1860. 



NEAV ENGLAND FARMER. 



223 



crop per acre that my neis^hbors do, planted in 

 the common way. When I dig them, the sward 

 is very well rotted, but retains strength enough 

 to be turned off with the hoe in flakes and lumps, 

 and there the potatoes lay like apples on a shelf, 

 and as clean as smelts, for they have seen no dirt, 

 looking at you and inviting you to pick them up ; 

 and the land is in tip-top order, for these old grass 

 sods have had a ground sweat all summer, and 

 have become quite rotten. I lack a suitable plow, 

 for I need a sward plow with a mould-board on 

 each side. Will some of the plow folks see what 

 they can get up for this purpose ? 



I advise farmers to tiy it without fail. 



Maiden, Mass. A. S. Hall. 



EXTBACTS AND REPLIES. 

 SANDY LAXD — CLAY — MUCK. 



1. Can sandy loam soil be productive without 

 costing more than it will be worth ? If any one 

 can tell me how I can manage this soil to make it 

 fertile, produce great crops of grass and not fail 

 in a dry season, they will do me a favor. 



2. Will it pay to haul clay one mile to mix with 

 sandy loam ? 



3. Will it pay to expend two hundred dollars 

 in building a manure cellar under a lean-to that 

 will tie up twenty-six head of cattle ? 



4. Is muck worth more to use for bedding than 

 it is to mix with the manure heap after it is thrown 

 into the cellar. A Young Farmer. 



Emhden, Me., Feb., 1860. 



Rei\l\rks. — 1. That depends upon circumstan- 

 ces. If clay and muck are near by, and man- 

 ure can be made, or purchased at a fair price, (and 

 this price must be graduated by the price of farm 

 products in the vicinity,) sandy lands can be made 

 proiitably productive. Sandy loams would be still 

 more easily reclaimed. 



2. We have no doubt it will. 



3. We cannot tell — so many collateral circum- 

 stances are to be considered. We fully believe in 

 barn cellars. 



4. Muck may be advantageously used in both 

 ways. Fine dry muck is excellent as a bedding, 

 to say nothing of its absorbing power, and when 

 used as bedding, it becomes at once mingled with 

 the droppings, and everything is saved. 



FISH AS MANURE. 



Will some one inform me of the comparative 

 value of fish as a manure, also the probable cost 

 delivered in Worcester ? How it will work on 

 sandy loam, and which would be the best and 

 cheapest, fish or horse manure, which costs $3 or 

 $3,25 in Worcester, and which we must cart seven 

 miles ? E. H. Newton. 



Auburn, Mass., 1860. 



COFFEE SPECULATION. 



I wish to inquire if Java coff"ee will grow in the 

 New England States ? If so, wi'h M'hat success ? 

 Eopkinton, Mass., 1860. s. w. M. 



Kemaeks. — We are not able to inform vou. 



ORCHARD GRASS. 



In the Farmer of Feb. 18, I noticed an inter- 

 esting article on this plant, giving its description, 

 history, &c. I wish to inquire where the seed may 

 be obtained, and at what price ? Also, Avhether it 

 will flourish on ordinary plain land ? J. A. A. 



Springfield, Mass., Feb., 1860. 



Remarks. — Orchard grass seed may be ob- 

 tained of Messrs. Nourse & Co., 34 Merchants' 

 Row, Boston, at from $1,25 to $1,75 per bushel, 

 accoi'ding to the manner in which it is cleaned up. 

 Twelve to sixteen quarts per acre is the amount 

 usually sowed. 



CULTIVATION OF PEAS. 



Will some one acquinted with raising the crop 

 inform me in regard to raising peas ? What kind 

 of land is best adapted to them ? How deep should 

 they be plowed, and what quantity sowed to the 

 acre ? Would they do well plowed in on moist 

 greensward ? A New Subscriber. 



Waterbury Centre, 1860. 



A FINE PAIR OF CATTLE. 



I have a pair of cattle, now seven years old, 

 raised by myself, and kept in quite active service 

 until within three months past. They have had 

 no extra attention or feed, until within this time. 

 They are very well matched, and weigh upwards 

 of 5000 lbs., and have been spoken of as being 

 the heaviest pair of well matched oxen in the 

 county. D. Z. Steele. 



Sharon, VL, Marcli, 1860. 



Remarks. — A good example, friend Steele. A 

 pair of cattle like these, having pretty much paid 

 their way by their labor, will afford nearly what 

 they bring as clear profit, to say nothing of the 

 honest pride a man has in rearing such a pair. We 

 will venture to say that no one hears Mr. Steele 

 grumbling about the profits of farming. He takes 

 a good agricultural newspaper, no doubt, and ob- 

 serves what other people are doing in his profes- 

 sion. 



BITTER cream. 



I have a cow six years old; she gives very rich 

 milk, and good tasted, until it has stood about 

 twenty-four hours, when the cream becomes bit- 

 ter ; some messes very bitter and some but little. 

 The first two years it was perfectly sweet. She is 

 well kept, and has plenty of salt. A year ago the 

 past winter she was kept on good roAven, and the 

 cream was the most bitter then. I wish to in- 

 quire of you, or some of your correspondents, the 

 cause and remedy, if there is any. 



Proctorsville, VL, 1860. Subscriber. 



HUBBARD squash SEED. 



1 would like to inform your subscribers, through 

 your columns, that any one wishing to obtain 

 some of the celebrated "Hubbard Squash" seeds, 

 can have a small quantity free, by sending a pre- 

 paid envelope to my address. 



Cumberland, Me., 1360. Horace I. Gk\y. 



