1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



339 



to do so till now, and perhaps you will think I had 

 better waited awhile longer, — "hut here goes either 

 for waste basket or Extracts and Replies. 



C. L. Drake. 



SINGING BIRDS. — CURRANT AVORMS. — EARLY POTA- 

 TOES. — FRUIT BLOSSOMS. — MOLLIE JERSEY. 



When I am awakened in the morning by the 

 singing birds, and go out into the wonderfully 

 clear air and see the dew sparkling on eveiy blade 

 of grass and tipping every green leaf with a dia- 

 mond point, I pity those poor people who are con- 

 fined in the liot dusty city ; but when I see currant 

 worms and canker worms, bugs, beetles, moths, 

 millers, and flies destroying and spoiling every 

 thing in their way, I am almost tempted to say I 

 would rather dwell in the city. 



But wc rather have the upper hands of the 

 curyant worms, — the unsightly, green, wriggling 

 thifigs! Last summer, in common with many 

 others, we suffered from fire> losing not only a 

 carriage shop, but also apple and pear trees, grape 

 vines, strawberry plants, and two long rows of 

 currant bushes. The currant worms were revelling 

 in them a few weeks before. They cannot do 

 aiuch at it this year, as the bushes are up only a 

 a few inches, having been cut down to the ground 

 in the fall ; but the worms will probably make the 

 bist of what foliage there may be. 



Last year we tried whale oil soap, — the worms 

 gtew fat upon it ; tobacco soap rather sulidued 

 them; strong soap suds were only a grateful 

 shower; and water made strong and dark with 

 droppings from the hen roost had much more ef- 

 fect upon the user than upon the worm. This 

 year we shall tr.y carljolate of lime. They made 

 their appearance yesterday, May 22. 



The canker worm has not shown itself as j'ct, it 

 being too early for them. A few caterpillars are 

 ■,o be found. 



Apple trees are not blooming well. Only one, 

 icre and there, is to be seen full. Pear trees are 

 llooming better. There is some complaint of their 

 Icing winter killed. We have two that started well 

 euly in the spring and budded profuselj-, but are 

 iBw entirely dead. One is a small, the other quite 

 a large tree. What do you suppose the matter is ? 

 They were treated in eveiy way like the rest and 

 sarted as well. Do not know their names, as we 

 a so lost in the fire the plan of the pear orchard 

 whereon the names were marked — but think the 

 la"ge one is a winter Nelis. 



Peach trees are blooming splendidlj', and cherry 

 tr;es have been a perfect bouquet of white blos- 

 soms. 



Early Rose potatoes and Breese's King of the 

 Farlies M-ere planted the same day and came up 

 at the same time. Early peas have not come up 

 well, l)ut later sorts are looking finely. 



"Mollie Jersey "dropped her calf four weeks ago 

 'o-day, having gone dry nine days. She gave a 

 pint of milk when we left off milking her. The 

 valf was a handsome fellow, but, alas, he is in the 

 )utcher's hands to-night! We have sold fifty 

 oounds of liutter. The cow gave four quarts and a 

 pint to-night. Will tr}' and keep an account of 

 ihe quantity of butter she makes this year. As 

 :br quality it is A No. 1, — "gilt edged," perhaps. 

 Her September butter is as sweet as a nut to-day. 



S. B. Saavyer. 



West Amesbuf-y, Mass., May 23, 1871. 



P. S. May 24. Last night, we rode from this 

 place to Newburyport, some eight miles. The air 

 was loaded with the perfume of the apple blos- 

 soms, and we were much gratified to see the trees 

 blooming so much more fully than with us. If 

 blossoms portend fruit, it will not be so very 

 scarce. We saw large beds of strawberry plants 



white with blossoms, ai»d potatoes so large as to 

 make a grand show, having been hoed once. 



s. B. s. 



Remarks. — From the sprouting of the seed to 

 the ripening of the fruit, pear trees are subject to 

 failures and de£^.ii, especially on dry, light soils. 

 Whether your trees were killed by the drought 

 of last summer, fall and winter, or whether some 

 other cause Ijlighted them, we cannot sa.y with any 

 degree of certaint}', but their showing signs of life 

 in the spring and then failing to leaf out fully are 

 no unusual circumstances. 



FOUR dead HEIFERS. 



I have lost four out of the sixteen head of cattle 

 that I took to the barn last fall. They were all 

 heifers that I raised myself. They died very sud- 

 denly, having no s}'mptoms of disease that I no- 

 ticed twenty-four hours before death. All the in- 

 fo rnuition that I have lieen able to get is from a 

 Ijook, "The American Veterinarian," by S. W. 

 Cole, from which 1 have been led to suppose that 

 the disease might have been chronic red-water or 

 dry murrain, but the remedies put down in that 

 book have not given me satisfaction. I have eleven 

 now, nearly all of which I think have had the 

 same disease and are not cntii'cly clear from it 

 now, with the best doctoring I could give them. 



West ISutton, Mass., May, 1871. iST. Lackey. 



Remarks. — While we sincerel}' sympathize with 

 our correspondent in the loss of his young cattle, 

 we have no means of ascertaining what the cause 

 may be, as no symptoms are given. If the disease 

 is red-water it would be attended by some very 

 striking symptoms, as the urine would be dis- 

 colored. A murrain of any kind would present 

 symptoms of a very different character. 



As a remedy for red-water, Mr. Allen, in his ex- 

 cellent work on "American Cattle," says that pur- 

 gative medicines are the best, and recommends the 

 following : — Mix Castor oil, 6 ounces ; Saltpetre, 1 

 ounce; Epsom salts, 4 ounces; thin gruel, 1 quart. 



If the animal is frequently endeavoring to stall, 

 voiding only a small quantity, with considerable 

 pain and difficulty, he recommends mucilaginous 

 drinks, — such as an infusion of flax seed and a de- 

 coction of marshmallows, are most likely to afford 

 relief. 



Have your cattle had access to fresh paint or 

 any other poisonous matter ? The diseases of do- 

 mestic animals and man are so similar in their 

 character that we thhik the family physician ought 

 to be more frequently consulted by fiu-mers in case 

 of illness among their stock than is usually done. 

 Especially in cases where the cause of sickness or 

 the nature of the disease is unknown. The ques- 

 tions which a medical man would ask and the ex- 

 amination he would make would probably enable 

 him to give you valuable advice, which from your 

 statement we cannot do. 



A GOOD cow DRYING UP. 



I have a cow that dropped her calf the first of 

 April, and did well ; but within two or three weeks 

 she has commenced to dry up in one of her teats. 

 She does not give one-third as much from it now 

 as from any one of the others. She is a good cow. 



