194 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



arrests the corrosion of the metal and the conse- 

 quent contamination of the water. 



Ahnost all spring and well Avater contains suf- 

 ficient carbonic acid to render lead pipe free from 

 deleterious effects upon the health of men or ani- 

 mals. Thus we see that the mere fact of water 

 being hard must not be taken as evidence of its li- 

 ability to injury by lead. 



Presuming that the "twenty feet deep ;" means 

 from sui-face of ground to surfaces of water, the 

 height of the pump must be added ; making, say, 

 tM'enty-five feet rise and one hundred feet hori- 

 zontal, the distance that it is required to carry the 

 water. To insure the pump being able to draw 

 water this distance, it is necessary that the pipe 

 should be air-tight, which throws glass or wood 

 entirely out of the question. Glass may be laid 

 tight, but it will not remain so. The only desir- 

 able materials appear to be either lead or iron. 

 A gutta-percha pipe would be admirable, if suf- 

 ficiently rigid to prevent its being "collapsed" or 

 crushed together, so as to obstruct the passage of 

 the water. 



Were the case my own, if any doubt existed in 

 my mind as to the quality of the water, I would 

 use iron, which is comparatively cheap, durable, 

 and perfectly harmless. 



" Theo. G. Ellis, Civil Engineer. 



APRIL "WORK. 



The sun has come again with power, the days 

 are longer, birds sing, buds swell, the dancing 

 waters are musical in the valleys, while peeping 

 flowers and springing grass invite us forth to 

 breathe the sweet airs of the new-born year. 



Thanks, for this change of the seasons ! Each 

 new April is a new era in life to the former. His 

 general calculations have been made, to be sure ; 

 but they are not mathematical, to be woi-ked up 

 to like so many arbitrary rules. The farmer can- 

 not do this. When the ground is laid bare be- 

 fore him, and the influences of the winter are re- 

 vealed, he frequently finds it necessary to change 

 the plans he had already decided upon. So that 

 April often demands the principal engineering of 

 the year. 



Every implement and machine on the farm is 

 in order, — is it ? The cattle are lusty and strong ; 

 the seeds of every kind are selected and in their 

 appropriate places, ready to be committed to the 

 earth ; the manures are in symmetrical heaps on 

 the field, protected with a covering of muck or 

 loam ; refreshing rains have fallen, rich in am- 

 monia, to fertilize the waiting soil, while the su- 

 perincumbent atmosphere is ever ready to impart 

 its oxygen, carbonic acid, nitrogen and other 

 agents, whenever the soil is cooler than the air 

 above it. So nature has made all fitting prepa- 

 ration on her part, all in good season for man to 

 step forward to "dress the earth and keep it," for 

 his pleasure and profit. 



Plowing is one of the most important opera- 

 tions new. — but where the land is wet and stickV} 



even this prime work had better be delayed until 

 the water has drained away, and the soil become 

 aired and dried, so that when a furrow is turned 

 a portion of it will fall to pieces. If it falls over 

 flat, cold and heavy, it will remain a clog and in- 

 cumbrance through the entire season, if at all of 

 a clayey nature. Better to wait a little, and allow 

 nature to perform her work in her own way. On 

 thorough drained land there will be no difficulty 

 in plowing as early as you desire. 



Potatoes should be planted early, so as to come 

 to an early market. 



The Garden, by all means, should have at- 

 tention now. Make a small patch of soil, very 

 rich, — even if yon are obliged to rob the corn or 

 grain field a little, — work it deep and thoroughly, 

 and then sow at proper times, all the seeds of the 

 common vegetables, — such as beets, carrots, tur- 

 nips, cabbage, onion, tomato, beans, peas, summer 

 squash, egg-plant, pai-snip, melon, cucumber, &c., 

 &c. If these are well tended, they will pay foui* 

 times the profit that any hay or grain field will. 



A bed of Asparagus is essential — no farmer 

 should do without it. Add, also, a few hills of 



RHUBARB. 



Be up in the morning, singing with the lark ; 

 keep all your work be/ore you ; never say, "that 

 onght to have been done yesterday ;" give prompt 

 and kind attention to the stock, as they will catch 

 and appreciate your sympathies, and abundantly 

 repay them ; do not allow any creature to break 

 through a fence to begin the season with ; keep 

 cattle off" the mowing land, and from browsing 

 the young fruit trees, and start every thing de- 

 cently and in order, and you will realize days of 

 peace and nights of calm repose. 



Transactions of the Middlesex Agricultu- 

 ral Society, for the Year 1859. — In this pam- 

 phlet of forty pages, we find the names of the of- 

 ficers elected at the annual meeting in September 

 last, with the names of the members of the socie- 

 ty ; an account of the cattle show and exhibition 

 at Concoi'd, last fall, Avith a list of the premiums 

 awarded ; and the address delivered by the Rev. 

 Rufus P. Stobbins, D. D., of Woburn. Mr. Steb- 

 bins has spent several years in the most fertile 

 section of the West, and on his return to his na- 

 tive State, speaks words of encouragement and 

 cheer to the farmers of "sterile" New England, 

 that should be heard beyond the limits of INIiddle- 

 sex county. The matter and the manner of this 

 publication are alike creditable to the society and 

 its managers. 



I^If you invest money in tools, and then 

 leave them exposed to the weather, it is the same 

 as lending money to a spendthi'ift without secu- 

 rity — a dead loss. 



