112 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



The number of eggs laid were 2692, not includ- 

 ing those used in the family, and the few that were 

 sot. The number sold each month and the price 

 pur dozen were as ibllovvs: Feb. 8 doz. at 14 cents; 

 March 36 1-2 doz., 12 1-2 cents; April 53 doz., 15 

 cents; May 25 doz., 14 cents: June 33 1-2 doz., 14 

 cents; July 30 doz., 16 cents; August 17 doz., 18 

 cents; September 2 doz., 17 cents; October 4 doz., 

 16 1-3 cents; November 6 doz., 16 cents; Dec. 1 

 doz., 20 cents. 



The hens, after the principal laying season was 

 over, were killed at different intervals until fall or 

 winter and marketed. This accounts for the small 

 number of eggs duringthe latter months of the year, 

 and no doubt for some of the profits. 



The 95 turkeys raised were all of the first litter. 

 Not one of the hens was allowed to sit the second 

 time, a second crop of turkeys being considered un- 

 profitable. The turkeys were kept till about the 

 1st of Jan., and sold at 11 cents per pound. 



The number of chickens raised was only 15, the 

 hens not being permitted to set; and the geese 

 raised only 2 goslings. Notwithstanding this, we 

 do not recollect of having seen any published ac- 

 count of the same amount (where high prices were 

 not paid) that exceeds this. p. 



North Stoni?igion, Ct., March 3(1, 1851. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 BARK LICE ON FRUIT TREES. 



Mr. Cole: — You will recollect that I wrote to 

 you for a remedy for the bark lice on apple trees, 

 last spring. I then washed a part of two trees, one 

 with soap and water, the other with strong ley, but 

 without any apparent elfect, except the bark of the 

 one washed with ley has a brown appearance, and 

 I think it is injured; these lice are increasing on my 

 trees, and in tiiis neighborhood to an alarming ex- 

 tent; theappleson some of my trees were quite full 

 of them; they appear to infest the grafted more than 

 the natural fruit. Will you ask through the col- 

 lumns of the Farmer for a remedy, and oblige yours, 

 &c., C Hs. Moody. 



York, Me., April 1, 1851. 



INSTINCT IN A BIRD. 



Once when travelling in Tennessee. Wilson was 

 struck with the manner in whicli tlie habits of the 

 pennated grouse are adapted to its residence on dry, 

 sandy plains. One of them was kept there in a 

 cage, having been caught alive in a trap. It was 

 observed that the bird never drank, and seemed rath- 

 er to avoid the water; but a few drops one day fall- 

 ing upon the cage, and trickling down the bars, 

 the bird drank them with great dexterity and an 

 eagerness that showed she was suffering witli thirst. 

 The experiment was then made whether she would 

 drink under other circumstances, and though she 

 lived on dry Indian corn, the cup of water in the 

 cage was for a whole week untasted and untouched; 

 but the moment water was sprinkled on the bars, 

 she drank it eagerly as before. It occurred to him 

 at once, that in the natural haunts of the bird, the 

 only water it could procure was from the drops of 

 rain and dtw. 



\^ There are three companions w itii whom a 

 man should always keep on good terms — his wife, 

 his stomach, and his conscience. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE OLD APPLE TREE. 



We venerate thee, good old tree; 



Thou had'st our father's care, 

 And to our childhood's happiness 



Thou gav'st a bounteous share. 



How oft we've breathed thy rich perfume, 



When dewdtop's crystal show'rs 

 Invite the humming-bird and bee 



To taste thy nectar'd flow'rs. 



Thou fill'st tlie bowl with Russetts rare, 



That graced our winter hearth; 

 We grasp't with joy the welcome store, 



The happiest souls on earth. 



But since we've grown to manhood's prime 



We see thy sure decay; 

 Limb after limb presents no green 



On each returning May. 



Oft filthy vermin taint thy skin, 



Few songsters seek thy shade; 

 O, is it man that thou hast fed 



That would thee thus degrade? 



We'll free thee from these withered limbs, 



And give thy rootlets food; 

 We'll strip from thee that lousy coat, 



And dress thee clean and good. 



We'll give to thee a Baldwin top, 



A Nonsuch or a Sweeting. 

 In June and Autumn thou slialt shine, 



With youthful trees competing. 



For thou wilt pay thy master well 



For ev'ry care bestowed; 

 Each season of the flow'rs and fruit, 



He sees thee richly clothed. Smart. 



TRANSPLANTING TREES. 



In taking up trees for transplanting, regard should 

 always be had to their size, and a due proportion 

 should be preserved between the size of the tree and 

 the amount of root attached. A deficiency of root 

 may be partially but not wholly compensated by a 

 diminution or entire removal of the top; but there 

 should always be root enough to supply nourish- 

 ment to the body, (which, if large, requires the 

 more to sustain it,) and top enough to digest it. A 

 deficiency of to]), however, is less fatal, especially 

 in the early part of the season, than a deficiency of 

 root; for if there be enough of the latter, the tree 

 will readily make enough of the former as fast as 

 it shall be needed; but if there be a deficiency of 

 root, although the tree may live and even grow for 

 a time on account of its innate, vital energies, yet 

 it will probably die before the close of the season. 



It is for this reason that many trees that "start 

 weir' are olten found to die in the latter part of the 

 summer, notwithstanding all other circumstances 

 seem to lavor their preservation. It is a mistake 

 to suppose that if a tree once begins to grow all 

 risk is at an end. The first season will not always 

 decide; for if that shall be peculiarly favorable, a 

 small root may sustain a tree through it; but the 

 consequence of a small root may be a corresponding 

 small top, aiul of both, a dead strip running the 

 whole length of the tree occupying, perhaps, one- 

 third, or one-halfof its whole circumference. Some 

 trees have a much greater tenacity of life than oth- 

 ers, and hence may grow with a much smaller root, 

 or even with none at all. But with these excep- 

 tions there should always be a direct proportion be- 

 tween the size of a tree and its root, and an inverse 



