1860. 



NEW EXGLAXD FARMEE. 



613 



where, which I attribute to the number of cats 

 that destroy the mice." Hence it is quite credit- 

 able that the presence of a feline animal in large 

 numbers id a district mijjht determine, through 

 the intervention of mice and then of bees, the fre- 

 quency of certain flowers in that district. — Lav- 

 win. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 BORROWING AND LENDING TOOLS. 



]Mr. Editor : — I have noticed that some of your 

 subscribers, having confidence that you are full of 

 wisdom, and willing to impart to the ignorant, 

 Avhen they meet with difficulties come to you for 

 advice. Now I want advice in a matter that has 

 annoyed me a good deal, and wish you would tell 

 me, and the rest of your readers, what is proper 

 to be done by one in my circumstances. The 

 case is just this : I am a farmer, owning a pret- 

 ty good farm, with neighbors all arounl me in the 

 same business. I am in the habit of being neigh- 

 borly with my brother farmers, borrowing va- 

 rious tools of them as I happened to want them. 

 For instance, I have borrowed a corn-sheller of 

 one man, and because I happened to forget or 

 neglect to carry it home again, and he had to come 

 for it a week or two after, he appeared to be really 

 disturbed in mind about it. So, also, when I 

 borrowed a seed-sower of another, and he came 

 for it a month afterwards, he really looked as if 

 he had a good mind to be so unneighborly as to 

 make me pay for his trouble in hunting it up. Of 

 another, (an odd chap who jocularly calls himself 

 so poor that he cannot afford to borrow,) I bor- 

 rowed a jack-screw to use in fixing my barn. Be- 

 fore I was ready to carry it home, the wrench 

 somehow got broken ; and then I waited till I 

 could take it to the blacksmith and have it 

 mended — and finally forgot it. But after a month 

 or two the owner one day came for it, in some 

 excitement, said he had spent most of the forenoon 

 in looking for the screw among his nearest neigh- 

 bors, having at first forgotten to whom it was 

 lent ; and ended by saying that he e?:pected me to 

 pay him twenty-five cents for his trouble in coming 

 for it. As I am an economical man, and he knew 

 it, I thought this particularly unkind. When I 

 told him the wrench was broken, and said he 

 might get it mended and I would pay the black- 

 smith's charge for it, 1 really believe he wanted 

 to sioear ; but he didn't do it ; he merely said, in 

 a cool and impudent way, that he "thought it 

 rather a hard case, after he had spent a half day 

 in hunting for his tools, to be asked to spend more 

 time in running to the blacksmith's to get them 

 mended !" So you see by what a churly set of 

 neighbors I am surrounded. 



Now, Mr. Editor, as you know just how I am 

 treated, I wish you would talk right sharply to 

 these men, and show them how to be neighborly. 

 I do not own all the tools I want to use, and so 

 I must borrow ; and I cannot be expected always 

 to remember to return them at a jjrecise minute. 

 It is not natural. Pray help me, if you can, and 

 so oblige, JOXATUAN DOOLITTLE. 



Slackville, Aug. 11, 1860. 



Value of Sewage. — If we ask the opinions 

 of different persons on the question of "sewage," 



we receive contradictory answers. All manufac- 

 turers of superphosphate of lime are quite agr^^d 

 on the point, that only the fluid portions pf st • 

 age water are valuable in agriculture. They do 

 not, in giving this opinion, deny the good eff"ect 

 of solid matters, but only mean to say that they 

 are not worth the trouble of being collected for 

 manure, because they are ready to deliver from 

 their manufactories these matters to agriculturists. 

 The manufacturers of ammonia-salts, and the 

 dealers in guano, take an entirely opposite view. 

 These hold that only the solid sewage matters are 

 to be looked upon as important. There can, how- 

 ever, be no doubt that both the fluid and solid 

 matters are valuable for agriculture. — Liebig's 

 Lectures. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 TOWN PAIR IN NORTH READING. 



An agricultural fair was held in this place Oct. 

 2, under the auspices of the North Leading Far- 

 mers^ and Mechanics^ Club, and proved a decided 

 success. No cattle were exhibited, but the dis- 

 play of fruit, flowers and vegetables was unusual- 

 ly fine, and the contributions of the ladies in the 

 shape of embroidery,worsted work, paintings, etc., 

 showed, most conclusively, that the ladies of the 

 place, at least, are fully up to the times. 



Gentlemen who were present, and who have al- 

 so attended some of the County Fairs, were 

 forced to acknowledge, that, although the quanti- 

 ty was less, the quality of the contributions was 

 even superior to that of the greater shows. 



If you, Mr. Editor, had not positively forbid- 

 den correspondents to enter into details, it would 

 give me much pleasure to enumerate some con- 

 tributors worthy of especial honor ; as it is, I can- 

 not refrain from mentioning the name of Aaron 

 S. Hewes, Esq., of North Reading. His display 

 of apples, it is universally acknowledged, was by 

 far the best, and we, "of this ilk," believe them 

 unsurpassed. Mr. H., though a manufacturer, is 

 far more of a farmer than some who make farm- 

 ing their profession. G. F. Flint. 



North Reading, Oct. 4, 1860. 



Remarks. — Thank you for the notice of your 

 Town Show, and also for mentioning particular 

 cases that are specially meritorious. This is what 

 is wanted, — but not a dull detail of one or two 

 tiundred premiums. 



Preservation of Fruit. — Some time last 

 spring, Mr. Lewis H. Spear called at this office, 

 and showed us samples of fruit ]5ut up without 

 being cooked. Some of it had been prepared for 

 several months, and still retained the flavor of 

 ripe fruit when first gathered. The samples of ap- 

 ples were very beautiful, although they had been 

 put up for several months, were open to the air, 

 and were neither cooked, or in a rich syrup. Sev- 

 eral weeks ago, currants and berries were put up 

 in our family by this method, and they retain all 

 their original freshness of flavor, though their col- 

 or is somewhat changed. The process is very 

 cheap and simple. 



