no 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



April 



plied with hospital stores, furnished by the chari- 

 table men and women of Massachusetts. Its agents 

 visit the various hospitals and camps, and procure 

 lists of all the soldiers who need assistance. Gard- 

 ner Tufts, Esq., Treasurer and principal agent of 

 the association, an energetic, devoted, practical 

 man, gives to the work his whole time, seeing per- 

 sonally to the application of the means committed 

 to the society for distribution. 



It seems to me, that the various societies in 

 Massachusetts, especially of ladies, M'ho are labor- 

 ing for the soldiers, are hardly doing for this asso- 

 ciation, so much as it fairly demands. There was 

 not, when I was last in their rooms, a single flan- 

 nel under garment on hand, and daily calls were 

 made for such comforts. I can assure your read- 

 ers, that any money, or articles of clothing, or del- 

 icacy for the sick, is as sure of being judiciously 

 applied to the use of some sufiering Massachusetts 

 soldier, as if the donor went personally and saw 

 to its application. I am impressed with the im- 

 portance of liberally sustaining this association, 

 having seen with my own eyes how, like minister- 

 ing angels, its agents perform their duties. Their 

 attentions are personal to the individual case. 

 They pass through the hospitals, and note down 

 the wants of the Massachusetts soldier. His name 

 is entered on their books, and the needed articles 

 of food, or medicine or clothing are carried and 

 given to him whenever necessary. Correspon- 

 dence is o]3ened with his friends ; he is watched 

 and cared for, till he is well enough to come out of 

 the hospital, and then is sent homeward, or back 

 to his regiment. 



I wish to impress upon the kind hearts of friends 

 at home, the fact that their liberality is not lost, 

 that their efforts are successful, that their contri- 

 butions reach their destination surely, through 

 either of the societies I have named, as perhaps 

 they do through other channels. Sending packa- 

 ges to individual soldiers in the army, who are in 

 health, is probable the worst disposition of our 

 means. More than twenty thousand such packa- 

 ges were not long since, at one time, here, that 

 could not be forwarded. These would have been 

 of almost countless value to these relief associa- 

 tions. Still, New England is rich, and can give 

 always, and, to all worthy objects, and they who 

 think first of their own household, do not forget 

 their neighbor's. 



Truly yours, Henky F. French. 



HO"W TO TAKE CARE OF HARNESS, 



In answer to the inquiry respecting the kind of 

 oil for harness, I give you the results of my ob- 

 servation for more than thirty years, holding my- 

 self responsible for the conclusion I have drawn 

 therefrom. 



It is amusing to read the receipts for prepara- 

 tion, said to be "excellent for leather." Many 

 appliances are resorted to, in order to give a gloss 

 to leather ; that which is composed of shellac 

 forms a crust on the surface, which tends to crack 

 the grain, and is therefore injurious. Few take 

 any care of harness ; many take improper care. 



Whenever leather is wet, it loses a portion of 

 its oil, and if suffered to remain wet long,, it will 

 lose all of this substance ; and if this is not re- 

 stored, the leather becomes dry and brittle. The 

 grain will shrink and crack, when the life is gone. 



Leatho' should he Icept dean, for dirt of any 



kind will absorb the oil. The more leather is 

 used and exposed to Avet, perspiration of the 

 horse or other cause, the more frequently it should 

 be oiled ; it needs oiling oftener in summer than 

 in winter ; if not used at all, it should be occa- 

 sionally oiled, to keep it supplied with what is lost 

 by evaporation. The patent leather parts of a 

 harness, such as winkers, saddle, &c., should be 

 rubbed over with some clean, soft oil, and imme- 

 diately M'iped off with a soft, woollen rag or cha- 

 mois leather ; this is all the care those parts need. 

 When not used, harness should be hung up in a 

 dark closet, as cool as possible, but not damp ; it 

 M'ill stand the cold of winter better than the heat 

 of summer. 



To clean and oil a harness, hang it where all 

 parts can be reached easily ; (it would be better to 

 unbuckle every strap ;) wash clean by a sponge 

 or woollen rag with blood warm water and castile 

 soap, using as little water as will do the work ; 

 when two-thirds dry, apply the oil with a woollen 

 rag, pulling each strap through your hand ; be 

 careful that where the buckle holes are, a little 

 more is applied ; also the belly-bands, breechings 

 and the straps that buckle in the bits need an ex- 

 tra allowance ; let it remain in a warm place for 

 a few hours, (not in the hot "sun, or before a hot 

 fire,) until the oil has well entered the leather ; 

 then rub off all that remains on the surface brisk- 

 ly with a dry, woollen rag, and your work is fin- 

 ished. Be careful that you do not apply too much 

 oil, and be equally careful that you apply it often 

 enough. 



The best oil for harness, is one quart neats foot 

 oil, four ounces beef's tallow and three table- 

 spoonfuls lampblack ; add four ounces beeswax, 

 for use in summer weather. 



Ohio Farmer. George F. Marshall. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



PROFITS OF POrLTRY. 



My stock was seventeen hens and one rooster, and 

 the account is for one year. The manure pays for the 

 care. 



Eggs, one year $22,25 



Poultry sold , 10,69 



$32,94 

 Cost of keeping, and raising 38 chickens 16,02 



Profit $16,32 



The hens were kept in a house and yard all the 

 time, but an hour before sunset, each day, when they 

 were let out and allowed to ramble where they pleased. 

 The chickens went out at will. Breed, Bolton Grays. 

 I think they are the best to lay. They are of moder- 

 ate size. My house is 10 by 12 feet, and yard 25 by 30. 

 In this way I think they do better than to run at 

 large ; at least, it costs less to keep them, and the hens 

 hatch better, because they come from the nest, always 

 find food before them, eat and return to the nest be- 

 fore the eggs are cooled. Isaac HorsxoN. 



Hanover, N. H., Feb., 1863. 



SAP BEER. 



I wish to ask through your paper if you know of a 

 good recipe for making sap beer ? If so, please give 

 it in your paper soon, and oblige your humble ser- 

 vant, Nathan Gushing, Jr. 



Woodstock, Vt., Feb., 1863. 



Remarks.— In the Monthly Farmer for May, 1858, 

 page 247, Mr. Thomas G. Holbrook, of Manchester, 

 Vt., has a recipe as follows : "Take one pound of 

 good hops, put them in a clean barrel and take it to 

 the orchard ; fill the barrel with sap and set it away 



