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PROBATE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

(Corrected Sept., 1877. Legislature meets in January, and may make changes.)
Barnstable. - At Barnstable, 2d Tu.
Jan., Feb., March, Aug., Sept., Dec.,
and 3d Tues. April and June; Har-
wich, 2d Mo. af. 1st Tu. May, and Mo. af.
3d Tu. Oct.; Orleans, 3d Tu. May and 4th
Tu. Oct.; Wellfleet, 3d Tu. May, and 4th
Tu. Oct.; Provincetown, Wed. af. 3d Tu.
May,and Wed. af. 4th Tu.Oct.; Falmouth,
3d Tu. Nov.

Hampden. -
-At Springfield, 1st Tu.
Jan., Feb., March, Ap., May, June, July,
Sep., Oct., and Dec.; Palmer, 2d Tues.
Feb., May, and Sept., and 4th Tues. Nov.;
Westfield, 3d Tues. in Feb., May, Sept.,
and Dec.

Berkshire.-At Pittsfield, 1st Tues. in Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, Sept., Oct., and Dec., 3d Tu. July, and Wed. after 1st Mon. Nov.; Lee, Wed. aft. 1st Tu.in Jan., Ap., and Oct., and Wed. af. 3d Tu. July; Adams, Th. aft. 1st Tu. Jan. and Oct., Wed. af. 1st Tu. Mar., and Th. af. 3d Tu. in July; Gr. Barrington, Wed. after 1st Tu. in Feb., May, Sep., and Dec. Bristol. — At Taunton, 1st Fr. Mar., June, Sep., Dec.; New Bedford, 1st Frid. Feb., May, Aug., and Nov.; Fall River, 1st Fri. Jan., Ap., Oct., and 2d Fr. July. Dukes County. At Holmes Hole village in Tisbury, 3d Mo. Ap. and 1st Mo. Sept.; Edgartown, 3d Mo. Jan. and July, and 1st Mo. Mar. and Dec.; W. Tisbury, 1st Mo. June and 3d Mon. Oct.

Essex. At Salem, 1st Mon. of each mo., and 3d Mon. of ea. mo., except Aug.; Lawrence, 2d Monday Jan., Mar., May, June, July, Sept., and Nov; Haverhill, 2d Mon. Apr. and Oct.; Newburyport, 4th Mon. Jan., Mar., May, June, July, Sept., and Nov.; Gloucester, 4th Mo. Ap. and Oct.

Franklin. At Greenfield, 1st Tues. in every month, except Nov.; Northfield, 2d Tues. May and Sept.; Orange, 2d Tu. Mar. and Dec., and 3d Tu. June; Conway, 3d Tu. May; Shelburne Falls, 2d Tu. Feb., 4th Tu. May, and 4th Tu. Oct.

Hampshire. —

-At Northampton, 1st Tues. of every mo.; Amherst, 2d Tues. Jan., Mar., June, Aug. and Nov.; Belchertown, 2d Tues. of May and Oct.; and Williamsburg, 3d Tues. May and Oct.

Middlesex.-At Cambridge, 1st, 2d, and 4th Tu. ea. mo. ex. Aug.; Lowell, 3d Tu. of Jan., Mar., May, July, Sep., and Nov.

Nantucket.-At Nantucket, on Th. aft. 2d Tu. of every mo.

Norfolk.-At Dedham, 1st and 3d Wed.; Quincy, 2d Wed., Hyde Park, 4th Wed. every mo. exc. Aug.

Plymouth.- -At Plymouth, 2d Mon. ev. mo., ex. July and Aug.; Wareham, 4th Mon. Oct.; E. Bridgewater, 4th Mo. Feb. and Dec.; Hingham,4th Mo. Mar.; Middleboro', 4th Mon. Jan. and Ap., aud 2d Mon. July; Abington, 4th Mo. May, Aug., and Nov.; Hanover, 4th Mo. June; Bridgewater, 4th Mo. Sep.; North Bridgewater, 3d Mon. April and Oct.

Suffolk.-At Boston, every Monday in each month.

Worcester. -At Worcester, 1st and 3d Tu. of every mo. except Aug.; Fitchburg, 4th Tu. of Ap. and Sep.; Milford, 2d Tu. of Ap. and Sep.; Templeton, 2d Tu. of May and Oct.; and Barre, Wed. next after 2d Tu. of May and Oct.

When the appointed day falls on a holiday, the court will be holden by adjournment at such time and place as the judge may appoint.

JUDGES OF PROBATE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected Sept. 1877.)

Middlesex Co., Geo. M. Brooks, Concord.
Nantucket Co., Thaddeus C. Defriez,
Nantucket.

Barnstable Co., Jos. M. Day, Barnstable. | Hampden Co., Wm. S. Shurtleff, Springf.
Berkshire Co., J. T. Robinson, No.Adams.
Bristol Co., Edm. H. Bennett, Taunton.
Dukes Co., Joseph T. Pease, Edgartown.
Essex Co., Geo. F. Choate, Salem.
Franklin Co., C. C. Conant, Greenfield.
Hampshire Co., Samuel T. Spaulding,
Northampton.

Norfolk Co., G. White, Newton L. Falls.
Plymouth Co., Wm.H.Wood, Middleboro'.
Suffolk Co., John W. McKim, Boston.
Worcester Co., Henry Chapin, Worcester.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' MEETINGS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
(Corrected Sept. 1877. Legislature meets in January, and may make changes.)
Barnstable, at Barnstable, on the 2d
Tues. of April and Oct.

Berkshire, at Pittsfield, on 1st Tu. of
Apl., July, and Sept., and last Tu. Dec.
Bristol, at Taunton, on the 4th Tues.
of March and Sept.

Dukes Co., at Edgartown, on the Wed. next after the 3d Mon. of May, and the Wed. next after the 2d Mon. of Nov.

Essex, at Ipswich, on the 2d Tues. of April; at Salem, on the 2d Tues. of July; at Newburyport, on the 2d Tues. of Oct.; and at Lawrence, on the last Tues. of Aug.; and on the 4th Tues. of Dec., at Ipswich, Salem, or Newburyport, as they shall order at their next preceding term. Franklin, at Greenfield, on the 1st Tues. of March and Sept., and the 2d Tues. of June and Dec.

Hampden, at Springfield, on the 2d Tues. of April, the 1st Tues. of Oct., and the 4th Tues, of June and Dec.

Hampshire, at Northampton, on the 1st Tu. of Mar., Sept., and Dec., and on the Tues. next after the 2d Mon. of June.

Middlesex, at Cambridge, on the 1st Tues. of Jan., and the 1st Tues. of June; and at Lowell, on the 1st Tues. of Sept.

Nantucket, 1st Wed. of each month. Norfolk, at Dedham, on the 3d Tues. of April, the 4th Tues. of June and Sept., and the last Wed. of Dec.

Plymouth, at Plymouth, on the 1st Tues. of Jan., the 3d Tues. of March, and the 1st Tues. of Aug.

Worcester, at Worcester, on the 4th Tu. of March, the 3d Tu. of June, the 2d Tu. of Sept., and the 4th Tu. of Dec.

Don't Leave the Farm.

THE restlessness that marks the people of New England at the present time is of recent origin. In the early days of the colonies there was, so far as we can learn, but little moving either to the West or from the country into the cities. For many years the population of our country towns was maintained, if not steadily increased. Within the present century, or since the multiplication of manufacturing towns and the change in our domestic economy, with the increase of railroads, which require a numerous retinue of employees, and the infinite variety of mechanical pursuits, giving employment to vast numbers of young men, there has been a greater tendency to migrate, and the rural towns have suffered to a far greater extent than the large centres of population.

This flocking of active men to the larger towns and villages has led to the most disastrous consequences. All the professions and all the avenues to success through mercantile and mechanical pursuits are filled and choked up, as it were; the balance of the industries has been disturbed, and the road to wealth without manual labor overcrowded. It is easy to see that this condition of things is all wrong. It leads to the worst results, and to untold individual misery. The true way to stop the consequences of this wrongful step, and so restore the lost balance, is to reoccupy the deserted farms, and to look more directly to mother earth for the means of supporting a large and increasing population.

There seems now to be every reason for returning to the old order of things, and looking to the farm and to improved cultivation and management for restoring the country to prosperity and thrift. Farming, earnestly and intelligently followed, will pay as well or better than any other business, and insure an honorable livelihood and independence. It offers every inducement to the industrious, the intelligent, the honest farmer's son; and the failure even of those who go to the farm from other pursuits is very rare. Farming indeed offers ample scope for the growth and development of all the elements of a noble, high-toned, and manly character.

Poultry on the Farm.

SMALL as it may appear when reckoned as a part of the operations of the farm, the poultry interest is one of great importance, whether considered in its aggregate value, or its influence upon individual prosperity. The egg and poultry produce of the country exceeds that of the cotton, the corn, or the wheat crop. It exceeds the hay crop, which falls little short of four hundred millions of dollars; and the value of all the cattle, sheep, and swine slaughtered or sold to be slaughtered, falls below the aggregate annual value of the poultry and its produce in the shape of eggs and meat. Nor is it less important comparatively as contributing to the comfort and the income of the small farm, where, from its limited number, the poultry often seems hardly worth taking into account. Poultry-raising ought, therefore, to be studied and pursued as intelligently as any other farm operation.

It is no doubt true that, as a general rule, a small, will pay better than a large flock, with ordinary management on the small farm; and yet, by colonizing, it is quite practicable to keep several flocks of fifty each, where they could have the range of an acre, either by themselves alone or with cattle. A dry knoll or the southern slope of a hill-side will afford opportunity to make an excavation of fifteen by twenty-five feet, the ends and north sides of which can be walled up so that only two sides of the laying-room and the roof will require to be made of lumber; or, if economy dictates, the roof can be covered with earth, or thatched; and the whole is so simple that it may be home-made. Such a structure will be warm in winter and cool in summer; and if there are to be several for separate colonies, they may be located so far apart as to avoid the expense of fencing, and afford facilities for securing necessary green forage and meat food during a portion of the season.

It has been found by careful experiment that a bushel of corn will produce, on an average, nine pounds in live weight of poultry; but this implies good care, and it is to be understood that corn is not to be fed to poultry as a regular food except when the object is to fatten. Corn is good to lay on fat, but it is not so well adapted to the production of eggs, and it ought not to be fed in any considerable quantity to laying hens.

With poultry-houses constructed as indicated, there ought to be a window on the south side of the laying-room about six feet long and four feet wide, the sill coming down to within a foot of the floor. It will serve to warm and light

the room, and keep the gravel used for cleanliness dry and sweet. There should also be a platform twenty inches high and twenty-two inches wide around the walls of the room. A foot above this platform fix the roosts, two and a half or three inches wide, with the corners rounded off. Under the platform construct the nests, using a portable frame fourteen inches deep, the front made of two strips five inches wide, and a door nine inches wide, which can be let down to gather the eggs. This leaves a passageway of eight inches in the rear, giving seclusion to the nests, which can be easily removed and cleaned, with smooth work in front. Permanent boxes harbor lice. The old plan of an inclined plane for roosts ought to be avoided. Low and level roosts are safer and better every way. No matter what the breed is, if accustomed from chickenhood to roost on low perches, they will be less breachy and more easily kept within bounds. Keep the floor covered with coarse-fine gravel three or four inches: with a slight mixture of loam in it, all stench is easily prevented, as it acts as a deodorizer. This floor must be raked over at least three or four times a week, or better every day. The whole should be removed and replaced at least twice or three times a year.

A variety of food for the fowls that are confined in summer is quite indispensable. Let it consist of boiled vegetables, like cabbage, squash, potatoes, seed cucumbers, parsley, &c., mashed up with wheat bran and a light mixture of corn-meal, while hot, for the morning meal, and only sufficient in quantity to be entirely eaten up by nine o'clock, when the flock may be allowed to forage till four or five o'clock, and then again fed with small grains. Fresh-ground scraps, or meat in some form, may be added to the morning meal two or three times a week. When the frost stops the growth of forage crops, feed what soft food will be eaten up in the morning, small grains, sun-flower seeds, &c., at noon, and some grain and corn at night. In late fall and winter add chopped cabbage and turnips, and rowen clover, one of the very best substitutes for grass, which ought to be furnished regularly in little ricks, to prevent waste. It increases the productiveness and the beauty of fowls.

Our Squashes.

EVERY farmer wants a few choice varieties of squashes, even if he does not expect to raise any for sale. They are extremely handy to have round, not only at Thanksgiving time but later in the winter. They make the best of pies, and a little squash on the table with a boiled dish is never out of place. It is just one of those things that no one likes to do without, and so we must raise it, "whether or no." In 1848 Captain John Bridges brought two squashes to Marblehead from the West Indies. After cutting one up, he gave a piece to William Stanley that contained a few seeds in it. The quality of this squash was so fine that he took pains to plant the seed, and the result was the Hubbard squash, from which we have what is called the Marblehead squash, and some other varieties. The Hubbard has now become one of the standard squashes of the country, and no garden appears to be complete without it. For cooking, it is not in its prime till December, and ought not to be caten till then.

For an earlier squash, the Turban is superior to the Hubbard. It is good even when only half grown, and continues to be good up to December, when the Hubbard is approaching its prime condition. The one very properly follows the other, and a few Turbans are quite as necessary as a good many Hubbards. The Turban has been very greatly improved within a few years.

The Marrow squash is, on the whole, the most widely known and most generally cultivated of any, and must be regarded as one of the most valuable. The seed was introduced from abroad about forty years ago, and first grown in Marblehead. It has been changed in quality from its original type, become larger, probably from cross-fertilization, and lost some of its exquisitely fine grain and flavor, but is still the most popular of any for pies, and is more extensively sold than any other squash. The old-fashioned crookneck is as good as it ever was, but the newer squashes are so much superior in quality that it is far less cultivated, and there is little or no demand for it in the market.

The land best suited to squashes may be described as good corn land, light, warm, and rich from thorough cultivation and manuring. Clean culture is, of course, essential to success, as the crop wants all the help the best of land can give it. The seed may be planted the middle of May. When the crop is harvested, it must be stored in a dry and well-ventilated room, and watched, to prevent the rot from spreading.

Fall Ploughing.

FOR all stiff or clayey soils there can be no question that fall ploughing is the best and most economical. They will, on an average of years, do much better than if the ploughing is delayed till the spring in which they are to be brought into cultivation. If the ploughing is done early in the fall, before the hot weather is entirely over, there is ample time for the sod to rot partially if not entirely; but whether this process takes place or not, the exposure to the constant freezing and thawing of winter mellows such soils and renders them much more friable than they otherwise would be, and so fits them for easy and profitable tillage. Concerning such soils, therefore, especially if they lie reasonably level, so as not to wash and be injured from heavy rains, no intelligent farmer will entertain a doubt of the utility of fall ploughing.

But we incline to think that lands benefited by fall ploughing rather than spring ought to have a far wider range, and that most level soils, except the lightest sands, may be ploughed to advantage in the fall. The process of weathering in the exposure to the winter is decidedly beneficial, and too important to be overlooked or left out of the calculation. If sod or stubble land is turned over deeply, and with a level furrow, the subsoil is to some extent brought to the surface, and if it is loamy, it is a somewhat strong absorbent. It will take up and hold the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere, and thus they undergo a process of fertilization as well as of mellowing. They are positively better in the spring, and will grow better crops, than if they had been allowed to lie over to be broken up in spring. This is a point that ought not to be lost sight of. In addition to the positive improvement which loamy and heavy soils undergo, there is a very decided advantage in doing the work in the fall instead of waiting till spring. There is more leisure, the farm work is less driving and consequently less expensive. If the labor were to be hired by the day, it would cost less, while the team is in very much better condition to do a full day's work any time after the first of September than it is in April or May. It would not be good practice to plough up a steep hill-side, of course, and let it lie washing down in gullies all winter; but for most level lands we are decidedly of opinion that fall ploughing is the best.

THE PUBLIC DEBT.

Statement of the Public Debt, September 1, 1877, not including bonds issued in aid of the Pacific Railroad Corporations.

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Total Debt, less amount in Treasury, September 1, 1876.

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POETRY, ANECDOTES, &C.

A MIDSUMMER SONG.
O, FATHER'S gone to market-town; he
was up before the day;
And Jamie's after robins, and the man
is making hay;
And whistling down the hollow goes the
boy that minds the mill;
While mother from the kitchen-door is
calling with a will-

"Polly Polly!-The cows are
in the corn!

O, where's Polly?"

From all the misty morning air there comes a summer so and,

A murmur as of waters, from skies, and
trees, and ground.

The birds they sing upon the wing, the
pigeons bill and coo,
And over hill and hollow rings again

the loud halloo -
"Polly Polly!-The cows are
in the corn!

O, where's Polly?"

Above the trees the honey-bees swarm
by with buzz and boom,
And in the field and garden a hundred
flowers bloom.

Within the farmer's meadow a brown

eyed daisy blows,

And down at the edge of the hollow a
red and thorny rose.
But "Polly! Polly!-The cows are in
the corn!

O, where's Polly?"

How strange at such a time of day the

mill should stop its clatter! The farmer's wife is listening now, and wonders what's the matter.

O, wild the birds are singing in the wood
and on the hill,

While whistling up the hollow goes the
boy that minds the mill.
But "Polly! Polly! - The cows are in
the corn!

O, where's Polly?"
SCRIBNER'S MONTHLY.

FARM PROVERBS.

USE diligence, industry, integrity, and proper improvement of time, to make farming pay.

Do not keep more live stock on your farm than you can keep well.

Sell when you can get a fair price, and do not store for rats and specula

tors.

The more comfortable you can keep your animals, the more they will thrive. A good cow is a valuable machine; the more food she properly digests, the greater the profit.

PUNCTUALITY.

BUXTON'S ADVICE TO HIS SON.

BE punctual. I do not mean the merely being in time for lectures, &c.; but I mean that spirit out of which punctuality grows, that love of accuracy, precision, and vigor, which makes the efficient man; the determination that what you have to do, shall be done, in spite of all petty obstacles, and finished off, at once, and finally. I believe I have told you the story of Nelson and his coach-maker; but you must hear it once more. When he was on the eve of departure for one of his great expeditions, the coach-maker said to him, 'The carriage shall be at the door punctually at six o'clock.' 'A quarter before,' said Nelson; 'I have always been a quarter of an hour before my time, and it has made a man of me.'

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HOW TO USE A DAY. "THE day," says the greatest of German poets, "is extremely long, if one knows how to appreciate and to employ it." It was said of John Wesley, who accomplished an immense amount of labor, that "when you met him in the street of a crowded day, he attracted notice, not by his band and cassock and his long hair, but by his face and manner, both indicating that all his minutes were numbered, and that not one was to be lost." "Though I am always in haste," he said, "I am never in a hurry, because I never undertake any more work than I can go through with perfect calmness of spirit."

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