68 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feu. 



with some tendency to crimping down on his for- 

 ward ankles. There are big i)iill's, like hog spav- 

 ins, on the gamhrel joints, mikI at (liUcrent times 

 seems to limj) with eaeh ot his legs, lie eats and 

 driidis well, and lies down, hut gets u|) w irli (iilli- 

 eiilty. lie has grown two inelies in ahciiit four 

 weeks, and has been getting more ont ot lix eaeh 

 week. There being no farrier in the vicinity, I 

 have done nothing fur him, except rnl) his legs a 

 few times willi liniment. 



Alllioiigh a very valuable animal, if all right, I 

 eonsitler his ease so hopeless that I have warned 

 him of his early death, unless he gets better very 

 soon. 



Can the Editor, or any of the readers of the 

 FAiJMi;n, tell me of anything that will be of any 

 ])racti(:il benefit to him ? I have strong faith that 

 i)r. Daild, or any skilful farrier, could bring him 

 out of it, but I have not the linuls nor time to go 

 with him to the city for medical treatment. 



"taking hack." 

 The dam of tjie above colt is coal black, low 

 built, and weighs al)out 1050 pounds. Four 

 years ago she was put to "Pegasus," a very 

 dark brown horse, eighteen hands liigh, and 

 weighing 1600 i)<)unds. Her two succeed- 

 ing colts resembled herself, but this one is pre- 

 cisely the color of "Pegasus," and promises to 

 equal him in height and size, if he can be cured, 

 ii'fore I decide to butcher him ! I think he is an 

 illustrution of Prof. Agassiz's theory of ^'■Prior 

 imprcy nation affecting subsequent progeny ." 



Lectum. 



how to feen the iioo and when to kii,l him. 



Please tell "Y<mng Farmer" that the best way 

 to feed his hf>gs is on ( orn, two or three weeks lie- 

 fore killing, with jilcnty of water for drink. Kill 

 a few days bi'fore the full moon, and .just before 

 high tide, and he need not be afraid to look in the 

 ijot when cooking, for fear it has shrunk all away. 

 Forty Ybaus' Expekience. 



Maine, 1866. 



PHOSPHATES AND OTHEH FEKTILIZERS. 



As the long evenings of winter advance upon us, 

 we who have seen the sunshine of s])ring swell the 

 bud, who have sweated through the haying seascm, 

 and biH'Ti rewarded according to our labor, can tind 

 lime to consider our gains or losses of this year, 

 and muke our calculations for the next. That ma- 

 mire which gave the best crops this year, we shall 

 of course use the next. 



PHOSPHATES. 



I liavc not quite enough barn-yard "and other 

 home-made nuinnrc, so I tried "('oe's (Supei'phos- 

 phate," on the strength of the high recommenda- 

 tion which several well-known gentlemen, I be- 

 lieve of every State in New l'',ngland, have given 

 it. My experience^is, as follows: On one lit'ld of 

 corn containing Sixty rods, and which received a 

 lieavy<lrcssingof barn-yard manure when ])longlied, 

 I used for ouc-tliird of the rows in ])lantiiig, "Coe's 

 Su|)i'rphos|)hiUe ;" in one-third, licn-mimure; and 

 in the other |>art, soil from the privy. After har- 

 vesting, I found tliat the lield had yielded sixty 

 baskets — thirty bushels of sound corn. There was 

 the dilfereinc of less than half a. basket b(>tween 

 tlic product of the rows jilanted with night soil 

 and the sui)cr|)hos|ihate, and that was in favor of 

 the former. The rows planted with hen manure 

 did not yield as well as either of tlie others, the 

 cars not being so long or so well tilled. Therefore 

 I sliall, anotiier year, use night soil in the hill in- 

 stead of snjterpiiosiiluite, because it is a,s good, 

 ind a great deal cheaper. This cxi)eriment was 

 on uplands. On a piece of low land, wliich with 



horse manure produced forty bushels of carrots 

 last year, I got this year, after aj)plying the snpei"- 

 phos])liate, thirty -live bushels, with the same care. 



I also used it in the hill with potatoes, and ap- 

 plied it to the hill at hoeing. It did well in each 

 ease, but not as well as barn-yard manure, which I 

 used in rows alongside of tiie rows treated with 

 superphosi)hate. I noticed that the potatoes which 

 I raised with the snperphosi)hate were ripe three 

 weeks before those which were manurc(l with barn- 

 yard manure were fit to dig. This may be a hint 

 to me to use the superphosphate when I plant my 

 early potatoes next year. 1 shall act ujion it at ail 

 events. WixTEii Hill. 



Nashua, N. H., Nov. 24, 1866. 



GUSHING AND BOYNTON'S MERINO 

 FLOCK. 



A recent number of the New Hampshire 

 Farmer contains the following account of this 

 well-known flock, which will be read with in- 

 terest : — 



It always affords great pleasure to an ad- 

 mirer of sheep to inspect a flock improved by 

 good breeding and care, lie who is a real 

 friend to improvement deliglits in the evidence 

 ol' progress seen in the ojx'rations of others, 

 and willingly lends his aid and re])eats the 

 praise due to enterprise. A visit to the estab- 

 lishment of Messrs. Gushing & Boynton, at 

 Woodstock, Vt., is worth a long journey. The 

 Hon. Nathan Cushing was one of the few 

 farmers who had the intelligence to recognize 

 the superior value oi' pure blood nnn-inos before 

 their merits were generally a])in-eciated, and 

 the enterprise to act up to his convictions. 

 About twenty-five years ago he jjurchased 

 twenty ptn-e merino sheep. From that day his 

 progress has been constant. He has taken 

 great pains to gain a perfect physical develop- 

 ment, whii'li he regards as the very corner- 

 stone of success. The fleece of great density, 

 soft to the touch, and protected by an abun- 

 dant secretion of yolk, he thinks of secondary 

 importance, because without the first named 

 (juality it is of no value. The extraordinary 

 sut'cess which has attended his judicious man- 

 agement is a rich reward for f he lal)or of years. 

 This result is obtained by ])io])er crossing, by 

 good feeding, (every laml) receiving ])roper 

 care and atteidion from birth, securing an early, 

 healthful and comi)lete develo])ment of all its 

 functions, and this without pampering,) and 

 by a sensible course of treatnu'ut. allowing 

 ea(,'li ewe to nurse lier own lamb, ami turning 

 oil" the whole flock to rough it in the pastures 

 through the simnner. The great tuiiformity 

 ihrougliout llie flock, now numltering four hun- 

 di-ed, and wh'nh is surpassed in this respect by 

 lu) othiu- floi-k we ever examined, imlicates 

 pure blood ami good breeding. The present 

 weight of lleeces— 10 lbs. — is double the origi- 

 nal weight. All the arrangements for winter 

 nuuiageim-nt are most per/i'ct ami systematic. 

 Very iiigh basement rooms, well lighted and 

 ventilated, with plenty of room, divided by 

 feeding racks into apartments lor twenty-five 



