1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARIMER. 



319 



that the visit was more to the bams and the editor 

 and his foniily, than to the farm. 



The buildings arc pleasantly situated and con- 

 veniently aiTanged at a little distance back from 

 the street, and are surrounded by a well kept lawn 

 interspersed here and there with shade trees. The 

 flower and fruit garden is located in rear of the 

 lawn, and forms a beautiful background to its 

 velvety greenness. Still further back is a fine 

 young orchard, set and tended by the proprietor's 

 own hands, and showing a uniformity of growth 

 and appearance seldom excelled. Everything 

 about the premises, whether on the farm or in the 

 bams and outbuildings, showed the most perfect 

 cleanliness and order. A portion of the farm has 

 but recently l)een purchased, and has not yet been 

 brought up to that state of productiveness which 

 will be realized in the future. 



In the stables wei'e a dozen cows, a part of them 

 Ayrshires, and the others Jersey ; five horses be- 

 longing to the estate, and thirteen boarders. The 

 feed for this stock was English hay, com fodder, 

 and oat straw cut green and unthreshed. This is 

 run through a feed cutter propelled by horse 

 power, mixed, wet up, and a small quantity of 

 corn meal and shorts worked in with it. This is 

 prepared before wanted for use, left in a mass to 

 soften for at least twelve hours before any is used. 

 The feed is believed to be much improved bj' this 

 preparation, and stock thrive upon it much better 

 than upon dry feed. Connected with the stables 

 are the hen house and the boiler room for cooking 

 the feed for swine. These are characterized by the 

 same order and neatness elsewhere manifested. 

 Some fine specimens of ^\'^lite Chester pigs were 

 in the cellar upon the manure — kept to gi'ow, as the 

 proprietor said, and not to work. If that were the 

 sole object, why they were kept upon the manure 

 from the stables, unless to tread it down, I could 

 not see. In an adjoining apartment was a gener- 

 ous pile of m.angel wurtzel beets, gi-own for the 

 pigs and cows. These are considered ^ ery excel- 

 lent feed, and are thought to be a profitable crop. 



After a brief inspection of the farm and stables 

 we returned again to the house. This is con- 

 structed in conformity with correct rural taste, 

 without any efitbrt to display wealth or magnifi- 

 cence. It is just such a home as an educated far- 

 mer of taste would desire. Proceeding to the 

 library, the afternoon passed quicklj- away in con- 

 versation upon various topics pertaining to asri- 

 culture. Here, surrounded by his books and pa- 

 pers, his editorial labors are all performed. His 

 expressed ideas found in his writings and lectures, 

 which have such a home flavor, are the natural 

 outgrowth of his pleasant surroundings. His edi- 

 torial harness sits lightly upon his shoulders. He 

 seldom visits the office in Boston, but instead 

 spends much time, as every agricultural editor 

 should, in visiting the fai-mers whom he would in- 

 struct, that he may fully understand their condi- 

 tion and their wants. My thanks are due to Mr. 

 Brown and his pleasant fixmily for kind assistance 

 and polite attentions, which rendered my visit to 

 their model country home exceedingly pleasant. 



Hard Woek to Write. — Famiers and others 

 who are not much accustomed to putting their 

 thoughts on paper, often complain that it is hard 

 work to write. But these persons generally sup- 

 pose that it is owing to want of practice, stiff fin- 

 gers, &c., and that the easily read and smooth 

 compositions of authors, editors and other fluent 

 writers, are prodiiced without much labor. This 

 is probably a mistake, in most cases, though some 

 persons wi-ite much more easily than others. An 

 American historian stated that he had copied or 



re-MTitten his work eight times with his own hand, 

 before offering it to the printer. 



Among the agricultural writers of note in this 

 country, there is perhaps none whose style appears 

 more natural, off-hand and easy, or less studied 

 and labored, than that of J. Harris, Esq., who 

 writes the "Walks and Talks on the Farm" in the 

 American Agriculturist, in addition to books and 

 more elaborate papers, and yet in his last article 

 he says, "I would rather at any time dig a rod of 

 ditch than write for ten minutes." 



Excellence in writing as in everything else is the 

 result more generally of perseverance and hard 

 work than of any natural gift, and we copy the re- 

 mark of Mr. Harris for the encouragement of far- 

 mers and others who may be disheartened by the 

 effort and labor it costs them to get their thoughts 

 and facts in readable shape on paper. 



EXTRACTS AND HEPIjIES. 



TURNING MUCK INTO A PROFITABLE FERTILIZER. 



I am a young f;\rmer just commenced in life, and 

 being a reader of your valuable paper, and noticing 

 with interest the gi'cat amount of practical infor- 

 mation diffused throughout its columns, and the 

 wisdom with which the numerous questions of 

 your readers arc answered, I have concluded to 

 ask one, although I am afraid it is an old one. I 

 have a good muck bed and I would like to know, 

 if I could produce a good article to top dress my 

 land with, by adding to it some other ingredient 

 that will produce an artificial manure, which will 

 benefit the land, and whether such a composition 

 would be a paving investment of time and moaey : 



May 3, 1871. t. m. 



Remarks. — That the use of a sufficient quantity 

 of good muck to absorb the liquid portions of ma- 

 nure, house slops, &c., and to increase the bulk of 

 the droppings by one-half is a paying investment, 

 is confirmed by the experience of many practical 

 farmers. Experiments in the use of muck alone, 

 and with muck mixed with other materials, have 

 been made by many farmers with very different 

 results. Old meat brine, or brine made from cheap 

 salt, ash^ lime, saltpetre, salammoniac, &c., have 

 been tried, but we believe not extensively used by 

 farmers. Who can tell F. M. what ingi-edient to 

 put with his muck to make a cheap and good fer- ■ 

 tilizer. 



CATTLE LICKING PAINT. 



What will counteract the poison which a calf 

 gets by licking old sills or walls of a baiTi ? I have 

 lost a number of calves from that cause, and never 

 could give them anything which would save them. 

 >I have one now sick from that cause. 



Charles K. Tracy. 



Hinsdale, Mass., April, 1871. 



Remarks. — If the bam is painted and the calf 

 has licked that paint, gi->'e it a teaspoonful of salt- 

 petre mixed with meal, every other day, until yKm 

 have given three doses. If the bam is not 

 painted, the licking is occasioned by that morbM'' 

 appetite which prompts cows to chew bones, old 1 

 leather and boards. We call it "morbid," when 



