260 



NEW ENGLAND FAR^MER. 



June 



bones with a large hammer into pieces perhaps as 

 large as a linttcrmit, which I Hnd siifflcicntly fine, 

 as the aeid, even if it does not entirely dissolve, 

 softens them snOicicntly ; so that I have been nmx- 

 blc to find any pieces in the hill the following au- 

 tumn. A good man will hrcak about an oil l)arrel 

 full in a day, l)osi(les doing my chores. I usually do 

 that part of the woik during the winter or dull tiays 

 in early spring. The broken bone is then put into 

 the casks and a couple of conmion wooden ]i;iils 

 full of water turned upon it; then two and one- 

 lialf pails of aci'l, and then add enough more 

 water to cover the bone when it boils. No stirring 

 is necessary. Allow it to remain in the barrels a 

 few days and then mingle a barrel of the mixture 

 with a small cartload of good loam, — dry muck is 

 equally as good, — and allow it to remain in the 

 heap about a week or ten days, and then shovel it 

 over, commencing at one side of the heap and 

 slicing it down with the shovel. This will thorough- 

 ly mix it ; after which it ought to remain at least 

 two weeks, v.lien it will be ready for use. Apply 

 a half pint to the hill. Corn or potatoes may be 

 dropped directly on the manure. 



Hexry G. Taft. 

 TJxbridge. Mass., May 2, 1868. 



SETTING APPLE TREES — GRAFTING — SOIL FOR 

 THEM. 



I wish to inquire the best time to set apple trees, 

 and if grafting can be done successfully the same 

 year of setting ? Is it best to transplant in spring, 

 or wait until fall ? The place where I intend to 

 set is on land newly cleared, of a light gravelly 

 loam. Will the trees do better than on older land r 



East Burke, Vt., 18G8. w. A. e. 



Rb-makks. — "We should prefer to wait till the 

 trees get well i-ooted before grafting. Our own 

 choice is to set trees in the spring, though they 

 often do well set in the fall. Your new land is just 

 the right soil for trees. Set them carefully and 

 not too near — forty feet is regarded by many as 

 better than less. 



AVUT DO BOYS UATE FARMING ? 



Boys hate farming because it is hateful. Are 

 not farmers, as a class, a poor, ignorant, supersti- 

 tious set ? Poor, because farmmg as a general 

 thing, does not pay ; ignorant, because they have 

 not time to learn ; superstitious, because ignorance 

 and superstition are always together. The farmer 

 boys have to work early and late in mud and 

 mire, and in much "that isn't so sweet by half," 

 doing the woik of scavengers, and all for nothing. 

 The j'oung man who hires out as "farm hand" 

 seldom gets twenty-five dollars a month, while in 

 t he shop forty is not uncommon, with cleaner work. 

 I dun't l)hime the boys for leaving. 



Massachusetts, April 27, 18G8. Billy Styx. 



Remarks. — No, Billy, we won't "toss it into the 

 waste basket, and forget it and you," but we'll 

 print it just as you wrote it, because every word 

 seems to come from your heart. We do admire 

 out-spoken articles in newspapers, outspoken ser- 

 mons in the pulpit, and out-spoken addresses 

 everywhere, whether we agree with the ideas ex- 

 pressed or not. You say "What you'd have it, 

 makeit." No, sir; that's not our style. Writers for 

 the New England Farmer are invited to express 

 their own opinions. Thisj'ou have done squarely, 

 and though we may believe you will live to smile 

 at your own earnest expressions, we cheerfully 

 put them on record. Aficr you have tried the 



"forty dollars" per month and the tidi/ work in fac- 

 tories and shops, and paid present prices for 

 board ; after you have ascertained how little these 

 journeymen and operatives have to boast over 

 farm hands, on the score of cleanliness, intelli- 

 gence, morality or cash, we shall hope to hear 

 from you again, — if not before. 



SEED PER ACRE OF CARROTS, ONIONS AND BEANS — 

 OLD APPLE TREES — DRAINAGE. 



Will you inform me, through the New Eng- 

 land Farmer, how much carrot seed, and how 

 much onion seed is required for an acre ? What 

 is tlie fertilizer of these two crops ? How many 

 beans are required to plant an acre ? How can I 

 improve mj' old apple trees ? I have about eight 

 acres of clay subsoil; it is run out and produtes 

 but little. 1 ploughed some ditches last fall, and I 

 want to drain it, but I cannot lay tile drains ; how 

 is the best, aside from tile drainage ? n. p. 



Lancaster, 3Iass., April, 18G8. 



Remarks. — Inquirers sometimes ask questions 

 that require long answers to be satisfactory. The 

 questions of friend P. open subjects that might fill 

 a small volume. Carrots require a deep loamy 

 soil, made rich by well-rotted manure — anj'where 

 from twenty to forty loads will not be too much — 

 plough deep and thoroughly pulverize the soil; 

 not far from one and a half pounds of seed to the 

 acre ; rows two feet apart. Onions I'equirc a rich 

 black soil, made very fine ; ashes, lime and well- 

 rottcd manure, well raked in ; sow and roll ; steep 

 the seed in urine, then dry it with plastew Beans, 

 if the small pea bean, require about sixteen 

 quarts ; if marrow, a bushel to the acre. Plough 

 and cultivate the land upon which j'our trees 

 stand, manuring heavily. Plant with potatoes. 

 Then sow oats and clover ; mow the oats green ; 

 take one crop of clover and plough again. The 

 crops will pay the labor. Cut away all dead 

 wood, and graft freely, and be patient. For your 

 clay subsoil, thorough draining is the onlj' effectual 

 remedy.. If you cannot put down tiles, make open 

 drains three feet deep, at least. The clay retains 

 the water on its surface. You must go deep 

 enough to.take off the water below the roots of the 

 grasses. When this is done you can plough deep 

 and make a good seed bed, and not till then. 

 Good covered drains may be made with stones, 

 but they must be carefully made, and unless the 

 stone is on the land or very near, will cost more 

 than tiles. 



STEELYARDS INCREASE THE FLOW OF MILK ! 



Would you know the secret ? By their use, you 

 will find the quantity of milk to vary, and this va- 

 riation will excite j"our curiosity lo discover the 

 cause. It may l)e found in a variation in the quan- 

 tity of food given, or it may result from a change 

 of quality. Weighing the milk v,-ill thus lead to a 

 habit (if investigation, not only in relation to the 

 effict of food on milk, but also as to the "wear 

 and tear of the cow"a;d everything relatingto the 

 co-t of ruuning the "milk factory," until the fact 

 will be demonstrated that the best feed and the 

 best care will produce the cheapest milk. All this 

 will ri'sult Irom weighing the milk. F. 



Mast Yard, .V. //., May, 18G8. 



