94 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



"Some poets sing the charms of Spring, 



111 rliyirn' tluit jiiicrU's prettily, 

 And m;"iko tlu'ir >tuH\ <lo well enough 



For Houtli of Fraiii-c or Italy, 

 Eut then our Sprinpr is no 8uch thing. 



No eliaim.s lias ever she ihowed, 

 AikI I liave seen this much praised queen 



Look ugly as a tree toad." 



Wishing flic Farmer a long and prosperous life, 

 I remain yours, a. a. f. 



Sherborn, Mass., Jan. 3, 1871. 



Remarks. — One of the editors of the New Eng- 

 land Farmer was among those who made up the 

 "extensive emigration" to Michigan, alluded to by 

 our correspondent, and whose weary journey to 

 "the West" was cheered by the music of that song. 

 Partly to please A. A. F., and partly to gratify our- 

 selves and other veterans of that campaign, wc 

 have hunted it up, and publish on another page, 

 all but two of the last stanzas, which describe partic- 

 ular localities, and the richness of the soil. Wc 

 took up our residence in "Pontiac," where we found 

 more shakes than poetry, though wc have never 

 forgotten the melody of "John Anderson my Jo 

 John," in which the song was rendered by Yankee 

 farmers "who'd spunk enough to travel" and voice 

 enough to sing, as the boat glided along on the 

 "raging canawl" on a quiet summer evening. But 

 Michigan is now an old State, Pontiac is a city, and 

 the West is — Who knows where ? The old song, 

 however, may "answer with slight variation" for 

 Kansas, Nebraska, or any other modem "Miehi- 

 gania." 



STIFLE OUT. 



I have a Vow that slipped her stifle some six 

 weeks ago. I have put it in place a number of 

 times, but it refuses to stay. Can you tell me any 

 way of keeping it in place ? Some of my neighbors 

 said it would callous over and not hurt her; but I 

 do not sec any change in her condition from the 

 tirst. Lyman Alley. 



Agawam, Mass., Dec. 27, 1870. 



Remarks. — Having put the bone in proper posi- 

 tion, you should, if practicable, so confine the cow 

 that she cannot move the alTected limb. This con- 

 finement must be continued twelve or fourteen 

 days, during which time the joint should be thor- 

 oughly bathed with cold water, twice or thrice a 

 day. But if you do not succeed in keeping the 

 bone in place, you need not fear the loss of your 

 cow ; for, as your neighbors have told you, it will 

 "callous over," and will not greatly injure the ani- 

 mal. Considerable time must elapse, however, be- 

 fore complete recovery will be effected. 



AVUITE WORMS IN PLANT POTS. 



Will you please inform me what will keep mag- 

 gots or white woiTns from plants ? Our plants look 

 thrifty Irat the gi-ound is full of worms, e. m. r. 



JIavcr/dli, Mass., Jan. 2, 1871. 



Remarks. — In reply to this question, our con-es- 

 pondcnt, S. O. J., furnishes the following : — 



We, also, arc decidedly annoyed by them, and 

 have found wood ashes an excellent antidote; but 

 if these are not obtainable, liuie water will kill 

 them ; .or a little skicked lime sprinkled on the sur- 

 face ol" the eai-th, imd in the saucer of the pot. 



Apply the ashes with care. Take a teaspoonful of 

 them, a little wami, and scatter over the soil, be- 

 ing careful not to touch the stem or leaves of the 

 plants. 



Lime water can be made easily by slacking a 

 large piece of lime in a pail of cold water, letting 

 it settle, and then bottling for use. Warm it, and 

 give each pot a tablcspoonfnl twice a week. Both 

 these remedies act as fertilizers to all plant growth. 



ANNOTTO FOR COLORING BUTTER. 



I frequently see in your paper remarks about the 

 use of annotto in coloring butter. I have used 

 orange carrots, but I do not think butter keeps so 

 well with carrots in it as without. Will annotto 

 injure the keeping of the butter thi-ough the sum- 

 mer ? 



CONTENTS OF A LOO. 



I wish to make a few inquiries in regard to meas- 

 uring lumber. A log sixteen feet long and two 

 feet in diameter, is measured as one cord of wood, 

 how much cord wood will it make when chopped 

 and split, or how many feet of lumber if sawed ? 



CORN MEAL AND FINE FEED FOR COWS. 



I wish to know which is the best and cheapest 

 feed for milch cows, — corn meal at ^2.20 per hun- 

 dred or lino feed at ^2.10 per hundred ? These are 

 their respective prices here. m. 



Tunhridge, Vt., Dec. 31, 1870. 



Remarks. — Tm'o of these questions relate to 

 subjects which arc discussed in this and the pre- 

 ceding numbers of the F.vrmer, to which we refer 

 our correspondent. We trust some of the boys 

 familiar with wood and lumber measuring, will 

 cypher out the contents of the log. 



NEW PLACES FOR POULTRY. 



The article in the last F.vrmer, credited to the 

 Poultry Bulletin, in relation to old and new places 

 lor fowls is correct. A new jjiece of land, or an 

 enclosure where no fowls have been kept, is far 

 prefci'able to an old hen yard. When 1 first pur- 

 chased my hill or grove, my success was wonderful. 

 My 400 cliitkcns, hatched in March and April, were 

 the aibniratiun of every visitor. As to health and 

 rapidity of growth, they surpassed any tioik 1 have 

 ever been able to raise. An experienced poulterer, 

 while admiring my flock in September, made the 

 following remark, "Well, young man, you will 

 never meet with such success again." His proph- 

 ecy did not please mc, neither did I give it much 

 credit at that time. Yet I have found his state- 

 ment correct. My opuii»n is, that the lirst and 

 second seasons the fowls destroy all animal food, 

 such as worms, insects and their eggs, and there- 

 lore do not obtain this most necessary food for 

 young fowls. If any reader of the Farmer enter- 

 tains doubts upon this subject, I advice him to put 

 a brood of young chicks in an enclosure wlicre 

 fowls have not been raised, and where grasshoppers 

 and insects aboinid ; then i)lace anotiicr brood of 

 corresponding age in the old i)oultry enclosure, 

 fee'dhig with the most stimulating food, and he will 

 soon find the former Itrood, in size and general ap- 

 pear.ance, lar ahead of the lioultiy-yard flock. 



iSalem, Mass., Jan. 3, 1871. Joun S. Ives. 



SHORT-HORN STOCK. 



At S. D. Conant's farm in Grafton, Vt., I saw 

 some very fine stock, considering that they arc not 

 fed for show, or made so fleshy that the natural 

 proportions of the animal arc liidtlcn from view, 

 lie has a very fine yearling bull, Duke of Grafton, 

 sired by the Duke of Putney, and he by tlic 6th 

 Duke of ThorndiUc. Ill color and form the Duke 



