414 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



year was the duration of the shad's life. What 

 was only a matter of conjecture and inference, has 

 been lately proved by the artificial fish-breeders. 

 Somewhere in the State of New York, one of 

 these raisers of fish from spawn Avhich he fed in 

 early life with crumbled crackers strewn upon the 

 pond where they Avere kept, has proved their 

 short hold on existence. He raised them for the 

 purpose of supplying the very large fish he had in 

 his tanks and ponds with food. As the science of 

 breeding fish is known more, the habits of the dif- 

 ferent species will be more easily described. — 

 Hartford Courant. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HOW TO MAKE MASTURES. 



Mr. Brown : — There seems to be a desire by 

 farmers to know what course to pursue in regard 

 to worn-out or neglected land. My experience 

 and observation teach me that the barn-cellar, if 

 properly managed, is the best bank stock that a 

 working farmer can have. x\ dairy farm of from 

 twelve to twenty cows will make, from spring to 

 November, one hundred and fifty to three hun- 

 dred cart-loads of first-rate manure for fall seed- 

 ing or top-dressing, if the proper materials are fur- 

 nished, at a very small cost. Among these I 

 would recommend for the stable, sawdust, where 

 it can be had, spent tan or sand ; with a bountiiui 

 supply of sand, loam, muck, or almost any other I 

 kind of earth, carted into the cellar as soon as j 

 convenient after planting. A good su])ply placed 

 under the stable to receive the droppings and li- 

 quid manures, and the rest tipped up or piled up, 

 by the side, so as to be convenient to be mixed 

 with the manure as often as once, twice or three 

 times a week, as circumstances M'ill admit. There 

 is not an industrious farmer, or one who has help, 

 who can receive so much profit from liis labor as 

 in spending his spare hours or rainy days in lev- 

 elling down his manure, and mixing in his materi- 

 als, which are provided, and in this vvay increase 

 the products of his farm beyond his comprehen- 

 sion. 



HOW TO KILL SEEDS OF WEEDS. 



Mr. B. T. Stephens, of Waterville, ;Me., asks, 

 "How can manure be managed to kill the seeds in 

 it, and thus escape the trouble of constantly hoe- 

 ing and pulling weeds ?" 



In the first place, put no Aveeds into your barn 

 or cellar after they have come to seed ; next, al- 

 low no weeds to get ripe in your fields of corn or 

 potatoes ; sow as little ]']nglish grain as possible 

 where you intend to i)lant ; seed down your land 

 to grass with the corn crop, by the use of the 

 horse-harrow, and a little use of the hoe to keep 

 it perfectly level, and destroy the Aveeds. A few 

 days in August Avill destroy in your hoed crops 

 more weeds than farmers are aware of. 



Northhoro\ July, 1862. A SUBSCRIBER. 



If you have an evergreen, or Norway spruce, 

 balsam fir, American spruce, or any of the pines, 

 and desire to make it grow more compact, just 

 pinch out the bud from every leading branch, all 

 around and over it. Repeat this process again 

 next year, at this time, and your evergreen will 

 continue thereafter to grow thickly. — Indiana 

 Farma; 



Fur the New England Fanner. 

 AGRICITLTUBAL READUSTG. 



Mr. Editor : — It is universally allowed by in- 

 telligent men, that the highest degree of success 

 in any vocation is attained by those who have the 

 best practical knowledge of the principles which 

 underlie that calling. The experience of our pre- 

 decessors, Avith the deeds of Avhose lives we are 

 conversant, aflbrds ample proof of this assertion. 

 Ignorance, let our pursuit be Avhat it may, cazi 

 only lead us astray ; it never can guide us in the 

 Avay to prosperity. To the farmer, these truths 

 are of the first importance, showing, as they do, 

 the necessity of a good understanding of his busi- 

 ness. To throw light upon the subject of agricul- 

 ture, by the aid of the pen and the press, has been 

 considered a thing superfluous, and by many ac- 

 tually injurious. The information handed doAvn 

 from father to son, Avas deemed amply sufficient 

 for a successful career in farm- life. But the times 

 have changed, and Avith the times, the opinions of 

 men, in a good degree ; and noAv the great ques- 

 tion among our intelligent cultivators is, What 

 are the means by Avhich we may be enlightened in 

 relation to our profession ? This is a question ap- 

 plicable to the age in Avhich Ave live, and the an- 

 swers as various as the means are numerous. 



I look upon the agricultural press as one of the 

 most cfncient aids of the farmer. Here is dis- 

 ])layed the united talent of tiie theorist and the 

 practical man. Here the acciunulated knoAv ledge 

 of the past, augnrented by the investigations of 

 the present, is laid Ijefore us in appropriate form, 

 and in language easily comprehended. The good, 

 progressive farmer is a student, pushing his inves- 

 tigations Aviththat devotion and intelligence Avhich 

 characterize his plans and labors upon the farm. 

 Standard agricultural Avorks occupy a prominent 

 place in his library, and the popular journals of 

 the day, Avhich treat of his profession, find a ready 

 Avelcome and an eager perusal; by his fireside. 

 Who, then, Avill marvel Avhcn they Avitness the 

 success of such men — men Avho have labored "to 

 imjn-ove both the soil and the mind ?" But we are 

 oftentimes told that much Avhich is written upon 

 agricultural topics is mere speculation, and never 

 can be applied to practice Avith favorable results. 

 This Ave admit in a measure, but let us inquire, Is 

 it necessary to reject all agricultural reading, 

 merely because an occasional article is submitted 

 to our perusal, incompatible Avith the principles of 

 that science Avhich it is intended to enlighten us 

 upon ? No intelligent former Avill give an affirma- 

 tive response to a question of this nature. Proper 

 discrimination must be exercised concerning mat- 

 ters of this kind, or Ave can never hope to profit 

 thereby. If Ave read an article Avhich at once ap- 

 pears to contain a multiplicity of absurdities, Ave 

 do not usually allow the article to be laid aside, 

 Avith merely remarking that it is incorrect, but Ave 

 strive to collect evidence Avhich Avill place its in- 

 correctness in a clearer light; and in this elucida- 

 tion of its folsities, our attention is often directed 

 to subjects Avhich might never have been consid- 

 ered, if there had been no occasion like this to 

 call them forth. 



I long to see the art of cultivating the earth 

 raised to a higher state of perfection. This can 

 be accom])Hshed only through the instrumentality 

 of a more varied, practical and thorough knoAvl- 



