1870. 



NEW ENGLAND F.^KMER. 



219 



to seventy-five acres of mowing land ; his fa- 

 ther had used tons of plaster upon the farm, 

 and plaster, lime and leached ashes are still 

 used ; has a drain three-fourths of a mile long, 

 which cost $1000. 



NEW MILCH COVt^S. 



The spring is the. time when a large portion of 

 cows drop their calves, and the time, therefore, 

 when especial attention should be paid to 

 them. Even when kept with excellent care 

 through the winter, when the time near par- 

 turition arrives, difficulties will occasionally 

 arise that require both care and skill. Some- 

 times the udder becomes greatly enlarged by 

 a superabundance of milk, which, if not taken 

 away, is quite likely to break and destroy it, 

 and greatly distress the cow. The popular 

 belief is, that no milk should be taken away 

 in such cases. Buc it is an erroneous one. 

 At any rate, the danger must be less than that 

 of a broken udder. 



If the udder is bard and no milk can be 

 drawn from it. It should be bathed in warm 

 water, warm soapsuds, together with a great 

 deal of gentle friction by the hand. If the 

 milking, bathing and friction do not succeed, 

 rub the udder with a liniment made of sweet 

 oil and ammonia, or simple lard or fre^h but- 

 ter. In such cases, the condition of the bowels 

 must be regarded, and Epsom salts given as a 

 laxative. All cows should have entire liberty 

 for a week or two previous to calving, such 

 as an open dry shed, or a pen twelve feet 

 square in the barn. After dropping the calf, 

 the cow should have a drink of shorts and 

 warm water, once each day, for two or three 

 days, in addition to her usual food. 



MAINE COLLEGE OP AQBICLTLTUBE 



la consequence of the refusal of the town of 

 Orono, Maine, to execute such a deed of the land 

 given to the State for a college farm as was re- 

 quired by the Legislature, an appropriation of 

 ^'40,000 for the college made at its last session was 

 withheld. 



At a town meeting in Orono, Maine, on the 21st 

 nit., it was voted, with only one dissenting voice, 

 that the town will give to the State College of 

 Agriculture and Mechanic Arts an absolute con- 

 veyance of the premises heretofore conveyed, sub- 

 ject to these conditions : That in case the location 

 of said College shall be changed from Orono, or 

 be abandoned, or cease to be used for the pur- 

 poses contemplated by the act establishing said 



College, then the State refund to the inhabitants 

 of Orono the sum originally paid for the lands, 

 viz : eleven thousand dollars with interest from 

 the date of said purchase ; provided, as a condi- 

 tion precedent, that the State shall first appropri- 

 ate and there shall be expended upon new build- 

 ings, buildings now in course of construction, the 

 grounds, and otherwise, substantially as asked for 

 in the last report of the Trustees, the sum of fifty 

 thousand dollars. 



The English Sparrow and Cuecclios. — Iq 

 reply to the opinion of a correspondent of the 

 Prairie Farmer that these birds will destroy cur- 

 culios, the horticultural editor states that he has 

 examined the craws of many insect-eating birds, 

 but never found any trace of a curculio therein, 

 and does not believe that the sparrow or any other 

 bird can catch the curculio. We once put a coop 

 of chickens under a tree badly infested with cur- 

 culios, and repeatedly jarred them on to the 

 ground among the chickens, but were entirely un- 

 able to see a chick pick cp or even notice a curcu- 

 lio, though we saw them fall just before the hun- 

 gry chicks. Nor could we perceive that the num- 

 ber of curculios were at all reduced by the fre- 

 quent jarrings which was given to the tree, or by 

 the presence of the chickens under it. 



Orchards in Exposed Situations. — From ex- 

 perience with an orchard set on an exposed prairie 

 ridge, several miles from timber in all directions, 

 a Missouri correspondent of the Prairie Farmer 

 believes that such situation is better than a pro- 

 tected or sheltered one, because, 1. Not so liable to 

 injury from sudden change to cold in the fall of 

 the year. 2. Are not so likely to be damaged by 

 alternate warm and cold weather in winter. 3. Put 

 forth their blossoms later in spring and conse- 

 quently are more certain to bear Iruit. The local- 

 ity in which the sap rises latest in spring is best 

 for the safety of the tree, and for the production of 

 fruit. 



For the \ew Englnvd Farmer, 

 WINDOW GARDENING.— No. 5. 



rOR MARCH. 



Though March is the first of the Spring month"', 

 in New England, her foot prints are usually in 

 snow and ice. The winter has been so remarkably 

 miid that we may feel the force of the old proverb, 

 "As the days lengthen the cold strengthens," ere 

 April greets us with her smiles and showers. 



Our flowers show the effocts of sunny skies and 

 mild winds. Gay and bright arc our windows 

 now! The Fuschias are coming rapidly ir.to 

 bloom, and among all our household plants they 

 rank supreme! The light and graceful habit of 

 the plant renders it desirable in every "VVindow 

 Garden," Ijut when adorned with its pendant Mow- 

 ers of richest crimson and purple dyes, or an ex- 



