158 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



NOV. 35, 183S. 



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BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOV. 25, 183j. 



03= A stated meeting of the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society will be held at their Hall, on Saturday, 

 Dec. 5th, at 11 o'clock, A. M. 



[For tlie New England Farmer.] 



Mr Fessenden : — ■ 



There's nothing new under the sun in the elements 

 about us ; but in the combination of these elements, 

 daily, hourly, and momentarily taking place, tliere is 

 constantly something new. 



It would be a severe injunction upon an Editor, that 

 he should always produce a periodical, containing no- 

 thing ever published before ; and it would be as unwise 

 as severe, for, of the old facts and speculations, which he 

 has heretofore published, ninelynine in a hundred of 

 his readers may fairly be presumed to be entirely igno- 

 rant. ' 



I have long been a constant reader of your paper, and 

 have the pleasure of possessing nearly all your volumes, 

 well bound. In these I find a rich mine or store-house 

 of facts ; and when I sit down and turn Ihem over, sel- 

 dom fail to gain some new ideas. 



As all your present readers, probably, have not the 

 former volumes, and as most do not often consult them, 

 would it not be not only allowable, but useful, for you in 

 every future number to republish some one of your best 

 articles ? 



Permit me also to make another suggestion. The 

 lawyers, you know, find great help in what is termed a 

 digest, or digested index. Would not such a key to the 

 treasures of the N. E. Farmer be a valuable and popular 

 publication .'' 



I have lately had occasion to investigate a subject in 

 relation to which I find many valuable hints, scattered 

 throughout the several volumes of the N. E. Farmer in 

 my possession ; and such a work as I have spoken of 

 would have saved me labor and time. If, on reflection, 

 you should not be willing to hazard a publication of this 

 kind by itself, you might in future numbers of the Farm- 

 er, from time to time, give us such an index, in alphabet- 

 ical order. I could say more on this subject, but well 

 know tlial I can say nothing which will not occur to 

 you. 



At page 261, of vol. 2d, is an article on the advantage 

 of silk dresses, which, if it has any foundation in true 

 philosophy, is well worthy of appearing in your Silk 

 Manual. Yours respectfully, 



SUESCRIBEB. 



By the Editor. — We are under great obligations to 

 " Subscriber," for his intimations relative to improve- 

 ments in conducting the New England Farmer, and shall 

 occasionally shape our course in conformity to his hints. 

 We have often taken the liberty to '• republish some of 

 our best articles" — sometimes with, and sometimes 

 without, an apology for the repetition. But a digested 

 index of the different volumes of the N. E. Farmer, we 

 should apprehend, would not meet encouragement ade- 

 quate to the trouble and expense of its preparation and 

 publication, because it would be of little use to any per- 

 sons, excepting such as are in possession of tho whole 

 series of volumes of the N. E. Farmer. Besides, wo 

 have already compiled and published a work, entitled 

 The Complete Farmer and Rural Economist, which, in 

 some measure, supplies the place of the " Digest " pro- 

 posed by our correspondent. 



■\Vith regard to the ariicle " On the adviintage of Silk 

 Dresses," alluded to by '■ Subscriber," he may find the 

 substance of it interwoven into an article headed '■ Silk 

 as a non-conductor of electricity and a healthy article of 

 Apparel," published in our Silk Blanual, No. 5, p. 65. 

 Still, as it is often advantageous to give ' line upon line,' 

 we shall probably reprint the paper alluded to in some 

 future number. 



PARMER'S WORK. 



Wood for fuel, &c.— Firewood should be felled 

 when the sap is down; otherwise it will burn less 

 freely, although it may be thoroughly dried. The farm- 

 er should obtain his year's stock of fuel as early in the 

 season as possible, and before the depth of snow in tho 

 woodlands renders it difficult to traverse them with a 

 team. You may, when the ground is frozen, cut and 

 draw wood from swamps, which cannot be passed with 

 teams in warm weather. 



Gen. Newhall, of Lynnfield, Mass. in a communica- 

 tion, published in the N. E. Farmer, vol. x. p. 9, observes 

 as follows : — 



" Having woodland from which I have cut annually, 

 for several years past, from twenty to fifty cords of wood, 

 it has been my practice to have it cut at the time, and 

 in the Tnanner that would best ensure a strong aVd vigor- 

 ous growth of sprouts. To efl'ecl this purpose, I never 

 allow a tree to be cat till after the autumnal frosts have 

 caused the leaves to fall, and the sap to descend into the 

 roots, nor later in the vernal season than the middle of 

 April. The mnrmer of cutting is to leave the stumps 

 nearly on a level with the surfice of the ground, from 

 which the suckers are much more strong and vigorous, 

 and less liable to be injured by high winds, than a growth 

 from stumps, cut ten or twelve inches high, as is the 

 practice with .some. 



" Pursuing this course, I have never been disappoint- 

 ed, and have now on land, from which trees were cut in 

 the midst of winter, a growth of sprouts of the most vig- 

 orous and promising appearance. 



" Respecting large trees, the growth of centuries, cut 

 them at whatever season you please, there is scarcely 

 one stump in a thousand that will produce suckers." 



Preserving grain. — A discovery of considerable im- 

 portance has been announced with repard to preserving 

 grain. To preserve rye, and secure it from insects and 

 rats, nothing more is necessary than not to fan it after 

 it is threshed, and to stow it in the granaries mixed with 

 the chaff. In this slate it has been kept more than three 

 years, without experiencing the smallest alteration, and 

 even without the necessity of being turned to preserve it 

 from humidity and fermentation. The experiment has 

 not yet been made with wheat,-and other kinds of grain ; 

 and they may, probably, be preserved in chaff with 

 equal advantage. 



(For the New Encland Farmer.] 

 CHEATING IN BUTTER. 



Mr Editor :— Will you allow me to lay before you 

 the grievances of those who have to buy hulter.' I 

 should not complain of the price of butter, (though that 

 is unusually high,) provided the article were of good 

 quality. But to be obliged to pay from 30 to 25 cents a 

 pound for common salt, under the name of butter, is real- 

 ly too bad. I bought a large firkin a short time since, 

 and found the upper layer very good, but below that the 

 butter was so intolerably salt that it was next to impossi- 

 ble to eat it. We melted a small quantity of it, and sep- 

 arated the salt from the butter, and though we did not 

 weigh tliem, I think I am safe in saying there was as 



uiuch salt as butter. 1 find from inquiry that my neigh- 

 bors are suffering from the same grievance. Now I say 

 this is a sheer imposition, — a downright c^leal. I pro- 

 test against the introduction of the wooden nutmeg sys- 

 tem into butter making. Do be so good, Mr Editor, as 

 to try to convince all butter makers, at least, that honer- 

 ty is the best policy. ^ A. 



Such cheating as that above complained of should be 

 corrected by legal, if not by legislative, interference. It 

 is one of tho-e cases to which the Hudibrastic couplet 

 does not apply — 



" Tis true the pleasure is as great. 

 In being cheated as to cheat." 



We advise Mr 'A.' to find out the swindler who sellm 

 salt for butter, and at least let detection and exposure 

 tread on the heels of fraud, till the evil-doer shall b» 

 convinced that' honesty is the best policy.' 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAI. SOCIETT, 



Saturday, Nov. 31, 



EXHIBITION OF FFOITS. 



Apples —From Joseph Balch, Roxbury, two kinds, 

 names unknown. 



John Heard, Watertown, and Messrs Hovey, Fall Pip. 

 pin — large. 



E. Vose, Dorchester, Eppes Winter Sweet and Hub- 

 bardston Nonsuch. 



J. C. Frothingham, Charlestown, a Seedling Apple 



H. S. Kendall, Brookline, a very handsome large Ap- 

 ple — name unknown. 



Pears— From D.Adams, Newbury, a Seedling Ba-| 

 king Pear, and a kind, name unknown — a good pear. 



J. Balch, Roxbury, Ambrelt. 



E. S. Rand, Newburyport, Crop Pear — a native, goodf 

 Pear. 



E. Vose, Dorchester, Lewis Pear, and Passe Colraar. 



Cheever Newhall, Dorchester, Chaumontelle — excel- 

 lent. 



In addition to other new varieties, heretofore received 

 the Society are again indebted to Mr M. H. Ruggles, of 

 Fall River, for an excellent Pear, for the season, sup- 

 posed a native, which they call, agreeable to suggestion, 

 the'Phillips Pear. [The letter which accompanied it, 

 we must defer till our next.] Mr R. has sent one other 

 kind, a seedling, which will be reported at maturity. 



Quinces— From William Kenrick, Newton, Musk 

 Quince, of high perfume, a new and valuable kind for 

 preserving. For the Committee, 



B. V. French. 



Col. Wilder, of Dorchester, presented two large rooti 

 ofCellery, one weighing IGlbs. 



We were visited early yesterday morning by a violent 

 north-easterly snow storm, which continued through the 

 day. The snow fell to the depth of several inches.— 

 During part of the day the temperature of the atmos- 

 phere was so mild that the snow chiefly melted as it 

 fell, and the whole will disappear in a short time, unless 

 the weather should become colder. The Autumn thus 

 far, had been unusually mild, and no snow had, until thia 

 time, made its appearance in this vicinitv. — Boston Pat. 

 Nov. 24. 



Mr Berwick, of Kaighn's Point, New Jersey, has 

 raised Cotton during the past season at that place of a 

 long and delicate staple. The seed was planted late 

 but the plants attained the ordinary growth, and the 

 pods v\'ere well filled. 



The dispute about the boundary line between Ohio 

 and Michigan, has, at length, been settled. 



