264 



NEW ENGLAND FAR]MER. 



June 



favored with the kinds of soil most suitable to 

 the peculiar kinds of fruit which they wish to 

 raise. If a man Avants to raise early apples 

 for use or market, he will want to plant his 

 trees in a light and active soil ; but if he 

 ploughs such a soil much, he may fail of suc- 

 cess. Most light soils alford very little nour- 

 ishment to the roots of trees, except so near 

 the surface of the ground that every thorough 

 ploughing will destroy the feeding roots. Some 

 different process, I think, than that of plough- 

 ing, should be resorted to in such cases. Cer- 

 tainly it is hard for a tree to be robbed of its 

 power of feeding. The very frequent use of 

 the plough compels the tree, deprived of its 

 feeding roots, to feed on carbon Irom the air, 

 through its leaves, in too great proportion for 

 the mineral elements it can obtain from the 

 soil ; and the wood formed cannot be healthy. 

 I suspect that much of tlie blight on fruit trees, 

 sudden decay of young trees, &c., may be 

 only a result of this inequality between the 

 mineral and carbonaceous elements in their 

 growth. If so, the mattock, the spadQ,-fork, 

 and other implements to work the soil without 

 destroying the little feeding roots, must take 

 the place of the plough ; or the "mystery" of 

 orchard decay will continue to confound many. 



I have observed that in ground where the 

 subsoil is of the character of a sweet clay 

 loam, the roots of fruit trees will run much 

 deeper than in other kinds of soil ; and 

 I thnik there is no question that such grounds 

 are more suitable to raising winter fruit, and 

 may be ploughed more frequently than other 

 kinds. Even there, no tree can afford to have 

 its "teeth knocked out," every summer. 



Well, ^Ir. Editor, I have suggested a text 

 for you or somebody else to preach from ; and 

 rather than weary you with words about it, 

 now, I may, perhaps, ccme again on the same 

 errand, some other day. a. g. c. 



Lee, N. II., Jan. 1, 1868. 



For the New England Farmer, 



IS KEEPING HENS PKOFITABIjE ? 



For a number of years past I have read 

 •with interest the various accounts published in 

 the New England Faioikr, and other agri- 

 cultural papers, relative to poultry-raisinjr. 

 As a general thing I have observed a prnjit 

 reported, though sometimes a correspondent 

 has ventured to exhibit an account indicating 

 a loss. 



I have never had a severe attack of the 

 "7ie« /erer," nor have I ever kept a large 

 number of fowls ; but for the last liileen years 

 I have had a few every year. I have encleav- 

 ored to keep the best I could obtain in the 

 vicinity. 1 have several times kept an accu- 

 rate account, and very seldom has the balance 

 been on the riijht side. 



Last year I concluded to try It again, and 

 the following is the result. 



Stock on hand at the commencement of the 

 year : 



8 hens and one rooster $2 25 



9'i buBlRl ecrn f^-d 6 80 



2>i bushels buckwheat fed 1 10 



38 eggs set fur batching 38 



$10 63 

 Cr. 



By 64 1-12 doz. eggs . . . . ' 718 



By 3 hens killed 80 



By 8 hens and one rooster on haod .... 2 25 



Loss 



$10 23 

 30 



I have given the actual numbers, quantities 

 and prices. 



Farmers who allow their hens to run at large, 

 can better alford to keep them than any one 

 else. There is always a good deal of loose 

 grain about the barn in winter, that would be 

 wasted were there no hens around. But I 

 have long been of the opinion that those who 

 have to buy all their feed cannot make poultry 

 raising protiiable, unless they are near a very 

 good market.. Granite. 



Bloomfield, C W., Marcli, 1868. 



Remarks. — Who can blame the biddies for 

 not showing a profit on "the right side" when 

 they are credited but a fraction over eleven 

 cents and two mills per dozen for their eggs ? 

 We hope this is not a fair example of the en- 

 couragement which is afforded to the "indus- 

 trial pursuits" generally in Her ]\Iajesty's Do- 

 minions. 



A DARK SIDE OP CALIPOKNIA. 

 Mr. T. Woodhaus, Santa Clara, California, 

 has lately written a letter to the New York 

 Farmers' Club, in which, after alluding to the 

 fact that companies of speculators have re- 

 cently taken up some 200,000 acres of the 

 best government land in the State, to the cir- 

 culars they have issued, and to emanations of 

 the press generally, setting forth the advan- 

 tages of California "in glowing language," but 

 which he thinks are intended to conceal infor- 

 mation that is important to emigrants, he says : 



I deem it a duty to say a few words to the 

 public ol' what I know and have experienced 

 as a Cal.fornia farmer lor the past seventeen 

 years. Tlie climate is generally healthy and 

 pleasant, but some localities are more subject 

 to fevers tlian others. 



Prol)ably all know there are two seasons, a 

 wet and a dry ; when the wet one commences, 

 whicii is sometimes early in November, and 

 at other times not until the latter end of De- 

 cember, spring in reality commences, grass 

 and vegetation grow ; while all are parched to 

 perfect dryness through the summer and fall. 

 As to rain, the climate is exceedingly variable, 

 droughts never fail, during which a scorching 



