1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER. 



479 



tained some that weighed ten ounces. In 1861 

 I had some that weighed 1 \ pounds. The yield, 

 last jear, was nearly double that of the Davis 

 Seedlings, planted side by side. These I send 

 you grew in rather a shady place, the ground be- 

 ing manured only in the hill, yet they yield a 

 bushel to sixteen hills. Planted about tlie mid- 

 dle of May. I know not what length of time is 

 required to bring potatoes to maturity which are 

 started from the seed, but infer from my experi- 

 ment that three or four years, at least, is required. 

 J. S. Ellinwoou. 

 Deering, N. H., September, 1862. 



Remarks. — The apples are excellent. The po- 

 tatoes not yet tried. 



SEEDLING GRAPES. 



I have taken the liberty to send you a box of 

 my seedling grapes. The reasons why I send 

 them are these : The vine that produces them is 

 very hardy ; is cultivated in the open air, on the 

 southeast end of my house, and it is a great 

 bearer, and I think a very good grape. 



South Randolph, 1862. N. E. IIoBART. 



Remarks. — Received in good order, and found 

 to be ripe, and quite sweet. 



GRASS SEED FOR WET LAND. 



Can you inform me through the Fanner what 

 is the best kind of grass seed to sow on a wet, 

 marshy piece of land? I have heard fowl meadow 

 seed recommended. Can you tell me where I can 

 buy that kind of seed, how much it sells for, and 

 how much it is advisable to sow on an acre ? 



Ilyanrm, 1862. F. H. 



PtEMARKS. — The fowl meadow is an excellent 

 grass for such land as you describe. It makes ex- 

 cellent fodder, being scarcely inferior to herds- 

 grass, and yields abundantly on land suited to it. 

 It will not flourish on land where the water re- 

 mains late in the spring. We have never sowed 

 the seed, but have been informed that four quarts 

 is sufficient for an acre. There is but little sold, 

 as it cannot be obtained, and commands a high 

 price, as high, we think, as $5 to $6 per bushel. 

 It can sometimes be found at the seed-stores in 

 Boston. 



ABORTION IN COWS. 



As this is the season for feeding cows on green 

 corn, please to re-insert the enclosed slip, which I 

 failed to note in season. I recollect feeding smut 

 with the corn to my cow. about four days before 

 she slunk her calf, having entered upon her sev- 

 enth month ; she, however, has a good ilow of 

 milk, so I think it will be no great loss to me, as 

 I keep but one cow ; but the caution I hope will 

 reach those who will, or might be benefited by it. 



Franklin City, Sept., 1862. A. E. Howard. 



Abortion or "Slinking" in Cows Produced 

 BY Smut on Corn. — The Belgian Annals of Ve- 

 terinary Medicine states that the Ustilago Madis, 

 or parasitic mushroom, which occurs on maize or 

 Indian corn, as ergot does on rye, produces abor- 



tion in cows fed with it. In a stable where cows 

 were given corn M'ith smut on it, eleven abortions 

 occurred in eight days ; when the cause was sus- 

 pected, and the food changed, there were no abor- 

 tions. Stock-keepers should make a note of this. 



POULTRY KEEPING ON A LARGE SCALE. 



Mr. Editor :— I keep from 100 to 200 fowls, 

 mostly of the Black Spanish breed, and keep 

 them confined the year round, but disease is n.ot 

 known among them, and I can assure you that 

 they do full as well as those kept by others who 

 believe that fowls cannot do well unless they are 

 kept scratching. My yard is only 2.3 by 60 feet, 

 filled 12 inches deep with leached ashes and fine 

 sand. , I have a large box containing some 30 

 bushels of burnt shells and bones, which the 

 fowls have free access to, and when the top be- 

 comes too dirty, I take it off' and put it around 

 my grape vines. My gardener raises 600 head 

 of cabbage, annually, which is fed them through 

 the winter, and in summer he gives them lettuce, 

 all they want. I have a contract for 10 l)eef heads 

 weekly, and give them plenty of sour milk, in 

 additions to all of which they have free access to 

 a mixture of corn, oats, wheat and barley, which 

 is kept in a bin holding some 40 bushels, so con- 

 structed as to regulate itself, and not allow the 

 fowls to waste a grain, or to scratch in it. My 

 watering trough is also so constructed as only to 

 admit the heads of the fowls, and is ahvays full of 

 pure, clean M'ater, which is of more importance 

 than anything else in keeping poultry healthy. 



A barrel of lime, a bucket and a brush, are in- 

 dispensable articles in a poultry house, and should 

 be used every rainy day (and oftener during such 

 a drought as we have had lately,) — whitewashing 

 everything but the floor, and using the lime dust 

 on that. But wash the floor first. I have tried 

 all your vermin preventives, and everybody's else, 

 but never succeeded in keeping my fowls free un- 

 til I found a remedy by experimenting. 



The nests are so constructed as to be all taken 

 apart in two minutes ; they are perfectly smooth 

 insidef and out, and once in every two montlis I 

 have them taken dov/n, cleanly washed, and then 

 thoroughly coated with common Mhale oil, and 

 have never yet seen a single louse near them, nor 

 can one be found around my premises. The oil 

 we apply with a common brush, and it can be re- 

 lied upon as being a sure preventive against ver- 

 min on fowls. — IV. II. II., in Country Gentleman. 



Tea Brands and their Meaning. — The fol- 

 lowing will interest housekeepers : Hyson means 

 before the rains, or flourishing spring, that is, ear- 

 ly in the spring ; hence it is often called Young 

 Hyson. Hyson skin is composed of the refuse of 

 other kinds, the native term for which is tea-skins. 

 Ptefuse of still coarser descriptions, containing 

 many stems, is called tea-bones. Bohea is the 

 name of the hills in the region where it is collec- 

 ted. Pekoe or Pecco, means white hairs, the down 

 of tender leaves. Powchong, folded plant. Souch- 

 ong, small plant. Twankay is the name of a small 

 river in the region where it is })ought. Congo is 

 from a term signifying labor, from the care re- 

 quired in its jii'eparation. — Scientijic American. 



