356 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



was grown may have been mixed with smut. Tliis 

 is the discovery (at least in this State,) of an old 

 and succcssfij planter and wheat grower of this 

 district; and has been tested many years, always 

 successfully, by hundreds, yea, thousands. Some 

 say this soak also effectually eradicates cliess, in a 

 few years, but of tliis I am not fully satisfied. I)ut 

 when pi-operly applied and used, that it is a sure 

 and effectual remedy for smut, there is not the 

 shadow of a doubt. 



If new, or untried, with you, get a single far- 

 mer to make the experiment. He, you, or the 

 country generally, will never regret it. — R. Slcw- 

 nrf, in Country Gentkman. 



A SHOWER. 



1!V REV. RALFU liOVT, A. M. 



lu the valley that I know, — 



Happy sccue ! 

 There are meadows sloping lo*', 

 There the fairest flowers blow, 

 And the brightcat waters flow 



All serene ; 

 But the sweetest thing to see, 

 If you ask the dripping tree, 

 Or the harvest-hoping swain. 



Is the rain. 



Ab, the dwellers of the town, 



How they sigh, 

 How ungratefully they frown, 

 When the cloud-king shakes his crown. 

 And the pearls come pouring down 



From the sky! 

 They descry no charm at all 

 Where the sparkling jewels fall, 

 And each moment of the shower 



Seems an hour. 



Yet there's something very sweet 



In the sight. 

 When the crystal currents meet, 

 In the dry and dusty street, 

 And they wrestle with the heat, 



In their might ! 

 While tliey seem to hold a talk 

 With the stones along the walk. 

 And remind them of the rule, 



To "keep cool !" 



But in that quiet dell. 



Ever fair. 

 Still the Lord doeth all things Well, 

 When his clouds with blessings awei) 

 And they break a brimming shell 



On the air ; 

 There th« shower hatli its charms, 

 Sweet and welcome to the farias, 

 As they listen to its voice, 



And rejoice ! 



For the New England Farmer. 



LIGHTNING RODS. 



Mr. Brown: — I saw an inquiry iu last week's 

 Farmer, whether lightning rods are a "safe and 

 certain protection from the duid," and also, if 

 persons or buildings are ever injured, or lift' des- 

 troyed, when they aro properly put up? In an- 

 swer to the first inquiry, I wouldsay that "Liglit- 

 ning Rods," when properly put up, are safe pro- 

 tectors. They should l)e made of iron or copper 

 (iron is the less expensive, and answers every pur- 

 )x>fle ;) they shoiild bo at least one-half inch in 

 diameter, three-fourths would Ixi better, and if 



made of more than one piece, should be closely 

 connected.at the joints by firmly screwijig ono sec- 

 tion into the other, because where they are linked 

 together, as many rods are, thej' arelial)le to rust 

 between the joints and break the connection — for 

 the rust is not a good conductor of the electric 

 fluid — and from this cause tlie lightning will some- 

 times fly off from rods constructed in this manner. 

 To put thorn upis the next operation ; the rod 

 should terminate at the bottom in 77ioist earth, in 

 a well or cistern of water if convenient. The rods 

 should be fastened to the building, once in four or 

 five feet by staples of iron or brackets made of 

 wood, but the rod, at the fastening foints, should 

 always be guarded by a short glass tube ; many peo- 

 ple use necks of bottles broken off and pushed ou 

 to the rod before the operation of putting up is 

 commenced.' The rods should extend upwards to 

 a distance of four or five feet above the object to 

 be protected, and should be made pointed and 

 pronged at the top, and it is well to have them tip- 

 ped with silver. On large buildings,. more than 

 one is needed ; they should not be placed more 

 than thirty feet apart at the most. There is a 

 lightning rod patented and manufactured by Mr. 

 Spratt, of Cincinnati, Ohio, which is the best and 

 safest rod I have ever seen, and it is not expensive, 

 as it can be put up in most any part of NeW'Eng- 

 land for 15 or IG cents per foot, complete. In 

 answer to the second inquiry, I would say that I 

 never knew a building protected in the above man- 

 ner injured by lightning ; but a rod badly con- 

 structed, and badly put up, is worse than none. 

 South Deerfip.ld, N. H. Brad. 



For the New England Far7ry.tr. 



HOEING. 



As June is the month for weeds and hoeing, per- 

 haps a few hints respecting them, at this time, 

 may not be amiss. All agree that it is necessary 

 to destroy the weeds among the corn and potatoes 

 in order to insure good crops : one hoes merely to 

 kill weeds, while another believes that the growth 

 of his corn is promoted by hoeing the earth up 

 pyramid like around the young stocks ; one is 

 very particular to dig up every weed and shape 

 the hill workman-like, believing in the old adage, 

 that once well hoed is twice hoed ; another hoes 

 his corn three times, because his father, uncle, or 

 grandfather, or somebody else, did the same, and 

 invariably had good crops. Now the truth is, it 

 18 not always necessary to hoe the same piece of 

 ground three times. While it would be economy 

 to hoe others five times. 



I hoe merely to destroy weeds, without making 

 much hill, — corn without hills — like the child 

 without crutches — learns to stand, and receives 

 more benefit from every shower than when hilled. 



Many finish their hoeing in June, in order to be 

 ready for haying, but it is better to cut the ear- 

 liest hay this month and defer the last hoeing a 

 week or two, for the reason that the later you hoe 

 the less weeds will mature in your field. For in- 

 stance you have a weedy piece of ground — you 

 lioo it three times, completing it the hist of thi^ 

 month — July brings on a luxuriant crop of weeds 

 — cry August succeeds, and your field contains but 

 sufficient moisture for your corn crop — and be- 

 hold, you have a crop of weeds with your corn 

 which requires aa much of the sumo element for 



