1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARJIER. 



39 



lar where the temperature is uniformly about 62°. 

 In tlie statement addressed to tlic Committee on 

 the Dairy of the Norfolk County, Mass., Agricul- 

 tural Society, which accompanied the butter 

 which took the first premium, and which we pub- 

 lished in the "Weekly Fakmer of October 10, 

 Monthly, page 522, Mr. Cheever says that his 

 "churning is always done with cream at a hiown 

 temperature, varying from GO to G4°, according to 

 the outside temperature." Others prefer a rather 

 lower temperature, say o.j to 60°. 



PROTECTING TREES FROM MICE. 



As I hare five hundred trees to protect from 

 mice the coming winter, I am interested in the in- 

 quiry of "J. J. T." for an effectual wash for this 

 purpose. But as no one responds, I v.-ill give him 

 my method, \vhich I shall practice till I hear of a 

 better one. I put around the trunk of the tree 

 from one to four quarts of common wood ashes as 

 late as I can before winter sets in. Besides 

 keepi;ig away mice, the ashes promotes the 

 growth of the trees the following season. Jack. 



West Chestermlle, Me., Oot. 29, 1868. 



Remarks. — Thoso who have not ashes, may 

 feel safe with a somewhat larger quantity of earth 

 or sand, of which a cart-body full will answer for 

 a large number of trees. 



EELTED WOOL ON SHEEP. 



I wish to ask you or some of your readers, what 

 causes wool to felt on sheep. Is it caused by their 

 not receiving proper care during the winter ? 

 Please give us the cause and the remedy and ob- 

 lige yours. Jack. 



Ja7j, Me., Oct. 29, 1868. 



Remarks. — Probably our correspondent over- 

 looked the reply in the Farmer of August 15, of 

 Mr. Z. E. Jameson, of Irasburg, Vt., to a similar 

 inquiry. He said it was generally owing to the 

 want of oil or yolk in the wool caused by sickness 

 or poor feed, and sometimes by the yolk being re- 

 moved by a drenching rain or a thorough washing, 

 &c. We refer you to the whole article alluded to. 



THE SEASON iND CROPS IN "WASHINGTON CO., TT. 



Our hay crop matured first and was more than 

 an average, and hay is plenty at ten dollars per 

 ton. Oats were generally light. What wheat was 

 sov.n generally gave a good yield of excellent 

 quality. Rj'c viiy light. Corn matured very 

 early,* and though, on account of wet weatiier, it 

 was not all planted till the first of June, we have a 

 splendid crop. Pot;.tocs arc good and a heavy 

 yield, almost entirely free from rut. Mo^t branches 

 of farming, with the exception of sheep raising and 

 wool growing, have been very successful, and now 

 wc are making preparations for stern winter again. 

 The o. her day I gathered iorcst leaves for bedding, 

 and I think if my brother farmers could see the 

 pile myself and hired man have stored, many of 

 them would go and do likewise, provided tnc 

 storm that is now falling dries off before winter 

 sets in. They are easily gathered, as one needs 

 only a common manure fork and a vragon, which 

 if not large enough, may be extended by putting 

 on extra side and end boards. The storm that 

 commenced Saturday night continued without 

 intermission till Sunday night, and this morning 

 the ground is covered with snow. 



Roxburij, Vt., Nov. 2, 1S68. W. I. Simonds. 



AGRICITLTURAL ITEMS. 

 —It is said that 39,440 seeds of weeds, by actual 

 count, have been found in a pint of clover seed. 



— For what reason does a duck go under the 

 water ? For divers reasons. For what reason 

 does he come out ? For sundry reasons. 



— It is now claimed that large orchards breed 

 insects and diseases after the manner of large 

 cities, and that the remedy is small farms and 

 small orchards. 



— Every farmer should have a compost heap. 

 Collect every kind of fertilizer, and to prevent any 

 from liberating the gases, keep the whole covered 

 with earth or muck. 



— Mr. Noah Paine, of Chelsea, Vt., has a heifer 

 that was two years old on the twelfth day of Sep- 

 tember last. On the first of July last, she calved, 

 and before that time she hael given six hundred 

 and five quarts of milk. 



— The first premium of $50, offered by the 

 Strafford county, N. H., Fair for the best cul'Jvated 

 farm in the county, has been awarded to J. Frank 

 Lawrence, Esq., of Lee. Mr. C. W. Rollins, of 

 RoUinsford, received the second premium of ^25. 



— Noah Whipple, Jr., says in the Boston Culti- 

 vator, that warts on cows' teats may be readily re- 

 moved by washing frequently with alum water 

 made by dissolving two ounces of alum in a pint 

 of soft water. 



—The ponies or horses peculiar to China are 

 used only for riding, and by mandarins when upon 

 ofiieial business. All agricultural Vv'ork, plough- 

 ing, irrigating, and the working of lice mills, is 

 done by the buffalo. 



— The California Farmer says that a single firm 

 in the wine making business own and hire vine- 

 yards containing 700,000 vines. Another firm ex- 

 pects to manufacture half a million gallons of 

 wine. 



— Luscious pears, grapes, figs, peaches, melons 

 plurjs, strawberries, lemons, limes, &c., were 

 among the fruits mentioned as in great abundance 

 in the San Francisco market October 15. Pears 

 three to six cents per lb., peaches five to twelve 

 cents, grapes four to ten cents per lb. fjr natives. 



— The Journal of Chendstry says that two or 

 three drops of carbolic acid to a bottle of ink will 

 prevent mouldiaess; and about thirty drops added 

 to a pint of water used for making paste will pre- 

 vent its moulding. Carbolic acid, however, is a 

 poison and should be used with care. It is very 

 destructive to the lower orders of vegetable and 

 animal life. 



— The California Farmer of October 15, says : 

 The grain market remains very inactive; no for- 

 eign demand, and nominally no export demand. 

 Those who think the market will advanc3 should 

 go into the country and see the warehouses, full 

 to their utmost capacity, and see the great quanti- 



