vsr 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. 



Thoughts Suggested by May Page 129 



Pay your Debts 130 



A Prayer — Best time for Grafting 131 



Whitewash for Shingles— Respect the Earth Worm 132 



Liquid Grafting Wax 132 



What a Garden may be— ^Beans as a Field Crop 133 



Effects of Soil on Grapes — New Mode of Cultivating Corn. . .134 



Advantage of Large Corporations 135 



Turban Squash — Lice on Cattle 136 



Farm Economy 137 



New Books 138 



Extracts and Replies 138, 146, 163 



Reminiscences of Cheshire 139 



Cutting Feed for Horses 141 



Seeding Land to Grass 142, 151, 158 



Production of Double Flowers— Factory Spiders 142 



Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company 143 



Cutting Feed for Stock 144 



Skin Diseases in Animals — Treatment of Croup, 144 



Report of Hon. Joseph H. Wright 145 



Choice Vegetables 146 



Tobacco Culture 147 



Canker Worms— Wild Parsnips 150 



Vegetable Garden— Culture of the Parsnip 151 



New England Agricultural Society 152 



Experiments with Coe's Superphosphate of Lime 152 



lu Council with the Hillsboro', N. H., Farmers 154 



Clapp's Favorite Pear 156* 



June is the Time to Prune Fruit Trees 157 



On Butter-Making— Soap Suds 157 



A Hint to Farmers - 158 



Ladies' Department. 159 



Review of the Cattle Markets 160 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Initial Letter F 129 



Turban Squash ". '. . . ."l36 



Tobacco Culture — eight engravings 148, 150 



Clapp's Favorite Pear 15tj 



CATTLE MARKETS FOR APRIL. 



The following is a summary of the reports for the four weeks 

 ending April 13, 1864 : 



NUMBER AT MARKET. 



Cattle. 

 Mar. 23 1478 



" 30 965 



April 6 1636 



" 13 1311 



Total 6390 19,808 



2405 



1360 



The following table exhibits the number ol 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 

 Jauuary, of each year: 



Maine 451 



New Hampshire (joo 



Vermont 933 



Massachusetts 659 



Northern New York 106 



Western States 2628 



Canada 13 



THIS YEAR. 



Cattle. S/itep. 



149 



5234 



5420 



6021 



LAST TEAR. 



Cattle. Sheep. 

 423 — 



2984 



599 



1310 



538 



40 



2641 



67 



3009 

 4482 

 2496 

 40 

 1149 

 175 



Total, last four weeks 5,390 19,808 5,608 11351 



Total, since Jan. 1,(16 weeks, )21,900 70,430 22,5;2 42,799 



PMCES. 



Beef,l,2, 3qual 8 (glog 



" ex. and prem 11 ^fillj 



Sheep & lambs, -^ lb 6J^ 7| 



" " extra 3 (g9 



Shotes, retail "Ik^^h 



Beef hides, ■r ft, 9JalO 



Pelts $3|S4 



Mar. 23. Mar. 30. Jpril 6. April 13. 



Remarks. — Live stock has been sold higher during the past 

 four weeks than ever before at this market. Drovers who could 

 calculate the value of an animal at any accustomed price #" lb. 

 almost instinctively, now say that they must stop and cypher. 

 The last market (April 13,) was undoubtedly the highest of all 

 the high Brighton markets on record. Retail butchers had to 

 pay full 13^0 ^ lb. for choice of Western steers, and 10c -If lb., 

 live weight, for sheep. And yet it will be noticed that these high 

 prices have not, as yet, materially reduced the consumption of 

 meat. The number of cattle sold is somewhat reduced, but that 

 of sheop is increasing. By the following table it will be seen 

 that the number of sheep at market this year is very much larger 

 than last year, or the year before: 



Cattle. Sheep, 

 1862, (first 15 weeks) 38,318 40,294 



1863 " " " 22,512 42,799 



1864 " " " 21,900 70,430 



At retail, cuts of beef are quoted from 8 g 30c #" lb., mutton 

 12j fa 20c, veal 9 m 18c, and no fish in market, as the East wind 

 has prevailed for the last three weeks. Few farmers dare pay 

 $100 t(» !|;250 for working oxen, and consequently the stores go 

 for beef mostly. 



The following from our report of sales, April 13, will show the 

 state of the market: 



G. W Barker sold 4 oxen to R. Thomas for $435, equal to 

 liyc W lb ; one pair to Mr. White for $160, or ll^c ; 4 cows 

 for $198, or 10c, and 2 other cows at 10c W lb. 



Day, Norton & Taylor sold 66 rich, heavy river cattle to N. 

 & S. Jackson at 12 to 123i2C #■ lb. 



G. W. Morrison sold 4 tine oxen to Mr. Trask for $535, or 

 123.^0; two of them, however, a pair of four year-olds, fed by 

 Mr. Glidden, of Webster, N. H., were so fat and handsomely 

 shaped that the half cent belongs to them, — making the Glidden 

 oxen 13c and the others 12c #' lb ; 4 to Henry ZuUer for $410 or 

 lie ^f lb ; one pair to C. Patch for $144, or lO'j'c W lb. 



W. I. Sabin sold to S. S. Learnard 9 oxen fed by Jonathan 

 Chapin, of Bellows Falls, Vt., at 12c r lb,— a good bunch of 

 cattle. Two other oxen to Mr. Smith for $190, or 10c ^ lb ; one 

 odd ox laid at 900 lbs, for $91, and a pair of steers to C. Ather- 

 ton for $120. 



John Robinson sold to C. Patch one pair of oxen for $265, or 

 about 12c '^ lb, and one pair for $175, or lie ^ lb, on estimate 

 of buyer. 



William N. Patterson sold 4 oxen to Col. Dana, laid at 37 or 

 3800 lbs, for $42) ; also an extra pair of oxen, laid at 2400 lbs, 

 for $288, which were fed by Mr. E. Waterman, a young farmer 

 of Fairlee, Vt., who we hope will be as well satisfied with the 

 price, as the buyer was with the quality of the oxen. 



Wro. Scollans & Co. sold 130 Western steers in lots, as fol- 

 lows, ranging from 1129 to 1348 lbs. each, by the lot: — 15 at 13c, 

 28 sk ; 22 at same price ; 14 at 10 '^c, 30 sk ; 35 at 10c, 30 sk ; 

 25 at 13c, 27 sk ; and 24 al 13o, 28 sk. 



A. N. Monroe sold 10 averaging 1444 lbs, live weight, at 12c, 

 >5 sk ; 5 of 1122 lbs, at 13c, 28 sk ; 10 of 1150 lbs. each, at 13c, 

 28 sk ; 4 of 1364 lbs. each, at 13!^c, 28 sk ; 6 oxen, 1686 lbs. 

 each, at 13>^c, 28 sk ; 3 of 1140 lbs., at 13,'4'c, 28 sk ; 16 of 1421 

 lbs, at 13c, 30 sk. 



John Fall sold 4 oxen for beef at lie #■ lb, and 3 pairs aa 

 workers as follows ; 1 pair 6 ft. 4 in. for $160 ; one pair 6 ft, 6 

 in. for $175 ; one pair 6 ft. 8 in. for $185. and had two pairs 

 unsold, about 6 ft. 6 in. each, for which he had been offered 

 $160 for one pair, and $170 for the other. D. A. Philbrick sold 

 a pair of New Hampshire W' rkers, 6 ft. 9 in. 2800 lbs, for $185. 



M. T. Shackett sold to J. W. HoUis, an extra milch cow raised 

 by himself in Middlebury, Vt, and recommended to be A No. 1, 

 for $100. G. W. Barker sold 2 Vermont milkers at $90 for the 

 two. Herrick Woodard sold one milch cow for $50, and anoth- 

 er one for $28. 



Butter is so unusually high this spring, ^that calves are sent to 

 market younger and poorer even than heretofore, crowded as the 

 market always is every spring with what the Yorkers call "bobs." 

 One lot of 60 was sold at $3.75 each ; another of 48 for $334, 

 or nearly $7 each, 40 others at $8 each, 2 at $8 each, and small 

 lots higher, according to quality. 



Geo. W. Jones sold 200 sheep at 9»^c#'lb; G. W. Barker 

 sold 50 sheep, about 75 lbs. at 8}ic ; W. H. Bard well sold 200 

 sheep at 9 to 10c ■T tb ; DeWolf & Prouty sold 110 sheep, 90 ft>3. 

 each at 9>jc <^ lb ; and 111 to Dan Brown, about the same 

 weight, but of better quality, at 9?|c ; M. T. Shackett sold 50 

 shtep, 84 fbs. each, at 8,'2C, and 50 sheared ones, 77 lbs for 

 $4 W head ; Dudley & French sold one lot of 72, at $6 ^ head, 

 estimated to average 75 lbs ; 79 others, 80 lbs. each, at 8^40, and 

 30 of 94 lt)S. each, at 9c ^' tb, and others on commission ; J. N" 

 Morse sold 115 at 8%c, somewhat wet ; J. Lyman sold at9>, to 

 10c, L. Stearns one lot of 100 lbs, at 10c, and we understood 

 that many of the best lots of river and other sheep were sold at 

 10c #■ lb ; one lot of De Coster's sheep averaged 150 lbs. 



