NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



237 



er the entire surface, one or two inches thick at 

 least, with clean straw. 



This proves beneficial in keepin<T down the 

 weeds, in retaining moisture, and in keeping the 

 fruit perfectly clean. I tried the above method 

 last year, at the suggestion of a friend, and was 

 perfectly satisfied with the result. 



Yours truly, A Lover of Tomatoes. 



July 2nd, 1851. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 VITALITY OP VEGETABLES. 



The propensity of the esculent roots, the potato, 

 the onion, the turnip and others, to grow after be- 

 ing gathered late in autumn, is familiar to all; 

 thouffh the potato shows no signs of growth till 

 warm weather returns in the spring. The potato 

 is thought to be losing its vital energy or vegeta- 

 ting power, according to the opinions of some, and 

 to this cause they ascribe its blight or rot. The 

 correctness of this opinion I much doubt, for rea- 

 sons which I now state. Those potatoes untouched 

 with that disease, indicate vegetating power, in 

 the cellar and when planted, no less than they did 

 before the rot appeared. Stray potatoes lying in 

 my cellar a year after being duof, confined under an 

 inverted bin, were found last November to have 

 been vegetating all summer, and a large number of 

 pea-sized potatoes were growing upon the branches 

 shot forth from the parent tuber. From this they 

 derived their life and growth. They were pre- 

 served during the past winter without any special 

 means for the purpose, being left open to the air 

 like the last gathered crop. Now, the parent and 

 offspring are planted together, and the little pota- 

 toes are sending up small vines correspondent with 

 their size. The life of the old potato was spent in 

 propagating the young ones. The result I shall 

 watch with interest. This fact shows the tenacity 

 of life in the parent tuber, and in its imprisoned 

 progeny remarkably. 



I observe, also, that some potatoes accidentally 

 left in the ground over winter are shooting forth 

 vigorous branches, and earlier, larger leaves than 

 those springing from my planted hills. Having lain 

 in the earth unexposed to the air, unaffected by its 

 influence, they seem to grow with rapidity and 

 healthy vigor. I see no evidence to convince me, 

 therefore, that this vegetable is subject to rotting 

 from loss of vegetating health and strength, or from 

 decay of its vital principle. 



The onion, turnip, beet, &c., as also the cabbage 

 and cauliflower and Scotch cale, refuse to suspend 

 their vegetating process till spring returns, and 

 struggle forward towards the formation of tops and 

 branches for the production of seed. I was sur- 

 prised, this spring, to find that cauliflower stocks, 

 unfit for cutting and thrown over a box containino- 

 turnips m my garden, and there covered with tur- 

 nip tops and hemlock boughs to protect the turnips 

 from frost, had grown in that position and had flow- 

 ers fit for cooking. It convinced me that a box 

 covering of boards with a good roofing of hemlock 

 boughs would have enabled the row of cauliflowers 

 to survive the last winter, and continue their growth 

 in their original position, to far greater advantage. 

 Such an experiment may be worth trying with 

 cauliflowers if not with cabbages set out in rows 

 before the hard frosts of November commence. 



Salisbury, Ct., June 9, 1851. J. Lee. 



For the Neif En^lnnil Farmer. 



PRODUCT OF CERTAIN COWS. 

 [Mr. Atherton forwarded to us the following ar- 

 ticle for publication, which was also communicated 

 to the Ploughman, and has appeared in that paper. 

 —Ed.] 



Mr. Editor: — 1 take this opportunity to inform 

 you of a trial of one of the improved breed of cows, 

 which I hope you will think important enough to 

 lay before your readers, for their special benefit. — 

 And many will still contend they are no better than 

 the common native, unless they have better keep. 

 I have 24 cows that T am keeping at home and 

 milking this summer; part of them are Durham, 

 the rest are Durham and Ayrshire crosses; the lat- 

 ter I think are better when taken in all than either 

 of them are clear. The one I send you the trial of 

 is a Durham, 9 years old, which calved in April. 



June 1 morninj^ 20 lbs. of milk. 



" eveiiine 20 " " 



June 2 inoriiiiig 17 " " 



" eveniiig 20i " " 



June 3 morninjj 20 " " 



" eveninft 20 " " 



June 4 morning 20 " " 



" evening 21 " " 



Junes morning 20 " " 



" evening 2U " " 



June 6 morning 19 " " 



" evening"; 21 " " 



June 7 morning 18t " " 



" evening 19^ " " 



278 lbs. 



Which made 13 lbs. 8 oz. of the very best of but- 

 ter. I also have another cow 6 years old, which 

 calved in April, that gave in the same time 259 1-2 

 lbs. of milk and made 12 lbs. 9 oz. of butter; and 

 one 3 years old heifer that I tried only 3 days, 

 which was the 5th, 6th, Tth of June, which made 

 4 1-2 lbs. of butter in the three days; and I wish 

 it to be remembered that these cows had nothing 

 but pasture feed, and run with the rest, making a 

 drove of 24; neither did they have any kind of 

 grain or roots, for some 8 or 10 days before the 1st 

 of June. They were milked between 5 and 6 

 o'clock, morn and eve, as near as circumstances 

 would admit. 



We invite all that feel interested in breeding the 

 best of stock to call and see ours before purchasing, 

 and we think they never will have cause to regret 

 their journey. 



Yours, &c., S. T. Atherton, 



Shaker Village, Harvard, Mass. 



South Groton, June IG/A. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE BIRDS. 



Mr. Cole: — It is with pain I see so many birds 

 cruelly destroyed by persons who are ambitious of 

 being known as a "good shot," while the prairies 

 of the Great West are open to them, stocked with 

 all kinds of game, where these "good shots" 

 would have ample amusement and would do com- 

 paratively little harm. It is not generally known 

 that birds destroy more insects and worms than 

 they destroy grain, for which fact we have only to 

 look to the Southern States. Some years ago it 

 was believed that the blackbirds destroyed the rice, 

 so they were shot down by hundreds, and finally 

 driven away from several localities. The fiirmers 

 were beginning to exult in their triumph, when lo ! 

 the rice had all been destroyed by the worms; and 



