THE CULTIVATOR. 
213 
NOTES OF CONNECTICUT FARMING. 
Mr. L. Durand, of Derby, CL, informs us that he 
made, during the past winter, a short tour of observation 
through some of the towns of his section. From his 
notes, with which he has favored us, we give the follow¬ 
ing extract: 
‘•'In the westerly part of the town of Watertown, is 
the residence of Stephen Atwood. His farm lies on high 
ground, is somewhat rough; but is dry, and very healthy 
for sheep, of which he keeps a flock. His sheep are 
pure Merinos, and have be’en kept so from the commence¬ 
ment of his wool-growing. The consequence is, his 
sheep command a ready sale at large prices. He exhibit¬ 
ed some of his flock at your State Fair, at Poughkeepsie, 
one of which, a buck, he sold to the Messrs. Morrell, 
and another to some Vermont men—obtaining for the 
latter, the price, (I think,) of $50. 
“ Mr. Atwood’s wool is not as fine as some I have 
seen, but it is very compact on the sheep and of good 
length. I was struck with the perfect evenness of the 
wool on the sheep—it had the appearance of having been 
evenly shorn. On making inquiry of Mr. Atwood as to 
the quantity per head his sheep would shear, he said the 
flock would avarage six pounds of clean washed wool. 
He further said he had not used a buck for the last ten 
years, that would not shear annually, eight pounds. This 
shows what can be done in the way of wool-growing, if 
the right system is pursued. Mr. Atwood has one buck 
among a lot of others, which is the handsomest sheep I 
ever saw. His body is heavy and compact, legs short, 
neck short and well set on, so that every time he stepped, 
I noticed he drove the wool on the shoulder up against 
the horn. 
“ In the easterly part of this town, (Watertown,) I 
called on Jacob N. Blakeslee, another noted wool-grow¬ 
er. His flock consists, I believe, of about 350, and pro¬ 
duces perhaps the finest wool in the state. His sheep are 
not so large as Mr. Atwood’s, but yield finer wool, which 
commands a more ready sale in market. His farm is not 
as healthy for sheep as Mr. A.’s, but his sheep will grow, 
he says, till they are five years old, and will then shear 
five pounds of clean washed wool, very fine and clear 
from gum, and of course will not waste as much as other 
wool in manufacturing. Mr. Blakeslee sends his wool 
to Lowell every year, and gets such prices as enable him 
to persevere in raising fine wool; and indeed I believe 
that the only course which the eastern wool grower can 
take for profit is to grow the finest wool possible, and at 
the same time increase the weight of the fleece. Mr. 
Blakeslee also exhibited some of his sheep at the Pough¬ 
keepsie Fair, and sold some to the Messes. Morrell and 
other wool-growers at good prices. He too, I think, has 
kept his sheep quite pure in the Merino blood. I hope 
the example of Mr. Atwood and Mr. Blakeslee will in¬ 
duce many other farmers in our state to persevere in 
raising good sheep and fine wool. 
“ The farmers here raise good cattle. At Mr. At¬ 
wood’s, I saw a splendid red bull, one of the finest I ever 
saw—his blood Devon and native. 
“ In Watertown, particularly on Mr. Atwood’s farm, I 
noticed a plan of building fences which answers well, and 
the farmers say it prevents sheep from getting out of the 
fields. It consists of a wall about three feet high, in the 
same shape of a worm fence, a heavy stone being placed 
on each corner, and on the top of this four heavy rails. 
It makes a heavy, stiff fence. But I noticed that in build¬ 
ing this kind of fence, not more than half the stones were 
cleared from the fields. My plan, I think, would be to 
make heavy, whole walls; say four feet wide at the bot¬ 
tom, and four or five feet high. By making fences of 
this kind, the fields might be well cleared of the surplus 
stones and the ground left in a good state for cultivation. 
“I also visited the towns of Waterbury and Naugatuc. 
Waterbury is a large manufacturing town, and here al¬ 
most every kind of article is made which yankee minds 
can conjecture. It is the largest manufacturing town in 
the valley of the Naugatuc, and the most thriving, with 
the exception of Birmingham, in Derby, which lies at the 
junction of the Naugatuc and Housatonic rivers, and at the 
head of water navigation. I do not know where farm¬ 
ing can be made more profitable, than in the vicinity of 
these flourishing manufacturing villages. A home mar¬ 
ket is what the farmer wants, which is always better than 
one at a distance. In these villages he can always find a 
ready market for his produce, and generally good prices. 
Thus, pork in Waterbury, the past winter, has brought a 
better price, and had a more ready sale, than in New 
Haven, one of the capitals of the State; though a small¬ 
er amount would furnish the market every day. Nauga¬ 
tuc is also a flourishing manufacturing town; with some 
spirited farmers. The towns of Prospect and Cheshire, 
are devoted to farming. The fox-mer, is a small, hilly 
town, situate on high land, and the farmers to correspond, 
take several copies of the Monthly Visitor, and Cul¬ 
tivator. In Cheshire, some twenty copies of the Culti¬ 
vator are taken, and the farmers have a good soil to cul¬ 
tivate, and are quite spirited. I am aware that the win¬ 
ter season is not as good a time for taking notes on farm¬ 
ing, yet there is always something new to be learned, if 
people are willing to learn.” 
BE DEFINITE. 
Mr. Tucker—I have, from the impulse of the mo¬ 
ment, decided to send you a little lay sermon, upon the 
impoi’tance of the brief words that compose my caption. 
You are indebted for this favor, to the vexation I have 
this minute experienced, while engaged in reading, for 
my gratification, on a favorite subject, viz: good cookery. 
I may as well say, here, that I am particularly fond of 
choice corn bread, or as the yankees call it johnny cake; 
and I desire also to have it “ twice alike,” or in other 
words, always the same, and that same very good; but it 
has been my fortune to occupy quarters for many years, 
where the mistress of the house presides both at her 
pantry and her table, and she scouts the idea of being 
definite, or of doing things exactly by rule; hence her 
johnnys are never twice alike—the good are “ very good,” 
the bad “ too poor to give the pigs.” I was reading, as 
I have premised of gastronomy, in one of the daily 
newspapers, and an article headed “choice corn bread,” 
“directions for making, &c.,” xnet my eye,—“Ah ha! 
thought I, now will we have a touch of the delicious 
all the time, hot corn bread, every day quintescently light, 
and always the same. So I began to read—“Take as 
much corn meal as you wish to cook, scald it well, stir it 
thoroughly, mix it to the consistence of batter, with 
milk; the more you mix it the better; add an egg, one 
teaspoonful of saleratus, a tablespoonful or more of lard, 
mix thoroughly, and bake.” On a second reading, I 
looked as I am wont, to the 'practical part, prefacing it 
with “ is this just the thing, let us see:” “ Take as much 
corn meal as youicish ”—ah, the jackanapes, I could pom¬ 
mel you with right good will,—“ as much as you wish ”— 
suppose I wish 1 quart, or up to 10, or any other number; 
all the same, eh? 1 teaspoonful of saleratus and 1 egg— 
all right for 1 qt. 2, 3 or 10!! I’m done up — the rale 
thing has vanished. Why was“nt you definite, you nin¬ 
ny? “Then mix it with milk to the consistency of bat¬ 
ter.” Ai*e there no degrees in the “ consistency of bat¬ 
ter.” Would one qt. or 3 qts., make some one of these 
degrees? Why did you not say how much meal and how 
much milk, that some benefit might have come of your 
knowledge? Now, Mr. Editor, I have a vast many times 
had trouble with these “point no point” writers, and 
lost the good I love to enjoy, just because they do things 
by halves; they will tell you something as particular as 
a “ teaspoonful of saleratus,” and others, perhaps of 
vital importance, are left for conjecture, and that too, in 
cases where they profess to be giving you a receipt, that 
is, special direction for preparing the compound. 
How much, sir, eveiy where, and even in your own 
excellent paper, is left undone, in this particular; how 
many mistakes would be avoided while attempting to 
pursue directions,—how much disappointment prevent¬ 
ed,—how much positive good be wrought and success 
insured, if writers were definite, where now occurs a dis¬ 
piriting failure, consequent upon pursuing, half informed, 
the various plans of benefit and improvement concocted 
by your correspondents and offered in your coiums. 
Oneida. 
