1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



267 



For the A'etc England Farmer. 

 FAKM BTTIIiDINGS AND FENCES. 



Mr, Editor : — I have been much interested 

 in your State Legislative agricultural discussions, 

 particularly those upon farm buildings. Every 

 farmer knows the importance of good barns ; thase 

 that will not only keep the hay and grain, but fur- 

 nish suitable protection for our stock ; and they 

 should be adapted to the kind of stock we intend 

 to keep. 



For many years to come, undoubtedly, sheep- 

 raising will be the leading interest in much of 

 New England, and some pails of the West. An 

 immense national debt, the sure result of this ini- 

 quitous rebellion, will create the necessity for a 

 high tariff for half a century, at least, and in this 

 way may benefit this large class of our farmers. 

 In tliis business we need barns and sheds which 

 will shelter every animal, and also afford perfect 

 ventilation. I would much sooner my sheep would 

 go without food for tvventy-four hours than be ex- 

 posed to one rain storm in the winter. Some of 

 our Vermont farmers understand this so well, that 

 they will not let them be exposed at other seasons 

 of the year. With their wool soaked with water, 

 and then frozen for several days, no wonder some 

 of them die. Protection and good air, as well as 

 good keeping, are absolutely necessary for success 

 in this business. No stock pays better for a rea- 

 sonable allowance of grain through the whole win- 

 ter, and grinding is not necessary. In feeding 

 oats, with good racks, even threshing can, in a 

 great measure, be dispensed with ; and some of 

 our farmers have fed boiled potatoes to their sheep 

 with better advantage than to any other stock. 



In keeping sheep, I have found that wall fences 

 ■without anything on their tops, will not sto]) them. 

 Except where stones are very abundant and lum- 

 ber scarce, I should prefer a board fence, if it can 

 be made durable. Smith's fences (one of which 

 has been illustrated in the Farmer) were shown 

 at our county and State fairs in 1860, and as to 

 durability I think them as much better than other 

 ■wooden fences, as a house or barn well up on a 

 stone foundation is better than one with the posts 

 standing in the ground. Almost the only objec- 

 tion there can be to them is, they cannot be used 

 •where there are no stone, as on the prairies at the 

 West. His fence No. 2, put upon our roads and 

 railroads, would save thousands of dollars every 

 year, in keeping our roads open on account of 

 snow drifts. A Subscriber. 



Chelsea, VL, 1862. 



PREPARINQ PAINT AND PAINTING. 



The best, most durable and neatest kind of 

 paint for any kind of tools or implements, is a 

 light blue. Tliis is far better than red, as blue 

 ■will reflect more of the heat of the sun than red. 

 Consequently, the wood which is painted, will be 

 heated and sun-checked less when painted blue. 

 During the warm days of March, let tools and im- 

 plements be washed clean, and painted blue. To 

 prepare blue paint that will dry soon, procure 

 good boiled oil, which will cost about ten cents 

 more per gallon than the unboiled. Procure a 

 quart or more, according to the amount of paint- 

 ing to be done, of liquid drier or laquer. Then 

 take one pint of oil, half a pint of drier, and min- 



gle, by stirring in with a stick, enough white lead 

 to make it about as thick as cream. Zinc white 

 is the best, unless a man has an apparatus for 

 grinding the lead. Zinc will require no grinding, 

 but must be thoroughly stirred, and all the lumps 

 mashed. Now put in one or two, or three table- 

 spoonfuls of Prussian blue, and stir it thoroughly, 

 But a small quantity of blue will be necessary to 

 make a handsome blue paint. If it appears too 

 light colored, put in more blue. Paint, prepared 

 a few hours before it is used, will work better than 

 that just prepared. If the oil and drier are good, 

 paint prepared according to the foregoing direc- 

 tions, will dry in from one to two days, although 

 it should be allowed from one to two weeks to be- 

 come hard. For green paint, let the white lead or 

 zinc, and oil and drier be prepared in the same 

 way as for blue, and put in green, instead of blue. 

 Continue to put in green until the shade is dark 

 enough to suit the fancy. Yellow paint may be 

 prepared in the same manner by using clrrome yel- 

 low with the white lead. — Country Gentleman. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 INFLUENCE OF ATMOSPHERE ON SOIL. 



The above subject was discussed in the Concord 

 Farmers^ Club, on the evening of the 16th of Jan- 

 uary, 1862. I send you my recollections of the 

 remarks of one of the members. Although aera- 

 tion of the soil, or the bringing of the particles of 

 the atmosphere and the particles of the soil into 

 contact, and the chemical and fertilizing effects re- 

 sulting from tliis contact, are in themselves dis- 

 tinct subjects, yet, practically, the two subjects 

 must be considered together. Without bringing 

 the particles of air and soil into contact, no chem- 

 ical effect can be produced. Indeed, our principal 

 work in relation to this matter is, by all the means 

 we can devise, to bring about this contact. The 

 laws of nature will set up and carry on the chemi- 

 cal actions, over which we can have very little 

 control. One effect of draining is, to admit air in 

 the place of water. This renders the soil light 

 and porous, and enables the gases given off in the 

 soil by the decomposition of manurial substances, 

 to permeate through the soil, like the carbonic 

 acid from yeast in bread. The atmosphere and 

 gases thus introduced into the soil keep it in such 

 a condition that the roots of vegetables can trav- 

 erse it in search of nutriment. Without the pres- 

 ence of the oxygen of the atmosphere, putrefaction 

 and fermentation cannot go on, as oxygen is the 

 great agent in decomposition. 



There are elements in the soil which have an af- 

 finity for elements in the atmosphere, and when 

 they are brought into contact, they act on each 

 other, and form food for plants, or stimulants 

 which plants need. Frequent stirring of the soil 

 brings these elements into contact. Alkalies and 

 other salts, present in the soil, attract moisture 

 from the atmosphere, and thus enable plants to 

 endure drought. Plants in a rich soil, as experi- " 

 ence proves, endure drought better than in a poor 

 soil ; and in a rich soil, salts of different kinds are 

 always present. These salts are mostly deliques- 

 cent, or naturally attract moisture from the air, 

 and dissolve. Hence in a dry time, soils should 

 be frequently stirred. Draining, subsoiling and 



