1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



553 



Begister of Bural Affairs, a neatly-printed vol- 

 ume of 232 pages, made up mainly from the rich 

 pages of the Cultivator and Country Oentleman, 

 published by Luther Tucker & Son, Albany, 

 N. Y. It is edited by J. J. Thomas, Esq., au- 

 thor of the "Fruit Culturist" and "Farm Imple- 

 ments." The work is crowded with interesting 

 and useful facts, and very many of its subjects 

 are illustrated by appropriate engravings. It al- 

 so contains an almanac for the year 1862. It is a 

 convenient and useful book for the farmer. Price 

 25 cents. For sale by A. Williams & Co., 100 

 Washington St., Boston, the publishers for New 

 England. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 DOGS. 



Mr. Editor: — I have perused with injured 

 feelings the sarcastic articles on dogs by some of 

 your correspondents. Nuisances they may be, in 

 many instances, but I believe we might trace the 

 cause of their being a nuisance to their owners. 

 The dog is a tractable creature, and when prop- 

 erly trained, a noble and useful one. Suppose 

 they do not augment our pecuniary resources in 

 60 great a measure; we were not constituted to 

 devote our entire energies to accumulation and 

 hoarding. An All- Wise Being implanted in our 

 natures the power of enjoyment and affection, and 

 callous, indeed, is that individual's heart who 

 spurns all God's creatures that do not directly 

 add to his purse or property. And who that owns 

 a kind and faithful dog does not feel a strong 

 fondness for him ; a feeling that he is one of the 

 household, and should be protected and cared for, 

 even as he in return is ever watchful for his mas- 

 ter's interest ? Then what an amount of pleasure 

 this animal affords the children. How their lit- 

 tle hearts are entwined to the faithful dog, who is 

 ever at their side, and constantly ready to engage 

 in their sports and sympathize in every childish 

 action. I speak from experience, as many hours 

 of a sweet sunny childhood were spent in associa- 

 tion with a dog whose friendship never failed. 

 Even in later years I might speak of an instance 

 where sympathy was yielded in an hour of trial 

 from this humble and censured creature, which 

 no human hand afforded. For my part I say train 

 and cultivate the dog, and he will bless you, and 

 will certainly recognize the hand of kindness. 



Enjield Centre, Oct., 1861. Pollie. 



Old Pamphlets. — Not long ago the librarian 

 of Harvard College saw a man stuffing some 

 bags with old pamphlets and papers in a Boston 

 auction-room, when, to his surprise and delight, 

 he espied among them a pamphlet for which he 

 had been looking for eleven years, in order to 

 complete the volume of a valuable periodical. 

 The purchaser of the old wares relinquished it 

 willingly, and the librarian bore it away in tri- 

 umph. The same librarian says that he has 

 known a journey to be made from New York to 

 Cambridge in a storm, just to consult an old 

 funeral sermon, the only copy in the country. It 

 was wanted in a law case in which a half million 

 dollars was involved. 



EXTKACTS AND REPLIES. 

 MATERIAL FOR COVERING STACKS OF GRAIN. 



In this place we are sometimes obliged to pile 

 quantities of mowed oats outside of the barn so 

 as to have them handy to get to the machine to 

 thrash. 



I covered mine this year with boards, but they 

 leaked badly, and then it is not convenient to 

 have two or three thousand feet of boards of the 

 right length at hand every year to cover grain — 

 to say nothing of the labor of getting them on 

 and off from a pile. 



Now, is there any cheaper, easier or better way 

 to cover them ? 



If old sails will answer, or tent cloth, or any- 

 thing else will do, please say what the probable 

 expense will be a square. Vermont. 



Barre, Oct. 7, 1861. 



Remarks. — Plenty of old sail-cloth may be 

 purchased at moderate cost in this city, which 

 would be altogether cheaper, more convenient 

 and useful for covering grain than boards. We 

 do not know what the expense would be, or who 

 has it, but do not doubt that there is enough of 

 it on hand. 



horse's throat — wheat. 



1. I have a very good family horse, that has 

 some difficulty in his throat, which occasionally 

 swells up and causes him to breathe very hard. 

 Can you inform me what will relieve him ? 



2. I have an acre and a half of land that I 

 sowed last spring with oats, but the worms de- 

 stroyed about half of them, so I cut the straw and 

 plowed in the stubble and worms together. The 

 oats are now just heading out the second crop. I 

 think of trying some spring wheat, if I can get 

 some good seed. How do you think it would do 

 to put on to it about one hundred bushels of 

 leached ashes, and sow it with wheat ? Whom 

 can I get to send me the seed ? How much will 

 it take, and what will be the cost of it ? 



Thomas Hobson. 

 New London, Ct., Oct., 1861. 



Remarks. — We know of no disease common, 

 to the horse with such symptoms as you describe, 

 and it would, therefore, be idle for us to recom- 

 mend a remedy. 



We have no doubt that the operation you sug- 

 gest on the oat land would be a good one. You 

 can get the wheat at the seed stores, or, perhaps, 

 of some of your neighbors. Sow five or six pecks 

 per acre. We cannot tell what the price will be. 



A RARE BIRD. 



The bird seen by your correspondent on the 

 Merrimac river has long been known to Arctic 

 navigators and ornithologists. Its home is in the 

 frozen seat of the North, never visiting the land 

 except for breeding and laying its solitary egg in 

 burrows dug in the earth with its bill and claws, 

 and is known under many different names. Crantz 

 calls it the Ice Bird — Scoresby, the little Auk, 

 and says the Arctic Seas are literally covered 

 with them. He supposed at one time nearly haifi 



