128 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. 



Thoughts Surrgested by April Page 97 



Horse Training, 98 



Asiatic Fowls— Foot Rot in ''heep — Value of Manure 99 



Whin GrpOkneek S<pi.a-h— Asparagus Bjd« 100 



Product of a Dairy— Experiments with Manures 100 



Disease in Apples— Theory and Experiment 101 



Hish prices of Wool 103 



and Replies 103. Ill, 122 



Karl v Turnips 104 



Culture of Onions 105 



Roasted Lamb and Green Peas 1<'6 



Shall we Produce our own Sweetening? 106 



His ases f Farm Stock .'.'^ 107 



Butter -Making not a Mystery K9 



More Accurate Farming Needed 110 



Spring Knees in the Horse I 1 ! 



Our Houses and Grounds about them 112 



Sop f. ,r Flowers — Pneumonia,. 113 



Retrospective N'otes 114 



Chopping Feed Mr Horses— Wr.sh for Fruit Trees 115 



Grub in the Heat of Sheep— The Mnskrat 116 



Bark I/. use Parasite— De^th of Coal Beds '....117 



Singular Accident to Horse — To Cure Sheep of Jumping US 



Action ofRootS of I'lanr-— How to get good Celery 119 



Flowers for Parlor and Garden — Culture of Lettuce 119 



Grasses 120 



Seeding Land to Grass 122 



What else should be Taught in Schools ? 123 



Law and Manners of the Road — Merino and other Sheep. 124 



Meteorological Record for January — Green Cheese 125 



New Remedv for Bordf — To Grow Peaches every Year 125 



Culture of Spring Wheat 126 



Ladies' Department 1°,7 



Review of Cattle Markets 12S 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Initial Letter "T" 97 



Winter Crooekncck Scp.1a.3h ...100 



Onions 105 



Village Homestead, Unimproved 112 



Village Homestead, Improved 113 



CATTLE MARKETS FOR MARCH. 

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

 ending March 16, 1864: 



NUMBBR AT MARKET. 



Cattle. Sheep. Sl«tes. fat lives. Veals. 



Feb. 17 1002 4722 25 — — 



* 24 1399 3209 25 — 50 



Mar. 2 1902 4703 12 — 50 



" 9 1047 6984 20 — 75 



" 16 1785 5987 50 50 100 



Total 7,135 24,005 102 50 275 



The following tahle exhibits the number ot 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 first of 

 January, of each year: 



THIS YEAR. LABT YEAR. 



Cattle. S!:i:rp. Cattle, Sheep. 



Maine 608 636 88 



New Hampshire 703 4004 5)5 2m 



Vermont 1703 7188 1652 3229 



Massachusetts 896 7235 699 5020 



Rhode Island 14 



Northern New York 171 135 122 247 



Western States 2978 6043 40l2 2304 



Canada 62 — 11 — 



Total, last five weeks 7,135.24,605 7,677 13,199 



Total, since Jan. 1,(11 weeks, )16,510 50,622 16,704 30,816 



PRICES. 



Feb. 17. Feb. 24. Afar. 2. Mar. 9 Mar. 16. 



Beef,l,2, 3 qual...7£gl0 8 $10$ Vjgl0$ 8 (.1 10} 8 @105 



" ex.andprem.10 glOJ lOJgll 10£<ill 11 @11| 11 igll£ 



Sheep &lambs,4r*fc.6$,'s8 6$g8 6Ja8 6£@8 6JQ8 



" " «xtra.8$§9$ 8 £9* 8\a9.| 8.^89.$ 8Jrf9 



Shotes, retail 7 @9 7 «9 7 (§9 7 @9 7 ©9 



Beef hides, V lb..9J«10 9.1*10 91gl0 9|g10 9$«10 



Pelts,sheep&lambs.$3iS4 $C4?j4 $3\n,4 $3}§4 3£g4 



Remarks. — One of the most noticeable characteristics of the 

 market during the past five weeks is the prices which beef cattle 

 have commanded. Toe prediction uttered by some of the dro- 

 vers last Fall, that before the Spring opened the Brighton butch- 

 ers would pay 12c ty tb for beef cattle, has been fully verified. 

 Not only single pairs but small choice lots hive Been soli at 

 those figures ; and the quotations of the retail market are 8 @28 

 cents •#■ tt>. Ami yet at these prices all the cattle that are offered 

 for sale find a ready market. For the corresponding rive weeks 

 last year, our quotations were from 5^ to 8'e, and for the year 

 before from 5> n "c ; and yet the amount of beef consumed is 

 about'the same as last year. 



The prices for sheep have declined slowly during this period, 

 and are now but little if any higher than one year ago. It will 

 be noticed that there were only about three-fif hs as many in 

 number at market last year as this year, thus far. In conse- 

 quence of grain being so dear, sheep as well as cattle are sent 

 to market in poor condition. 



Working oxen are from $100 to $200 if pair, and farmers are 

 afraid to buy. 



Sales of Cattle and Sheep. 

 The following is from our report of sales, March 16: 



Lemuel Stearns marketed one cow this w >k, fatted by J. M. 

 Smith, of Sunderland, Mass., of Durham blood, which was as 

 large and fat as a premium ox. The roots of the tail, instead 

 of forming a ridge, lay in a depression, so thickly was the flesh 

 laid 1 n each side of the back bone. The proof of the pudding 

 is said to be in the eating, and the proof of cattle, after all your 

 pulling, is in the selling. By this test Mr. Smith's cow returns 

 her compliments to her feeder in the form of rjflei n ten dollar 

 bills. If one hundred and fifty dollars don't prove her a good 

 cow, then no dictionary words of ours can do it. Mr. Stearns 

 said she would dress ever 1200 lbs. 



W. I. Sabine sold one pair of oxen to J. Dana, laid at 2300 lbs., 

 for $250 ; and another pair for $150 ; 4 other oxen, at 9.^c tf" 

 fl>.. 34 per cent. sk. 



E. Bobbins' sold 4 large oxen to S. S. Learnard. One pair in 

 particular, fed by B. VV. Gleason, of Rockbottotn, weighed at 

 home, about three weeks since, 5400 lbs. tlv larg< st one weigh- 

 ing 2900 ttis. They were not at all ovetfittel. bit in a good 

 healthy state, and were in every respect a itoble pair of bul- 

 locks. The other pair weighing 4480 lbs. at home, we under- 

 stood were also fed by Mr. Gleason, were gr in d g lod oxen,. 



C. W. Bailey sold one of ihose pairs of oxen which bring the 

 big prices which we report, and, the drovers say. lead farmers 

 to think their oxen, of much infern r qualify ought to bring the 

 same high figures. These oxen were fatted by Henry iVutt, of 

 East Montpelier, were laid to dress 2500 lbs., and brought $300. 

 Among a lot of 14 good oxen, sold at lo'.e, '_, sk. Mr. Bailey 

 pointed out a pair, the best of the lif, laid to dress 2100 lbs., 

 which were fed by Mr. Alger, of Stowe. Vt, and which, if sold 

 alone, we thought were good enough for a little mi re money. 

 Mr. Bailey also sold at Brighton this afternoon one pair of oxen 

 to II. Zolfor, laid at 1500 fts., for $135; and was dwelling on 

 five or six young cattle, the last of his 62, at 9c, 3S sk. 



The best River cattle at Brighton, and Mr. Smith and Mr. Day 

 had some rich ones, 11 5£c. 



Geo. W. Morrison sold 4 oxen, laid at 3600 lbs., for $350, one 

 pair, laid at 1S50 fts., for $187 ; one pair laid at 1 -00 lbs., for 

 $188 ; one pair, 1700 lbs., for $170 ; 2 steer*. 9d0 lbs., for $72 ; 

 and one cow for 10c to kill and weigh. 



A. N. Monroe sold 29 Western cattle, 1350 fts., each, live 

 weight, at 10 'Jc, 34 sk ; 29 others 1440 ibs., <ach, at lie, 30 sk ; 

 59, average live weight 1123 lbs., at 10',e. 30 sk ; 31 averaging 

 1200 lbs. at 9' 4 c, ij sk ; 14 weighing 1448 lbs., each, at lie, 30 

 sk ; 5 of 1050 lbs., each, at 9c, 35 sk ; 6 average live weight 

 1300 lbs., at lO^c, 30 sk ; and 2 weighing 1170 lbs at 10>„c, 

 35 shrink. 



J. E. Wight sold a good bunch of 75 sheep, U0 lbs. each, aV 

 8»<c ; E. Wiggin sold 59 sreep. weighing 39">0 fts. together, at 

 7?ic #• lb ; W. H. Bardwell sold 90 UgHt si 4 p, at ' < e, 23 se- 

 lected cossets — the pictc of an extra lot — averaging 150 lbs, at 

 OKc^lb, and 48 weighing 5600 lbs. almost 117 (hs each, for 

 8? 4 'c V lb,- expected 9c, sure ; D. R. Wait sold a ffock of 95 well 

 fed sheep, 105 ths. each, at 8'.,c, and 35 at 7'-c ; J. Lyman sold 

 100 at 7c 4? lb ; F. Bai tletl sold 94 sheep, 6400 lbs. at 6 ' ,c #■ tb ; 

 G. W. Barker sold 58 sheep at 8c ; Fargo, Lord & Co., sold 360 

 Michigan fine wooled sheep to Bates, Mollis k Giles, weighing 

 113 fcs. at home, about 93 lbs. from the cars at Cambridge, for 

 ■ XlW tb- 



STORE CATTLE— We cannot perceive any great change in 

 the sale of working oxen and milch cows, — which sre the only 

 kinds of cattle at market nowadays which are regarded as 

 stores. We noticed yesterday a few slim looking cows irora Al- 

 bany, but did not learn where they went to. Most of the Maine 

 cattle are sold as beef— some among the premiums. Of which 

 Henry Day sold some 3 or 4 pairs of 12cwt. bullocks, at 113£c V 

 tb, and one pair of workers, 6 ft., 3-year-olds, nice and trim, for 

 $132. 



I). G. Stevens one large, rough looking yoke, 6 ft 7 or 8 in., 

 for $150, and a pair of 3 year-olds, 6_ft. 2 iu., fur $125. 



