564 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



quire verification. However I thank your corres- 

 pondent lor his caution respecting exactness of 

 etatenient, l^it especially for the kind spirit he 

 manifests, and the gentlemanly language he uses. 

 Criticism when not unsound and captious, tends 

 to promote care and accuracy. r. 



Concord, October, 1867. 



RAPHANUS CAUDATUS, OR LONG-TAILED RADISH. 



What has been the progress as to this new plant 

 this year ? The seeds were sold in the spring for 

 fifty cents each. Not being disposed to go in ex- 

 tensively, at that price, we bought only two. 

 They came up well, hwt soon after the leaves were 

 formed they were attacked by a small black bug, 

 by which it seemed as if they would be destroyed 

 at once. We attacked the l)ugs by hand and soon 

 exterminated ihem. A neighbor who had two 

 plants dill not discover the cause of the injury to 

 his plants till they were eaten past recovery. He 

 lost them. Oiir plants were after this very healthy 

 and hardy, and came to perfection. The seed 

 pods, whith a'linc are eaten when young, arc veiy 

 delicate ami of a line flavor, resemljling the radish. 

 Their value is said to be lor boiling, hut we used 

 none in this way, preferring to preserve the seed, 

 that we uiight li ive an abundance of plants for 

 another j'car. From the hardy and prolilie nature 

 of this new esculent, we shall not be disappointed 

 if it goes into as general use and l)eLomes as jiopu- 

 lar as the tomato, and yet ii: may be valueless. 

 We have quite a package of seeds from our two 

 .plants, and shall experiment with them another 

 year. Inquirer. 



October, 1837. 



A SICK SHEEP. 



I have avaluable Merino ram, four yearsold,that 

 for some cause unknown to me, refuses all kinds 

 of grain ami mots and almost every variety of 

 feed except what he can gather from the earth. 

 He looks dull about the eyes — gnaws the edge of 

 boards as if flecking for something contained in 

 the wood. He appears to be failing. He has had 

 good grazing the past summer. Is there any 

 remedy ? Geo. S. French. 



Wilmot Flat, X. H., Oct 20th, 1867. 



Remarks. — From the above Statement it is evi- 

 dent you have a sick slieep ; but we are not able to 

 determine the character of the disease. Will some 

 of the experienced sheep keepers among the read- 

 ers of the Farmer oblige Mr. French by a speedy 

 reply ? 



APPRAISING STOCK. 



Old Farmer B. was on a sick bed when the as- 

 sessors of his town came around to take his in- 

 voice. He said "my cattle are in the barn ; they're 

 a poor lot of "cm ; the}' ain't worth much ; yon can 

 go and look at 'em." The assessors repaired to 

 the barn, apjiraised the stock and reported to Far- 

 mer B. in his sick room. The old man was much 

 dis])lcascd ihit they "set 'em so high," and de- 

 clared tlic\' '-wan't worth anywhere near it." 

 "Well, Mr IS.," said the chairman of the Board, 

 "I will take every creature at our ajipraisal." 

 "Shan't have 'em," said the old man with a great 

 deal of emphasis; "shan't have 'eui-r-I won't luive 

 you cheated so— I won't." o. p. 



October, 1867. 



PLOVGIIINO IN MANURE. 



In my ccmmuinication on preparing ground for 

 Bpring wheat, in a late number of tlic Farmer, 

 the expression "harrowing in wheat is a fatal 



error," should have read, harrowing in manure is a 

 fatal error, because being so nigii the surface it 

 dries and evafiorates quickly. It should be 

 ploughed in. The connection shows it to have 

 been a misprint, but one that may possibly mislead 

 the reader. H. Poor. 



Loiiff Island, N. Y., Oct. 17, 1867. 



A HORSE WITH A SORE EAR. 



I have a horse that has a little sore on the edge 

 of one of his ears. It discharges aliout once a 

 week, about three or four drops at a time of mat- 

 ter as clear as water, but a little thicker. There is 

 no swelling, and it clocs not appear to be tender. 

 The sore has been there over a year and grows no 

 worse. Can you or any of your subscribers in- 

 form me what it is, and what will cure it, and 

 oblige a subscriber. k. p. a. 



Strickland's Ferry, Me., Oct. 1867. 



Remarks. — Will some of our horsemen reply 

 to the above inquiries ? 



FATTENING OF ANIMALS. 



The season of the year is at hand when the 

 farmer usually fattens his animals to send to 

 market, or to supply his own table through 

 the winter months. 



And nolo is the important time, — fir^t, be- 

 cause the ingathering of the late harvests usu- 

 ally brings together a mass of materials, such 

 as small potatoes, apples, squashes, pumpkins 

 and unsound corn, which, mingled, and cooked, 

 form the best feed that can be produced for 

 fattening purposes. If to this mass, oat or 

 barley meal is added, healthy animals will be 

 found to fatten upon it rapidly. 



Secondly, it is the proper time, because the 

 weather is only moderately cold, and it will 

 require less food to make a certain amount of 

 flesh, than it will when it is sharp, cold 

 weather. As fatting animals get but little ex- 

 ercise, they must be protected from wind and 

 cold, and provided with a comlbrtable place to 

 stand and lie down in. 



Having suitable articles of food, improving 

 the right time, and furnishing the stock with 

 suitable accommodations, the next care should 

 be to provide the animals with a varieiy of 

 food. Some experienced stall- I'eeders assume 

 "that whenever animals are fed on one kind of 

 vegetables only, there is a waste of one or 

 another of the necessary elements of animal 

 food, and that a great lesson on this subject 

 taught us by nature is, that by a judicious ad- 

 mixture, not only is food economized, but the 

 labor imposed upon the digestive organs is 

 also materially diminished." 



It has been found by experiment, that food 

 which, when given alone, does not fatten, ac- 

 (juires that property in a high degree when 



