600 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



important ol" our farm crops. Its qualitj' is varied 

 by tlif inanut'ui'turtr as much as butter varies in 

 diderent dairies. The iDakinj; of hay is sul)ject to 

 Iviiuwiedge and sliill of tlie hay maker, therefore a 

 suitable article for competition t\»r premiums. Will 

 some one tell us why tiiis universal neglect of hay ? 

 Maxt Yard, N. H., 1871. F. F. Fisk. 



F.\LL PUrXING or AITLE TREES. 



I am always so busy in June that I cannot find 

 time to prune my trees at that time, vv hat is yonr 

 opinion of the expediency of trimming in October 

 and November ? t. s. f. 



Felchville, Vt., Oct. lii, 1S71. 



Remarks. — June is our favorite month for prun- 

 ing; our next choice of time for that work is soon 

 after the leaves fall in autumn. We are not sure 

 that October is not about as favorable a time as 

 June, — some farmers prefer it even. 



COMMON farmer's SOAP F«R BOXE DISEASE. 



About one year ago, I think, the question, "What 

 will cure the bone disease in cattle ?" was asked in 

 the Farmer; but as yet I have seen no answer. 

 It is a disease (jnite common among cows, espe- 

 cially in a dry season, and the best cows in the 

 herd are the ones usually troubled with it. The 

 first symptom of the disease is an appetite for 

 bones, sticks, or scraps of leather, &c., which the 

 *reature eats with a relish; afterwards, in time, 

 lameness sets in, which seems to work in the mus- 

 cles like rheumatism, slight at first, but gradually 

 increasing until the creature is lame all over. 



Cows have been cured the past season in this vi- 

 cinity that were quite lame, Ijy giving one-half pint 

 of soap, such as every farmer makes, every other 

 day, mixed with meal so that they will eat it. 

 Some prefer to mix bone meal with the soap. I 

 have cured a cow in ray own herd this season, of 

 the appetite for sticks and bones, by giving two 

 doses of soap mixed with oatmeal. I hardly think 

 it would cure a case of long standing, but if taken 

 in season it will probably be bencticial. 



Cabot, Vt., Oct., 16'71. C. M. Fisher. 



Old AND True.— Mr. Charles E. White, of Tops- 

 ham, Maine, who showed the best grade Durham 

 yearling heifer at the late fair of the Sagadahoc 

 county agricultural society, told the reporter of 

 the Maine Farmer that, "with good feed and good 

 care, one can have good animals. Calves must be 

 kept growing the first winter. With plenty of wa- 

 ter, good hay and an occasional feed of roots, they 

 ■will make large, handsome animals. Too many 

 calves receive a stunt the first winter which .they 

 never get over afterwards." If winter and calves 

 did not come every year, we might not need such 

 frequent reminders of the importance of taking 

 good care of the little ones of the flock. 



LorisiANA State Fair. — Though we have de- 

 voted much time this fall to agricultural Fairs, and 

 considerable space in our columns to reports of 

 them, a very strong desire to attend "just one 

 more" has been excited by the receipt of the pro- 

 gramme of the Fifth Gi-and Fair of Louisiana, 

 with a very pleasant invitation to the exhibition, 

 accompanied by kind greetings and the assurance 

 of a cordial welcome, which are also extended to 



the people of the North, East and West. The 

 Fair commences at New Orleans, Nov. 18, and con- 

 tinues nine days. Over ;jfi20,000 in premiums are 

 offered for excellence in mechanical and agricultu- 

 ral products. In New England the weather is sel- 

 dom suita))le for an agricultural fair, in the latter 

 j)art of November, but in sunny Louisiana we pre- 

 sume it is an enjoyable season, — perhaps more so 

 than an earlier date. Wc wish for our friends there 

 complete success, though we may not have the 

 pleasure of mingling with them in their annual fes- 

 tival, and of seeing the results of Southern industry, 

 and the products of Southern soil, which will be 

 there exhibited. I. N. Marks, President; Luther 

 Homes, Secretary and Treasurer. 



GRAPES AND "WINE GROWING." 



Tlie editor of the Santa Clara Valley, Cali- 

 fornia, Agncidturist, a monthly paper, com- 

 menced last May, says : — 



"We were once inclined to favor the wine 

 interests of this State, as tending to decrease 

 the use of ardent spirits. But fifteen years of 

 close study and observation have thorouglily 

 convinced us that wine is an insiduous enemy. 

 Its victims are too often the thoughtless youth 

 of both sexes, and it starts on the road to ruin 

 many with a fair prospect, who might, but for 

 its blight of moral obligations, become useful 

 and happy men and women. It is the first 

 round, not in the ladder to fame, but to the 

 lower defile of degradation and disgrace. 

 Regarding it thus, how can we but renounce 

 it? 



The term icine growing, has become so 

 common that one can seldom take up an agri- 

 cultural paper without seeing it ; as though 

 wine making was a legitimate agricultural avo- 

 cation ! Should the farmer who raises barley 

 be called a lager beer grower, or the one who 

 sows rye a whiskey grower, there might be 

 some consistency in this use of the term "wine 

 growing." But wine is not an agricultural 

 production. It does not exist in nature. It 

 may be made from grapes and some other 

 sorts of useful fruits ; so may many other ex- 

 traitts and poisons. 



The wine business may be as 'profitable' 

 as the beer or whiskey business, but we have 

 statistics showing that here, as well as else- 

 where, "wine is a mocker" ; that for every ten 

 that flourish in the business of wine making, 

 five hundred are out of pocket, and at least fif- 

 ty are forever ruined. 



— GoveiTior Perham of Maine, is no dandy offi- 

 cial, but a genuine farmer. On a recent tour of 

 inspection to the Swedish settlement in Aroostook 

 county, the Governor noticed some wheat which he 

 thought was not properly secured. He at once 

 put up several "stooks" after the Yankee manner, 

 which was a new way to the Swedes. They will 

 profit by the lesson. 



