1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



571 



slightly mouldy, but that may be fairly accounted 

 for in the fact that such fodder is a little moist, 

 and is, therefore, preferred by them to that which 

 is dry, hard and tough. When stalks are so pre- 

 served as to retain a lively green color, and to 

 throw off their natural fragrance when moistened, 

 and when liusks and butts retain the color they 

 had when the corn was harvested, then they are 

 in the best condition for fodder — are wholesome 

 nutritious and palatable, and make an acre of corn 

 fodder as valuable as our average acres of English 

 grass. 



The next step is to prepare them properhi to be 

 laid before the cattle. It is thought by many to 

 be a wasteful practice to throw corn fodder to the 

 cattle, and allow them to take off the husks or 

 leaves, and reject the juicy stems. Beside this, the 

 long stems then go into the manure, where they 

 make it exceedingly difficult to be overhauled or 

 bandied in any way, and are usually in the spring 

 a vexatious hindrance when labor is exceedingly 

 valuable. 



An easier and more economical process is, to 

 run them through the hay-cutter, perhaps mingled 

 with hay, and then moisten them and sprinkle on 

 a little salt, and meal of any kind, or with roots 

 chopped fine. In this way, nearly every portion of 

 the fodder will be eaten by the stock with avidity, 

 and they will yield a flow of milk, or lay on flesh 

 as rapidly as upon the best upland hay. Indeed, 

 we have known a stable of livery horses kept well 

 upon corn fodder, with the same amount of grain 

 that was fed to them when using English hay. 



The labor of cutting the fodder will be found 

 light, where a good machine is used for the pur- 

 pose — but it should not be one of small size. 

 With proper care it will last a life-time, with 

 slight repairs, and a true economy will be found 

 resulting from the process. 



DRYING PUMPKIN'S. 



We love pumpkin ])ies, especially when there is 

 not an abundance of tree fruit. We have tried 

 all modes of drying, but no plan is equal, we 

 think, to this : Take the ripe pumpkin, pare, cut 

 into small pieces, stew soft, mash and strain 

 through a cullender, as if for making pies. Spread 

 this pulp on plates in layers not quite an inch 

 thick ; dry it down in the stove oven, kept at so 

 low a temperature as not to scorch it. In about 

 a day it will become dry and crisp. The sheets 

 thus made can be stowed away in a dry place, and 

 they are always ready for use for pies or sauce. 

 Soak the pieces over night in a little milk, and 

 they will return to a nice pulp, as delicious as the 

 fresh pumpkin — we think more so. The quick 

 dryina; after cooking prevents any portion from 

 slightly souring as is always the case when the 

 uncooked pieces are dried ; the flavor is much 

 better preserved, and the after cooking is saved. 

 This plan is quite as little trouble as the old mode, 



to say nothing of the superiority in the quality 

 of the material obtained. Try it, and you will 

 not return to the old method, we are sure, and 

 you will also become a great lover of pumjjkin 

 pie, "all the year round." — Oermantown Tele- 

 graph. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 LITTLE THINGS: 



Or a Walk in My Garden. 



While preparing my grape vines for winter, I 

 was led to a train of thought arising from the 

 articles in the Farmer on 



AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



Having had something to do with teaching in 

 almost every grade of school for many years past, 

 I feel that the subject is one beset with many diffi- 

 culties. Many of them have already been stated 

 by your correspondents. It is the besetting sin 

 of many teachers to have a hobby in the school- 

 room. Now it is of the utmost importance that 

 the teacher carry into the school-room a well bal- 

 anced mind, in order to give a due proportion of 

 his time to the different branches of instruction, 

 according to their importance. 



But few persons are aware how little individual 

 attention the teacher can render to his scholars, 

 and do justice to all. Now suppose a school of 

 forty scholars be under one teacher. He must 

 have classes in arithmetic, grammar, geography, 

 penmanship, reading and spelling each day, in or- 

 der to accomplish anything. Suppose he has three 

 classes in arithmetic, which is a much smaller 

 number than is usually found in our schools, two 

 in grammar, two in geogra])hy, one in penmanship, 

 three in reading and spelling, making fourteen 

 different exercises in five and a half hours, giving 

 twenty minutes to each class. But then there 

 must be a portion of time alloted to assisting 

 scholars in arithmetic and to other matters in the 

 school, such as its discipline, and perhaps some 

 higher branch of study is introduced, so that 

 classes rarely receive so much attention at each 

 lesson. This individual attention must be re- 

 garded, or the scholar will feel neglected, and 

 complaints will be entered against the teacher. 

 Now, what one of the studies would parents be 

 willing, or which should be struck out of the 

 school-room? I have only supposed that scholars 

 read and spell but once in a day, whereas they are 

 usually expected to read and sj^ell at least twice a 

 day, especially the more juvenile members of the 

 school. 



There may be cases in which agriculture mifflit 

 be introduced into the common school, liut I think 

 they are rare. A teacher may often introduce 

 something incidentally into his school that will be 

 of great value to his pupils. I have often done so. 

 This very term I liave given a course of nearly 

 forty lectures to a class of boys on mineralogy and 

 geology. Each boy has his note book, and takes 

 down the most important part of the lecture, ex- 

 amines the specimens and collects a cabinet of his 

 own, which he carries home with him in vacation, 

 and which he prizes higlily. These lectures are 

 not more than fifteen minutes long, and are given 

 out of the regular school hours, but they are such 

 as unfold to them a vast amount of useful informa- 

 tion. They become familiar with the composition 



