i860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



395 



it -would do no good. After all had given up that 

 the horse could no longer live, by her entreaties, 

 (the doctor saying it could do no good or hurt,) 

 he took a thick bed-comforter, bound it around 

 the horse, went to the well and drew water, anc 

 pom-ed it on till thoroughly soaked. It steamed 

 like a pot boiling. In less than fifteen minutes 

 from the time he commenced the watering process 

 the horse was up and eating, to the great surprise 

 of the horse doctor, who knew he could not live. 

 The horse did good service afterwards. This recipe 

 I gave several years ago, and it was copied into 

 most — as I was told by an editor — of the agricul- 

 tural, and many other papers of the United States. 

 Many have tried and proved it. Try it, brother 

 farmer. 



THE CROPS OF 1860. 



The general evidence from all quarters is to 

 the effect that the crops of 1860 will be abundant. 

 Of course, in some sections of the country the 

 farmer has not been so fortunate, and particular 

 crops show the effects of the drought, the storm, or 

 the insect — but such cases are merely the excep- 

 tion which prove the general rule. 



In New England the hay crop is generally short, 

 from one-quarter to one-half less than the aver- 

 age. Fruit, grain and vegetables promise unusu- 

 ally well. We present a few extracts from our 

 exchanges in various parts of the country. 



The Lewiston Falls (Me.) Journal states that 

 on now fields in Lewiston and adjoining towns 

 there will be nearly as much hay cut this year as 

 there was last, but on old fields there will not be 

 more than one-half or two-thirds as much. On 

 boLh old and new fields the hay is heavier accord- 

 ing to bulk, and of a much superior quality. It 

 will be secured in better order than for a number 

 of years. Grain, corn, potatoes and other crops 

 look remarkably well, considering the long 

 drought. In Somerset county grass looks remark- 

 ably well. Wheat sowed from the 15th to the 

 30th of April goes clear of the weevil, and will 

 produce from sixteen to thirty bushels of first 

 quality grain per acre, if storms do not injure it. 

 Corn never looked better. On Friday and Satur- 

 day nights of last week there was a slight frost 

 in many places in the State of Maine. 



The Burlington (Vt.) PJicxnix says that the hay 

 crop in that county promises to be greater than 

 that of last year, and that was larger than any one 

 preceding it for a number of years. Since the 

 middle of June the weather has been unusually 

 propitious for its increase, and although late, the 

 growth in moist, uncut fields still continues. Corn 

 and oats are exceedingly thrifty, and the crops of 

 both will be large. 



The Rochester (N. Y.) Advertiser says the far- 

 mers are now securing an abundant harvest of 

 Genesee wheat. All concur in saying that the 

 yield is not only handsome, but the quality is re- 

 markably fine. The Oswego Palladium says that 



many pear and apple trees in that vicinity are 



struck with blight. 



The wheat and corn crop of Ohio promises to 

 be large. The rejiorts are pretty much like those 

 from Illinois and Indiana. The papers complain 

 of a blight in the apple trees in certain sections 

 of that State. It resembles the fire blight, which 

 affects the pear, and seems to fall only upon trees 

 that are full of fruit. The grain crop of 1800 now 

 bids fair to overtop any of previous years, even 

 the bountiful harvest of 1857, when the respective 

 crops were as follows : 



Corn '. 82,555,186 bushels. 



Wheat 25,397,614 " 



Oats 25,000,000 " 



Other small grains 3,000,000 " 



Aggregate 135,952,800 



This aggregate, large as it is, will probably be 

 increased in 1860. The Cincinnati (raze^^e thinks 

 the wheat and corn crop may be more, the oats 

 not as much. 



A private letter, recently received from one of 

 the largest South Carolina planters, says : "We 

 are in a terrible drought and heat here. It is set- 

 tled that the corn crop of the South will be very 

 short. As to cotton, greatly damaged now, no 

 one can say for a month to come what it may do. 

 I am now mainly a corn planter. Six weeks ago 

 I expected to make 70,000 bushels ; I will now 

 compound for 40,000. I expected, also, 600 bales 

 of cotton, but now only count on 400, but may 

 make a little more." 



From every quarter of Canada the prospects 

 of the coming harvest are most cheering. The 

 only exception to the productiveness of crops is 

 said to be that of hay, which is light ; but even 

 of that the quantity is expected to be much larger 

 than the yield of last year. 



On the whole, we consider the reports exceed- 

 ingly encouraging, and another proof, if that were 

 wanted, of the unfailing fulfilment of the promise 

 that, "while the earth remaineth, seed time and 

 harvest shall not fail." 



The Pennsylvania Oil Springs. — Less is 

 said, perhaps, than formerly, about the newly-dis- 

 covered oil springs in western Pennsylvania, but 

 the oil is there, and all the original local excite- 

 ment ; and when railroads shall have been built 

 through the region, and arrangements made for 

 working this source of incalculable wealth, the 

 new branch of industry will assume no m; an pro- 

 portions. There are now within the radius of a 

 mile from Franklin, Pa., over one hundred oil 

 springs, in only eight of which pumps have been 

 put to work. Some of these yield forty barrels a 

 day, while the general average of all the wells is 

 twelve barrels. But barrels cannot lie got, and 

 when got the facilities for getting to market are 

 of the worst kind, so very little is being done, 

 now, more than to prospect for new bores and 

 hold on to the old ones. Proprietors will not sell 

 at any price, and calculate their springs freelv at 

 anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000. The oiHs 

 of good quality, and worth in its crude state thir- 

 ty cents a gallon in New York. 



