65G 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



At the autunin meeting of the Board of Agricul- 

 ture of New Hampshire at Concord, October 17, 

 arrangements were made for holding at least one 

 farmers' meeting in each county of the State dur- 

 ing the coming winter, for the discussion of agri- 

 cultural sulyects. 



The first meeting was appointed at the Agricul- 

 tural College, Hanover, on the 14th and loth of 

 Novemlier. But we learn from the Mirror and 

 Farmer that Prof. Dimond requests that the meet- 

 ing there should be postponed until January or 

 February. 



It was proposed to hold the next meeting at 

 Concord on the 16th and 17th of December. The 

 following places have been selected for other meet- 

 ings, and the times will be as near the dates here 

 named as practicable : AtTilton, Dec. 5th and 6th ; 

 Moultonboro', Dec. 6th and 7th; Conway, Dec. 

 19th; Rochester, Dec. 20th; Durham, Dec. 21st; 

 "Walpole and Fitzwilliam, first week in January; 

 Littleton and Lancaster, the third week; Hills- 

 boro' Bridge, the last week in January ; Newport 

 and Clarcmont, the first week in February ; Ep- 

 ping and Exeter, about the middle of February ; 

 and at Manchester, at a time to be arranged by a 

 special committee appointed by the Board, and a 

 similar coiumittee of the State Society. 



Some one member or more of the Board will be 

 present at each of these meetings, and at some of 

 them the full Board will be present. 



We have also received a copy of a circular signed 

 by James O. Adams, Esq., Secretai-y of the Board, 

 addressed — not to the farmers of New Hampshire, 

 but — to "The Friends of Agriculture." Would the 

 secretary of an association of blacksmiths M-ho de- 

 sired to collect statistics of the craft and informa- 

 tion as to the condition of the craftsmen address 

 his circulars to the friends of blacksmithing .!" 

 Would not every blacksmith feel himself person- 

 ally slighted by such an address ? And should we 

 be surprised that the secretary had cause to regret 

 the neglect of his correspondents to respond to his 

 inquiries ? 



The difference between these forms of expression 

 may at first sight appear too small for serious criti- 

 cism. And so perhaps might the difference be- 

 tween the various conversations that the mother 

 bird in ^sop's fable listened to. But so long as 

 the owner of that field talked about getting the as- 

 sistance of his "friends" to harvest it, she told lier 

 nestlings they might lie still and slumber; but 

 when he decided to take hold of the work himself 

 she told them it was time to move. 



And until farmers themselves shall co-operate 

 with Boards and Societies, we have little hope that 

 much will l)e accomplished by all the "friends of 

 agriculture" in the country, or by the multitude, 

 however numerous, "who are interested in the suc- 

 cess of the farm." 



Though objecting to what wc consider unfortu- 

 nate expressions in the circular, wc believe the i 



Board desires to secure the counsel and co-operation 

 of all cultivators of the soil in the Granite State, 

 and most sincerely hope that the proposed meet- 

 ings in various parts of the State will prove to be 

 assemltlages not only of officials and those "inter- 

 ested in agriculture," but of those who are practi- 

 cally engaged, heart and hand, in farming. 



Mr. Adams solicits information in regard to 

 crops, the weather, insects, farmers' clubs, pros- 

 perity of farmers, &c. He furnishes a form for a 

 farmers' club constitution, and says, "we feel it to 

 be a matter of great importance to the farmers to 

 sustain clubs in all the towns of the State, for the 

 purpose of discussing their material interests, hold- 

 ing local fairs, and protecting themselves against 

 the tricks of 'sharpers,' or imposters in various 

 departments of trade." 



— John Buckman, of Winslow, Me., gised 

 twenty-eight bushels of wheat on three-quarters 

 of an acre of old pasture land broken up a year 

 ago last spring, planted with corn, manured in the 

 hill with plaster and ashes, and sowed with five 

 pecks of wheat, about the 1.5th of last September. 

 The wheat was sold for $70 for seed, and the straw, 

 $32 cwt. for $1760. 



Down East Wool.— The Augusta Journal 

 says that a shipment of fleece wool from 

 Aroostook county has just been received in 

 Hallowell. It was bought" principally in 

 Presque Isle, and was carted to Mattawam- 

 keag, a distance of one hundred miles, and 

 thence came by railroad. After adding all 

 expenses the wool does not cost quite as nnich 

 as the same quality bought here. It is a lonw 

 staple, and is used in tne manufactm-e of 

 delaines. It is nearly all "tub-washed," and 

 is the second shipment received in Hallowell 

 this season. 



For the iVejo England Ftmn-r. 



ADVICE FROM AN OLD FARMER. 



I am now more than four score years old, 

 but my interest in the improvement of agri- 

 culture increases with my years. I thouglit I 

 would give you some of my experient-e in 

 farming,— if you think it worth laying before 

 your readers, you are at liberty to do so. I 

 hope it will be the means of inducing others 

 to stick by the homestead with a determination 

 to improve it and take care of their parents. 

 I have not a doubt that they will succeed if 

 their desire to be useful is stronger than mere 

 money-getting. 



My father gave up the management of the 

 farm to me when I was twenty years old. It 

 had been managed as was usual in this neigh- 

 borhood at that time. He was always com- 

 plaining that he had the poorest farm in the 

 neighborhood. I determined to improve it 

 as fast as I could get the means. Upon the 

 death of my parents, my brothers and sisters 



