1853. 



I^EW ENGLAND FARMER. 



433 



AX MAKING. 



The Ax Manufacturing Company of East Doug- 

 las turn out daily from ten to fifteen hundred ax- 

 es, and from six to ten hundred broad axes, 

 adzes, hatchets, &c., of nearly fifty different pat- 

 terns. The process of manufacture is especially 

 interesting, from the fiict that most of the work is 

 done by machinery. In the first place, the bars 

 of iron of different sizes are placed under ponder- 

 ous shears, which sever the iron with perfect ease. 

 The patterns are then taken to the rolling mill, 

 and after being heated are passed through rollers, 

 which form the eye of the ax. They are then 

 bent over by the same machine, and the heads set 

 down. The ax then goes through the process 

 of welding, which is done by pump hammers, 

 after which the steel is inserted, which is also 

 done by hammers. The finishing touch is given 

 by hand hammers. About two hundred persons 

 are employed in this establishment, their wages 

 ranging from one to five dollars per day. The 

 proprietors, Messrs. L. B. & A. Hunt, are enter- 

 prising and ingenious men, and their axes are un- 

 surpassed by any other manufacturer. The 

 amount of their business is about $300,000 per 

 annum. East Douglas, we are told, is a tliriving, 

 wide-awake place, and is soon to enjoy the facili- 

 ties of a branch railroad. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE POTATO ROT. 



Mr. Editor : — As I was passing a neighbor's 

 farm last evening, I discovered his field of pota- 

 toes — vines of luxuriant growth-^had a blighted, 

 forbidding aspect, yellowish cast, many of the 

 leaves shrivelled, edged with black. I soon met 

 an intelligent farmer of the neighborhood, and in- 

 quired of him the meaning of this appearance. He 

 said the same was the case in his fields, and many 

 others about there, that it had come on within a 

 few days, the cause he did not know,— -nor do I. 

 The fact is certain. What is to follow, I cannot 

 say, whether this appearance of the vines has any 

 connection with the tubers that are expected to be 

 grown, time alone must determine. It will be 

 well for all cultivators to take notice of all extra- 

 ordinary appearances, and to communicate them 

 in an intelligible form. I fear it is not indicative 

 of any good. Yours, &c., p. 



Dancers, August 1st, 1853. 



P. S. Vegetation generally was never more vig- 

 orous, in this vicinity. Corn looks first rate. On- 

 ions are suffering much from insects. 



BUDDING AND PRUNING KNIVES. 



St.vte Te.mper.\nce Convention. — k call has been 

 issued for a State convention of the friends of tem- 

 perance, to be held in the Tremont Temple, Bos- 

 ten, Sept. 18th, to devise measures for sustaining 

 the liquor law at the next election. As the repeal 

 of this law is to be made a distinct question in the 

 November elections, the friends of temperance 

 must prepare to meet the struggle. 



It is pleasant if one has work to do, to have good 

 tools to do it with. Many a spriglitly lad has be- 

 come disgusted with the process of budding, from 

 being put at it with an old dull jack-knife, that 

 probably did good service in cutting up ' ' cold junk" 

 in revolutionary times. This is often the case in 

 holding the plow, mowing, itc. The beginner con- 

 tracts awkward habits which require an unneces- 

 sary expenditure of labor, and which, perhaps, ad- 

 here to him and vex him through life. 



In the above engraving may be seen samples of 

 budding and pruning knives, which will enable the 

 operator to do the work quickly and well, so that 

 his trees will not suffer, provided he has skill and 

 good judgment himself. The budding season is at 

 hand, and these remarks may suggest to some, 

 the necessity of preparation for it. 



EARTH, OR ROAD SCRAPER. 



This implement is an important labor-saving ma- 

 chine. It is usually called a "road-scraper," but 

 it is just as valuable in many cases on the fiirm as 

 in the roaiJ. An old and slovenly practice prevailed 

 of throwing up furrow after furrow, next to the 

 "runs" and walls, until they often became too 

 large to be passed over with the team. The sera- 



