192 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



CONTENTS OF THIS NIBIBER. 



Suggested by the Return of June Page 161 



Planting at Intervals — Bone Dust 162 



Spring Concert 162 



Spring Chickens — Review of the Winter 163 



Mealy Potatoes all Summer — Gray Hairs 164 



Culture of Tobacco 164 



Ears of the Horse 165 



Culture of Roots — Swine and Manure 166 



New Books 167, 177, 186 



Root Crops— Plant Peas Deep 168 



Clover Hay for Horses 169 



Extracts and Replies 169, 171 



Use of Poultry Manure 170 



Effect of Cold Weather on the Separation of Cream 170 



Salsify, or Vegetable Oyster 171 



New Fanning Mill 172 



Caterpillars and their Natural Enemies .173 



Profit of Hens 173 



Value of Barnyard Manure .- 174 



Early Seed Corn— Raising Turkeys 175 



Ventilators for Barns 175 



Nature of Science — Growing Cucumbers 176 



Action of Lime on Soils— New Duties on Wool 178 



To the Farmers ,..179 



Culture of the Strawberry 180 



Universal Clothes Wringer 181 



Sheep- -Notes from Maine 181 



Farm Economy 182 



Clover Hay— Culture of Bees ."....'....'.'.'.'.'! 184 



Gapes in Chickens '. 185 



Planting the Apple Tree 186 



NSvel Mode of Growing Squashes 186 



Nitre— Saltpetre— Destroy the Caterpillars 187 



Application of Ideas to Practical Use 188 



Sheep Husbandry .188, 189 



Scours in Sheep— Black Knot 190 



Aloes, to Destroy Insects— Covered Manures 191 



Cheap Paints 191 



Watering Horses— Wilted Potatoes for' Planting.' .!.*.'!!.'.'.. !l91 

 Cattle Markets for May 192 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Initial Letter " U" 161 



Drying Houses for Tobacco Culture— four engravings.. 164, 165 



Adams' New Fanning Mill 172 



Universal Clothes Wringer 181 



CATTLE MAKKETS FOB MAY. 



The fDllowing is a summary of the reports "for the five weeks 

 ending May 18, 1864: 



NUMBER AT MARKET. 



Cattle. STieep. fihotes. Fat Hngs. Veals. 



April 20 1716 5750 700 1500 1000 



" 27 1082 2704 800 1500 1000 



May 4 844 4856 1200 700 ICOO 



" 11. 1038 1818 1100 1400 900 



" 18 750 1700 700 900 875 



Total 5430 16,828 . 4500 



6000 



4775 



The following table exhibits the number of cattle and sheep 

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

 ing five weeks last year ; also the total number since the firstof 

 January, of each year: 



THIS YEAR. LAST TEAR. 



Cattle. Sheep, Cattle. Sheep. 



Maine -.149 — 191 — 



New Hampshire 416 3858 626 3892 



Vermont 1080 6186 891 5887 



Massachusetts 639 2596 719 933 



Northern New York 16 — 33 — 



AVestern States 3130 4188 2872 314 



Canada — — 200 — 



Total for the five weeks 5,430 16,828 5,532 11,268 



Total, since Jan. 1,(20 weeks,)27,330 87,258 28,044 54,065 



PRICES. 



April 20. April 27. May 4. May 11. May 18. 



Beef,l, 2, 3qual...9^gl2 9igl2 10 @12 10 «13 ■ 11 gl3i 



" ex. andprem.l2^gl3 12^«13 12ial3 13 gl3| 13Jg— 



Sheep^" m.. S^glO SJglO S^glO^ 8.^glOi lOgU • 



" sheared...—®— — (g— 4 g7 4 @7^ 6 @9 



Shotes, retail 8ig9| 8^glO 8J@U 9 gl2 9 gU 



Beef hides, 4f a.-SiglO 10 glO^ 10 gll 10 gll 10 gll 



Pelts, wool on.... $3ig4 $3ig4 $3ig4 $3ig4 3ig4 



Remarks. — Last month we remarked that live stock had been 

 sold at higher prices during the month of April than ever before 

 at this market. Since then prices have gradually, but not stead- 

 ily, advanced. What are we coming to* is a question more ea- 

 sily and more often asked than answered. Some solve all 

 mysteries by ascribing high prices to "the speculators." Others 

 believe that the ups and downs of trade, like the ebbing and 

 flowing of the tide, are governed by laws which are as little af- 

 fected by speculators as the dust of old Esop's coach was by the 

 fly that rested upon one of its wheels. Others again satisfy 

 themselves with the assumption that there is an actual scarcity 

 of cattle and sheep, of pigs and poultry. The statistics of the 

 cattle market do not appear to authorize this conclusion. Our 

 aUempt last month to illustrate this was defeated by a mistake 

 in figures. Our last report, (May 18,) is for the twentieth week 

 of the year. Compared with last year and the year before, the 

 number of cattle and sheep stands as follows: 



Cattle. Sheep. 



1864, (first 20 weeks) .' 27,330 87,278 



1863, " " " 28,044 54,065 



1862, " " " 24,840 53,982 



Showing that thus far in the year the whole number of cattle at 

 market is only 714 less than for the same time last year, and 

 that of sheep 33,193 greater ; and both cattle and sheep are 

 largely in excess of the year before. It is evident, therefore, 

 that, compared with other years, there is no falling off in the 

 supply, however much it may be exceeded by the demand. The 

 market is said to be unusually well supplied with fresh fish. 

 And yet cattle and sheep, calves and hogs brought high prices, 

 and found a quicker sale at the last market, than we have ever 

 before witnessed. 



The following from our report of sales. May 21, will show the 

 state of the market: 



J. M. Bean sold 6 oxen to J. S. Allison, by the lump, at what 

 the seller estimated equal to 12J^c^ lb., and 8 to the Chamber- 

 lain Bros., 4 at 12c and 4 at lie, on seller's estimate of weight. 

 J. W. Judkins sold 10 cattle to W. E. Gowing, on commission. 

 G. W. Brownell sold 7 oxen to S. F. Woodbridge, for $770, or 

 12c #" ft) ; one pair of steers for $180, or 12o ; one cow to C. 

 Atherton, laid at 625 lbs., for $70, and a milch cow for $62.50. 

 G. W. Barker sold 8 oxen for $110 W head, or 12c #" Jb ; and 

 2 beef cows at about 10c #■ lb. 



Geo. Baldwin marketed an extra pair of young oxen, the best 

 at Cambridge, so far as we saw, and as good, he claimed, as 

 your cracked-up River Cattle, fed by Geo. Sleeper, of Corinth, 

 Vt., which weighed 3680 tbs., 13 miles from home, and were 

 laid to dress 2250 lbs. of hide, tallow and dressed beef, at 14c ■tf' 

 pound. 



D. A. Philbrick had a fine lot of oxen this week, mostly from 

 the Merrimack Valley, which turns out as good oxen, he con- 

 tends, as the much vaunted Connecticut River. One pair in par- 

 ticular were as good as the best. They were fed by Asa W. 

 Greeley, of Salisbury, Mass. Mr. Greeley bought these oxen 

 IsCst November, paying $145 for the yoke. After feeding them 

 liberally for about seven months, he sold them taMr. Philbrick 

 for $325, more than double the money. Happening to strike 

 the market in a very fortunate week, Mr. Philbrick sold them 

 for $360. They weighed $4200 lbs. at home. Mr. Philbrick 

 also sold 14 oxen averaging 3300 lbs. ^ pair at Brighton for 

 12>^c. 



Wm. ScoUans & Co. sold 29 to S. S. Learnard, of an average 

 live weight of 1579 lbs, at 13i;^c, 27 sk ; 33 to J. F. Taylor, 1378 

 lbs. each, at 13 «c, 28 sk ; 14 to H. W. Jordan, 1237 tbs. each, 

 at 13 Ja'c, dressed; 23 to Geo. Wildes, 1226 lbs, at 13c, 29 sk ; 

 and 32 to Brooks & Stone, 1274 lbs. each, at 12c, }i sk. 



STORE CATTLE.— Excepting a, few milch cows, there are no 

 stores at market at this season. This week we noticed but few- 

 milkers. Note<l the sales of one cow and young calf for $45, 

 another for $68, and another for $75. Geo. Mann reports the 

 sale of 12 cows and calves at from $32 to $50 each. The retail 

 dealers say the market is not as good as it was a few weeks ago. 



