128 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



Mahch 



MARKET REPORTS. 



Your Market Reports, of which you boast so 

 mvich, appear to mc to fall behind the New York 

 Tribune in the price of veal calves, and lump but- 

 ter, both of which we farmers deal in to some ex- 

 tent, and we want to know the highest as well as 

 the lowest prices of both these articles. 



An Old Subscriber. 



Shelbtirne, Mass., Jan. 19, 1867. 



Remarks. — Our cattle reporter informs us that 

 he is no better satisfied with hisreportof veals than 

 "An Old Subscriber" appears to be. In New York 

 calves are sold by weight, as are cattle, sheep, hogs 

 and poultry. But among the peculiar whims which 

 have caused Boston to be nicknamed the "City of 

 Notions," are the habits of allowing five quarters 

 to an ox, of paying for only about two-thirds 

 of his actual live weight, and of buying calves 

 on commission — that is, of giving the drover 

 one dollar, more or less, per head for buying 

 and delivering them. "The highest as well as 

 the lowest prices" of veals, therefore, depends 

 very lai-gely on the skill or luck of the drover 

 in trading with the individual farmers of whom 

 he bixys ; and consequently the price is decided 

 in the country rather than at Brighton. If not 

 sold in this way they are bargained for by the 

 head — the eyes of drover and butcher being the 

 only standard of weight and price — the range of 

 $j to f 25 each, being often exceeded at each ex- 

 treme, according to size and quality. How can 

 such an unintelligible style of doing business be 

 intelligibly reported ? 



Our retail prices of lump butter are corrected 

 weekly by the gentlemen whose names head that 

 table. Our wholesale prices arc also corrected 

 weekly from the most reliable financial papers, as 

 well as by dealers in leading articles of produce. 



The fancy prices which are paid by a few fami- 

 lies for the butter from certain dairies of estab- 

 lished reputation for the production of a superior 

 article, arc no criterion of the state of the market, 

 and if quoted would tend to raise expectations 

 which would be sure to be disappointed. 



conveniences for water — NO. II. 



In my last I promised to give examples of fail- 

 ures in'thc use of the hydraulic ram, and some of 

 the causes of failures. 



Case 1. In a town in Orleans County I knew a 

 farm that was watered l)y a ram situated at a dis- 

 tance of 150 rods ; the water being elevated two 

 hundred and forty feet. The ram was constantly 

 needing repairs, "and I was called on to apply a 

 remedy. It had never operated more than two 

 weeks without an entire overhauling, and often a 

 failure of pipes and ram occurred at the same time. 

 My patient was examined. After ascertaining the 

 price the farm Avould bring, and a careful consid- 

 eration of the whole case, the best and only prac- 

 tical thing I could recommend was, "Sell your 

 farm. Sir, and buy where water will run down hill, 

 and let this l)c divided up for pastures." The ex- 

 treme elevation was too much for a sure operation 

 of the works wifhout an outlay for fixtures that 

 was unwarrantable for the fai-ni. Any practical 

 inquirer would have advised not to put in the work, 

 had there been no pecuniary interest accruing to 

 himself, which should never be in the way. 



Case 2. The opposite extreme. A ram in Wind- 

 sor County was a failure. The distance was six 

 rods and the elevation about eight feet. The ope- 

 ration was very uncertain. When in operation it 

 threw a large and intennittent stream — and stopped 

 without any cause visible to the owner. On exam- 

 ination I found there was too small an elevation, 

 and the airchamber had no ctfect. The remedy 

 applied was simply a tight plug of wood at the 

 place of discharge, and instead ol" an open pipe only 

 an outlet the size of a cambric needle was left. 

 This caused the flow to be checked, and the water 

 retained in the air-chamber, which condensed the 

 air and caused it to expand and contract again at 

 each stroke of the piston. The effect was all that 

 could be desired — a small, permanent stream for- 

 cibly ejected from the place of discharge instead of 

 the lazy, intermittent, uncertain stream before. 



If the reader will lay these papers aside for fu- 

 ture reference it may be of interest, as I propose to 

 mention other cases of failure, from time to time, 

 which may draw out a scientific explanation of the 

 princijile involved in the opei'ation of the ram, from 

 some more competent person than myself, and 

 which is not given in the text books of philosophy. 



Orleans County, Vt., 1867. P. J. 



PINE trees 



In the winter season we should all have some 

 forecast for the coming busy months. In my trav- 

 els I have been struck with the appearance of a 

 piece of road on one side of which, for aljout one- 

 fourth of a mile, pine ti-ees have been set for the 

 purpose of protecting the road from the high wind. 

 There was much beauty in this arrangement of the 

 highway, and a delightful shade in summer. But 

 its ol)vious utility was what presented itself most 

 forcibly. How many miles of bleak and drifted 

 roads might be made comfortable and even pleas- 

 ant in winter by means of this cheap method. How 

 many thousands of dollars might be saved to towns 

 in the item of bi-caking out highways in winter ; 

 besides all the vexatious delays and losses incident 

 to travellers, on account of drifts and blocked up 

 roads. 



There are in many of our most enterprising 

 towns, associations formed for the purpose of set- 

 ting out trees, to improve and adorn the highways 

 and public grounds. Why cannot these tree soci- 

 eties extend their operations so as to embrace im- 

 provements of this kind ; or, if this is too extensive 

 a field of labor, why cannot they, or other public- 

 spirited individuals, bring the matter to the atten- 

 tion of their respective towns ? It seems to mc that 

 here is a matter in which almost every town in 

 New England might be greatly benefited by a lit- 

 tle expense judiciously applied. 



Thei-e are also many places where pine trees 

 might be set to advantage around unsightly rocks 

 in fields near the dwelling. A hardy variety of 

 grape might also be planted in such places, and 

 the pine trees, as soon as large enough, would for 

 several years form one of the very Ijest supports. I 

 have had grapes ripen in such pines, uninjured by 

 frosts, a fortnight after the fruit had been destroyed 

 in other localities. e. 



Massachusetts, Jan., 1867. 



WINTERING BEES. 



I am truly interested in your valuable paper, 

 treating o\\ so nuxny interesting sulijccts. But the 

 articles on bee management have partictdarly in- 

 terested me, especially that written l)y C. S. Wild, 

 in Fakmer of Dec. 29, on keeiuug l)ccs from per- 

 ishing during tiic winter, which I niucli approve. 

 I thinic the locatii^u has soinctiiing to do with the 

 siu'cess of Ix'c-lvccping. The bcc house should 

 stand in the warmest place that can be found, so 

 that the bees can, as cai'ly as possible, start the 



