«38 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



MAY 3, l«3r. 



(Kroin the Gt-ruiaiilown Telegraph.) 

 O.VTS. 



Tlicrp is a ilifflwence of opiiiioii ntnona; Hinners 

 as to (lie pro|)cr lime (br sowing oats. Wliile 

 some contend tljat it is l)c?t to sow as soon as the 

 frost is out sufficiently for tlie land to be worked, 

 otiiers insist on a different r.onrse, and choose not 

 to sow until the ground has become quite dry and 

 warm. It may bo a' fact, that late sowed oats in 

 some and perlmis in most instances, produce a 

 greater quantity of straw than those early sown, 

 and it may be and probably is true in as many 

 instances, that the grain is proporlionably liglner, 

 so that if weight of grain is the prime object, that 

 course of procedure as it respects sowing, is best, 

 which is most likely to produce the desired re- 

 sult. 



There seems to have been a general failure in 

 the crop of oats through this |iart of the country, 

 the past season, there being but few instances, 

 where they are so heavy by one third as they have 

 been in other years, when no calamity has bel'al- 

 len them. 



Notwithstanding the general failure, I had as 

 good a crop of oats the past season, as in any for- 

 mer year, having over one hundred bushels, from 

 little more than two acren of ground, weighing 33 

 pounds per bushel. Such being the fact, it is a 

 question with myself and others, what should be 

 the cause of my obtaining a better crop than any 

 other farmers in the neighborhood. 'J'bat which 

 to me appears as the (:robable and only cause, is 

 early sowing. Allliough nry ground is in no bet- 

 ter condition than land in general, 1 sowed my 

 oats several days earlier than other farmers in the 

 vicinity. 



"There were several fields contiguous to triine, 

 wlier.; the soil and cultivation were not es.sential- 

 ly different, but which were sowed a few days la- 

 ter, which in every instance failed to produce a 

 mid<lle crop. I have always been in the habit ol 

 sowing my oats as soon as possible after the ground 

 had become settled, believing it to be the better 

 way, and observation and experience the past sea- 

 son, have only strengthened my belief, that such 

 a course is a correct one. A Farmer. 



With respect to the time of sowing oats, there 

 is no such thing as affixing a day. .Every farmer 

 must be ;,ui(led by his own locality. As a gen- 

 •rai rule, it is always safest to sow them as soon 

 IS the groun<l will adrjiit of [ilongliing without 

 langer ol baking from being too wet. 'i'he soon- 

 r they are got in the better, as oats delight in a 

 ool and nioist atmos])here, and hence it is that 

 ihe Irish and English oats are generally heaviest 

 in Great Britain, while in this country, the north- 

 ern or such as are grown in the Glades, lake the 

 precedence. If oats be sown at the proper pe- 

 riod, and are followed by any thing like a fair, or 

 tolerably fair season, there is but litt'e doubt of 

 their making a remunerating crop. Ii is, how- 

 ever, a lamentable fact, that vvith us they are most 

 generally assigned the poorest spot on the farm, 

 and are left unaided by manure to struggle to ma- 

 turity, and when reaped if not as good as ihe seed 

 were, they are libelled with the imputation of 

 having degenerated, whereas the true fault lies 

 will) the grower, in not having given them a fair 

 chance of jierpetuating themselves in perfection. 

 Although they will grow in any soil, like all oth- 

 er members of the grain family, they grow best 

 wJien nourishment is given them, and the farmer 



who expects first rate oats without having a prop- 

 er ground work (br their growth, does most cer- 

 tainly lie under a most fatal delusion. 



As to the quantity of seed, if sown without clo- 

 ver or other grass seed, le.es than 2 1-2 to 3 bush- 

 els to the acre should not be sown ; where sown 

 with grass seeds, two bushels is enough, and the 

 ground would be the better of two ploughings. — 

 Ed. Farm. S,- Carl. 



SHEEP. 



Mr Hoi.Mr:s : — Tn the Maine Farmer of March 

 I'l, — No. 5, there is an Srticle headed "Sheep," ta- 

 ken from the Woodstock Courier. 



The use of Castor oil there recommended for a 

 particular disease, has been founii beneficial in 

 other internal diseases. 



It is with animals as with man, but particularly 

 with sbeej), that irregularity in the bowels is a 

 great cause of disease, and if not early attented to, 

 may [irove f ital. 



A costive habit in winter, is common with 

 sheep, when fed on dry food, and if this is not 

 speedily removed, the sheep will droop and die. 

 A daily attention should l>e paid to a flock of 

 sheep to discover if there is any change from their 

 common appearance, and if they are found with 

 a dull eye, inactive in manner, without appetite, 

 or costive, a dose of castor oil should be given 

 immediately. The dose to a grown sheep is a 

 fable spoonful, to be repealed in 24 hours, if the 

 oil has failed to produce an effect, and if there is 

 inuch uneasii.ess, the dose may be repe.ued in 12 

 hotns, or an injection of warm water with a little 

 suds and tnolasses. A quarter or half a pint of 

 peppermint tea, milk warm, has been usually giv- 

 en with the oil. 



Oil has been f lund useful to T.andis that are 

 reared with cow's milk, or to such as liave cows 

 nntil the ewe has milk to support it. The first 

 milk from an ewe, is like the first milk taken from 

 a cow after calving, and )<roduces a lax state of 

 the bowels, and in cases where the ewe is not in 

 ndlk when the lairdi is dropped, common cow's 

 milk is substituted, and profluces a costive ha'iit 

 in the lamb. To counteract this, a tea-spoonful 

 of oil has been given in the Uiilk once a d.ny, (u- 

 oftener if needed, until a healthy state of the lamb 

 is produced. Success has attended this practice. 

 — Maine Farmer. 



Fat Cattle. — A few years ago, the British 

 Admiral Coffin (formerj of Nantucket) presented 

 to our Agricultm-al Society a fine Hereford Bull. 

 Isaac C. Bates Esq. bought him at the next Cattle 

 Show auction sale, and has thus introduced the 

 breed among us. 



It is remarkable that in mixing this breed with 

 our native Cattle, the color of the progeny par- 

 takes of the Hereford parent, viz.: a bright red 

 body with a white face, but if mixed with other 

 improved English breeds, the Con)et for example, 

 of which A5r Bates has some fine specimens, tlii« 

 peculiarity exists no longer, and the sanie variety 

 of color exhibits itself, that is observed in other 

 cattle. The Hereford Cattle are common in the 

 neighboring town, Norwich, and a pair raised by 

 S. Kirklaiul, Esq. was sold in the autunm of 1S35 

 to Mr George Cook of this iow>: for $100. They 

 have been iu rich winter, and high summer feed 

 ever since, at an outlay of expense, which few 

 people thought could be remunerated. It is much 

 to Mr Cook's credit t)iat he never stinted a mess 



to them, but has given tliem full feed of corn dai- 

 ly, at a $1,50 per bushel, during the past winter. 

 The cost of keeping these cattle for the last 150 

 days is not less than $150. 



Tliey were sold to Messrs Hillman & Thayer, 

 of this town for ten cents a pound. 



We hope oiircitizens will encourage the butch- 

 er to buy none but the best beef till the JJoston- 

 ians know how to appreciate it. 



Connected with this sid)ject, is a characteristic 

 fact. Last month our drovers took a fine lot of 

 cattlo'to Brighton, which sold for nine dollars a 

 hundred only. Among the lot was a pair of old 

 stags which sold for eight and a half dollars per 

 huTvlred, and they had but 14 or 15 lbs. of rough 

 tallow each. 



The following statement of the weight of Mr 

 Cook's cattle has been handed to us for publica- 

 tion. It will be seen that at ten cents a pound, 

 they amoimt to $319. 



The weight of the pair alive is 4373 lbs. 



Dressed, 3190 



Shrinking, about one quarter, 11S3 



The quarters of the largest ox weighed 1297 



Tallow, 185 



Hide, 125 



The quarters of the smallest weighed 

 Tallow, 

 Hide, 



1G07 



1257 



136 



140 



1583 



Weight of the pair, 3190 ' 



-Hamp. Repuh.J 



WOKTIIV OP I.IIITATIOar 



BY SILK GROWERS. 



The family of Mr Calvin Moody of Graiiby, 

 Mass. having fed a few silk worms on while mul- 

 berry, and made about half a pound of silk in 

 1835, which was reded, spun, and twisted in-to 

 thread or sewing silk, of such a quality, that he 

 thinks it would conjpete with some inq orted .-ilk. 

 The whole was done upon the common reel and 

 luheel of the family with the utmost ease. This fam- 

 ily have maile all their sewing for fiimily use, of silk 

 from cocoons of their own raising, being iu their 

 opinion moie economical than the use of any oth- 

 er thread th<!y could make, and that it is cbeajier 

 for family use than thread made of fiax, and that 

 they can manufacture a run of silk thread or sew- 

 ing silk from the cocoons with less trouble and 

 expense than could be done from dressed fiax ; — 

 and Eo convinced is he of the economy of making 

 sewing silk for common use in a family, that he 

 advises his neighbors to set out a few white mid- 

 berries about the barn-yard, or other waste ground 

 near the house, and assures them that they ran 

 n^ake all their own silk for sewing cheaper than 

 they could do it from flax — say cveu if the flax 

 was given to them. 



RFMARKS. 



The foregoing speaks volumes in favor of the 

 culture of silk in families, and the exauji le of this 

 family de-i^erves the unqiudified uppre.baiion of 

 the friends of silk culture. If Mrs Moody could 

 make such progress the first year with her scanty 

 intelligence and with such ordinary machinery as 

 the domestic wheel and reel — what might not be 

 expected another year from her praiseworthy and 

 persevering industry, if she could be supplied 



