1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



167 



If used when the weather is eold it must be kept 

 in warm \va;er. 



If the trees are thrifty they will not generally 

 need mueh seraping; if they ai-e not thrifty it will 

 be labor lost to graft them. 



AFOUT SETTING HENS. 



In reply to inquiries from "S. A. A.," of North 

 Eastou, wc would say, we think that hatehing out 

 and bringing up one brood of chiekcns is enough 

 for one hen to do in that line, in on^" year. Some- 

 times they will bring up two broods, but often fail, 

 and are worth little after the seeond attempt. 



Some hens wish to set three or four times a year, 

 and various means are resorted to, to prevent it — 

 such as shutting them in a dark place, tying the 

 feet within two or three inches of each other for as 

 many days. Some practices arc resorted to which 

 are ci-uel, such as plunging tliem into eold water, 

 or withholding all food from them for a time. 



Do not allow a hen to set in the same nest where 

 a brood has just been hatched out, without first 

 cleaning it out in the most tliorough manner, and 

 washing it out with ashes and water or strong 

 lime water. 



Hens may go to setting now, if a warm place is 

 provided for them, and for the chicks when they 

 come out. 



Eggs arc much more certain to be hatched if the 

 nest is large and composed, at the bottom, of earth, 

 and then lined with a little soft hay or straw. 

 When hens steal their nests, they usually place 

 their eggs upon the ground ; this becomes so thor- 

 oughly warmed that when the hen leaves the nest, 

 for food and exercise, the heat from the earth is 

 imparted to the eggs, and keeps them warm until 

 the hen returns to them. 



A CROP FOR AN ORCHARD. 



I have a young orchard of one acre of land ; the 

 trees shade most of the ground. It has jjeen 

 gi-assed over f.jr four or tive years. Last fall I had 

 it plowed. What crop can I put in that will be the 

 best for the trees, and return me the most for my 

 laljor ? I have plenty of manure for ;he land — how 

 shall I u.-c it ? A Subscriber. 



Quincij, Mass., Feb., 1867. 



Remarks. — Hoed crops would be better for the 

 land — such as potatoes, cabbages, carrots, &c. Ii' 

 you apply plenty of manure, a grain crop of barlc} 

 or oats would not injure the trees. We have known 

 sweet corn to l)e sowed broadcast, and harvested for 

 fodder in a green state, or cut up and dried for win • 

 ter use, and with excellent results. If you hav<! 

 cows giving milk — and especially if a little short 

 of pasture — perhaps the best thing you can do with 

 the orchard will be to put in a crop of corn for 

 fodder. 



LEASING farms. 



A few weeks ago I noticed a very well written 

 article on the subject of tenant farming in this 

 country, somewhat after the plan practiced in Eng- 

 land. Now if any one believes that the thing is 

 practicable in this country, and I see no reason 



why it slioiild not Ijc, I hcrel>y offer a good farm of 

 100 acres in Massiielnisetis, siitlit'it'iuly remote 

 "IVom town" lo give cheap land, and at the same 

 time wiihin four miles of as good a market, as 

 there is in tliat State, to any resi»onsible man for 

 experiment, for front one lo'live years, on a lease 

 at G ]ier et. ]ier ami. on valtiatioii, and all taxes. 

 He may do what he phases wiiii the farm and its 

 prodnets, the same as if they were his own. The 

 valuaiioii of farm and improvements may be made 

 by three disinterested men. Here is something 

 tangilile and praetijal on the subject, and ib in- 

 tended not as an advertl; cnient, as I do not care 

 to lease the farm, Ijut as a test of the faith of an- 

 onymous i:oninbutors, who are pleased to air fhrir 

 theories in the pubiic journals from time to lime, 

 and to intimate to them that to l)c of value their 

 suggestions must l)e practical, and that they should 

 also be able to find those who will practice them. 

 J. Gilo. Hubbard. 

 Derrij, N. H., Feb., 1867. 



HEN MANURE, WOOD ASHES, RICH LAND. 



Some time ago I asked what I should do with 

 some five Ijarrels of hen manure — the clear drop- 

 pings of the roost. In your "Extracts and Replies" 

 you advised putting it in the corn hills at planting, 

 &c. When I made the inquiry I stated that I cul- 

 tivated but a smalt garden, &c. 



Now I have ten barrels of manure, the same gar- 

 den, no cornfield, and raise what they call in York 

 State, "garden truck," viz : peas, beans, potatoes, 

 asparagus, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, turnips, 

 mangolds, carrots, and parsnips, etc., etc., and 

 about twenty hills of sweet corn. I have too much 

 manure for the twenty hills of corn. What shall 

 I do with it ? I wish to use it about the garden if 

 I can do so to advantage. What is it worth per 

 barrel to sell to green-house gardeners or others ? 



What is the best thing I can do with good wood 

 ashes ? I have one hundred bushels, and the gar- 

 den before mentioned, which is old and rich, has 

 been for years stuffed with good manure, — as the 

 hay fields have been also. One of the fields is 

 usually too wet in the spring to cart on the manure 

 without "cutting it up." Ralph. 



Randolph, Mass., Feb. 10, 1867. 



Remarks. — Sell the hen manure. We do not 

 know what it is worth. Sell the wood ashes. The 

 ashes are worth $30 for the hundred bushels, and 

 haul them some distance if they are pure. Can it 

 be possible that you are correct ? That there is 

 one piece of land in Massachusetts that does not 

 need manure ! Even on an old, rich garden, we 

 should suppose M'ood ashes would prove protitable, 

 unless it had been dressed with them frequently. 



CURE FOR THE LAME FOWL. 



In reply to an inquiry for a cure of a Brahma 

 fowl that lost the use of his legs, I will say that 

 I have had many chickens that were hatched ear- 

 ly, say in February and March, and kept in the 

 coop till May, as well as those three or four years 

 of age, lose the use of their legs. I have cured 

 them in a few days by separating them from the 

 other fowls and putting a few drops of Iodine in 

 the water. Of late I have kept iron, such as old 

 nails and pieces of iron hoops, &c., in their water, 

 and have not been troubled in this way since I 

 adopted this plan. James Buffington. 



Halem, Mass., Feb. 23, 1867. 



VERMONT WHEAT GROAVERS. 



I wish some of our VeriHont farmei's would give 

 us some infonnation relative to wheat growing in 



