56 



NEW ENGLAND FARjVIER. 



Jan. 



this way is inconsiderable. Manure contains 

 more or less ammonia in a 6xed state that is 

 liberated and lost by the application of lime 

 or ashes. Hence the importance of keeping 

 apart stable or barnyard manure and all 

 alkalies, and applying them separately. 



The farm which the writer occupies is a 

 small one ; but large enough to test a prin- 

 ciple. It is but a few years since I turned my 

 attention to this subject, and abandoned the 

 old method of ploughing manure under, as it 

 seemed to me, all at once, to involve a great 

 loss of manure. I reasoned thus : according 

 to general principles manure goes down ; there- 

 fore if I cover it six or eight inches, it is gone 

 that distance the first jump, and beyond the 

 reach of many of the finer plant roots. Es- 

 pecially if it lie under a tough furrow of 

 greensward, it is nearly useless for several 

 weeks, un il the stronger roots strike down- 

 ward through the turf in search of food. It 

 should therefore be spread upon the surface, 

 and be permitted to mingle with the soil when 

 it is needed, become dissolved by rains and 

 thus converted into plant food to which the 

 finer and feebler roots may find easy access, 

 and remain as long as possible where its bene- 

 fits will be felt. 



There are cases where manure should be 

 covered with the plough, but these belong to 

 the catalogue of "necessary evils." Upon 

 side hills where there is danger of washing 

 into the rich valleys below, and when the 

 manure is coarse and bulky, it may be covered. 

 The process of rotting is hastened under the 

 surface. But it would be better to convert 

 euch crude manure into a finer substance, fit 

 for the burfdce, by mixing it with muck and 

 piling up for a year under cover. c. 



Wilmington, Vt., Dec. 1870. 



"WINTER PROTECTION OF BEEB. 



Farmers who keep only a few hives of bees, 

 merely to obt..in honey for home use, are not 

 expected to give such particular attention to 

 the business as those who are engaged in it 

 largely, yet a certain amount of care is neces- 

 sary to warrant a good return. Where the 

 bees are wintered out of doors, protection 

 from severe cold winds must be given, and 

 may be afforded by setting posts on the north 

 and west sides, boarding the same up closely 

 and covering overhead. 



None but btrong colonies should be selected 

 for wintering, and the weaker ones "taken 

 up," or two united in one, which is better. 

 To unice them, ihere are two simple processes : 

 Smoke both thoroughly by burning cotton 

 rags or rotten wood, and shake all together 

 upon a sheet and put them into the hive of 

 the ttrongest colony ; or, invert the weaker of 

 the two, set the other upon this and drive the* 

 first up by use of smoke, blown in at the base. 

 Two swarms thus united, will consume but 

 little more honey than one alone, as more 



heat is generated and less food required. 

 Not less than fifteen or twenty pouncjs of 

 honey should be allowed to winter a colony ; 

 where there is less than this, feeding will very 

 probably be necessary, and the hives should 

 be watched closely to see that the supply is 

 not exhausted, and the family starved to 

 death. — Ohio Farmer. 



BXTKACTS AND BEPLIES. 



LOW PRICE OF FARMS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



Here in northern Vermont few farms can be 

 bought under S30 to #40 per acre, and many are 

 sold at double and sometimes treble these prices. 

 Why are farms offered so much lower in Mr. Cha- 

 pin's Advertiser, that are said to be located on or 

 near the Albany railroad ? Are the towns bonded 

 to railroads, or deeply in debt, and thus heavily 

 taxed ? Or is the soil so run down and poor that 

 they are worth so little ? Can you tell me what is 

 the matter with your Massachusetts farms that 

 they are advertised at such low prices ? If you 

 have such a publication as our Vermont Register 

 perhaps thari; would afford me the desired informa- 

 tion. I enclose the money for a copy. w. e. a. 



Milton, Vt., Nov. 28, 1870. 



Remarks.— At the time your letter was received, 

 one of our subscribers in the town of Worcester, 

 a gentleman of much intelligence, was in the office. 

 We read it to him and asked him to tell us what 

 answer we should make. After a moment's hesi- 

 tation, he replied, "Well, I hardly know what to 

 say. In my neighborhood several farms have been 

 sold at prices I should have been unwilling to ac- 

 cept had they belonged to me. It is true that 

 there is some poor land in Worcester county, but 

 there is also much good land, and many farms 

 cannot be bought at a low figure. Our boys seem 

 to think they can do better at other kinds of busi- 

 ness than farming. I have raised six boys, and 

 only one is a farmer, and he probably remains at 

 home from a conviction of duty to his parents 

 rather than from choice. In Worcester, noiv a 

 city of some 40,000 inhabitants, a great variety of 

 manufacturing is carried on, and the young people 

 prefer the shop or the store to the farm, and many 

 of the old homesteads in the country towns are 

 running down, — both fields and buildiags being 

 neglected." 



Such were the suggestions of our Worcester 

 county friend. We cannot add anything of value 

 to them. Some of the towns in Worcester county 

 are "bonded" for smaller or larger amounts, and a 

 large part of them are seriously in debt, and there 

 is much complaint of the late rapid increase of 

 taxation. But we do not know whether those in 

 Worcester county are worse off in these respects 

 than towns in other States. 



From our acquaintance with the soil of the Lake 

 Champlain Valley, we are free to say that in few 

 localities in New England can its equal be found. 

 Our experience in the world teaches us that lands, 

 as well as men, generally pass for just about what 

 they are worth. We have,little personal accjuaint- 



