NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



387 



thus cared for will last twice as long as those ex- 

 posed to the elements, or used when needing re- 

 pairs. 



Order and neatness in everything are essential 



to profit. Broken posts and rails, old wheels and 

 parts of carts, sleds and small implements scat- 

 tered about the yards and road-side, are indicative 

 of anything but system and true economy. 



The House. — Before the fierce winds blow about 

 your ears and benumb your fingers, look well to 

 all your buildings. See that every clapboard on 

 your house is tight in its place; that the doors 

 shut easy and closely; that the broken panes of 

 g-lass arc replaced by whole ones; that the roof is 

 examined and made tight, — then, while around 

 the cheerful winter fire, no fitful blasts will howl 

 reproachful requiems in your ears. 



The Cellar. — The temperature of the cellar 

 should be kept as low as is convenient for the bet- 

 ter keeping of the roots. Ventilate it often. If 

 the heavy rains find their way, or the springs flow 

 in, dig a trench all round the outer edge and fill 

 with stones or brush, gradually sloping to the out- 

 let or drain. 



The Barn. — Make the barn all tight; batten 

 the cracks about the horse and cattle stalls. Com- 

 fortably stabled and bedded, your animals require 

 much less food than when shivering with cold. 

 There is more profit from working cattle and 

 milch cows, young stock grow faster, and there is 

 a greater gain every way in the careful treatment 

 of your animals. 



The Orchard. — Take away dry grass and 

 weeds, or old mulching from young trees; mice 

 will rarely gnaw them unless there are substances 

 near suitable for the construction of their nests. 

 If these animals are troublesome, it will be better 

 to throw half-rotted leaves, or old peat-mud, about 

 your nursery seedlings, than to use any coarse lit- 

 ter, as we have suggested before. 



some unruly animal. Now is the time to attend to 

 this business, and let it be well done, that the 

 trees may be safe through the winter. 



PROTECT YOUR FRUIT TREES, 

 A great many fruit growers buy good and hand- 

 some trees, and get them growing well, and then 

 frequently, by neglect, allow cattle to injure or 

 destroy them. Cattle are very fond of browse in 

 winter, and when they cannot have convenient 

 access to it they will chew up suculent shoots if 

 they are nearly an inch in diameter, and break 

 down and disfigure the tree. 



A little attention to walls and fences will prevent 

 this great evil, and bring forward the promising 

 trees to be a profit and an ornament. Sometimes 

 a fruit-grower pays fifty cents for a tree, and fifty 

 more in taking care of it, and then, from its fine, 

 promising appearance, he would not take two or 

 three dollars, and it is richly worth it; yet, for 

 the want of a few minutes' time, in fastening a 

 board, or fixing a nail, this beautiful and valuable 

 tree, and perhaps many more, are destroyed by 



AN OLD SETTLER. 

 The Gentleman's Magazine for 17G2 contains 

 an account of the age of a chestnut tree then grow- 

 ing at Tamworth, in Staffordshire. Tliis tree, it 

 is said, was, at that period, probably the oldest, 

 and certainly one of the largest, in England, be- 

 ing fifty-two feet in circumference. Its period of 

 rising from the nut may be fixed at the year 800, 

 in the reign of King Egbert. From that date to 

 the reign of King Stephen is 335 years, at which 

 time it was fixed on as a boundary or landmark, 

 and called by way of distinction, "the Great Chest- 

 nut Tree of Tamworth." From the first year of 

 Stephen (anno 1135) to 1762, is 027 years, so that 

 its entire age at that period was 962 years. It 

 bore nuts in 1759, from which young trees were 

 raised. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 WHAT'S IN A NAME ? 

 It appears to be a matter of some considerable 

 importance with many, to have a name appended to 

 every newspaper article. I have begun to be in 

 doubt whether it were best or not to write again for 

 the "Farmer," without deciding to put my name to 

 whatever I should write. I have, however, resolved 

 to write this once, and I must inquire, "What's in 

 a name?" 



I sometimes take up a paper and observe an ar- 

 ticle from the pen of some well known and popular 

 writer. Immediately I engage in reading it. It 

 is upon the subject of agriculture. The writer 

 o-ives an account of a very large crop which he has 

 obtained, and tells us what he applied to the soil 

 before planting. All that is fine— it is first rate. 

 Now any man can go and do likewise, for this 

 very popular writer has told us how it has been 

 done (^). Well, here is a case, which, were it not 

 for the popularity of the writer, would have been 

 closely criticised by one part of the readers; and 

 passed by like other things by the rest. There is 

 a great omission in it, and one which throws the 

 whole story into a state of worthlessness. The 

 writer has omitted to describe the soil upon which 

 he was so successful. It might have been rich in 

 certain properties not found in soils generally, and 

 these properties were brought into action by the 

 accents employed to change the condition ot the 

 soil. Such is, in fact, the character of articles 

 which occupy the columns of agricultural papers. 

 They serve to get people into a great many exper- 

 iments in imitation of those of which they read, 

 which prove highly injurious to them. 



For myself, I reason that a man who depends 

 too much upon another, will find his case a bad 

 one. Were I known as familiarly as 1 could tind 

 it pleasant to be, with all who read what I write ; 

 and as popular with them as my vanity could de- 

 sire, yet I know that truth, and hioioledge not my 

 name, should guide them. I should therefore wish 

 them to scan every article I should write for them, 

 closely and critically. If an important omission is 

 made, the chain is thereby broken 



