'I a 



\.v.. 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



render it liighly improper ; in deep wound', for 

 exnraple, %vKere Ibe extprnal opening is not ve- 

 ry I'lr;?' 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



The following leller to Mr. Po.merov, Vice Presi- 

 or in wounds, wliore tlie divided parts 1,^^^^ of the Massachusetts Asrriciiltural Society, we are 



liave n-cedi'd from each other, nnJ there is dif- 

 lir.iiltv in lirln^ing them together; in tlie for- 

 mer case, the matter would be confined ; in the 

 iiilter, much irritation would be can-ed by the 

 .'titches. In lioth cases, the inflammation would 

 be considerably increased ; but in superficial 

 wound-, and where a flap of skin is separated, 

 it will be jiroper to stitch it up ; but on no ac- 

 count, should there be any stimulating fluid in- 

 troduced, such as tincture of benzoin [friar's 

 balsam] as Dr. Clatcr advises. It would be suf- 

 licient, should there be any dirt, or other mat- 

 ter, about the wound, to wash it off with warm 

 water. Wounds of the belly, through which 

 the bowels press out, are highly dangerous, and 

 require the most delicate management. The 

 first thing to be done, when this accident hap- 

 pens, is to put back the bowel into the belly as 

 tenderly as possible ; but it any dirt, hair, or 

 other matter be observed on the intestine, it 

 must be carefully washed oiT with warm water. 

 When the bowel has been replaced, the wouud 

 must be stitched up, by means of a crooked nee- 

 dle and tlircads doubled, or small twine, well 

 waxed (with bees wax ;) a bandage is then to be 

 applied. The animal is to be kept at rest, on a 

 spare, opening diet, of grass, or bran ; and, il 

 in any degree costive, a dose of castor oil may 

 be given. The treatment of the wound is of 

 little importance : the great object is to keep 

 the bowel in its situation. It sometimes hap- 

 pens, that a great deal of air gets into the intes- 

 tine, after it has escaped from the belly, and so 

 distends it as to render it dilficult, if not imprac- 

 ticable, to replace it through the original wound. 

 When, after a careful, and patient trial, this is 

 found to be the case, the wound is to bo enlarg- 

 eil, so as to allow the bowe' to be replaced. — 

 This must be done cautiously, the knife being 

 guarded by the foreiiugor. 



" Bleeding from wounds seldom proves dan- 

 gerous in cattle, and, if left to nature, generally 

 stops in a short time ; indeed it is the best plan 

 not to meddle on these occasions: for, though 

 the bleeding may appear formidable to persons 

 not accustomed to such sights, it is really not 

 dangerous; and unless some large vessel lia*; 

 been wounded, which would bid defiance both 

 lo styptics and to pressure, it may safely be left 

 10 nature. Should it he thought necessary, how- 

 ever, to stop the bleeding, the most effectual 

 mode of doing it, next to that of tying the blood- 

 vessel, is pressure, by putting bolsters of tow 

 or sponge to the bleeding part, and supporting 

 it firmly with bandage. During the progress 

 of the wound towards healing, the new flesh of- 

 ten rises above the surface, or appears to be 

 produced too luxuriantly, to check this, a little 

 j)0wdered blue vitriol, mixed with bole, may 

 be sprinkled on the part." — H-'hkc's Treatise. 

 (to be continued.) 



" Dr. Black has calculated that it would take 

 fourteen millions of films of gold, such as is 

 on some gilt wire, to make uj) the thickness 

 of one inch ; whereas fourteen millions of 

 leaves of common printing paper would occupy 

 3-Uh of a mile in thickness. Vol. ii, page 654. 

 The ductility of gold is such, that one ounce 

 of it is sufficient to gild a silver wire more 

 than 1300 miles long." 



informed, was written by a gentleman who lias had 

 much experience as an Orchardist. It contains valua- 

 ble information, and we are happy to give it a place in 



our columns. 



Neviton, Jan. 11, 1823. 

 Sir — I have been much pleased with your val- 

 uable communications (in the Massachusetts Ag- 

 ricultural Repository &. Journal) on the culture 

 of flax, and on the improvement of our farms 

 in New England. For each of these publica- 

 tions please to accept my thanks. I have also, 

 with much pleasure, read Mr. Pickering's valu- 

 able communication on the best time for felling 

 timber. I think he is substantially correct, with 

 one exception in page 187, vol. 7, where he 

 says, " the larger the grain, the harder and 

 stronger is the wood." From experience I cer- 

 tainly know that coarse grained wood, though 

 heavy is brittle, and far from being the strong- 

 est. Ask any Wheelwright and you will be told 

 that coarse grained wood is unfit for spokes or 

 carts, and too brittle for pin wood. The strong- 

 est timber will always be found in a medium 

 between the coarsest and the finest grained. — 

 The information he has given of the durability 

 of Mr. Cooper's fences, strikes me as of vast im- 

 portance to the great body of American far- 

 mers. The foots stated by Mr. Cooper are un- 

 doubtedly correct ; and there must have been 

 an adequate cause why the timber felled in 

 barking time was so evidently the most durable. 

 No one can doubt but the vessels of trees are 

 full of sap during the winter season. As the 

 spring comes on, the sap becomes remarkably 

 limpid, so that our sugar makers have found, in 

 March, that by making a small incision in a 

 tree they can soon draw off nearly all its juices 

 I apprehend that by the warmth of the sun, this 

 limpid sap finds its way to the bark, where in 

 the course of the season it forms the new circle 

 of wood. It is worthy of notice, that, in our 

 climate, there are but about three months in a 

 year in which the bark may be stripped with 

 ease, during which time nearly the whole 

 growth of the trees takes place ; and, I am 

 strongly inclined to believe, but little if any sap 

 remains in the heart part of the trees. To 

 what other cause than the absence of the sap, 

 can we fairly impute the extraordinary dura- 

 bility of Mr. Cooper's fences which were felled 

 in the month of May ? 



Persuaded of the correctness of the foregoing 

 ideas, in regard to the rapid flow of sap from 

 the bodies of trees early in the spring, wher- 

 ever any cutting or incision is made, 1 have for 

 a number of years deferred pruning my trees 

 till .June. And I am satisfied that the only pro- 

 per time for pruning is while the bark will peel 

 — in June or July. I have made many experi- 

 ments, and find where limbs have been taken 

 off', either in autumn, winter, or early in the 

 spring, it has invariably proved injurious to the 

 trees — much of the sap has exuded, and rot- 

 tenness ensued, and soon penetrated to the heart. 

 I have no doubt but most of the decayed, hol- 

 low, and rotten appletrees so commonly to be 

 seen, were occasioned by unseasonable and im- 

 proper pruning. I have also found that the 

 stumps of the limbs amputated in June or .luly 

 will he almost immediately encircled with a 



l*n 



oilj 

 iliot 



iiW 



ring ot new wood, and in a short time, in pro- 

 portion to the thriftiness of the tree, and sizi I* 

 of the limbs, be completely healed over. 



1 well remember a fine thrifty orchard of ap< *'? 

 pletrees of grafted fruit, in the south of Newton, 

 more than fifty years ago, so productive as to 

 excite envy among the neighbors (for that base 

 passion existed then.) Mr. Ward, the owner,Pj 

 always pruned this orchard pretty thoroughly •' 

 in March, and I rem mber to have heard him 

 say, — " it would ruin appletrees to prune them 

 in tlie summer." This fine orchard soon went '"' 

 to decay, and for more than twenty years past '^f' 

 there has been scarcely the remnant of a tree 

 to be seen on the ground. 



I am, Sir, with due respect, yours, 



J. KENRICK 



Saimiel W. Pomeroy, Esq. 



P. S. — Permit me in a few words further, ta 

 urge the importance of pruning only in bark- 

 ing time. The sap being then evidently near, 

 and in actual contact with the bark, instantly 

 flows to form the healing circle of wood, and 

 there does not appear to be a drop wasted. 

 When pruning is done at any other time of the 

 j'ear, no new circle of "uoood u-ilt be formed a- 

 round the stumps of the branches removed, and 

 for this plain reason, — that the sap is in the 

 body of the tree and not on the outside. This 

 being the case, wherever the wound is made, 

 when the sap is, or becomes, limpid, it will 

 flow out like blood from an animal body. 



J. K. 



tii 



lit. 



I'--- 



[lite 

 kit 



I:: 

 Kit 



A 



TO THE EDITOR OP THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sir. — As any thing relating (o agriculture, 

 however small, as to an individual, may be val- 

 uable in a public view, I oeiid yvu Cui jour pa- 

 per (if you think it worthy) the tbllowing infal- 

 lible cure for the diarrhaea, looseness, or scour- 

 ing in calves. 1 call it infallible, because in 

 thirty years use of it I have not known of its 

 tailing to effect a cure by once giving, but in 

 one instance, and in that a second effected it. I 

 think it much more convenient for farmers, 

 than the medicine recommended in your paper, 

 No. 27. 



Put into a suitable bottle about half a pint 

 good Cider, (not sweet nor bottled,) then open 

 a vein in the Call's neck and let into the bottle 

 about the same c|uantily of blood ; shake it 

 quickly well together, and put it down the Calf's 

 throat, before it has time to coagulate, which is 

 easily done with the bottle. 



I am, Sir, your's respectfullv, 



LOVETT PETERS. 



Westboro'', yVorcater County, Feb. 7, 1823. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sir — There is probably no part of New Eng- 

 land where the land is better adapted to the 

 production of Indian Corn than the valley of 

 the Connecticut river, nor no part where its 

 culture is better understood; hence it is that 

 we see in the markets of New York and Boston 

 the fattest beef from this section of country, it 

 being the practice here during our long winters 

 to feed the cattle with as much corn meal daily, 

 as can be crowded into them, and to turn them, 

 off in the spring of the year, after having been 

 fatted on this costly food from 100 to 150 days, 

 at an expense, on an average, of thirty-five 

 bushels of corn, and a ton and a half of hay to 



