1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



41 



To prevent which discommoditie, one of the best 

 remedies is, the sufficient and fit distance of trees. 

 Therefore at the setting of your plants you must 

 have such a respea, that the distance of them be 

 such that every tree be not annoiance, but an 

 helpe to his fellowes ; for trees (as all other things 

 of the same kinde) should shrowd, and not hurt 

 one another. And assure your selfe that every 

 touch of trees (as well under as above the earthe) 

 is hurtful. Therefore this must be a general rule 

 in this art : That no tree in an Orchard well or- 

 dered, nor bough, nor Cyon, drop upon, or touch 

 his fellowes. Let no man thinke this impossible, 

 but looke into eleventh chapter of dressing of 

 trees. If they touch, the winde will cause a for- 

 cible rub. Young twigs are tender, if boughs or 

 armes touch and rub, if they are strong, they make 

 great galls. No kinde of touch therefore in trees 

 can be good. 



COMMONWEALTH OF BEES. 

 When I had view'cl this Common-wealth of Bees, 

 ObserC'd their Lines, their Art, »nd their Degrees: 

 As; how, beside their painefuU f^ulsar ones. 

 They haiie their Prince, their Captaines, and their Drones: 

 How they A^ree; how temji-ratly they Feed; 

 How curiously they Build; how chastly Breed; 

 How seriously their Bus''nesse they intend; 

 How stoutly they their Common-good defend; 

 How timely their Prouisionx are prourded; 

 How orderly their Labors are diuided; 

 What Verlues pat' ems, and what grounds oi Art, 

 What Pleasures, and what Profits Ihey impart: 

 When these, with all those other things I minde 

 Which in this Booke, concerning Bees, I finde: 

 Me thinkes, there is not halfe that worth in Mee, 

 Which I haue apprehended in a Bee, 

 And that the Pismere, and these Hony-flies, 

 Instruct vs better to Philosophize, 

 Than all those tedious Volumes, which, as yet, 

 Are leaft vnio vs by nieere Humane-wit. 

 For, whereas these but only Rules doe giue: 

 These by Examples teach vs how to line. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 APPLES FOR FATTENING STOCK. 



Mr Editor : — I do not pretend to be much of a 

 farmer, but a kind of Jack at all trades. As there 

 is so much difference of opinion, however, as it re- 

 gards apples fed out to stock, I will give the result 

 of my experience. I had a cow that w^s 12 or 13 

 years old last spring ; she had a calf one year ago 

 last April ; she has been milked every day since, till 

 the 28th of Nov. last, which was the day but one 

 before I killed her ; her time would have been out 

 to calve Feb. 14, 1853. All the extra feed I gave 

 her besides apples, was 7 bushel baskets of what 

 is termed cow corn in the ear ; I was 35 days a 

 fattening her, and there was one week in the time 

 that she gained 32 lbs. ; she was pronouncec^ by 

 good jildges to be as good beef as they had seen 

 this year, I have not eat any better this two years. 

 Yours, J. N. p. 



Georgetown, Mass., Dec. 6, 1852. 



A Hint. — Many large limbs have fallen from 

 the trees in the woodlot. If you have a spare day 

 before snow falls to cover them, go through your 

 lots and pick up what is worth saving, and which 

 if left till covered with snow would be lost. II 

 you cannot do it yourself, invite your poor neigh- 

 bor to do it for himself. Better it made his fami- 

 ly comfortable in the cold winter approaching, 

 than that it rotted on your land. 



POULTRY RAISING. 



At a recent meeting of the Concord Farmer's 

 Club, the questi(m being, "Is the raising of poul- 

 try profitable?" Mr. James P. Brown said lie had 

 entertained the opinion that the raising of poultry 

 could not be made profitable among the farmers in 

 Middlesex county. Ilis sons, however, having a 

 different opinion, a year ago he proposed to sell 

 thom all his poultry, and purchase of them what 

 eggs and chickens he wanted for the family, upon 

 the condition that they were to keep an accurate 

 account of expenses, and make a trua return to 

 him at the end of the year. 



Before coming in to the meeting he had called 

 upon them for a return up to this time, the period 

 including nine months, and the following is their 

 statement : 



Had on hand, March 1, 1852, 26 fowls, valued 



at $10,00 



Cost of keeping, consisting of corn, meal, 



potatoes and meat 19. 65.. $29,65 



Received for 32 pairs chickens sold 28, 3 



For eggs up to Uec. 1 19,31 . 



Have now 62 fowls worth 33 cents each 27,33.. $74,67 



Expenses 29,65 



Profit in 9 months $45,02 



He had seen from day to day how the fowls had 

 been taken care of, and after reading this state- 

 ment, had changed his opinion, and now believes 

 that poultry may be profitably raised in Middlesex 

 County, by bestowing upon it the same attention 

 that is given to other farm stock when well taken 

 care of. These fowls were plentifully supplied with 

 such food as is accessible to all who usually keep 

 them — corn, oats, meal, potatoes, and occasional- 

 ly fresh meat, such as the plucks of sheep, or the 

 flesh of young calves, many of which are killed at 

 the age of three or four days by those who are sell- 

 ing milk. 



Mr. Jacob B. Farmer said a few years ago he 

 thought he knew something about fowls, but re- 

 cently had almost come to the conclusion that his 

 knowledge was not to be relied on. He had often 

 found as much clear profit from a single hen through 

 the winter as from a cow. Had frequently got 

 $1,50 per bushel for the grain fed to them, and had 

 received as high as $2,40 a bushel. They should 

 be kept, he said, in a dry, warm place. During 

 the last year his fowls had been diseased, and he 

 had received no profit from them whatever. When 

 he had made a profit it was from the native breed. 



Mr. C. W. GooDNOW said he had been thinking 

 of Mr. Brown's profits on a single hen, and that 

 they would be about 500 per cent, on the invest- 

 ment. He thought Mr. B.'s opportunities for keep- 

 ing fowls very advantageous ; his own advantages 

 were not so good, but he thought they aff )rded a 

 fairer opportunity to get at the actual profits than 

 where they are running on the farm. He had on- 

 ly an acre or two of garden, and was obliged to 

 keep his fowls within somewhat narrower limits 

 than the farmer does his. By careful experiment 



