1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



115 



thought of for supplying my stock with a little 

 salt at every meal, as human beings prefer to 

 have it. About ten or more years ago, and after 

 having for a year or two employed frequent brin- 

 ings of hay as I fed it out, as the substitute for 

 applying salt to the hay as it was put into the 

 mow, I met with a statement to the effect that 

 Judge CoLBUTtN had trbd the plan of salting his 

 stock in winter by salting their hay and that he 

 had given it up, and adopted the plan of having 

 salt always accessible to all his animals, so they 

 could get it as often and in such quantity as in- 

 stinct — the almost always unerring guide — should 

 direct them. In the circumstances I should have 

 adopted this method, upon trial at least, whether 

 the proposer of it, or the farmer practicing it, 

 were a judge or a clod-hopper. But knowing 

 that Judge C. was well known in New England 

 as a man of superior intelligence, I named him as 

 the briefest and most effectual way, then at my 

 command, to recommend that mode of managing. 

 Whether the writer of the article on "Salting 

 Hay" in the issue of December 12th, in his little 

 spiteful fling at my reference to Judge Colburn, 

 has done himself any honor and whether such 

 personalities should be admitted into a paper of 

 this kind, I leave its readers to determine. 



Moke Anon. 



those that feed their animals about as much as 

 they will eat. It is generally conceded that many 

 horses, as a penalty for their owners continually 

 stuffing them on hay, have become heavy and 

 wind-broken. 



When corn meal is used I think it very essen- 

 tial to wet it, especially when used in warm weath- 

 er and in considerable quantities, as there is a 

 good deal of heat in it, more particularly when 

 made of northern corn. 



After all, much depends upon circumstances, I 

 believe, about the economy of chopping feed, such, 

 for instance, as the quality of hay and the spare 

 time, &c. ; so one must use his own judgment in 

 the matter. Some stable-keepers contend that a 

 driving horse will wear longer fed upon uncut 

 feed, from the fact that it lays lighter in the stom- 

 ach, and hence the digestive organs become im- 

 paired later. b. f. c. 



Sanbornton, Bridge, N. H., 1864; 



For the New England Parmer. 

 CHOPPING FEED FOB HORSES. 



Mr. EDITOR: — As your correspondent from 

 "Lee, N. H.," suggests, in times like these, when 

 everything edible for the support of the quadru- 

 ped race (to say nothing of the biped) is so very 

 high it is important to know how to feed animals 

 the most economically. It has been said by writ- 

 ers, with some plausibility, that hay cut finer af- 

 fords considerable more nutriment than when fed 

 in its natural state. The philosophy of this they 

 say is, that hay contains a large portion of woody 

 substance, which, if only made soluble is nearly 

 equal to starch, and is very nutritious. They say- 

 further, in support of their theory, that if hay is 

 cut fine, it is better masticated, absorbs more sa- 

 liva, and of course becomes more soluble in the 

 animal's stomach. 



Some writers say to make it still more nutritive 

 and easy of digestion, it should be steamed, or 

 wet with boiling water. But considerable depends, 

 I thii'k, upon the ripeness of the hay to be used; 

 it it is quite ripe, more is gained by chopping ; be- 

 sides horses will eat hay much better. But if hay 

 is early cut, and the juices remain in it, I can't 

 conceive how much virtue is imparted by chop- 

 ping. What is true of hay will, I think, hold good 

 with straw, &c. After all, I am satisfied that one 

 great secret in feeding horses is, that we feed too 

 mudi hay when we feed meal and hay separately. 

 Take a healthy, hearty horse, and he will eat just 

 about all of the time, comparatively speaking, to 

 our own detriment and the horse's also. I know 

 whereof 1 speak, for I used to feed at least one- 

 third more hay (not chopped) to my horse than I 

 now feed, which, I am satisfied was not only a 

 useless expenditure, but an injury to the horse. I 

 would not be understood as saying that all feed 

 more than is necessary — for there are some people 

 so stingy that they will barely feed enough to keep 

 their animals living skeletons— but refer to those, 

 particularly, that grain their horses, and 



Remarks. — We like the common sense views 

 of our correspondent, and hope he will continue 

 to write further upon this or any other subject. 



For the New England Farn^er. 

 WASH FOR FRUIT TREES. 

 Dear Sir : — Much has been said on the sub- 

 ject of wash for fruit trees, but I think long expe- 

 rience is the best test. I have for twenty years 

 used potash. When I purchased my place the 

 trees were all eaten and covered by the bark scale 

 and white scale ; the ends of the limbs and small 

 wood were completely covered. I used potash 

 dissolved in water, one pound to four gallons of 

 water. I put it on with an old broom for the 

 trunk, and a large sponge on a rake-handle for 

 the branches. I found that it not only killed both 

 kinds of scales, but destroyed all of the patches 

 of moss, and made the bark clean. I put the 

 wash on in February or March, and then scrape 

 off the loose bark soon after. I propose washing 

 first, because it kills all the worms or injects in 

 and under the bark, and loosens the bark that 

 ought to come off; if you scrape first, many 

 worms will fall to the ground and escape death. 

 For young trees I use a weaker wash — a quarter 

 of a pound to a pail or a gallon of water. This 

 year I had a quantity of lamp oil that would not 

 burn well, and I put four gallons of oil, ten gal- 

 lons of water and ten pounds of potash together 

 and made a soap of it. When I used it I put. four 

 quarts of it *o a pail of water for my old trees, 

 and four pints to a pail of water for my young 

 trees. It has killed the scales and turned the 

 moss all black, but does not injure the trees. I 

 think it will be an improvement on my old way. 

 The idea that potash injures trees is ridiculous ; 

 I have used it for twenty years without the least 

 injury. It should be put on early, before the 

 trunk, is tender by the running of the sap. As to 

 pruning, the fall is decidedly the best time, when 

 the bark is hard and no sap under the bark to 

 make it peal or bruise when you step on it, or put 

 your ladder on the branches — as is often done in 

 spring or summer pruning. S. A. Shurtleff. 



Remarks. — In the careful and guarded man- 

 ner in which Dr. Shurtleff uses potash, we con- 

 fess that friers ; - ,: **'- - 1 But 



