1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR^ESR. 



39 



Dec. 2 — Morn. — Cooler, sLx inches new snow. 

 A. M. — Cooler still. "Old nor' wester" begins to 

 exhibit itself among the newly laid snow-tlukes. 

 P. M. — Wind cold and blowing — later, real March 

 bluster ! 



Dec. 3 — Weather clear and cold, mercurj' 20° 

 below freezing point. Quite a sudden change. 

 Young winter is really quite lioiilsh ; hope he 

 may deem it best to exhibit to his subjects more 

 lamblike qualities after he has become more ac- 

 customed to his thi-onc, and the novelty of his ele- 

 vated position has worn away. 



Lyndon, Vt. I. W. Sanborn. 



MILLET SEED FOR HOGS AND HENS. 



Will you please state, m your next number, the 

 good qualities of millet for feeding hogs and hens ? 

 Will you state how much, per bushel, I should ])ay 

 in order to feed it to hogs, &.C., so as to make a 

 profit above buying meal ? G. E. M. 



Somcrville, Bee, 1861. 



Remarks. — AVe have never known millet seed 

 fed to hogs or hens. It would, no doubt, be good 

 for either, but what its value is, compared with 

 other grains, we are unable to say. 



QUERIES ABOUT POULTRY. 



I notice that Wm. Robinson, of Watertown, 

 gives us a very good and profitable account of his 

 poultry business. Will he not give us a descrip- 

 tion of the manner he kept them ? Did he keep 

 them cooped ? How large a coop he had ? What 

 kinds of food he gave them ? How he managed 

 his chickens when small , Sec. ? 13. F. T. 



South Oroton, Dec, 1861. 



BRONZE TURKEYS. 

 Can you, or some of your readers, inform me 

 where and at what price I can obtain a pair of 

 full blood large bronze turkeys ? 



R. GOODELL. 



Antrim, N. IL, Dec. 2, 1861. 



CROPS IN MICHIGAN. 

 "Wheat light, particularly the best quality of 

 white Minter. Corn very good. Oats light. Po- 

 tatoes, a good yield, but rot very bad. Apples 

 and other fruit and vegetables plenty. X. 



Influence of Newspapers. — In an article in 

 another column, under this caption, the writer. 

 Doctor Silas Brown, states that he is "now over 

 eiglity-two years old," and yet his manuscript, 

 which now lies before us, is written in a clear, bold 

 hand, and scarcely needs the touch of the pen be- 

 fore sending it to the printer ! It is refresliing to 

 receive such interesting facts of the past, clothed 

 in appropriate language, and so plainly recorded. 

 What the Doctor says of Editors we believe to be 

 just. But who make up the newspapers ? It is 

 not editors alone, — for, when properly conducted, 

 they must owe a certain portion of theii- value to 

 the ^ratings of good men who contribute to their 

 columns. In a cheerful, intelligent and vigorous 

 old age, the Doctor's life is illuminated by kind 



acts and the dissemination of fects and principles 

 which certainly tend to make the world better. 

 We are always glad to see his familiar hand, and 

 send abroad the sound doctrines which he ex- 

 presses so well. 



For the New En!;land Farmer. 

 THOUGHTS ABOUT SUGAR MAKLN"G. 



In perusing your paper of Nov. 1, I was much 

 interested in a piece written by Mr. Bassett, on 

 sugar making. I M'ell remember, thirty years ago, 

 my father and others made the whitest of sugar, 

 without any trouble, and coals and ashes were 

 continually flying into the kettle. 



I have made thousands of pounds of veiy poor, 

 and also of good sugar. I have came to the con- 

 clusion that nine-tenths of the poor sugar is made 

 by sourness in buckets and store tubs. Therefore, 

 too much pains cannot be taken : peo])le are apt 

 to think store tubs, washed at the beginning and 

 end of sugaring, is sufficient. But sourness will col- 

 lect much quicker than in buckets, and they should 

 be cleansed every few days. I admire Jilr. Bas- 

 sett's views in speaking of boiling, cleansing, arch, 

 grate, &c. His heater is nev.' to me — I think it 

 must be a great improvement, and hope to gain by 

 it. He also speaks of a syphon to cai'ry the sap 

 from one pan to the other, with ends turned up. 

 I tried it to my satisfaction in eveiy way and 

 shape, calculating it would keep the sap in the 

 pans on a level ; but when the sap boiled hard, it 

 would fill with steam and stop. I also tried to 

 draw sap from the pan while boiling hard, into a 

 pail, with the syphon ends turned up. It would 

 run two or three jiails full and stop, therefore I 

 could not place any dependence upon it. So you 

 see in my plan that you published Nov. 24, 1860, 

 the syphons all extended back to the heater, wliich 

 seldom boils, there being four pans to draw from 

 it. Let every farmer make an estimate of store 

 tubs and a cistern. 



First, the sap in store tubs is subject to the warm 

 air, which causes it to sour. Now a cistern, being 

 in the ground, keeps the sap cool like well water, 

 and being covered up, nothing can get into it, ex- 

 cept Avhat passes through the strainer. The cost 

 of a cistern to hold 300 pails full is — 



1 barrel of cement $3.50 



To dnuTin.? sand 1,00 



To dunging a hole for cistern 75 



To mason work, laving 1,50 



Tending ." 1,00 



Cost $7,75 



Now add 10 store tubs holding 30 pails full each, 

 which cost here $2,50 each, $l*o,00. If any one 

 should use the self-acting faucet one season, I 

 think they would not wisli to be deprived of it. 

 They cost about tAventy-five cents apiece, besides 

 the lead pipe. If you wish to be absent, instead 

 of letting your fire go down so as not to burn up 

 your sap, build as hot a fire as you please, and 

 when you come back you will find your pan full 

 as when left, and boiling well ; there is no filling 

 up to do — it takes care of itself I should prefer 

 an India rubber hose attached to the bottom of 

 the boiler, as I described to you, Nov. 24, 1860, 

 and then liook up at the top, rather than a tin sy- 

 ]ihon which you must fill with sap, and turn over 

 into the hauler, holding on to both ends v,ith wet 



