1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



89 



tiblc. But sugar, in combination with a small 

 amount of lime, or alkali, has the property of dis- 

 solving phosphate of lime, which is contained in 

 large quantities by the bones and teeth ; a circum- 

 stance which may explain in some measure the 

 contradictory nature of the facts. Thus the infe- 

 rior varieties of sugar and treacle, which always 

 contain lime derived from the process of manufac- 

 ture, and many kinds of confectionary into which 

 lime enters as an ingredient, would be expected to 

 have an injurious action on the teeth, especially if 

 there should be a break anywhere in the outer 

 coating of enamel. On the other hand, fresh 

 honey and fruits, which contain a large per cent- 

 age of sugar, but in which it is not likely to occur 

 with lime in combination, are so far above suspi- 

 cion, that some fruits — as strawberries, plums, &c., 

 which contain much sugar, have even been recom- 

 mended as aids to the securing of good teeth. — 

 Field Notes. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 

 THE CULTURE OF FLAX. 



1. Is there any treatise on flax culture, the 

 Btudy of which would enable one not acquainted 

 with the business of flax-raising to conduct it suc- 

 cessfully ? 



2. Does New England aff'ord a market for any 

 considerable amount of flax ? If so, where might 

 it be sold, and at what price ? 



3. In what condition must it be sent to market ? 

 I suppose it would need to be dressed at home ; 

 if so, what would be the cost of machinery for pre- 

 paring it for the market, and what the probable 

 cost of di'essing ? By dressing, I mean separating 

 the fibre from the stalk. 



4. I wish, also, to learn the cost of a machine 

 for grinding bones into meal, and the power re- 

 quired to propel such machinery. 



Adin Bugbee. 

 Snoio^s Store, Vt., Jan., 1862. 



Remarks. — 1. The Farmer's and Planter's En- 

 cyclopedia, and the Farmer's Guide, each contain 

 directions for the cultivation of flax, and so has 

 Stephens' Book of the Farm. It is not at all dif- 

 ficult to cultivate, and any land that will produce 

 a good crop of Indian corn will bring a good yield 

 of flax. 



2. It must be sent to market dressed, or what is 

 called "lint," and a gentleman who has been very 

 largely engaged in raising flax, informs us that 

 there is a steady demand in New England for 

 three hundred tons, annually. AVhere large quan- 

 tities are produced in the same neighborhood, it 

 might be dressed by a new process which accom- 

 plishes the work with great rapidity. We are not 

 able, however, to inform our correspondent at 

 what cost. Four hundred pounds, per acre, of 

 the lint is considered a good yield. We have no 

 doubt, whatever, that the culture of flax may be 

 made quite profitable to New England farmers, as 

 nearly all that is now used is imported, and as the 

 oil from its seed, and the cake, after the oU is ex- 

 tracted, are always in quick demand. 



4. We have seen bones ground in a small, iron 



mill, which was propelled by steam, but did not 

 inquire the amount of power required to carry it, 

 — nor do we know the cost of such a mill. 



RICH LAND TILVT PRODUCES NO CROPS. 



I have a piece of land containing about one acre, 

 that for a great many years has been manured 

 highly, and bore very great crops of grass, until 

 the meadoAV moles began to work in it, and cut the 

 roots of the grass ofi', and almost killed it out. In 

 the spring of 1860 I plowed it up, and found the 

 soil to be a rich black loam. I planted it with po- 

 tatoes, expecting a large crop, but did not get a 

 quarter of a crop ; last spring I sowed it with 

 wheat, but only got three bushels. Where the 

 soil is the richest, wheat did not grow at all, 

 neither would the weeds grow. Can you tell me 

 what I can put on it to secure a crop ? 



Apple trees are now upon two sides of the 

 piece ; would young trees set out in the piece be 

 likely to flourish ? L. P. R. 



Millbury,Dec.ZO, 1861. 



Remarks. — It is difliicult to give an opinion as 

 to what ought to be done with such a piece of 

 land as is described above, from a written descrip- 

 tion of it. It needs to be seen, as the surround- 

 ings of a piece of land are often as much in fault 

 as the land itself. It seems to us, however, that 

 if 30 bushels of oyster shell lime were added to the 

 acre, and the land planted to corn, or laid to 

 grass, success would follow. 



THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Having received this weekly publication ever 

 since it was commenced by Fessenden, more than 

 forty years gone by, and perused its pages every 

 week, I think I can speak with some confidence, 

 of the character of the paper. I look upon it as 

 one of the most agreeable and reliable of guides 

 in the labors of the farm. Its opinions indicate 

 calm consideration and enlarged observation.. It 

 notices such topics as particularly concern, its 

 readers, and carefully avoids all fancy speculations 

 and extravagant assumptions. Let any farmer 

 take it, and carefully peruse and preserve it for 

 occasional reference — he will find it of more value 

 at the close of the year, than any cow in hfs stall. 

 If he should not so find it, I will cheerfully pay his 

 subscription, if he will send me his name. 



Dec. 28, 1861. J. W. Proctor. 



WINTER IN VERMONT — CROPS— A FINE HOG. 



Cold and dreary winter has again made its ap- 

 pearance, reminding us that the wheel of time is 

 continually moving onward. The snow is now 

 about half an inch in depth. During the month of 

 November last, the thermometer averaged at 6 

 A. M., 24° above zero; 12, M., 36°, and at 6 

 P. M., 31° above. Thus the month- averaged five 

 degrees colder than the month of November, 1860. 

 The hay crop here last summer was very good, 

 and hay is selling from $4 to $6 per ton. The 

 corn and barley crop were good, but oats and 

 wheat are not so good as was supposed when they 

 were harvested ; however, they are full an average- 

 Mr. Erastus Howard, of this town, killed a 



