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KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 SAVE YOUR SEED CORN. 

 There have lately been several seasons in 

 which corn matured very imperfectly, especially 

 in 1859 and 1860. Much of the corn planted in 

 I860 and 1861 came up slowly, exhibited a sickly 

 appearance, and in some fields there was only a 

 small portion that came up at all. This difficulty 

 may in a great measure be remedied by selecting 

 and saving seed corn from the field. 



When living in the West a few years since, I 

 did as most farmers in New England do : top 

 the stalks, and at planting time go to the crib and 

 pick out my seed corn. When my first crop was 

 on the ground, I sent a man in the month of Sep- 

 tember to top the stalks, and on his return, he 

 said to some person that had not seen the corn, 

 that it made his arms ache to reach up so high, 

 to cut the stalks above the cars, and was laughed 

 at for saying so. The next time he went to the 

 field, he cut to the ground and brought home two 

 stalks with ears and tops ; one with one ear, the 

 other with two. I measured them, and found 

 one was fourteen feet, the other fourteen feet six 

 inches, in length. I tied them up to the ceiling, 

 ■where they remained till the next planting time. 



When my ground was being planted, I directed 

 my man to plant these ears, and mark the rows 

 where he put them. When the corn was coming 

 up, I noticed two rows came up earlier and more 

 vigorously than those on either side, and in a 

 week after, the corn in these two rows was a third 

 larger, and was of a dark green color, while the 

 other had more or less a sickly appearance. I 

 could not account for the difference. 



I afterwards asked my man where he planted 

 those ears. lie said, "So many rows from the 

 west end," and in counting, I found those two 

 rows the ones alluded to. This corn kept the 

 lead, made a larger crop, and matured before that 

 on either side. 



Let me advise the readers of the Farmer to go 

 into their corn field early, and select the best ears 

 and those that ripen first. Save the whole, ear, 

 but and top, and place on poles, in a dry, airy 

 situation. I do not advise topping the stalks of 

 any part of the crop. The corn and fodder are 

 both better for being cut and put into shocks. 

 The top, if retained, will better mature the grain. 

 But many good farmers think it not expedient 

 to save the crop in this way, and will continue 

 the old practice of topping the stalks. If they 

 will adopt the plan I have suggested in saving 

 their seed corn, they will find it but little trouble, 

 and the advantage gained will often save much 

 labor in replanting ; it will make a better crop, 

 and mature earlier. j. n. u. 



COLIC IN HORSES. 



This disease, says the Valley Furiner, is a very 

 common one, and if taken in time may be easily 

 cured in most cases. It is not unfrequently con- 

 founded with inflammation of the bowels, but is 

 easily distinguished as follows : Colic has no in- 

 crease of the pulse, which is not over fifty a 

 minute; the animal often rolls; the disease in- 

 termits, and there is but little fever. With in- 

 flammation of the bowels there is much fever ; 

 the pulse is sometimes a hundred a minute ; the 

 attack is gradual ; the disease does not intermit. 



When colic arises from bad food, a pint or so 

 of a solution of saleratus will often afibrd entire 

 relief. As it assumes more of a spasmodic char- 

 acter, peppermint and ginger may be added. We 

 have used, with entire and immediate success, a 

 small spoonful of saleratus, the same quantity of 

 ginger, and a teaspoonful of peppermint, added 

 to a pint of nearly boiling hot water, and given 

 from a junk bottle. Powdered charcoal is one of 

 the best and safest medicines for any disease re- 

 sulting from derangement of digestion, and two 

 or three ounces or more, mixed with water, may 

 be given at any time with great advantage. 



Inflammation of the bowels is generally in- 

 creased by irritating medicines. A drink of slip- 

 pery elm, hourly, giving the horse but little food, 

 and letting him stand, is safe treatment. — Mont- 

 gomery Ledger. 



For the New England Fanner. 

 •WOODLAND SCEISTES— Wo. 1. 

 "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods." — BrRON. 



Few persons, even among those who live in 

 close proximity to large tracts of woodland, are 

 aware of the pleasure and profit which can be de- 

 rived from an occasional ramble amid the soli- 

 tudes and wild beauties of nature. To fully enjoy 

 a walk in the woods, one must throw all care and 

 anxiety to the winds, and give his whole attention 

 to the surrounding scenes. 



A short time since, in company with a friend 

 from the city, I took a walk in a large tract of 

 woodland, which extends over an area of many 

 hundreds of acres. It was in the afternoon of a 

 cloudy day in "hay-time ;" one of those cool, de- 

 licious days, which are so refreshing to the tired 

 laborer after several days, or weeks of hot, dry 

 weather. Taking our guns and dog with us, not 

 with the expectation of finding game, but »« a 

 safeguard against any sudden attack by Southern 

 rebels, or other desperadoes, whether in human 

 or inhuman shape, we followed for awhile an an- 

 cient cart path, which, since my remembrance, led 

 through a venerable growth of pine and oak. 

 Alas ! the destructive hand of man has here been 

 busy, and the ancient forest has disappeared ; but 

 a young and thrifty growth of oak and hickory is 

 fast springing up to hide the ruins of former ages. 

 Our path soon led us near the brink of a deep 

 glen or ravine, which was once called "The Dark 

 Valley." The original forest which surrounded it 

 and extended down its steep sides, was so tall and 

 dense, that at mid-day no ray of the sun could 

 penetrate its twilight darkness. But its former 

 glory — the majestic trees of the wild wood — has 

 departed and been made subservient to the wants 

 of civilization : many generations will pass away 

 ere its deep shadows will again return. 



We came in a short time to a larger growth of 

 wood, not the original one, but what is called the 

 "second growth." The trees in this place were of 

 quite a respectable size, but they were mere pig- 

 mies compared with the stately monarchs of the 

 woods beneath which the wild Indians built their 

 wigwams, and hunted the bear and deer. The 

 path here came to a termination, or was so grown 

 up that we could not trace it, and we proceeded 

 on through the trackless forest, pausing occasion- 

 ally to rest upon the moss-grown rocks, or to 

 gather the sweet-scented wild flowers which grew 



