160 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Apkil 



ter of 1852, aHhough the weather was extremely 

 col J. 



We are really obliged to S. W., Jr. , for his good 

 opinion of the Farmer, and will endeavor to con- 

 tinue it whit lie a lys it is now : — "a plain, com- 

 mon-sense pafier, and such as evcFy farmer ought 

 to take." 



To W. B. W., Gilford, N. II. Your letter was 

 mislaid, or it would have been noticed sooner. 

 Every churn that comes to us is recommended as 

 the cheapest and best. For a dairy of six or eiglit 

 cows \\,G have found nothing better than the com- 

 mon thermometer churn. But then we have nev- 

 er used Wilhird's, Davis', Clarke's, and many oth- 

 ers that are said to be g^jod. The quotations in 

 our price current list are corrected weekly by the 

 dealers themselves, and the jwices do not vary ma- 

 terially among them. Shorts have ranged consid- 

 erably higher than quoted at the date of your let- 

 ter. 



To B. F. R., Freehold, N. /.—-An acre would be 

 quite small enough for the range of 200 fowls, and 

 if it were Jice it would be better. There should 

 be plenty of v/ator, and shade — a running stream 

 is desirable. AVe do not think a building of any 

 size would be too large, providing it had a tight 

 sunny corner for winter use. Build as large as 

 you can afford. No part of form stock suffers more 

 from being crowded than our domestic fowls. We 

 have never known them profitable where they were 

 in large numbers and crowded. We have the plan 

 of a building for fowls now in progress, which will 

 be given soon. If you are near a city or village, 

 where "swill" can be collected, you will find it ex- 

 cellent in such a collection of fowls. 



To J. W., North Springfield, 7/.— "Can guano 

 be used profitably in raising eorn^" Yes, but we 

 would not spread manure on the sward and turn 

 it under, as your practice seems to be ; because if 

 the plowing is done well, the nmnure will be un- 

 der the surface some G to 10 inches. Is not that 

 the reason of your corn "invariably looking pale?" 

 How will this plan answer : — Just before you wish 

 to plant, turn over the sward, (already covered 

 with a green crop,) to the depth of 8 or 10 inches, 

 spread the manure bro;idcast and work it in well 

 with the cultivatiir. Then, after furrowing, drop 

 a handful of guano mixed with old muck or loam, 

 into the liills? You then have the guano to give 

 the plants t'leir early support, wliile the broadcast 

 manure v.'ill gradually decompose and feed the 

 roots as they scritch away in search of sustenance. 

 The applieatir.n yuu make of two parts ashes and 

 one of plaster, is capital. 



The Potato Disease. — We have liad on our ta- 

 ble for some weeks a long report on this subject, 

 from a committee of the New York Assembly, and 

 also two or three long newspaper articles on the 

 same subject, by Cuaunci' S. Goodrich, Avho claims 



I to have found a remedy for the disease. He thinks^ 

 the disease occi^sioned by climatic influences, and 

 that the remedy must be the repeated reproduc- 

 tion of the potato from the seed balls. In the 

 present crowded state of our columns, we have no 

 room for extracts. 



To E. A., Providence, R. I. — The plan of feed- 

 ing bees, given below, Mr. A. says he has tried 

 and found to work well. 



"Take of cheap West India honey 1 gal., 10 lbs. 

 of white coffee sugar and 2 qts. water ; heat it all 

 over the fire until it begins to boil, skim it, and 

 when cool it ia ready for use. Feed in a wood- 

 en trough, or tin pan, with perpendicular sides, 

 with a float on the feed ; the float is made of wood, 

 an eighth of an inch thick, just large enough to fit 

 the inside of the tin pan or wooden bos, and have 

 it play up and down easily. Fill the float with 

 small holes by first making holes with a brad awl, 

 then burn them out with a hot iron made for the 

 purpose, but not so large as to admit a l^ee. Keep 

 the feed in a eool place when not in use. Bees 

 can be fed in this manner with the utmost ease, 

 and in any kind of hive, either inside or out." 



To J. J. J., V/cllsboro\ Pa.— Will send grafts 

 of the Hunt Russet aa requested — cannot obtain 

 the pear. 



A Reader, Taunton Ms. — We should graft the 

 pear tree you speak of with the Bartlett, as it does 

 well on old trees, and will return you a crop in 

 three or four years. The Ticar of VVinkfield is 

 not a first rate fruit, but is hardy and produc- 

 tive. 



To C. H. R., N , N. i/.— You need a rich, 



moist loam, for strawlserries — the deeper you dig 

 it the better. Any good manure is suitable, lib- 

 erally applied and well spaded in. Set the plants 

 in April, when they have started, so that you can 

 see which are the vigorous ones. Set them in 

 rows three feet apart, and one foot apart in the 

 row. IIovey"s Seedling, Boston Pine, and Early 

 Virginia, are perhaps, as good as any. When the 

 plants are well up, an occasional sprinkling of gu- 

 ano water, say one or two quarts of guano to a 

 barrel of rain or river water, if it is convenient, will 

 have a wonderful effect on them. For further 

 particulars, see the 3d vol. of the Neio England 

 Farmer. 



To. L. T., Sutton, Ms. — Guano should not be 

 suffered to take the place of manure which may be 

 made from the natural resources of the farm. But 

 as an adjunct, something to aid in restoring lands 

 too far from home to cart manure to, or where it 

 is found desirable to renova-te old pastures, guano 

 will come in as a capital auxiliary. So it may be 

 profitably used in gardens, particularly in liquid 

 form. 



There are different qualities of guano — the Pe- 

 ruvian is considered the best. The price is now 

 $50 a ton. It may be found at Quincy Hall, Bos- 

 ton. 



