vol.. XV. xo. s. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL, 



61 



Thus, at the coiniiiciicempm iif siiiiitner the sys- 

 tem is ninje nervpil and liraced by the atmos|iheie 

 of winter and sprinp, and hy the (hier food which 

 necessity dhlijris us to take at those seasons ; so 

 that the cooling fruits ofsiiininer are wholesome 

 from their opiiiiiij; the howcis, &c. But it is not 

 wonderfnl that a couliiiiiance of watery and nu- 

 tritions food like fruit shoohl, towards the autumn, 

 producre >lehi ity in constitutions partly predispos- 

 ed to it, liy tiie contiimal and relaxing he:itof tlie 

 summer montlis. — Knoivledge for the People. 



A FARM. 



The editor of tlie Vi-rmont Chronicle in a let- 

 ter from VVilkesharre, Pa. June 13, gives the fol- 

 lowing account of a farm which he visited near 

 that place. 



This farm extends from the hank of the river 

 one mile, end)ra:iui; in one rectangular |)lal 160 

 acres of level hotlom land. I was shown first a 

 field (•25 acres) ol" Indian corn. This was under- 

 going the first dressing will) the corn hariowaiul 

 uwuiled the second and third dressing hy the im- 

 plement called the cultivator — the hoe not being 

 used at all. Sixty husliels to the acre is the ordi- 

 nary yield. Ailjoiniug this was a field of 25 acres 

 of oats, in exce lent condition and pio'nise. I was 

 next shown a field of about the same quantity of 

 wheat, ol the species lilui! stem and white Hint. 

 Thirty hushe s is an average yi--ld to the acre for 

 wheal on this land, 'i his crop was sufl'ering from 

 t!ie Hessian fly. On examining several stems 1 

 found, near the ground and imliedded beneath the 

 outer sheath, from one to five ol the flies in the 

 chrysalis state. The effect of this is to weaken 

 the plant and cause it to ■ fall down, perhaps lo 

 break ofl' and die. After the fly is hatched it 

 does no i-ijury to the wheat. This fly is doing 

 great injury to the wheat in this region. Let me 

 sugg(;st to the liiig-catcheis to devote more atten- 

 tion to the whole natural history of insects, espe- 

 cially pernicious ones. The man who will lieve]- 

 ope the changes and periods, and habits of the 

 Hessian fly, the cut worm, &c. with a view to 

 remedies for their ravagijs, will do the state more 

 service than the barr.'i exlii'.'iiion (if fifiy eahin-'Is 

 of insects with pins stuck through their backs. 

 Tlie cut worm is als j making great ravages vvith 

 the corn. My agriviiltiiral friend says that in his 

 experience, lie his found deep and thorough 

 ploughing the niostefleclual remedy. The worm 

 or its eggs, lying near the surface, if the soil is 

 turned but slightly, the insect is soon warmed liy 

 the sun's influence, and awakes to life just in sea- 

 son to cut the (lorn in ils tenderest state. In the 

 other case, it does not emerge till the corn is out 

 of its I ower. He has delected two species of equal 

 numbers, a large and a small. Hoth are indiffet- 

 ent as to what they eat, — they eat the first thing 

 they coor; at whether corn or wormwood. 



My friend next shewed me a | asiiire of 25acres, 

 in which were twenty head of cattle, mostly cows 

 of the Durham Short Horned and Devonshire 

 breed. These were in so good case, so sleek, ami 

 so well favored, that to one who the past winter, 

 bad lived in the region of scarcity, it was truly a 

 relief to the eye. ihe anima sseenied to have an 

 instinct of their gi^oil case and the source of it for 

 they came around their master like so many dogs ; 

 one pulled his liaiidke'rclii.'f from his pocket, oth- 

 ers sought his hands and face with th if gross 

 toiiL'ues. Fore;>iost among them was the bull de- 

 nominated Jack Downing, three years oh!, weigh- 



ing already twelve hundred | onnds, and giving 

 promise of celebrity perhaps equal to his name- 

 sake. 



Mr B. stated that he usually cut sixty tons of 

 hay. anil was in most successful use of the patent 

 revolving horse rake. With a horse and boy he 

 does the work of six men with the common rake 

 or from two to three acres ])er hour, lie says, 

 that to adapt the rake to rough ground, it is only 

 necessary to make the rake shoiter — say six feet 

 instead often. He deplores the dilatoriuess of his 

 fellow farmers in seizing hold of the improvements 

 in utensils, in modes of cultivation, and in the read- 

 ing of agricultural papers. 



All the land of this farm is now worth $100 per 

 acre. The average net profit of the whole may 

 be estimated at 810 per acre. Prices for two 

 months past as follows : wheat $1,25 ; corn 75cts. ; 

 oats 50 cts. ; liay $10; flour .$6 25. '1 he i ros- 

 pect for crops of grain in the country generally 

 the ensuing season, is poor, and high p. ices are 

 anticipated. Cro; s in this vr.llpy are better than 

 in other parts. I find the severity of winter before 

 last, made great havoc ainong trees in this region. 

 Peach trees nearly all destroyed — plums, a great 

 many — a:so cherries and pears, together with 

 some forest trees. I left the premises of this 

 pk'.in, unpretending, but successful farmer, with 

 as much satislaction as I should a model farm of 

 high scientific character ; inasii.uch as the fiiriiier 

 is tlie realization of the latter — its ullimate aim 

 and result. 



know of one cow that was milkerl in a large field 

 by a boy who dill not imder.-tand his brtsin.ss. 

 The cow was good enough in the first place, .but 

 she was once frightened and ran ofl^; the milker 

 .h.ised her round the fi Id till he conn red her, 

 and then commenced whipping her. From that 

 time commenced her career of racing. If a boy 

 had a long run after her, so much the more se- 

 vere was the whipping he gave her in the corner 

 where he was to milk her. The consequence 

 was, that she always tovk care to keep in the 

 broad field, and never hy any means to approach 

 the (ireaded spot where she was to receive the 

 thunderbolt of vengeance. The effect coiihl not 

 possibly be otherwise. Not tliren weeks ago I 

 cured a high strung, spirited young cow of run- 

 ning about, in a single lesson, though ] had a very 

 large yard to Ojierale in. How ? I diove her 

 into a corner, ami began to milk her, and every 

 time she left it, I gave her no rest, until she was 

 ap.proaching it again, when I treated her kindly. 

 She soon learneil what 1 meant, an.l in a day or 

 two her very nature seemed changed. — Genesee 

 Farmer. 



BREAKIIVG VICIOUS COWS. 



BY A YOU.NG FARMETt. 



I observe on the 236th page of the current vol- 

 ume of the Farmer, a communication sign d "C. 

 P." in which the writer doubts of the practicabili- 

 ty of the method of breaking cows described in 

 the 27th number. Now, although 1 am not an old 

 man, I am nevertheless an old milker, and have 

 been occupied in tin; management of cows of all 

 sortM from childhood. Some have been very gen- 

 tle and well broken, while others, and not a few, 

 were insulFeiably outrageous kickers. But no 

 cow under tiiy manageuent fv.-r coulimied bad 

 long — [ have always speedily overcome lliem, by 

 a method very similar to that described in the 27tli 

 number of this paper. There was one old cow 

 that had been perhaps well broken ; hut she wjs 

 completely Sj.oiled by bad treatment from two lit- 

 tie boys who had the milking of her to do ; a 

 short time after she came under my c: re, she was 

 one of the best behaved cows I ever saw. 1 am 

 not surprised that C. P. has considered milking 

 one of the most unpleasant chores to be perfcwiii- 

 ed, vvlien he cannot cure kickers. Now, 1 always 

 considered it as one of the most pleasanf, and 1 

 have n ver foun 1 a kicker which I could not very 

 speedily cure: so that ! c.iuld not set iny pail di- 

 rectly under her so as to be as convenient as pos- 

 sible for milking, wi.hout the least danger of hav- 

 ing it upset. 



1 acknowledge that "a vicious cow ought never 

 to be raised ;" they are nevertheless very frequent- 

 ly raise I, and we must take them, often, as we 

 find them. Ifacowis an excellent milker, but 

 withal a great " shin batterer," I should [irefer 

 curing her liy twenty mimiteb labor, to " disposing 

 of her for beef." 



There is another bad habit which .some cows 

 have, that I have f;>und more difficult to cure them 

 of, than kicking ; and that is running about. I 



KEEPIIVG LAMBS. 



A correspondent, in a late number of the Far- 

 mer, in giving an account of a disease whiidi at- 

 tacked the lambs dropped in the spring of the 

 year, (a swelling under the throat which proved 

 very fiital,) seems induced to attribute it to the 

 mode of feeding the ewes through th;- winter, 

 which was for a while, by giving them good hay 

 and a sheaf of oats cut green and well ciin d, and 

 after the oats were expended, a sheaf of gr.iwn 

 wheat was substituted for them. What effect the 

 grown wheat might have had on the ewes and 

 their offspritig I cannot say, but ! am confident no 

 such effect should be attributed to the oats. Some 

 of the best flocks of sheep I have ever been ac- 

 quainted with, were fed with good hay anil a dai- 

 ly sheaf or two of oats, and with the best success, 

 no injury in any case resulting from their use. 

 Where fresh food is not at hand, such as turnips 

 or beets, oats will be found the best substitute, es- 

 pecially if they are cut while green and thmough- 

 ly cured. A friend of ours last fall sold off his 

 whole flock of sheep, with the exception of thirty 

 lambs, which he kept as the basis of another flock. 

 They were kept through the winter on good hay 

 and a bundle of oats a day, ..nd notwithstanding 

 the severity of the season, kept in good order, or 

 rather were fat. 'Ihis spring they averaged a 

 trifle over tliree pounds of wool a head, though of 

 a high merino grade. 1 have never seen or heard 

 of lambs being diseased in the manner s, oken of 

 by your correspondent ; and as others in his vi- 

 cinity would seem not to have been troubled in 

 Ihe same way, the pndiability is that it was owing 

 to sonie local cause which may never agai-i be 

 operative, though it is barely possibli; the grown 

 wheat fed in the sheaf may have been an agent 

 in the business. Shoidd it again occur, observa 

 tions will enable him to ilelect the cause, and of 

 course indicate an ajijiropriale preventive or rem- 

 edy. — 75. 



More than a Buhstf.p. ! — Mr J. A. Morton of 

 Iladley just sheared from a .Merino Buck, eight 

 pounds and two ''tnicc.s of fine wool ! Who can 



go ahead of Squire Morton ? Vortkampluii Cun- 



i-ier. 



