1871 ] 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARMER. 



199 



as high as seventeen or eighteen have been pro- 

 duced. 



POULTRY ACCOUNT. 



Below you have ray year's account of fowls and 

 ducks, which shows rather small profits the last 

 year. Owing to ravages of cats and rats I was 

 obliged to sell them as soon as hatched, and pur- 

 chased grown up fowls for this year's stock. 



Stock, January 1, 1870. Ih'. 



31 fowls, Bralimas and Leghorns at 75 



cents $23 25 



12 Muscovy Ducks, at 75 cts, 9 00 



$32 25 



Coat of Keeping., <&e. 



5 'busTi. corn siftings 1 00 



31 b. shorts, $12.25; 24 b. meal, ... 3765 



• 24 b. C. corn. $25.30; 30 b. corn, $30.95 56 25 



24 b. oats, $17.65; 27 fowls, $24.15 . . 41 80 



I drake. $1.50; 3 doz. Leghorn eggs 



$1.35; 2 85 



316 lbs. scraps, $6.32; Sulphur, $1.26 7 58 



Pepper, 70c ; nails 21c. ; bucket, 35c. . 1 26 



W. brush, 7uc; boxes, 40c; g. bone 15c 1 30 



Dressing poultry and labor 14 00 



41 doz. and 8 hens' eggs set, at37>^c. . 15 61 



18 doz. and 8 ducks' eggs set at 47c. . 8 78 



$188 08 



Total, $220 33 



Stock, January 1, 1871. Cr. 



37 fowls at 75c, Brahmas and Leghorns, $27 75 

 12 ducks at 75c, Muscovy, 9 00 



II late chickens, at 50c 5 50 



$42 25 



Stock and Eggx sold. 



114 doz. and 11 hens' eggs, at 37^0. . 43 30 

 7 doz. and 8 ducks' eggs, at 47c. ... 3 82 

 82 chickens, $62.39 ; 105 ducks, $63.27 125 66 

 28K hbls. manure,$28.50; feathers, 75c. 29 25 



$202 03 



Consumed in the house. 



54 doz. and 3 ogg.s' at Z1)ic 20 34 



17 doz. and 6 ducks' eggs at 47c. ... 8 22 

 .5 ducks 30>^ lbs. at 25c! ^ lb 7 62 



$36 IS 



Total, $280 46 



Cost and expenses 220 33 



Profit $60 13 



I now have 36 young chicks hatched since Jan. 

 4, and 4 hens sitting. James Buffingtox. 



Salem, Mass., Feb. 18, 1871. 



KNEES OF A HORSE INJURED BY STANDING ON 

 INCLINED FLOOR. 



I would like to inquke for a remedj- for a horse 

 whose knees have l)een sprung for want of exer- 

 cise and by standing on a steep floor. The cords 

 are not set and he is not lame. He can straighten 

 his knees but they are a little inclined forward and 

 seem to be weak. He has not been in this condi- 

 tion but a little while, and is a valuable horse. 



D. B. Thurston. 



Franklin, JV. IT., Feb. 20, 1871. 



Remarks. — Dr. McClure recommends the fre- 

 quent application of cold water, by bandages or 

 otherwise, for cases of slight strains. And for a 

 liniment, two ounces each of oil of olives, oil of 

 turpentine, and tincture of aconite roots, mixed 

 and applied once a day until the skin becomes a 

 little rough or swollen. Others may know of a 

 better treatment of this particular case. 



moths. It is very easily performed, and not at- 

 tended with the inconvenience of always having 

 some suitable vessel at hand in which to despatch 

 the specimen, when benzine or ether is used as the 

 life-destroying agent. 



A btittertiy or moth should not be left to become 

 dry or stitf before being put upon the pinning 

 board, the wings drawn forward into a natural 

 position and secured by light weights, then left to 

 "s<?f," to speak in collectors' terms, which ^^^ll re- 

 quire from fifteen to twenty days for butterflies, 

 and longer still for moths. 



Procure the Report of the Department of Agri- 

 culture for 1868, which contains some very prac- 

 tic4il instruction in these matters, describing the 

 method of pinning, the best pinning board of which 

 I have any knowledge, and various other "traps" 

 convenient for collectors.' 



I have learned by experience in these matters, 

 allow me to add hi this connection, that alcohol 

 tinctured with svljihuric ether, in which to kill 

 beetles, is preferable to pure alcohol, or any "solu- 

 tion" whatsoever. It appears to preserve better 

 that metallic lustre with which so many insects 

 belonging to the order Coleoptera are so beauti- 

 fullv marked. E. M. Goodwin. 



Eartland, Vt., March 6, 1871. 



orchard gr.vss. 



The more I become acquainted ■with this gi'ass 

 the better I like it. Xot the least among its merits 

 is its hardiness. It stood the hot, dry weather last 

 summer better than any other valuable grass with 

 which I am familiar. It should be sowed thick, I 

 think two bushels not too much seed for an acre ; 

 and it must be cut early, before it is in full bloom, 

 to have the hay of the best quality. On rich moist 

 land it is as sure to yield three crops in a year, as 

 is red-top to give one. UnlilvC clover, it never in- 

 clines to blossom but once in a season ; the second 

 and third crops are mostly leaves, and the best 

 feed for cows in wmter I ever grew. It is a good 

 grass to sow in early spring with clover, but with- 

 out grain. Two good crops of leafy hay may be 

 counted on the iii'st j^ear, and three crops a year 

 afterwards, as long as the land will carry it out. I 

 believe it the best of grasses to sow where I intend 

 to keep the crop up by top dressing. The dressing 

 should be spread immediately after removing the 

 hay, and should be well bushed do«Ti, then the 

 new crop Avill come up and in a very few days, 

 cover the gi-ound and keep it from drying. I 

 would recommend it to any one who is not afraid 

 to begin haying the last of Jlay or the first of June. 

 By the 10th of June it is hi full Ijloom in this lati- 

 tude, and past its best condition for hay. I have 

 grown it five years, and like it so well that I in- 

 tend to sow it this spring on the whole of my re- 

 claimed meadow. A. W. Cheeveb. 



ISheldonville, Mass., Feb. 1,5, 1871. 



killing butterflies. 

 E. N. S. Mill find crushing the thorax between 

 the thumb and finger (wings turned b.ack) as prac- 

 ticable as any method of killing butterflies or 



. BARN itch. — BIG PORKERS. 



I have taken the Farmer from its commence- 

 ment, and often wish I had time and ability to an- 

 swer some of its inquiries. I was interested by 

 that in relation to the bam itch, as I have had ani- 

 mals trouliled with that disease. I trade in cattle to 

 fatten. On my cattle the trouble commences 

 around the eyes ; the hair comes off; the skin looks 

 white and scurvy, and soon the disease spreads over 

 the head and neck, and if not stopped, will extend 

 all over the animal, and continue until the middle 

 of summer. It causes excessive irritation of the 

 skin. I have generally found cattle that have been 

 wintered in cold places and on poor meadow hay 

 mostly affected. It generally spreads throughout 

 the whole herd that is kept in one barn or yard or 

 pasture. When the itch is only in spots, sulphur, 

 lard and tax in equal parts applied two or three 



