1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



189 



covered all over with coals and hot embers, and left 

 to cook through the night while thv men are sleep- 

 ing. In the morning the 'jiot of beans' is taken 

 from its bed, and the beans are on the table for 

 breakfast, steaming and inviting enough to tempt 

 an epicure. One of these camps had a dining 

 and cooking-room, in addition to the usual ac- 

 commodations, and also a good sized cook stove. 

 There are, generally, from fifteen to twenty men 

 to each camp. In all that we visited, quietness, 

 order, industry, and the best of feeling, existed 

 amons: the inmates." 



EXTHACTS AUT) KBPLIES. 



WATER PIPES. 



In the perusal of your highly valuable paper of 

 the 28th inst. I noticed an inquiry made in rela- 

 tion to what kind of pipe is the best for convey- 

 ing water, and also wliere it can be obtained ? 

 My experience in the matter has been, that after 

 the water had remained in lead pipes for a time 

 it became unpalatable and unfit for use. I next 

 used the so-called block tin, but in a very short 

 time it was crushed and in quite a leaky condi- 

 tion. I was then advised to adopt cast iron pipe 

 lined with glass, but on considering the matter, 

 thought it not best to do so, as the earth is liable 

 to settle upon the glass and break it; I am now 

 using tlie galvanized wrought iron pipes intro- 

 duced by Mr. Norton, 74 Sudbury St., Boston. 



Medford, Mass., 1860. Subsceibee. 



LAEGE DEUMIIEAD CABBAGE. 



I wish to get some information through the 

 Farmer, as to how I shall manage towards rais- 

 ing large Drumhead cabbages ? For the past two 

 years I have attempted to raise a large quantity 

 of cabbages — especially for winter use. Our mar- 

 ket requires a large and sound cabbage, but tlK)se 

 I have raised did not head so well as many I have 

 seen in Boston market, which are brought from 

 Marblehead or from that vicinity. Our soil here 

 is dark loam with a clay subsoil — naturally a very 

 strong soil. 



I would like some information as to the best 

 method of preparing the land, the kind of man- 

 ure that is best, what kind of seed, and whether 

 it is best to use plants or plant the seed ? I hope 

 some of the readers of the Farmer will give me 

 the necessar}'^ information, and oblige 



Dover, N. H., 1860. Ax Old Subsceebee. 



FOWLS PLUCKING EACH OTHER. 



I wish to inquire if you, or any of your readei"S, 

 can give a reason for hens plucking feathers from 

 each other and eating them ? I saw some half 

 dozen hens a short time since stripped nearly na- 

 ked by their companions ; the hens have been 

 changed several times, but when they come on that 

 particular farm, they are at once stripped. If you, 

 or any of your readers, will inform me what 

 causes this, and how it can be prevented, you will 

 oblige A Readee. 



Haidey, Mass., 1860. 



ReM-IEKS. — AVe have noticed this among par- 

 ticular fowls, but never knew it to extend itself 

 through the whole yard. "What the special cause, 

 or remedy is, we are not able to say. 



"FATAL DISEASE AMONG CATTLE." 

 In a recent number of the Farmer I noticed a 

 communication under this head, stating the loss to 

 Winthrop W. Chenery, Esq., of many fine cattle 

 within the past six months, by inflammation of 

 the lungs. It said, "the last cow that died was 

 the largest animal in the United State, weighing 

 3,260 lbs." Our friends here doubt this claimed 

 weight, and our oldest inhabitants say "it 'aint 

 possible." May I ask if there is not some mis- 

 take in the figures ? A Subsceibee. 

 Pepperell, Mass., Feb. 15, 1860. 



Remarks. — All we know of the matter is the 

 Boston Evening Transcript, good authority, states 

 that at five years old she was "weighed at Brigh- 

 ton, and weighed 3,260 lbs." Dr. Dadd, on Dis- 

 eases of Cattle, page 394, says the same. 



PEARS FOE orchard CULTURE. 



I wish to learn the best variety of pears for gen- 

 eral orchard culture adapted to the western section 

 of Worcester county, and what varieties and pro- 

 portions in a lot of fifty trees or upwards ? I wish 

 to be informed by practical fruit-growers. 



Can any person explain through the Farmer 

 the cause of apple trees blossoming three or four 

 times in a season, as I have two trees of the Au- 

 gust Sweeting Avhich have blossomed four times in 

 1858, and three times in 1859. 



Observer on the Farm. 



Oakham, Feb. 15, 1860. 



club-footed cabbages. 



I noticed in the last Farmer an article in regard 

 to' club-footed cabbages. My opinion has led me 

 to the conclusion that a piece of ground used a 

 number of years will cause cabbages to be club- 

 footed, whether the land is moist or dry ; but by 

 the use of salt spread on before and after the 

 cabbages are set out, it will prevent it. I have 

 tried this way, and am satisfied that the use of 

 salt is a sure remed)'. They always do the best 

 by using salt, if there is no danger of the club- 

 foot. R. Washburn. 



East Freetown, 1860. 



cure for garget. 



"While the cows are dry in the winter, give 

 them a table spoonful of sulphur in salt three or 

 four times. I have found that some cows will not 

 eat it in salt, so I generally give it in meal. I have 

 never known it to fail. W. I. SiMONDS. 



Roxbury, Feb., 1860. 



CURE FOR SCRATCHES. 



Take one quart of chamber lye, and one-half 

 pint of soft soap ; mix them well together, and ap- 

 ply the mixture to the sore, using a corn cob to 

 apply it. It must be applied once in thi-ee days. 



Andover, 1860. A Subscriber. 



A FINE SPANISH MERINO LAMB. 



Mr. Henry W. Hammond, of Middlebury, Vt., 

 sold a Spanish Merino buck lamb, 11 months old, 

 to Mr. McFarland, of Washington, Pa., for $000. 



Middlebury, Vt., Feb., 1860. w. c. H. 



