1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



145 



From the Hound Table, 

 SNOW BIRDS. 



BY W. L. SHOEMAKER. 



The tanager and oriole 



Are birda of fineet feather, 

 And their sweet songs delight the Bonl 



In sunshine summer weatlier; 

 But tliey have flown away with hosts 



Of other swift or slow birds, 

 And hither now from polar coasts 



Fly flocks of merry snow-birds. 



II. 



The blackbird and the bobolink, 



The pi'wee and the swallow, 

 From Winter's withering breath, too, shrink, 



And Summer's footsteps follow. 

 In the crisp meads, and bleak, bare trees, 



I And but few or no birds, 

 Save those that love the chilly bresze, 



The lightsome little snow-birds. 



III. 

 The brooding wren, her wooden house 



Has long ago left lonely; 

 In many a home on wild-wood boughs 



There nestle dry leaves only; 

 But Winter, who drives birds away, 



Would on us fain bestow birds. 

 To soothe the rigor of his sway. 



So sends the twittering snow-birds. 



IV. 



The robin's with us yet, I know, 



The chickadee and blue bird. 

 And so, too, is the sable crow. 



Through every change a true bird; 

 But winter is no friend of theirs, 



No good these rude airs blow birds, 

 They seem to think ; and not one shares 



The joyauce of the snow-birds. 



V. 

 When all the air is dark and drear. 



And clouds o'er Heaven are flying, 

 And wailing winds we shivering hear, 



The tempest prophesyhig; 

 Like jolly sprites, in garments grey, 



Lo 1 sudden come and go birds; 

 We look around, and sigh, and say, 



" 'Twill snow, for there are snow-birds I' 



VI. 

 'Tis true, they oft are harbingers 



Of rough and stormy weather; 

 But joy, not grief my spirit stirs, 



To see them sport "togi^ther. 

 Methinks they're for our solace sent. 



And counsel, too, although birds, 

 For who on dark days teach content 



So well as do the snow-birds ? 



VII. 

 The snow, by many signs foretold, 



Now fast, at last, is falling; 

 The lone, lost winds, grown bitter cold. 



With muffled voice are calling. 

 O I how will now those revellers fare? 



No ruth the frost-imps show birds, 

 Vain fear I they for no shelter care. 



The tiny stoic snow-birds. 



vin. 



For they were cradled in the storm; 



Their males were icy breezes; 

 Their good grey coats will keep them warm, 



Whatever round them freezes. 

 Ah 1 let us pray that One above. 



As we are not below birds. 

 Will guard us with His heavenly love, 



Ev'n as He guards the snow-birds I 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CULTURE OF POTATOES. 

 Read bv Mr. James P. Brown, before the Concord Farm- 

 ers' Club, Nov. 22, 1SG6, in reply to the question, 

 What kinds of potatoes shall we raise for family use, 

 or for market ? 



1 suppose that one farmer would name one 

 kind, and another some other. For fall or early 

 winter, the Jackson Whites are best; for late 

 or spring use, I prefer the Garnet or Davis' 

 Seedling. For market, the Jacksons are de- 

 cidedly the best, as they sell better than most 

 other kinds. Besides this, I can raise about 

 one-quarter more Jacksons' on the same 

 ground, than of any other sort. The differ- 

 ence in cultivation, I should think, is in favor 

 of the Jacksons, as they can be planted a little 

 nearer together than other kinds. 



To raise a good crop, there are three or 

 four things to be considered. First, we must 

 have good land and a plenty of barnyard ma- 

 nure, with good seed and good cultivation. I 

 prefer to take land that brought rye the pre- 

 ceding season, plough in the stubble in the 

 fall, at least eight inches deep ; then in early 

 spring cart on twenty-live ox-loads to the acre 

 of coarse manure from under the barn, spread 

 as even as possible, and plough in about (v^ 

 or six inches deep, with a small plough. Har- 

 row it down smooth, then furrow with a small 

 horse plough about three feet each way. For 

 seed, 1 prefer to go to Boston and buy the 

 best seed I can find of the late Jackson sort, 

 cut theni fine — not having more than two eyes 

 to the piece — and put two pieces in the hill ; 

 api^ly a little plaster, cover them lightly with a 

 hoe, and as soon as they begin to break ground 

 run the cultivator through both ways, and it 

 will not be much work to hoe them. In about 

 ten days go through the same opei-ation again. 

 If the land is pretty clear from Aveeds, three 

 times hoeing will answer ; if not, go over it 

 the fourth time. I planted about two and one- 

 half acres in this way, and raised 550 bushels 

 of good, sound potatoes this last season, which 

 I think was a very good crop. If I desired to 

 plant grass land, I should plough in the fall, 

 and proceed as before stated. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 "WOOL TARIFF. 

 Of what avail is it, fellow farmers, that we 

 embrace by actual count three-fourths of the 

 voters, and more than that proportion of the 

 taxable property of the country, if we are dis- 

 regarded in the Senate, and degraded in our 

 own markets to competition with the outlaws 

 of Britain in the Old World, and the half sav- 

 age tribes of the New ? What is the policy — 

 what the justness of such a state of things .'' 

 What did England do for us, in our life strug- 

 gle, that the product of her convict labur in 

 Australia should take the place of that of our 

 tried and true ci'izens in their own market? 

 We surely wish all the South American States 



