1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



309 



tlie lowest 

 a great 



Syl(M surely ought not to be abandoned to tl 



3ailoi| specimens of our "civilization," -n-hich 

 city affords. 



I will take the further liberty of requesting 

 those who feel disposed to employ any of these 

 m n to communicate directly with the Rev. E. W. 



among thieves, rather than friends. Mr. 

 found them in a deplorable condition, at 

 boarding-liousea, &c. 



To say notiiing of the novelty of the thing, or 

 of the inducement of low wages, I really believr 

 there is an opportunity here of doing good at u 



cheap rate. For the credit of our country, our I Syle, 53 Broadway, New York. S. Fletcher 

 benevolence, our Christianity, these strangert^l Winchester, July 13, 1854. 



THE EXPANDING AND SEVEHSABLE 

 HARROW. 



The expanding and Keversable Harrow is so 

 constructed as to adniit of being widened or nar- 

 rowed, to do coarser or finer work, as circum- 

 stances may require. The two bars on top of the 

 frame work, are connected Avith the four under 

 bars by the outside teeth, the upper parts of 

 which are rounded and shouldered, witli nuts and 

 screws on the top, and on which the entire fram^' 

 swivels or turns in expanding and contracting, 

 which is done simply by shortening or lengthen- 

 ing the chain on the top. Thus tlie harrow is 

 made any desirable width, and any degree of fine- 

 ness, while the teeth in every position operate in- 

 dependently of each other. The harrow is con- 

 structed to be drawn either end for^vavd, so as to 

 secure sharp teeth, and is folded completely to- 

 gether for transportation. Various sizes, made 

 heavier or lighter, are supplied to order. 



Ashes on Potatoes. — More EvkJnice of Valw. 

 — Our readers may remember that Mr. Barret, oC 

 Cayuga, publislied a statement that he and liis 

 neighbors Isad prevented all rot in their potatoes 

 jor several years, by sowing ashes over them, at 

 the rate of from two to three bushels per acre, 

 once a week for six weeks, commencing inuucdi- 

 ately after the second hoeing. Rev. Lyman Smitli , 

 of Charlotte, Vt., confirms this statement in a 

 letter to the N. E. Fanner. He says lie has pre- 

 vented the rotting of potatoes by sprinkling the 

 tops with aslies as soon as they made their ap- 

 pearance, a table-spoonful to each hill ; after hoe- 

 ing, applying the same amount again. The ashes 

 were ap[ilied immediately after a shower, or upon 

 a heavy dew. Aft(,'r such applications, he has no 

 rotten potatoes. — Count. Gent. 



For lite New England Farmer. 



SWINE. 



There is but littlcof the Jewish blood in our veins, 

 or Mohammedan faith in our hearts, yet perhaps* 

 the most devoted Mussulman would fail in tlie at- 

 tempt to show a more striking proof of his aver- 

 sion to swine, than is given by the "hired help" 

 and boys of many a yankee farmer 



True, there is little that is engaging in a hog's 

 manners, or amiable in his disposition, or inviting 

 in his appearance, yet we cannot conceive why his 

 ill-nature should make him the most abused of 

 all domestic animals. 



He is not made more tractable!, nor more i)rofi- 

 taldo, liy the kicks and pelts be receives. His 

 stubbornness is not overcome, by being compelled 

 to fast through the day, because it may not be 

 convenient to feed him. His thrift is not promot- 

 ed by being kept in cold weather, in some cold, 

 dark, damp place, with the bare planks, or the 

 planks covered with ice, for his bed. His porker 

 qualities are not increased by being compelled, 

 some dozen times a day, to perform the feat of 

 leaping some 4 to feet, from pen to yard and 

 yard to pen ; and all this merely because ho is 

 "nothing i)ut a hog." ]\Ien complain of bis filthy 

 appearance, yet keep him where notiiing else can 

 live, yet, rellect not that he will thrive well while 

 filling the same place among farm laliorers that 

 scavengers do in city governments. The unsig/it- 

 ly brake, tlic withered fruit and refuso roots, are 

 to him a luxury, yet a luxury of which tiie indo- 

 lence or neglect of his owner often deprives him. 

 'Plio cry — "the bogs are out" — is often raised on 

 (arming premises, and harsii maledictions are 

 poured upon the iicad of poor pig for uprooting 

 his fence, when in fact, the hog was merely giv- 

 ing- a practical illustration of what u.^^o ho might 

 bo, would his master but furnisli the materials, 

 •such as muck, leaves, &c. 



Swine, like all other domestic animals, must be 



