1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



271 



capable on the one hand of directing their studies, 

 and on the other, of showing them the best sam- 

 ples of all kinds of farm-work, done by himself. 

 A portion, at least, of his lectures, should be in 

 the open field, with the hoe, spade, scythe or axe 

 in hand. His language to his pupils should be, 

 "This is the way to do the work ; follow my ex- 

 ample — do as I do." He should be able to do 

 anything that is to be done on a farm, and to give 

 a reason for its being done in the right way. He 

 should explain the different kinds of crops, the 

 modes of culture, the nature of soils, and point 

 out the practical excellences and defects of far- 

 mers. AH his instruction should be at once sci- 

 entific and practical. 



After all, the great body of j'oung farmers must 

 be educated, if educated at all, not so much by 

 learned and scientific lectures, as by the example 

 and practice of others, by reading agricultural 

 books and papers, and by their own effort at self- 

 improvement. Our State, county and town soci- 

 eties, as well as our farmers' clubs, have all the 

 characteristics of a school of the highest order, in 

 which all may be learners as well as teachers, 

 where practice instead of theory, and facts instead 

 of conjectures, are the best authority. This is the 

 best system of agricultural education for us to 

 adopt for the present, till we have the means of 

 establishing farm schools in every county in the 

 State. John Golusbury. 



Warwick, March, 1862. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 "DISSEMINATION OF FOUL SEEDS." 

 Mr. Editor : — Under the above heading, "O. 

 K." calls for the views of your correspondents, 

 suggesting remedies for this growing evil. The 

 subject is an important one, and doubtless much 

 improvement might be effected, but there are many 

 difficulties in the way of such laws and regula- 

 tions as your correspondent suggests, and I think 

 each individual must depend mainly upon his own 

 skill and care. 



If our country were all under cultivation, like 

 some European countries, we might exterminate 

 almost any plant we chose ; but with our large 

 tracts of uncultivated and uncultivable land, which 

 the owners do not, and cannot examine carefully 

 once in five years, the case is quite different, be- 

 cause a few seeds ripened in some out-of-the-way 

 corner are often sufficient to place a weed almost 

 beyond the control of ordinary farmers. 



In my opinion, the best remedy, aside from our 

 own watchfulness, is to do all in our power to in- 

 duce farmers to obtain some knowledge of botany, 

 or in other words, to become so familiar with the 

 plants growing in their own vicinity, that any new 

 plant will attract notice immediately, and not be 

 allowed to spread, until its character is ascertained. 

 A familiarity with the appearance of different seeds 

 is also necessary to enable the farmer to select 

 that which is free from noxious weeds, and he 

 should, as far as possible, deal with seedsmen who 

 have this knowledge, and are honest enough to 

 give him the benefit of it. 



Much has been done, and much more may be 

 done, by agricultural books and periodicals, by 

 giving illustrated descriptions, including the seed 

 of various weeds, especially such as are most like- 

 ly to be diffused where they do not already exist. 



There are several plants which I have reason to 

 think are at present becoming too common in 

 some sections, where they can be eradicated if at- 

 tended to before spreading any farther, and I will 

 give some description of them. 



RuDBECKiA HiRTA. — This has been recently in- 

 troduced in grass seed, and is sometimes called 

 yellow daisy. It has quite a resemblance to the 

 daisy, but the leaves are entire or nearly so, (that 

 is, not notched or cut like the daisy,) and the pet- 

 als of the flower are yellow, with a purple cone in 

 the centre, in the form of an old-fashioned straw 

 beehive. This has been removed to the garden by 

 some, but should be extirpated from both garden 

 and field, as it is becoming quite troublesome in 

 some places. 



Chiccory. — This plant, which is very common 

 in the vicinity of Boston, I have never seen in the 

 Western part of the State, until quite recently I 

 found a single plant of it growing in a newly-seed- 

 ed field, and my farm assistant told me that he 

 saw such a plant in a similar situation on his fath- 

 er's farm. Evidently, these were introduced in 

 grass seed, and judging from its appearance else- 

 where, I think it cannot too soon be banished. 

 "A stitch in time saves nine." This plant, before 

 throwing up its seed stalk, has some resemblance 

 to the dandelion, and when in flower, is easily 

 known by the unequal length, notched edges, and 

 pale blue color of its petals. 



Spurry. — This plant was also introduced with 

 grass seed on my farm a few years since, and has 

 given me considerable trouble. It bears some re- 

 semblance to a plant sometimes called "horse- 

 tail," but is much more succulent, and is an annu- 

 al. The leaves are linear, thickened or fleshy, and 

 grow in whorls. The flowers are white, and rath- 

 er insignificant, and followed by a round seed cap- 

 sule little more than an eighth of an inch in di- 

 ameter. I believe this is sometimes called "pine 

 weed," and although recommended by some to be 

 grown for "turning under," is too dangerous to be 

 admitted to our fields. 



I neglected to state that Rudbeckia and Chic- 

 cory are both perennial plants. 



Ashfield, 1862. Wm. F. Bassett. 



GOOD FOR OXEN AS WELL AS HORSES. 



At the New York State Agricultural Fair at 

 Watertown, was a boy of sixteen, who controlled 

 cattle with as much skill as Rarey controlled 

 horses, and by using the same law, the law of 

 kindness. He trained and handled six steers not 

 two years old as easily as an experienced driver 

 would a single pair in yoke, and yet he had no 

 yoke nor rope ; he did not speak to them in a loud 

 voice, and only occasionally struck them a slight 

 blow. A spectator describing his movements, says 

 he would bring up a single pair as if yoked to- 

 gether, then two, and then tlu-ee pairs ; then he 

 would mismatch them, putting odd ones together, 

 and then bring them in a line like a platoon of 

 soldiers ; then he would train them around by 

 twos and threes, or drop one and order him to a 

 new place, all by a motion of his little whip. Be- 

 ing asked if he could manage eight as well as six, 

 he said he could if his whip was a little longer. 

 He tried, and succeeded with ease, impressing 

 upon all who saw him, the great benefit of kind- 

 ness and determination in the treatment of cattle. 



