1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



99 



For the New England Farmer. 



CULTURE OF STRAWBEKKIES. 



Gentlemen : — The time has come that I must 

 renew my subscription to the New England Far- 

 mer, monthly. I like the work very much ; it is a 

 cheap work, considering its value. Farming^ is 

 my business, although I have quite a small farm. 

 Of late I have paid some attention to the rais- 

 ing of strawberries. I have now one-third of an 

 acre on the ground, which I set last spring, in 

 rows of four feet apart, and about one foot in the 

 rows. They are Hovey's and Boston Pine. I am 

 confident that they would have covered the 

 ground all over, hud I set them out 5.^ feet instead 

 of four, and two feet in the rows. The land is a 

 light soil, such as corn and rye do well on, when 

 highly manured. For some thirty years or more, 

 it has been used for corn and rye, alternately. 

 One year ago last fall I carted on mud and clay 

 so as to cover it \\ inches, and during the thaws 

 in the winter, I knocked it to pieces, and spread 

 it evenly over the ground. The succeeding spring 

 I plowed it and harrowed in 30 bushels of un- 

 leached ashes. The last part of April, as soon a? 

 the ground was suitable to work, I set out my 

 plants ; nearly all lived, but it was a long time 

 before they made much headway, for the reason 

 that the cut worms kept eating off the plants as 

 fast as they grew. They finally came on and grew 

 finely. I sowed flat turnip seed between the rows, 

 and had 40 bushels of turnips. They did not in- 

 terfere with the strawberry vines, as I wanted a 

 vacancy between the rows. There were a very 

 few strawberries. In the fall, at the last hoeing, 

 I sowed on two casks of air slacked lime and four 

 bushels of coarse salt, and lastly covered them up 

 with salt hay. They are now free from weeds. 

 It is my intention to thin and hoe them next 

 spring. 



Will it pay to do so ? I understand that many 

 do not hoe them at all in the spring. 



I now send you a dollar for the next year's 

 monthly. It paid well last year, and I believe it 

 will this ; I wish all the farmers in the good old 

 town of Pembroke would take the New England 

 Farmer. I know it would be a dollar well spent. 



Pembroke, Bee, 1860. Otis P. Josselyn. 



Remarks. — If you cultivate the strawberry, 

 there can be no doubt but it will be profitable to 

 cultivate it well. We do not believe in permit- 

 ting a struggle for the mastery between weeds 

 and the plants that we have set. Whether you 

 will find your strawberry crop profitable or not 

 will depend considerably upon the skill you pos- 

 sess as a market man. 



The Bee Annoyance. — Since the extensive 

 importation and production of bees in California, 

 they have become, in many respects, a source of 

 great annoyance. The housekeeper, in cooking, 

 the grocer and fruit-dealer, all have them swarm- 

 ing by hundreds, and perhaps thousands, around 

 their premises, rivaling the house fly in trouble- 

 some propensities. A Sacramento coal dealer re- 

 cently obtained a quantity of coal which had a cask 

 of molasses broken over it. When the coal was 

 brought into the yard, the bees collected in such 



quantities that he spent half a day with a hose in 

 washing off" the coal in order to remove the temp- 

 tation. They have partially destroyed the pro- 

 duce of several vineyards near Sacramento ; when 

 the grapes were gathered, it was found that the 

 little thieves had extracted the juice. As a mat- 

 ter of course a large number of bees are necessa- 

 rily destroyed while poaching on the forbidden 

 ground. Is there no remedy for these difficul- 

 ties ? asks the Sacramento Neios. Can bees be 

 kept from annoying everybody but their owners, 

 and at the same time preserve their own lives, or 

 must the evil complained of continue to increase 

 in magnitude ? 



STATE BOAHD OF AGBICULTUKE. 



A meeting of the State Board of Agriculture 

 was held at its Rooms in the State House, Tues- 

 day, 8th inst. There was a full attendance of the 

 members. His Excellency, Gov. Andrew, pre- 

 sided, and on taking the chair made a few appro- 

 priate remarks, manifesting a lively interest in 

 the cause of agriculture, and pledging himself to 

 do whatever was in his power to make this branch 

 of the Government efficient. He expressed a 

 lively interest in the objects of the Board, and 

 said that he inherited a love of the occupation, as 

 one presenting the leading importance in our in- 

 dustrial pursuits. The Lieut. Gov., J. Z. Good- 

 rich, was also present, and, on being called upon 

 by the Governor to preside while he was absent 

 for a few moments, expressed his interest in the 

 noble art, and his desire to co-operate with the 

 Board in promoting the interests of our agricultu- 

 ral industry. 



After some general discussion in relation to 

 the records of the last meeting pertaining to the 

 Hampden Society, a report was made by Mr. Da- 

 vis, of Plymouth, in relation to this society, which 

 was laid upon the table. The discussions were 

 in regard to the change of time made by the 

 Hampden Society, such change being contrary to 

 law. 



In the afternoon. Dr. J. Bartlett, of Chelms- 

 ford, reported upon the Exhibition of the Middle- 

 sex North Society, stating that the exhibition was 

 a successful one, and that this Society will soon 

 be one of the strongest in the State. 



Mr. BusHNELL, of Sheffield, reported upon the 

 Exhibition of the Plymouth County Society. No 

 cattle were exhibited. Mr. B. also read a report 

 upon the Exhibition of the Housatonic Society. 



Mr. Stockbridge, of Hadley, made a report 

 upon the Exhibition of the Middlesex Society. 



Mr. Davis, of Plymouth, made a report in re- 

 lation to the laws enabling Societies to protect 

 themselves on the days of the Exhibition. The 

 committee advised the Board to recommend to 

 the Legislature to pass a law in substance like 

 the following : 



"Whoever, during the time of holding any ex- 



