1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



103 



in potatoes, aud that there is little fat in straw. 

 "We find the cultivation of carrots hard work for 

 the back, and we would rather dig up a little 

 patch after the spring work is done, and sow a 

 few oats, cutting them just as they were headed, 

 and thus procure some good feed at a little ex- 

 pense. The speaker thought carrots were good 

 as a medicine, and for nothing else. He spoke 

 of the importance of keeping calves well the first 

 year, and as a proof of the advantage of doing so, 

 said that one neighbor of his had a pair of steers 

 weighing from 900 to 1100 lbs. each, while an- 

 other killed a heifer calf which weighed when 

 dressed, 619 lbs. He also called attention to a 

 five or six years old steer owned by Mr. Sander- 

 son, of Bernardston, which now weighs 3500 lbs. 

 He thought we were far ahead of England in con- 

 sequence of our excellent pastures. In his sec- 

 tion of the State, sheep raising was paying well, 

 and there were 2000 sheep in his town that re- 

 turned $6 per head, in lambs alone, while the 

 manure was of great value, but of this he pro- 

 posed to speak at a future meeting. 



Col. Faulkner spoke of an experiment being 

 made by a neighbor of his who had been feeding 

 his cows on English hay, and who is now feeding 

 on meadow hay, steaming it, and warming his 

 barn from the apparatus ; and he said he was sav- 

 ing $8 per ton on hay. The speaker said in ref- 

 erence to the effect of cold weather on cattle, that 

 during the cold days we had about the last of Oc- 

 tober he kept some cows out three days and 

 nights, and they shrunk one quarter in milk, and 

 it took them four days of warm weather to come 

 back to the original quantity. He objected to a 

 barn heated artificially, and thought the steam 

 from manure was also injurious to cattle. 



It having been announced that the subject for 

 discussion, next Monday evening, would be — 

 "What kind of farming is the most projitahle in 

 the different sections of the State")" and that Hon. 

 John Brooks, of Princeton, would preside, the 

 meeting adjourned. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SOILINQ CATTLE. 



Mr. Editor : — In a late editorial, you kindly 

 invited young farmers to contribute to the col- 

 umns of your valuable paper. We, youthful far- 

 mers, are not expected to give the results of much 

 exp^ripnce, but we may advance some irleas for 

 the older farmers to pronounce judgment upon. 

 It is said, by some,, that every generation grows 

 wiser. If that is really the case, farming ought to 

 improve much faster than it has in years past. But 

 whether it is so or not, every one will admit that 

 the mode of farming has been improved some, 

 and that there is room for still greater improve- 

 ments. Now the question is, how can our farms 

 be improved the most, with the least expense, and 

 in the shortest possible time ? I think the only 



way to do this, is by soiling our cattle. There is 

 hardly a farmer in this part of the State who 

 could not, by proper management, keep more 

 than double the stock which he now keeps. Too 

 much land is wasted every year for pasturing. 

 Even on this little farm of but 50 acres, where 

 two years ago 20 acres of that were used for pas- 

 turing, and then but six cows were kept, more 

 than twice that number are now kept. And we 

 have a fair prospect of making it much larger 

 within the next two years. By keeping cattle in 

 the barn during the summer, not only will half 

 the number of acres keep the same number of 

 cattle, but the farm is constantly growing richer, 

 as much more manure can be made in the sum- 

 mer than in winter. Ai>d the farmer can apply it 

 to much better advantage than the cattle can. j 

 see no reason for farmers to be discouraged. Let 

 Mr. Pinkham say what he pleases, for I believe 

 that farmers are yet to become the richest portion 

 of (he community instead of the poorest. 

 Westhoro'', Jan. 1, 1861. Job. 



REPORT ON THE CATTLE DISEASE. 



As all our readers feel greatly interested in this 

 matter, we have copied an abstract of the report 

 of the Commissioners on the Cattle Disease, which 

 was submitted to the Legislature on Thursday, 

 Jan. 10. The people of our Commonwealth, 

 especially, have reason for thankfulness that 

 under the vigorous and prompt action of the au- 

 thorities, a disease that threatened to spread 

 throughout the country and destroy millions of 

 dollars worth of the most important portion of our 

 farm stock, has been, so far as we can now see, 

 subdued and exterminated, and that at an ex- 

 pense comparatively trifling, when we consider 

 the importance of the interest at stake. 



The contagious character of the disease is satis- 

 factorily established, and the connection of every 

 case with the original infection clearly traced. The 

 recommendation of the Commissioners that Con- 

 gress be requested to consider the propriety of a 

 quarantine law in relation to the admission of 

 foreign cattle is, therefore, highly pertinent and 

 important. We hope the report may be published 

 in full and generally distributed among our citi- 

 zens, as it is one of great interest to the commun- 

 nity. The following is as full an abstract as we can 

 find room for : — 



The Commissioners give a lengthy and detailed 

 history of the progress of the disease and the 

 Ifgislntion in relation to it, and then proceed to 

 ta say that they do not deem it within their prov- 

 ince to speak at length of the pathology of the 

 disease, with which they have been called to con- 

 tend. The appointment of a medical Board of 

 Examiners render such a service quite unneces- 

 sary. 



•'Certain clear and practical conclusions," say 

 the Commissioners, "to which we have arrived in 

 view of the facts under our observation, we feel 

 it incumbent upon us explicitly to state : 



