338 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



For the Neir England Farmer. 

 PLOWS AND PLOWrSTG-. 



[Read by J. 'Warrex Brown, before the Concord Farmers'' C!uh.] 



In sj)eaking of plows let us look back for about 

 thirty years, or so, and see what iniprovemenls 

 have been made. Then, we had a huge frame of 

 timber and ])lank framed together, and covered 

 ■with strips of iron, so that the dirt, some of it, 

 might slide off the mold-board. With one of 

 these ploughs, it used to take six oxen to break 

 up a jiiece of land, with two men to drive and one 

 to ride on the plough, which, with the holder, 

 made Jour men and six oxen ! Now two yokes 

 of oxen are considered a heavy team for plough- 

 ing almost any land, and for light land, one pair 

 of oxen, or a pair of horses are considered team 

 enough, thus reducing the expense one-half or 

 more, and at the same time doing tlie work much 

 better. This difference is accounted for in the 

 improved ploughs which are now in use. There 

 are so many different kinds of them, that it is dif- 

 ficult to tell which is best, until we give them a 

 fair trial. 



The first cast iron plough I ever used was a 

 small" seed plough, made by J. Dutclier. This 

 must have been thirty years ago, or more. It 

 was the first cast iron plough M-hich was ever on 

 my father's farm, — and the only one for a num- 

 ber of years. Then came the Hiichcock plough, 

 and it was thought to be a wonderful thing. And, 

 indj&c-d, it was, — for I wrll remember, v.-hen driv- 

 ing the team, and my elder brother holding the 

 plough, that he would let go the handles, and it 

 wouid "go some distance alone, and turn a nice 

 furrow, and I thought it a wonderful sight, indeed. 

 But this was destined soon to be given up. 



The next plough among us was one got up by 

 Mr. ils^'-Hoicanl, but this did not work well, and 

 ^'iiJ_.sogn thrown aside to give place to Mr. Jud 

 NmLF^.s celebrated EayJe ploughs, which, in my 

 estimation, arc the best ploughs which have ever 

 b&eii- invented. They are of easy draft ; they 

 w-ork-well among stones ; being of medium length, 

 they are easily handled among trees ; will turn a 

 yery_ wide furrow, and turn it over fiat and hand- 



,JX]^-fiOgh 20 is the best breaking up plougli I 

 base eypr used for heavy work. Then the Eagle 

 2.13, excellent for a stubble or seed plough, and 

 by-.lw.ving a cutter and wheel attached, makes a 

 good ..breaking up plough for light land. The 

 EiujleB, is just the thing for a light pair of cat- 

 tleur a horse. 



It is of great importance for a man who is go- 

 ing to select a set of ])loughs for a farm, to look 

 around and satisfy himself what arc the best kinds, 

 so-thatrhe may be able to get such as he will be 

 satiiijficd with, and save the expense of having 

 two or three times as many as are necessary on 

 the farm. I have suffered considerably in this 

 way myself, for in looking over my stock of ])loughs 

 I find I have tea in all, when I do not really need 

 ■l>«t fottr. Every farmer should have one side hill 

 ■pilougU- on his farm, for in ploughing a field for 

 seeding down, it can be left much more level with 

 tills, than with the common plough. 



(Jheword about taking care of ploughs after 

 -we get them. It has always seemed to me to be 

 bad po-Hcy to liovse the ploughs in the field, or by 

 the side of the fences or roadside. They should 

 be put under cover, and cleaned as soon as we 



are done using them. I shall say but few words 

 as to the depth of ploughing. I do not agree with 

 some farmers who want their land ploughed twelve 

 or eighteen inches deep. I think eight or nine 

 inches is enough on most land. 



Fur the Neie Ennland Farmer. 

 • HOKTICUIiTUBAIi NOTES— No 2. 



Deferring m_y talk about the best manner of 

 cultivating strawberries until a more convenient 

 season, I will speak of raspberries, the fruit that 

 comes in next after strawl)erries. This fruit can 

 be more easily and cheaply grown than strawiier- 

 ries, and for that reason sells at a lower price. A 

 plantation of raspberries will last many years, as 

 they are, of course, renewed to a certain extent 

 every year, by cutting out the old wood that dies 

 after ripening the fruit. Tliey should be cultivat- 

 ed in hills or stools, and should be set in rows 

 three and a half to four feet apart. I should prefer 

 the latter distance — and about three or tlu-ee and 

 a half feet apart in the row. All the suckers or new 

 shoots outside of the stools should be hoed up un- 

 less they are wanted for new plantatiors. They 

 should be nicely tied up to a stake in the spring, 

 soon after they are lifted. Most, if not all, of the 

 finer kinds of raspberries in cultivation need to be 

 laid down and covered in winter — the better way 

 is to cover with earth. The ground should be 

 well manured either fall or spring. The demand 

 for this fruit in the market is not extensive, as 

 compared with the demand for strawberries. The 

 time is so short between that fruit and blueberries, 

 and other berries M-hich can be bought for a much 

 less price, that sometimes raspberries will hardly 

 pay for picking ; still, every garden sliould have 

 its plat of raspberries, that a succession of fruit 

 may be secured for the table. The variety cunsiil- 

 cred best and grown most for market, is the Fran- 

 conia. It is not so large as some, but it is a firm- 

 er fruit, and bears handling and transportation 

 better. Fair equality. Color red, good bearer. 



The Knevett's Giant is one of the l)est raspber- 

 ries — perhaps the very best one — cultivated in 

 this region. It is quite large, fine fiavored, early, 

 red, fruit tender, and for this reason not grown to 

 any great extent for market. No garden should 

 he without this fine variety. 



The Fastolff' is almost as good as the Knevett's 

 Giant, red, large, and good flavor, but tender in 

 fruit; not fit for market, fine for home use. 



Erinckle's Orange is an elegant looking berry, 

 and of fine quality. It is of a beautiful orange 

 color when fully ripe ; good size, great bearer, 

 should be grown tor home use only, as a yellow 

 raspberry is not a popular fruit for market. This 

 variety and Knevett's Giant are good enough, and 

 one need not look further for raspberries, accord- 

 ing to my experience. 



The Catawissa is more like the wild black ras])- 

 herry in size, color and flavor, though better. It 

 often produces a full crop of ripe fruit quite late 

 in the season. I think it worthy of a further trial. 



The Red Antwerp has mostly gone by in this 

 region. 



There are other varieties that might be spoken 

 of, but I have given the best and will not take 

 time to refer to others. 



With raspberries, come currants, a fruit that can 

 be grown almost as easily as weeds, and that does 

 not sell much better. I don't believe currants can 



