268 



NEW EXGLAXD FARMER. 



JUNE 



lecture, avoid all drinks above water and mild in- 

 fusions of that fluid, shun tobacco, opium, and 

 everything else that disturbs the normal state of 

 the system ; rely upon nutritious food, and mild, 

 diluted drinks, of which Avater is the base, and 

 you will need nothing beyond these things, ex- 

 cept rest, and due moi'al regulations of all your 

 powers, to give you long, happy and useful lives 

 and a serene evening at the close." 



For the New England Farmer. 



tHE COHW CHOP. 



Mr. Editor: — I have frequently noticed in the 

 Farmer and in agricultural reports, statements of 

 the profit made in raising corn. A desire to know 

 how far these statements are justified in fact, in- 

 duced me last year to keep an exact account of 

 what a piece of corn actually did cost, which I 

 thought could be manured at comparatively small 

 expense. The following is the statement, as set 

 down in my "Farm Book :" 



Dk. 

 March 10, to 1 day'a work hauling muck, (6 or 8 cords) 2 



men and 2 yoke of oxen $3,00 



March 12, to 16 loads leaves and dirt from woods 5,00 



April 12, to lot of manure, (about Gk corUa) 23,50 



April 12, to hauling manure .". 12.00 



April 12, to pitching over manure 3,00 



May 5, to 6 barrels ammonia liquor 2,00 



May 14 and 15, to 3 men 2 days, 1 man 1 day, 2 yoke ox- 

 en 1.^ days 10,00 



May 16, to planting 1,25 



June 16, to hoeing, cultivating, &c 4,03 



June 16, to2i5 pounds guano 9,26 



June 26, to hoeing, &c 4,00 



July 30 and 31, to 2 men 1 J days 2,50 



Oct. 2, to harvesting .'. 4,00 



Total cost $33,51 



Cr. 



By 53 bushels corn, at $1 $53.00 



Byfodder 5,03 



By 20 busheU potatoes 6,00 



By 200 lbs. squashes 2,00 



Total $66,00 



Balance against corn $17,61 



The lot contained a little more than an acre, 

 and was not hard to cultivate. The crop was 

 considered, by those who saw it, as a very good 

 one — more than the average for such cultivation. 

 It should be stated, however, that a short-eared 

 kind of corn was planted, which, I think, did not 

 yield as much as a larger variety would have done. 

 It will be noticed that everything is estimated so 

 as to favor the corn ; the muck at what it cost to 

 haul it, the leaves ditto, the manure — which I 

 happened to buy at a bargain — at what was paid 

 for it, and interest on the land is not reckoned at 

 all. Good manure is worth here, from seven to 

 eight dollars per cord delivered on the land. The 

 conclusion I arrive at is, that, under ordinary 

 circumstances, an average corn crop in Essex 

 county, which leaves the ground in as good con- 

 dition as before it was prepared, docs not pay the 

 expense laid out upon it. The corn crop is chiefly 

 valuable to us as a means of bringing land into a 

 condition suitable for producing some other crops, 

 and in that view may be profitable. 



But raising corn in this region, as an end in 

 itself, and without reference to future crops, Avill, 

 I believe, impoverish the farmer in proportion to 

 the extent to which he adopts that mode of man- 

 agement. J. S. Howe. 



Mcihucn, March, 1861. 



EXTKACTS AND BEPLIES. 



RECLAIMING A RUX-OUT FARM — LEACHED ASHES 



AND STABLE MANURE — ROXBURY RUSSET. 



1. Will it be more profitable to buy leached 

 ashes at 7 cts. per bushel, or stable manure at 

 S3 per cord, to haul either 2.^ miles ? 



2. What would be the relative value of un- 

 leached ashes to leached ashes at the price above 

 named ? 



3. Is it a fact that it takes more than one bush- 

 el of unleached ashes to make a bushel of leached 

 and you therefore get better measure of the lat- 

 ter, as I have heard it stated ? 



I have a large thrifty Iloxbrn-y russet apple 

 tree, which has blossomed profusely for the last 

 ten or fifteen years, but the fruit drops off before 

 it reaches the size of walnuts, so that it does not 

 ripen generally more than a peck. G. ll. C. 



East Hampden, Me., April, 1861. 



Remarks. — 1. Stable manure made from horses 

 fed partly upon grain, and that had not been al- 

 lowed to heat, would be worth more to your land, 

 at $3 per cord, than leached ashes at seven cents 

 per bushel. But it would be economical to give 

 the land a top-dressing with the ashes, even after 

 the manure is applied. 



2. We cannot tell with certainty. Perhaps the 

 leached ashes would be worth about half as much 

 as the unleached. 



3. It probably does require more. 



If the non-bearing apple tree were ours, we 

 should thin the blossoms, or as soon as the fruit 

 is set, pick off two-thirds of it, and perhaps take 

 out some limbs that might be spared, or head 

 the tree in by cutting off the ends of the branches. 



A NEW soap for WASHING CLOTHES. 



In answer to an inquiry which appeared some 

 weeks since in the Farmer, I wish to state that 

 two years ago directions for the use of borax 

 with soap, for washing, were given in this paper. 

 Since that period the preparation has been in 

 constant use in our family, and all pronounce it 

 to be superior to any patent fluid or soap. Those 

 directions I have somewhat modified into the fol- 

 lowing recipe : 



Cut one pound of common bar soap into small 

 pieces ; dissolve this in two quarts of hot water. 

 When the soap is thoroughly melted, add one 

 ounce of powdered borax. Heat this to boiling, 

 stimng well. Cool this new soap, and use one 

 pint for four gallons of water, in which soak the 

 clothes one hour before washing. e. e. 



Newhuryport, March 27. 



CUTTING TIMBER AND THE MOON. 



In your monthly for March, "Essex'' says the 

 "experience of Mr. Baker, of Dedham, in cutting 

 timber is worthy of great regard," but treats him 

 in his remarks as an old fogy that is worthy of 

 no regard whatever. If his "observation," little or 

 great, has more reason in it than Mr. Baker's ex- 

 perience, I am not able to see it. I know, from 

 experience and observation both, that timber cut 

 in the old of the moon in February is safe against 

 worms or powderpost, as it is not at any other 



