394 



NEAV ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



tendeth to poverty." Stormy as the political hor- 

 izon may appear, do not let September pass away 

 without making some permanent improvement on 

 the farm, or at least without doing something to 

 make home more pleasant, and next year's work 

 more agreeable and profitable. Something of this 

 kind may be done at small expense. It will not 

 cost much to plow up a small "land" of that 

 bound out meadow, and seed it down for next 

 year's mowing, harrowing in manure in propor- 

 tion to the "heft" of the crop you wish to cut 

 thereon for the next six or eight years. Neither 

 will it cost a great deal of money or time to col- 

 lect materials of some kind to prevent the waste 

 of the best part of the manure in the hog-pen and 

 cowyard, the sink, drain, privy, &c. If the old 

 swamp is dry enough, a few days' work there will 

 furnish an ample supply of an excellent absorbent 

 for the whole year. If it is too wet, what say to 

 a little bit of experience in turning running water 

 over a portion of the grass ground, if you happen 

 to have a stream that can be so used without too 

 much expense ; or, while waiting for the dry spell 

 that we usually find in this mouth or the next, 

 perhaps we can do something for that bushy pas- 

 ture, or possibly lay up a few rods of stone wall, 

 that will look much better and much safer than 

 the old wooden fence that was so completely 

 smashed down by last winter's snow. 



And now for the cattle show. Never mind if it 

 is not managed exactly to suit you. You are just 

 the man that is wanted. Go yourself, and take 

 your family with you, and by the influence of your 

 •word and example the "little improvements" which 

 you desire may be effected. Farmers cannot well 

 do without these stated times and occasions for 

 meeting together to examine the results of each 

 'other's labor, and to talk over aflairs connected 

 with their business. Mechanics who cluster to- 

 gether in villages and cities, have frequent oppor- 

 tunities for conversation, but farmers live remote 

 from each other, and are in danger of becoming 

 too solitary and unsocial. There is high authori- 

 ty for the injunction "to do good and communi- 

 cate." 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE WHEAT CROP. 



Mr. Editor : — Have your correspondents done 

 much for the winter wheat crop, which is now in 

 its harvest time ? War and taxes should keep all 

 your farmers within their own stone walls for 

 their brcadstuffs. Let tlicm all resolve that the 

 last week in August and first week in September 

 shall not pass with less than two to five acres or 

 mo7~e of wheat, as an indispensable necessity and 

 luxury of the farm. Has the spring wheat suffered 

 much by heavy rains, and the late broken mil- 

 dewy weather ? It is far less sure than winter 

 grain. Practice will prove my assertion. 



Brooldijn, L. I. 11. Poor. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE SEASON AND CROPS. 



Rarely have I known a season that gave pro- 

 mise of crops more abundant. To be sure, the 

 superabundant rains have materially interfered 

 with the making of hay, which is ever one of the 

 most important products of New England farms ; 

 still, a large crop has grown, and most of it has 

 been cured in the best manner practicable, under 

 the circumstances. The introduction of moAving 

 machines and hay caps has greatly facilitated the 

 getting the crop, wherever their value has been 

 known and appreciated. One of my neighbors, 

 who cuts more than one hundred tons of hay, has 

 got it all in, in good condition, by due attention 

 to the time of cutting, and covering when in the 

 field. Hay is not injured by standing in cock for 

 several days, if properly capped ; in fact, I am not 

 sure that it is not better made so than in any 

 other way. I cannot doubt that the expense of 

 such caps will be saved in a single season, if pro- 

 perly used. Essex. 



August 11, 1862. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent is right in his 

 suggestion about hay being worth more for being 

 cured under caps. We have no doubt but it is at 

 least ten per cent, better. Let the grass be thor- 

 oughly wilted, or half made, then cock it, cover 

 with caps, and let it remain from 24 to 36 hours ; 

 then throw it open to the air and sun for three or 

 four hours, and the hay will be as perfectly cured 

 as it can be. It will not be brittle and break like 

 so many dry twigs, nor bleached until almost col- 

 orless, but soft, fragrant, and of a cheerful, light 

 green color, and full of tallow and milk, or what 

 will abundantly make them. We are for progress 

 in every thing good. 



GATHERING SPONGES. 



The sponge business is largely pursued at the 

 Bahama Islands. The exports of this article now 

 amount annually to about $200,000. It is almost 

 entirely the growth of the last twenty years. Dur- 

 ing that period the article has nearly quadrupled 

 in value, and has been applied to a great variety 

 of new purposes, especially in France. 



The sponge is compressed in powerful ))resses 

 and sacked like cotton. It is assorted and grad- 

 ed, samples being fastened to each package to 

 show the quality. 



It is fished or i*aked or grappled up from the 

 clean, sandy bottom at the depth of twenty, forty, 

 and even sixty feet, and often far out from tht 

 shore. The water is so transparent that the grow- 

 ing sponge is visible on the bottom. 



The sponge, when first taken from the water, is 

 black, and at once becomes offensive to the smell 



The first process is to bury it in the sand, where 

 it remains for two or throe weeks, when the gelat- 

 inous animal matter seems to be absorbed and de- 

 stroyed, or eaten by the insects that swarm in the 

 sand. 



The boatmen who obtain it are paid in shai-es by 

 the owners of the boats. This, therefore, becomes 

 a precarious and semi-gambling pursuit, highly 

 attractive to the colored population. 



