256 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. 



August Page 225 



System and F.oonomy in Families— Simple Yeast 226 



Eradication- of Bushes and Shrubs...- 227 



Harvesting Turnips 227 



Topd reusing Grass Lands... 228 



Sheep Husbandry 228, 243, 252 



Making Butter '. 230, 231 I 



Patent Step Ladder— Few Words to Farmers 231 



Meteorological Record for May — Cabbage Fleas... 232 | 



Making Bread— Preventive of Bots 232 | 



Retrospective Notes — Price of Wool in 1864 ..233 i 



Pruning Fruit Trees — Currant Worm 234 : 



Have Patience with the Boys 235 



Extracts and Replies 236, 251 



Facts Bearing on Cattle Breeding 236 J 



Ui turn of the Birds — Summer Drink 237 j 



Horse Hoe — Corn--Potatoes — Apple Tree Aphis 238 



Breeds and Management of Stock 239 



Death of Distinguished Agriculturists — Tenant Farming 240 



Time to Cut Wheat— Fine- Wooled Sheep in Illinois 240 | 



Multiplicity of Plants— Milk, Butter and Cheese 241 



Farming the Country's Main Stay— Economy Everything.. ..245 



Season and Crops in Vermont — Leading Animals 246 



Planting Cabbages — Western Grain Crops 246 



Why Bees Work in the Dark 247 



Old Fashioned Comforts— The Portulacas 247 



Pure Water for Stock— Indian Corn 248 



Fire Flies— About Milking and Talking 248 



Wheat—Good Seed — Comsiock's Rotary Spader 249 



The Season— Crops — Drought 250 



Cleaning Government Beans 250 



Chickory and Coffee — Butter Making 251 , 



Birds— Cherries—Insects 252 



New England Agricultural Society , 253 



Curious Features of War 254 



Don't Stint the Colts , 255 



Ladies' Department 255 



Review of the Markets 356 



CATTLE MARKETS FOR JULY. 

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

 ending July 20, 1864: 



NUMBER AT MARKET. 

 Cattle. Sheep. Shotes. Fat Hogs. Veals. 

 June 29 1503 4134 600 900 800 



July 6 . 

 " 13. 



" 20. 



..883 

 .1343 

 .1913 



4293 

 2995 

 5070 



230 

 400 



600 



1600 



850 



600 

 700 

 500 



Total 5642 16,492 



1230 



3950 



2600 



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 TEAR. LAST YEAR. 



Cattle. Sheep. Cattle. Sheep. 



Maine 10 



New Hampshire 362 



Vermont 1465 



Massachusetts 220 



Northern New York 210 



Western States 3357 



Canada 18 



Total for the four weeks 5,642 16,492 5,419 11,840 



Total, since Jan. 1,(29 weeks,)39,268 102,251 39,211 78,269 



PRICES. 



June 29. July 6. July 13. July 20. 



Beef,l, 2, 3 qual 9 §13 9 §13 v 9 §13 9 §13 



" ex. and prem 13J@l'3$ 13JS13J 14 glo 13^814 



Sheep^ft 5 g 6J 5 § 6$ 6@7 G},» 8 



Lambs, each $4 ® 6f§ 4 <§6| 4 % 6^ 4 §6^ 



Shotes, wholesale O.jglO^ — § — 9j§10^ — §10 



" retail 10 ,§12 — §— 10 §12 11 §12 



Fat hags, live weight \\\®\\\ 11 §11^ — allj — §11 



Beef hides, lOlgllJ ; tallow 10§>12 ; calf skins 25§28c W lb. 



Remarks. — Although the prices of beef have fluctuated some- 

 what during the past month, they have not reached a higher 

 point than that attained last month, and last market closed con- 

 siderably easier than the one immediately preceding. 



Sheep gradually advanced in price until the last market, when 

 they took a large jump upwards — from $8.37 to $8 ty 100 lbs., 

 on those bought in Albany. 



Milch cows very dull ; in consequence, in part no doubt, of 

 the drought which has parched up the feed in aU this section. 

 Nobody talks about working oxen as everything goes for beef. 



Calves have been high— from $9 to $14 4P head. 



Hides, pelts and tallow all seem to be going up with "every 

 thing else." 



The following from our report of the market July 20, will show 

 the state of the market at that date: 



G. W. Barker sold one pair of steers to S. F. Woodbridge at 

 lie W ft ; 5 to Mr. Winter at 10^ ; 7 to Mr. Gage at 10c, 35 sk ; 

 and 5 of his lightest at 9c ^ ft. 



Geo. W. Morrison sold one pair of oxen laid at 2000 fhs, for 

 $240 ; one pair, 1600 fts, for $195 ; one pair, 1500 fts, for 

 $182 ; 4 three-year-old steers, 2100 lbs. for $210 ; one cow, 600 

 fts, for $60 ; and 2 heiftrs, 650 lbs, for $55. 



I. A. Blake sold 6 oxen to Henry Zoller, for $690, or from 11 

 to 12c if ft ; one pair to Mr. Wenthworth for $165, or ll^c #" 

 ft ; 8 cows for $452, or lie, 5 two year-olds for $135, or 9c #" 

 ft ; 4 heifers for $118, or 9^c W ft ; and a steer and a cow for 

 $87, or 9c. 



Stephen Mann sold 6 oxen and 1 cow to S. S. Learnard to kill 

 and weigh, at 12 ^c ; 8 small cattle to W. E. Gowing at 9%c ; 

 and other stock, at from 9^c to lie ^ lb, on his estimate of 

 their dressed weight. 



O. E. Taylor sold the four best oxen that we saw at Cam- 

 bridge, and rich ones they were for this season, for $575, or 

 13'^c 4P ft ; one pair for $215, or lie ; another for $230 or 12c ; 

 9 two-year-olds and one cow, to dress over 400 lbs, for $40 each ; 

 2 heifers 550 lbs, for $60, 8 other light cattle at 9e or [ess V ft. 



Lambert Hastings sold 6 very nice 3 and 4-year-old steers, 

 laid to dress 900 fts. for nearly 13c W lb. on his estimate of 

 their dead weight, although buyer hoped they would not cost 

 over 12ijC ; his other fair cattle were sold from 12c to 10c ^ ft, 

 and some of the lightest at 9)£ § 10c. 



A. N. Monroe sold 50 We:- tern steers, live weight 1261 lbs. 

 each, at 13,'ic, 32 sk, as his highest, and 24 light steers, 781 fts. 

 each, at 9c <tf lb, 42 sk, as his lowest sales ; 31 at lie, X sk ; 7 

 at 12>£c, y z sk ; 6 at 12c, 35 sk ; 8 at lie, 35 sk ; 29 at lie, >£ 

 shrink. 



John Sawyer & Co. sold 35 steers at 12, | sk ; 25 at 13c, 34 

 sk ; and 7 at lO'^c, 37 sk. 



Mr. French sold what he considered a fine lot of New Hamp- 

 shire lambs, for $5.25 V head ; Luce & Tyler sold sheep and 

 lambs at $5.40 ty head, without weighing ; j. P. Fowler sold 265 

 sheep and lambs at $5.25 Jfhead ; John Larnion sold his lambs 

 at $o W head and his sheep at 73£c ^ tb ; one lot of Canada 

 lambs brought $6.00. N. E. Rice sold lambs at $5 and sheep 

 at $6.60 'W head ; Berry Long sold 192 sheep, 80 fts. each, at 

 7^o #■ ft ; M. T. Shackett sold 150 sheep, 90 fts. each, to J. W. 

 Hollis, and 155 of 89 lbs, to Jerry Pratt, at 7c ty ft, and 62 

 lambs, at $5.25 if head ; one carload of Albany lambs we un- 

 derstand would cost a fraction over $6. One lot cf old sheep 

 were sold at Cambridge for 6>£c ; Lambert Hastings sold 400 

 lambs with a very few sheep at $5 to $6 if head. 



