1861. 



NEW EXGLAXD FARMER. 



199 



poor one. If, on account of climate, or for any 

 good reason, the Baldwin and other fine fruits 

 will not flourish in a particular locality, then in- 

 troduce something else. In the region of Bos- 

 ton, the fruit sent by our correspondent is not 

 equal, in appearance or flavor, to many varieties 

 that are quite common in the eastern part of 

 Massachusetts ; so that, if these fruits will flour- 

 ish in the section from whence our correspondent 

 writes, we think he had better use them than his 

 seedling. He may succeed, by-and-bye, in getting 

 something preferable to any apple now known to 

 us. The finest apple we have, among forty vari- 

 eties, is a New Hampshire seedling. 



HORSE WITH A BROKEN LEG. 



Having been a constant reader of your valua- 

 ble paper for a number of vears, and observing 

 many things relative to sick horses and cattle, I 

 wish to say a few words through the Farmer 

 about broken-legged horses, which I had gen- 

 erally supposed were worth as much as one with 

 a broken neck and no more ; but personal expe- 

 rience has shown the reverse, viz : 



In August, 1857, as my neighbor, H. Burton, 

 was training a young horse of three or four 

 years, he threw himself, and the second time he 

 got up it was with one hind leg broken about two 

 inches above the ankle. Mr. B. came over to my 

 house and wished me to go and see it. I did so, 

 and on examination I found it so badly broken, 

 that when we moved the foot the bones would 

 rattle like a parcel of broken crockery. Mr. B. 

 bound it up rather ordinarily, turned him into 

 the meadow and there let him run without bath- 

 ing it at all. It swelled, corrupted and discharged, 

 and pieces of bone came out from time to time, 

 and in about one year he became able to work. 

 The past winter he has been able to go into the 

 woods harnessed with another to the short sled, 

 and draw the biggest logs without fear or favor. 

 John Pettenglll. 



Andover, March 2, 1861. 



remedy for scratches — TRANSPLANTING A 

 GRAPE VINE. 



I see in your paper the statement that a beech 

 tree is a non-conductor, but I can show you a 

 beech that was struck by lightning and stove into 

 a thousand pieces, as the saying is. The tree 

 was about eighteen inches through the butt. 



I also read an article on "Scratches, and their 

 cure." My method of curing them is to rub on 

 West India molasses a few times, and I have 

 never known it to fail. It is a cheap, simple rem- 

 edy, and that is what we want. 



Will it do to take a grape vine out of a brook 

 and set it in ground that is not half so wet ? If 

 80, when will be the time to do it ? 



Framingham, 1861. J. C. Stewart. 



Remarks. — Yes. Transplant the vine as early 

 as you can after the frost is out, and with as 

 many roots as you can get. Do not mutilate the 

 roots. Make the soil where you plant it mellow 

 and deep — and sprinkle in some wood ashes 

 with it. 



early AND DEEP SNOWS. 

 The snow here, Jan. 21, is in many places three 

 feet in depth ; and the roofs of weak buildings 

 are being crushed beneath its weight. There fell 



October 15 2 inches. 



November 7 " 



December 34.^ " 



January, to the 21at 2% " 



5 feet 4 inches. 



Can any authentic record, or the "oldest in- 

 habitant," tell when so much snow has fallen so 

 early in the season ? The heaviest fall was 18 

 inches on the 22d of December. The tempera- 

 ture of the winter has been rather mild, though 

 on Sunday morning, 13th inst., the mercury fell 

 to 32° below zero. Record. 



Charlestoicn, N. H.,Jan. 21, 1861. 



ABOUT BUGS. 



The word "bug," in its proper signification, is 

 applied to an insect having a hard pointed suck- 

 er, without jaws ; four wings, the upper pair of 

 which are hard and horny for that half of their 

 length nearest the body, thin and flexible through 

 the other half, while the lower pair are folded be- 

 tween the upper pair and the body, like those of a 

 beetle. The larva? and pupte of this order of in- 

 sects are active, and bear a close resemblance to 

 the imago or perfect insect. 



This word, in England, is narrowed down to 

 contain only one species of bug, i. e., the bed- 

 bug, Acanihia lectularia, and in this country, 

 with equal impropriety, extended to cover every- 

 thing with six legs to sixteen ; from a large and 

 beautiful moth or butterfly, down to the wheat or 

 Hessian fly. F. G. Sanborn. 



Aiidover, March, 1861. 



remedy for choked cattle. 



Reading a "Remedy for Choked Cattle" on 

 p. 552, vol. 12, of the Farmer, reminded me of a 

 very simple and eflScacious remedy which I have 

 often seen tried, and have never known it to fail. 



Take a few spoonfuls of cold hog's lard, and 

 with a knife work in all the gunpowder that will 

 well mix with it. Make the mixture into balls 

 the size of a small hen's egg, and put one down 

 the animal's throat. If the obstruction is not re- 

 moved in two or three minutes, give another ball. 

 One will generally be sufficient, if not the second 

 seldom fails. Without any effort more than is 

 performed in ejecting wind from the stomach, the 

 potato, apple, or other obstruction, will be thrown 

 out, and I have seen the animal take a potato 

 thus ejected, and eat it as soon as it rolled upon 

 the ground. 



Perhaps the lard alone would answer equally 

 as well. I hope the above will be tried when 

 necessary, and the result reported. It is a safer 

 remedy than removing the obstruction with a 

 "probang." L. Varney. 



BREMEN geese. 



I am desirous, Mr. Editor, to learn from any 

 of your kind correspondents the habits of the 

 Bremen goose as to mating, raising, &c. It has 

 been said that in the spring they pair, and do not 

 mingle as other domestic fowls. Is this so, and 

 at whr»t time ? How early in the spring do they 

 commence laying, and do they raise more than 



