1871 ] 



NEW EN-GLAND FAEMER. 



117 



Treasury of the society, wished that proposals for 

 the location of the fair should be received, consid- 

 ered and settled by this meeting, instead of being 

 referred as usual to the Executive Committee. 



Gentlemen from Connecticut, and from Worces- 

 ter and Middlesex Counties, Mass., opposed this 

 proposition as unfair and contrary to the laws of 

 the association, which imposed the arrangements 

 for the annual fair on the Executive Committee. 



Mr. Pratt, of Worcester, Mass., said, I under- 

 stand that there are two or three societies anxious 

 to have the next fair held within their lunits. I 

 also understand that Lowell is here in force, and I 

 think it is unfair to bring this matter before the 

 meeting at this time. We arc desirous of having 

 the Fair held at Worcester, but we have made no 

 preparations, knowing that the matter had been 

 usually left to the Trustees, to be decided at their 

 meeting held in March. Had M'e known that the 

 question was to be decided at this time, we should 

 have had men enough hei-e to represent our side of 

 the case. The fact is, there are not more than half 

 a dozen of us here from Worcester, and we are not 

 prepared at this time to make a proposition. All I 

 can say for Worcester is, that we want the Fair 

 there, and are ready to guarantee as much as any 

 other place. 



Mr. Cummings, President of the Middlesex, 

 Mass., Agiieiiltural Society, said, it seems to me 

 that this is cstalilishing a bad precedent. How do 

 the Trustees know, how does any body know but 

 that Worcester will send in proposals far more ac- 

 ceptable, if they will only give them a fair oppor- 

 tunity ? If you will adjourn this meeting, let us 

 know upon what grouncls you propose to locate the 

 New England Fair, and give us an opportunity, 

 we will show you what we will do. 



The gentleman from Lowell says they have con- 

 tributed $700 to the treasury from new members. 

 I will pledge you a thousand dollars from new 

 mcml)ers from the old Middlesex Society, if you 

 want them, if that has any tiling to do with deciding 

 the question ; or, if that is not enough, we will give 

 j'ou more. We ar not to be driven otf in that way. 



I say, let this nnitter be placed before the Trus- 

 tees in the legitimate and proper way. Let the 

 people of Lowell lay befoi'e you, sir, the best pro- 

 position they have to make, and let oflers come 

 from any other society ; let the reasons come from 

 other localities why they should be selected rather 

 than Lowell ; let the whole subject be fairly, 

 squarely and honestly considered. 



After considerable further debate the following 

 resolution was passed. 



Voted — That the Exhibition of the New England So- 

 ciety be held in Lowell the present year, should satis- 

 factory proposals be made for this purpose by the citi- 

 zens of Lowell to the Executive Committee of the New 

 England Society. 



At a subsequent meeting of the Executive Com- 

 mittee it was 



Voted — That the Secretary give public notice to all 

 parties desirous of making proposals for the New Eng- 

 land Fair for 1871, to send them to the Secretary on or 

 before the seventh day of March next. 



EXTRACTS AND BEPLIES. 



—A correspondent of the Southern Fanner says, 

 that having tried many remedies for the destruc- 

 tion of vermin on fowls, he finds nothing so etfec- 

 tive as a small piece of lard rubbed on the back 

 and under each wing. He has cured hens in one 

 day that were unable to stand up on account of the 

 ravages of lice. -^ 



OIL MEAL — COTTON SEED. 



I wish to know what you mean by oil meal ? 

 Also, what is decorticated cotton seek cake ? What 

 is the dilference between cotton seed and linseed 

 cake or meal, and which is the most profitable to 

 feed to stock, either to make beef or as regards the 

 value of the manure ? 



I have sent by the exju-essman two or three times 

 for oil meal, but my cattle w 11 not eat it very well, 

 and some of them will not eat even an eighth part, 

 mixed with corn meal. Perhaps I have not got 

 the right kind. Any information in regard to it 

 will be thankfully received. s. c. 



South Scituaie, Mass., Jan., 1871. 



Remahks. — Oil meal is made from flax-seed. 

 The seed is ground into meal, then roasted over a 

 slow fire, then powerfully pressed for its oil. This 

 oil is "linseed oil," the oil commonly used by 

 painters. Pressing the meal, leaves it in very hard 

 cakes; these are oil cakes. Cotton seed cake is 

 procured in a similar way. It is the seed of the 

 cotton plant. "Decorticate" means litcr.ally to take 

 off the bark. When first used, cotton seed was 

 ground up with the bark or hull, and the meal 

 thus prepared proved hurtful in some cases. At 

 present the seed is hulled, or decorticated, and is 

 hence less objectional)le as feed for stock. 



Formerly, in England, oil-cake was used as a 

 manure, but it was relished so well, and proved so 

 fiittening to cattle, that it is now used for the latter 

 purpose. Milk raisers use large quantities of it in 

 producing that article for the market. The cake 

 still retains considerable oil, and is considered very 

 fattening, and also greatly enriches the manure. 

 Some prefer linseed and others cotton-seed meal. 



MILKING cows TILL THEY CALVE. 



"UTjat is the foundation for the general opmion 

 that a cow must be hurt by milking up to time of 

 calving ? I ^^•as so taught, but this year I have had 

 charge of one that I could not learn when she was 

 going to calve ; was told not until very late. When ' 

 she got down to two quarts a day I tried to dry her 

 off, but found she increased in milk very rapidly, 

 and came to seven quarts before calving. I sttp- 

 posed the calf was spoiled, if not the cow. The 

 calf was small but plump, and has growTi well. 

 The cow, a pure Aldcmey, gave over sixteen quarts 

 a day, until the drought cut her short of feed ; and 

 has done as well as any cow in the barn, though 

 she was not called any better than some of the 

 others by those having charge of her before. I 

 caimot see that it has hurt her any yet. 

 » Young Farmek. 



East Greenwich, B. I., Feb., 1811. 



Remarks. — The general opinion that a cow 

 should not be milked up to the time of calving is 

 based on well-known physiological principles, and 

 on the general experience of farmers. In the ani- 

 mal kingdom, one of the great objects of nature is 

 the reproduction of the species. If this fact is over- 

 looked in our ambition to make the cow a mere ma- 

 chine for the production of milk, we may "run" 

 this part of the machinery to the injury of some 

 other portion of the animal economy. In sections 

 where cows are kept for the supply of cheese fac- 

 tories or city markets, the milk producing organs • 



