660 



NEW FNGLAND FARMER. 



Dec, 



Ploughing in the fall, therefore, expecially 

 for heavy lands, is the best means for securing 

 the action of the frosts of winter and the rains 

 of spring to decompose and disintegrate the 

 particles of the soil. I have heard individuals 

 say, however, that they would not have their 

 lands ploughed at this time for the reason 

 that, when the ground is not covered with 

 snow, a great deal of the soil is carried away j 

 by winds ; but from a long experience it has | 

 been found that lands ploughed in the fall, \ 

 especially if the manure is put on, can be | 

 worked much earlier in the spring, besides | 

 being in a much better mechanical condition 

 than when turned over and immediately 

 planted. For this reason alone, if not for 

 other advantages, many farmers would find it 

 very much to their convenience to adopt it, 

 since in many portions of New England, far- 

 mers find it almost impossible to get their 

 corn planted early enough to have it well ri- 

 pened before the early frosts attack it. 



Another advantage of some importance is, 

 that our teams are in a much better condition 

 to do this work now than in the spring when 

 the warm weather is coming on. They have 

 been in the barn all winter, and when taken 

 out to work it requires some time and exer- 

 cise to recover their full strength, while it is 

 always a noticeable fact that they feel this 

 work much more then than now. 



Weeds are moreeasily and completely kept 

 under control, also, when the land is turned 

 over in the fall, and where farmers are so un- 

 fortunate as to have witch grass, (Triticum 

 repeyis), in their \a.nd, they will find that it 

 can be considerably backened and subdued by 

 turning up the roots to the action of the win- 

 ter's frost. It would be well when this 

 troublesome pest abomids, to plough two or 

 three times in the fall as well as to harrow it. 

 Then, as soon as the ground becomes settled 

 in the spring, plough and harrow every few 

 days from the time it starts well until it is 

 completely subdued. If it requires a whole 

 summer, the land will be enough richer and 

 I better broken up to pay the farmer for his 

 work, while the weeds can be elTectually sub- 

 dued by this process. 



And, finally, when we consider that by 

 ploughing in the fall we are aided in our ef- 

 forts by those forces of nature to which we 

 owe all our soil, and by whose action the soil 

 is constantly made more and more fertile ; 

 that much time is saved, in that we can com- 

 mence operations nuich ealier in the spring 

 upon our lands when thus treated ; that our 

 teams are better prepared to perform this 

 work now than in the spring ; that many 

 y^eeds, — the worst enemies of the farmer, — 

 . can be effectually got rid of by if, — is not fall 

 ploughing worthy your trial and adoption as 

 one of the improvements in the cultivation of 

 the soil. 



Maple.ioood Farm, ) 



Barre, Masa., Oct. 16, 1871.) 



ADUIiTEKATION Of BUTTEB. 



Thousands of pounds of butter are daily 

 sold in the city of New York, which are 

 adulterated with a substance made from cot- 

 ton-seed oil. It is creditable to the farmers, 

 as a class, that they are not open to the charge 

 of adulterating their produce ; yet they suffer 

 from the dishonest competition of dealers who 

 make up and sell these fraudulent compounds, 

 and by so doing affect unfavorably not only 

 the sale but the character of the genuine ar- 

 ticle. As a matter of curiosity we describe 

 an artificial compound which was manufac- 

 tured in Paris to supply the want of real 

 butter during the late siege. The refuse ma- 

 terials left after the manufacture of stearine 

 from fatty animal matters, such as tallow, &c., 

 consisting of an oily paste, composed of oleine 

 and margarine, were washed in water acidu- 

 lated with muriatic acid for the purpose of 

 bleaching it. It was then subjected to the 

 action of a chemical solution for a period of 

 three hours, during which it was made to ac- 

 quire the taste and color of butter. This sub- 

 stance, manufactured without any assistance 

 from the cows, was considered an excellent 

 substitute for butter, and was readily accepted 

 in place of it by the people, who considered it 

 much superior to any other artificial product 

 of this description. — Scientific American. 



CORN FODDER. 



The opinion we have always held upon the 

 question of the value of green corn fodder for 

 milch cows has been, that when raised from 

 broadcast sowing it is nearly worthless, but 

 when sown in hills or in drills, and cultivated, 

 with access of air and sunlight, it is of high 

 value. 



During the present season we have made 

 some experiments to test the correctness of 

 these views. Stalks were collected from a field 

 where the seed was sown broadcast, and also 

 stalks growing in drills upon the same field, 

 and they were dried in a drying closet to ex- 

 pel the moisture. Both specimens were plant- 

 ed at the same time (the 6th of May), and it 

 was found that the plants from the broadcast 

 sowing contained 92 per cent, of water, those 

 from drills 83 per cent, of water. Thus it was 

 shown that the difference of solid matter in the 

 two was relatively as 8 to 17 per cent. The 

 solid matter was composed of starch, gum, 

 sugar, and woody fibre. There was almost an 

 entire absence of sugar and gum in the stalks 

 from the broadcast sowing, while the stalks 

 that had grown under the influence of light and 

 air held these nutrient principles in considera- 

 ble (|uantities. The stalks were collected at 

 the period of growth just before the ear begins 

 to form, a period when most farmers commence 

 to cut the fodder for their cows. 



Our experiments upon corn fodder have af- 

 forded us important information upon other 

 points. We find that the stalks cut before they 



