1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



307 



for they vary according to locality. Sometimes 

 he is described as a kind of orang-outang, being 

 covered with long, shaggy liair, and living in trees. 

 At others he is said to have cloven feet, and a 

 bright red face. He has a wife and children, and 

 sometimes comes dowu to the rocas to steal the 

 mandioca. — Mr. Bates, an English hunter. 



then when the thermometer marks the heat froia oO-' 

 to 96^. T. W. Sawyer. 



Sudbury, August, 18C3. 



Remarks. — Incur youth we performed an immense 

 amount of labor of this kind. Would not one of the 

 cheap handmills, made for rasping apples, answer? 

 We have one on hand with which we may make the 

 experiment, and will state the result. 



GAS TAB ON SEED-COKN. 

 The use of this material on seed-corn has been 

 advised by some, and very strongly condemned by 

 others. T. P. Meigs, of Waterville, Wisconsin, 

 writes to the Country Gentleman as follows : 



"Having seen several articles in your paper de- 

 preciating the use of "Gas Tar on Seed Corn," I 

 thought 1 would relate my experience. I planted 

 about twelve acres of the ;arred corn and it all 

 came up within a week. Neither birds or squir- 

 rels meddled with mine, while they were very de- 

 structive in neighboring fields. One person had 

 fifteen acres nearly all taken by pigeons, one morn- 

 ing at sunrise. I soaked my seed-corn twenty- 

 four hours in warm water, and then applied the 

 gas tar." 



The Editor of the New Hampshire Journal of 

 Agriculture in an article on "Corn," says : 



We are among those who were induced to try 

 gas tar, and from experiments made, are perl'i'ctly 

 satisfied with the result. 'I'rue, our corn did not 

 come well, but we have no loason to attribute it to 

 the tar. IJry seed planted side by side with that 

 which was tarred, did nut come uj) any better, and 

 has not made so good a growth, and is very inferior 

 in color. The crows jjulled less than half dozen 

 hills of the tarred, but on that part of tlic field 

 that was planted with drv seed, they operated 

 badly. 



AVe have practised as follows : — Put the corn 

 into a tub and turn on scalding water then add a 

 table spoonful of clean, common tar for every peck 

 of corn, stir it thoroughly and after it has stood 10 

 or 12 hours, turn off the water, add a little plas- 

 ter, ashes or loam and stir again and plant. The 

 corn will come quick, birds and squirrels will only 

 try a hill or two, and the early growth of the corn 

 will be rapid and strong. 



Hints about the Dahlias. — The dahlia is 

 our favorite flower, and it must from its many de- 

 sirable qualities always be popular, if at present it 

 is a little out of favor. Some in our vard are 

 now— Aug. 1st— in full perfection of bloom, and 

 are truly magnificent. Any garden soil will grow 

 this flower, but we prefer a compost made of old 

 black_ garden mould, clay and sandy peaty loam. 

 In wintering the dahlia, take up the tubers as 

 soon as the tops are killed by the frost, do not 

 separate them, but pack them away in a box of 

 dry sand or loam placing them in a dry cellar out 

 of the way of frost till wanted for propagatien in 

 the spring. This flower is particularly worthy of 

 culture on account of its cheapness, the ease with 

 which it is grown, and the rich display it makes 

 in the garden when the other flowers are gone. 



Importation of Wool ix 1SG2. — It is stated 

 by the Ohio Calticutur that last year, the free wool 

 from Canada amounted to very nearly two millions 

 of pounds. The fine cloths and woollen yarns, 

 amounted to less than seven million dollars. The 

 entire importation of wool and woolens, cost less 

 than twenty-three millions of dollars, — httle more 

 than half the cost of the importations of 1860, 

 and yet, from its low quality, actually repesenting 

 nearly as much wool, in pounds, as the importa- 

 tion of that year. The importations consumed 

 by civilians is very small compared with peace- 

 times, when that class of citizens purchased large- 

 ly of fine foreign cloths. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



Much lia^i been done by the inventions of mechanical 

 genius, to lighten the labors of iarnicrs, by the use of 

 labor-savins farm implements,, during the past few 

 years, for which all due thanks sliould be given, not 

 onl}' to the inventors thereof, but grateful hearts should 

 rise in thanks to the Great Architect of those Invent- 

 ors, and of us all. While much has been done, can 

 not some one get up the right kind of a cheap and du- 

 rable, al>() co'.iveniciit machine to crush and grind 

 boiled potatoes, pumiikins, apples and turnips for hogs? 

 Any i)er.--on knows that to mash up the nl)Ove named 

 vcget'aliles and roots, so as to have them ultimately 

 fine and mixed with meal, is hard and laborious work, 

 as well as hot, and consunuiig cou^idcrable time when 

 well di^ne. 



Will you please call attention to this in the Farmer 

 in such ;i way as shall seem best to yotir own pood 

 judgment ? Perhaps you can give your own experi- 

 ence in mashing up potatoes, &c , with what is called 

 a maul, especially in such hot days as we have had 

 for a while past ; fur my p.irr, I can start tlie perspi- 

 ration pretty freely in cold weather ; how much more 



Summer Butter. — Butter-making in hot 

 weather requires extra care. The milk-room 

 should, if possible, be kept at a temperature not 

 above GO ^ , by the use of ice or by cold spring wa- 

 ter running through the room. If cellars are used 

 for dairying purposes, keep them clean and sweet 

 by frequent while-washing, and ventilate freely. 

 Allow nothing having strong odor to remain in 

 the vicinity. The barrel for sour milk, whey, etc., 

 to be fed to swine, should never be allowed in the 

 milk-room. In sending butter to market, keep 

 it shaded from the sun ; freshly cut grass, slight- 

 ly moistened, is a good material in which to pack 

 the tubs. Keep all utensils perfectly clean and 

 sweet, with the tinned ware scoured bright. — Ag- 

 ricidiurist. 



Youthful Love. — It is only in early youth, in 

 the first freshness of tiic spring of life, that love 

 can he tasted in its intensest rapture. Youth 

 looks upon everything with fond and credulous 

 eyes, and the air seems one universal rainbow. 

 The emotion will not bear analysis, and what is 

 more, w ill not bear the test of time ; it is but too 

 frequently its own suicide. 



To Preserve Apples from Rotting. — Put 

 them into a dry cellar, of easy access to a large 

 family of children. 



