1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



563 



effect was, that it started at first and seemed to 

 look thrifty, and commenced bearing; but since 

 that it has been going bade, — limbs dying all over 

 the trees, and some trees dying outriglit. Now 

 the question is, in my mind, whetlier the plough- 

 ing, and the brealiing of so many roots, caused my 

 orchard to decay. One of my neighbors has kept 

 his orchard ploughed seven or eight years, but has 

 not taken any crops from it. He ploughs it sev- 

 eral limes during the season, and the consequence 

 is, in my opinion, that he is spoiling his orchard, 

 if it is not already six>iled. A. l. w. . 



Hope, Me., Sept. 30, 1867. 



Remarks. — Shallow and careful ploughing of 

 an orchard is usually beneficial. Breaking a few 

 of the small roots that run near the surface is not 

 considered injurious. The breaking up of the 

 sward is supposed to be quite useful to an orchard 

 that has been several years in grass. 



We think the decline of your orchard must be 

 imputed to some other cause than that of plough- 

 ing. You ploughed yours, you remark, six years 

 ago ; since that time nearly all the orchards of 

 New England have failed to yield a crop. As a 

 general thing, however, the trees have not died. 



EATS IN THE CELLAR. 



What is the best remedy to drive that enormous 

 pest, the rat, from one's cellar ? I have tried trap- 

 ping and poisoning, and do not succeed in either. 

 If you, or any of your numerous readers, can tell 

 it will do a reader of your paper a great kindness. 



Middlebziri/, Vt., Oct. 11, 1867. E. m. e. 



Remarks. — There is nothing equal to agood cat, 

 but she must not be handled by children, or any 

 other person ; must be fed rather spai-ingly at reg- 

 ular times, and as much as possible on fresh meat, 

 and usually by the same person. She will soon 

 become accustomed to such circumstances, will 

 answer the call of this person, who can change her 

 about to different parts of the house, — as a night in 

 the attic, a night in the cellar, and so on. When 

 treated in this way she will be rather shy and wild, 

 but will soon become a terror to i"ats. 



contained in meadow hay." If every land holder 

 in the State could save for his cows the bean straw 

 of his garden only, instead of letting it dry up and 

 go to waste, the aggregate saving would be con- 

 siderable. Inqijirer. 

 October, 1867. 



Remarks. — When bean plants are pulled just as 

 some of the leaves begin to turn yellow, — the best 

 time, by the way, for the bean itself, — and are 

 carefully dried and kept free from dirt, cattle 

 relish them highly, and sheep will leave almost 

 any other fodder to feed upon them. If left standing 

 until the haulm is dry and Ijlack, then pulled and 

 cast upon the ground, to remain several days, they 

 become nearly worthless, losing their peculiar 

 flavor and nutriment. 



BEAN straw. 



We should like to know whether bean straw is 

 saved and used for cattle to any extent. Cattle food 

 is now so high it would seem as if its kinds should 

 be increased. We know that formerly bean 

 straw was always wasted as worthless. If of value 

 for cattle, and if it is now generally wasted, what a 

 wicked waste it is ! The following table compiled 

 from the United States Agricultural Reports shows 

 by analyses the relative value of this straw and 

 corn fodder and grasses : — 



Corn Fodder. Grasses. Bean Straw. 



Flesh forming, 8.200 10.34 1«.38 



Heat and fat producing, 35.273 



Woody fibre 50.251 



Mineral matters, .... 



Water, 6.276 



lOO.tOO lOU.OOO 100.00 



Prof. Ilorsfall of England, after experience, 

 speaks of liean straw thus :— "Bean straw uncooked 

 is dry and unpalataldc ; liy the process of steaming 

 it l)ecomes soft and pulpy, emits an agreeable odor, 

 and imparts flavor and relish to the mess. In albu- 

 minous matter, which is especially valuable for 

 milch cows, it has nearly double the proportion 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 



Has any body had any experience in this deli- 

 cious vegetable in this country ? Every body 

 who has travelled abroad speaks of it with rap- 

 ture, but we never sec it in our markets and hear 

 nothing of it except that the seeds are annually 

 offered for sale in our seed stores. Wo planted 

 some this year and have several fine large healthy 

 plants, but the promised "little heads" on the 

 stalks, the eatable part, seem to be forming so slowly 

 and sparsely that we do not exj^ect more than one 

 good dish for all our trouble. Can the leaves bo 

 eaten ? If not, can the small heads on the stalk be 

 produced in this climate in sufficient quantity to 

 be worth cultivating ? With me the leaves above 

 the small heads are abundant and vigorous 

 enough. Inquirer. 



October, 1867. 



Remarks. — We have never raised the Brussel 

 Sprouts, and know nothing of their merits. Mr. 

 Henderson, in his valuable book, Gardening for 

 Profit, says this vegetable has never come into 

 general use in this country, probably owing to its 

 being too tender to stand the winters of the North- 

 ern States. Even in England, where it is very ex- 

 tensively grown, it is not much raised for market, 

 being mainly cultivated for private use. 



CHEMICAL TERMS. 



Your correspondent from Ripon, Vt., criticises 

 my definition of Plumbago, and thinks I should 

 have written it "Crystallized Carburet of Iron." 

 Stockhardt, — see Camb. Edition, 18o2, parte 96, — 

 calls it "Crystallized Black Carbon." On the 97th 

 page he says, "Carbon shows very clearly how one 

 and the same body can have quite diftercTit forms 

 and properties. In charcoal, soot, coke and ani- 

 mal carbon it is black, without any determinate 

 shape, and veiy combustible. In Graphite, (Plum- 

 bago) it is black with a crystallized foliated struc- 

 ture, and is nearly incombustible. In the diamond 

 it is colorless, and is crystallized as a four-sided 

 double pyramid, and is likewise nearly incombus- 

 tible. 



In Ure's Dictionary, see Art. Graphite, we read: 

 "It consists of carbon in a peculiar state of aggre- 

 gation, with an extremely minute and apparently 

 accidental impregnation of iron. Burns with great 

 difficulty." I was aware that iron and silex are 

 usually found in plumbago, but I think it may be 

 doubted whether the iron is chemically combined 

 with the carbon, and is not rather a hydrated ses- 

 quioxide of iron mixed with it. 



De Saussure was an eminent chemist, and did 

 much to promote science in his day. But he wrote 

 ninety years ago, and several of his statements re- 



