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PROBATE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS. (Corrected 1871.)

COUNTY OF SUFFOLK.At Boston, every Mon. in each month, except July. COUNTY OF ESSEX.-At Salem, 1st Tu. of each month; at Lawrence, 2d Tu. each month, except April, May, July, Aug., and Oct.; at Gloucester, 2d Tu. Apr. and Oct.; at Newburyport, 3d Tu. each month, except March, May, Aug., Sept., and Nov.; at Haverhill, 3d Tu. May and Nov.; at Ipswich, 3d Tu. March and Sept.

COUNTY OF BERKSHIRE.-At Pittsfield, 1st Tues. of Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, Sept., Oct., and Dec., 3d Tues. of July, and Wed. next after 1st Mon. of Nov.; at Lee, Wed. next after 1st Tues. of Jan. Apl., and Oct., and Wed. next after 3d Tues. in July; at Adams, Thurs. next after 1st Tues. in Jan. Apr., and Oct., and Thurs. next after 3d Tues. in July; at Great Barrington, Wed. next after 1st Tu. in Feb., May, Sept., and Dec.

COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX. — At Cambridge, 1st, 2d, and 4th Tu. each month, COUNTY OF PLYMOUTH.-At Plymouth, except Aug.; at Lowell, 3d Tu. of Jan., 2d Mon. of every month, except July and March, May, July, Sept., and Nov. Aug.; at Wareham, 4th Mon. of Oct.; at COUNTY OF WORCESTER. At. Wor-East Bridgewater, 4th Mon. of Feb. and cester, 1st and 3d Tues. of every month except Aug.; at Fitchburg, 4th Tues. of April and Sept.; at Milford, 2d Tues. of April and Sept.; at Templeton, 2d Tues. of May and Oct.; and at Barre, Wed. next after 2d Tues. of May and Oct.

COUNTY OF HAMPSHIRE. At Northampton, 1st Tues. of every month; at Amherst, 2d Tues. of Jan. and Aug.; at Belchertown, 2d Tues. of May and Oct.; and at Williamsburg, 3d Tu. May and Oct. COUNTY OF HAMPDEN. - At Springfield, 1st Tu.Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Sept., Nov., and Dec.; at Westfield, 3d Tu. March, June, Sept., and Dec.; at Monson, on the 2d Tu. June; and at Palmer, on the 2d Tu. Sept.

COUNTY OF FRANKLIN.-At Greenfield, 1st Tues. of every month except Nov.; at Northfield, 2d Tu. May and Sept.; at Orange, 2d Tu. March and Dec., and 3d Tu. June; at Conway, 3d Tu. May; at Shelburne Falls, 4th Tu. May, 2d Tu. Feb., and 4th Tu. Oct.

COUNTY OF BRISTOL. -At Taunton, 1st Frid. of March, June, Sept., and Dec.; at New Bedford, 1st Frid. of Feb., May, Aug., and Nov.; at Fall River, 1st Frid. of Jan., April, and Oct., and 2d Frid. of July. COUNTY OF NANTUCKET. — At Nantucket, on the Thurs. next after the 2d Tues. of every month.

Dec.; at Hingham, 4th Mon. of March; at Middleboro', 4th Mon. of April and Jan., and 2d Mon. of July; at Abington, 4th Mon. of May, Aug., and Nov.; at Hanover, 4th Mon. of June; at Bridgewater, 4th Mon. of Sept.; at North Bridgewater, 3d Mon. of April and Oct.

COUNTY OF BARNSTABLE.-At Barnstable, 2d Tur. Jan., Feb., Mar., Aug., Sept., and Dec., and 3d Tu. of Apr. and June; at Harwich, 2d Mon. after 1st Tu. of May, and Mon. after 3d Tu. of Oct.; at Orleans, 3d Tu. of May and 4th Tu. of Oct.; at Wellfleet, Wed. next after 3d Tu. of May, and Wed' next after 4th Tu. of Oct.; at Provincetown, Thur. next after 3d Tu. of May, and Thur. next after 4th Tu. of Oct.; and at Falmouth, 3d Tu. of Nov.

COUNTY OF NORFOLK.-At Dedham, 1st and 3d Wed., Quincy, 2d Wed., Hyde Park, 4th Wed. every month except Aug.

DUKES COUNTY. - At Holmes' Hole village, in Tisbury, on the 3d Mon. of April, and 1st Mon. of Sept.; at Edgartown, 3d Mon. of Jan. and July, and 1st Mon. of March and Dec.; and at West Tisbury, 1st Mon. of June and 3d Mon, of Oct.

Judges of the Probate Courts may transact business out of court at any time and place when all parties entitled to notice therein assent thereto in writing, or voluntarily appear.

Courts in Massachusetts.

Judges of Probate
Suffolk Co., Isaac Ames, Boston.
Essex Co., Geo. F. Choate, Salem.
Middlesex Co., Wm. A. Richardson, Camb.
Worcester Co., Henry Chapin, Worcester.
Franklin Co., C. C. Čonant, Greenfield.
Bristol Co., E. H. Bennett, Taunton.
Plymouth Co., Wm.H. Wood, Middleboro'.

Barnstable Co., Jos. M. Day, Barnstable
Nantucket Co., Edw. M. Gardner, Naut.
Dukes Co., Th. G. Mayhew, Edgartown..
Hampden Co., W. S. Shurtleff, Springfld.
Hampshire Co., S. F. Lyman, Northampt.
Norfolk Co., Geo. White, Needham.
Berkshire Co., J. T. Robinson, No.Adams

DISTRICT, MUNICIPAL, AND POLICE COURTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

A District Court for the towns of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, and Savoy, is held at Adams, crim., daily, 9 A. M., civil, weekly at north village of Adams, and 1st Wed. of each month at south village. For the towns of Dalton, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, and Windsor, at Pittsfield, crim., daily, 9 A. M., civil, weekly. For Alford, Egremont, Great Barrington, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Marlborough, and Sheffield, at Great Barrington, for criminal business, daily, at 9 A. M.; for civil business, every Sat., 10 A. M. For Sturbridge, Southbridge, Charlton, Dudley, Oxford, and Webster, crim., at Southbridge, Mon., Wed., and Fri., and at Webster, Tues., Thurs., and Sat., 9 A. M.; civil, at Southbridge, Mon., Webster, Tues., weekly.

Municipal Courts are held at Boston, crim., daily, 9 A. M., civil, every Sat.; Boston, South District (Roxbury). crim., daily, 9 A. M., civil, every Sat.; Dorchester (Ward 16 of Boston), crim., daily, 9 A. M., civil, every Saturday; at Worcester, crim., daily, at 9 A. M., civil, every Sat.; at Taunton. crim., daily, at 9 A. M., civil, every Monday.

Police Courts are held daily at Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Gloucester, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lee, Lowell, Lynn, Milford, New Bedford, Newburyport, Salem, Springfield, and Williamstown. (Corrected 1871.)

Cabbage as a Field Crop.

MOST farmers have been accustomed to cultivate cabbages in a small way in the garden and for family use. The methods of raising them are, therefore, well known. Now the great want of New England, and of any country where the winters are so long, and the necessity for stall feeding so imperative, is an abundance of food for stock. With more food we can keep more stock, with more stock we obtain more manure, with more manure we can increase the fertility of our land.

The farmer's chief study ought to be to see by what means he can increase his supply of animal food in the cheapest and most economical manner. His success as a farmer turns very much upon this. His grass lands should be kept in the best condition; but that is not enough. He should raise a liberal supply of root crops; and even with them most farmers who are aiming at the highest point of excel lence, will still want something more.

There are certain crops that are very convenient to use in the late fall, and serve not only to prevent a too early encroachment upon the hay-mow, but to break the too sudden change from green and succulent grass to dry hay. Such are pumpkins in October and November, as they come from the field; round turnips in December, when they may be fed freely and to great advantage. After these follow ruta bagas through January and February, and then mangolds still later. Cabbages are conveniently fed out late in the season, about the time that pumpkins come into use, and they not only increase the milk of cows, but are very nutritive and greatly relished by all kinds of stock. Cabbages contain a large percentage of flesh-forming substances as compared with most other articles of food. Here is their composi

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It will be seen that the proportion of flesh-forming material in their composition is three times as great as that of turnips (about 1.5 per cent.), and is equal to that of clover and our common grasses. This is why this vegetable is so readily eaten by all kinds of stock, especially by young and growing animals, like lambs and calves, and by mileh cows. As a summer field crop, therefore, why is it not superior to the clovers and the grasses, since, though the expense of producing it is a little greater, the yield in weight per acre is two or three times as great? Indeed, what crop is there that will yield so large an amount of nutritive food at the same cost? The distinguished agricultural chemist, Dr. Voelcker, says of it, "No kind of green food, cultivated on a large scale, in the field, contains so much nutritious matter as the cabbage. Being much more nutritive, weight for weight, than turnips, and at] the same time very succulent, cabbages form a valuable food for milch cows. Cattle are very fond of cabbages, and dairy cows fed upon them and some hay produce much and rich milk; and the butter made from the latter is free from the disagreeable flavor which it always has when cows are fed upon turnips. Cabbages, for this reason, are a valuable substitute for turnips, and deserve to be more extensively cultivated than they are at present." This is the highest indorsement from the highest authority. But the testimony of the few practical men who raise cabbages as a field crop, and feed them out to dairy stock, is equally strong. They consider them the best crop they can raise for this purpose.

For a field crop the late varieties are preferable. The seed is sown about the first of May, in beds, and by the tenth or the middle of June the plants will be sufficiently large and strong to be transplanted. A piece of sod land well ploughed will answer very well, and a light clover sod is the best. The liberal supply of manure may be partly spread and ploughed under, and partly spread on the furrow and harrowed in. It is best to select wet weather, if possible, for transplanting. A smart man can easily set out five thousand plants a day. The market gardeners can set six thousand five hundred. The plants may wilt a little during the first week if the weather is dry and warm, but as soon as they get hold of the soil and hold their heads up, run a cultivator through them, to keep down the weeds and stir the soil. If the plants are set two feet by two and a half, this operation is easily performed. At those distances the number of plants will be eight thousand nine hundred to the Of these it will be fair to expect six thousand heads. Some will fail to head, and others may be destroyed by disease or insects after it is too late to replace them. They will be worth, to feed out to dairy cows, say from thirty to forty dollars a thousand. The amount of feeding material on an acre of well-grown cabbages is something enormous.

acre.

The culture of this plant, for the purposes proposed, is worthy of a careful tria! by every farmer. Try it under favorable circumstances, and estimate the cost of the crop as compared with other farm crops, and then report your experience for the benefit of other farmers. Farmers ought to remember that noble old precept, "Do

The Kitchen Garden.

IT is a matter of surprise that so little attention is paid, as a general rule, to the kitchen garden. Many a farmer neglects it entirely, and very few indeed give it the prominence it deserves. There are certain vegetables, like lettuce, asparagus, celery, rhubarb, and the like, that are quite indispensable in their season upon every well supplied table. They are healthful as well as palatable, and any farmer who deprives his family of an abundant and free supply of them, must expect to pay for his neglect in the shape of a large doctor's bill.

If the garden is conveniently located, as it should be, near the house, it will not take an unreasonable amount of time from other parts of the farm. It is a place where many an odd hour may be filled up with pleasure as well as profit, and there is no estimating the saving that can be effected by it.

The farmer is better situated to have upon his table every luxury in the way of vegetables and small fruits of every description than any other man. He can raise them himself easily, and at little expense. And yet, though everybody knows that the pie-plant, for example, is one of the greatest luxuries and one of the most healthful of all vegetables, scarcely one garden in ten contains it. Though the most luscious strawberries can be raised in any farmer's garden at a cost of ten cents a quart, and the free use of them, in their season, is sure to save the doctor's bill, not one farmer in a hundred will devote his time to them. Even the few old currant bushes are neglected, and grown up with grass and rubbish, though the currant is one of the most desirable fruits in the world.

Now we entreat every farmer to lay out a larger garden than ever before, and to make up his mind to take better care of it. It will promote the comfort, the health, and the economy of the household, and need interfere but little with the general operations of the farm.

Grass for Horses.

THERE is a common notion among farmers and others having the care of horses, that when kept up and fed mostly on hay, they should not be allowed to eat grass. The reason most commonly given is, that it will make them soft, and throw them, out of condition for severe work, and give them a distaste for hay and more solid food. This opinion is held by many professional trainers.

We think this is a mistake. There can be no doubt that grass is the natural food of the horse, for it is cooling and slightly medicinal, keeping the bowels open, sharpening the appetite, and hence healthful. This is evident from the fact that, if the animal is ailing, there is nothing that will so surely promote digestion, and remove all tendency to fever in the system, as green grass.

A short nip at the grass daily for a horse that is kept up is beneficial, and there need be no fear that he will lose in condition from it, or fail either in speed or strength. No farmer should deprive his horse of grass in its season. It is not only the cheapest but the best food he can have.

Food for Stock.

THE discussions which have taken place in regard to the best methods of preparing food for stock, the practice of soiling, steaming food, and cutting fodder, have undoubtedly had the effect to lead to a general improvement in the care and feeding of cattle. Though the opinions of practical farmers differ as to the advantage of steaming food, for example, it is surprising to find that so many dairymen who are raising milk for sale, are either steaming their food systematically, or doing what amounts to the same thing essentially, treating it with hot water poured upon it in tubs or feeding-boxes, which are covered and allowed to stand till the materials are completely softened. In this way they induce an enormous flow of milk the quality of which depends chiefly upon the ingredients which constitute the mass subjected to this treatment.

Steaming food will undoubtedly pay in a large milk dairy, that is, steaming or its equivalent; but it will not pay, as a general rule, except where the object is to produce a large quantity with less regard to quality. It has the advantage of enabling the farmer to economize many feeding substances, like cornstalks, coarse hay, and straw, since it softens and renders them easily digestible. But, though it pays to cut and steam such materials, the same can hardly be said of good English hay. The better plan is to feed that whole, and let the cattle have the exercise of chewing it.

That cooking improves food, is perfectly well known to most careful feeders of stock. One bushel of dry corn, for example, made 5 pounds 10 ounces of pork, while one bushel of boiled corn made 14 pounds 7 ounces, and one bushel of boiled meal made 16 to 18 pounds, thus showing the great advantage of preparing food for fattening stock so as to put it in a perfectly digestible form. System and regularity in feeding are quite as important to success as the condition in which the food is given.

Commercial Fertilizers.

THE great objection to the purchase of artificial fertilizers is the want of confidence in their purity. No farmer wants to pay fifty or sixty dollars a ton for an article that has cost but twenty or thirty to manufacture, and which may not be worth as a fertilizer even what it has cost. As to the intrinsic value of pure ground bone meal or a pure superphosphate of lime, there can be no question. It is the want of purity that vitiates their value and destroys confidence in them.

A pure ground bone ought to be afforded at thirty, or at most, forty dollars a ton. That is all it is worth, and as much as any farmer can afford to pay for it. Bones can be picked up and saved at a cost of about twenty dollars a ton, and it ought not to cost more than ten dollars a ton to grind them well. If they are worked up honestly, the bone meal is actually worth thirty dollars a ton to any farmer, and, as compared with other manures, a farmer could afford to pay forty dollars a ton for it, if pure and finely ground. But the price commonly asked by the dealers is sixty dollars a ton, and when to that is added the probability of adulteration, it is plain that the chances of getting a bad bargain in buying at that price are very great.

This is no argument against the value of bones, but only against the manner in which they are prepared. Bones contain the elements of plant food. The destructible parts are nitrogenous and the balance is mineral. They furnish both the organic and inorganic substances which plants require, and if they can be obtained pure they are very valuable.

And so with superphosphate. If it is pure, it is unquestionably one of the best of fertilizers; but there is the difficulty. It is very easy to adulterate it with substances having a low commercial and fertilizing value, and it is not easy for a farmer who wishes to buy to detect such adulteration. It is therefore unsafe, as a general rule, to purchase without taking a guaranty of purity, and then obtaining an analysis. But this is attended with much trouble and delay, and few farmers will take such a precaution. What, then, is a farmer to do? He should work up every available substance on the farm into the compost heap. Let him use muck freely, and lime to mix with it. Then let him buy all the pure wood ashes he can find. Ashes are not so often adulterated, and when they are, it is easier to detect it. Hard wood ashes are worth twenty-five cents a bushel as a fertilizer, and any farmer can afford to pay that for them. A bushel of good wood ashes contains from three and a half to four pounds of potash, and crude potash is worth in the market from eight to ten cents & pound, so that it is plain that in buying ashes, at the price named, the farmer gets his money's worth. We know of no farm crop that is not benefited by an application of ashes.

Leached ashes are less valuable than unleached, of course, since the potash is removed from them, but they still possess great value as a fertilizer. A farmer ean afford to pay ten cents a bushel for them, and if he couldn't get them for less than twelve, he would do well to take them. They make a capital top-dressing for grass land, and they are useful for most crops, especially on light land.

As to guano, the supply of the Peruvian, from the Chincha Islands, is very nearly exhausted. The deposits that remain are filled with sand and rock, and the composition is quite inferior to that formerly obtained. There are newly discovered. deposits upon the Guanape Islands, but their character is not equal to the Peruvian guano that we used to get. It is, therefore, unsafe to buy guano and to rely upon it, without a chemical analysis of each sample.

It comes to this, that we should rely chiefly upon supplies of manure to be obtained on the farm itself. We may increase these supplies by keeping more stock and buying feeding substances, -corn meal, shorts, linseed-oil meal, cotton-seed meal, &c.; and, by raising more root crops, and other similar feeding materials. It is a question whether, on the whole, this is not the most economical course to pursue to increase the capacity of the farm.

Transplanting Evergreens.

IT is a mistake to suppose that the same rules apply to evergreens as to deciduous trees. The latter may be set out in the fall or spring, as best suits the convenience. But evergreens very rarely live if transplanted in the fall. Nor will they endure to be moved very early in spring like other trees. They are more tender and less. tenacious of life. Many people, overlooking this fact, have transplanted in early spring and met with ill success, even when great care has been taken.

The best time to transplant evergreens is late in the spring, just at or before the period of active growth. It is comparatively easy to move them at that time, say towards the end of May, and no other time will answer as well. Another caution is to be strictly observed, and that is, not to expose their soft and tender roots to the sun or the drying wind. This is far more important with evergreens than with other trees. Ten minutes' exposure of the fibrous roots to sun and wind is almost sure death. Keep them covered with moss or matting till ready to set out, and let the time they are kept out of the ground be as short as possible.

Stock Breeding Farms.

ONE of the most direct means of improving the stock of any section of country is the establishment of stock farms for the special purpose of propagating animals of the improved breeds, for sale and dissemination through the farming community. In Europe such establishments for breeding horses are often maintained at government or royal expense. A few of the crowned heads of Europe have seen the importance of stock-breeding farms for the increase and improvement of neat cattle also; and the three great farms owned by the crown, near Windsor Castle, the imperial dairy farm at Vincennes, and the stables of the King of Wurtemberg, at Stuttgart, may be mentioned as examples of intelligent effort in the right direction for the benefit of the people. Other stock-breeding establishments may be equally worthy of mention, including many of the farms connected with the agricultural colleges in Europe. But what is so well done in Europe by governments or by royal families in the way of great public enterprises, is usually left in this country to the people themselves, to individual enterprise and competition. It is true the propagation of pure bred cattle for the ultimate benefit of the community could be undertaken here at our public reformatory, charitable, and educational institutions, and be productive of immense and lasting public benefit, but thus far it has been found impossible to place men at the head of such institutions with sufficient knowledge and appreciation of the grandeur of the enterprise, and of the vast good that it is capable of effecting. In the want of the right heart and the right spirit at the head of our public institutions, it will still remain with private individuals to labor to improve the qualities of our domestic stock. The effort itself is praiseworthy. whether this breeder or that is on the right track. Experience, study, and observation will eventually lead to the best results. So general is the interest in this subject that there can be no doubt that the next ten years will witness more and greater changes than the last, or that the general character of our stock will be greatly elevated

As long as the dairy continues to be the great leading interest of New England, there will continue to be a demand for pure Ayrshire and pure Jersey stock, and any man who, with sufficient skill and means, shall devote his time and his attention to breeding either of the classes of animals, will receive an ample reward, and gain an enviable reputation as a public benefactor. The class of animal which will ultimately prevail here is one that will yield a large quantity of milk in proportion to the food consumed,-one that is thrifty and easily kept. The Ayrshire may be considered the type of such a cow; she may not now be all that the most fastidious would desire, but improvements will continue till she is brought as near perfection as it is practicable to attain.

Other classes of stock will still be wanted for special purposes. There are the short horns, with their magnificent proportions, coming to maturity earlier than any other breed, and hence ready for the butcher earlier, adapted to the grazier; and the Devons, sng and thrifty, unsurpassed for beauty and matchless for the yoke. These two classes, though not common in New England, will always be bred to some extent, and those who breed them will find a sale either at home or abroad. Let those who have the requisite knowledge and a taste for improved stock, select the breed best adapted to their wants, and to the wants of farmers in their own locality, and make a specialty of producing animals of that class, bringing them to the highest degree of perfection, by culling out and discarding all inferior specimens. Let them persist in this course for a term of years, and they will not only gain an honorable reputation as public benefactors, but find it a source of neverfailing pleasure and profit.

It is not every farmer, perhaps, that can become a Bakewall, or a Colling, or a Bates, but the rewards of the successful cattle breeder are by no means small, and it is a pursuit worthy to excite any man's ambition.

Sales of Improved Stock.

THE practice of holding annual sales by the breeders of pure stock is gaining ground in New England. Several large and important public sales of Ayrshires and Jerseys took place during the last year, and it is understood that similar public auctions of these breeds are to be instituted annually, The prices at the sales of such stock have generally been well sustained, and they show clearly the advantage of keeping only pure bred animals of a high class.

The Ayrshires and the Jerseys have come to be the leading dairy breeds of New England. They have gradually increased in numbers and importance till they form no inconsiderable part of our agricultural wealth, and many careful and skilful breeders are devoting their time and ability to multiplying and improving them. As long as the dairy is the leading feature of New England agriculture, these two breeds, the Ayrshire for the milk and cheese dairy, the Jersey for butter, will continue to maintain their popularity and to command high prices.

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