1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



559 



A CRACK IN THE HOG-TROUGH. 



Some time ago a friend sent mo word that he 

 gave, everjf day, nearly twenty pails of butter- 

 milk to a lot of shoats, and they scarcely im- 

 proved a bit on it. Thinks I, this is a breed of 

 hogs worth seeing — they must be of the sheet- 

 iron kind ; so I called on him, heard him repeat 

 the mournful tale, and then visited the sty. In 

 order to get a closer view of the miraculous swine, 

 I went into the ])en, and on close examination 

 found a crack in the trough, through which much 

 of the contents ran away under the floor. 



Thinks I, here is the type of much of the fail- 

 ures and misfortunes of our agricultural brethren. 

 When I see a farmer omitting all improvements 

 because of a little cost, selling all his good farm 

 stock to buy bank, or railroad, or mortgage stock, 

 robbing himself and heirs, thinks I, my friend, 

 you have a crack in your hog-trough. 



When I see a farmer subscribing for half a 

 dozen political and miscellaneous papers, and 

 spending all his leisure reading them, while he 

 don't read a single agricultural or horticultural 

 journal — thinks I to myself, poor man, you have 

 got a large and wide crack in your hog-trough. 



When I see a farmer attending to all the politi- 

 cal conventions and coming down liberally with 

 the dust on all caucus occasions, knowing every 

 man who votes his ticket : and yet to save his neelv, 

 couldn't tell who is President of the County Ag- 

 ricultural Society, or where the Fair was held last 

 year, I "unanimously" come to the conclusion 

 that the poor soul nas got a crack in his hog- 

 trough. 



When I see a farmer buying guano, but wast- 

 ing ashes and hen manure, trying all sorts of ex- 

 periments except intellectual hard work and econ- 

 omy ; getting the choicest seeds, regardless of 

 cultivation and good sense ; growing the variety 

 of fruit called "Sour Tart Seedling," and sweeten- 

 ing it with sugar, ])ound for pound ; keeping the 

 front fields rich and neat, while the back lots are 

 overgrown with elder, briars, sna])-dragon, and 

 thistle ; contributing liberally to the Choctaw In- 

 dian Fund, and nevtr giving a cent to any Agri- 

 cultural Society — such a man, I will give a writ- 

 ten guarantee, has got a crack both in his head 

 and in his hog-trough. 



When I see a farmer whose hogs are so lean 

 that they have to lean against the fence to sus- 

 tain themselves while squealing, I rather lean to 

 the conclusion that somebody that stays at home 

 Vv'ill have a lien on the farm, and some time the 

 bottom M'ill come entirely out of the hog-trough. 

 — Orange Co. Farmer. 



Cider Making in Connecticut. — According 

 to the New Haven Journal, a very large business 

 is carried on in cider making near that city, one 

 town alone, (Cheshire) manufacturing 8000 bar- 

 rels for market. It is first clarified, and then sold 

 in the spring for bottling, at about one shilling 

 per gallon. It is, when clarified, as pure as wine, 

 and is, when bottled, in great demand at the 

 South at $o per dozen. The Journal adds : 

 "The fruit-growers of Connecticut can cultivate 

 the apple with but little expense, and can realize 

 at least 20 cents a bushel for all they can raise. 

 The past season those who have mills at Cheshire 

 have paid from 18 to 20 cents per bushel for all 



they could find, taking them from the orchards 

 where they have been collected, the raiser being 

 subjected to no expense except that of picking 

 and piling in heaps." 



For tlie New England Farmer. 

 ADDRESSES AT FAIRS. 



Mr. Editor : — In a late number of your val- 

 uable paper, it is proposed to discontinue the an- 

 nual address at our shows, and to substitute there- 

 for a discussion of some definitely proposed top- 

 ic. This would do very well, provided you could 

 be sure of speakers competent to conduct the dis- 

 cussion. In most of our societies, the announce- 

 ment of a topic, that had not been particularly 

 considered by the speakers, would result, as do 

 many of those discussions at the Legislative Ag- 

 ricultural Meetings, in " Vox pretcerea. nihil," 

 [that is, empty sound. — Ed.] No man can in- 

 struct others who has not well considered the 

 topic on which he speaks. If he has reduced his 

 thoughts to writing, he will be likely to have 

 them better arranged and better condensed, than 

 if he proceeds otherwise. 



For forty years, I have attended such meetings, 

 and am free to say, that much of the best instruc- 

 tion springing from them has been found in these 

 addresses ; especially as they are revised and pub- 

 lished bv the officers of the society. Essex. 



October 20, 1860. 



Remarks. — Nothing escapes the critical eye of 

 Essex. We agree with him, that the addresses 

 at our county fairs are usually sound and instruc- 

 tive, — still, a little diversion from the usual course 

 may be profitable. 



India Rubber Waterproof Varnish. — A 

 writer in the Scientific American says : 



"I have used a solution of India rubber and tur- 

 pentine for about twenty years, as a waterproof 

 varnish for my boots and shoes. I make the ap- 

 plication before blacking is put on, or else remove 

 the blacking by water. When the leather is 

 moist I take the solution of India rubber and ap- 

 ply it Vv'ith a rag, taking care to rub it in ; then I 

 put tlie boot in a moderately warm place until the 

 whole is absorbed. The process is repeated 

 twice, or until the pores of the leather are filled, 

 when the surplus is wiped off. In a few dajs 

 afterwards blacking may be put on, and the leath- 

 er will polish well. By this method of treating 

 my boots I make them not only water-tight, but 

 also much more durable, and the leather is always 

 kept soft and pliable. I treat every pair of new 

 boots in the manner described, and effect a ccu- 

 siderablo annual saving thereby." 



Cure for Lockjaw. — A young lady ran a nail 

 into her foot recently. The injury produced lock- 

 jaw of such a malignant character that her phy- 

 sicians pronounced her recovery hopeless. An 

 old nurse then took her in hand, and applied 

 pounded beet roots to her foot, removing them as 

 often as they became dry. The result was a com- 

 plete and astonishing cure. Such a simple reme- 

 dy should be borne in mind. 



