296 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept.' 



CONTENTS O F TH IS NUMBER. 



September Page 265 



Coitun in Utah— Brief History of Patent Office 2G6 



The Cause of the Potato Rot ., 263 



Pleurodvuia, or Founder — Non-producers 269 



Extracts nnd Replies 270, 280, 2S8 



Thoroiifih Draining 270 



Horse Hoe, or Rotary Spadsr 272 



Farm Houses and Outbuilding!^ — Profits of Fruit Culture .. .274 



Life of Wiltiam T. Porter 275 



Farming in \evv Mexico— Grapes .'.275 



Preparing and Applying Manure — Cultivation of Rye 276 



Things to he Learned ' 277 



Destroy the Caterpillars — A New Enemy 278 



Manures, Quantity, Quality 278 



Sheep, Wool and Lambs — Rat Stories — Heaves in Horses... 280 



Meteorological Record— Development of Resources 281 



Farming in Florida — Killing Weeds by Law 282 



Letter from the Farm 283, 293 



New Books 284 



Best Way to Use Bones— Shall I Buy a Farm.' 285 



Farmers rs. Mechanics 286 



Women Farmers — Sunset^^after a Shower 287 



Stoncs—Citv Haymakers 288 



Winter Wheat— A Horse with Warts 289 



Horticultural Notes 290 



Comments on the Cherry 291 



Little Things, or a Walk in My Garden 292 



Wheat Crop in Illinois 292 



Wheat Show — Toi>-Dressing Grass Lands 294 



Pulverized Bones — Summer — Preserving Tomatoes 295 



How to Select Flour 296 



Review of the Market 296 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Initial Letter 265 



Horse Hoe or Rotary Spader 273 



A Horse with Warls 289 



How Plants Absorb Moisture. — Professor 

 Johnson, of Yale College, says that it is the re- 

 markable I'esult of late exact investigations that 

 land plants cannot directly absorb vapor of water 

 by their foliage or roots, nor can they absorb by 

 their foliage or by their roots flowing water ; but 

 acquire the moisture they need by the action of 

 their roots on the invisible water which adheres 

 to the surfaces of the particles of the soil. 



How to Select Flour, — First look at the 

 color ; if it is white, with a slightly yellowish, or 

 straw-colored tint, buy it. If it is very white, 

 with a bluish cast, or with white specks in it, re- 

 fuse it. 



Second — Examine its adhesiveness ; wet and 

 knead a little of it between your fingers ; if it 

 works soft and sticky, it is poor. 



Third — Throw a little lump of dry flour against 

 a dry, smooth, perpendicular surface ; if it falls 

 like powder, it is bad. 



Fourth — Squeeze some of the flour in your 

 hand ; if it retains the sha])e given by the pres- 

 sure, that, too, is a good sign. Flour that will 

 stand all these tests, it is safe to buy. These 

 modes are given by old flour-dealers, and they 

 pertain to a matter that concerns everybody, name- 

 ly, the staff' of life. 



A Good Hint.— Send your little child to bed 

 f happy. Whatever cares press, give it a warm 

 good-night kiss as it goes to its pillow. The 

 memory of this, in the stormy years which fate 

 may have in store for the little one, will be like 

 Bethlehem's star 19 the bewildered shepherds. 



CATTLE MARKETS FOR AUGUST. 



The f lUowing is a summary of the reports for the four weeks 

 ending August 12, 1863: 



NUMBER AT MARKET. 



Cattle. Sheep. Shotes. Fat Hogs. Veals. 



July 22 1235 6700 400 1200 400 



July 29 1836 6925 200 1000 300 



Aug. 5 2212 6031 225 300 200 



" 12 1850 7727 225 19C0 200 



Total 7133 26,383 



1050 



4400 1100 



The following table exhibits the number of cattle and sheep 

 from each State for the last four weeks, and for the correspond- 

 ing four weeks last year ; also the total number since the first of 

 January, of each year: 



THIS YEAR. 



Cattle. Sheep. 



Maine 560 



New Hampshire 790 



Vermont 1468 



Massachusetts 74 



Northern New York 291 



Canada 185 



Western States 3765 



4924 

 2220 

 11,086 

 662 

 2320 

 3306 

 1665 



lAST TEAR. 



Cattle. Sheep. 



129 

 245 



2237 

 41 

 255 

 174 



4110 



6524 

 2128 

 10,773 

 937 

 1656 

 2734 

 1316 



Total, last four weeks 7,133 26,383 



Total, since Jan. 1,(33 w'ks,)46,069 108,859 



PRICES. 



July 22. Juhj2'd. 

 Beef,lst,2d,3dqual..53@8J 5g'»85 



" a few extra 9 (g9J 9 S9J 



Sheep & lambs, cach.$2.iS5 $2|S5 



Swine,stores,w'sale...5 ig6 5 (fi6 



" " retail.. 6 ©8 5 @7 



Hides, <rft 7is8i 7iaS| 



Pelts, sheep &lambs.40 S$l S7 fi$l 



Tallow, #■& 8 S85 7i@8 



7,191 26,087 

 43,884 109,926 



Aug, 5. 

 -HS8J 



5l,g6J 



7iS8i 



37 (g$l 



7ia8 



Aug. 12. 



5iS8J 



8339 



$2,1 a4| 



5ig6 



6 ig7 



37 ,5$1 



7 igS 



Remarks. — During the past four weeks the trade of the Bos- 

 ton live stock market has been very good, and prices quite uni- 

 form, with the exception of a decline of about |c ^ }b. on beef. 

 According to figures the number of cattle at market thus far this 

 JH'ar (33 weeks,) is 2185 more than was reported last yi.ar, while 

 that ofslieep is 1067 less this year than last. It will also be no- 

 ticed that the number of sheep and lambs from Maine, during 

 the past four weeks is 1600 less than for the corresponding four 

 weeks last year. Many sheep and lambs are slaughtered in the 

 seaport towns of Maine, and the mutton sent to commission 

 houses in this city, by whom it is retailed. Probably the de- 

 crease in the number of live lambs at market from Maine this 

 year, is fully supjilied by the increase of the amount of dead 

 mutton. 



Sales of Cattle and Sheep. 



The following is from our report of sales, Aug 15: 



I. A. Blake sold 4 oxen, laid to dress 900 lbs. each, at 7J,<c ^ 

 ft). ; 3 three-year-old steers for 7c, and 3 others for 6,'^c ; 2 two- 

 year-old heifers for 6c, and 3 steers for 6'.,'c ^ lb. 



E. R. Deming sold 1 pair of good oxen, 1800 to 1900 tbs., at 8c, 

 dressed weight, and 7 four-year old steers for $40 eacli, or about 

 6;^4'c#' ft. 0. E. Taylor 7 oxen, 925 lbs. each,dressed, for l^ic 



E. Woodruff sold 9 four-year-olds, at from 7 to 8c t'* ft ; 3 

 two-year-olds for $25 each, or 6c ■^ lb. ; 4 cows for $190, or 7c 

 ^ lb., and 4 three-year olds, laid to dress 2600 fts. for $40 each. 



Geo. W. Morrison sold 4 oxen, laid to dress 3400 fts., for 

 $262 : 6 three-ytar-old steers, 700 lbs., dressed, for $44 each ; 2 

 good tivo-year-olds at 5%c ^ ft. 



A. N. Monroe sold 24 Western steers, gross live weight 32,645 

 lbs., for 8?Xc, 30 sk ; 22 wei&hing 27,530 fts., for 8'.,;c, 32 sk ; 

 14 weighing 21,080 fts., for 8'4C, 35 sk ; 4 steers, live wcicht 

 3870 fts., at 7c, 35 sk ; 10 others, 11,090 fts., at 7c, 40 sk r34 

 weidiing 43,660 lbs., at 8'4'c, >^ sk ; 4, of 5170 tbs., at 8,',<c, 30 

 sk ;^ Go hers, 6,860 fts., at 8>ic, 31 sk ; 4 weighing 5220 fos., at 

 8,'<c, ^3 sk ; 3, of 3,210 lbs., at 8'4C, >i sk ; and 24 weighingto- 

 gether 27,475 lbs., for 8c, >^ sk. 



G. W. Baker sold 2') lambs and 20 yearlings at $3,50 l? head. 

 Lambert Hastings sold one lot ot 68, of which 54 were lambs and 

 14 old ones, for $2.75 each, and from that up to $4, ;t which 

 price he sold a few of his best. N. G. Batchelder sold 220 lor 

 $3,75 each, 273 to Jerry Piatt, for about $4, bargain not defi- 

 nitely closed, and 84 others on same conditions. D. Bice sold 

 108 New York Iambs at $3, J. E. Parker sold 59 Maine Iambs 

 at $3 each, and Gen. J. Morse sold 160 Canada shoep and Iambs 

 to same purchaser, for $4 ^?' head. W. H. Curtis sold a small 

 lot of Iambs at $2,85 #■ head. The Western sheep are mostly 

 bought on commission. One lot of corn fed sheep, over 100 lbs,, 

 at Albany, we were told cost about 5>^c #" lb. 



