174 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



nKc I, is*i. 



A.M) HOnXICl/LTURAL RFGISTER. 



BosTOK, Wednesday, December 1, 1841. 



CARE OF STOCK. 



At seasiinalile times we have spoken of the producing 

 and gathering in nf hny, roots, &c. ; also of the impor- 

 tance of making the barn cuniforlablc. Without feed 

 and comfortiible lodging, slock will not thrive. But 

 these alone nrc not all that the lurtner may pruAlably 

 allow to his domestic animals. 



Kindness or gentleness in the general treatment ofall. 

 animals, is quite conducive to their enjoyment and 

 thrift; we tlicrefore recomraend the euiployment of 

 kind tones and gentle action towards tlie inniatet. of the 

 barn. No ninltiT honr large your outlay of kindness, 

 for the investment will yield a good interest. 



The card nnd currycomb, by exciting the action of the 

 skin, help lo incrcwe the circulations and to give health 

 and vigor to the .•mimal. The cow being gener.illy con- 

 6nod to the yard in winter and accustomed lo but little 

 •lereise, require'; carding and robbing more than the 

 01, whose exorcsBu will open the pores of the skin and 

 help to keep up.goo'l circulations throughout the system. 

 And yot it is tin; or, that goes into company witli his 

 owner, whoso liidn is rubbed down with elbow grc.ise — 

 while the cow, needing it more, is seldom thus favored. 

 A good carding, each morning, will be found econnmi- 

 cal food fur your beasts. 



Let all ynur animals be so well littered that their bed 

 shall be dry and comrortable. Sides bedaubed and wet 

 with excrements, must be both uncomfortable and un- 

 healthy. 



Feed out your hay in small quantities at a time — the 

 cattle rolioli belter that which lias just been put before 

 them, than that which they have fouled by their breath. 

 Mil a variety of kinds together — fresh meadow hay, salt 

 marsh hay, oat or barley straw, English hay, these or 

 whatever other ingredients you may have, it is oft n 

 well to mix thoroughly nnd feed out In the stock. The 

 proportions must be dttermiiied by the quantity of each 

 that is to be consumed in the course of the winter — but 

 make your calculations 80 ns to have the fond become 

 better in quality toward spring, than it is in mid winler. 

 All hiy before being fe.l out should bo well shaken 

 up. The more the straws cross each other, and the 

 lighter they lay one upon the other, the belter will tliey 

 be masticated and the mure nourishment will they of- 

 ford. 



Like their owners, cattle relish variety, and it is well 

 to vary the kinds of food frequently — n foddering of 

 corn stalks or stover, duily, is relished not only bv ani- 

 mals that are made to cat mean hay, but also by those 

 which are plentifully fed with hay of the finest quality. 

 Roots are fed out pTofusely by some fanners to their 

 stock. That tlin\ are valuable, no one doubts — but we 

 have sometimes ihought that where more ilian a p8>>k or 

 at most a peck and an hall per day is given to a cow, 

 that the excess above this quantity is much les.s servicea- 

 ble than the first peck. A targe quantity is too loosen- 

 ing, and produces an irritation which causes much of the 

 food to pass oir loo rapidly, and before it has given out 

 the nouri-hment it would have furnished had it been 

 longer retained. Where such resulis follow, thour>h 

 your stock may thrive — yet the keeping is expensive 

 Wc deem it doHbtlul whether the use of roots diminish- 

 es to any con-idoriible extent the quantity of hay which 

 an animal requires ; but where roots are used, meaner 

 hay will answer ilio pnrp.se, and the slock will come 

 out in much Imiter condaion in the spring. 



Be Teitular in your hours of feeding. This regularity 

 contributes much to the quiet and contentment of ail 

 animals. 



Keep the barn floor clean : a broom should always 

 be kept there and frequently used. Save every thing 

 that the slock can be made to eat. The lime spent in 

 the barn in preparing the feed and in keeping the «ni 

 mals clean and comfortable, is far from being thrown 

 away. 



Water should always be in the barn-yard, and ills 

 desirable to have it under cover. 



The testimony in regard to the economy of chopping 

 hay and straw, is strong and full. 



is our teacher,) we would rather be at work in the ditch,, 

 than sitting by ihe anthracite coal fire writing for tho 

 farmer, liul stern necessity olten forbids ilie gratifica- 

 tion of some of our longings. In other words, we hopa 

 to earn mora money by the pen than we can by using- 

 the spade. 



Don't forget to dig the muck, if you have any spot 

 where it can be procured in winler. 



THOSE BUSHES IN THE SWAMP. 



Might it not be well for you, as soon as the ground 

 freezes up, to wage war upon the aUlers, blueberry bush- 

 es, water bushes, i&c. which skirt your wet mowing 

 lands .' These are iloinly tribes, generally feeding upon 

 your best soils where grass would be glud lo grow, and 

 would grow profusely if it could but have a fair chance. 

 In the winter, while the frost holds the roots in place 

 and gives one firm foothold, these intruders may be cut 

 close to the surface, and with much dispatch. They 

 tell me that an acre of my land from which I took last 

 summer a irood burthen of wet or fresh meadow grass 

 was, only four years ago, covered entirely with alder 

 bushes; these bushes were cut in winter with a hassoc 

 hon, the man hacking up to the bushes and striking be- 

 tween his feet. Nothing more has been done to this 

 land, and yet I have never seen above the surface a sin- 

 gle stump, or any signs that a bush ever e.xisted there. 

 At the Agnculiural Worehouses may be found an im- 

 plement which may be called a hassock hoe, but the bit 

 is so much twisted that the user of it may strike at the 

 sideof his feet and yet cut horizontally and smoothly. 

 Whether tl is will be preferred tothc hoe proper, which 

 requires the man to strike between his feet, we are una- 

 ble to form an opinion. But with one or the other, or 

 with your axe, attack these intruders and eye sores. At 

 thisseason they can be cut much more smoothly than in 

 the summer; tliey can also bo removed more conve- 

 niently, and whero they are of any worth as fuel, the 

 absence of leaves from the branches increases tho facili- 

 ty with which the brush can be cut, nnd also makes the 

 brush much loss ditty. If then you have a few days to 

 spare for this work, watch Ihc condition of the ground, 

 and when that is in the right state— frozen but not cov- j ■''fi'" ^^"'' l'"* expression of our thanks, be picased 



JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS. 



We give today the opinion delivered by the august 

 and honorable Court holden at Worcester on the day of 

 the Cattle Show. It is presumed to be from the pen of 



Chief Justice L , whose interest in tho^e that are 



brought lo the bar of the court over which he presided, 

 bespeaks a susceptible nnd noble soul, end whose deci- 

 sions are so happily tempered with consideration, mercy 

 and good will, that even those whose doserts arc not so 

 manliest as to entitle them to be sentfneed to receive & 

 fine from the Society, will return to their home so delight- 

 ed with the attention they received, as to be favored with 

 quiet sleep, good digestion, and consequent happine»s 

 and t'lrift. Those who brought disgrace upon their 

 kind by engaging in "an affair of honor,' will we trust 

 bow submissivel/ and penitently to the sentence if the 

 court, and cause their race in future times to avoid imi- 

 tating those biped barbarians whose example is evil. 



A CARD. 



Since writing the above, we have received the follow 



Ing card, with a request ihat it should be published. 



The thanks are so well merited that we comply with 

 the request with the greatest possible alacrity. 



To the Chief Justice of the Court upon Smne, holden at 

 Worcester on the 13tb ull. : 

 Hon. and Dear Sir— The undersigned having bean 

 placed within the bars of the Court over which you pre- 

 sided, feci compelled by a high sense of duty, to expres* 

 to yi»u our hearty thanks for the deep interest you take 

 in us and all of our kith and kin ; for the much you have 

 done to bring us into favorable notice, and elevate our 

 standing; for the unvarying politeness and aliention 

 you have extended to us, and the manifest disposition 

 you have ever shown to be an impartial judge of beautu 

 and excellence — for even while some of us are lome- 

 what onviousof those whom you have preferred, we 

 yet have the utmost confidence in your disposition to do 



erod with snow— then lay to and cut diligently. 



DIGGING MUGK. 



What ! muck again .' Yes, muck aijain, and perpetu- 

 ally, almost. Many of the spots in which this is found 

 are so wet in winter that Ihoy cannot be worked ; but 

 from some places you may obtain this m Uerial for com- 

 post while the ground is frozen. II you would like to 

 open a diich through that wet meadow of yours, where 

 it is too soft for the team to go on in summer, try it this 

 winter. Wait until the frost is three or four inches 

 deep Then, with an axe, in tho morning out the top 

 up into cakes, and throw them off from one or two rods 

 In length. Th.^n take the peat spade, peat knife, turf 

 spade, (or whatever name you choose for the iiiiplemont,) 

 and throw out a few loads ; then take the team and cart 

 off before night what you have thrown out. Muck, pro- 

 cured at »w.h a time, freezes very hard in a few days, 

 ond ns a consequence is very minutely pulverized when 



the frost leaves it in Ihe spring. We have tried it and I'diency of forming a National A „,,„,„, 



1 1 is by no means bad work to dig muck from " f, !""' *'"' "' '""">' "'' ''"' '*"■'" eVs' I,f"N,'w Knolani 

 „i„. 11 1 J . , will be there as enn find time and t „...,,, ,.,,„nH Thi 



nter, provided you have a good pa,r of\ invitation i. to all who are willia g"' "uhe. plrl in ill! 



to accept our best wishes for your happin>.>si, and our 

 trust that you may feast upon belter things than pork — 'I 

 upon the finest 4cf/and the most dolieate poultry. 

 Yours, very respectfully— in behalf of 

 " The Congregation of the Great, and Fat and Good.*" 

 L. Beresiiire, 

 B. Leicester, 

 N. E. Leicesver, 

 Striped I'lo 

 B. MACEAr ,' 

 O. BrriEL 1), ani* l 



V oe Idl ~ '''"*'"' -KKDJ .HTAl. 



Aim. 25, 1841. 



It7-4^nc0{a'« commcDts upon the lef ler of Eusebiui] 

 will appear next week. 



kno 

 many sji 



MEETING AT WASHIN gT ON. 

 On Wednesday, two weeks from th .i, , j^^ ,|,f (^^ 

 of A|:riculture meet in \Vashington, ,o cn.'ijcr the t 



gri' :ulluriil Societyi 



boots. So far on peraonol comfort goes, (and experience proceedings. 



