356 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



are fond of fine horses, as highly worthv of then- 

 attention. RICHARD P. WATERS." 



This Arabian horse " Imaun," or " Pin'/ren horse," 

 as he is often called, was purchased of Mr. Pingrec, 

 by Mr. M. L. Hayes, of Farmini^ton, N. H., where 

 he has been kept this season, and where it is intended 

 to keep him in future, for the impi-ovenient of stock. 

 He should claim the attention of farmers in that 

 region, who would improve their race of horses. 



For the Neic Englwid Farmer. 

 BOOKS. 



Books ! I dearly love them. It is a source of grat- 

 itude with me that my mind was early imbued with 

 a taste for reading. Time cannot hang heavily on 

 my hands, or pass tediously away, with an interesting 

 book for a companion ; and the mind may experience 

 a pure delight when absorbed in the enchanting page. 

 Histor}' acquaints us with the scenes of other days 

 — the deeds of men who have long since left the 

 earth. Their actions pass in review before us ; we 

 forget the lapse of time. AVe maj^ not be able to 

 travel over the globe ; our lives may pass in humble 

 obscurity ; yet through the medium of books we may 

 visit far oif- lands ; we may gaze on their lofty moun- 

 tains and sunny vales, their majestic forests and 

 mighty streams. We become aciiuainted with the 

 appearance, character, and habits of people on the 

 opposite side of the globe, and our minds are stored 

 with information which proves a source of much 

 pleasure. AVhile engaged in labor, we may meditate 

 on what we have read, and communicate it to others. 

 I sincerely pity the person who has no relish for 

 books. He loses much that is valuable. His mind 

 is necessarily contracted, his views limited, and his 

 conversation confined to subjects within the range 

 of his own small experience. The stores of knowl- 

 edge which might be so easily gained, and which 

 would render him a more useful and happy man, are 

 neglected and despised. In a country like this, 

 where reading matter is so abundant, it is surely the 

 duty of every parent to strive to inspire their chil- 

 dren with a love for judicious books ; and if the habit 

 of reading is early formed, it will seldom be relin- 

 quished through life. E. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 



Mil. Editor : The exhibitions of the various hor- 

 ticultural societies are the means of diffusing much 

 valuable information with regard to fruits, as well as 

 widely disseminating the best varieties for cultiva- 

 tion. At these shows are displayed the finest kinds 

 collected from various sections, duly arranged and 

 labelled for the inspection of the public ; and here 

 any one may select a list for himself, with the variety 

 before him for examination, which is far better than 

 to propagate those he has never seen. Information 

 in regard to the productiveness and quality of the 

 several kinds may be obtained from the society's 

 reports, together with much other matter useful to 

 the grower of fruit. 



The many new and excellent kinds, cultivated at 

 the present day, and the vast amount of fruit raised 

 for the home and foreign market, may be in a great 

 measure attributed to the labors of the vari')us socie- 

 ties for the promotion of horticulture. New orchards 

 are rising up on every hand, and old ones are re- 

 grafted with new and superior varieties, in order to 

 produce fruit which will meet the demands of the 

 public. The very best kinds should be selected in 



planting new orchards, and it requires some observa- 

 tion and experience to decide which arc best among 

 so many Mhich are good. Many standard A-arieties 

 are well known to nearly all. • Should any one be 

 unacquainted with the subject, there are those to 

 whom he can apply for thedesired information. 



Much benefit might be derived from exhibitions 

 of fruit in the several towns. A day set apart for 

 the purpose, in autumn, wf)uld doubtless do much to 

 promote the cause of horticulture, and ^sould be 

 attended with but trifling exi^ensc. It might be 

 rendered a kind of holiday, in which all who pleased 

 could participate with pleasure and profit ; and this 

 is more than we can say of some public days. 



Many new and valuable varieties of fruit would be 

 brought into notice, no doubt, by exhibitions of this 

 kind, which otherwise might remain in obscurity — 

 many fruits of hrst-rate excellence, which would 

 never find their way to the state or county shows. 

 Scions might be exchanged, by means of these exhi- 

 bitions, and the best fruits become widely diffused. 

 Many would attend in their own town who would 

 not at a greater distance ; and all, both j'oung and 

 old, as well as those of every political party or reli- 

 gious sect, could join in harmony in promoting a 

 cause worthy the attention of all. 



O. V. HILLS. 



Editorial Remarks. — The suggestion of our 

 friend is a good one ; and we hope that arrangements 

 will be made to have town exhibitions of fruit, as 

 they M'ill not only have an excellent eflect in bringing 

 forward manj^ valuable kinds of fruits, which other- 

 wise may be confined to their native spot, and finally 

 decay, and be lost forever ; but it would excite emu- 

 lation, and induce thousands to engage in this de- 

 lightful business who have never dreamed of doing 

 any thing in the fruit line beyond the cultivation of 

 a few crabbed apples. 



In our boyhood, when budding and grafting were 

 not practised in the circle of our observation, we 

 were acquainted with some highly-valuable fruits, 

 equal to the finest in the country ; but those fine 

 kinds were not propagated, and the trees died ; or, 

 from their being too numerous, or on good tillage 

 land, they were cut down as cumberers of the ground, 

 and they are lost — past without recall. 



For the Netv England Farmer. 

 HENS. 



Mr. Editor : I have been led, by the many flatter- 

 ing statements in your valuable sheet, to increase my 

 flock of laying hens ; but have thus far been sadly 

 disappointed in the result. My hens have been con- 

 fined to the roost and yard the whole season, have 

 been regularly fed with all the different kinds of 

 grain, as barley, buckwheat, corn, and oats, dough 

 from corn meal, boiled potatoes, squash, &c., with 

 green stuff from the garden, as lettuce, cabbage, beet, 

 grass, &c., and yet the returns have not been equal 

 to the expenditure. I never have been able to col- 

 lect, as a general result, a dozen of eggs per day from 

 my flock, which consists of about thirty hens, all told. 

 A line or two more in reference to the kinds of fowls 

 kept, and the diseases which have occurred among 

 them, with my conclusions on the subject, will relieve 

 your patience. 



I commenced, last fall, to select, from the flocks of 

 others, pullets of the Black pheasant breed, (called 

 everlasting layers,') the Bolton Grays, and other names 

 of the non-sitting breed ; and well have they sus- 

 tained their name, for they have scarcely sat long 



