28 



XEW ENGLAXI) FARMER. 



Jan. 



For the Nfiv England Farmer. 

 FLAX — BARLEY — WHEAT. 



Mr. Editor : — I noticed in your last Farmer an 

 article on the subject of Flax. In 1860 my atten- 

 tion was called to this subject, in reading your 

 paper, and in the spring of that year I sent to one 

 of the seed stores in Boston and procured one- 

 half bushel of the finest looking seeds desirable, 

 at the cost of about three dollars, with all expens- 

 es. Trusting to the good looks of the seed, I pro- 

 ceeded to sow it, which I did on the 4th day of 

 May. Whether it was in the quality of the seed, 

 or owing to the coldness of the weather, as the 

 ground was frozen a very little after that time, 

 not one particle of it ever came up. Should 1 

 ever "try again," I would not sow until the 20th 

 of May. I might have had two or three quarts 

 of seed of a neighbor, which I knew was good, 

 but as I was in for it, I would try a big gun at se- 

 cession, and so only had a flash in the pan. 

 The ground on which I sowed my flax was a red, 

 clay loam ; afterward, on the 14th day of June, 

 finding the seed had failed, I sowed the same land 

 with oats for fodder, which did well. 



There seems to be no question but that flax 

 may be grown on light or gravelly land with the 

 use of plastei'. That plaster is good for potatoes 

 and clover on such land we know. You do not 

 tell us whether the flax must be pulled to get two 

 tons of straw per acre, or whether it may be 

 mown, or may be threshed in our common thresh- 

 ing machines, and the straw baled up like barley 

 straw or hay, and then, where we may readily 

 sell it. 



The prospect of a scarcity of field help another 

 season may induce many to plant less and sow 

 more. Barley is now the crop here ; more than 

 two thousand bushels are raised within two miles, 

 while not one-quarter of that is grown of other 

 sown crops. Barley sold in Sept. for sixty-seven 

 cents, delivered at R. R. stations, (three miles or 

 so.) I raised this year twenty bushels of wheat, 

 on land which was last year in corn. Used lime 

 and plaster on the wheat, put the plaster on the 

 dryest part, and lime on the low places. Wheat 

 did best on the low part, which was tile drained 

 last year. J. W. Brown. 



Kensington, N. H., Nov. 17, 1862. 



Remarks. — We gave all the information we 

 had on the subject of flax. Will Mr. Allen, 

 or some other person having the facts inquired 

 for above, communicate them to the Farmer ? 



American Pomological Society. — Those 

 persons who attended the annual meeting of this 

 society in September last, will be glad to learn 

 that its Transactions for the year are to be pub- 

 lished, and that they will contain new catalogues 

 qffruitsjiogethev with a list of the various States 

 and districts to which they are best adapted. The 

 society, however, is dependent upon the receipts 

 from members for the funds to publish its Trans- 

 actions, and it is important that they should be 

 numerous. 



v^n hive a circular before us which states that 



"all persons who are desirous of obtaining these 

 Transactions, are respectfully solicited to become 

 members of the society, by forwarding to Thom- 

 as P. James, Esq., Treasurer, Philadelphia, or to 

 Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, at Boston, the requi- 

 site fees. Ten dollars constitute a Life, and two 

 dollars a Biennial membership. Life members will 

 be furnished, as far as possible, with the back vol- 

 umes of the society's publications. 



Persons desirous of responding will please do 

 so immediately, that their names may appear in 

 the forthcoming volume." 



The society is doing an excellent work, and we 

 hope many persons will find it a pleasure to Eud it 

 in its laudable eS'orts. 



BATHS AND BATHING. 



A cold bath is 75° and under ; temperate, 75° 

 to 80°; tepid, 85° to 95°; warm, 95° to 100°; hot, 

 100° and over. 



The temperature of the body in health is nine- 

 ty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. For purposes of 

 cleansing the skin, a hot bath is the most efiicient, 

 but it should be indulged in only occasionally, and 

 for a very few minutes at a time, as it rapidly ex- 

 hausts the physical powers. It opens the pores 

 of the skin, and increases the activity of the cir- 

 culation for the moment, but if followed by an in- 

 stantaneous cold shower-bath, an invigorating ef- 

 fect is produced. A hot bath excites, a warm 

 bath soothes and tranquilizes ; it makes the pulse 

 slower, and causes more equable breathing. 



A vapor-bath is of steam, instead of water, and 

 is applied inside as well as out ; its first efiect is 

 a feeling of oppression, but soon perspiration is 

 induced, and delightful sensations ensue. To 

 prevent taking cold, the person should pass from 

 the steam-chamber into a tepid bath for a single 

 moment, then wipe dry briskly, dress and walk. 



No kind of bath ought to be taken within an 

 hour before a regular meal, nor sooner than four 

 hours after ; sudden death has often resulted from 

 inattention to the latter. The best time for bath- 

 ing is immediately after rising in the morning, as 

 then there is greater power of reaction, without 

 which there is no invigoration, no benefit. 



The sponge-bath is the application of water to 

 the surface of the body by means of a sponge. 

 When persons are feeble, one portion of the body 

 should undergo the process at a time, then quick- 

 ly wiped and dried, and covered, before another is 

 exposed. There are few persons indeed who would 

 not be greatly benefited by the following proce- 

 dure every morning, wdnter and summer : Wash 

 the hands first in a small amount of water with 

 soap, for if but little is used, a teacupful, it is 

 warmed by the hands, and thus becomes more 

 cleansing, without the trouble of preparing warm 

 water ; then rinse them well ; afterwards wash the 

 face in a large basin of cold water just drawn or 

 brought into the room, for all cold water becomes 

 filthy in an hour or two, if kept standing in a sit- 

 ting or sleeping apartment. After the face has 

 been washed plentifully, throw the water up to 

 the elbows, then a little higher at every dash with 

 the hand, until the arms, neck, throat, behind the 

 ears, arm-pits and upper portion of the chest have 



