1870. 



XEW ENGLAND FAE]MER. 



479 



Plaster and ashes are good fertilizers. 

 Every farmer should experiment on his crops 

 to ascertain what fertilizers are best adapted 

 to his farm, and not rely wholly upon the ex- 

 periments of others. 



In all cases plant as soon as the season will 

 permit, provided the ground is dry enough to 

 ■work without injury, but beware of stirring 

 the earth when solid — particularly clayey soils 

 — as one year's cultivation of it when not suffi- 

 ciently dry, requires the combined influence 

 of the frost and sun for five years to amelio- 

 rate it enough to bring it to its original ferti- 

 lity. 



The hills should be broad and flat with an 

 eleviition of sufficient height to allow the pota- 

 toes to grow to maturity without growing out 

 of the hills, as the influences of the sun and 

 air injures their quality. 



Early Harvesting 

 of potatoes cannot be too strongly urged upon 

 the farmers of New England. Admiiting that 

 the potato crop of 18G9 amounted to 8.850,000 

 bushels in New Hampshire, and putting the 

 loss from disease after harvest at one third, 

 V7hich is an under-estimate, the loss amounts 

 to 1.283,000 busheh, or upwards of ^641,600, 

 which might have been saved to the producers, 

 had the crop been harvested before the h«avy 

 rains during the early part of October. Many 

 dislike to harvest potatoes when the weather is 

 warm, but after witnessing the bad effects 

 produced by heavy rains during the last and 

 previous years, farmers are becoming con- 

 vinced that the sun injures the quality less 

 while drying, previous to storage, than the 

 rains that are sure to come at some time dur- 

 ing the early part of autumn. It would not 

 be advisable to let them remain exposed to 

 the hot sun a great length of time af.er thor- 

 oughly dry, but remove them to a cool and 

 dry place as soon as convenient. 



In a future number I will, if you desire, 

 give some account of the method we have pur- 

 sued in cultivating one variety of the potato 

 without change of seed for thirty years. 



Fittsfield, N. H., July, 1870. Dr.vcos. 



BOABD FENCES. 



Such farmers as use posts and boards for 

 fence are aware by this time, that to keep 

 any large amount of it in good repair, re- 

 quires diligence and no inconsiderable ex- 

 pense. Good suitable fencing boardsare now 

 worth from §12 to $14 per thousand, and 

 cedar posts from 12 to 15 cents each. This, 

 together with the fact that poorly constructed 

 fences need constant watching and repairing, 

 suo-gests the importance of putting this mate- 

 rial together in the most thorough and efficient 

 manner possible. 



In the first place, the posts should be well 

 sunk in the ground, and if they are not more 

 than four feet out of the ground, it is just as 

 well, for a fence three and a half feet in 



height is better than one that is higher. Any 

 creature that will jump over a good fence of 

 such a nature, will manage by some means to 

 break out of any enclosure, and is a fit subject; 

 for the shambles. 



The boards should be no nearer than what 

 is absolutely necessary to keep out the heads 

 of the cattle. A tight, tall board fence is sure 

 to be blown down by the winds of spring 

 where the ground is soft. 



Never use a poor board for fence against 

 which cattle or horses run. Lumber should 

 be carefully sorted, and all of an ordinary na- 

 ture worked into one fence about the pasture 

 for sheep or small cattle. A single defective 

 board may be the means of creating as much 

 damage as though every board in the fence 

 had been of the same kind. 



Spikes should be heated in the fire and 

 turned into a vessel of oil while hot, which 

 prevents rusting or breaking. Holes should 

 always be bored through the cleats so as to 

 insure soundness, and much depends upon the 

 cleat, which is far better when not more than 

 two inches wide, being less liable to warp and 

 crack. 



The present method of making a hole for 

 the post in the earth with a bar, and then 

 driving with a heavy maul, is far preferable to 

 the old way of digging a hole and tramping 

 the dirt about the post. Many say that it is 

 not so well, and when you ask for their rea- 

 sons, answer, "because it is done so quick." 

 Judgment tells us that a post driven firmly 

 into the solid earth by the force of a heavy 

 maul in the hands of a strong man, is more 

 fixed than another set by the old-fashioned 

 method of digging. 



We have sometimes experienced a little dif- 

 ficulty in satisfying our minds on dry land, 

 but Mr. Ira G. Smith, of this town, informs 

 us that he has discovered a way that works 

 well. He makes a hole with a bar as in any 

 case, puts in the post which fits the hole as 

 near as may be, and then turns about it a 

 quait or two of water, which softens the 

 ground and the post is easily driven "home." 



Fence that is built in this way will last upon 

 dry ground until the posts are rotted off, and 

 upon moist ground until the action of the ele- 

 ments and atmosphere have worn out the 

 boards, if a little attention be given each 

 spring to righting up any post that may be in- 

 clined by snow drifts or heavy winds. — St. 

 John^hury, Vt., Times. 



— The finest grades of Kolstein and Normandy 

 butter are the best in the London market and are 

 worth 147 shillings sterling per hundred weight. 

 Extra Irish butter, a fine grade, is wortli in the 

 same market from 103 to 112 shillings. The Irish 

 butter is packed in oaken firkins, while the Hol- 

 stein and Normandy butter is put up in small pack- 

 ages flaring at the top, similar to the Orange Co.- 

 N. Y., pail. 



