1S60. 



NEW ENGLAND FABMER. 



69 



EXTHACTS AND KEPLIES. 



IS FARMING A PROFITABLE PURSUIT ? 



"Facta are stubborn tilings." 



Is farming prcrfilahle ? 



Mr. Pinkham says not ; I would not say it is 

 the most profitable business, but a man can live at 

 it, if so disposed. I was bred a mechanic, but left 

 my trade and took hold of farming, and when I 

 commenced was not worth one dollar. I paid 

 $4030 for my farm, tlien had all my stock and 

 tools to buy. I have had the good luck to pay for 

 the farm, stock and tools, and have put on above 

 $3000 worth of buildings since, and do not owe 

 one dollar to any man. I have made it all from 

 my farm, although farm fences, buildings and in- 

 terest, have cost mo over ^10,000. Let it be worth 

 what it ma}, I have j^aid so much, and made it 

 from the farm itself. I have never been in any 

 speculation but farming. 



I consider the great secret in farming is, to take 

 hold of one string and pull that steadily when the 

 wind and tide are against you. Keep beating, and 

 you will gain some, — and when the wind shifts in 

 your favor, you are all ready to sail ; then comes 

 a good harvest. But the man that shifts every 

 time the wind does, is always beating against wind 

 and tide, therefore he condemns the business he 

 is in, and complains of hard times. I do not brag 

 of being rich, or that our New England farmers 

 can be venj rich by mere farming, but I do argue 

 that they may make a good living and lay up a 

 little against a wet day. A. B. 



Barre, Vermont, 1859. 



A FARM OF NINE AND ONE-H.\LF ACRES. 



I think of buying a small farm of only nine and 

 one-half acres, all under a high state of cultiva- 

 tion. The buildings are small, but very comfort- 

 able and in good order. The price is $2200. Can 

 I make it jn'ofitablo to buy that farm, and set half 

 of it with a])ple and pear trees, and make a part 

 or the whole of the rest into a garden ? 



I should like to have ]Mr. Ed. Emerson, of Hol- 

 lis, N. H., answer this. c. l. w. 



Westboro', Mass., Dec, 1859. 



R.EMARKS. — ^Ir. E. is always ready to do good, 

 and we hope he will make it convenient to reply 

 to our young, friend. We can readily see the dif- 

 ficulties that lie in the way of replying where sur- 

 rounding circumstances must have so much to do 

 with ultimate success. 



CURE FOR WENS ON CATTLE. 



Can you inform me of a certain cure for a wen ? 

 If so, by so doing you will confer a favor on my- 

 self and others. E. A. MoRSE. 



Townsend, Vt., Dec, 18o9. 



Remarks. — We give below two remedies sent 

 to us and published in the Monthly Farmer for 

 1857. 



"I take a tin cup, large enough to cover the wen, 

 fill it about half full of unslaked lime, then nearly 

 fill it up with soft soap, bind it on the wen tight, 

 Avith strips of cloth or straps so that it will not 

 come off. As the lime slacks, it oats the wen com- 

 pletely off. I tie the cow, or ox, to a hook in tlic 



beam in the centre of the stable, to prevent their 

 rubbing off the cup. Let them stand tied four or 

 five hours, and the work is done." 



"One year ago, last fall, I had a cow which, from 

 all appearances had a wen growing on her neck ; 

 I at first administered a plaster of salt and tar, and 

 drew it to a head, and in the spring I procured 

 fresh green cicuta leaves, and boiled them up and 

 bathed the wen in the solution, leaving the leaves 

 in ; it wholly dried up in four weeks, so that she 

 fatted sufficiently for beef. I have known others 

 in this vicinity to cure them with the same reme- 

 dy and keep them for years. Should you consid- 

 er this of sufficient worth, you are at liberty to in- 

 sert it in your valuable paper." 



MOWING MACHINES. 



Is there a movring machine that is suitable for 

 common farm use — if so, which is it? There must 

 be one possessing advantage over the others. 

 Will any machine work over our rough land, if it 

 is tolerably clear from stone ? L. B. Smith. 



Exeter, iV. //., Dec 20, 1859. 



Remarks. — There are several moAving ma- 

 chines, one of which we think a large farmer may 

 profitably purchase and use ; and there is no one, 

 perhaps, that has not some good quality. < Which 

 is the best one, all things considered, we are not 

 able to say, because we have not used them all, 

 and feel unwilling to give an opinion of a machine 

 unless we have used it under our own hands long 

 enough to understand it. 



Large stones on a field are an impediment, but 

 they do not preclude the use of a machine, imless 

 they lie very thick. We annually mow orchard 

 land with a machine, where the trees stand only 

 thirty feet apart. 



HUNGARIAN GRASS OR HONEY BLADE. 



I have raised some Hungarian grass this year 

 and it is as good as the papers stated it to be last 

 spring. I sowed some pasture land with it last 

 spring, and it yielded at the rate of 3^ tons to the 

 acre, and at the rate of 32 bushels of seed to the 

 acre. The seed weighs 50 pounds to the bushel ; 

 it wants to be sowed soon after planting corn, a 

 half bushel of seed to the acre. It is good to sow 

 when you wish to seed with Timothy. My horse 

 and cattle eat it as readily as the best of hay. I 

 sowed some the 22d of June, Avhich did well. 



PainesviUe, 17., 1859. Harrison Griffin. 



REM.VRKS. — A head from the seed, sowed June 

 29, came with this note, which Avas large and well 

 filled. _ 



CROPS ON BLACK LOAM. 



Will land that is of a fine black loam, be suita- 

 ble to raise onions and other garden vegetables, 

 and how should it be manured ? M. W. 



WestFairlee, Vt., 1859. 



Remarks. — We presume to plow in plenty of 

 gieen manure in the fall, cross plow in the spring, 

 and if to be soAved Avith onions, apply unleached 

 ashes plentifully. 



