1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



315 



For the New Ensland Farmer. 

 A GOOD HEIFER. 



In the autumn of 1858, having on hand the 

 stover from half an acre of corn, I purchased from 

 a drove a small two-year-old heifer, paying sev- 

 enteen dollars for her. The corn fodder, with a 

 little salt hay, wintered her through. On the first 

 of May, 1858, she dropped her first calf. When 

 four weeks old it weighed, after being dressed, 80 

 pounds. During the month of June, with noth- 

 ing save her pasture feed, she averaged 18 quarts, 

 wine measure, per day. In July the drought, 

 shortening her su])ply of feed, she .shrank to 17 

 quarts per day. In August, dry weather contin- 

 uing, she fell away an additional quart. In Sep- 

 tember, I began to feed her with corn stalks, and 

 she averaged 15 quarts per day. In October, Avith- 

 out fall feed for second crop hay, she averaged 14 

 quarts per day. In November, 13 quarts. In Jan- 

 uary, February, March and April she averaged 

 quite 10 quarts per day. 



The past winter she has been kept upon swale 

 hay, with about four quarts of shorts per day. 



Assuming that while the calf was with her she 

 gave 17 quarts per day, her first year's lactation 

 amounts to, 



May 527 qts. 



.lune 540 " 



July 527 " 



August ..496 " 



September 450 " 



October 434 " 



November 390 " 



December 372 qts. 



January 310 " 



February 290 " 



March 310 " 



April oOO " 



4946 qts. 



"Which, at four cents per quart, what it has read- 

 ily brought at the door, except what was con- 

 sumed in my own family, amounts to $197,84. 



The cost of wintering the first winter I roundly 

 estimate at $15. 



Wintering $15 



Pasturing 7 



Past winter 25 



First cost 17 



Amounting to §64 



I have been ofi"ered, and refused $75 for her 

 this spring. She is expected to drop her second 

 calf late in the coming summer. 



Increased value, $58 ; added to the income of 

 the first year, making $255,84. Deducting the 

 cost of keeping for one and a half years, with the 

 first outlay, making $64, from the year's income, 

 with the increased value, leaves a net profit of 

 $191,84. 



Those making use of her milk consider it of su- 

 perior quality. H. M. Coucu. 



Georgetown, May 8. 



EFFECTS OF SOAKING SEEDS IN 

 CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS. 



The following is an extract from the Transac- 

 tions of the Highland Agricultural Society : 



"I steeped the seeds of the various specimens 

 exhibited, in sulphate, nitrate and muriate of am- 

 monia, in nitrate of soda and potash, and in com- 

 binations of these ; and in all cases, the results 

 were highly favorable. For example, seeds of 

 wheat steeped in sulphate of ammonia on the fifth 

 of July, had by the tenth of August, tillered nine, 

 ten and eleven stems of neai-ly equal vigor ; while 

 seeds of the same sample, unsoaked and sown at 



the same time, in the same soil, had not tillered 

 into more than two, three, and four stems. I pre- 

 pared the various mixtures, from the above speci- 

 fied salts, exactly neutralized, and then aadfcd 

 from eight to twelve measures of water. The time 

 of steeping varied from fifty to ninety-four hours, 

 at a temperature of GO degrees Fahrenheit. I 

 found, however, that barley does not succeed so 

 well if steeped beyond sixty hours. Ryegrass and 

 other graniferous seeds, do with steeping from 

 sixteen to twenty hours, and clovers from eight 

 to ten, but not more ; for being bilobate, they are 

 apt to swell too much and burst. The very supe- 

 rior specimen of tall oats, averaging 160 grains 

 on each stem, and eight available stems for each 

 seed, were prepared from sulphate of ammonia ; 

 they had an avei-age of thirty-four grains in the 

 ear. The other specimens of oats, which were 

 next the most prolific, were from muriate of am- 

 monia ; and the promiscuous specimens of oats 

 were from the nitrate of soda and potash — strong, 

 numerous in stems, (some having not less than 

 fifty-two,) but not so tall as either those from the 

 sulphate cr mui-iate of ammonia." 



For the New England Farmer. 

 IS FARMING PROFITABLE? 



Mr. Editor : — Sometime since I was much in- 

 terested in an article in the Farmer, by your cor- 

 respondent T. J. Pinkham, of Chelmsfoi'd, headed, 

 "How to Reckon the Cost of Farm Products." I 

 am glad he wrote it, for I believe it will result in 

 good to farmers. I recommend to all farmers the 

 practice of keeping a debt and credit account with 

 their farms in general, and with particular crops, 

 stock, &c., that they may be reliably informed in 

 regard to the cost of whatever they produce. One 

 reason, doubtless, why farmers know so little def- 

 initely in regard to the cost of a bushel of grain, 

 or potatoes, or of a ton of hay, and consequent!'.' 

 of their stock, is the fact of the changeable char- 

 acter of our climate. 



I recognize Mr. Pinkham as the author of an 

 article entitled "Does Farming Pay ?" on pag ■ 

 447 of Vol. XI. of the monthly Farmer, to whic'i 

 I replied on page 533 of the same volume, undc/ 

 the same heading. At first I supposed him hardl 

 in earnest, and was surprised to find a bold en- 

 dorser at the end of the article. But finding frien ' 

 P. quite candid, and really in earnest in his re- 

 marks, in which he seems to fi.gure so as to well 

 sustain his position, I hope he will pardon me 

 for being bold to review his last article on the 

 subject, on page 562 of the monthly, to which I 

 hope the reader will refer. That it costs much 

 more to cultivate an acre of corn on some kinds 

 of land than on others, even sometimes double, 1 

 admit ; and on the first reading, his estimate seems 

 a somewhat plausible one, but after carefully re- 

 reading it several times, and criticizing, I ob- 

 tained a different view. His bill of cost for cul- 

 tivating up to September, is a fair one for some 

 soils, under the method pursued — high enough 

 for almost any, and very high for soils of easy 

 culture. In regard to his ten loads of manure, 

 however, if he charges it all to the corn crop, there 

 may be a deduction of five dollars, only one-half 

 the cost of the manure being generally charged to 

 the first crop, and if the land be a stiff, gi-een 



