21G 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



My attention was called to this subject by perus- 

 ing one or tv\'o article!*, in a late number of tUe 

 FaumeI!, in which quite unsatisfactory results arc 

 recorded. Now, is there no remedy for all this? 

 and must we continue to be thus imposed on ? 

 Salisbury, Ct., Feb. 10, 1867. W. J. r. 



Rkmakks. — We very much doubt whether any 

 Board would afford us much protection. Manu- 

 facturers in England arc accused of furnishing a 

 different article for the inspection of Assayists and 

 Boards from that which is offered in the market. 

 "Where there is a will there's a way" in cheating 

 about manures, as well as in otlier things. 



POLY POD BRAKES. 



I have a meadow which bears a good burden, 

 but a great iiortiou of it is a kind of brake, known 

 here as Polyi>od Brakes, which cattle will ncjt eat. 

 I wish to inquire, through the Faismek, how I can 

 kill them, and get the meadow into good meadow 

 grass ? I have flowed the meailow lor several win- 

 ters, and find I bat it improves it some, but docs 

 not kill'the brakes. A Young Faumeu. 



RivMAUKs. — Thorough drainage would undoubt- 

 edly cause the brakes to disappear. Plowing, man- 

 uring and cultivating, would render the drainage 

 more effectual. 



I.EACHED ASHES. 



AVe are often asked what is the value of leached 

 ashes, compared with that which is uuleacheii. 

 Leached ar-hcs is sujujoscil to retain, after the or- 

 dinary process of leaching, aliout 33 ])cr cent, of 

 the jtotash wliicli it contained l)cfbre it was leaihed. 

 But its whole value does not: consist in this. There 

 is more or less lime and silex in it, cither nucom- 

 l)ined, or in the form of silicate of lime, l)oth of 

 which arc valuable fertilizers, especially for the 

 grasses. Then, a careful examination discovers a 

 considcralilc percentage of charcoal, in the form 

 of small particles not completely reduced to ashes. 

 This IS valiia!)le. 



Potash has a strong affinity for nitric acid; a 

 small I'crccutagc of this exists in the atmosphere. 

 It is sap;(OM.'d to be formed l)y the action of elec- 

 triciry iii>on the atoms of nitrogen in the atmos- 

 phere, causing them to unite with the oxygen, the 

 Other constituent of atmospheric air, or with the 

 oxygen of water which is ever present in the form 

 of watery vai)or in the air, and form nitric acid. 

 This is i)roiiglit down by rain, and esi>eciaily \>y 

 snow, and unites with the pora>li contained in the 

 ashes, fonniug nitrate of potash, or saltpetre. A 

 portion of this is always fouiul in leached ashes 

 that has been exposed to the action of the air, and 

 adds niurh to its value. 



A similar atiinity exists between lime and nitric 

 acid, llcncc the plastering on old walls becomes 

 imijrcgu.iU'd with nirrate of limc^ so that when 

 ground it is a valualile fertilizer. It is said that in 

 China a man will ])ut a new idasteriug on an old 

 wall, and consider himself jiaid by having the old 

 for niiunrc. We think that the charcoal, lime and 

 !iitratc iif |iotash added to the 133 ))cr cent, of re- 

 tained |iofa>h, render leached ashes wortli about 

 half as much as mdeached, and that it will always 

 liay to purchase it, at about half the price of uu- 

 Icached allies. it. 



Concord, Mass., March, 1867. 



WUEAT-GUOWINO IN VERMONT. 



In reply to inquiries by Caleb E. Parmcntcr, of 

 Attleboro', Mass., I would say that wheat-growing 

 in Vermont is gelling to be good Ijusiness. Farm- 



ers are waking up to the importance of raising 

 their own breadstuff's. When they call to mind 

 the ])rice of flour they begin to exert themselves 

 to raise wheat. Whether winter or spring wheat 

 is sown, depends on the soil and location. Winter 

 wheat does best on dry soil, so located that the 

 snow will not drift so as to lay on it late in the 

 spring, causing it to winter or spring-kill. The 

 land should be in a condition to produce corn. The 

 best kind of winter wheat is the White Flint, as it 

 makes the best flour ami yields well. The best 

 kind of spring wheat raised' in this vicinity is the 

 Canada Club, which grows in all locutions — in the 

 valleys and on the hills. A few years ago farmers 

 thought the}' could not raise wheat on the Connec- 

 ticut Hi vcr; and in fact they could not, until they 

 ol>taincd the Club wheat. This variety can be ol»- 

 tained almost any where in Vermont. I: will be 

 useless forme to give directions in regard to raising 

 winter wheat, although I will say it should be 

 sowed in August, so that it can get a good growth 

 before winter sets in. Wili.ia.m Allen. 



North Hartland, I't., March 11, 1867. 



A BARN CELLAR. 



I am planning to put a cellar under my bam. I 

 want a recc|)taclc for the manure under the stable, 

 and the same size, 12 by 30 feet, that .<hall be tight, 

 so as to hold the liquid as well as solid droppings. 

 Can it be done, and in what wav ? D. L. T. 



Marlboro', N. H., Feb. 27, 1867. 



Remarks. — Yes, sir, in several ways. You can 

 cement it, as is frequently done for both barn and 

 house cellars. 



You can pave it with flat or small stones, laying 

 them in clay, instead of sand. 



Or, you can pave it with clay alone, so that it will 

 not leak or be cut up readily by cart wheels, when 

 backing iVi. 



First, make the bottom smooth. Spread the clay 

 on one side, one inch deep; then pound it down 

 with a stake sufficiently long and large to work 

 easily with. The bottom of the stake should not 

 be more than two inches square. When this is 

 rammed so as to appear almost like stone, add 

 another inch, and so go on until you get the bot- 

 tom covered with clay to the depth of three or four 

 inches. If the clay is too dry to set and stick when 

 struck, sprinkle spari/ie/li/ with a fine waterix)t. If 

 you do it well, in this way, you will have a cellar 

 bottom as tight as a bottle, and one easy to shovel 

 on. It would not answer, however, to keep a lot 

 of hungry hogs on. We made one nearly twenty 

 years ago, which is in good order now. 



WHEAT CULTURE. 



I would say in reply to the inquiries of Mr. Par- 

 mcntcr, in the Fai!Mer of Marcii 9th, who wishes 

 t(j learn more in regard to wheat raising in Ver- 

 mont, that in this immediate vicinity we raise 

 s|iriug wheat, almost exclusively ; and the variety 

 that has been nu)st popular for a few years, is a 

 kind of "black sea wheat," recently imjKtrtcd by 

 an officer in the Crimean war. It is bearded, and 

 has a very heavy growth of straw. The millers 

 say the skin of the berry is very tough, so that it 

 is almost impossible to grind any of it into tJie Hour, 

 and hence the (lour is very pure and of a superior 

 (piality. We think it has proved more "sure" of 

 producing a good crop than any otiier variety. 

 It is hard to thresh, and seldom gets threshed so 

 clean that the stock fail to find kernels enough, 



