372 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



The author will not describe the mode of firing 

 for lampas. It is sufficient here to inform the rea- 

 der that the operation consists in burning away 

 the groom's imaginary prominences upon the pal- 

 ate. The living and feeling substance within a 

 sensitive and timid animal's mouth is actually con- 

 sumed by fire. He, however, who plays with such 

 tools as red-hot irons cannot say, "thus far shalt 

 thou go." He loses all command when the fear- 

 ful instrument touches the living flesh ; the palate 

 has been burnt away, and the admirable service 

 performed by the bars, that of retaining the food 

 during mastication, destroyed. The bone beneath 

 the palate has been injured ; much time and much 

 money have been wasted to remedy the conse- 

 quence of a needless barbarity, and, after all, the 

 horse has been left a confirmed "wheezer." The 

 animal's sense being confused, and its brain agi- 

 tated by the agony, the lower jaw has closed spas- 

 modically upon the red-hot iron ; and the teeth 

 have seized with the tenacity of madness upon the 

 heated metal. 



When the lampas is reported to you, refuse to 

 sanction so terrible a remedy ; order the horse a 

 little rest, and cooling or soft food. In short, only 

 pursue those measures which the employment of 

 the farrier's cure would have rendered imperative, 

 and, in far less time than the groom's proposition 

 would have occupied, the horse will be quite well, 

 and once more fit for service. 



"NO MONEY ABOUT THE HOUSE." 



There is probably no one class of citizens in 

 our State so completely "flat broke," as it re- 

 gards money, as are the "Cultivators of the Soil ;" 

 and yet they are at the same time the most "in- 

 dependent" and the most "wealthy." 



A person unacquainted with the singular and 

 unwise management of the great majority of farm- 

 ers, would suppose they were all as poor as a 

 "church-mouse ;" and no doubt there are many 

 that are really poor by reason of misfortunes, and 

 some, also, (from a shiftless management,) deserve 

 to be poor, because they abuse their blessings. 



There are hundreds of farmers that are ever 

 speaking of "hard times," "of low prices of grain," 

 of the "ruin of the farmers," that there is "no 

 money," etc. ; and it is a notorious fact, they do 

 not have money, but run in debt for every neces- 

 sary of life, go miserably dressed, themselves and 

 children in many cases wanting the comforts of 

 life ; the wife, even, never touching a dime of 

 money, suflering for many needed and deserved 

 comforts, and yet "No Money in the House !" 



We have seen their daughters going barefoot ; 

 and yet with all these "signs of poverty," the 

 same farmer would have 500, 1000, loOO, perhaps 

 2000 bags of wheat in the granary, "waiting a 

 rise," while his family and himself wanted the 

 comforts and necessaries of life. The wife, too, 

 who has toiled all the season, often beyond her 

 strength, hoj)ing "harvest-time" would bring com- 

 fort and ease; alas! poor woman ! the "Grain is 

 not sold," and you and the storekeeper must wait, 

 children go barefoot, the smile leaving your brow, 

 and probably some creditor, tired of waiting, will, 

 Shylock-like, strip the farm and homestead, and 

 leave you all to the cold pity of an unfeeling world. 

 And this because of that shiftless, miserable, wick- 

 ed plan of holding on to the crop, which should 



always be sold to pay the debts incurred while 

 maturing it. 



If our farmers would adopt the Cash System^ 

 and buy and sell only for cash, they would find 

 that in a little time joy would be in the household, 

 and their own joy would prove to them that they 

 had discovered Aladdin's Lamp. — Exchange. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 

 MANNY'S MOWER. 



A statement made by Horace Ware of Marble- 

 head, of work done on his farm in the ordinary 

 way, in the season of 1856, by Manny's Mmcing 

 Machine. 



1856.— June 24, l}^ acres, 2 hours, 3 tons per acre. 



" " 30, 5 " m " 2 " 



" July 1, 8 " 7 " Hi " 



" " 2, 8 " 1% " 1 " 



" " 7, 10 " 10 " 2 to 3 " 



" " 8, 6 " m " 1 to 2 " 



" " 9, 6 " 4 "2 " 



" " 10, 4 " Z}i " 1 to 3 " 



" " 14, 4>^ " 1 " 1 to 3 " 



" " 16, 5,'a' " 3 " 1 to 2 " 



" " 18, 2 " 1}^ " 1 " 



" " 19, 5 " 4 " 2 " 



" " 21, 10 " 9 " lto2 " 



" " 22, 7 " 7 " lto2J^ 



" " 23, 5 " 4 " Kto2 « 



" " 25, \yi " Hi " i^to2 " 



" Sept. 15, 4 " 2,'^ " K " 



Total, 



93 acres. 76)^ hours. 



Average of time, less than one hour to the acre. 



H. Ware. 



I find the foregoing data among my papers. I 

 remember to have viewed the ground as one of a 

 committee on mowing machines. I have entire 

 confidence that it is correct. I think it goes to 

 show very clearly the utility of such implements. 

 There may be other machines, which will do bet- 

 ter, but I have not seen them. 



July 1, 1862. _ J. W. Proctor. 



MUCK AND ASHES. 



In the Farmer of May 21st some unknown 

 friend makes some statements in regard to my 

 farming. I think he must have misunderstood 

 me in some things, for instance, I do not consider 

 leached ashes worth much. In reply to W. J. 

 Pettee, I would say that I have experimented with 

 muck and ashes for more than twenty years. I 

 have tried it in the same field with stable manure 

 — half the field manured with six bushels of ashes 

 (or 36 lbs. of potash) to a cord of muck, and the 

 other half with stable manure, and aU the crops 

 were the best where the muck and ashes were ap- 

 plied. The muck was thrown out of the meadow 

 in the autumn, and the ashes mixed with it about 

 ten days before using. JoiiN Day. 



Boxford, June 23, 1862. 



THREE SPANISH MERINO BUCKS. 



Messrs. C. C._ Smith and J. G. Fitts, of Corinth, 

 Vt., own three full blood Spanish Merino Bucks, 

 which sheared as follows : — One two years old, 

 twenty-two pounds ; next, two years old, eighteen 

 pounds, and the third, one year old seventeen 

 pounds ! Is not that a good Clip ? 



Remarks. — Yes. The Vermonters beat all cre- 

 ation in fine horses and great "clips" of wool. — 

 There is no "great cry" and "little wool" in their 

 afl'airs. 



