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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JEV/ETT'S MERINO SHEEP. 



This group of sheep represents a lot bred by 

 Solomon W. Jevvett, Esq., of Weybridge, Vt., 

 sired by bis premium buck Fortune. They were 

 exhibited at the fair of the American Institute, in 

 October, 1849, by Messrs. Cullen and George W. 

 Capeheart, of Merry Hill, North Carolina, to 

 whom was awarded a silver cup for the best fine- 

 wooled ewes, and a diploma for the second best 

 fine-wooled buck. 



These sheep are distinguished for yielding very 

 heavy fleeces of fine wool. They are very hardy, 

 possessing strong constitutions. The ewes are 

 good nurses and the lambs are easily reared, as 

 they come strong and are protected by a thick cov- 

 ering of hair and fur, which in a few months gives 

 place to a soft, compact covering of fine wool. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE POTATO DISEASE. 



Mr. Editor. — One of the first things I do when 

 your valuable paper comes to hand, is to look for 

 remarks on the potato disease. Having tried vari- 

 ous experiments with potatoes a year or two since, 

 in England, I felt anxious to know if any person 

 on this side of the Atlantic had tried similar ex- 

 periments; and though T have met with many val- 

 uable articles on the subject, my anxiety was not 

 lessened, as none of the modes of treatment recom- 

 mended bore any similarity to the method adopted 

 by me. But through your paper of May 10th, I 

 am gratified to learn that Mr. Leonard Loomis, of 

 Tolland, Conn., has tried the same means with suc- 

 cess. I feel persuaded that if the method recom- 

 mended by that gentleman can be adopted, it will 

 prove effectual. 



The following is the course pei'sued by me with 

 its results: In the year 1847 I planted a small 

 patch of early potatoes, which, when dug up, were 

 three-fourths rotten. But the man who dug them, 

 considering they were of little value, left a great 

 many in the ground which I was not aware of, till 

 they came up in the spring; and as they looked 

 strong and healthy, I resolved to let them stand. I 

 dug between them in the month of March, and 

 filled the ground out with the same kind of pota- 

 toes. But what was my surprise when I dug them 

 to find those I planted considerably more than half 

 rotten, while those which were left in the ground 

 were quite sound. I immediately determined to 

 try autumn planting. I prepared a small piece of 

 ground in November, and planted a certain number 

 of rows, being particular to mark the rows with 

 sticks. In January, I planted the same number of 

 rows, of the same kind, adjoining them. In March 

 the same, and also the first week in May. 



I was very particular at each planting to mark 

 them so as to be able to see the effect. They were 

 planted on about three-quarters of an acre of land, 

 and were all dug in one week, and the following 

 was the result: 



Those planted in November were dug first, and 

 I do not think there was a diseased potato among 

 them. 



Of those planted in January, but very few indeed 

 were rotten. 



Of those planted in March, more than half were 



rotten, and a great many of those which appeared 

 sound when dug, rotted afterwards. 



Of those planted in May, scarce a sound potato 

 could be found. 



I do not know whether such a method can be 

 universally ado'pted in this country, as I fear the 

 frost would destroy them; but if it could I am sat- 

 isfied it would be crowned with success. 



Yours, truly, John E. Stewart. 



Li/7in, Mass., May 28th, 1851. 



Remarks. — In this country, our winters are too 

 severe and changeable, to admit of autumnal plant- 

 ing of potatoes. The frost would usually destroy 

 them, unless planted very deep, or protected by 

 covering. In some seasons in the interior of the 

 country, where changes in weather are less fre- 

 quent than near the sea, a deep snow comes ear- 

 ly in the season, before the ground is deeply fro- 

 zen, and it remains on all winter. In such cases 

 potatoes keep well in the ground where raised. 

 But these cases are rare, and none can foresee 

 them. — Editor. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 STUDY AND LABOR. 



Mr. Editor: — There are many who have a dis- 

 positi<m to study, in order to be informed in rela- 

 tion to science and literature, but who, because 

 they have not the necessary funds to enable them 

 to prosecute their studies systematically at an 

 academy or other institutions of learning, and be- 

 cause they are compelled to work at least a part of 

 the time in order to "support nature" — console 

 themselves in their non-intellectual career by the 

 very plausible excuse that they belong to that ^^un- 

 fortunate"" class who nuist labor for a living, and, 

 of course, cannot study. 



Now let us for a moment look at the case of 

 those who would study as they say, if they were 

 only able to do so, and ascertain whether, if their 

 desire for education was in reality as great as for 

 money, they could not gain a sufficient time from 

 their labor to obtain the amount of knowledge 

 necessary for most practical purposes. 



It is said by those upon whose judgment we can 

 rely in these matters, that a man can perform as 

 much by working on an average only ten hours a 

 day, as he can by working longer than that, and 

 physicians say that seven or eight hours in twenty- 

 four are sufficient fi)r sleep. Such being the case, 

 and allowing one hour for meals and taking tlie 

 larger number for sleep, we find that there would 

 be only nineteen hours employed out of the twenty- 

 four, leaving five hours each day which might be 

 devoted to study. And furthermore teachers say 

 that six hours of the hardest and deepest study are 

 better for a student — that he can acquire a greater 

 amount of knowledge in that time than a whole 

 day of superficial study, and dozing over books, as 

 is too often the case. And, moreover, there are 

 few who can endure that kind of study in which 

 all the faculties of the mind are concentrated, (and 

 this is the kind of study in which a person should 

 engage, if he would be improved the most in the 

 shortest time,) for a longer time than six hours out 

 of twenty-four. 



Thus it may be seen that the laboring man, as 

 regards the acquisition of knowledge, has almost 



