1861. 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARMER. 



247 



boiled it in iron pans, and the molasses was some 

 bitter. How can it be made so that it be clear 

 and sweet ? N. Caulkins. 



E. Lempster, N. E., 1861. 



Remarks. — When molasses is selling at one 

 dollar per gallon, it may be good policy to raise 

 the Chinese sugar cane in New Hampshire, but 

 not before. Raise a good crop of wheat, and 

 •with a portion of its proceeds purchase what mo- 

 lasses you need at less than 40 cts. per gallon. 

 Your seasons are not long enough. 



FOR SMOOTHING SEEDED LAND. 



I would like your opinion through the columns 

 of the Farmer as to whether it would be profita- 

 ble to buy some of the concentrated manures — 

 such as the poudrette or superphosphate of lime, 

 and if so, which would be the best to put in the 

 hill for planting corn, where the soil is gravelly, 

 pine and hard wood upland, with clayey hardpan 

 bottom. 



Having noticed descriptions of several modes 

 for smoothing ground when seeded, I will give 

 you a description of mine. Take two pieces of 

 plank four feet long, scarf off like a sled runner, 

 place about four feet apart, and cover the bottom 

 with boards six or eight feet long, according to 

 the smoothness of the ground it is to work on. 

 Make two holes through one board near the 

 planks on the crook, and through the planks, to 

 pass your chain to hitch to like a spread chain, 

 and it is ready for use. To use it, hitch a pair of 

 horses to it and get on near the hind part, and if 

 your ground is suitable to seed it will soon be as 

 smooth as a house floor after passing over it. 



Lyman, N. H., 1861. Grafton. 



ONIONS AND PEAS. 



Will you inform me through your paper of the 

 best method of planting onions ? Will peas do 

 well planted early in the following manner ; 

 plant about two inches deep, and as soon as they 

 begin to break ground cover them with fine earth 

 one or two inches deep, again, and so on until 

 from six to eight inches deep ? G. 



Fairhaven, April, 1861. 



Remarks. — Onions need a rich, fine soil, 

 though not so deep a one as for carrots, &c. Sow 

 as soon as the ground is sufficiently warm and 

 dry, in rows fifteen to twenty inches apart, and 

 wider, if you cultivate with a horse. We have 

 never known such an experiment with peas. 



HOW ONIONS ARE PLANTED. 



At a late meeting of farmers in Boston, an in- 

 telligent farmer from the Western part of the 

 State inquired of me how onions were plant- 

 ed to prevent their becoming skillions — that is, 

 plants with large tops and no bottoms. I told 

 him that little or no inconvenience of this kind 

 was experienced in this vicinity. In the first 

 place, the growers of onions raise their own seed, 

 and they are careful to select for this purpose 

 sound onions of the size and form they wish to 

 grow. These are set out usually on strong 

 land, and carefully looked after when growing, 



and when ripe the seed is gathered and dried and 

 secured for use — always being careful that no 

 foul seed of any kind shall be mixed with it. The 

 earliest work of the spring is to prepare the 

 ground for onions, the same having been fully 

 manured and finely pulverized. These things 

 having been attended to, there is no danger to 

 the crop except the maggot. 

 South Danvers, March, 1861. 



GLUE FOR BORERS. 



Can you give me any information relative to 

 the protection from borers offered to fruit trees 

 (the apple) by a coating of dissolved glue ? I 

 have been informed that it would effectually pro- 

 tect the apple tree, without injury to the tree — 

 still, before risking my trees with a coating, I am 

 anxious for better authority than I am already in 

 possession of. 



Brandon, VL, 1861. 



Remarks. — Have never known such a remedy 

 tried. Would not the rains soon wash off any 

 coating of glue ? 



TWELVE-ROWED AND EIGHT-ROWED CORN. 



Ml-. Basset, in a late paper, has an article head- 

 ed, *'12-rowed and 8-rowed corn." Some have 

 said that the 12-rowed is better and contains twice 

 as much flour as the 8-rowed. I do not think so. 

 The 12-rowed is not of as good quality, does not 

 contain as much nutriment as the 8-rowed, and 

 when ground there is more hull in the meal and 

 it is not as sweet as the 8-rowed. 



Fairhaven, 1861. A Constant Reader. 



WHAT APPLE TREES SHALIj WE SET? 



Would it not be well for you to make a selec- 

 tion of apple trees for this latitude, of such as 

 would be best for us to raise ? It certainly would 

 be very acceptable to your ntimerous readers in 

 this section. We want to know what are some 

 of the best sweet, summer, fall and winter apples. 



Westjield, April, 1861. C. L. Ingersoll. 



Remarks. — We find in Eovey's Magazine for 

 April the following list of apples recommended 

 by a correspondent of that journal as suitable for 

 Worcester county. They are probably equally as 

 well adapted to any portion of the State south of 

 that county. They are numbered about in the 

 order that they come into eating. 



1. Red Astrachan, 



2. Bough, 



3. Williams, 



4. Porter, 



5. Gravenstein, 



6. Famcuse, 



7. Lcland's Spice, 



8. Hubbardston Nonsuch, 



9. R. I. Greening, 



10. Ladies' Sweeting, 



11. Baldwin, 



12. Roxbury Russet. 



We suppose by "Bough," the writer means the 

 Early Sweet Bough, which ripens early in Aug- 

 ust. To the summer apples we should add, the 

 Early Harvest and Sops of Wine. 



To the fall apples, the Fall Pippin, Pumpkin 

 Sweet, Maiden's Blush and Russet Sweet, the 

 latter one of the finest baking apples that ever 

 grew. It is of rather more than medium size. 



