1863. 



NEW EXGLAXD FARMER. 



229 



as any potatoes I ever saw. We also find a dif- 

 ference of opinion in regard to drjing them. 

 Some think they keep better for drying, or almost 

 haying them. My own belief is, if the vines are 

 not diseased in the least, you may dig and take 

 into the cellar as fast as you please, and the pota- 

 toes wiil be the better for it, if the operation is 

 performed in good, clear weather ; but if the vines 

 are diseased, I know of no way to prevent their 

 rotting more or less, and in that case believe dry- 

 ing and spreading them to be as good a prevent- j 

 ive as any. j 



In regard to other roots, I am not much ac- i 

 quaintcd with them, except the turnip, beet, carrot j 

 and parsnip, all of which are injured by hard frosts, 

 (except the parsnip,) in their eating, and keeping | 

 properties. It is also an injurj- to them to let the ' 

 tops remain on long, after being pulled ; it causes 

 them to wilt. For culinarj- purposes, all these j 

 roots keep better for trimming close, particularly ! 

 cutting off the tap root of the tuniip, and packing , 

 all of them in dry sand. 



I have a few remarks to make on the harvesting 

 of beans, though not mentioned in the subject as- i 

 signed me ; as there is so little attention paid to '■ 

 the gathering of that crop, I trust the Club will i 

 pardon me if I trespass a little on its time. 1 1 

 have raised many bushels of beans for the seed- , 

 dealers, and had "to deliver them free from mildew 

 and all other imperfections, which I found to be [ 

 no small job under the ordinary method of har- i 

 vesting them. Although I had often heard the fe- j 

 male department complain of the great labor in ' 

 preparing our weekly dish of beans, I paid but 

 little attention to this complaint until I had to 

 perforin a like operation myself. At last a reme- 

 dy came, and I now hear no complaint about mil- 

 dewed beans ; they say it is no work at all to pick , 

 over my beans to what it was those purchased the I 

 other day. My method now in harvesting beans • 

 is as follows : as soon as the pods have turned yel- ' 

 low, and before they are sear, I pull and stack | 

 them. The operation is performed by taking eith- i 

 er bircli. spruce, or pine poles, cutting off the limbs • 

 about six inches from the body, making a hole in , 

 the gj'cund with an iron liar, and setting the pole 

 strong and erect. I then begin by taking a small 

 hancfcul of beans and put them on one of the low- i 

 er braiii:'hes of the pole, after which I lay them al- | 

 ternat'*Iy around the ])o!e, always keeping the 

 roots inward, proceeding in this way to the top of 

 the pole. I then tie a string around the roots of 

 the last liandful of beans encircling the pole, and i 

 the wo'-k is done, until they are dry, after which I 

 pull up t!ie pole with the beans on, and carrthem '■ 

 home, or they can stand, almost any length of 

 time, without injury. The reason I assign for pull- i 

 ing beans before the pods are sear, is, that heans 

 never mildew whilst the pods are in a greenish '. 

 state, out become so by lying on the ground after 

 the beans are ripe. Some may object to pulling 

 so early, and say they will shrink too much. In 

 answer to that objection, my theory is, that we ; 

 gain n)'^! e by sowing, in a perfect state, all beans I 

 that are not fully matured, and even if they are 

 not half jjrown, they will cure and be perfectly 

 white and merchantable. 



There is one other point I will mention, which 

 is, in pulling the beans, be sure and get all the 

 dirt off of the roots ; it will save some one more 

 timp ♦*'"" '^*- ♦oV-oo f^ T>o.'' .-■ > the op"^'- '♦■-" ^' 



observing the above rules, we get rid of in-door 

 complaints, and fifty cents more per bushel for the 

 beans we sell. 



J-''}r ti>e Aetr England Parmer, 

 METEOKOLOGICAIi RECORD FOR 

 APRIL, 1863. 



These observations are taken for and under the 

 direction of the Smithsonian Institution. 



The average temperature of April was 4.5° ; av- 

 erage midday temperature 02". The correspond- 

 ing figures for April. 1862, were 40° and 50°. 

 Warmest day, the 28th, averaging 6.'J^ ; coldest 

 day, the first, averaging 26'^. Highest tempera- 

 ture 78° ; lowest do. 16°. 



Average height of mercury in the barometer 

 29.23 inches ; do. for April, 1862, 29.39 inches. 

 Highest daily average 29.67 inches on the 21st; 

 lowest do. 28.65 inches on the 2d. Range of mer- 

 cury from 28.49 inches to 29.71 inches. 



Rain fell on seven days ; snow on two days. 

 Amount of rain and melted snow 1.92 inches: ot 

 snow 2.00 inches. Corresponding figures for April, 

 1862, rains 1.15 inches — no snow. There were 

 two entirely clear days ; on three days the sky was 

 entirely overcast. 



It w ill be noticed that the temperature averaged 

 considerably higher this April than last ; the ba- 

 rometer being considerably lower though the 

 amount of rain was nearlv the same. \. c. 



■WOMAN FARMING. 

 A Statement in relation to a large amount of 

 farm work performed by a family of girls in west- 

 ern Xew York, within a few years past, was not 

 long since pretty generally copied by the agricul- 

 tural press. An article written by a Mr. J. Tal- 

 cott, disapproving of the course of these young 

 ladies, has since been published in the Rural Xeic- 

 I'orkei: In reply to the objections of this gentle- 

 man, one of these young ladies has written an 

 article which fills about three columns of that pa- 

 per. As a defence of "Woman's Right" to share 

 with man the pleasure and profit of out-door la- 

 bor, we have read this production with much in- 

 terest ; and we think our readers generally, what- 

 ever may be their opinion of woman farming, will 

 enjoy the following extracts of an article written 

 by a young lady who having literally put her hand 

 to the plough, is still able to give her reasons for 

 refusing to look back. 



In the first place he [Mr. Talcott] says, that 

 "continued out-door labor, for a woman or girl, 

 tends to lower her position in social life, not only 

 in the eyes of those who see it, but in those who 

 perform." This I ver)- strenuously deny, for I 

 have abundant proof to the contrary. I com- 

 menced to work on the farm when seventeen years 

 of age, and have followed it for three years, and 

 probably shall some longer, and I have never 

 known it to have the slightest eflect upon the 

 minds of any whose friendship was worth the hav- 

 ing. He says that "it degenerates the mind, and 

 deforms rather than strengthens the body." Wo- 

 men may grow deformed doing housework and 

 taking care of children, and men while laboring 

 ;., tVio f>r>iir»-i"r'-room, but there is less excuse for 



