1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



463 



the result of his own carelessness. At least, let 

 us protect the children from such misfortunes. 



There is scarcely anything that so readily moves 

 the compassion of a man who has a heart in the 

 right place, as to see even the child of a stranger 

 mutilated in sucli a manner. You and I, friend 

 Brown, know a boy who has lost two fingers by 

 such a machine, whose father now, years after- 

 wards, can never allude to the accident without 

 being moved to tears. H. F. French. 



Exeter, N. H., Aug. 26, 1854. 



THE PRICE OF WHEAT. 



The following table, which we find in HunVs 

 Merchant's Magazine, is from the minutes kept at 

 the office of the Van Rensselaer Manor, at Alba- 

 ny, where large amounts of rent are payable in 

 wheat, or a cash equivalent, on the first of Janua- 

 ry, each year ; and as two parties are deeply inter- 

 ested in the price, it is probably the most reliably 

 correct of any record that can be obtained. There 

 is quite a lesson in these figures — look at them. 



Price of wheat per bushel, January 1st, at Al- 

 bany, sixty-one years, viz : — 



.$0 75 



..1 00 



..137i 



..2 00 



..1 50 



..125 



..ll8i 



..156i 



..181i 



..100 



1793 



1794 



1795 



1796 



1797 



1733 



1799 



1800 



1801 



1802 



1803 1 12i 



1804 125 



1805 2 00 



1806 143J 



1807 137i 



1808 1 12i 



1809 1 (JO 



1810 1 56i 



1811 175 



1812 187i 



1813 225 



1814 1 87i 



1815 1 62i 



1816 1 75 



1817 2 25 



1818 187i 



1819 175 



1820 100 



1821 77 



1822 1 12t 



1823 125' 



1824 



1825 



1826 ;. 



1827 



1823 



1829 



1830 



1831 



1832 



1833 



1834 



1835 



1836 



1837 



1838 



1839 



1840 



1841 



1842 



1843 



1844 



1845 



1846 



1847 1 12^ 



.$125 

 ..1 00 

 ...87i 

 ..1 00 

 ..1 00 

 ..1 75 

 ..1 00 

 ..1 25 

 ..125 

 ..100 

 ..1 00 

 ..100 

 ..1 50 

 ..2 25 

 . .1 62 J 

 ..175 

 ..1 12} 

 ,..1 00 

 ,..125 

 ,..187i 

 ..2 00 

 . . . 93i 

 .1 18i 



1848 

 1849. 

 1850. 

 1851. 

 1852. 

 1853. 

 1854. 



.181i 

 . 1 18i 

 .1 18i 

 .1 12i 

 .1 00 

 .1 18i 

 .1 75 



many instances in extensive sections entirely ru- 

 ined it. This cannot fail to affect in a considera- 

 ble degree the price of wheat, and we are in* 

 clined to believe that it Avill range much higher 

 than it is estimated above — probably quite aa 

 hig.h as in January, 1854. — Country Gentleman. 



For the New England Farmer. 



GRAPE WINE-DROUGHT. 



Friend Brown : — Inanswer to your correspond- 

 ent in regard to grape wine, T would say that any 

 one that knows how to make good cider, can make 

 good wine from native grapes, as the process is 

 just the same, only that sugar and water are add- 

 ed to the wine. The wine that you saw and tast- 

 ed, was not more than 1-5 water, and nearly 3 lbs. 

 good brown sugar were added to the gallon, and 

 it was pressed out in a new basket; using clean 

 washed salt bags for strainers, and laying weights 

 on top for a press. 



The wine I made last year, is not as good as 

 that made the year before. The grapes should be 

 well ripened, but not too ripe. 



The drought is more severe here at this time, 

 than I ever knew it, although the streams and 

 springs are not as low as I have seen them many 

 times before. Corn and potatoes are suffering 

 very much, and some fields are past recovery. Ap- 

 ples look well, and are very free from insects, but 

 they will ripen prematurely if we do not have rain 

 soon. 



The trees do not all bear fruit as they do gene- 

 rally in the bearing year, but there is very little 

 that is poor and knurly. B. F. Cutter. 



Pelharn, N. H., Aug., 1854. 



You will notice that only five times in all those 

 years wlicat has been $2 or upwards per bushel, 

 while it was seventeen times at $1 or under — 

 twice at 75 cents. Only once in tliirty-seven 

 years, that is since 1817, to wit in 1837, has it 

 reached $2. Tlie average price for the whole pe- 

 riod is ,$1,38. For the last thirty years it is $1,25, 

 and we give it as a prophecy, whicli, we tliink, 

 may be relied upon, that that will be the price 

 next January. Those who are interested may ;is 

 well take a note of that. The cropof wheatis too 

 good, too wide extended and the demand for ex- 

 port to Europe or California too limited and flour 

 speculators too hard up to maintain present prices. 

 You may as well mark that, INIessrs. Farmers and 

 Wheat buyers. — N. Y. Tribune, July 22. 



It will be seen that the above was written about 

 a month ago, Since then, the contiuued drought 

 has very seriously aQected the Indian corn crop 

 throughout a large portion of the country, and in 



For the New England Farmer. 



A GOOD GARDEN. 



Mr. Brown :— I have taken your N. E. Far- 

 mer ever since its commencement, and have often 

 on looking it over, had a mind to tell you my ex- 

 perience as a farmer and gardener. Well, sir, 

 thirty years ago I purchased an establishment 

 consisting of a dwelling-house, barn, carriage and 

 wood-house, calculating to make it a permanent 

 residence. There was attached a little land for a 

 garden, on whicli were just five apple trees, and in 

 front of the house were three trees of the balm of 

 Gilead ; the trees were all about six inches in di- 

 ameter at that time, but two of the apple trees 

 were hollow, and I cut one of them down, after 

 trying to make it do something and could not. 



Well, all the apple trees boro something for 

 fruit, Init so crabbed and sour they would make a 

 pig squeal. At this time I was engaged as a tra- 

 der, and had a country store to look after, which 

 occupied about all my time, but as time wore on 

 and stage-coaches and railroad cars succeeded one 

 another, Iliad more time ; for I can now travel a^ 

 far in four hours as I could then in two entire 

 days with my team. Well, for amusement I graft- 

 ed all the four ap}ile trees gradually, or year by 

 by ymir, cutting oil' tlieold iiranches and grafting 

 tlie lim})8 with Ko.xbury russets, New York rus- 

 sets, Baldwins, &e., &c., all the best kinds I could 

 find. Now for results; — I have hid a'lout ten 

 barrels of good apples, aiiMually, to put up for 

 winter for three or four years past, beside all we 



