224 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



DORKING AND SUANGHAI FOWLS — SHORT HORN 

 COW. 



Where can I obtain pure blood White Dor- 

 king Fowls, at a fair price, and the Grey Shang- 

 hai spoken of in the Farmer "? Also, a good 

 short-horn cow, and what is a fair price ? 



Foxboro', 1858. II. S. Sweet, 



Remarks. — The fowls may be obtained of 

 James INIann, 6 City Hall Avenue, Boston, at 

 $2,50 to $4 a pair. 



You can probably obtain the short-horn cow 

 of Paoli Lothrop, of South Hadley, Mass. 



A NEW SUGAR BOILER. 



Mr. J. A. French, of North Clarendon, Vt., 

 sends us a drawing of an ingenious invention of 

 his own, for economizing fuel and equalizing heat 

 in the process of boiling sugar. These objects arc 

 of much importance and will be fully accomplished 

 by the design of Mr. French. It is also adapted 

 to boiling vegetables, and other similar uses. As 

 our space forbids a full description of the boiler, 

 we refer our readers to Mr. French. 



TRANSPLANTING LOCUST TREES. 



I have several hundred locust trees to trans- 

 plant in the spring, and would like to have Mr. 

 Holbrook, or others, give their advice as to the 

 cheapest and best method of doing it. The trees 

 are seedlings from three to six feet high, and the 

 land on which I wish to plant them, is barren, 

 rocky pasture, descending to the north and much 

 exposed to severe cold winds. AVill they succeed 

 without some fertilizer, and would it not be bet- 

 ter to remove the tops entirely, planting only the 

 roots, Wm. F. Bassett. 



Ashjield, Feb. 10, 1858. 



SLAUGHTER-YARDS — ASHES AND BONE. 



Will you, or some one of your numerous cor- 

 respondents, inform a subscriber as to the best 

 mode of using a slaughter-yard so as to make the 

 most of the manure ? There must be valuable ex- 

 perience on the subject in the towns adjacent to 

 Boston. 



Also, what you think of using strong ashes 

 mixed with ground bone, instead of sulphuric 

 acid, which is not a very pleasant operation. 



Amherst, Mass., March, 1858. Hampshire. 



Remarks. — We have had no experience with 

 slaughter-yards. I 



Pure ashes mixed liberally with gi'ound bone, : 

 think would form one of the best manures 

 that can be used for almost all soils. 



GREEN MOUNTAIN PIG. 

 Mr. William Spalding, of Cavendish, Vt., 77 

 years old, fatted and slaughtered a pig, nine 

 months and three days old, that weighed when 

 dressed, 424 pounds ! A Subscriber. 



"A Subscriber" at Shrewsbury, Mass., re- 

 quests us to republish an article which appeared 



in our columns a few weeks ago, as he "has mis- 

 laid that number of the paper." If he will send 

 his address, we will send him a copy of the miss- 

 ing paper. 



HEMLOCK HEDGES. 



The Country Gentleman gives the following di- 

 rections for the cultivation of Hemlock Hedges, 

 in answer to an inquiry on the subject: 



The first thing is to procure the plants. If 

 our correspondent can find a locality in the woods 

 where young hemlock trees are abundant, he will 

 have no difficulty in forming a hedge. The great 

 requisite for success in transplanting is to remove 

 a considerable portion of earth on the roots of 

 every tree. If this cannot be done, they should 

 instanthj, on being withdrawn from the ground, 

 and before the outside of the roots have dried in 

 the least, be buried in wet moss, — or still better, 

 if practicable, dipped first into a bed of thin mud, 

 and then protected with moss. Another mud- 

 ding, and puddling on setting out, will be of ad- 

 ditional service. 



If the young plants can be had from a nursery, 

 where they have become hardened to open ground, 

 they will be still better. We know of no nur- 

 sery in the vicinity of our correspondent's resi- 

 dence more likely to supply good plants than 

 that of Dell & Collins, of Waterloo, N. Y. 



The mode of planting must depend on the 

 objects of the hedge. If for a simple screen 

 from the wind, and if the plants are scarce or 

 costly, a distance of three or four feet apart will 

 be near enough, to form in a few years a contin- 

 uous line. But if a hedge proi^er is wanted, the 

 trees should be within about a foot of each other. 



The hemlock will make the handsomest screen 

 or hedge of any evergreen known ; it will bear 

 almost any amount of shearing, and the hedge 

 may be formed into a smooth wall of verdure, 

 or be left for a tall natural growth. Either way, 

 it is of surpassing beauty. If cattle or other 

 animals cannot see through, they scarcely ever 

 attempt passing, even a weak hedge. 



HOW TO KAISE EARLY BEANS. 



Plow, manure and prepare the ground well, as 

 for common garden purposes, then make holes 

 which will contain a peck or more of horse- 

 manure and the usual litter that accompanies it. 

 If for running beans, set the poles in the centre 

 and then drop the beans upon the manure after 

 treading it down slightly with the foot. Now 

 scatter over the beans and manure a very little 

 fine mould and then cover with clear sand. The 

 warm horse-manure acts as a hot-bed, while the 

 sand becomes heated above by the sun's rays, 

 and has the further advantage of throwing up 

 no weeds. In this manner beans and most other 

 garden vegetables may be obtained very early. 



What One Bean has done. — According to 

 the Barnstable (Mass.) Patriot, Mr. LORING 

 Crocker, of that village, raised last season on 

 one stock, and consequently from one bean, 106 

 pods, which yielded 453 beans ! 



