232 



NEW ENGLAND F.AHMER. 



May 



PAKIxa PLOUGH. 



Please infomi me if you know of any macliine 

 for ftitriiii,' liassocks or boprs. I fimn(i a copy of 

 the Worl-ing Farmer for 1850, which spoke of a 

 machine for cutting bogs, invented by Dr. Paul of 

 Belvitlcre, New Jersey, which would do the work 



of over twenty men, having one man to manage 

 the machine and a lioy to drive the oxen. The 

 editor promises to give a description of the ma- 

 chine in the next number. W. R. Vilas. 

 Jiurlington, Vt., March 22, 1871. 



RemakKs. — AVe find by referring to the volume 

 of the AVorking Farmer for 18o0 that the cuts of 

 Mr. Paul's Hassock Cutter were published on page 

 139. It represents what we think would be a costly 

 and unwicldly implement, which we cannot well 

 describe without the cuts. It has a liottom plate 

 or cutter four feet wide, with upright cutters from 

 each front corner of this bottom plate which is 

 concave, so that an idea of Mr. Paul's machine 

 may be formed by supposing the team to be hitched 

 to the rear of the plough or parer above illustrated. 



This illustration represents a plough for paring 

 turf lands preparatory to burning, manufactured 

 by the Ames Plow Company. The forward cutter 

 seen in the illustration is not now applied, as the 

 parer has been found to work better without it. 

 The share is thin and flat, mado of wrought iron, 

 steel-edged. It has a lock-coulter in the centre, 

 and short coulters on the outward edge of each 

 wing of the share, cutting the turf as it moves 

 along into two strips, about one foot wide, and as 

 deep as required. Men follow with sharp spades, 

 and cut these strips into suital)le lengtli, say of two 

 or three feet. These pieces are then thro\vn into 

 heaps, and after drying they are burned, and the 

 ashes spread l)roadcast on the land. 



Other manufacturers have adapted ploughs to 

 similar work, but we do not know of any now for 

 sale specially designed for cutting hassocks. 



lUTTER MAKING. 



The diversitj' of recommendations that have re- 

 cently been given in the Fakmeh for making the 

 butter come, have amused me not a little, and at 

 the same time reminded me of the doct(n- who was 

 in doul)t as to the disease of a patient aiul gave liim 

 a mixture of all the medicines in his saddle bags, 

 hoping that some one or more might hit his case. 

 But as ill the multitude of counsellors there is 

 safety, I will give in as few words as possible our 

 process of butter making. 



For over two years past wc have churned once a 

 week in winter and twice in summer, and have not 

 exceeded twenty minutes in gathering tlie butter at 



any time. This winter it has not taken over ten or 

 twelve minutes at any time, generally it has not 

 exceeded six or eight. 



For the "week ending February 24, the milk 

 drawn from a two-ycars-old heifer and from her 

 mother, both fnll-blood Alderncy, ^va.s weighed 

 Avhen it was strained into the pans, 

 and an exact account of each mess 

 was kept. The milk amounted to 126 

 pounds and 7 ounces ; one quart of 

 which weighed 2 pounds 7 ounces. 

 The cream was separated from the 

 milk so as to retain as little milk with 

 the cream as possiI)le; about one- 

 half of the cream was put into a dash 

 churn. In less than four minutes by 

 the watch after commencing to churn, 

 the butter was gathered. The cream 

 on the lid was put down and dashed 

 three minutes more, which finished 

 the churning. The othyr half of the 

 cream was six minutes in gathering. 

 The whole was put togerher and salted one ounce 

 to the pound. In the afternoon the butter was thor- 

 oughly worked over and put into i)ound lumps. 

 There were eight pounds and ten ounces of hard 

 solid butter. The working was all done with white 

 oak spatters. Not a particle of water, saltpetre or 

 sugar is ever applied to our cream or butter under 

 any circumstances whatever, believing they could 

 not benefit but would greatly injure the flavor. 

 Eight pounds v ere churned to-day in six minutes. 

 Corn, rye and oat meal with wheat shorts, are 

 given to the cows with a little salt once a day, with 

 good English hay cut early. W. Adams. 



Swamey, X. H., March 3, 1871. 



HOV TO LOAD A WAGOX. 



Having read the article under the above heading 

 in the Farmer of March 11, may I be i)ermitted to 

 "elucidate" the matter from a practical point of 

 view. Granting that, iihilosopliiealiy, the reason- 

 ing of that article is correct, the deduction that a 

 wagon should be loaded heaviest behind may not 

 be so. 



Ever}' teamster should know that the closer the 

 team can be got to the load the nuire they can 

 di'aw; also, that a very long wagon is objectionable. 

 From my oavu experience, I think the considera- 

 tion of distance overbalances the philosophic one. 

 May I suggest to any reader of the Farmer who 

 owns one, a dynamometer trial ? 



Meanwhile, if any one wishes to see whether 

 science and practice agree, let him repair to the 

 foot of a steep hill with his team, and load them to 

 their full capacity, putting five-ninths of the load 

 in front and four-ninths behind ; then draw it tip. 

 Afterwards, let him try the same load five-ninths 

 behind, and I think he would get a dislike to that 

 manner of loading. 



HUNGARIAN GRASS. 



I hope the readers of the Farmer will not be 

 deterred from trying Hungarian grass by the un- 

 fiivorable experience of a late correspondent. I 

 have no hesiiation, after three years' trial, in re- 

 commending it as the best crop a dairy farmer can 

 put on old ground well manured. "When well 

 cured it is eaten with great relish by both Massa- 

 chusetts and Illinois cattle and horses, but is rather 

 too coarse and stenuny for sheep. Should not cut 

 it till after l)lossoming. F. L. Sanderson. 



Petersham, Mass., March 11, 1871. 



LOSS and supply of phosphate. 

 The hills of New England have become ex- 

 hausted of their phosphate b}' the continued sale 

 of the bones of our farm stock, without the return 

 of its equivalent to the soil. Consequently our 



