424 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



LATE PASTURING. 



Some farmers keep their cattle out as late as 

 possible iu the fall, and even into winter. The 

 pastures are gnawed very close, and even the af- 

 ter-math of mowing fields, as if they never expect- 

 ed to get another crop of grass from them. This 

 is very bad husbandry upon any land, and espec- 

 ially upon that recently seeded with herds-grass. 

 This grass, as is well known to all careful observ- 

 ers, has a bulbous root, and the fine roots that 

 shoot out from the bottom are not as strong as 

 the roots of most other grasses. It is, thei-efcre 

 exceedingly liable to be torn out by the roots by 

 grazing cattle, especially if the grass is short. In 

 a close cropped meadow where this grass has been 

 sown, nothing is more common than to see thous- 

 ands of these dried bulbs l)'ing upon the surface. 

 We doubt the economy of grazing a herds-grass 

 meadow at any time. 13 ut if done at all, it should 

 not be cropped after the first of November in this 

 latitude. 



The roots of all the grasses are designed to be 

 covered with their own leaves and stalks during 

 the winter. These, and the snow, protect them 

 from the alternate freezings and thavvings, and 

 bring them out in good condition in the spring. 

 The farmer M"ho undertakes to thwart the designs 

 of Nature in this respect, will find it a very expen- 

 sive business. The little that he saves in feed 

 now, he loses next season iu the diminished yield 

 of the pasture or the meadow. We ought always 

 to manage so as to have Nature working with us, 

 instead of against us. This is one of the evils of 

 overstocking farms. The farmer is afraid that he 

 has not quite fodder enough for winter, so he pas- 

 tures till the ground is frozen. He cuts less hay 

 for the next season, and he is still more sorely 

 tempted to pasture. 



It is quite as bad for the cattle as it is for the 

 land. If they have no fodder in the month of No- 

 vember, they lose, rather than gain upon pasture, 

 unless it is much better than the average. Every 

 animal ought to go into the stable in a thriving 

 condition — if not fat, at least in full ilesh. They 

 are then easily kept thriving upon good hay, or 

 upon hay and roots, straw and meal. After sev- 

 eral years' close observation directed to this par- 

 ticular point, we do not think any thing Is gained 

 by pasturing in this latitude, and north of it, after 

 the fii'st of this month. All the grasses must have 

 time to cover tlieu" roots in order to make flush 

 feed next season. Cattle foddered through a part 

 of October, and brought to the stable about the 

 first of November, in good flesh, are easily win- 

 tered. It is better management to buy hay or to 

 sell stock, than to pinch the pastures by close 

 feeding. — American Agriculturist. 



Simple Receipts for Making Vinegar. — 

 T. B. Miller, of Clayton, Ind., has communicated 

 to the New York Farmers' Club the following sim- 

 ple receipts for making vinegar : 



"Fill nearly full any vessel, jug, crock, pan, tub 

 or barrel with pure rain or soft water, sweeten it 

 with any kind of molasses, (the quantity is not 

 material,) set it in a moderately warm place, or in 

 the sun, cover with sieve, gauze or net, to kep out 

 flies and gnats. In due process of time it will be 

 vinegar, when it must be put into a suitable ves- 



sel and stopped close. To convert cider into vin- 

 egar — if made from sweet apples, it is only neces- 

 sary to set the barrel in a warm place and knock 

 out the bung ; if from sour, stir in a little molass- 

 es, and when sour enough bung up tight. Vine- 

 gar barrels should be well painted, as they are li- 

 able to be eaten by worms. 



It will be proper to state that it is the action of 

 the atmosphere, which in time converts the sweet- 

 ened water into vinegar, hence the greater the sur- 

 face of water exposed to its influence the sooner 

 it will sour. There is a thick scum rises on the 

 top of the vinegar v/hen making, which is the 

 'mother,' and should not be thrown away." 



A "WOODLAND SONG. 



From north and south, and east and west, 



A sound of joy is coming ; 

 The patridge, in his russet vest, 



Down in tlie glen is drumming ; 

 The squirrel and the cedar bird, 



And the woodpecker, all are merry, 

 And I, too, sing, as I flirt my wing, 



Chick-a-dee-dee-down-derry I 



Because, no more, for walls of wood, 



The nations now will ravage, 

 With ringing axe, the solitude. 



So dear to bird and savage ; 

 Since iron, only, on the sea, 



Henceforth, the day will carry ; 

 Then sing, old passenger, with me, 



Chick-a dee-dee-down-derry ! 



Live on, live oak, on ridge and glade, 



Unfearful of disaster ; 

 Pine tree, that erst a mast had made, 



Of you I now am master ; 

 Bend, beech, unto the linden tree , 



Young ash, embrace the cherry. 

 And sing, old beeswax, sing with me, 



Chick-a-dee-dee-down-derrj' ! 



Vanity Fair. 



LIME IN AGRICULTUKE. 

 In a paper lately read by Boussingault, before 

 the Paris Academy of Sciences, he stated that 

 lime introduced in an arable soil, very quickly sets 

 at liberty a certain quantity of azote in the state 

 of ammonia : the azote elements were before imlt- 

 ed iu Insoluble combinations, not assimilable by 

 plants — the action of the lime sets them free, and 

 permits a part of the capital buried in the soil to 

 be utilized for the next crop. Boussingault thinks 

 that certain mineral matters, such as potash and 

 silica, may be liberated in the soil by the lime ; 

 that other substances injurious to plants are de- 

 stroyed or modified by the same agent, and that 

 to these effects is added besides, a physical action, 

 changing the constitution of the land. The action 

 of the lime is thus excessively complex, and its 

 good effects can only be explained by studying at- 

 tentively the special circumstances under which 

 they are produced. The grand fact proved by the 

 present researches of Boussingault is, that there 

 exists in mold, as well in the form of organic mat- 

 ters as in that of mineral matters, a host of sub- 

 stances completely inert for vegetation, until the 

 moment when some proper agent renders them as- 

 similable by ])lants. The continuance of experi- 

 ments can alone clear up these complex facts, and 

 point out to our agriculturists the most efi'ective 

 processes. 



