1861, 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



299 



State. The dog law has made some improvement, 

 but it is only a beginning of what should be done. 

 I can see no reason why dogs should be allowed 

 to run at large, any more than cattle, sheep or 

 hogs. When the owners of dogs confine them 

 strictly on their own premises, and not till then, 

 they will have some show of reason for their 

 grumbling about dog the law. 



"CUTTING TIMBER AND THE MOON." 



• Mr. Otis Brigham claims to have facts in his 

 possession to show that timber cut in the old of 

 the moon, in February, is safe from powder-post. 

 I know nothing of Mr. B., but when he claims 

 that the position of the moon has any such influ- 

 ence, I beg leave to say that the thing looks to 

 me so entirely without reason in itself, that I 

 should require more than one or two accurate ex- 

 periments to satisfy me that the correct reason 

 had been found. In order to prove his conclu- 

 sions correct, he must not only ascertain that tim- 

 ber cut the last of February was free from pow- 

 der-post, but that timber cut a few days from the 

 old of the moon either way was not equally free, 

 and to make everything sure, the timber must be 

 of precisely the same quality in every respect, and 

 the experiment must be repeated several times to 

 avoid any accidental influence. I have many 

 times been assured that certain changes of weath- 

 er never failed to follow certain changes or posi- 

 tions of the moon, apparently without consider- 

 ing the fact that if these claims were well found- 

 ed, it would be just as easy to predict what the 

 weather would be a thousand years in advance, as 

 to tell what it is at the present time. One of my 

 neighbors once told me that we were sure to have 

 a certain change of weather after a Saturday 

 change of the moon, and that he never knew it 

 fail. It so happened that the next two Saturday 

 changes of the moon were followed by a state of 

 weather exactly contrary to that which he pre- 

 dicted, and yet he still believes firmly in the 

 moon's influence on the weather, and doubtless 

 would still tell you that he never knew that par- 

 ticular sign fail. 



TWELVE-ROWED VS. EIGHT-ROWED CORN. 



Mr. Fletcher, of Vt., claims that the number of 

 rows make no difi'erence in the ripening of corn. 

 I admit the possibility of a twelve-rowed variety 

 of corn, with cobs no larger than in a similar 

 sized variety of eight-rowed, in which case it 

 might ripen equally well, but such a case would 

 be an exception, and not the rule. 



With regard to the King Philip corn which he 

 condemns, I can say there is great difference in 

 this, according to the source from which it came. 

 I procured mine from Ballston, N. Y., and it was 

 earlier and better in every respect than some pur- 

 chased by a friend under the same name from 

 Boston. Wm. F. Bassett. 



Ashfield, May 27, 1861. 



WHITEWASH FOR STABLES. 

 Mr. Whitewash should always be appointed 

 Chairman of the General House Cleaning Com- 

 mittee. His qualifications for filling this situa- 

 tion are unquestionably great. His sanitary in- 

 fluence is undoubted, and he imparts an air of 

 cleanliness and cheerfulness wherever he appears. 

 The best way to initiate him into his situation is 



as follows : "Take a clean, water-tight barrel or 

 other suitable cask, and put into it half a bushel 

 of lime. Slake it by pouring water over it, boil- 

 ing hot, and in sufficient quantity to cover it five 

 inches deep, and stir it briskly till thoroughly 

 slaked. When the lime has been slaked, dis- 

 solve it in water, and add two pounds of sulphate 

 of zinc, and one of common salt. These will 

 cause the wash to harden, and prevent its crack- 

 ing, which gives an unseemly appearance to the 

 work. If desirable, a beautiful cream color may 

 be communicated to the above wash, by adding 

 three pounds of yellow ochre, or a good pearl or 

 lead color, by the addition of lamp, vine or ivory 

 black. For fawn color, add four pounds of um- 

 ber — Turkish or American — the latter is the 

 cheaper — one pound of Indian red, and one.pound 

 of common lampblack. When applied to the out- 

 side of out-houses and to fences, it is rendered 

 more durable by adding sweet milk, or some mu- 

 cilage from flax-seed ; about a pint to the gallon 

 will suffice." All stables should be whitewashed 

 once or twice every year, as the increased white 

 light which it reflects tends to promote the health 

 of animals. Hand round this information to every 

 man who owns a horse or cow, because for one 

 stable that is whitewashed, there is a hundred on 

 the walls of which no brush was ever laid. — Sci- 

 entific American. 



COE'S SUPERPHOSPHATE OP LIMB. 



In view of the circumstances of the times, the 

 corn crop becomes a matter of special interest. 

 The presumption is that the planting is finished, 

 and while it is needless to urge the extension of 

 the crop already laid out, it is not too late to im- 

 press the necessity of other methods of increase 

 that the land already planted may yield its ut- 

 most. It is not too late to manure the corn with 

 any fertilizer you may be able to command. 



We have published various communications of 

 the value of Coe's Superphosphate of Lime. And 

 we are informed that the demand has been far 

 more than they could supply, and we would say to 

 those who have not used it in the hill to apply it 

 at the first hoeing of the corn. We copy the fol- 

 lowing letter : 



Dorchester, 1861. 



Gents : — I have applied it broadcast on soil 

 prepared for rye and grass seed, harrowing it in 

 before sowing the seed. I have also used it as a 

 top-dressing for grass land — and have put it in 

 the hill with corn, v.ithoutany other manure, and 

 have raised good crops. 



During the past summer, a neighbor of mine 

 who harrowed some coi-n, which came up look- 

 ing very thin and yellow, and who thought he 

 should lose his whole crop, was induced by my 

 suggestion to apply the superphosphate in the 

 hill previous to hoeing. In the autumn he re- 

 quested me to look at the result which he consid- 

 ered very remarkable. The stalks appeared much 

 stouter and the ears much fuller, than another 

 piece side by side which had not received any of 

 the manure, and he attributed the change in its 

 appearance to the superphosphate. 



Yours, with regard, Henry Grew. 



