1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



213 



small end, — a piece of soft leather drawn over it 

 and confined to the stick with a cord or twine tied 

 .around above the ball, and secured from pulling 

 oflF by moans of notches cut in the stick ; the ball 

 should be from one to two inches in diameter, in 

 proportion to the size of the animal, and greased 

 when used. Such an instrument may be used with- 

 out any danger of injury to the animal operated 

 upon. I have used it with perfect success with 

 choked swine, in several cases. 



But in general, a preventive is better than a 

 cure; therefore, perhaps I cannot render a greater 



his own walls, if he can but persuade himself to 

 think so. By rolling the largest stones into lines 

 and securing them by smaller ones to prevent 

 their canting out of place, and building upon them 

 with smaller stones, till the fence is of the required 

 or proper height, a substantial wall will be pro- 

 cured at a very trifling expense, as the work may 

 be performed at seasons of comparative leisure, 

 and when, generally, there is little of any thing 

 else to do. "Double walls," and "faced walls," 



benefit to the feeders of neat cattle, than to in- though they have a more neat and finished ap 



form them, if not already acquainted, with a sim- 

 ple, hut I think, infallible remedy against cattle 

 choking when feeding; they may get choked when 

 running at large, but when animals are to be fed 

 with any article with which they are liable to get 

 choked, place them in the stall, or tie-up, and 

 simply put a bar or stick over their necks sufficient 

 to keep them from raising the head above the lev- 

 el of their bodies, they never get choked, try it. 

 A Subscriber up North. 



COST OP FENCES. 



"We are not aware that any very reliable estimates 

 have as yet been made, by practical men, relative 

 to the cost of the several species of enclosures or- 

 dinarily made use of on farms. In looking over an 

 old number of the Farmer recently, we found a 

 paper on this subject furnished by Mr. Shurtleff, 

 which is worth repeating. The estimates are giv- 

 en by Mr. S. as the deductions of his own esperi- 

 ment : — 



" White cedar fence made of posts and rails, 

 five rails in height, three lengths to two rods near- 

 ly, cost 91 cents a rod. 



White pine rails sawed two inches by eight, and 

 chestnut posts, four rails high, three len.ths to 

 two rods nearly, cost 64 cents a roi. In both 

 these instances the cost was exclusive of the set- 

 ting. 



Good four and a half feet stone wall varies from 

 $1 to $2, .50 the rod, according to the ease with 

 which the stone could be procured, and the man- 

 ner in which it was laid, whether by trenching ( r 

 otherwise. 



Hedge fence made of Virginia thorn plants, 

 (Crataegus cordata,) set twenty-one to a rod, cost 

 at the end of the fourth year, including planting, 

 trimming, &c., 50 cents a rod." 



pearance, are never desirable, except when there 

 is a large amount of stones to be worked up, or 

 where the wall is near buildings, and intended 

 partly for ornament, as well as utility. In "fac- 

 ing," stones are often laid with reference to neat- 

 ness, rather than stability. To secure a "good 

 face," some of the most important principles of 

 masonry are frequently neglected, and beauty se- 

 cured at the expense of durability. Single walls, 

 if the stones are of proper size, are to be pre- 

 ferred. 



For the Nexv England Farmer. 



BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURAL PA- 

 PERS. 



Messrs. Editors : — Knowing by experience that 

 much good results from the matter contained in 

 papers, I think it necessary that we all strive to 

 improve them. How can this be done ? It can 

 be done in various ways. Let every reader that 

 has received a dollar's worth of information, 

 through the papers, acknowledge it, and at the 

 same time communicate something from his own 

 experience, to benefit his neighbors. One man 

 can raise a bushel of corn for less expense than 

 another; let him show his method, with all the 

 items of expense. One thinks poultry and eggs 

 can be produced with a handsome profit, another 

 believes different ; let facts decide. The manufac- 

 turer of plows will tell you that his is the best, and 

 his story seems true, until his neighbor, the plow- 

 man, decides to the contrary. A word about 

 plows; is it a fact that plows are better than they 

 were in bygone days'? More than thirty years 

 ao-o I held a plow that did actually cut and turn 

 over furrow after furrow, keeping its place at the 

 end without a hand being applied to it. Then 

 there was Keith's plows so generally used twenty 

 years ago, that I verily believe do better service 

 than many of those now in use. The woodchop- 

 per works to disadvantage, when he wields a heavy 



irregularly formed axe. Perhaps a hint to agri- 

 It will not be questioned, we presume, that inLultural societies to ofier a handsome premium for 



the above estimate, the cost of stone walls is 

 greatly too high. The expense of transporting 

 stones from fields and pastures when they oppose 

 a serious obstacle to the operations of the cultiva- 

 tor, and when they occupy much land which their 

 removal renders available for important purposes, 

 ought not, we think, to be taken into the account. 

 The cost of "laying" wall, when the stones are 

 of proper size, is generally from twenty to thirty 

 cents, but the artistic skill demanded in the oper- 

 ation is so slight that any farmer can construct 



the best axe might result in lasting good._ The 

 cultivator of corn would be wise to avail himself 

 of a remedy against the ravages of the cut-worm, 

 which remedy has been applied by the writer of 

 this, for nearly forty years, without a single failure. 

 It is a coating of tar applied to the seed corn. 



To make our agricultural papers useful and in- 

 teresting, it requires talent as well as the offerings 

 of the small farmers ; to bring about this result, 

 let the officers and members of agricultural socie- 

 ties write over their proper names, the principles 

 of farming-, and facts connected therewith ; let the 

 farmers of unlimited means show by figures, the 



