328 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



in this cabinet line, forced upon me the conviction 

 that, for all practical purposes, there is a differ- 

 ence between men as they might be, and men as 

 they are. "Insects" — The writer thinks insects 

 are not the cause of plum-tree warts ; and he even 

 goes into a defence of the whole race. Trouble- 

 some as insects are, who knows that any of us 

 cjuld, after all, make a much better world, than 

 the one in which our patience is sorely tried ? — 

 ^^ Monthly Farmer for April." — A month behind- 

 hand, Mr. Reviewer ; but they did get along with- 

 out you. Your preaching about editors not being 

 responsible for opinions of correspondents is 

 "backed up" by ^'Inquiries and Censures," which 

 makes the editor responsible even for the quality 

 of the wares advertised in the columns of his pa- 

 per. "Grecian Farmers," the vulgar fellows, they 

 planted their vineyards in "rows." Passing an 

 article on "Soil," its origin, character, &c.; and 

 one on Manures," our second lesson endeth witl 

 some account of the ravages of "The Currant 

 Borer," by one who keeps both his name and res 

 ideace to himself. I find that something is trim- 

 ming off a part of this year's growth from many 

 of my currants. Is this the work of your borer, 

 Mr. Far East ? 



THE THIRD TEN PAGES. 



After a notice of the Franklin County Transac 

 tions, we have a very interesting article on "Ants 

 and Aphides," — their curious relation to each 

 other, — and hints on the best means of preventing 

 the ravages of the latter. The writer says a de 

 coction of tobacco is a sure destroyer of the aphis, 

 but it cannot be used upon leaves. I have fre- 

 C[uently immersed the branches of small apple trees 

 in it with little or no injury to them. "Farmer 

 Pennywise and Farmer Poundwise" contrasted; 

 good "Farming Implements and Machines" recom- 

 mended ; "The State Farm ;" a group of "Spanish 

 Merino Ewes ;" and we turn over to a catechism 

 on "Dissolving Bones;" read a brief notice of a 

 very desirable "New Seedling Grape," and direc- 

 tions for using "Shell Lime;" with a theoretical 

 explanation of its operation — who will give the 

 practical? "R. B. H.'s" Pennsylvania Farmer 

 (p. 253) says the shells should not be burnt, as a 

 burnt shell differs not essentially from stone lime, 

 except that it contains a small quantity of phos- 

 phorus. An appeal to farmers to "Spare the 

 Sweet Songsters," or cease complaining of the 

 ravages of insects. From the Address of Prof. 

 Mapes at the Franklin County Exhibition, last 

 year, the Editor takes extracts on various topics. 

 "Science," says the learned Professor, "means 

 simply knowledge reduced to a system so as to be 

 readily taught and easily understood, and there- 

 fore, every truly practical jlirmer must necessarily 

 be a scientilic agriculturist." Well, well; is this 

 all there is of Scientific Agriculture 1 Two articles 

 more, one a criticism on a letter from S. F., of 

 Winchester, published in the March number of the 

 Monthly Farmer, and the other, on spelling the 

 word plow, and we have reached the first of 



THE FOURTH TEN PAGES. 



"Theory and Facts — do they Agree?" Some- 

 times they do not, that is certain. The question, 

 however, is well discussed here. "Fruit Trees" — 

 Inquiries about 4G Baldwin trees that were said to 

 have produced 300 barrels of apples in each of the 



years, 1850 and 1852, and some very judicious 

 cautions against forcing trees with rich manure. 

 Directions for raising "Early Radishes and Tur- 

 nips" clean and nice, even in an old, wormy gar- 

 den. Trial of the "Sod and Subsoil Plow" in Ex- 

 eter, N. 11. The next article, "Comparison between 

 Ox and Horse Labor for the Farm," I am going to 

 get round, by placing by its side that otlier arti- 

 cle, by Mr Fiske, in the latter part of our present 

 ten pages, and the one by Mr. Dewey, in the num- 

 ber fur March, of this year, with the single remark 

 that I have never yet seen any such twenty years' 

 result with horses as Mr. Dewey figures up with 

 his oxen. The "Wash from the Sink" of a small 

 family worth $20 — how manure is wasted ! "Tired 

 of Farming;" then "get rested as soon as you 

 can," and up and at it again. Tliat's it. "Cows 

 and Oxen in Portugal" are better off, I should 

 think from this account, than the men themselves, 

 who "work for fifteen cents a day, and find them- 

 selves." Proceedings of "State Board of Agricul- 

 ture," seventh meeting. "New and Untried 

 Scliemes" — The Reviewer handsomely reviewed. 

 Special and exclusive might perhaps have better 

 expressed my idea than "new and untried." I 

 was testing the recommendation of Farmer's Li- 

 braries by this practical sort of home reasoning — 

 Here, is our Winchester Library, costing some 5 

 or GOQ dollars, fitted up with cases, catalogues, &c., 

 is insured, and in care of a good librarian, who is 

 paid 25 dollars a year for his services ; all classes 

 of our people are interested in its progress and use- 

 fulness ; it has many agricultural works, — Down- 

 ing's, Fessenden's, Coleman's, A^. E. Farmer, 

 Farmer's Own Book, &c., &c. Now, will even 

 "our incog friend" advise the few farmers in Win- 

 chester to attempt the "new and untried scheme" 

 of founding for themselves a special and exclusive 

 library? Our last ten pages now close with a rap 

 on the knuckles of the man with the jack-knife, 

 hand-saw and meat-axe, who is yet occasionally 

 allowed to show his skill in training up trees in 

 the way they should go. 



THE LAST EIGHT PAGES, 



Give us a cut and descrifition of "Phelps's Bee 

 Hive;" Review of the May Farmer; Agricultu- 

 ral Axioms;" No. 4 of Mr. Fowler's "Birds of 

 New England," which one Ccvnnot read with 

 much satisfaction while the "village boys" are up 

 in the wood-lot a-gunning ; a minute description 

 of the appearance and habits of the insect that, the 

 writer thinks, produces "The Black Knot on the 

 Plum; out-lines and description of "Monamet 

 Sweeting ;" a column of "Extracts and Replies," 

 including a notice of a Mississippi farmer, who 

 plants some 130 acres of corn, 220 of cotton, and 

 has 100 varieties of Pears ; a recommendation of 

 "Apples for Milch Cows," which reminds me ofa 

 little incident in my own experience — about the 

 time of the advent of Temperance Societies, my 

 father's cidermill gave out early one fall, the ap- 

 ples were gathered and sheltered in the mill, which 

 however was not repaired, and the apples froze 

 up ; during the winter they were put into a ket- 

 tle, thawed and fed out sparingly to the stock. 

 I recollect my father estimated those frozen ap- 

 ples at half the value of potatoes, and that the ap- 

 pearance of our stock was remarked by the neigh- 

 bors, as uncommonly sleek and fine. This, with 

 the Boy's Department, completes the June num- 

 ber of the Monthly Farmer, which the more it is 



