680 



NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER. 



Dec. 



find any other town that can raise apples from the 

 blossoms of four successive months in the year, I 

 would like to lunr from it. J. A. Ames. 



Wibnimjton Station, B. § L. R. R., Oct. 19, 1867. 



Rem AUKS. — A dealer in fruit pronounces your 

 apple to be the Orange Sweet. He may be correct, 

 but in size of core, and some other peculiarities, it 

 does not seem to us to correspond exactly with 

 the descriptiims given in the books of that variety. 

 Freaks in untimely blossoming are not very un- 

 common with the apple tree ; Ijut it is seldom^ we 

 think, that such perfect specimens of four genera- 

 tions in one season arc seen on one tree. The fruit 

 from the May blossoming is mature, and measures 

 some nine inches in circumference ; that from the 

 June l)l<)ssoming is quite a respectable apple, meas- 

 uring full five inches ; that from the July bloom is 

 nearly four inches round ; while that started Au- 

 gust fir>t is full three and a half inches in circum- 

 ference. For these interesting specimens, and for 

 the box of winter pears, Mr. Ames will accept the 

 thanks of the New England Farmer. 



POTATOES, APPLES AND DROUGHT, 



I planted some three or foixr pounds less than 

 half a bnshol of early Goodri h potatoes, about the 

 middle of May, and in the fore part of Seiitemljcr 

 I dug 18 bushels of nice ones, at the rate oi' 3U0 

 bushels to the acre. We have cooked some of 

 them and find them nice, (iiher boiled or baked. 

 The ground, which was a sandy loam, was ploughed 

 last Decemlxr; some coarse manure was spread 

 on in the spring, and plastered both in the hill and 

 after it was hoed the second time. 



1 alc^o ohtamcd three small potatoes from New 

 Hampshire, by mail, of the Oroiio kind, and raised 

 three pecks from them, without any manure, but 

 plasterid in the hill. 



I raised 14 l>ushcls of nice Ladyfinger potatoes 

 from less than haif bushel of seed, on a soil that 

 was gravelly and too dry. 



Among niy Pound Sweets, was one that weighed 

 1 Hi. 3 o/,., and measured 14 inches around it, and 

 the same the other way. Ihe season has l>een 

 very dry here this summer; the bottom of many 

 wells having leaked out, at the lower corner. 



H. Griffin. 



Essex Junction, Vt., Oct. 29, 1867. 



STEAMING FODDER. 



Much has been said in agricultural papers dur- 

 ing the hist twelve months, about steaming corn 

 buts, staiiis, and ])oor hay for cattle in winter. 

 But in no case have I seun the operation fully ex- 

 plained. 



I would Mice to inquire through the columns of 

 the Monthly New England Fai{mei!, in eases 

 where a iij:lit liox is used, how much water is used 

 to a buslit I of cut feed? Should the water be 

 boi'inir liot or only warm ? How much meal 

 should lie mixed wiih it to make it good as Eng- 

 lish hay : or if shoris are. used how many ? What 

 is the icliolc. manner of prejjaring it? Who can 

 give the d sired information, and oblige 



Jesse B. Butteufield. 



Tyti(jsb(iro\ Mass., Nov., 18'j7. 



Remarks. — In addition to Ihe information which 

 our covrispi)ndent will find in the statement of 

 Wm. Birnic, of Springfield, Mass., in relation to 

 his apparatus and his mode of "Cooking Food for 

 Cattle," we copy the following particulars from a 



communication written by S. N. Thompson, of 

 Southboro', Mass., for the Country Gentleman. 

 Mr. T. has had five years' experience in steaming 

 feed, and he expresses the opinion that, from the 

 extra work, he can winter 40 cows on steamed 

 feed for one-third less expense than on dry ; can 

 get at least one-quarter more milk, and keep them 

 in as good thriving condition. 



The plan which he at first adopted is described 

 as follows : 



Five years aeo I prepared a steam box flirecfly over 

 the boili r ill my barn cell ir, mnde a wooden cover to 

 the boiler, fitii' a it sieam tight, and ihrungb rubber 

 tuhes conveyed the s*eam into a perforaKd iron p'pe 

 runiiins; the length i f the steam bnx. I then put my cut 

 liay, straw, &c., into ihe bos, wi tting it theront-lily as I 

 put it in; if nut thus wet Ihe slciim will dry it so as to 

 destroy it^ nourishing qualities. After fiili .y die boiler 

 with watir and mahing my connections, box and cover 

 sle:im tiyht, lighted my lire and kept, the wait r boiling 

 bri>ikly for about four hours, whin I found the mass to 

 be pretty thoroughly cooked, and of su'b nature that 

 my cattle liked it < xceedingly well By addi g a liberal 

 supply of corn meal and shorts when tilling ihc box, you 

 have a mass nsemblmgin flavor amw made biaf of 

 brown-bread, on which the cattle do very well, though 

 the material cooked be of an inferior quality. 



After pursuing this course one winter, and sat- 

 isfying himself that he could make more milk 

 from a fair quality of meadow hay, thus prepared, 

 than from the best quality of upland hay fed dry; 

 and that the addition of, say two quarts of meal, 

 per cow, before steaming the mass, was far more 

 beneficial than when the same amount was fed in 

 comiection with dry hay, he adopted a simpler 

 process of preparing the feed, of ^^hic■h he gives 

 the following description, and which he likes quite 

 as well as the first. 



I take a large feed box, willi a tight cover, and into 

 this I put my teed, wetiii g each layer with I oiiing wa- 

 ter, fehal-ing the hay so as to h.ive each part tlioioughly 

 wet. I ihen tramp it down as solid as possinle, put on 

 another layer, ai d proceed as before till m\ b x is lilKd. 

 For my stock of 15 liead 1 use 45 gallons of boiling wa- 

 ter in mixing enougli to last them two days Thi^ box 

 shoulil then he cloted, while another boil, r of water is 

 bciig heated, when 45 gallons more is paired evenly 

 ov.'r the mass the box closed, and allowed to stand 

 about 12 hours b'^fore using. The feed i-< then softeied, 

 so as to be easily digested and of nearly the Siime fla- 

 vor as when in its green state; and rry c .Itle prefer 

 even po' r meadow liay, thus prepared, to the best Eiig- 

 lish hay when f. d dry. 



After remarking that he had kept his stock for 



three winters on corn stover and meadow hay that 



his neighbors considered almost worthless, using 



meal, not to exceed one quart per day, to each cow, 



when not giving milk, and bringing them out in 



good condition, he states the following fact: 



About tlie middle of April last, havi- g used my poor 

 hay, fir whieh I p.iid $13 per ton, (Eigli."!! hay being 

 tlieti worth $3i,) I commenced f eding \eiy lie early 

 cut EMl!li^h I a\ , dry, to n.y inich cows, and to my sur- 

 prise, 1 found that ill' y decrcas( d in their quantity of 

 mi b from one quarter to oiie-th'rd, and 1 was not able 

 to increa-'t' that quantity till they went to grass, though 

 I doubl d their quantity of grain. 



NEW PLAN FOR FALL FEEDING. 



We have avoided feedingourfields — grass fields — 

 ciilier in spring or autumn, preferring to feed from 

 the liarn when we could no longer keep our stock 

 in the jiusture. Our neiirhbors have practiced 

 feeding their cattle in their tiehls,l)0(h in sjiriiigand 

 fall, and some of tiiem pretend to think that their 



