74 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



For the Neip England Farmer. 



HAY AND ROOT CROPS— THEIR COM- 

 PARATIVE VALUE. 



Hay is the chief article of food for stock during 

 the winter season ; and, generally speaking, if a 

 sufficiency of good hay is properly fed to stock, 

 they will thrive upon it, and increase in weight 

 and value. But it is not always, nor even usually 

 the case, that farmers have a sufficiency of the 

 best quality of hay to feed to their stock, Mith no 

 exceptions in the way of coarse fodder, damaged 

 hay, straw, etc. ; and in case tlie latter is fed, or 

 when the usual yield of hay has been reduced by 

 reason of the drought, or other causes, root crops 

 afford a valuable auxiliary, whether used in con- 

 nection with the former, or as a substitute for the 

 latter. Hence it often becomes necessary to know 

 the comparative value of potatoes, carrots and 

 ruta bagas, that farmers may be able to substitute, 

 in part, these roots for hay. 



It is becoming more and more the practice of 

 our best farmers to feed out, not only their car- 

 rots, turnips, etc., but their potatoes, instead of 

 selling them from the farm to be worked into 

 starch, in the belief that the good of their ftxrms 

 demands it, and that their purses in the end will 

 not be the losers thereby ; and the more it is 

 practiced, the more convinced are they of the 

 economy and profit of such a course of feeding. 

 Not only is the profit derived from the roots, as 

 such, but the relative value of the hay, as well as 

 that of the roots, is increased when fed together. 

 And it becomes an object, the present season es- 

 pecially, for such farmers as have been deprived 

 of their usual amount of fodder by the drought, to 

 make the best of all such means to keep and im- 

 prove their stock until the return of grass. 



The following table, gathered from reliable 

 sources, shows the value of potatoes, carrots and 

 ruta bagas, the roots usually grown for stock, 

 compared with that of good hay. 



200 fbs. of potatoes are equal to 100 lbs. of hay. 

 275 " " caiTots " " " 



300 " "rutabagas " " " 



Again : by allowing 60 pounds to the bushel, 

 of the above roots, we have the following : 



67 bushels of potatoes are equal to a ton of hay. 

 92 " " carrots " " " 



100 " " ruta bagas " " " 



By this estimate, with the usual yield per acre, 

 it will be seen that root culture pays ; a fact of 

 which many a farmer and stock-grower has been 

 convinced by practical demonstration. 



Lyndon, VL, Dec, 1860. I. W. Sanborn. 



Experiment with S.\lt. — E. Roberts com- 

 municates to the Philadelphia Farmer and Gar- 

 dener the results of an experiment tried a year ago. 

 When a field of an acre of turnips were putting 

 out the third leaf something like one bushel of 

 salt was applied to about one-fourth of the field. 

 A very severe drought succeeded, parching up 

 everything. The turnips did not appear to ad- 

 vance a bit in their growth, except on the portion 

 to which the salt had been applied. Here they 

 did not show the drooping condition so manifest 

 in every other portion of the field. When the 



leaves of the unsalted portion were dry in the 

 morning, the saltest part appeared moist, as 

 though they had imbibed moisture from the at- 

 mosphere. The result was, a much better yield 

 of turnips on the eighth of an acre than on the 

 other portion. The fly did not attack this portion 

 at all, though some of the other parts of the field 

 suffered severely. 



AUTUMN" IS DEAD. 



BY MRS. n. J. LEWIS. 



The lilies beneath the wave are sleeping, 

 The vine no more o'er the wall is creeping. 

 The withered berries the turf are strewing, 

 The leaves are heaped by the wild wind's blowing. 

 Autumn is dead. 



Where the reapers trod not a sheaf is gleaming, 

 Where the asters bloomed not a flower is beaming. 

 The grass is gone that in summer even 

 Was sprinkled with liquid gems from heaven. 

 Autumn is dead. 



Grey is the sea with its moan and dashing, 

 Grey are the clouds with no sunlij^lit flashing. 

 Wildly the sea-bird shrieks o'er the billow, 

 Making its foam a toy and a pillow, 



Since Autumn is dead. 



Now come the winds from the North, low telling. 

 Where the dread winter bides in his dwelling, 

 Ready to hush the soft silver ringing 

 Of streams that sadly murmur in singing. 



Autumn is dead. 



Softly as hush of the pale moon stealeth 

 A chorus of voices that life revealeth. 

 An insect's chirp, or a wild bird calling, — 

 A break in a silence else appalling, 



For Aut'imn is dead. 



Quick ! strew his grave with the leaves and flowers 

 That gladdened his path through the darkening hours ! 

 Quick with the chant and requiem holy ! 

 See you not that he lieth lowly, 



Dec. 1, 1860. 



Because he is dead .' 



Transcript. 



DOINGS OF THE CATTLE COMMIS- 

 SIONERS. 



On Thursday week, parts of the two boards of 

 the Cattle Commissioners of the Commonwealth 

 met at Mr. Chenery's farm in Belmont, to kill the 

 remaining portion of the 27 head purchased some 

 time since by the Cattle Commissioners of Mr. 

 Chenery. On the 2Jlh of September they killed 

 4, on the 11th of October they killed 7, on the 

 16th, 6, and on the 13th of December, 4, including 

 one in charge of the Medical Board, and returned 

 3 to Mr. Chenery for the same price they had 

 agreed to pay him. Three animals still remain in 

 charge of the Medical Board, and Mr. Chenery 

 has now 13 head, including "Beemster," one of 

 the cows obtained by the last importation, which 

 has never been sick. The injunction of isolation 

 still remains in force in regard to the remnant of 

 this herd that numbered near 70 head a year and 

 a half ago. Of these 27 died of the disease, and 

 23 have been killed by order of the Commission. 

 One of the Commissioners said that the remain- 

 ing 10 head should all be killed. 



Of the animals killed on Tlmrsday week, 3 were 

 pronounced diseased with pleuro-pneumonia by 



