1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



155 



the existence of contagious pleuro-pneumonia, earnest 

 attention is called to the thorough and convincing re- 

 port of the first Board of Commissioners, with accom- 

 panying documents, published in the report of the 

 Secretary of the Board of Agriculture for 1860. 



We believe that no person, however prejudiced he 

 may have been, who has been present at the examina- 

 tions of affected animals, has foiled to become con- 

 vinced of the contagiousness of the disease; and it 

 would seem impossible that any one can doubt this 

 fact who will take the trouble to examine the various 

 reports that have been made in Europe and in this 

 country on the sul^ject. (Signed) 



Henry H. Peters, of Southborough, 

 Phineas Stedman, of Chicopce, 

 Freeman Walker, of North Brookficld, 

 Boston^ Feb, 27, 1S62. Committee. 



FACTS AND FANCIES. 



Sugar for the Million. — Everybody likes 

 sugar — and sugar likes everybody, taken in proper 

 quantity. It is both nutritious and healthful, to 

 say notliiug of its palatableness in coffee and tea, 

 puddings and pies. It was once supposed to be 

 a luxury, merely, but that time has gone by, and 

 the common opinion now is, that it is one of the 

 necessities of life. 



We are glad to see attention turned to its pro- 

 duction in the free States. Illinois produced it 

 in large quantity the last season, and is undoubt- 

 edly capable of .securing quadruple the amount it 

 has already made. 



Speaking of the cultivation of sugar cane (Sor- 

 ghum,) in the Northwestern States, the Chicago 

 Tribune says : "Next to the cotton crop, there 

 is no agricultural product that at present more 

 certainly demands the attention of our govern- 

 ment, as well as the tillers of the soil." 



An Agricultural Missionary. — The Jour- 

 nal d^ Agriculture Pra/f'jiiC, which we receive reg- 

 ularly from Paris, states that an agricultural so- 

 ciety in Prussia has appointed a person to visit 

 the agricultural districts, make himself acquainted 

 •with leading men as well as farmers, and gather 

 information on every subject in connection with 

 the details of farming. Tlais is a step in the right 

 direction, and one that may be imitated with prof- 

 it, we think, by every agricultural society in New 

 England. 



Look out for Shrubbery and Fruit Trees. 

 — The crust that now lies upon the snow will be 

 quite likely to break down a great deal of shi'ub- 

 bery and the lower limbs of pear trees, unless some 

 pains is taken to prevent it. It now adheres very 

 closely to many branches, and as the snow melts 

 (for it melts from below as well as from above) it 

 will drag the branches down and break them. 

 We saw one half of a beautiful pear tree taken 

 off in this way two winters ago. The trees should 

 be visited, and with a shovel, or by some other 

 means, the crust should be broken and removed 

 from the limbs. It is a nice ojjeration, and a care- 

 ful hand should attend to it. 



Cure for Dyspepsia. — A Philadelphia gen- 

 tleman states that, "in a fit of despondency — I re- 

 solved to try bran bread and good sweet milk. I 

 earned my resolution into effect, and the happy 

 result is, that I am now perfectly well. I have 

 regained my flesh and strength. I sleep as sound- 

 ly as a rock, and feel as happy as a lark, under this 

 new state of affairs." lie takes but one cup of 

 coffee, eats few vegetables, and eschews pastry 

 and puddings. 



Swore Three Times before he Crowed. 

 — A little girl went to camp-meeting, and when 

 she got home, she said the sisters in the various 

 tents told her a good many things, and asked her 

 questions about the Bible. On being pressed to 

 state what they told her, she said one thing they 

 told her was about Peter, "who swore thi-ee times 

 before he crowed." 



For the New England Farmer, 

 MAKING SUGAR. 



Mr. Editor : — There is no season of the year 

 so profitable to the farmer as in the time of mak- 

 ing sugar. Let an estimate be made, and see : In 

 a good season a second growth maple will make 

 about 4^ pounds of sugar. Five hundred trees, 

 at 4^ pounds per tree, will give 2250 pounds, 

 which at 10 cents per pound, would give $225. 



Cost. — One man can tend 500 trees with ease, 

 say, 



One man 1 month $15,00 



10 cords of wood, at $3 per cord 30,00 



Other necessary expenses 20,00 



Total $65,00 



which, deducted from the income, leaves $160 as 

 profit for one month's time. 



I think my figures are not far from right. Every 

 one that can tap a tree ought to do so, because we 

 must be independent of all duties as far as possi- 

 ble. To make sugar you should have a good sap- 

 house and a convenient wash-shed, an arch and a 

 pan. Sap boiled in a jian makes 5 per cent, more 

 sugar than sap boiled in a kettle, and saves 12<^ 

 per cent, of wood. The sjrup should be boUed as 

 thick as it can be conveniently, and when done 

 down to sugar, it should not be very dry ; put it 

 in a tin can made for the purpose, and then drain 

 about the first of INIaj', when you Avill have maple 

 sugar of the first quality. Tin buckets cost too 

 much to commence with ; they are liable to get 

 bruised and cannot be kept from rusting. Buck- 

 et-pails are just as good, with half the cost, and 

 last just as long. Joseph E. White. 



Wallingford, February 10, 1862. 



Steeping Barley before Sowing. — A wri- 

 ter in the Homestead recommends that seed barley 

 should be steeped before sowing in a solution of 

 copperas or blue vitrol, the same as is often done 

 for wheat, and then rolled in plaster enough to dry 

 it. He says it has the eftect of giving it a rapid 

 start, and makes it come up strong and dark col- 

 ored. He thinks the benefit equal to ten extra 

 loads of manure per acre. 



