1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



307 



would not grow as well nor be as productive alone, 

 as wlien mixed. As he was an old man and 

 a practical farmer, I took his advice, and have 

 since found others who agree with him. 



I must repeat what I said in my article on wheat, 

 that I have great faith in the beneficial effect of 

 salt on land situated fin* from the ocean, and 

 planted to root crops. Edward Hebb. 



Jeffersonville, Vt., 1867. 



USE OF SVPEKPHOSPHATE. 



In April, 1866, I bought one barrel of super- 

 phosphate of lime. I sowed some on my pasture, 

 and some was used on potatoes, corn, and garden 

 vegetables ; but I never could see the least benefit 

 from its application, although I watched the pas- 

 ture veiy closely. I took some superphosphate 

 and mixed it with muck and dry ashes, and ap- 

 plied it to some small apple trees by hoeing the 

 dirt from around them so as not to injure the roots, 

 then applied about three pints of the compost and 

 drew the dirt back. The fair growth of the 

 trees, and the large growth of grass about them, 

 caused me toihink that the superphosphate would 

 do well to compost. o. f. 



Tunbridge, Vt., April 15, 1867. 



UrPROVED STOCK IN CANADA. 



The directors of the Compton County Agricultu- 

 ral Society met at Compton Centre, March 16, for 

 the purpose of arranging list of premiums, &c.,for 

 the Fall Fair. After transacting our business, M. 

 H. Cockrane, Esq., one of the members of our 

 Board, invited us to visit his farm, some two miles 

 from the village, for the purpose of examining the 

 thoroughV)red stock which he has imported or in- 

 troduced into the counrty. We noticed first about 

 50 excellent swine, old and young. His arrange- 

 ments for their comfort are admirable. We then 

 examined some beautiful specimens of the Clydes- 

 dale draft horses, and afterwards his thorough- 

 bred short horns and Hereford cattle. He has 

 bulls of both breeds from calves up to the Duke of 

 Oxford, a short horn, now five years old, imported 

 and formerly owned l)y the Compton County Ag- 

 ricultural Society, and to which farmers here are 

 much indebted for good stock. He has also some 

 splendid cows, of both breeds, imported from Eng- 

 land, Kentucky and Canada West, with some few 

 yearlings, one of which, purchased at the Provin- 

 cial Show, Canada West, last fall, took their first 

 prize, and weighs now 1250 pounds. A just idea 

 of the convenient aiTangements that Mr. Cockrane 

 has made for the health and ease of management 

 of his stock, can be formed only by visiting his 

 premises. He has just remitted by a Canada \Vest 

 importer, I believe, (^7000 to England for choice 

 animals, one of which is to be an entire horse of 

 the Suffolk Punch breed. 



After feasting our eyes at the barn and stables, 

 we were invited into Iiis house, where our appe- 

 tites were most hospitably feasted in their turn. 



Of the cheese factoiy, built last year by Mr. 

 Cockrane, I gave you some account in the early 

 part of last winter. I will soon send you a notice 

 of the time and place of holding our next Fair, and 

 an urgent invitation to all readers of the Farmer 

 who can make it convenient to do so, to attend 

 the exhibition of our society, and also to visit the 

 farm and stock to which I have thus briefly allu- 

 ded. Hiram French. 



Eaton, Compton Co., C. E., March 18, 1867. 



FROGS. 



The season of frogs has come again. It is a 

 pleasing sound to the lovers of nature, and wakes 

 up old thoughts and old associations. A few re- 

 marks on the natural history of the little croakers 



and peepers may not be out of place in the columns 

 of the Farmer. 



The first sounds we hear are from croakers. A 

 thousand voices are vying with each other in a 

 strange medley. You approach a pond and you 

 will see hosts of the little croakers lying flat on 

 the w.ater singing with all their might. Yon catch 

 one of them and you will find him to be of dark 

 uniform green. Keep him out in the warm sun- 

 light awhile and he will turn to a light drab color. 

 Another sound is soon heard blending in with the 

 croakers. It is from a shy fellow. Who has seen 

 him ? Who can find him ? As you approach his 

 retreat, he is silent, but wait a little — keep still. 

 The sounds start up under your feet, to the right, 

 to the left, but you can't see him. Nor will you 

 hear the sound of a ripple as he dives into the 

 water. The fact is, you are not looking for the 

 little diminutive thing that he is. I had the good 

 luck to capture one. I found him on a little twig, 

 and saw him in the act of singing. As he sung, his 

 throat looked very much like a soap bubble. I 

 caught him in my hand ; he was of a light green 

 color, measuring only an inch in length, with a 

 cross on his back like an X. I found him de- 

 scribed in the books under the name of Pickering's 

 Hylodes. 



I have never seen half a dozen in my life. They 

 are so near the color of green vegetation, and so 

 small, that they are not easily noticed, c. s. p. 



CULTIVATING STRAWBERRIES. 



Select a suitable piece of ground ; enclose it with 

 boards four inches wide ; cover the ground two 

 inches thick with manure ; spade it up, mixing 

 well ; cover the whole two inches deep with muck ; 

 mark off one foot each way ; set the plants the 

 first week in August ; water tham until they get 

 well started, and next June you will have a good 

 crop. Then weed and you will have another crop 

 the next year ; so you can get two crops and not 

 have to weed but once. This we have found out 

 by experimenting, as the Farmer advises, and 

 know it to be the best way. w. 



Clarendon, Vt., April 20, 1867. 



Remarks. — There may be more weeding on a 

 bed set out in May, but there will be less Avatering, 

 and we think a better crop the next year. 



KILLING BRUSH. 



I have noticed in the Farmer an article speak- 

 ing of salt to kill brush, and other wild substan- 

 ces. I have about three acres of land covered 

 with whortleberry brush, which I would like to 

 kill out without plowing, if it can be done without 

 too much expense. If you, or any one else, will 

 inform me how much salt it will take to the acre, 

 you will confer a favor on an 



Old Subscriber. 



Northbridge, Mass., April 14, 1867. 



Remarks. — We do not recollect what article 

 our correspondent alludes to, but have the opin- 

 ion that it would cost more to kill the brush with 

 salt, than it would to cut and burn it, and then 

 reclaim the land by plowing and cultivating. 



Salt is undoubtedly excellent for the land in cer- 

 tain quantities, but it seems to us that if enough 

 were applied to kill a whortleberry growth, that 

 nothing else would grow there, until a deep plow- 

 ing and thorough mixing had taken place. 



If the land is too rough for plowing, and dam- 

 aged salt can be obtained at a cheap rate, it might 

 be an economical process to cut or pull up the 



