■1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



341 



EXTRACTS AND BEPLIES. 

 HAY CAPS. 



Now is the time that we begin to think about 

 hay caps, and I should like to know if there is 

 any better kind than those I have used for a 

 number of years. They are made of old sail 

 cloth, cut in pieces five feet square, with a tarred 

 string a few inches long in each corner, with a 

 loop on the end which I fasten to the ground with 

 a spike made of No. 4 wire. They will turn wa- 

 ter to perfection, and the only fault I find, is 

 their bulk, and weight. A hundred of them would 

 make a cart load. They cost 40 cts. apiece, and 

 are said to be worth about 25 cts. to manufacture 

 into paper when unfit for use. I have tried cot- 

 ton cloth, but do not think it worth much in a 

 heavy shower. H. T. Gates. 



New Worcester, June, 1861. 



Remakks. — A hay cap made of good twilled 

 cotton cloth, worth nine cents a yard, well put on 

 the cock and properly fastened, will keep out wa- 

 ter during a heavy shower or through a storm of 

 several days. A cap of such material will cost 

 about 40 cts., and a man can take along a hun- 

 dred of them on a wheelbarrow. They need no 

 oil or paint. 



MOWING MACHINES. 



The season has again returned, when the ques- 

 tion presents itself, — How can grass be most ex- 

 peditiously and advantageously cut ? I have 

 heard some owners of large farms say they would 

 use mowing machines no more, but should use 

 the scythe, as in years gone by. 



Is it come to this, that all the ingenuity ap- 

 plied in perfecting mowers has evaporated so 

 soon ? May not the fault be found otherwise than 

 in the machine itself? No cutting implement 

 can be expected to encounter stubble and stones. 

 Let these be thoroughly cleared from the land, 

 and let it be thoroughly rolled and levelled ; and 

 it will be safe to aver that one-half the labor of 

 cutting can be saved by the use of a machine of 

 best construction. Such is the experience of one 

 who has taken much pains to be informed of the 

 character and value of mowing machines. 



June 8, 1861. Essex. 



Remarks. — The experience of our correspon- 

 dent may be confirmed by thousands. There are 

 several machines now in use that a progressive 

 farmer cannot afi'ord to be without. 



rose bugs on grape vines. 



Can you, or any of the readers of the Farmer, 

 inform me what will keep the rose bug off of grape 

 vines, or what will drive them ofi"? J. o. D. 



Bedford, June, 1861. 



Remarks. — There is no certain preventive of 

 the annual visitations of the rose bug upon our 

 grape vines and other plants, nor anything in our 

 knowledge that will certainly destroy or disperse 

 them when they have visited us. Much may be 

 done, however, to prevent their mischief, by at- 

 tending to them when they first appear, by gath- 

 ering and throwing them into a dish of hot water. 



The women and children may essentially aid in 

 this. After one or two years' close attention to 

 them they will not appear in very large numbers. 

 It is said that syringing the vine with whale oil 

 soap will prevent their eating them, and that com- 

 mon soap suds will, in some degree. Our reme* 

 dy is the thumb and finger. 



BLOOD in breeding. 



I have read with interest the remarks of Judge 

 French on the "Principles of Breeding," and his 

 notice of Mr. Goodale's work, which I have not 

 seen. I have high respect for the intelligence and 

 activity of Mr. Goodale, and doubt whether he or 

 his work will slander the largest class of animals 

 in our country, and those who speak in their favor. 

 I know no other value to animals about a farm, 

 than their products. And when I find an animal 

 producing, like the Oakes cow, more and better 

 butter in a year than any other cow, I think she 

 is worthy of a better notice than to be dubbed 

 a mere scrub. When a cow yields milk from 

 which twenty pounds of butter can be made in a 

 week, and this for several weeks together, I think 

 she will bear comparison with any Durhams, Al- 

 derneys or Devons, even if she have no registered 

 blood. I have heard so much of superiority of 

 blood, and found so little of it, that I suspect 

 there may be something of humbug in blooded 

 animals, as well as their advocates. * 



June 10, 1861. _ 



THE POTATO ROT. 



To prevent potatoes from the disease or rot, 

 put a spoonful of salt into each hill, so as to have 

 it dissolve and go down to the roots. It will cool 

 the ground and prevent the rot, and even if the 

 disease has commenced, the salt will cause the 

 rot to go off, and leave a scar around the potato 

 plain to be seen. Put the salt on when the vines 

 are nearly grown. The extra quantity of pota- 

 toes will more than pay for the salt. 



It would be desirable to have this inserted in 

 all the papers in the world, especially in Ireland, 

 where the rot is prevalent, and that nation makes 

 great use of the potato. t. p. 



NEW mode of planting ON GREEN SWARD. 



I will suggest a new method of plowing green 

 sward for corn, (or at least something that I have 

 never heard of.) Plow your piece all in double fur- 

 rows, as you would to ridge old land, and plant be- 

 tween the furrows on top of the ridge. The hills 

 can be near together, as they will be wide the other 

 way. By this method you can get double the nu- 

 triment from the sod for each hill as when plowed 

 the old way. t. c. n. ,- 



BUNCH ON A cow's TEAT. 



I noticed in your last an inquiry for a remedy 

 to remove a bunch from a cow's teat. Take a 

 piece of fine annealed wire and twist it around its 

 base and give it another twist every two or three 

 days ; let the wire be single, with the ends twist- 

 ed together. This will prevent blood from pass- 

 ing into the bunch, and it will soon dry up and 

 drop off. T. C. N. 



Charlotte, Vt., 1861. 



