1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



279 



they can get a good bite of grass. The great error 

 is in .stopping the feed wlien tlie sheep l)egin to 

 leave the Ijarn. They will tlien refuse hay and 

 their niilli will partly dry up; the lambs will get 

 stunted before tlic grass is good, and tliey never 

 fully recover from the effects of this neglect. A 

 few dollars' worth of feed and attention at this 

 point will pay ten-fold, besides the satisfaction of 

 seeing thrifty growing lambs and hearty, healthy 

 sheep. I iuive not lost a sheep by sieliiiess or dis- 

 ease for tlic last live years. ' 



If this Iiasty article will be of any benefit to your 

 readers, I shall feel that I am only rendering a 

 slight equivalent for the valuable information I 

 am receiving weekly from your columns. 



JoxATHAN' Lawrence. 



St. Johnsbicnj, VL, March 20, 1367. 



FAEMING, GOOD ROADS, &C. 



Mr. Editor, yon wish us to write for the Far- 

 mer; Ijnt you will not expect all of lis to l)e Jolm 

 Johnstons, or Solon llobinsons. Yet we can write 

 you somctliing — of course we can — altliough our 

 farms are not like those on the fertile soil of New 

 York, or the more distant West. Certainly a large 

 number of good farmers in this our county of 

 Rockingham, can do this. Most any one of them 

 might write an interesting volume on farming mat- 

 ter. 



Farmers of New England have some drawbacks 

 this year, as they are now selling their produce, 

 such as potatoes, pork, meal, &c., at aljout half of 

 last year's prices ; but if they want flour, corn, 

 woolen goods, and many other tilings, they find 

 no corresponding reduction in prices. And again, 

 high taxes are a thing likely to give the farmer 

 some idea of the value of his country, in dollars 

 and cents. 



Good roads are a great advantage to the fiirmer 

 in marketing his produce, &c. Our village friends 

 might do much to improve the highways leading 

 to their ]jlaces. We have known such roads 

 nearly imi)assablc • sometimes quite so. Every 

 consideration of interest, of duty and justice de- 

 mands that our village friends should move in this 

 matter, and see to it that the roads leading to 

 their places be put in good condition, well drained 

 and smoothly graded. If these soft arguments do 

 not stir them up, we shall be under the necessity 

 of trying what virtue there may be in harder ones. 



Kennington, N. H., 1867. J. w. b, 



ECONOMIZING ANIMAL MATTER. 



Were you to travel among the dairy farms of 

 this county you would occasionally find the car- 

 cases of the calves that have been killed, lying 

 around the barn, there to remain until they become 

 offensive, when they are removed to some out of 

 the way place and left. Now, aroi nd every farm- 

 yard there is a quantity of the leavings of hay, 

 straw, corn stalks, &c. Gather all these up and 

 put in a ])ile, say from one to two feet deep. 

 Here pile these same calf carcasses close to- 

 gether on the top, and when a sufficient number 

 have accumulated, sprinkle well with unslaked 

 lime — say for ten carcasses, one bushel of lime — 

 and then cover lightly with any fine material han- 

 dy, such as leached ashes, loam or muck, and then 

 throw on top more of your coarse material ; if you 

 are to have more carcasses, flatten the top of the 

 pile and put on more, and treat as before. If a 

 sufficient quantity of lime be used, the whole mass 

 will become, before any one not well acquainted 

 with this mode of treatment would be aware of it, 

 a heap of valuable manure, inoffensive to the sen- 

 ses. Where the carcasses are fed to the hogs the 

 head, legs, bade bone, &c., are always left. These 

 can l)e treated in the same way, and instead of be- 

 coming a nuisance, as they do when removed to 



the field as the hogs leave them, prove a source of 

 real profit. 



The time occupied in doing tliis is l)ut little. If 

 the heap Ije allowed lo reniain through the sum- 

 mer, otlicr waste flesh and bones may find tlieir 

 way to the pile. Wlien the time comes to compare 

 results between that which is manured with this, 

 and that which is dressed with guano, pliosphate, 

 or bone dust, I think the experimenter will say 

 that from the pile pays Ijest, in proportion to cost. 



Richmond, Vt., April 9, 1867. Heniue. 



LICE ON CATTLE. 



Will the editor please inform us, through the 

 Farmer, of a way to keep lice off of cattle, or kill 

 them when they have got on them ? f. g. g. 



Sharon, April 6, 1867. 



Remarks. — Use the tobacco wash Mhich is ad- 

 vertised in the Farmer, or the mercurial ointment. 

 Both must be used with care. For some days after 

 they ai-e applied, the cattle should not be exposed 

 to cold or wet. A little ashes rubbed in among 

 the hair, or even dry garden loam, will disturb 

 and lessen the vennin. 



TO DESTROY TICKS ON SHEEP. 



Will you, through the Farmer, give your read- 

 ers the best cure for sheep that are trouljled with 

 ticks ? G. c. 



Orange, April 8, 1867. 



Remarks. — Dip them in the tobacco wash men- 

 tioned in another article in this paper. Or use 

 mercurial ointment. 



AGRICULTURAL ITEMS. 



— In Philadelphia, peach and apricots trees were 

 in full blossom on the 12th of April. 



— The six woolen mills in Oregon last year 

 worked up more than 1,000,000 lbs. of wool. 



— It is probable that the coming wheat crop will 

 be the largest ever grown on this continent. 



—Mr. E. T. Miles, of Fitchburg, Mass., is the 

 owner of a calf one year old that weighs 720 lbs. 



— Three villages in Maine have this spring pur- 

 chased from one nursery firm in that State three 

 thousand dollars worth of trees. ■ 



— If a stable is kept clean, cows will go into it 

 of their own accord. If dirty, they have to be 

 driven in. 



— There has been a cheese factory company 

 formed in Brookfield, Vt., to operate with 250 cows, 

 and another in Williamstown with 400 cows. 



— OfScers of the West Somerset, Me., Agricul- 

 tural Society were elected March 2. S. W. Hap- 

 good, President; A. W. Moon, Secretary and 

 Treasurer, Fair to be held Oct. 16 and 17. 



— The London Agricultural Gazette, says that in 

 fifteen counties 11 persons have been imprisoned 

 and 2134 fined for violations of laws and orders 

 for the suppression of the cattle plague. 



— It is estimated that there are thirty-two and 

 one-half millions of sheep in the loj'al twenty 

 States and two Territories. It is supposed that the 



