130 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



a frost does occur at the full of the moon, the co- 

 incidence is specially remembered by the farmer, 

 and thus the exception is taken for the general 

 rule. 



As "J. A. A." has gone so far towards settling 

 this point, the thouglit has occurred to me that if 

 ho would give us the connection between the oc- 

 currence of frost and the situation of the moon for 

 the month of September only for a series of years 

 previous to 1856, as that is the month more par- 

 ticularly noticed by farmers, and as it has been 

 supposed that the last three years have been some- 

 what peculiar in regard to their temperature, it 

 would pretty conclusively settle the whole matter. 



His observations cannot fail of interesting every 

 intelligent farmer, and I regret that I have not 

 the same meteorological tables at command from 

 which to make my own observations. It had long 

 been an open question with me, which led me to 

 introduce the subject into the columns of the I<\ir- 

 mer. I could add no philosophical principle so as 

 to combine theory with what I had supposed to 

 be facts, and if I have provoked '"J. A. A." to 

 good works by setting forth the truth, I desire 

 nothing more than to express to him my hearty 

 thanks for what he has done, and remain, 



Bethel, Me., Jan. 7, 1860. n. t. t. 



For the New En^^land Farmer. 

 CUBE FOB SCBATCHES IKT HOBSBS. 



FlUEND Browx : — I saw an article in the Far- 

 mer of ^^(icer\hev 'i\, from your able correspon- 

 dent, "Oak Hill," that gave a description and a 

 remedy foi- " Scratches in Horses." I agree with 

 him, that if one knows a remedy, he should make 

 it public, as, indeed, he ought all knowledge that 

 he thinks may be of value to his fellovr-men. I 

 felt the force of this when I received the informa- 

 tion from you, and your several corres])ondents, 

 in regard to making butter in winter, for which 

 you have my hearty thanks. 



But to return, when I worked at my trade, in 

 the city, I had occasion to use different kinds of 

 paints and oils, among them v.-as what is called 

 "bright varnish." Frequently I would cut myself, 

 sometimes so severely that I have been laid up for 

 weeks. I would try all kinds of salve, but the 

 wound would be a long time healing. One day I cut 

 my hand severely, and as I had nothing to put on 

 it at hand, I thought I would try some of the bright 

 varnish ; as it is a sticky substance, I thought it 

 might stick the wound together ; accordingly I 

 bound up my hand with it and kept on to work ; 

 the varnish relieved the pain, I had no soreness 

 in the wound, and in one week it was entirely 

 healed. My son was sawing fhrough a board one 

 day, and carelessly put his hand under the board. 

 My son had his forefinger bone entirely sawed off 

 I put the ends together, put on this varnish, bound 

 it up, and the result was, that after one week the 

 bandage was removed, and the finger had nearly 

 grown together. My horse once had scratches so 

 badly, that it was difficult to get him to move 

 about. I rubbed the parts affected with this var- 

 nish, for two days, which caused a pei-fect cure. 

 The varnish can be bought at the paint shops for 

 six or eight cents per quart. E. LEONARD. 



Nev3 Bedford, January 16, 1860. 



For the Neie England Farmer. 

 HOW I IMPBOVE THE SOIL. 



The farm I now occupy belongs to C. H. Leon- 

 ard, Esq., of New York, and embraces a variety 

 of soil, some quite sandy, some may be termed 

 sandy loam, other portions gravelly, and quite 

 stony, while we have some sv.'ampy peaty soil. 



Mr. L.'s principal object has been to clear the 

 stones out, build walls in place of wood fences, 

 drain the wet places, and get in order for farming. 

 This being the case, farming has occupied a sec- 

 ondary place, yet something has been done. Five 

 years ago I found a farm of about forty acres, 

 three-fourths of which was overrun with sweet 

 fern, briers and bushes, the skinning process hav- 

 ing been well carried out when cultivated, cutting 

 only about throe tons of hay, and that none of 

 the best, and now tv^'enty acres under improve- 

 ment yield thh'ty-five tons of fodder the tv/o past 

 years, besides our corn, and the fodder from which, 

 acre for acre, I consider equal to a hay crop of 

 two tons per acre. 



As the greatest portion of the farm is sandj 

 and sandy loam, I have resorted to the iise of 

 ashes and clover to get as much vegetable matter 

 incorporated with it as I could, and at the same 

 time obtain a remunerating crop the same season. 

 The process has been this : plow deep, take out 

 all the stones likely to interfere with future plow- 

 ing, dress with barn-cellar manure if corn is to be 

 planted ; if potatoes, equal parts of guano and 

 plaster in hill ; if to be sown with grain, and no 

 ashes previously used upon the piece, ninety to 

 one hundred bushels to the acre are put in, some 

 oats and clover, three bushels of the former and 

 twenty pounds of the latter, (western clover.) I 

 cut the oats for fodder, as soon as they form the 

 seed, never allowing them to ripen, as they will 

 exhaust the fertility of the soil. By cutting the 

 oats early, the clover gets abetter chance to grow, 

 often lodging the first season. Oats give two tons 

 and upwards of the vei-y best fodder to the acre, 

 equal to any hay I ever used. The next season, 

 the first crop of clover is made into haj^ from the 

 twentieth of June to the first of July, giving about 

 two tons per acre. The after-growth is generaliv 

 as large as the first, and is ])lowed in, when in 

 full blow, before it changes. I don't know as this 

 is the best time to do it, but it is my practice. 

 The following spring plov/ again, and sow as be- 

 fore, repeating the whole process, save the api)li- 

 cation of ashes, which I do not like to use too 

 lavishly. In this way I have a clover crop to plow 

 in once in two years ; the soil seems rapidly to 

 change its character, decided improvement is seen 

 by the most sceptical, and I am much pleased 

 with the result. J, COE. 



Rochester, Jan. 12, 1860. 



Hay and Butter. — A correspondent of the 

 Ohio Farmer boasts of having raised from one 

 acre, at one cutting, 9,315 lbs. of timothy and red- 

 top hay, for which he received the premium at the 

 fair of Summit county ; and that he has a cow 

 from twenty-four and a half quarts of whose milk 

 he made five pounds and ten ounces of thoroughly 

 prepared butter — cow fed on hay and corn stalks, 

 with a peck of soft corn per day. 



