1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



39 



The second experiment was at Guilford, 

 N. H., the next year. From 52 hills (about one 

 rod and a half,) the result was one bushel and 

 one peck of shelled corn. Quite a number of 

 gentlemen in Guilford and Laconia, witnessed 

 the result, and the editor, Mr. Wali-ace, of 

 the Winnipiseogee Gazette, in an article on the 

 fruitful yield, after the a<xricultural premiums 

 of that fall were awarded for the best speci- 

 mens of corn, stated he had a handsome show 

 at his office raised by a gentleman in Guilford. 



I have used a muriate of lime of my own 

 preparing for several years past, with good re- 

 sults. This season I tried an article 1 had 

 seen advertised in the Fakmer and other jour- 

 nals, patented in February last by a gentleman 

 of this city ; it being offered at much less cost 

 than I could prepare it in small quantities. 

 With this I planted sweet corn from the De- 

 partment at Washington. I used this new com- 

 pound, composted with loam about one to six. 

 Planted as in previous }'ears ; the result shows 

 a decided improvement in the Muriate of Lime 

 referred to, containing as it does some proper- 

 ties which proved obnoxious to worms and 

 garden insects. From 40 hills 1 had 360 ears 

 of corn, every ear filled out to the tip, and 

 much of it was tasseled on the end and corn 

 matured in the tassels. I used it throughout 

 my garden, and my potatoes are perfectly 

 sound and untouched by worms. I send you 

 a few specimens of corn, as vouchers for my 

 experiment. Verity. 



Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 12, 1866. 



Rerl^rks. — With the above article we re- 

 ceived several handsome ears of sweet com. 

 They are of fair size, appear to be well ma- 

 tured, and are not only filled to the tip, but a 

 strong tendency is manifested to pile up the 

 kernels one on another, foi-ming a little ball or 

 cap on the extremity of the cob. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 TEA. 



Ailer reading an article on "How to use Tea 

 and Coffee" in the issue of the Farmer of Nov. 

 3d, Avhich speaks of the "nutriment"' in tea, 

 and the care necessary to obtain it, I wish to 

 offer a few thoughts. 



Being a Yankee, I would like to know the 

 value, in greenbacks, of the nutriment in a 

 pound of the best kind of tea ? or, in other 

 Avords, if the nutriment in a jwund of wheat 

 flour is worth, say 8 cts., what is the nutriment 

 in a pound of dried tea leaves worth ? 



It is very common to judge of the nutriment 

 in food by the ease of digesting it ; but it 

 woidd be just as correct to judge by the heat 

 that it takes to cook it. It is still worse to 

 judge by the degree it stimulates us. I douljt 

 the power of stimulants to create vital power 

 under any circumstances — they only call it out, 



as the whip does the greater speed of the horse. 



It is a good rule to judge of the injury that a 

 stimulant is doing us by the bad effects we ex- 

 perience when we omit it. I do not suppose that 

 a robust person v/ho had drank moderately of 

 tea, would feel any very unpleasant sensations 

 from omitting his "cup of tea, but a person of a 

 nervoiis or susceptible temperament who has 

 been in the habit of drinking strong tea, would 

 rather omit his dinner than his tea. 



Of the effect of coffee I have seen less, and 

 so will not speak of it. 



Again the writer says, "unlike most cerebral 

 excitants, tea acts beneficially rather than oth- 

 ei-wise, — preventing waste of the whole liody 

 and especially of the nenous system." This 

 is assertion without proof, but I think a little 

 proof is essential before we admit it is ''unlike 

 most cerebral excitants." Are you sure it 

 "prevents the waste of the nervous system?" 

 and if it does, are you sure it is an improve- 

 ment on nature ? From a limited knowledge 

 of physiology I had gathered the idea that waste 

 was the natural result of action ; but here we 

 are taught that tea excites to greater action, 

 and the result is a diminished amount of waste. 

 _ I clo not object to any infoimation that will 

 aid in the preparation of tea ; but I do pi-otest 

 against lauding a useless and sometimes injuri- 

 ous drink as a nutritious and beneficial excitant. 



Concord, Vf., Nov. 10, 1866. ii. 



TAKE CARE OP THE TEGS. 



November is a trying month for tegs. Its 

 stornis and rapid alternations of temperature 

 do not favorably affect the strongest of them, 

 if exposed to their effects, and they fall with 

 destructive severity on those which lack strength 

 and condition, especially if dropped late in the 

 season. The annual destruction of tegs by a 

 wasting winter decline is enormous. A large 

 portion of this is due to exposure and want of 

 proper feed in the fall. They should be housed 

 from all cold or prolonged storms, and in 

 damp, chilly nights. 



The great secret of rearing tegs is to keep 

 them growing from the time they are weaned 

 until they are sheared. Pampering — high grain 

 feed in the fall and winter — is apt to lead to 

 destructive effects. But after the grass has 

 been withered and deprived of its nutritious- 

 ness by frost, a small allowance of grain, 

 pumpkins, &c., is highly beneficial to them. 

 One of the best feeds in the world for tegs is 

 wheat bran. In the Eastern States oats are 

 considered a better feed for them than coi-n ; 

 in the West, corn is the favorite feed for sheep 

 of every description. We think the teg as 

 much as the breeding ewe is better for having 

 some winter "range," and it is vmnecessarv to 

 say that it requires good winter shelter. 



The quality and kind of its hay feed is also 

 a matter of the first importance. Hay of any 

 kind blanched by rains while curing is unfit for 

 it. It cannot be made to winter well on coarse 



