1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



283 



beat, and your labor will be lost. Do not attempt 

 to cover too much ground, but finish thoroughly 

 as far as you undertake. 



The meadow should not be drained so as to 

 take the water off more than 15 to 18 inches be- 

 low the surface, and if you can control the water 

 so as to flow at pleasure, do so. But you must 

 observe the effect of the water upon the growth 

 of the plants. If you find them more thrifty on 

 spots a little elevated in various parts of the 

 meadow, it will be good evidence that the water 

 should stand at a lower level all over the meadow, 

 [f, on the contrary, they flourish best in low pla- 

 ces, then raise the water a little. By attending to 

 these suggestions, and such others as your own 

 observation will bring up, a?id keeping a clean 

 culture among the plants, you will probably find 

 a handsome profit in the cranberry crop. 



Would it be profitable to raise Sugar Cane as a 

 feed for cattle, sheep, &c., where I should have to 

 buy seed every year ? Where, and at what price 

 can seed be obtained ? 



Chinese Sugar Cane. — We do not think the 

 Chinese Sugar Cane plant, as feed for cattle, equal 

 to southern corn. Seed at Nourse & Co.% 34 

 Merchants' Row, at eight cents a pound. 



"\\Tiere, and at what price can "mangold wurtzel" 

 seed be obtained ? What soil is best, and manner 

 of manuring and preparing, &c. ? 



Mangold Wurtzel. — Seed as above, at 50 cents 

 a pound. Put them on good corn land. Make a 

 wide furrow, manure liberally in it, cover with 

 earth, and sow the seed about half an inch deep. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 VERMONT FARMING— A SUGGESTION. 



Farmers here, what there is left of them, are 

 cultivating skim-milk farms, and if they go on in 

 this course, many years longer, they will all have 

 to leave for the West, and let Nature take her 

 course. 



Let me suggest to you one experiment. I have 

 bought one of these skim-milk farms. What is 

 the use of two hands working on this land that 

 produces only 500 lbs. of hay to the acre, and 

 when cultivated, crops in proportion ? The land 

 is naturally good, and produced large crops for a 

 great many years after it Avas first opened. Hay 

 here is worth $18 to $20 per ton. I have 30 to 

 40 acres of good warm loam land, free of stone, 

 that does not produce over seven tons of hay, and 

 other crops in proportion. 30 acres of this land 

 ought to produce 50 tons of hay, and the other 10, 

 100 bushels corn, 500 do. potatoes, 100 do. wheat 

 and barley, 200 do. oats, besides carrots and tur- 

 nips. How is this to be done ? Shall I operate 

 as Nature does, and be 30 years about it ? The 

 means of making manure on such a farm are small. 

 With such crops my plan is for you or some of 

 your good Boston friends to send me some of the 

 best fertilizers you have ; guano, bone dust, lime 

 and plaster, refuse salt, &c. ; say $100 worth, and 



some of your best varieties of potatoes, corn, 

 wheat, oats, carrot and turnip seed ; and as a re- 

 turn for it, I will plant for you one acre of pota- 

 toes, and manure according to your direction, and 

 barrel up all fit for the market, and forward them 

 to J our order, for which you will allow me all you 

 can afford to, after deducting expenses, and con- 

 tinue to do so every year until the debt is ])aid. 

 ThisM'ill enable me to farm it with some profit, as 

 after one or two years, I could bring up the rear 

 with good solid barn-yard and cellar manures, and 

 the laud would need no more, or other stimulus. 



The soil here is warm hill land ; natural growth, 

 pine, hemlock, beach, birch, rock maple and oak; 

 abuiidance of springs and brooks of pure water ; 

 some clay in the soil ; guano is said to do well. 



If you want any other security than my word, 

 you can have it. n. W. 



Boyalston, April, 18G0. 



Remarks. — Here is a chance for a change of 

 commodities, and a profit. Who among our en- 

 terprising produce dealers will improve it? 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CARROTS, PARSNIPS AND CABBAGES, 

 Grown without the use of Hand Tools. 



Some months since I promised to give you the 

 result of my experiments in growing roots Avith 

 the aid of horse tools alone in their cultivation, 

 but have been prevented from doing so until the 

 present time, having harvested the parsnips last 

 week. 



The ground upon which the experiment was 

 tried, was a heavy clay loam, in very low tilth, 

 too low, in fact, to produce more than one ton of 

 hay per acre. The method of cultivation was as 

 follows : 



The ground was plowed fourteen inches deep 

 and harrowed sufficiently to level down the ridges, 

 the manure was then spread and cultivated in : 

 after properly fitting the seed, it was sown by r. 

 machine in drills twenty inches apart ; they were 

 then left until the roots Avere four to six inche'; 

 in length, when the Mapes subsoil plow was run 

 between the rows twelve inches deep ; this plow, 

 or lifter, raises the whole ground, and leaves it 

 light, friable, and as porous as though it had been 

 passed through a sieve ; all weeds in the line of 

 the row that were above the tops of the crop were 

 then ])ulled up by taking hold of their tops, as 

 the subsoil plow left the ground so Avell disinteg- 

 rated that they offered but little resistance ; the 

 Knox horse-hoe, or carrot-weeder, Avas then run 

 betAveen the roAvs ; this is a light implement, 

 easily thrown from side to side, and can be run 

 safely and accurately Avithin an inch of the roAvs, 

 and does its Avork so Avell that the hand hoe may 

 be entirely dispensed Avith. When the roots are 

 but eight inches long, the subsoil ploAV should be 

 run through again tAvelve inches deep, and if the 

 Aveeds are troublesome, run the horse hoe again, 

 as the cost is but light, and it improves the me- 

 chanical condition of the soil very materially ; in 

 harvesting the crop, the subsoil plow is run close 

 to the rows, Avhich assists very much in the pull- 

 ing. 



My ])roduct Avas at the rate of 960 bushels per 



