®l)e .farmer's iitotttljln Visitor. 



147 



like u horse, lie made himself very useful in 

 this capacity ; and was of such great strength, 



•-. that he would take I load of more than six (liou- 

 6aud pounds (three tons) along a level road with 

 ns much Bfise, and perhaps more, that! any one 

 of you could trundle a wheelbarrow load of dirt 

 nut weighing over one hundred pounds. 



Well, one day, alter a hard morning's work, 

 they turned him out into the park to feeil and 

 ■■■ -frt'sli dims -If on the lich grass that was grow- 

 ing there. In the same pasture was another 

 •hull, which proved to he of a vicious temper; 

 for no sooner did he espy a farm laborer from 

 tir- adjoining field attempt to pass through the 

 pasture, than lie commenced bellowing: and paw- 

 ing, and then rushed forward with all his might, 

 determined to gore him todealli. The ferocious 

 beast had knocked the man down, and was in 

 the aet of stooping to to.-s him on his horns, 

 when lie- kind tempered Durham bull, seeing 

 his extreme danger, set off on a full run to his 

 rescue, lie came up with such prodigious force 

 as to knock the wicked bull prostrate at a single 

 blow of his head. He then commenced affec- 

 tionately licking the fallen uiau, which so revived 

 him, that lie turned over, and perceiving that it 

 was the friendly Durham hull, he at length got 

 strength to rise u\t, when, mounting the back of 

 his dumb iVieiul, he' was Boon earned out of dan- 

 ger. 



Now, bo_\s, yoii will see the safety of possess- 

 ing good-natured animals; and there is not only 

 superior safety, but greater utility, in them ; for 



. they will consume less food, do more work, give 



mil!;, if females, and finally fatten better, 



and of course be more valuable through life in 



i 



th .; end.— Mtierkafi .4grt'cuHnriV. 



the presidency, he earnestly recommended Con- 

 gress to establish a Board of Agrieulture, or to 

 take some other measures to foster that peaceful 

 hut leading and important interest. They have 

 been since repeatedly urged to lend the strong 

 arm of government to the elevation and encour- 

 agement of that neglected calling. What have 

 lljey done ? Nothing. Millions and millions 

 have been expended t> learn young men how to 

 fight; not the "first red cent " to teaeh them the 

 noble, bread-giving, world-sustaining service and 

 art of agriculture ! — .Maine Fanner. 



from the New England Fanner. 



The old familiar Farm-IIouse. 



ay mhs. v.. c. looms: 



The old fimiliar farm-house is falling to decay, 



And those who were its annates have long since passed 



away ; 

 Vet round it fondly lingers full many a vision bright 

 Ol childhood's sunny moments, so fraught with pure do- 



light. 



The old familiar larm-house ! Its lolly, ancient trecB, 

 Which catch the earliest sunlight, and wave in every 



breeze, 

 Lake sentinels are standing, their lonely watch to keep, 

 While he whose lingers trained them has sunk in death's 



long sleep 



The old familiar farm-house ! Its garden once was fair, 

 With manv a blooming tloweret; but weeds arc rankling 



there. 

 And tangled vines, neglected, o'er broken arbors cling, 

 And from their malted foliage the household robins sing. 



The old familiar farm-house ! Alas ! 'lis desolate ! 



No words of cheering welcome the wearied traveller 



greet, 

 And from its ample hearth-stone there comes no voice of 



glee, 

 No gush of childish laughter, no song of melody. 



The old familiar farm-house ! It wakens memory's spell, 

 And tells of by-gone pleasures, remembered, O, how well ! 

 And though 'tis now deserted, and will soon in ruins lie, 

 Sweet visions round it cluster that cannot fade and die. 

 Lebanon, <.'t., August, 1849. 



Feeding Cattle. — An English writer ob- 

 serves that two great points in feeding cattle are 

 regularity and a particular care of the weaker 

 individuals. On this last account there, ought to 

 he pl'iity of trough or rack room, that too many 

 may not feed together ; in which very common 

 rase the weaker are not only trampled down by 

 _ the stronger, but they are worried and become 

 rowed and spiritless: thaju u Inch there cannot 

 he a. more unfavorable state for thrift ; besides, 

 eiiuipelled to shift with the worst 

 of the fodder. This domineering spirit is so re- 

 maikahly prevalent among horned catlle, that 

 the writer has a hundred limes observed the 

 master beasts running from crib to crib, and ab- 

 6olnfW\ negfi ■"tmg their own provender for the 

 sake of driving the inferior from theirs. This 

 is, much ofteuer than suspected, the chief reason 

 of i hat difference in a lot of beasts, alter a wiu- 

 ter's keep. ]i is likewise, ho pays, a very com- 

 mon and very shameful sight, in a dairy of cows, 

 to see several of them gored and wounded in a 

 do/.eu places, merely from the inattention of the 

 miner, and ihe neglect of clipping the horns of 

 those that butt. The weaker animals should be 

 kept apart; and in crib-feeding in the yard, it is 

 a good method to tie up the master-beasts at 

 their meals. 



Dr. Deane says, " There should be more yards 

 than one to a barn where divers sorts of cattle 

 are kept. The sheep should have a yard by 

 themselves at least; and the young stock an- 

 other, that they may he wholly confined to such 

 fodder tis the farmer can afford them."- — Yankee 

 Farmer. 



From the New England Farmer. 

 Barren Apple Trees. 

 Mr. Editor. — Bear Sir: I have been looking 

 in the New England Parmer for something to 

 make barren apple trees bear; but 1 have looked 

 in vain, i can bear nothing in relation to that 

 subject. I have ti tree on my farm that is young 

 and thrifty: the trunk, within a foot of the 

 ground, is thirty-four inches in circumference: 

 it blossoms full, hut never hears. If you know 

 or can hear of any remedy, please to insert it in 

 your paper, and much oblige 



Your friend, 



JAMES MIL LIKEN. 

 Charlestown, N. H., August 30, 1849. 



Editorial remarks. — To cure barrennness in 

 fruit trees, change the soil. If the soil is clay, 

 or a cold, muddy soil, remove a part around the 

 roots, and put instead gravelly or sandy loam. 

 If the soil is now too light and porous, change a 

 part for a more compact soil. Apply several 

 kinds of manure, such us ashes, lime, or old 

 lime mortar, soap-suds, sink-water, plaster, soot, 

 &c. Another aid to productiveness is moderate 

 pruning, to expose the branches to air and sun. 

 Clipping off a part of the present year's growth, 

 in July, tends to the production of fruit buds. 

 If a tree is not sufficiently vigorous, manure and 

 cultivation will render it more fruitful. 



After all that is done to render a tree produc- 

 tive, some kinds will bear but sparsely, as they 

 are naturally poor bearers, and it is impossible 

 to change the natural habits of a variety. 



Something to think or. — At West Point, our 

 government long ago established a military 

 school. Voting men are selected from different 

 Plates every yea'', sent there, and educated at 

 public expense. Every cadet that graduates 

 there, costs the United .States' government from 

 lour to live, thousand dollars. 



More than four millions of dollars have been 

 bestowed by the United Slates upon that institu- 

 tion ; and all for w hat ? 



Well, what then ? Before Washington left 



Use of the Roller on grass lands. — In no 

 branch of husbandry is the roller more an im- 

 plement of utility than in the cultivation of grass. 

 It renders the soil compact and solid ; it encour- 

 ages the growth of plants, by bringing the earth 

 close to every part of the root; it assists in fill- 

 ing up and levelling any inequalities in the sur- 

 face of the field, thereby preventing surface wa- 

 ter from remaining stagnant, and eradicating the 

 grass from particular spots; and it tends to hin- 

 der the drought fiotn penetrating, which is an 

 effect of the greatest importance. In fact, a 

 grass field cannot be too often rolled ; and it is 

 not going too far to assert, that the application of 

 the roller, in autumn, to prepare the roots for re- 

 sisting the winter frosts, and in spring to set 

 them firm after those frosts, every year while the 

 field remains in grass, will amply repay the ex- 

 pense. — Transactions of the Highland Society. 



At a convention of clergymen, tint long since, 

 it was proposed by one of the members, after 

 they had dined, that each man should entertain 

 the company with some interesting remarks. 

 Among the rest, one drew upon his fancy and 

 related a dream. In his dream he went to hea- 

 ven, and he described the golden streets, &c. 

 As he. concluded, one of the divines, who was 

 somewhat noted for his penurious and money- 

 saving habits, stepped up to the narrator, and 

 inquired jocosely — 



" Well, did you see any thing of me in your 

 dream ?" 



" Yes, I did." 



" Indeed ! what was I doing?" 



"You were on your knees." 



" Praying, was I ?" 



"No — scraping up the gold !" 



The steam engines at work in London are 

 equal lo the united force of 1,900,000 men, and 

 are managed by only 30,000 men. 



Curculio. 

 Mr. L. Burt, of Walpole, N. II., inform us that 

 the curculio used to sting his plums very much 

 until be adopted the following practice: He 

 fixed spouts from his house to his trees, and the 

 soap-suds and wash from the kitchen were di- 

 rected around the trunks and roots of the trees. 



9 



and while he pursued the practice, bis plums 

 were untouched by the curculio; but when this 

 was neglected, his plums were destroyed. Other 

 persons had tried this preventive with the same 

 success. 



The curculio will not sting plums when there 

 is not a suitable place for its young to borough 

 in the ground below; hence the advantage of 

 paving under trees ; but this is an expensive pre- 

 ventive. The wash from the house is not only 

 good to prevent the operations of the curculio, 

 but it forms a valuable manure for the trees, and 

 supplies moisture, a good share of which is es- 

 sential in the successful cultivation of plums. — 

 .Veto England Farmer. 



Keep the premises clean. 



Every cultivator should keep his premises as 

 clean as possible, for the important purposes of 

 saving manure and promoting health. Some 

 discerning persons remark that in the hot sum- 

 mer, while vegetation is in a flourishing condi- 

 tion, it is more healthy in the country than in 

 the city, but the reverse is the case in September 

 and October, as at this season many vegetable 

 productions have come to maturity and are de- 

 caying, filling the air with noxious gases and 

 odors; hence arise fevers, dysentery, and other 

 complaints, which arc more common in the 

 country early in fall. We give this view of the 

 subject, which some have presented, and we will 

 make a few remarks on subjects that claim the 

 particular attention of every cultivator, whether 

 this view be correct or not. 



Keep the premises, particularly around the 

 dwelling, perfectly free from every substance 

 that will taint the air. Every decaying vegeta- 

 ble or animal substance should be removed a 

 good distance, and then covered in earth, for the 

 purpose of manure. 



The pig-pen, though at a respectable distance, 

 should be supplied with loam to absorb all liquid 

 matter. All manure in the barn-yard should be 

 covered with loam, sand, or mud, to save it from 

 waste, and to keep the air pure, as, in the changes 

 so common to the wind, the air is liable to be 

 wafted from the barn lo the house. 



