1861. 



NEAV ENGLAND FARRIER. 



285 



meadow, I cannot precisely say which particular 

 method you should adopt in stocking it to grass ; 

 but your own judgment will guide you as to that. 

 I should presume that inasmuch as your land was 

 partially drained years ago, it cannot now be very 

 soft or difficult of tillage. If, a few years after 

 you have laid it down, the wild grasses begin to 

 predominate, the land may need to be plowed 

 and seeded anew. But if the tame grasses hold 

 possession mostly, then an occasional top-dress- 

 ing of compost will enable the land to give you a 

 good burden and quality of hay. 



Thus, my] friend, I have at length answered 

 your questions as well as I could from such state- 

 ments as you have given me, and without a per- 

 sonal knowledge of your land. If there are any 

 points that I have not made plain, or if in any 

 particular I have failed to understand the condi- 

 tion of any field or thing you have brought to my 

 notice, another letter from you relative to such 

 matters shall receive attention. 



F. HOLBROOK. 



Brattleboro', March 26, 1861. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 PLEA FOB, THE BIRDS. 



The spring, the beautiful spring, has come 

 again ! and with it our cheerful little friends, the 

 birds. We hope, that during the present season, 

 no person, young or old, will show his want of 

 humanity and good sense, by killing any of these 

 innocent creatures ; for they not only cheer and 

 refresh the heart with their sweet music, but do 

 an immense amount of positive good, by destroj'- 

 ing, annually a vast number of insects, which are 

 injurious to vegetation. Will not the farmer 

 have a care for his pecuniary, if not for his moral 

 interests, by preventing his sons, and others, from 

 prowling over his lands for the purpose of shoot- 

 ing birds ? When will men, generally, become 

 intelligent lovers of nature, and learn to appre- 

 ciate all the blessings of Divine Providence ? 



S. L. White. 



South Oroton, March 28, 1861. 



Corrections. — In your notice of the meeting 

 of the Legislative Agricultural Society, on Mon- 

 day evening, April 1, I am made to say that "In 

 New England, the number of cows is 180,000." 

 This is a mistake. Massachusetts is entitled to 

 that number, while in New England there are 

 over 700,000. R. P. Wilson. 



In your monthly journal for April, just received, 

 I am made to say, page 168, the pasture was not 

 as good ; the word not I did not use. I said the 

 pastures on the farm, on which I was born, and 

 labored for twenty years, were as good as any in 

 the eastern section of the State. I am the more 

 anxious to have this correction made, as your pa- 

 per deservedly has a permanency of character, not 

 often met in the multiplicity of publications of 

 these days. 



I admire the analysis of the New York Trans- 

 actions for 1859. I wish our own Board of Ag- 

 riculture would annually put forth a volume of 

 equal value ; I have seen none at all for the last 

 year. J. W. Peoctoe. 



April 5, 1861. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HORSE POWERS. 



Leominster, April 2, 1861. 



Mr. Gay, — Dear Sir : — I saw the description 

 of a one-horse power for thrashing, sawing wood, 

 &c., in the N. E. Farmer, recently by you. Will 

 you do me the kindness to tell me where I can 

 procure such an one, and the cost of same ? Also 

 what kind of a thrasher you use, and whether your 

 machine cleans the grain at the same time? 

 Again, in regard to sawing wood, would not the 

 extra fixings necessary to attach the cutting off saw 

 to the horse-power, cost as much as a circular 

 saw .•* My thrashing was done last fall with a 

 two-horse power, and I am confident that it cost 

 more than to have had it done with flails. 



I am very desirous of adopting some plan 

 whereby I can save some of those hard knocks of 

 the flail and beetle, which you seem to have obvi- 

 ated by your machine. I was very much pleased 

 with your method of doing these hard jobs, as 

 described in the Farmer, therefore I thought I 

 might "go and do likewise." 



If you will answer the above questions you will 

 confer a great favor on a brother farmer. 



Emory Burrage. 



B. W. Gay, Esq., New London, N. H. 



New London, April 8, 1861. 



Mr. Bdrrage, — Dear Sir: — Your letter was 

 duly received. If my article on a one-horse thrash- 

 ing machine has been of benefit to any one, I am 

 well paid for writing it, for this reason, that I 

 think farmers might and should be a mutual assis- 

 tance to each other. 



Answering your questions : 1. There is a shop 

 in the town of Sunapee, about ten miles from 

 here, where both one and two-horse thrashing 

 machines are manufactured extensively, for sale 

 or to order. 



2. My machine cost, when new, one hundred 

 and twenty-five dollars, but I think they can be 

 bought for a great deal less now. 



3. The cylinder of my thrasher is two feet long 

 with teeth projecting three inches, instead of two, 

 as in most of them. 



4. This machine does not clean the grain, as 

 there is not power enough in one horse to drive 

 a thrasher and winnower at the same time, with- 

 out making slower work than a two-horse ma- 

 chine. I think it cheaper to thrash^ and then 

 winnow when most convenient. 



5. I think the "extra fixings" for the saw will 

 not cost much more than one-half as much as a 

 circular saw. I made all the fixings, except the 

 platform on which to lay the logs, and hung the 

 saw (which is less than a day's work,) for one of 

 my townsmen last week, in three days. A few 

 feet of plank and a few bolts are all that are ne- 

 cessary to make it. 



If I can be of any further service to you I shall 

 be happy to oblige you. In my description of 

 this machine in the Farmer the printer makes me 

 say "three of these" whereas, it should read "three 

 feet of this end of the sweep should be eight 

 inches wide." 



I return your letter, and, if you please, would 

 like to have you send both that and the reply to 

 the Farmer for publication, that others may, per- 

 haps, be benefited. B. W. Gay. 



Emory Burrage, Esq., Leominster, Mast. 



