1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



227 



in the spokes of the wheel. Mr. Harrington 

 has performed an excellent work for the farmer 

 and gardener in devising and constructing this 

 beautiful little machine. After a more thorough 

 trial, I will speak of it as a tceeder. 



Caterpillars. — Their name is legion, this 

 year. They ought to be exterminated. When 

 suffered to remain, they not only destroy the crop 

 of fruit for the present year, but also the growth 

 of the tree, and probably injure it for the future. 

 It is no credit to any farmer to have them seen re- 

 maining upon his trees. I have practiced destroy- 

 ing them with a pole and brush, but upon the sug- 

 gestion of Mr. George M. Barrett, a gentleman 

 who has a large amount of orcharding, I have 

 added strong soap suds, and find the work greatly 

 facilitated by the use of it. Wherever it touches 

 them, it kills. If the brush is wet with the suds 

 and thrust into the nest, those that fell to the 

 ground soon die if they were touched with the 

 suds. It is is not too late to take away the ugly 

 nests and full-grown caterpillars, even now. 



Truly yours, Simon Brown. 



Messrs. Nodrse, Eaton & Tolman. 



kaht. 



The world is awake, and gladdened by the re- 

 freshing rain. It began to fall on the 6th, and 

 continued coming gently for several days, wash- 

 ing the foliage and bringing new life and vigor to 

 the dusty and wilting plants. This will greatly 

 help the grass crop, for a slight drought in early 

 June has a sensible effect upon it. 



The winter rye, as well as spring rye and barley 

 now appear well, and promise an abundant crop. 

 In some fields, on dry ground, the corn planted 

 had not started in the least before the rain, but 

 the plentiful moisture, warmed by the hot sun that 

 succeeded soon brought it into activity. 



The blessed rain ! It came with varying winds, 

 almost as gently as the approach of evening, but 

 sometimes in a shower, that made, 



"when God sent down His blessing 



From the cloud, 

 The old roof sing aloud." 



It was not one of those midsummer rains that 

 come attended with thunder and lightning, when 

 black clouds roll in from the West and the winds 

 set all loose blinds and doors in motion. Such a 

 shower our favorite blind poet, HoYT, admirably 

 describes in the following verse — 



"Now descends the brimming fountain ! 

 Window, door and eaves are dripping ; 

 O'er the pasture, up the mountain, 

 Scampering cattle soon outstripping— 

 Onward yet — 

 All the landscape drowning wet !" 



The introduction of the new silk moth into Eu- 

 rope bids fair to be of great importance. It is re- 

 ported that the almost incredible quantity of one 

 hundred millions of trees are now ))lanted in 

 France for the sustenance of the caterpillar. 



AVEHAQE OF CROPS. 

 One of our exact and enterprising farmers, in 

 Middlesex County, has sent us the following table, 

 showing the average amount of crop which he gets 

 from his land, per acre, together with the cost of 

 cultivation, value per bashel, money amount per 

 acre, and balance after deducting cost of cultiva- 

 tion, with some remarks upon them. We wish he 

 had allowed us to present his name with his state- 

 ment. 



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For the New England Farmer, 

 •WTNTER FEEDING OF SHEEP, 



ASD SCMMER PREPARATION FOB IT. 



In a recent communication from "More Anon," 

 on the above-named subject, referring to a commu- 

 nication of mine, in March last, and to the relative 

 value of the different kinds of grain and roots for 

 sheep, the principal thing to which I wish to refer 

 at this time, is the circumstance of his feeding his 

 sheep on com plentifully, and then finding the 

 lambs to come in a weak and bad condition. It 

 occurred to my mind, when reading his statement, 

 that probably he fed the corn without being 

 ground; as I have heard that corn fed whole to 

 sheep would have a bad effect upon the lambs. 



The communication to which he refers makes 

 me to say "110 bushels," when it should have been 

 110 sheep fed to one foddering of oat straw, one 

 of unthrashed oats, one of corn fodder, and two 



