336 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



sink stones that are not wanted for other pur- 

 poses, as to dig, cart and haul them off on a drag. 

 On all such land as we specially defined, there is 

 not one operator in ten, in our knowledge, but 

 will agree with us. It has been so decided in 

 some of the best farmers' clubs in New England. 



Our first postulate was, that when sunk, they 

 are out of the way on the surface. Who will de- 

 ny that? The second, that rocks below the sur- 

 face are especially valuable where deep-rooted 

 plants are cultivated in times of drought. If the 

 learned editor of the Farmer had dug as much 

 as we have on a rocky soil, he would have learned 

 what most boys of eighteen know, on our rough 

 farms. Fruit trees do not flourish half as well 

 on our soils without stones as they do on the 

 rocky lands. That is the common opinion here. 

 Thirdly, buried rocks are store-houses of heat. If 

 a stone is placed upon a coal 

 fire it becomes heated — let both 

 remain for a time and the coals 

 will be ashes, or black and cold, 

 while the stone remains too hot 

 to be touched. So the rock in 

 the soil stores up the solar heat, 

 and imparts it so much more 

 slowly than the loose, surround- 

 ing soil, that it is actually a 

 storehouse of heat. The stones 

 below are valuable in other re- 

 spects. The rains reach them, 

 dissolve some of their mineral 

 matter, and prepare it for the use of plants. The 

 roots themselves understand this better than the- 

 orists, as is evident by their clustering in great 

 numbers about stones which are beneath the sur- 

 face, where they not only find food, but moisture 

 and warmth. The Professor's idea of subsoiling 

 on a large portion of our farms, we think errone- 

 ous. On such land as we referred to, one might 

 as well think of subsoiling on the peak of the 

 Grand Monadnock itself; the very difficulty of 

 the sinking of stones is generally that of digging 

 the holes, obstructed as the spade often is at 

 every blow. 



We always read the Working Farmer with 

 pleasure, and we believe with profit, and quite 

 often illumine our columns with the clearly- 

 expressed thoughts of its editor, — but we can- 

 not recall deliberately-expressed opinions, which 

 have been formed upon actual manipulations ex- 

 tending through many years, founded upon phi- 

 losophical principles, and sanctioned by the best 

 farmers in our knowledge. 



DUNCAN'S NE"W HORSE RAKE. 



Next to a good mowing machine, there is scarce- 

 ly any implement for the farm now so much need- 

 ed as a good Horse Rake. One that may be sold 

 at a price so moderate as to enable all farmers to 

 purchase it, — that will be substantial, — so as not 

 to be constantly out of repair, — and that is of 

 light draft for the horse, and so easily wrought 

 that it may be managed by an elderly man or by 

 a boy. 



A few days since, we saw a new one at NoURSE, 

 Mason & Co.'s ware-house, which seems to pos- 

 sess all these qualities. It has steel spring teeth, 

 is set on low wheels, and is operated partly with 

 a lever by the hand, and partly with a treadle by 

 the foot, in order to raise the teeth and drop the 

 hay. If it is desired to press the teeth closer to 

 the ground, there is a treadle for the purpose close 



by the side of the one for the foot already men- 

 tioned. 



The whole rake is light, but well-made, of good 

 material, and it seems to us will be a rapid and 

 clean worTier, while it will be easy for both man 

 and beast to operate it. We have not tried it in 

 the field, but have worked it on a large floor, where 

 it promises well. It will be well for those about 

 purchasing a horse rake, to look at this, at the 

 ware-house already mentioned. 



British Tax on Horses. — The number of 

 horses taxed in Great Britain last year was 288,- 

 700 riding horses, and 1,499 race horses. The 

 revenue raised amounted to $2,000,000. 



Experience with Muck. — In the summer of 

 1855 I had an upland lot, preparing for wheat or 

 rye, and having no funds to spare for the pur- 

 chase of guano, bone dust, &c., I concluded to 

 try what could be done at home. With a team 

 and a man we commenced drawing muck from a 

 pond, and in four days had two hundred loads on 

 two acres of ground. The ground was again 

 plowed, thus mixing the muck, and on the 15th. 

 of September was sown with wheat. It was har- 

 vested the following July, and when threshed and 

 exhibited at the County Agricultural Fair, re- 

 ceived the premium for being the best wheat ex- 

 hibited. The next season the lot was sown with 

 oats, and such a crop was never raised on the old 

 homestead, and all without any other manure. 



This season we have put eight hundred loads 

 on five acres, sown to wheat and rye, and expect 



