1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



295 



agricultural meetings at the State House are do- 

 ing a vast amount of good in correcting old er- 

 rors and mistakes. No one can attend them 

 •without being greatly profited. The subjects dis- 

 cussed there are all practical, and draw out the 

 information needed. The young farmer can go 

 into one of those meetings and learn from a 

 speech of twenty minutes from one of those old 

 practical farmers upon some particular branch of 

 husbandry, that which would take him years to 

 learn by practice. A. PlllLBROOK. 



East Saugus, March, 1861. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 

 A NUT FOR SOME ONE TO CRACK. 



Mr. Brown: — I would inquire of you or some 

 of your correspondents through the Farmer, how 

 I can manage a two-acre farm so as to give me 

 employment through the summer season, and 

 give me a fair remuneration for my labor ? That 

 is, what crops may be raised that will be market- 

 able, and sell readily for cash ? My lot is three 

 miles from the Western Railroad, and twenty 

 from the nearest city, (Springfield,) yet there is 

 an express running three times a week from this 

 place to the depot. The soil is dry and warm, 

 about half quite good, and the remainder rather 

 poor. 



What kind of strawberry would be best adapted 

 to this latitude, and how many plants would be 

 required per rod ? Would that be a profitable 

 crop, so far from market ? How soon would 

 dwarf pears be in bearing, if set next fall ? 



Huntington, Mass., May 1, 1861. c. F. R. 



Remarks. — We leave the above for some of 

 our intelligent correspondents to answer, as the 

 exercise may be useful to them, and if the ques- 

 tions put are carefully considered and answered, 

 will be of value to a large number of persons. 



EGGS AND SHEEP. 



Can hens' eggs be sent by express from Ux- 

 bridge, Mass., to this place, (Waterville, Me.,) 

 without injuring them for hatching ? 



Which would be the most profitable, where one 

 keeps a small flock of sheep and lives near a large 

 village — to keep sheep whose flesh or wool are 

 their leading merits ? 



Had I better procure my garden seed that grew 

 in the State where I live ? 



Waterville, Me., 1861. B. T. Stevens. 



Remarks. — If carefully packed on a layer of 

 hay or straw thick enough to aff'ord some spring, 

 or elasticity, they would go safely. Cannot tell 

 about the sheep — do not know what your village 

 demands. Select sheep that are good for both 

 flesh and wool. If you can purchase well-ripened 

 seeds grown in your own State, do so. 



SCRATCHES ON HORSES. 



Having seen in your valuable paper some re- 

 marks in regard to scratches on horses, I would 

 say there is only one remedy, and that is, to keep 

 the castors on the inside of their legs soft, by an 

 application of soft grease, and peeling them ofl". 



If this is done, my word for it, the horse will never 

 be troubled with them ; and with those afl'ected, 

 the application of this simple remedy will efiect a 

 sure cure. E. Miner. 



Walpole, N. E., May, 1861. 



sheep and OATS. 



I noticed in a late Farmer an inquiry, "Will 

 oats hurt sheep ?" I would answer the inquiry 

 by saying if "N. M." will select some good, 

 healthy sheep, in the fall, and commence giving 

 them one gill of good, clean oats every day, and 

 what good hay and pure water they will take, and 

 give them a good, warm shed to lie under, and 

 then increase the amount of oats slowly up to 

 one quart to each sheep every day, I will warrant 

 him that the oats will not kill his sheep. I would 

 also give him a recipe for killing lice on calves. 

 Commence in the fall when cold nights commence, 

 and give each calf a handful of good, clean oats 

 every day, with what good hay and water they will 

 eat and drink ; then increase the amount of oat8 

 slowly for six to ten weeks, and then give thera 

 so many so they will leave a few in their troughs, 

 and take them and rub them on their backs, and 

 I will warrant that the calves will not be troubled 

 with lice ! A Subscriber. 



Warren, Vt., April 2, 1861. 



HOW TO get fitted FOR THE FARM. 



While my associates in the prime of life, 

 aroused by the war cry, are rushing to the scene 

 of strife, I would not forget that our agricultural 

 interests still demand attention. But I am per- 

 plexed with the question as to how I may best 

 advance its interests. 



Have we already enough of the theory of farm- 

 ing, and should young men apply themselves to 

 putting it in practice, or may those whose circum- 

 stances admit of it, derive real, practical advan- 

 tage from a course of study at our agricultural 

 colleges ? Is the system of study to the purpose 

 at these institutions, and such as farmers stand 

 in need of? i. w. 



Orange County, Vt., May, 1861. 



Remarks. — ^Enter Mr. Ward's school at Ber- 

 nardston, Mass., where you may get both the the- 

 ory and practice of agriculture, and qualify your- 

 self to become distinguished as a leading agricul- 

 turist. 



drive pipe for a hydraulic ram. 



In reply to the inquiry of Mr. E. C. AUis, for 

 a suitable drive pipe to force a No. 4 hydraulic 

 ram, allow me to say that from actual experience, 

 I have found a malleable iron pipe, inch and one- 

 fourth in size, to be the article exactly suited to 

 the purpose. The cost is less than that of lead of 

 the same diameter. J. H. G. 



Eubbardston, May 7, 1861. 



silk worms' eggs. 



I should like to obtain information where silk 

 worms' eggs can be procured. As I have a few 

 mulberry trees, I could raise our own silk thread 

 for family use. I have formerly done so, but am 

 now destitute of those eggs, and do not know of 

 any in this vicinity. ISAAC Stearns. 



Mansjield, May 8, 1861. 



