576 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



not be easy to compute the misery •wbleh re- 

 results from this neglect. In -whatever situa- 

 tion a lady may be placed, ignorance of do- 

 mestic duties is a fruitful source of annoyance. 

 If she have servants, she is constantly at their 

 mercy, — a servant of servants is she all the 

 days of her life. If she does her own work, 

 it is at the expense of a vast, an unnecessary 

 amount of mental and manual labor. Many a 

 lady loses her health and grows prematurely 

 old, from this cause alone. While the sys- 

 tematic housekeeper will do the work for a 

 large family without hurry or confusion, the 

 unskilful one will worry herself into illness 

 over a much lighter task. 



We would not be understood as decrying 

 "book learning," or fas-hionable accomplish- 

 ments. We believe that there is time enough, 

 if it be properly improved, to learn mu^ic, 

 drawing, &c., without encroaching upon the 

 time necessary to acquire a thorough domestic 

 education. Mattie. 



Marlboro', Mass., Oct. 14, 1867. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent has said just 

 enough upon this subject to excite the hope 

 that she will authorize us to add to the above 

 brief communication the editorial formula — To 

 be continued. 



TOMATOES. 



A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer de- 

 tails an experiment in growing tomatoes at 

 the Michigan College. The varieties repre- 

 sented were the Eureka, Keyes, Maupa}''s, 

 Collins, Tilden, College, French Tree, I'oard, 

 Lester's Perfected, Large Smooth, Early Red, 

 Early York, Large Yellow, Pear Shaped, Yel- 

 low Plum, Cherry, Grape, Feejee, White, 

 Cook's Favorite, Whortleberry, Red Valentia, 

 and Great Chihuahua. They were grown 

 side by side upon the same soil, two hills of 

 a kind, making a row 230 feet in length, and 

 received from the first precisely the same 

 treatment. They were trained to a trellis four 

 feet in height, the branches trimmed so as to 

 cover the whole trellis, and all redundant 

 growth cut off. In this way, during the 

 height of the season, the plants present- 

 ed the aftpearance of an uninterrupted wall of 

 mingled foliage and fiuit. 



In regard to the merits of these different va- 

 rieties, the fruit of which vary in size from a 

 well grown cherry to those of several pounds 

 in weight, the writer says, a great number can 

 be set down as unworthy of cultivation, unless 

 it be as matters of mere curiosity. 



The first live varieties enumerated in the 

 above list are new. Some, which were loudly 

 heralded for their superior merits have proved 

 well nigh worthless, while others whose merits 

 were more modestly set forth, give promise of 

 being valuable acijuisitions. Perhaps more 

 was expected from Keyes' Early Prolific than 



from any of the new varieties ; but thus far it 

 has not exhibited a single quality whieh is not 

 surpassed in some of the other varieties. In 

 point of earliness, its chief n comnii ndaiion, it 

 stands third on the ll.^t ; and as regards f-mooth- 

 ness, beauty and (lavor, its position is so low as 

 to e> elude it frcm a li.-t o[ vatietie> worthy of 

 cull ivai ion. The Colhge toma'o is a needling 

 of the Early Red, pt oduccd here, and i.s now in 

 its third year of trial. It is as marked a varie- 

 ty, so far as fruit is concetned, as any on the 

 li.st. As regards foliage, the most marked of 

 the newer varieties is Keyes'. Estimating 

 their value by their average (jualities, the hnest, 

 most desirable tomatoes now before the public 

 are the Tilden, Red Valencia, Collins and 

 Foard, and to these four should be added the 

 old fashioned Early Smooth Red, as being the 

 earliest good vaiiety yet produced. 



1 he vai iety which lirst produced a ripe fruit 

 is the Early Red. the date being July '^Dth. 

 The next in order are Early York, Large 

 Smooth, Keyes' and Tilden ; these four being 

 of the same date, Aug. 1< 



AUTUMN PLOUGHIKG. 



In all heavy clay soils, and heavy clay loams, 

 autumn ploughing is of great advantage. The 

 winter frost is a mechanical pulverizer, and 

 disintegrator of such soils, if we will but put 

 them in the proper condition to be acted upon. 

 Potash is one of the elements of such soils, 

 and with them one of the chief values for the 

 small grain. This mineral is found under two 

 conditions ; one fixed, and the other free. 

 The free potash is slowly dissolved in water ; 

 it thus unites with sand to form the coating of 

 the straw. 



In the other condition mentioned, it is fixed, 

 and in that condition is insoluble in water, and 

 like humus, unfit for the food of plants. 



To prepare the fixed potash in the soil, that 

 is, to disintegrate it, we must expose it to air, 

 moisture and heat, hence we must pulverize 

 the soil by the winter frost, to admit of these 

 conditions. 



Autumn plowing is supposed to kill many 

 insects ; that it does this to some extent is 

 doubtless true ; but we appiehend less than it 

 has the credit for. It can be done at a time 

 when the teams are strong, the weather cool, 

 and so much of the spring work is out of the 

 way ; while for spring wheat and barley, it is 

 almost indispensable. — Prairie Farmer. 



Animal Life — One of the striking facts 

 pertaining to animal life, and one which every 

 tiller of the soil has noticed, whether as a 

 gardener, an orchardist, or more general far- 

 mer, is the great nniltiplicity of animal life 

 seen in one season and an almost extinction 

 the next jear. The year 18GG was remarka- 

 ble for the great numbers of red s(juirrels in 

 Maine, and other New England States. They 

 abounded everywhere. Every house had its 



