1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



251 



the army and navy, the agent brought Mr. Adams 

 and his curious mill to his aid, and has rescued 

 from the mass about three thousand bushels which 

 are fit for the camp, dining cabin or king's table. 



In the debris which was left were two barrels of 

 broken bean pods, two barrels of a variety of small 

 seeds, chaff and other refuse, sixty-four barrels 

 of small beans, in perfect form but that did not 

 get fully grown, and six busliels of small stones! 



The complete separation of this huge mass was 

 performed in twelve days with his mill and the 

 services of one man and three small boys. 



We wish his "Separator" could be set in motion 

 and sift out every person with secession tenden- 

 cies as thoroughly as he sifts the chaff from the 

 wheat which passes under his care. Would it not 

 be a singular and just judgment upon them to 

 march in gangs "down South" with haltered necks, 



"And coffle's weary chain t n 



May God grant that they repent before this dread- 

 ful doom overtakes them. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CHICCORY AND COFFEE. 



Messrs. Editors : — In these trying times, 

 when the price of coffee has gone up like a balloon, 

 I have been thinking of the expediency of rais- 

 ing chiccory or succory or endive, (Chicorium Inty- 

 bus) which is growing wild along all our road- 

 sides, and is now in bloom and will be all summer, 

 with bright blue showy flowers. 



It goes under the same specific name (Intybus) 

 as the French plant of whose roots a substitute for 

 coffee is made. Can you or any of your readers 

 tell me with certainty that it is exactly the same as 

 the coffee plant, or if it is a variety of that, and not 

 proper to make coffee of. In "Le Bon Jardinier," 

 I find the following : 



"Wild chiccory is very early and productive as a 

 fodder, very good food for cattle, either in a green 

 or dry state, and it resists drought well. It suc- 

 ceeds well either in strong or light soils, if they 

 only have sufficient depth. It is usually sown 

 broadcast in the spring, either by itself or with 

 red clover, or barley or oats. It may be sown in 

 September. When sown by itself, take about 

 twelve pounds, Troy, to the acre. It lasts three 

 or four years. The roots do not freeze, and may 

 stand in the ground during the winter." 



I wish some one who knows (not guesses) will 

 tell me whether or no this plant by our roadsides 

 will do as a substitute for coffee ? 



Remarks. — Chiccory is a pest. It has got into 

 our grounds by some means unknown to us, and 

 defies all our efforts, thus far, to eradicate it. A 

 plot of it has been dug up four or five times in a 

 single season, and the next spring would show it- 

 self in full vigor again. It roots very deeply, 

 bears a sharp drouth and all manner of trampling 

 upon by man and beast. We dislike it, both in 

 field and coffee-pot, and should rather drink the 

 tea steeped from raspberry leaves than any decoc- 

 tion of chiccory. Arthur Young brought the seed 

 from France in 1788, and grew the plant exten- 



sively on his own farm in England. He says : — 

 "The root runs deep into the ground and is white, 

 fleshy, and yields a milky juice. On the conti- 

 nent the dried root is roasted and used instead of 

 coffee. The root contains a strong bitter which 

 may be extracted by infusion." 



"When the roots are used as a substitute fot 

 coffee, they should be first cleaned, then put into 

 an oven after the bread has been taken out, and 

 allowed to remain until cool. Should once bak- 

 ing be not sufficient, the process is to be repeat- 

 ed, after which mix with one-half of coffee." 



We have no doubt that the plant which our 

 correspondent describes is precisely that described 

 by Arthur Young. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 

 Difference between Good and Poor Farming* 



I have seen this strikingly manifested in two farms 

 that have come under my observation. One, the town 

 farm in South Danvers, on which the poor are sup- 

 ported, — the other, the County farm in Topsfield, 

 given to the Essex County Society, by the late Dr. 

 Treadwell, of Salem. 



On the one, thirty tons of prime English hay was 

 cut upon twe?ity acres ! On the other, less than half 

 this amount. Originally, they were of soil equal in 

 quality. One has, for years, been skinned by tenants, 

 — the other has been dressed by liberal applications of 

 manure made on the farm. Other crops in like pro- 

 portions. Facts are stubborn things. p. 



July, 1864. 



A Good Clip. 



I have 102 sheep, 50 of them are M Atwood blood, 

 one year old wethers ; they sheared 832 pounds, on an 

 average. The other 52 are X Atwood blood ewes, two 

 years old last spring; they sheared 9)£ pounds on an 

 average. 



The whole sheared 920 pounds, or a trifle over 9 

 pounds, to average the whole. I did not raise any 

 lambs because I did not think my ewes old enough. 

 My sheep were well washed about two weeks before 

 shearing. I sheared the 30th day of June, 1864. 



I would like to have some one beat this, and I will 

 try again. A. D. Nelson. 



North Haverhill, N. H., 1864. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 ON BUTTER-MAKING. 



Messrs. Editors : — In the Farmer of July 

 2d, I noticed an article on butter-making, which 

 does not exactly coincide with my sentiments, or 

 at least, I differ from "Sarah" in some particulars, 

 namely, she stated that their cow gave eight quarts 

 of milk at night, and that she strained it in two 

 pans. I should use three or four — prefer four if 

 I had plenty of room and plenty of pens, as I 

 think the cream would rise much sooner ; milk 

 ought not to stand more than thirty-six hours in 

 very warm wea: her, before being skimmed, I think. 



She also said she had no nice, cool place to 

 keep milk ; how can she make nice, sweet butter, 

 as she says she does ? I could not. She says 

 she churns once a week. I think it is better to 

 churn oftener, as the cream does not get so sour, 

 and I think the butter is much better. I consider 

 a "nice, cool place" to keep milk and cream indis- 

 pensable in butter-making. I have a nice, cool 

 milk-room, constructed on the principle of ice- 

 houses, a space filled with sawdust, with double 

 doors, double window, and an ice-box inside for 



