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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



The Globe Flower or Bachelor's Button is among 

 the finest, Init the seed is very liable to fail unless 

 sown under glass; the plant may, however, be 

 transplanted into the open ground at any time after 

 they are fairly started. The crimson blossoms of 

 this plant, if picked just before the frost comes, 

 will retain their form and color all winter. 



Those who wish to see specimens of various 

 flowers before they undertake their cultivation, will 

 find from sixty to seventy figured annually in the 

 American Flora, published by Green & Spencer, 

 New York. w. f b. 



Ashfidd, Jan. 20. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 PLOUGHS AND PLOUGHING. 



Mr. Cole: — I bavc noticed with much interest 

 in the agricultural papers the past season, the dis- 

 cussion of the subjects of ploughs and ploughing — of 

 the narrow slice and broad slice, the deep and the 

 shoal — turning the sod over flapjack fashion and 

 setting it upon edge. The experience of fifty years 

 and more forbids my concurrence in the modern 

 doctrine of narrow furrow and slice set up edge- 

 ways. I mean in turning up sward ground. As 

 to ploughing old grounds, corn hills, stubble, &c., 

 it is no new thing to use small ploughs, and cut 

 narrow furrows so as to pulverise the soil. 



When a boy, and I first began to drive or hold, I 

 thought [ could jdough fiister with the large break- 

 ing up plough on the old ground, but my father 

 would not permit, and told me to use what was then 

 called the old ground or seed plough — and cut nar- 

 now furrows more tbnrouglily to pulverise the soil. 

 Tlie intelligent farmer will consider the nature and 

 condition of the soil he is to cultivate, and the ob- 

 ject be has in its cultivation, and then adapt his 

 operations and instruments to the object in view — 

 different soils require diffe-ent treatment. Our best 

 ploughs for our New England soils, rocky, clay or 

 sandy, would be but sorry implements on the prai- 

 ries of the West. 



Some correspondents of agricultural papers, how- 

 ever, seem to prescribe the same mode for all plough- 

 ing — of swai-d ground or otherwise, and whether 

 the sward be tough or tender, deep or shoal, wet or 

 dry, or the soil claj^ey, strong or sandy Now this 

 1 ioks to me like liook tarming in the bad sense, 

 and not the fruits of a series of practical experi- 

 ments; for to an observing agriculturist his whole 

 life of labor is but a series of experiments. 



One object in breaking up the sward ground is 

 to kill the vegetation then growing, root and branch 

 and convert it into vegetable mould or manure. 

 This surely cannot be done in case of strong sward 

 by setting the turf up edgeways, and drying it. Try 

 such by ploughing in the fall, and by planting time, 

 if the season be dry, you will find the turf not in 

 progress of decomposition, but dry as a sheep skin 

 hung exposed to air and sun; or if the spring be 

 wetthe grass on the slice will be starting fresh as 

 on the unploughed field. 



But say the advocates of this new doctrine, you 

 must let the air below the surlace — let the sod be 

 exposed to the air — the air-ooust not be excluded l)y 

 wide furrow slices laid over flat. I think a little 

 careful observation will show that all needful air 

 cannot be kept from the. bottom of the turf by sim- 

 ply turning it over unless the soil is so wet that it 

 seems like mortar, and closes the seams between 



the slices, in which condition no experienced farmer 

 would desire to have his ground ploughed. The 

 use of the roller over broke-up ground has been 

 strongly recommended, and fin- the reason that it 

 presses down the sod, jirevents the vegetation from 

 drying, and makes it ferment and rot. My expe- 

 rience fully confirms the benefit of this practice. 



I have never been able on good tillage land when 

 dry enough to plough — that is when the earth be- 

 low the sod will pulverise as it is turned up, to lay 

 the turf over too flat — too flat to destroy the vegeta- 

 tion and rot, and prepare it for the use of the culti- 

 vated crop for the first and second j'ear of cultiva- 

 tion. Indeed, a valid objection is made to a two 

 years course on strong sward land for the reason 

 that the sod, the grass roots^ cannot be thoroughly 

 rotted and pulverised, and be well and smoothly laid 

 down without a third years cultivation. 



The objection I have to a narrow slice is that it 

 cannot be so effectually turned over to pievent the 

 grass from growing at the edge as in a wider one, 

 especially if the plough is run as deep as the ground 

 ought to bestirred. If the ground be strong it is dif- 

 ficult to keep the plough steady to its bearing un- 

 less you cut a slice so wide as to have a weighty 

 pressure on the mould or furrow-board to pievent its 

 being thrown out even by stones of a small size. 



To turn the turf well and easily there must be 

 a due proportion between its width and depth — say 

 a foot wide to six or eight inches deep. Such was 

 my practical experience when a boy, with the bad- 

 ly constructed ploughs of those days, and I find it 

 the same with the greatly improved ploughs of the 

 present day. 



I intended to make some suggestions as to 

 the nature of the improvements on t"he old ploughs 

 rf former days, but I find my sheet nearly covered, 

 and I must defer them to a more convenient season. 



RuFus McIntire. 



Parsojisjidd, Me. 



MASHED POTATOES. 



How few know how to prepare good mashed 

 potatoes? Those who are ignorant of the secret, 

 may learn from the following receipt: — 



Boil them perfectly tender quite through, pour 

 off the water, and steam them very dry, peel them 

 quickly, take out ev-Tv speck, and while they are 

 still hot, press the i>utatoes thiough an earthen 

 cullender, or bruise them to a smooth mash with a 

 strong wooden fork or spoon, but never pound them 

 in a mortar, as that will reduce them to a close 

 heavy paste. Lc( them be entirdy free from lumps, 

 for nothing can be more indicative of carelessness 

 or want of skill on the part of the cook, than 

 mashed potatoes sent to the table full of these. 

 Melt in a clean saucepan a slice of good butter 

 with a few spoonfuls of milk, or, better still, of 

 cream; put in the potatoes after having sprinkled 

 some fine salt upon them, and stir the whole over a 

 gentle fire, with a wooden spoon, until the ingredi- 

 ents are well mixed, and the whole is very hot. It 

 may then be served directly; or heaped high in a 

 dish left rough on the surface, and browned before 

 the fire; or it may be pressed into a well-buttered 

 mould of handsome form, which has been strewed 

 with the finest bread-crumbs, and shaken free of 

 the loose ones, then turned out and browned in a 

 Dutch or common oven. More or less liquid will 

 be required to moisten sufficiently potatoes of vari- 

 ous kinds. 



