the glad morning light, 



I come quietly creeping everywhere. 



Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; 

 More welcome than the flowers. 

 In summer's pleasant hours; 

 The gentle cow is glad, 

 And the merry bird not sad 



To see me creeping, creeping everywhere. 



Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; 

 When you're numbered with the dead 

 In your still and narrow bed. 

 In the happy spring I'll come. 

 And deck your silent home, 



Creeping, silently creeping everywhere. 



Here I come creeping, creeping everywhere; 



My humble song of praise. 



Most gratefully I raise 



To Him at whose command 



I beautify the land. 

 Creeping, silently creejiing everywhere. 



The Connecticut Valley Far.meu. — We intend- 

 ed to have called attention to the I\Iaj' number of 

 this excellent paper before. It is published at 

 Springfield by S. Bowlks & Co., and edited by 

 Professor J. A. Nash. The farmers, and indeed, 

 men of every occupation, will find the Connecticut 

 Valley Farni'ir not only an instructive, but an 

 interesting paper. Prof. Nash gives it much of 

 his own earnest spirit, while his teachings are 

 sound and valuable for all. The people of the 

 A'alley not only, luit over the broad land, would 

 be benefited by a perusal of its pages. 



