Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-09-28
AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN.

County Farmers.

SOuhly
The sixth bulletin of the State board of
agriculture for the season of 1888 contains
the following letters from Hancock county
farmers:
ELLSWORTH-tor some time | have take n
an interest III poultry. Last year / buill d
good henhouse, 50 feet long, Il feet wide,
3 feet high IN frolt and 80 feet high on
the back we'll boarded and shingled, wit h
paper between ii is fairly warm, out not
quite warm enough. | shall seal up the
back side tnorth) with matched boards.
The roosts are on t he back side, with drop
ping board 8 feet long, Is inches from the
hoor. This makes low Jump for heavy
hens. The house is divided into i've apart
ments Of SIX feet each, by wire netting,
boarued up some two feet SO that the hens
can't fight. The nest boxes are on each
side of pens near roostS. There are doors
to pass from one pen to another through
the house and large window in each pen
and at each end OF the house. This gives
good light. We have runs on the south
side, wired in by netting. This makes a
convenient house, easily kept clean. We
keep five breeds there and take eggs for
setting in the season, letting them run the
rest of the time. They We're very happy
hens last winter and laid very well. | have
an orchard of'50o apple trees, some pear
trees and few plums. | set the trees my
self some twenty years ago. The apple
trees have made rapid growth and are as
full of apples now as | could wish them to
be. When they We're small ] used rock
weed and coal ashes for mulching. They
grow very fast. think l have too many
kinds {some 30). would advise not more
than six or eight good winter varieties of
fruit. A market can always be found in
the winter. There is none with US now.
Strawberries and other small fruits should
be raised by every farmer.
J. T. CusHMAN.
ORLAND-From forty to fifty years ago
there were but few apple orchards in this
part OF the country, but wherever there
was one it was generally quite large.
When a farmer went into raising apples
he went in strong. These did much
toward supplying the local market, but
with such apples! Raised generally from
the seed, the varieties were almost endless.
Scarcely two trees in an orchard would
bear the same variety. They We're general
ly small in size and intensely acid. For
eating, bitter sweets were much in evil
dence. Occasionally some trading vessel
would come into near port with load OF
western apples, most generally Baldwlns,
not barrelled but loose in the hold, which
they would trade for potatoes, old iron, etc.
These would be great improvement over
the native fruit and would generally find
ready sale. One can well understand that
fruit transported in this manner would
not keep long. Since then grating has
come into fashion, farmers have taken an
interest in fruit, and all has been changed.
Scarcely farm but has few trees where
excellent fruit is raised in abundance.
This has nearly ruined the local market
and large part of the fruit sold finds its
way into the hands of Boston commission
merchants. There is now so many excel
lent varieties, with new ones being still
introduced, that it is hard to say which is
the best. In starting an orchard one will
do well to put in a variety of the most
popular kinds. A. H. DRESSER.
DEER IsLE-The article in THE ELS
WORTH AMERICAN on the fall web Eer.a
interested me, as two or three of my trees
had some of this pest on them, but had
destroyed them as directed, by burning,
though | thought it was a variety of the
tent caterpillar. Is there any way to get
rid of red ants in an orchard? Mine is
swarming with them, and they devour the
summer fruit as fast as it falls unless it is
picked up at once. AS to varieties, the
Sweet Bough and Astrachans seem to be
fayorites for summer frnits here, and any