1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



313 



ASHES FOB CABBAQES. 



o manure that 

 can be appli- 

 ed to the cab- 

 bage is more 

 salutary in its 

 effects than 

 wood ashes. 

 The worm 

 which so fre- 

 quently and 

 fatally infegts 

 the roots of 

 this vegeta- 

 ble, is often 

 expelled by 

 liberal and re- 

 peated appli- 

 cations of this 

 article. If 

 common salt 

 be mixed with 

 it — say four 

 quarts of salt to one bushel of ashes — and a small 

 quantity of urine or wash from the barn-yard, be 

 sprinkled frequently over and around the plants^ 

 the growth of the crop will be greatly promoted 

 by it. 



The cabbage is a most excellent product, but 

 many find it difficult to cultivate, as often losing 

 a crop as gaining one. On new, strong lands, 

 or lands which have been depastured many years, 

 it generally succeeds, and makes a much better 

 crop than on old lands, even with the aid of the 

 best manure. 



Cabbages require frequent hoeing. The ope- 

 ration should be performed either in the morning 

 or evening, and if the plants are infested with 

 vermin, sprinkle the leaves with ashes while the 

 dew is on them ; if there is no dew, sprinkle them 

 with diluted urine or weak soapsuds. This will 

 cause the ashes to adhere to the leaves, and fur- 

 nish some protection, at least, against all attacks. 

 The heads may remain out till snow falls, and the 

 small, imperfectly developed ones either fed to 

 cattle, or, if more valuable for the market, set out 

 in moist earth, so far apart as not to touch each 

 other. What are wanted for family use may be 

 very perfectly kept by cutting off the stump and 

 most of the large, outside leaves, and packing 

 them in barrels, or large boxes, a cart body, or 

 anything of the kind, with straw cut with a hay- 

 cutter or hatchet. Place a layer of straw on the 

 bottom, and sprinkle it with clean water, then the 

 cabbages, close together, and so on, alternately, 

 until the vessel is full. We have kept them in 

 this manner, in perfect condition, until the mid- 

 dle of May. 



The field cultivation of this vegetable excites 

 attention near large cities, and favorable reports 

 have been given in regard to the profit of the 

 crop. The cabbage makes an excellent food for 

 domestic animals, and the quantity which may be 

 grown per acre is really astonishing. Some care 

 must be observed, however, in feeding them to 

 milch cows ; as a full feed of them is apt to fla- 

 vor the milk. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 ABOUT MOWINO MACHINES. 



Mr. Editor : — I saw in a recent Farmer, a cut 

 of "Wood's Mowing Machine," and last week I 

 saw a similar one of the "Buckeye." I think on 

 perfectly smooth ground they may do well, but, 

 for most of our New England farms, they are not 

 equal to the Manny machine. There is not 

 strength enough in the cutting-bar for practical 

 purposes. What if you should strike that three- 

 foot hassock, or a stump of less dimensions, why 

 the cutting-bar would be as crooked as a rjm's. 

 horn (if it could be possible,) in a moment. 



They had a trial of mowing machines last year,, 

 at Exeter, where they used the Wood and Buck- 

 eye machines. The Wood machine did good ser- 

 vice till it got dulled up so that the horse could 

 not draw it. One great trouble is, that the cut- 

 ting-bar does not cut the grass all of a height. 

 You use one, and the^^pring of the bar prevents- 

 the outer end from rising, so that it cuts one side- 

 of the swath from one to two inches higher than 

 the other. The Buckeye is at fault in the same 

 way. I will guarantee that you may run into 

 stumps and rocks as hard as you are a mind to, 

 and you cannot injure it by bending the cutting- 

 bar, though there is no necessity of it when you 

 see them. We want a machine that stands such 

 accidents ; you may break a finger, which is but 

 a trifling expense. One of my neighbors used one 

 last season in a meadow, and he had two power- 

 ful horses, and stuck fast against a hassock, so 

 that it took the horses and two men to back it 

 out, and not a bolt nor a joint was started. 

 Where would the Wood and Buckeye have been 

 in such a case ? Another advantage of the Man- 

 ny is, that a reaper can be attached, so as to cut 

 all kinds of grass in the best manner, and anoth- 

 er is, you can cut your grass all of a height, from 

 one to twelve inches. I know that there is an 

 advantage in the cutting-bar, in relation to fold- 

 ing it up on to the machine, and in turning to 

 the left as well as to the right, but those are not 

 to be compared with the other advantages of the 

 Manny. The reel is a good thing, especially 

 when you are going with the wind or quartering 

 to it. I cut a piece of wild grass last year with a 

 strong wind, and did it better than it ever was 

 done by hand. The reel knocks the grass back, 

 so that it is not cut off but once, whereas the oth- 

 er machines cut it off twice sometimes, hp the 

 grass settling down before the machine passes 

 along. I told the man that got stuck in the has- 

 sock, that if he would mow that piece a few times, 

 he would have a smooth meadow, by the look of 

 the hassock heads lying about. I am in no way 

 interested in mowing machines, only that I hope 

 my brother farmers, in laying out $100 or more, 



