1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



317 



and green snake, and even the adders, are all 

 useful to the farmer, as they feed on insects, 

 and are thus powerfully instrumental in dimin- 

 ishing the innumerable hosts of insectivorous 

 depredations which prey upon his crops. 



Out of two hundred and eighty species of 

 serpents, only thirty-two are supposed to be 

 poisonous, and of these latter, but one, — the 

 rattlesnake — is an inhabitant of the North. 

 The adder, — the most rejiulsive of all our 

 snakes, — is by no means noxious, and pos- 

 sesses neither the power to kill or harm. 



HO"W TO MAKE THE LAND KICH. 



In New York City there is an association of 

 a few wide-awake, inquisitive, go-ahead gen- 

 tlemen, who come together in a pleasant room 

 and discuss any and every subject that has a 

 bearing upon the cultivation of the earth. 

 This association is called the American Insti- 

 tute Farmers' Club, and its doings are reported 

 weekly in the Tribune. They meet once each 

 week, at ten o'clock in the morning, and their 

 doors are open to all who wish to enter and 

 listen, or take a part in the discussions. They 

 are doing just what ought to be done, — and 

 ought to have been commenced years ago — in 

 the office of the Board of Agriculture in Mas- 

 sachusetts. 



Discussing the subject of manures, recently, 

 Mr. Peter Brown, of Limesbury, Conn., said: 

 "The great question with farmers in this sec- 

 tion is manure, and how to get it economically 

 is a very important consideration; but that 

 farmers must depend, mainly, upon the barn- 

 yards, stables and hog-pens, for cheap ferti- 

 lizers, is an undeniable fact." 



Some one, with more truth than courtesy, 



promptly replied. 



No, sir, it is not. We dispute it. The cheapest 

 manure that you or any otlier man can use is clo- 

 ver seed, even at .^25 a bushel. Sow clover seed 

 with every grain crop, even with Indian corn, and 

 quit that worst of all practices — sowing oats upon 

 com stubble. Plow under a crop of clover to 

 serve as manure for every other crop. Mix clover 

 and timothy seed together, and if you get a good 

 timothy sod, do not be afraid to break it up. It is 

 equal to 160 loads of pretty good compost manure 

 to every acre. In applying manure to your land, 

 learn by actual experiment whether it is more 

 profitable to spread it upon grass sod and depend 

 upon that to make corn, than it is to put the ma- 

 nure in corn hills. 



We greatly need examples of turning under 

 green crops in our New England farming, and 

 hope that many will exist before the close of 

 the next growing season. They may be made 



on a small scale, and, we have no doubt, will 

 afford more encouragement than the use of any 

 special fertilizer has yet afforded. Try it and 

 report results. 



AMEKICAN FIRE EXTINGUISHER. 

 A few days since, (May 9,) the invention 

 shown in the accompanying engraving was 

 practically tested on the Fair Grounds in this 

 city. We were not present ourselves, at the 

 trial, but a friend who 

 witnessed the test, spoke 

 of it as a wonderful suc- 

 cess. A committee of 

 leading business men and 

 insurance agents testify 

 that the experiment was 

 perfectly successful. The 

 fires were started in piles 

 of tar barrels, filled with 

 shavings and saturated with kerosene, and after 

 being thoroughly ignited the flames were com- 

 pletely subdued — the fire put out — in one case, 

 in one minute, in the second, in one minute 

 and seven seconds. A frame building, erected 

 for the purpose, and containing inflammable 

 articles was fired, and when the whole build- 

 ing was wrapped in flames, three men, each 

 with an extinguisher, played on the building 

 and put out the fire in thirty-seven seconds ! 

 Hon. Daniel Needham of this city, is Presi- 

 dent of the Company which manufactures this 

 machine, and will give all desired information. 



BREEDS OF CATTLE. 

 A correspondent of the Vermont Farmer 

 very concisely gives his opinions of the merits 

 of the principal breeds of cattle : — 



In view of all testimony aiid our own long 

 experience, we are constrained to believe the 

 pure Durham short-horn is the best blood to 

 use to improve the present race of cattle in 

 New England. The Devons are a smaller 

 and beautiful breed. The oxen are as much 

 alike as two peas, of a beautiful mahogany red 

 color, with long, handsome horns, but they 

 are too small for the Brighton market or beef. 

 The cows give rich milk but a very small 

 quantity. The Ayrshires are hybrids from the 

 Durham on the one side and native cattle of 

 Ayr on the other, and are about the size of 

 the Devon and as hardy and better milkers. 

 The Herefords are not fit for the dairy but have 

 good beef and working qualities, and make 

 sprightly, large and handsome oxen. As for 

 the Alderneyand Kerry cattle, they are not fit 

 for a grazing region or general fax'm purposes. 



