64 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



mental dissertation published in Philadelphia, 

 1<S02, by Dr. Thomas, upon the species of lamb 

 kill, botanically called ^Kalmia Latefolia,'' it ap- 

 pears that the leaves abound with resin, and are 

 most active as a mercurial agent. From the same 

 dissertation we find that a decoction prepared by 

 putting one ounce of the leaves into eight ounces 

 of water, and boiling it down to four ounces, 

 cured a 'diarrhoea' of eight Aveeks' continuance. 

 The dose, at first, was thirty drops, six times a 

 day, but producing vertigo, it was diminished to 

 four times a day. The itch was speedily cured, by 

 Avashing the parts with the decoction. The 'scald 

 head' or '■Tinea Capitis,' was also cured by an- 

 ointing the head with an ointment made of the 

 leaves and hog's lard. Dr.Barton bears testimony 

 of the eiTect of this ointment in ^ Tinea.' A satu- 

 rated tincture of the leaves of the plant in proof 

 spirit, is an active remedy. Some kinds of 'herpes' 

 and warty excrescences have been known to yield 

 to the repeated application of an infusion of 'A'aZ- 

 7nia' leaves." 



This is the description given by the celebrated 

 Dr. Thatcher, in his valuable dispensatory, on the 

 virtues of 'Kalmia,' or lamb kill. It will thus be 

 seen, he values it highly as a remedial agent in 

 cutaneous affections, by reason of its determined 

 action on diseases of the skin. And such are 

 scratches or selenders in horses, being merely a 

 local disorder of the skin, connected with the limbs 

 of the animal. To any one who will apply this 

 easily obtained and sure curative, following close- 

 ly the directions we have laid down, we promise a 

 speedy, safe and perfect cure of that most aggi-a- 

 ting ailment in horses, scratches or selenders. 



December 15, 1859. Oak Hill. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE CORIyr AND OTHER CROPS. , 



You say, in your last paper, that the critics ai'e 

 after Mr. Pinkham with a sharp stick, relative to 

 his communication of Nov. 12th. I have read, 

 with interest, what Mr. P. said, and I think his 

 estimate nearest to the cost of producing an acre 

 of corn than those cute men who have as yet crit- 

 icised his estimate ; take, for instance, Mr. Em- 

 erson, who hires his men so that the cost of the 

 day's work is but fifty-eight cents per day. I would 

 like to give more than one-half of that sum to 

 board my hired help ; I should think I was evading 

 some of the commands of the good Book, Avhere 

 it says, "the laborer is worthy of his hire," if I 

 paid him only one dollar for husking sixty-six 

 bushel ears of corn. Now for Mr. P.'s estimate ; 

 he only charged ten dollars for ten loads of ma- 

 imre, wTiich four oxen hauled out ; these oxen will 

 draw out, easily, one-half cord that is worth five 

 dollars per cord, in any farmer's yard ; therefore, 

 if as some say, one-half of the value of the ma- 

 nure is left in the ground, he has not charged too 

 much for it. Mr. E. objects to the charge of plow- 

 ing, and seems to intimate that part of it should 

 be reckoned as improvement of the land, if the 

 land was well laid down to grass ; for mysplf, I 

 should rather have it, than to have it plowed ; for 

 the amount of manure usually put on by farmers, 

 will do more good as top-dressing, than otherwise 

 applied. ^ 



In answer to the question put by those who at- 



tempt to show up Mr. P., by asking how do the 

 farmers pay for their farms, paint their buildings, 

 &c., I Avill say, on most farms, tliere are either 

 wood, rock, or something else, which the farmer 

 in the winter carries to market, which will bring 

 the cash ; if not, how does he do it ? Five acres 

 of corn will take the time of the entire season to 

 cultivate, so the best judges say, viz., 100 days; 

 and he gets in ]n-ofit, eighty-five dollars to do all 

 these things with, according to the estimates of 

 the other writers. How many years would it take 

 to pay the interest, taxes, and for the farm, if he 

 paid $2000 for it, at the last estimate ? s. 



Cape Elizabeth, Dec., 1859. 



Rejiarks. — We meant no disparagement ■ to 

 Mr. P. or. his ai-ticle by our remai-ks. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 AN OLD MAN'S OPINION" OF FARMING. 



Messrs. Editors : — I am glad to see the dis- 

 cussion going on in regard to the profit of farm- 

 ing ; if no one had replied to Mr. Pinkham, I 

 think I should have tried ; but I am glad that abler 

 pens are engaged upon the subject. That there 

 is a secret blessing attends the labors of the hon- 

 est, industrious farmer, I have no doubt, from my 

 own experience ; for I am located on one of the 

 hardest spots of New England, and had very small 

 means to work with, but have gradually been 

 gaining, until now, I have as nmch property as I 

 desu-e ; all I wish for is that those who do the la- 

 bor upon the farm may be well paid, and have a 

 comfortable living, without spending the real es- 

 tate. I think it is one of the mistakes of farm- 

 ers, after they have got into years, and have enough 

 to support them comfortably, to keep addijtg to 

 their real estate, rather than to let their sons, or 

 some other industi'ious young men, do the labor, 

 and have what income there is more than they 

 need for their own actual support. Farming is 

 my delight, and if I cannot perform the labor now, 

 I will try to encourage others to do it, and be con- 

 tent with the returns. 



Some luiknown friend has sent rae a copy of 

 the Middlesex County Agricultural Report, for 

 which they have my hearty thanks. 



Gloucester, Mass., 1859. Thomas Haskell. 



Peaches in Pots. — ^In the orchard house of D. 

 T. Coit, Norwich, Conn., says the Homestead, 

 peaches are cultivated in sixteen-inch pots, or in 

 boxes about the same size, kept in the grapery 

 during winter, and removed to the open ground in 

 June. Of course the trees are severely headed-in, 

 and kept within small compass. They will bear 

 about two dozen peaches each, and when thus 

 managed are as sure a crop as any other fruit. In 

 this sized pot they are easily managed, and a large 

 number may be wintered in a small house. 



Mixing Peach and Apple Trees. — This prac- 

 tice is condemned by a writer in the Prairie Far- 

 mer, because the peach trees will die out sooner 

 or later, and leave the borer and the old roots to 

 bother for years. 



