334 



NEW ENGLAND FAE^IER. 



July 



one form of catarrh. You would do well to sepa- 

 rate the affected animal from the flock, and con- 

 sult the Doctor's book on Sheep Husbandry for a 

 mode of treatment. 



HEALTHY LAMBS. 



I have thirty-one blood lambs, dropped since 

 the tirst of February, all smart and healthy. I 

 feed my ewes roots every day throuj^h the winter, 

 and a feed of straw every week. I keep salt by 

 them, and part of the time I mix ashes with it. I 

 give them a little hemlock once a month through 

 the winter, and a plenty of exercij^e in the open 

 air. I think that the great secret of success is to 

 keep the ewes healthy. v. m. h. 



Rochester, Vt., May 24, 1867. 



Remarks. — We regret that the 26.J lbs. which 

 the fleece of Mr. Hubbard's ram "Romeo" weigh- 

 ed, was printed 21^ lbs. The figure 6 was imper- 

 fectly made and mistaken for 1. 



a YEAHLING bull. — CROPS, &c. 



Wm. T. Fiske, of Welister, N. H., has a grade 

 bull that weighed when 13 months and 5 days old, 

 938 lbs. after he was driven three miles to the 

 scales. The calf was weaned from the cow when 

 less than one week old, and was fed three times a 

 day with what milk the cow gave, after being 

 skimmed, with shorts and green feed, and kept in 

 the barn. As yet but little corn has been planted 

 in this vicinity. Hay is very scarce, and more 

 than was raised last year will be necessary to carry 

 present stock through next winter. In conse- 

 quence of the high price of flour, there has been 

 more wheat sown in this town this year than usual. 

 • Mast Yard, N. H., May 23, 1867. f. 



GRAFTING WAX. 



In your valuable paper of May 11, the public are 

 cautioned by a Mr. "C." against using an adver- 

 tised article, called grafting wax, stating that it 

 Isills the liark and permanently injures the tree. 

 We would respectfully request him to inform the 

 public, if he can, of what it is composed, so that 

 it may be avoided. The grafting wax used in this 

 region, for the last fifty years, with good success, is 

 composed of four parts rosin, two parts beeswax, 

 and one of tallow. This is of a very different na- 

 ture from that which Mr. "C." warns us against, 

 because it is of a very healing nature, when close- 

 ly and property applied, and never injures a tree. 



Johx King. 



Eagle Bridge, N. T., May 16, 1867. 



TO PREVENT BIRDS Pl'LLING CORN. 



Take a quantity of corn, soak it until it becomes 

 soft, then string it on horse hair or thread, one 

 kernel to each thread or hair. When your corn 

 is coming up throw this on j'our field. The 

 birds will pick it up and swallow the corn. The 

 thread or hair will stick in their throats, and 

 in trying to get it out, they will scratch out their 

 eyes. Be careful that your hens do not get at it. 



Che2}achct, R. I., May 11, 1867. H. Rounds. 



arbor vitae, rose, blackberry, raspberry, or grape 

 vines, and you will have not only a fence, but an 

 ornamental, fruitful and flowery hedge. 

 April'2.2, 1867. o. h. p. 



Remarks.— If friend "0. H. P." will report a 

 fair trial of his plan, we will promise not to prune 

 his communication quite as severely as we have in 

 this case. 



GRIT IN MAPLE SUGAR. 



I notice in the Farmer of May 18, an inquiry 

 from "G. M. B.," of Worcester, Vt., as to the cause 

 of grit in maple sngar. If he will strain his syr- 

 up (warm) through a flannel strainer, he will find 

 all the grit left in the strainer. What tliis grit is 

 I do not know, but if washed it becomes as white 

 as chalk. W. H. Lyon. 



North Craftsbury, Vt., May 22, 1867. 



THOUGHTS ON FENCING. 



Having been a reader of the Farmer for twelve 

 years, I have seen much on the subject of fencing, 

 and would suggest the following plan. On the 

 line of the proposed ience set maple trees about 

 twenty five feet apart, or standard pear trees fifteen 

 feet. Then drive or screw good staples into the 

 trees, and stretch your wires from tree to tree. If 

 you wish for a hedge, set out your thorn, cedar. 



SHOEING sheep. 



Can you, or any of your correspondents, give 

 me a plain, easy mode of fastening small pieces of 

 wood on the bottom of sheep's feet ? One of my 

 neighbors once saw some sheep feeding in a pas- 

 ture, with little paddles of wood fastened to the 

 bottoms of their feet, Init don't remember how they 

 were fastened on. With such shoes as he describes 

 they can't jump or climb a wall. 



Mandaville Campbell. 



North Tur7ier, Me., 1867. 



Remarks. — We cannot, but some of our corres- 

 pondents probably can, and undoubtedly will. 



PROLIFIC sheep. — TWIN GOSLINS. 



Mr. Daniel B. Smith of this town has seven 

 sheep that dropped fourteen lambs, and one that 

 dropped three. Another neighbor, Mr. W. H. 

 Burleigh, has a sheep that dropped four ram lambs. 

 From the gosling egg noticed in the Farmer, May 

 4, as weighing ten ounces, two goslings have been 

 hatched, both of which are doing well. 



Charles C. Tinkham. 



Grafton, N. H., May 20, 1867. 



SOAP-SI'DS. 



The value of soap-suds is known to every garden- 

 er, but the supply is not always equal to the demand. 

 Cannot a composition or soap be made of cheap 

 materials, which, when mixed with water, will be 

 profitable and useful for all the purposes for which 

 suds are now used ? Why does plaster kill straw- 

 berries, as is spoken of in your paper ? 



A Subscriber. 



Deep River, Ct., May 20, 1867. 



sheep manure. 

 Not having seen any answer to a late inquiry in 

 your valuable i>aper, for directions for the manage- 

 irent of sheep muinire, I will give my method : For 

 some time after commencing to keep sheep, I lost 

 much of my manure, although I tried various ex- 

 periments. I now turn it on the ground wliere it 

 is made, taking care not to have it more than from 

 four to six inches deep, and wlien it begins to heat 

 I turn it again, and I have a fine lot of manure for 

 the hill, the next year, as you ever saw 



Down in Maine. 



SOFT SHELL EGGS. 



The favorite remedy, at our house, for this 

 trouble auiong the poultry has been the "chop- 

 axe." Take off their heads and put them into the 

 pot. This is warranted sure cure ; never known 



