1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



401 



Since writing the above I have information 

 that the jury has concluded to throw out all 

 but eiglit of the machines in the further tests 

 that are to take place. The following are the 

 names of the machines, placed in the order of 

 performance at this stage of the contest : 



No. 1.— The Wood Machine. 

 No. 2. — The MeCormick Machine. 

 No. 3. — The Perry Machine. 

 No. 4. — The Howard Machine. 



No. 5 . 



No. 6. — The Kearsley. 

 No. 7.— Tlie Peltier. 

 No. 8. — Tho Buckeye, Jr. 



Now as it is not at all likely that more than 

 three prominent medals, say one gold medal 

 and two silver ones, will be awarded, it is easy 

 to say that the three highest prizes, judging by 

 the present position of affairs, must go to 

 American machines. — Prairie Farmer. 



Remarks. — Since the above was written, 

 the premiums have been announced, and were 

 published in the Farmer of July 6th. 



MABKETINQ -WOOL. 



One of the leading farmers of Illinois, who 

 appears occasionally in the Prairie Farmer as 

 "Wool Grower," regards the present as one 

 of the dark times for wool growers in that sec- 

 tion. He says that all other branches of farm- 

 ing are paying better than this. He charges 

 the wool commission houses of Chicago with 

 operating against the. interests of the grower 

 and in favor of the manufacturer. Though 

 written especially for farmers at the West, the 

 folloAving paragraphs may be read with inter- 

 est by wool growers of other sections : — 



I say to wool growers, sell your own wool 

 at your own barn if possible. Sell to a local 

 dealer for three or four cents less than you 

 think it worth, rather than get it stranded in a 

 wool house. The best time to sell wool, nine 

 times out of ten, is when the tide is up at 

 shearing time. It scarcely ever lasts over a 

 week or two, and if you let the opportunity 

 slip you are compelled to ship, and then to 

 commence that weary waiting which makes the 

 heart sick. After the first tide ebbs it is usually 

 from four to six months before you can get 

 even a nibble for wool, and then when you do 

 effect a sale, by the time you deduct freight and 

 commission, and insurance, and storage, and 

 drayage, and sale tax, and re-sackage, and 

 stealage, and one-third off, and half off, and in 

 some cases, all off, you will find that you might 

 have sold at home for from six to fifteen cents 

 per pound more money. 



The one great drawback to wool-growing in 

 the United States is not dogs nor scab nor 

 foot-rot, but the manner of marketing. There 

 is no other staple agricultural product grown 

 in our country, the purchasers of which are so 



few in number, and hence, able to make such 

 soul-eating combinations to affect prices, as 

 wool. The manufacturers and their organs 

 never let up during the entire circle of the 

 year, from "bearing" the wool market. The 

 buyers of grain are not always "bears," but 

 there is always an equally smart lot of "bulls," 

 which helps to keep grain somewhere near an 

 equilibrium ; but the purchasers of wool are 

 always, and everywhere, "bears." 



A Fine Field of Rye.— A correspondent 

 informs us that he recently visited a field of 

 four acres of rye in Tower Hill neighborhood, 

 Lawrence, Mass., that he thinks deserves hon- 

 orable mention. It is on the ftirm of Richard 

 H. Kent. Four years ago the field was cleared 

 of a growth of pine, the land plowed and set 

 to apple trees. It has since been planted to 

 potatoes, corn, &c., and well manured. The 

 present crop of rye attracts considerable atten- 

 tion from its heavy and even growth, — some of 

 the stalks being seven feet high by actual meas- 

 urement. Mr. Kent has promised to furnish a 

 fuller account of the crop after harvesting. 



EXPERIENCE IN BEE-KEEPING. 



Seven years ago this spring, I commenced 

 bee-keeping, hardly knowing a honey-bee from 

 a humble-bee ; but I procured the best works 

 on bees, such as Langstroth's, Quinby's, Kid- 

 der's, &c., and studied the theory of scientific 

 bee-keeping, which I immediately commenced 

 to put in practice, going very carefully at first, 

 and as the result, my bees have averaged over 

 $5.00 per swarm, yearly, in surplus honey, be- 

 sides the increase ; and we have had two or 

 three very poor seasons for honey in the time 

 — 1865 was the poorest we have had in thirty- 

 years — so old bee-keepers tell me. 



Last year, (1866,) I commenced the season 

 with twenty-three swarms in poor condition ; 

 most of them had to be fed as soon as set out, 

 to save them from starvation ; but the month 

 of April was very pleasant, and as soon as the 

 soft maple was in bloom, the bees got their 

 living, and some of my best swarms stored 

 eight or ten pounds ahead. 



In the month of June I bought one of Lang- 

 stroth's Italian queens, and as fast as I could 

 raise queens I divided my bees and furnished 

 the queenless part with an Italian queen. 

 After dividing I raised more queens, to take 

 the place of the black queens. 



I closed the season with fifty-four swarms, 

 (mostly Italian,) and 544 pounds surplus 

 honey. 



I put my bees into the cellar Dee. 4th, 

 and took them out April 10th, 1867, and 

 found them all in good condition. I fed a 

 few of the h'ghtest swarms by changing framea 



