1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



215 



fall I felt sure that it would ))c licst to try to win- 

 ter only two swarms, and so two were taken up. 

 The rot't were, put in a dark closet ahovc the kitch- 

 en. Al)0',it llie 20lh of January I examined them 

 and foaud tlieni all dead. In one hive the honey 

 was all consumed, and in the other there were 

 al)Oiit four pounds. The hives had been turned 

 bottom u;)w.irds to allow the moisture to pass off, 

 as reeouimended in Langstroth's work on the hon- 

 ey bee, and perhaps the occasional jarring in the 

 room below caused the bees to go up, and then 

 they didn't think of going down for the honey. I 

 hope no one will lie discouraged by my experience, 

 for I think two of the hives, at least, might have 

 been saved by liberal feeding in the fall, and as it 

 was, I lost n;>.hing but mytimc, for I got honey 

 and wax enough to cover tirst cost. I think by my 

 own observation and what I can Icai-n from others 

 in this section, that the past season has been the 

 most disastrous to bees of .any on record, for a 

 longtime. I mean to try bee-keeping again, and 

 expect better success. Seliiahc. 



Worcester Co., Mass., Feb., 1867. 



Remauks. — Wc admire the pluck of our corres- 

 pondent. Instead of being disheartened by his 

 partial failure, he has the courage to make it the 

 suliject of his "lirst attempt at writing for a news- 

 paper."' As a general thing, agricultural writers 

 are too much indisposed to report unsuccessful ex- 

 periments. 



FLOUR OF BONE. 



If any one who used the Flour of Bone, the past 

 season, has derived any bcnelitfrom its use, I wish 

 they would just say so in the Farmer. I think 

 this would increase its sale more tluiu any other 

 kind of advertising. I have tried it on corn with 

 little benclit. It did not pay. I put about a gill of 

 this djur of bone, manufactured by the Boston 

 Milling and Manufacturing Co.npany, on a hill, 

 previous to (irst hoeing. Either I did not apply it 

 riglit, or the soil or climate, in this latitude, is not 

 agreeable t ) it ; or the season was unpropidous ; or 

 some unknown cause counteracted its good ctl'ects ; 

 or it was worthless. What I received was not so 

 fine as I expected from the name. Much of it was 

 in pieces as lavire as beans. I have purchased 

 ground bone before much liner; albeit the name 

 M'as not so (inc. I once u.-ed Coc's Superphosphate, 

 and ir. nearly doubled my crop of corn. But it is 

 said tint tills sometimes ])roves worthless. 



Derri/, N. II., Jan. 4, 1837. E. B. 



TRANSPLANTING TREES. 



Is February a good month to transplant ever- 

 greens, elms, maples, &c., on a sandy soil, l)y tak- 

 ing up wiih tliem a large ball of frozen earth ? 



Cadleton, VL, 1857. D. W. P. Finel. 



Remarks. — Yes, Sir, and every one of them Mill 

 be likely to live, if the work is well done. Secure 

 the large ball, and when it is placed in the hole 

 where it is to remain, pack under it and all around 

 it with rich soil, leaving no air-holes and spaces 

 for it to rock about. An elm now stands before 

 us, two feet in diameter and about 40 feet high, 

 which wc set in a winter day when the mercury 

 stood at nine degrees beloto zero! Do the work 

 well, and you have no trouble. 



A new HAMPSHIRE FLOCK OF SHEEP. 



In the winter of 1833, I kept a young buck with 

 10 ewe sheep. He was put with the lioek October 

 1, and continued with them. In January, I was of- 



fered for the ten ewes ^"0, but I did not sell, and 

 in the mouth of Mai\-h they dropjied lifreen healthy 

 lambs, one of whi.h, l)y an accident in the barn, 

 was injured and died. I fed my slice]) with mead- 

 ow hay till the lirstof Fel)niary,thcn on clover till 

 pasturing lime. My sheep had no grain or vegeta- 

 bles of any kind. The lambs Icomincneed feeding 

 as soon as they would eat meal, giving them two 

 quarts per day, upon an average, till turned out to 

 pasture. On the '20.h day of June I sold 10 out of 

 the 14 lambs for $30, anil the last of July I sold 3 

 more for $12, whi.h left me one ewe laml). The 

 sheep were all natives but one, and that a Canada 

 ewe. The exact weight of wool I cannot give, but 

 it was about 40 pounds, worth 50 cents : — 



10 lambs $60.00 



3 ilo 12.U0 



40 lbs wool, at 50c 20 00 



1 lamb left 3.00 



$05.00 



My buck died in the pasture in July, and in Sep- 

 tember I purchased another young one which is 

 now with tlie same 10 ewe sheep. My little Hock 

 have eat nothing but meadow hay as yet. 



A SubscUiber. 

 Kingston, N. II., Feb. 16, 18C7. 



HOW TO feed calves AND HEIFERS. 



I wish to inquire the best way to feed calves, say 

 from tive to twenty months old. I am feeding such 

 with the best of hay, but I want to know if a little 

 meal and shorts will do any harm ? Some farmers 

 say tl.ey will, and some tliat they will be an im- 

 provement. I am feeding half a pint of meal and 

 three lialf-pints of shorts per day, to a heifer teu 

 months old. A. B. Card. 



Centrcdale, R. I., 1867. 



Remarks. — You arc feeding judiciously, in our 

 opinion, and your heifers will pay you liberally for 

 such care. The truth is, that many of our calves 

 and colts get a "stunt" while young, which they 

 do not recover from for years, if they ever do. A 

 perfect animal can never be obtained unless its 

 wants are liberally supplied, in regard to food, 

 shelter, and comfortable accommodations. Some 

 animals are fed well, but are so cramped for room 

 that, like a vigorous tree in a stone wall, they can 

 scarcely grow without pusliing the barn over. 

 Others arc fed well, liut arc so exposed to cold and 

 storms that they grow very slowly, or yield little 

 milk. 



A too liberal use of grain for young animals is 

 undoubtedly injurious. No farmer of good judg- 

 ment need err in this particular. 



SPECIAL MANURES. 



There is so great uncertainty regarding the fertil- 

 izing value of most of tbe sjiecial manures, now- 

 a-days pressed upon the attention of the farmer, 

 that it would seem wise — thougli I don't know as 

 it could bo done — to have a Board, either apijointed 

 by the Legislature of the several States, or other- 

 wise, to examine most thoroughly, and report after 

 a proper test, upon their actual value to the farmer. 



We all well know what fortunes are made by the 

 manufacturers of tlicse articles of commerce ; how 

 extensively tliey arc advertised, and how almost 

 every means is exhausted to induce us to give 

 them only a single trial. But in many instances 

 this "single trial" makes quite an inroad into the 

 farmer's pocket, who usually has the satisfaction 

 of knowing that he posidvely cams his money. 



