Connecticut western news., 1878-11-27
FARM AND GARDEN.

Oce21 JOr -FG7'n1 W0rE.-An old mem- Der of the Farmers Club keeps yoke of oxen, which he says can perform we'll nearly all the work usually done on the farm by horses. MT. Armstrong sug- gested moving as difficult task, but he answered, "No; my cattle can mow just as we'll as horses. I found last summer the horses were demanded for other work, so I hitched the oxen to the machine and cut several acres; and when the grass was ready to put up I hitched them to the rake and they did that work we'll. :"
 As an argument in favor of oxen, he said he could use them moderately all through the season, and then turn them off in the fall or winter fat at profit ranging from $25 to $50. ES
 A. J.. Rhodes said that farmers who use oxen should not be in hurry. Whereupon MT. Armstrong responded that if MT. Rhodes meant to convey the idea that oxen are too slow for the farm he was not altogether right. "On heavy land,' said he, "they can blow as much as horses. have never had trouble by getting too little land plowed for 8 days work. The difficulty is in getting men to plow little enough in day with good horses. I believe I have never plowed more than an acre and a half ina day, and when have reached that have not been satisfied that the EOplx xryGc yn11 IQ,,k, l. gard to the area to be plowed, I have seen many yokes of oxen that would keep up with fast-walking horses"
 President Hoffman added 'sFarmers lose sight of what oxen need to make l them profitable workers. They want care as well as abundant food. Some years ago sawa yoke entered at plow- 1 ing-match III which ten teams were en- gagged, all horses but the one. The field was smooth, with no obstruction. The drivers of the horse teams were inclined to rldicule the man who had the oxen. They had much sport in fixing place for him, but he said he would keep out of their way if they would give him the lead. They told him, to try it, and he did. He took the lead with his oxen and he kept it, gaining in little while | 8 whole round on some of the horse teams. He got the work out of his oxen by being careful with them and feeding them we'll They were as well carded as horses, and were always sleek and fat" In his business he kept two or three yokes employed, and he regarded it as good economy to keep them we'll. He said if an accident occurred to a fat OK in the woods rendering him unfit for work he could be driven to the sham bles as, for instance, a broken leg hardly Iessens the value, but with @ horse it is total loss of the animal. He did full work with his oxen, even in the hottest days of summer. Rr-' .-1
 Timber for Posts, etc. =" When is the best season for cutting timber for posts, rails and boards? Does it really make any difference which end of 8 post is put into the ground? I have heard it said that posts set top down will last a great deal longer than when put in the other way" There is a difference of opinion among farmers on the subject of when to fell timber. August, during the second running of the sap, is, how ever, the season. oftenest advocated, es- pecially for the cutting of oak, hickory and chestnut trees A large tree felled then will season perfectly. Timber cut in winter is more liable to become sap. rotten, and when cut in the spring, the trees being full of sap, invite the depre dations of worms. The experience o trustworthy farmers appears to prove that posts set top down last longer thar those set butt-end down, and that sma1 posts, say three or four inches in diane ter, outlast larger ones. All posts should be we'll seasoned before setting An application of coal-tar is good fol wood beneath the ground, and crude pc troleum above the ground. Petroleum penetrates the pores of the wood freely
 an excellent preparation for posts, there fore, as regards durability, is to soal them with petroleum and then hold it ol that portion to be covered by earth witl an exterior coat of tar. A correspond ent in Massachusetts preserves his post by putting on two coats of gas-tar witt paint brush in the same manner as h.
 would apply ordinary paint.