1871; 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



543 



yet on wet land the grass is fair, and is still 

 growinii, and as the present indications are 

 very favorable, the out-look for fodder is 

 nnic'li better than it was two weeks a^o. 

 Everything has looked gloomy indeed. The 

 pastures were as drj' as in late autumn, and 

 looked as though the fire had passed over 

 them ; grass had become hay, standing in the 

 fields ; grain was drying up ; potatoes were 

 dyspeptic and sickly ; corn, except on moist 

 land, was small and kept low, — many pieces 

 of early planted were spindling out within a 

 foot of the ground ; ])eas were small and but 

 two in a pod. Nothing seemed to flourish 

 but weeds and grasshop])ers ; the latter more 

 abundant and voracious than they were ever 

 known before. Whole gardens have been 

 strip[)ed of every green thing, and grain fields 

 destroyed almost in a day. Many fields of 

 grain have been cut to save what fodder they 

 might make, as they had been rendered en- 

 tirely worthless for grain. Some fields of 

 grass were denuded of leaves — nothing but 

 the coarse, fibrous stalk being left, and beans 

 and potatoes have not escaped the general de- 

 struction of these winged varmints. These 

 remarks will not apply to all places, only to 

 certain localities, yet grasshoppers are very 

 numerous as far as my knowledge extends. 

 The present indications are that the drought 

 is broken, as we are now having fine showers 

 and have had no hay weather for two days. 

 Vegetation has greatly revived, and all nature 

 is smiling its thanks for a cooling bath — "but 

 who knoweth what a day may bring forth ?'" 



I wish to communicate an experimental fact 

 to your readers, which some of them may 

 already know, yet it will do them no harm to 

 learn that others know the same thing. By 

 the way, I believe in a kitchen garden, and 

 always intend to have one as long as I have 

 strength to do or brains to direct. This sea- 

 son, a little black bug or flea, or some other 

 named insect, destroyed my melon and cucum- 

 ber vines. I tried various remedies, but did 

 not get much the better of the rascals. One 

 day your agent, E. P. Frost, called on me, as 

 you know, such men will when they have an 

 account against you of long standing, but 

 knowing well how to keep them good natured, 

 I invited him to stop to. tea and to look over 

 my premises a little. As we passed through 

 my garden patch, he noticed the forlorn con- 

 dition of my vines, and asked me "Why do 

 you permit that ?" I told him because I could 

 not help myself; was dead beat, &c. He 

 said take half of a newspaper, — any kind but 

 the New England Fakmek, — lay it over the 

 plants, and place a little soil around and on 

 the edges of it, so that the wind should not 

 blow the paper away, and in a short time my 

 plants would be all right. Though rather 

 doubting, I tried it, and it worked like a 

 charm. I think the vines grew much faster 

 under the paper than in the open air, even if 

 there had been no bugs. I say let others go 



and do likewise. By the way, Mr. Frost is a 

 live man, and just knows his business and 

 attends to it. He is an ever welcom.e visitor, 

 though he may come with a sJiarp hill. 



Where can one find a market for sweet flag 

 root ? How should it be prepared for market, 

 and what is it worth a pound ? Will you or 

 some of your readers kindly inform some of 

 your Maine subscribers ? 



O. Brown raised twenty-nine lambs from 

 twenty-six sheep, sold them for $3.00 per 

 head, and sold the wool for sixty cents a 

 pound this year. Geo. H. Brown. 



Munson, Oxford Co., Me., July 20, 1871. 



Remarks. — We made inquiries at the es- 

 tablishment of Geo. W. Swett, 37 Court 

 street, in relation to the market for Sweet 

 Flag Root. The roots must be cleanly 

 washed, small fibres removed, and the roots 

 split into two or more slices and thoroughly 

 dried. We understood that in this condition 

 it was worth some ten cents a pound. But 

 we should advise any one who contemplated 

 curing any considerable quantity to correspond 

 with Mr. Swett or some other dealer in roots, 

 bark, &c. We also inquired of a man who 

 peddles the root about the city as to its mar- 

 ket value. He said he dug himself what 

 he sold, but did not know that there was any 

 market for it by the quantity. 



OKCHABD QKASS. 



I have been in the habit of cultivating this 

 grass for the last thirty years, and esteem it 

 most highly. It is the first grass to start in 

 the spring, and the last to reniain green in the 

 fall. It roots deep and is the least affected 

 by dry weather. It grows well in the shade, 

 starts inmiediately after being cut, and will 

 produce more feed or grass than any other 

 that I grow, and it is as easily killed by the 

 plough as timothy or clover. 



As its habit is to grow in tussocks, I would 

 recommend to sow it with other seed, say 

 equal parts with timothy and clover, if for 

 feed or hay. But I will here say there is no 

 use in sowing it on poor land — it will not grow ; 

 it must be rich, and it delights in the rich 

 prairies of Livingston county. 111. 



Orchard grass seed is one of the most diffi- 

 cult to save, and requires a great deal of care 

 and prudence in thus doing. I think it is the 

 earliest seed to mature that I know of ; hence, 

 there is no danger of any foul seed with it, 

 and in this latitude (42 1-2) is now in the 

 proper stage to save for seed, which is in 

 dough state. No time should be lost in cut- 

 ting it now and when the dew is on. Spread 

 thin on the ground after being cut, like grain 

 from the cradle, and cover the heads lightly 



