140 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



remained on the eyeball, but not at all injuring its 

 Bight. I have another horse that scratched his eye 

 a few days since, but I thought I would not tor- 

 ment him with "tobacco," "checkerberry leaves," 

 or "butter," and it is fast getting well ; the film 

 being nearly gone. 



I think it much the best way to throw the drags 

 in the barn-yard, and use nature's own remedy — 

 pure, soft water, hot or cool, as the case may i-e- 

 quire. If "Z. B." had used water instead of but- 

 ter, perhaps his colt and dog would have done as 

 well, or Isetter. A. B. Davis. 



Jaffrey, N. H., Jan. 23, 1867. 



EGG-HATCHING MACHINE. 



Can you or any of the readers of the New Eng- 

 land Farmer inform me where I can buy an 

 Egg-Hatching Machine, and what is the price of 

 them ? Jacob C. Cilley. 



Exeter, N. H., Jan. 28, 1867. 



Remarks. — Some months since we gave a cut of 

 such a machine, more as a matter of curiosity than 

 of practical value. The most economical egg- 

 hatching machine within our knowledge, and the 

 only one that we can conscientiously recommend, 

 is an oId-fa^■hioned egg-making machine, which 

 travels on two legs, is covered with feathers, and 

 may still be found in almost every neighborhood 

 in New England. If we hear of a better one, you 

 shall at once have ths benefit of our discovery. 



PLASTIC SLATE. 



Having seen notices of this new roofing material, 

 I wish to inquire how it is put on, what is the cost 

 per square or foot ? Can it be put upon a leaky 

 felt coal tar and gravel roof, and is it applied to 

 flat as well steep roofs ? A Subscriber. 



Remarks. — The pamphlets of the company give 

 directions in detail ; but we shall venture to advise 

 you to employ a workman, as you would probably 

 do in ease of plastering the walls of your house. 

 Messrs. Hinkley & Makepeace, agents, 23 State 

 Street, Boston, infonn us that the cost is from six 

 to eight cents per foot, or .$6 to $8 per "square." 

 The old felt should be removed, and two thick- 

 nesses of the new applied. It can be used on flat 

 as well as steep roofs. 



ROTS IN HORSES. 



Those who have seen the noble horse fall a vic- 

 tim to these torments, will g'adly hail any prof- 

 fered remedy which shall hold out a reasonable 

 prospect of relief. A new one, (to me, at least,) 

 comes well recommended througli the Agricultu- 

 ral Department, which, if it proves successful, will 

 be of great public value. 



It was communicated by Brevet Col. J. Hamil- 

 ton to Pi-of. Glover, entomologist of the Depart- 

 ment, Raleigh, N. Carolina, and was published in 

 the Monthly Report for November and December, 

 1866, as follows : 



"I obst'rve in your report for 1864, that you s.ay that 

 no very certain means of ridding the horse's stomach of 

 the bota has yet been published. Since rocciivini; the 

 followinji from Dr. Gee, of Florida, I am glad that 1 

 have bad no opjiortunity of trying it, bnt it has the air 

 of ctTicacy, and 1 certainly .sAaZZ on the first opportunity. 

 You are aware that it is hard sometimes to distinguisli 

 between an attack of the bots and one of the colic; this 

 remedy, however, is equally efficient for either. The 

 reason tbatabot can resist tlie action of agents adminis- 

 tered is his power of drawing liis head into tlie walls of 

 the Btomach by his tentacles. But he cannot resist the 



chloroform. A tablespoonful of chloroform screened by 

 a couple of spoonfuls of any good mucilage will make 

 him let go his hold on the stomach even after having 

 bored nearly through." 



If you turn to the Agricultural Report for 1864, 

 page 5G3, it will be seen that Dr. Harris says that 

 "no sure and safe remedy has yet been found for 

 removing the bots from the stomach." 



Let any one who has an opportunity to try this 

 simple remed.y, do so at once, without fear of its 

 deleterious efiects, and report results ; also, if any 

 of the readers of the New England Farmer have 

 tested it, or seen it tested, let them report. 



Farmington, Me., Jan., 1867. O. W. True. 



A NEW HAMPSHIRE PIG. 



W. H. H. Peabody, of Wilmot, N. H., killed a 

 pig 8Tnonths and 20 "days old, that weighed, when 

 dressed, after hanging one day, 505 pounds. 

 Length of pig 6 feet. Thickness through hips and 

 shoulders 22 inches. Fed on milk and potatoes 

 until Sept. 1. Since then' has eaten 4 bushels of 

 bai'lev and 13 bushels of coni. H. W. Mason. 



Wilmot, N. H., Jan. 1, 1867. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE RESOURCES OP THE FARM FOR 

 FERTILIZERS. 



It Las become very well settled by e.xperi- 

 ence, that commercial manures cannot be 

 profitably relied upon to maintain and increase 

 the fertility of the soil in New England. 



Our soils will not continue to yield remu- 

 nerative crops, unless an annual return is made 

 to them, equivalent to the draft annually made 

 upon them. Commercial manures may be 

 used to complement the use of home-made 

 manures, or as stimulants to hasten the maturi- 

 ty of some crops which it is desirable to get 

 ready for an early market, or to secure from 

 early frosts. Except the preparations of lime, 

 they confer no permanent benefit upon the 

 soil, and contribute nothing to its permanent 

 improvement. The great question then for 

 every farmer is, what resources have I within 

 the limits of my own farm, or in my immediate 

 vicinity ? These resources will differ consider- 

 ably, owing to location or topographical situa- 

 tion. One is a hill farm, another is on lowland, 

 and consists of intervale, or meadows. Anoth- 

 er consists largely of sandy plains, a fourth is 

 upon the sea shove, and a fifth is in the vicinity 

 of some city, or manul'acturing establishment. 

 And again the use to Avhich the farm is put, 

 affects in no small degree its resources for 

 fertilizers. One is a milk flirm, another is 

 used in producing market vegetables, a third 

 is a stock farm, and the force of another is 

 employed in raising corn and potatoes. Let 

 us look somewhat in detail into the resources 

 of these several farms. The fann upon the 

 hill is a good grazing farm. It yields sweet 

 grasses, which spring early, but are not so 

 early affijcted by the frosts as the grasses on 

 the lowlands. Hence, yotmg stock and sheep 

 thrive, and (;attle are cheaply fatteiied in its 

 pastiu-es. Such farms have a source of fer- 

 tility which is often overlooked hy their owners. 



