0^ ■0, > ^^ ." X^^x ..^^ ^ -iD ,0c » ' \'* V . „ ,^ . •^^.S^ tV V '^> \^' ^^. '/- " ' •- > V ^ ^ " « /• ^ I I I I I I I \ I THE AMERICAN f A COMPLETE READY REFERENCE LIBRARY MANUAL Farmers, Gardeners, Fruit Growers and Stockmen. THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO. SPRINGFIELD, MASS. ..•-^:w^ A CHARMING ORNAMENT FOR YOUR PARLOR TABLE 1 Gems of Art and Poetry. Thisis the title of a beautiful Portfolio or Album, recently published. Gkms op Art AND Poetry is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and attractive gift-boolvs ever issued. It is a book of 32 pages, size of page 9>^ by 12 inches, of heavy super-calendered paper, and is tilled with beautiful wood and reproduction steel engravings and line poetry. There is a beautiful ensraving upon every page, and upon some pages more than one. The poetry is in keeping with the character of the illustrations and consists of some of the choicest productions of the following world-famous authors: Alfred Tennyson, J. G. Whittier, H. W. Longfellow, Bayard Taylor, D. R. Locke, Jean Ingelow, Alice Cary, and many others. The names of these famous authors will be a sufficient guarantee of the high cliaracter of the poetical contents of the book. The illustrations are by tlie most famous artists in America, and consist of landscapes, woodland views, wild mountain scenery, beautiful views of rivers and brooks, artistic floral and other devices, beautiful designs from nature in woodland, field, and dell; pictures of childhood, pictures of birds arid animals, pleasing home subjects, etc.. etc. "Gems of Art and Poetry "is handsomely bound in Granite covers, arid is one of the most beautiful and attractive adornments for the parlor table that could be devised. It would grace the most luxurious home. Remember, it contains 32 large pages of beautiful pictures and charming poems, and is substantially and handsomely bound. Tlieholiday gift books that sell at $5.00 or $6.00 per copy contain no finer or more beautiful engravings than does our " Gems op Art and Poetry." The typography and presswork are in the higlie^t style of the printer's art, the paper is of the best, and the bind- ing very attractive. It is a book for every lover of tlie beautiful and will be treasured by all ■who possess a copy. As we turn its many pages, it is a continuous succession of delightful surprises, from the first to the last page in the work. No description, however, could possibly do justice to this beautiful and elaborate work. It must be seen to be appreciated. It would make one of the most beautiful and attractive presents for a friend or relative that could be procured. This charming book will be sent by mail, post paid, upon receipt of price, only T\»-enty-flve Cents. Address all orders : THE PHKLPS PUBLISHING CO., Springrfield, Mass. THE FAVORITE ALBUM OF SONGS AND BALLADS. Andante espress. The Favorite Album op Songs and Ballads, recently published, contains thirty-two pieces of choice and popular vocal music, full sheet music size, witii complete words and music and piano accompaniment. The music is finely printed upon heavy paper, and neatly bound in one large and hand.'^ome book, with a very attractive cover. The following are the titles of the somrs and ballads contained in tlie Favorite Album: As I'D Nothing Else to Do ; The Dear Old Songs of Home; Mother, Watch the Little Feet; Oh, Yor Pretty Blue-Eyed Witch; Blue Eyes; Katey's Letter; The Passing Bell; I Saw Esau Kissing Kate; Won't You Tell Me Why, Robin; The Old Garden Gate; Down Below the Waving Lindens; Faded Leaves; All among the Summer Roses; Touch THE Harp Gently, My Pretty Louise; I Really Don't Think I Shall Marry; Dreaming of Home; The Old Cottage Clock; Across the Sea; There's a Silver Lining to Every Cloud; Strangers Yet; Not Yet; Somebody; A Year Ago; Bachelor's Hall; Ruth and I; Good Night; One Happy Year Ago; .Tenny IN THE Orchard; The Old Barn Gate; Jack's Farewell; Polly; Whisper in the Twilight. . , , ^ , This i s a very fine collection of real vocal gems, and gotten up in very handsome style. Published in the usual way and bought at a' music store, these 32 pieces would cost you $11.20; here you have them all complete in one handsome book. It should be remembered tliat this is not a cheap, poorly printed affair, but a handsomely bound book, and the pages are the full size of sheet music as sold in the stores. Every lover of music slunild possess a copy. The Favorite Album of Songs and Ballads will be sent by mail, post paid, upon receipt of only T-iventy-flve Cents. Address all orders : THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO., Springfield, Ma.s.s. no ^ f\ '\ftht^ THE AMERICAN ^^'arm and Stock Manual. A COMPLETE READY REFERENCE LIBRARY FOR FARMERS, GARDENERS, FRUIT GROWERS AND STOCKMEN, CONTAINING A LARGE FUND OF USEFUL INFORMATION, FACTS, HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS, a ^. a / IN THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, LIVE STOCK RAISING, PQULTRY KEEPING, BEE KEEPING, DAIRY FARMING, FERTILIZERS, RURAL ARCHITECTURE, FARM IMPLEMENTS, Etc. With One Hundred and Eighty-three iLmsTMiiONS. Springfield, Mass, THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO, [886. COPYRKiMT BY F. M. LUPTON 1886. O3'-/ THE FARM RURAL ARCHITECTURE. AN INEXPENSIVE COTTAGE. — ELEVATION. An Inexpensive Cottage.— -We give the plan of a neat and beautiful country cottage, the low cost of construction of Avhich adapts it to the wants of those in moderate circumstances, while, in attractive appearance and gen- eral convenience, it rivals those of a much higher cost. This cottage is designed in the rural Gothic or English manner, but much modified, so as to adapt it to almost any site. The light, open porch may be omitted without injuring the design. In the plan, .1 is the porch, from which we enter the hall or entry, 8 feet wide, Avith the two best rooms, each 16x18 feet, on either side of it. Conneoted with the living-room, in its rear, is a good pantry. B is the back entry, communicating with the kitchen. C is the back porch, which may be left open in summer, and inclosed in win- ter, when it will serve as a place for coal and wood. On one side of the kitchen fire-place is a closet, and on the other a sink, into which, if possible, 12 THE FABM. a water-pipe should be brought. The first story of this cottage is 10 feet, and the second story 5 feet, on the sides, and 8 feet in the middle of ibe rooms. The pitch of the roof is a right angle. The cost of this cottage, with the interior neatly finished and painted hi oil color, and the two principal rooms grained and varnished like oak, and their walls papered with suitable paper — all the other rooms having brown walls whitewashed — would be about $800. An Oriianiental Coviiitry Cottage. — We give on pages 13 and 14 illus- trations of a plan and elevation of a cheap, but very ornamental, country cottage, which will be found both convenient and comfortable for a small family. If this plan is not extensive enough to meet your wants, it can be easily enlarged upon by making additions, or by enlarging the size of the whole plan, and thus in- creasing the dimensions of the rooms. This, however, would necessarily add to the cost of construction. The cottage, as shown in our illustration, presents a V e r y aristocratic appear- ance, and, considering the small amount of money re- quired for its construction, is, we think, a very desir- able plan for a cheap and good dwelling-house. The dimensions of the rooms on the ground floor are plainly given in our second illustra- tiou. The porch, with its seat, is large and roomy; the living-room is of good size, well lighted by a square bay-window. The kitchen is well supplied with closets. The first floor could be very much im- AN INEXPENSIVE COTTAGE. — GROUND PLAN. proved by adding a one-story kitchen at the rear, making the living-room into a parlor, and the kitchen into a dining and sitting-room; the additional cost would be very small. The second floor contains three bedrooms, very conveniently arranged, and each provided with a closet. The two down- stairs rooms and the large front bedroom are supplied with open fire-places, the value of which for ventilation is so often overlooked in cheap houses. Besides this, there should be ventilating tubes or shafts in the chimney sides, with registers opening from each room, thus insuring a good system of ventilation. The roof should be ventilated by openings under the pro- jected eaves. The estimated cost of this building is from $1,200 to $1,800, according to locality and style of finish. Oeneral Suggestions to Tliose Intending to Build. — The following excellent recommendations are fi-om the American Home and Farm Cydo- ptedia: Farmers can afiford to leave cellar-kitchens, basements, third stories, and all other unnecessarv stair-climl)ing devices to their city cousins, who RUttAL AliCHTTECTlTRE, 13 have to count the cost of every square Soot they build i^^on. The only ad- vantage of second stories in the country is that they are more healthful for sleeping apartments. If every fire has a separate flue, and each flue terminates in its own par- ticular chimney-top, there will never be any trouble over smoking fires, if the chimney is high enough. Proper care in the arrangement of varioiis rooms will save those who have to do the housework a thousand needless steps. Kitchen and dining- AN ORNAMENTAL COUNTRY COTTAGE.— ELEVATION. room should always be adjoining apartments. The china closet best opens into the dining-room. A trap-door connecting the pantry with the dining- room is a great convenience. It is well to have the wood-shed very near the kitchen, and connected with it by a covered way, avoiding exposure in in- clement weather. An attic over the entire house, with a window at each end, will be found of signal utility for drying clothes in bad weather. Provide plenty of closets and cupboards in all of the rooms. The lady of the house, who is the (me most vitally interested hi this matter, should not 14 THE FAtiM. be allowed to insist upon this in vain. Varnishing wood will make the paint last longer, and saves incalculable elbow grease in house-cleaning. Shingles of cedar will last from thirty to forty years, and those of pine from twelve to twenty years. In the arrangement of out-buildings, the following relative proximity will be found convenient: First, the house; attached to that the kitchen- wing, with wood-house appended; then, at a little distance, the pi'ivy, carriage- house, and workshop, with pig-sty and poultry-hoiise adjoined. Stone and bi-ick walls should always be furred off, leaving an air space between the stonework and plastering throughout the entire wall, and open- LOBBY L 1 PORCH ^ VING ROOM 1 ^ 1 1 1 J AN OENAMENTAL COTTNTKY COTTAGE. — GllOUND PLAN ing into the attic. This prevents dampness, and insures an equable tem- perature. Brick houses must have a slate, sheet-copper, or tarred paper cut-off inserted in the foundation just beloAv the water-shed, as otherwise the moisture of the ground is M'orked up by the brick, keeping the Avails con- stantly damp. Frame houses may be made much warmer and more comfortable than tfhey usiially are by covering the studding with tongued and grooved sheathing, and this in turn by tarred building paper, placing the weather boarding over the whole. Fit the sheathing and weather boarding closely around door and window-frames, and let the tarred paper lap over a little where there is likelv to be a crack. li Uli A L A R CHI TE C T U li E. 15 Where ingrain carpets are to be used, it favors their economical cutting to have either the length or breadth of each room some multiple of their usual width— one yard— as twelve feet, flfteen feet, etc. Construction of an Octagonal Barn. — There are various plans for laying out and building barns of this shape, in all of which the principles arc the same. There is a concrete or stone foimdation wall, which may be either below ground for a cellar or partially below it for a basement, or wholly above it for a stable, an inclined Avay being built on two opposite sides to give access to the barn floor. Upon this foundation the sills are laid, the corners being made at an angle of 135 degrees, instead of 90 degrees, as in the square building. There are no cross-beams necessary except upon the floor, there being eight bents in the building, all on the outside, the plates FIG. 1. — ELEVATION OF AN OCTAGONAL BAKN. being mortised exactly as the sills are, and the posts placed with regard to the necessary doors and windows, and the strength necessary to support the roof and stiffen the building. As many braces as may be thought needful limy be used, but the braces must all be on the lines of the walls, and none of them cross-braces. The roof is an eight-sided cone, strengthened with purlin plates, and may be open at the center for a cupola or ventilator. The joints of all the plates and the sills Avill be at an angle of 62 1-2 degrees, in- stead of 45 degrees, as in a square building. Tliis form of the frame will give a roof of the strongest kind— one that cannot spread, if well put to- gether, and one that offers less resistance to the wind than any other form of elevated roof. Inside of the barn there is nothing to interfere with the jflling of grain or hay to the roof, and a wagon may be driven anywhere upon IG THE FARM, FIG. 2.— PLAN OF BASEMENT. the floor. The plan of the basement is shown at Fig. 2, a being a passage for the cows, and a drive-way for removing the manure; h, h, are the stalls for the cows, of which there are fifty-two, having the feed-trough toward the center, and all reached by an inner drive-way. There are six stalls, and a room at each end of the stalls for harness. At e is a place for storing plows, carriages, wagons, or machines. A drive- way (f, f) passes through the basement from east to west. As many win- dows as needed may be built in the Avail. The sills of the barn are laid upon the wall, as already mentioned; the posts are 28 feet high, and the plates upon these sup- port the rafters. The plates are fastened to- gether at the ends by be- ing halved, and the cor- ners fastened by half-inch iron bolts, as shoAvn at Fig. 3. At each corner is a brace of 8x8 timber, bolted to and through the plates by three-quarter-inch bolts, and stx-ength- ened by an iron plate on the inside, through Avhicli the bolts pass. The shoulders of the corner rafters rest upon these braces and plates, as shown at Fig. 4. These rafters are of 6x12 timber. Purlin plates of 8x10 inch tim- ber are bolted under the rafters, and are fastened together at the comers in the same manner as the plates. The intermediate rafters rest upon these purlins. Iron tie-rods may be used to strengthen the rafters and hold them to- gether, if thoiight necessary. Fig. 1 shoAVS the elevation, with a portion of the roof re- moved to shoAV the manner of laying the rafters and bridging them. A croAvn rim is bolted to the rafters at the point of the roof — or, rather, the rafters are bolted to the croAA-n rim — Avhich siipports a cupola. The cupola is fifty feet from the floor of the barn, the roof rising tAventy-two feet, and the post being twenty-eight feet high. The floor of the barn is laid upon beams, supported by brick piers or timber posts in the basement. A line of beams may be laid above the floor on either side, above which floors may be laid; the space thus made may be used for granaries, or stor- age of farm tools or machines, or other cumbrous property. Plan for a Barii._We present hercAvith a plan for a new and improved barn. For convenience, neatness of appearance, and practical utility, it Avill 3.— CORNER JOINT. FIG. 4.— CORNER BRACE. RURAL ARCHITECTVRE. 17 be fouud most excellent, and should any of our readers contemplate build- ing, they would do well to give this article a careful study; and should they not desire to follow out the plan to the letter, they might still be able to gain from it some valuable hints in planning a barn of a different style. The fol- lowing is the description of the plan we have illustrated: A, stables, 8x28, for nine coavs, earth floor; B, man's room; C, caniages; D, harness room; E, meal or shorts; F, shelled corn; G, oats; H, passage-way; I, passage-way, 4 feet wide, platform floor, with pump; L, box for mixing feed; M, stairs; N, O, stalls, 5 feet wide; P, Q, R, stables, 6 feet Avide; S, feed-bin for cattle; V, feed-box for horses; W, wagon shed, earth floor, 18x21; X, v/agon shed, open at south and east, 9x17; Y, tool room, 9x10; Z, feed-bin; W, T, water-trough. Main barn, 30x42 feet; posts, 18 feet in the clear; shed wing, 26x30 feet; posts, 12 feet in clear; lean-to shed, 14 feet wide, 42 feet long- all to have roof at one-third angle of rise. There will be 230 feet in length of wall underground, to be built of rough stone 1 foot high and 18 inches thick. Upon this is to be laid, in courses, quarried stone, in blocks, not less than 8x12 inches, 1 foot high and 1 foot thick, and all pointed. There will be required twelve piers, each 18 inches square and 2 feet high; these to be built of stone, and four of them to have the upper stone 12x18 inches. All to be laid in good strong lime mortar, and in a workman-like and substantial manner. There will be required for sills 384 feet in length of 8x8 timber, and 42 feet in length, 6x8; this last for the sill in front of cones in lean-to shed. For posts, girts of main beams, plates, etc., etc., there will be required 913 feet in length, of QxQ. For purhn beams, girts, etc., there will be required 454 feet of length, 4x6; and for intermediate girts, braces, etc., 394 feet of length, of 3x4 stuff. The sides should all be of oak or white pine. 18 'THE FARM. The main beams, purlins, posts, girts, etc., may be of oak, ash, red bircli, white pine, or white wood. The joists are to be of oak or white pine, and these will be required as follows: 103 pieces, each 14 feet long, 2x8; 20 pieces, each 9 feet long, 2x8; 20 pieces, each 10 1-2 feet long, 2x8; and 11 pieces, each 8 feet long, 2x8. The rafters will be as follows: 4:2, each 19 feet long, 2x4 at ^6^1-a j \ ^ ? 1 t^ K ^ C5 "b • - (D e C 5 1 ^ o ^ ^ o ( Uj k C5 tj 3 ^ N ? ^ Q "b -rs Qq 3 - -w. 1. .1- ? or "^ ? one end and 4x6 at the other, for the main beam; 21, each 17 feet long, 3x4, for the lean-to shed; and 30, each 16 feet long, 2x4 at one end and 3x5 at the junction of the first with the second stories (as shown from outside). There should be a strip inserted of 2x2. The frieze board to be 8 inches wide and 2 inches thick. The boards all to be straight edge, and the whole to be bat- tened with strips one inch thick and three inches wide, having the edges beveled half an inch, exhibiting a face of two inches. The whole to be of good, merchantable, dry piae timber. The roof boards may be of any light RUB A L A B an J TE C T UR E. 19 and durable timber, and shall be laid so that no space of over two inches may be found. That portion of the roof which projects beyond the up- right portion of the building shall be of double thickness. The shingles are to be of the best quality, and laid only 4 inches to the weather. The win- dows are to be made as per plan, all frames to be of seasoned pine, free from knots. The sash windows of 12 lights, each 9x12 inches, except two, viz., one in south end of main barn, and one in east side of same; these to be as shown m plan. The blind windows to be hung with butt hinges, and fastened with hasp hooks, both outside and inside. They are to swing outward. The doors are all to be formed to present an appearance outside same as balance of barn. They are to be jack-planed sufiicient- ly to render them ft-ee of splinters in hand- ling. They are to be placed and formed of height, width, etc., as shown in plan. They >. are all to be hung with wrought-iron strap o hinges, and secured by latches and hasp hook g staples. " ^ A Complete Stock. Bai-n. — We present H herewith an illustrated plan, with careful de- '^ scription, of a complete stock barn, embrac- o ing many good and sensible points in its ^ construction, from which we trust our friends > may gather some valuable sxrggestions. ^ The body of the main barn is 100 feet long *| by 50 feet Avidc, the posts 18 feet high above ^ the sill, making 9 bents. The beams are 14 ^ feet above the sills, which is the height of the % inner posts. The position of the floor and o bays is readily understood from the plan. • The floor, for a grain barn, is 14 feet wide, but may be contracted to 12 feet for one ex- clusively for hay. The area in front of the bays is occupied with a stationary horse- power and with machinery for various farm operations, such as threshing, shelling corn, cutting straw, crushing grain, etc., all of which is driven by bands from drums on the horizontal shaft overhead, which runs across the floor from the horse-power on the other side; this shaft being driven by a cog-wheel on the perpendicular shaft round which the horses travel. A passage four feet wide extends between the bays and the stables, which occupy the two wings. This extends up to the top of the bays, down which the hay is thrown for feeding, which renders this work as easy and conven- ient as possible. A one-sided roof is given to the sheds (instead of a double-sided), to throw all the wa^;er on the outside, in order to keep the interior of the yards dry. Eave-troughs take the water from the roofs to cisterns. The 20 THE FARM. cisterns, if connected by an underground pipe, may be all drawn from by a single pump if necessary. The floor of the main barn is three feet higher than that of the stables. This will allow a cellar under it, if desired— or a deeper extension of the bays — and it allows storage lofts over the cattle, with sufficient slope of roof. A short flight of steps at the ends of each passage, admits easy access from the level of the barn floor. The sheds, Avhich extend on the three sides of the barn, and touch it at the rear end, are on a level with the stables. An inclined plane, from the main floor through the middle of the back shed, forms a rear egress for wagons and carts, descending three feet from the floor. The two rooms, one on each side of this rear passage, 16 by 34 feet, may be used for housing sick animals, coSvs about to calve, or any other purpose required. The sta- bles at the front ends of the sheds are convenient for teams of horses or oxen, or they may be fitted for wagon houses, tool houses, or other purposes. The rooms, 16 feet square at the inner corners of the sheds, may be used for weak cAves, lambs, or for a bull stable. Backs or mangers may be fitted up in the open sheds for feeding sheep 6HECS ISPAIE ROOM ffOSPlTM. 11 Ufi __ I 1 HOliS WW . ni WACHHEIW SHEUS T J - - - M § A COMPLETE sr( iiiorxn PLAN. or young cattle, and yards may l)c built adjoining, on the rear, six or eight in number, into which they may nin and be kept sepa'rate. Barred parti- tions may separate the different flocks. Bars may also enclose the opening in front, or they may, if required, be boarded up tight. Step ladders are placed at convenient intervals, for ascending the shed lOfts. A granary over the machine room is entered by a flight of stairs. Poles extending from bay to bay, over the floor, will admit the storage of much additional hay or grain. A Convenient Barn— A recent inquiry about how to build a barn, writes a correspondent of an agricultural periodical, tempts me to describe mine, Avhich I think very handy. My barn is situated on a side hill with an incline of about seven feet in forty to the Avest. There is a bridge at each end for a driveway, only one of Avhich is shown in our illustration. Fig. 1. On the right, as you enter the main door, the bays extend down to the ground nine feet. Under the main floorway I keep my sheep. Under the bridge each end is open, to give the sheep plenty of light and air, as it will not do to keep them too warm. In stormy weather I close the doors. On RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 21 the left of the niaiu flooi-way is the cow linter, and, beneath, the pig pen. The arrangement will be more readily understood from the illustration, Fig. 2. 1. Sheep pen; 2. Bam floorway; 3. Standing floor in the linter; 4. Cows' manger; 5. Iron strap used instead of stanchion; 6. Tie chain; 7. A trough filled Avith dirt or sawdust for the animals', front feet to stand on, thus pre- venting slipping; 8. Cows' feed door; 9. Shoeps' feed door; 10. Sheep rack; 11. Pig pen; 12. Windows used for cleaning sheep pens and pig pens; 13. Tight partition; 14. Walk liehind the cows; 15. Scuttle for cleaning out manure. It will be noticed that the door through which the sheep are fed opens downward, and does not con- flict Avith the cows' feed door, Avhich lifts upward. By having these doors the linter can be closed up tight in cold Aveather, and the cattle Avill keep warm. The main part of the ^ convenient babn.-fig. 1. barn need not be clap-boarded. So long as the roof is tight and the hay does not get Avet, it is no injury to the fodder to have it Avell ventilated. This ventilation is indeed beneficial and necessary to carry off from the fodder the effluvia from the manure in the cellar. Clieap Barn Cellar. — But comparatively few farmers (as compared to the masses) have yet been convinced that it Avill pay to construct a root-cel- lar, and then to raise the roots to fill it with, but for all that, those who have provided themselves Avith cel- lars find they pay. As it is not always convenient to have one beneath the barn, it may be built above ground as follows: Dig down three feet the size desired; twelve by tAventy feet makes a good large cellar; and ten ])y sixteen feet Avill do for six or eight hundred bushels. Get on hand a lot of small logs or poles from six to ten inches in diameter, with which to build the portion above ground. Cut the poles for each side three feet longer than the Avidth or length of the excavation. Place the first two poles on flat stones or blocks back a foot from the edge of the hole dug, and upon opposite sides. Flat- ten the ends Avith the ax and lay two cross poles as you would in starting a log house. In these end pieces one foot from the end cut notches for the next side poles to lie in. With each round, set the side poles in a foot, which will give a regular slant to the roof, and make a very strong frame for the weight that is to come upon it. The end that is to contain the door should be carried up straight, while the other may be slanted up, as the sidee. A CONVENIENT BARN. — FIG 22 HIE FARM. Cover this frame with cull or common lumber, laying the boavds on up and down. Next put on a heavy layer of marsh hay or straw to keep the dirt from coming in contact Avith and rotting the lumber; over this put a 1k)0i of earth. A shute should be provided for tilhug the house, and a small ventilation flue for winter. The end where the door is located should be double boarded and filled in betAveen with saw-dust or cut straw; there should also be a double door. A storing house of this kind, if well made, will last eight or ten years, and give as good satisfaction as one costing $200. How an old Barn was Improved— We present herewith a brief de- scription of how an old bam was remodeled and greatly improved without much expense, and furnish illustrations sho-ndng the bawi after the changes nURAL ARCHITECTTIBE. 23 had been made, and the plan of the basement underneath in detail. By a careful study of this plan, our readers may be able to gather some valuable hints and suggestions. The original building was the common 32x42 feet barn, with fourteen posts, a fourteen-feet floor in the middle, with bay on one side and stable on the other, with a lean-to of thirteen feet in the rear, the building standing on the line of the road and facing the west, the grounds descending say one foot in thirty to northeast. It was first raised so that the northeast corner would clear six feet, dug out to a level of one foot beloAV that of the lowest corner; then a ditch was dug one and a half feet below that under the outside sills, all around which was filled with ITTTT AJANUHE SNEO 8 STALLS 28XJ2 .IT ALLEY JJX28 \ //AY SHOOT 0AY ¥£X20 Ah ■'\ ROAD AN OLD BAKN IMPROVED. — PLAN OP BASEMENT. small stone. A substantial stone wall was laid on the west side, and twenty feet on both north and south ends; the rest of the building was double- boarded save where protected by other buildings. The front doors were then closed, the floor taken up, cut out the bay girts, and laid off a floor of twenty feet on the west side (space reaching from the ground to roof), made a floor twelve feet wide in upright and all of lean-to — in all twenty-five feet, and cut a door in south end. The bay now Avould hold more than the whole barn before; a lai-ge floor, 25x42, thirteen feet of which can be used to store grain, and a space of 25x42 feet for stable. A good idea of the interior construction may be obtained from the illustrated plan of the base- ment. 24 TUE FARM. APPEARANCE AFTER COMPLETION. Hanging Bai'n Doors on Rollers. — The great convenience of sliding or rolling doors on the farm oiitbuildings is well known, and as every farmer with a little ingenuity can construct them himself, there is no reason why they should not be generally adopted. Our illustration. Fig. 1, repre- sents the shding doors, completed, as applied to the barn; Fig. 2, the man- ner of applying the rollers to the doors and track. The rollers, track and other trimmings may be obtained at any hardware store. The track is first securely fastened to the edge of an inch or two-inch board, about four or five inches wide. This is then firmly nailed or spiked to the building, parallel to and even with the top of the doorway, and should extend the width of the door on each side. In order that the doors may run easily, the track should be laid as level as possible, and upon one board. The manner of fastening the rollers of the doors is clearly shown in the engraving Fig. 2. The doors are placed upon the tracks at the ends of the latter, and are prevented from running ofl" by placing a block at the end of the track or upon the side of the door. The track should be pro- tected from the weather by some kind of covering. Two narrow boards nailed together similar to an eaves-trough, and fastened to the building above the track and rollers, form the best kind of protection from snow or rain. Motlel Carriage-House and Stable. ^Our engraving of the elevation, on the following page, shows doors of the rectangular, car- riage-house portion of the building; also door to hay- loft. The carriage-house doors are folding, and open outward, as they can be made closer when hung on hinges than when hung on rollers; and as it is desirable that all doors and windows should be as close as practicable, that they may not affect the ventilation, the ingress of which is provided for by a subterraneous air duct, seen at A, in the ground plan. The posts are sixteen feet in length; the ceiling of the stable is nine feet in the clear, with storage in the loft for twelve tons of hay. The oat bin is a cylinder of one hiindred bushels capacity, around which circular stairs are built. Its location could not be more convenient, as six horses can be fed grain with walking but fourteen feet, on account of the six stalls being with the head end around a semicircle of sixteen feet diameter. This circular area is open to the cupola, and being supplied with air through the floor, under the stairs, and the animals all breathing into a common cen- FIG. 2. MANNER OF APPLYING THE ROLLERS. RURAL ARCTTITECTURS. 25 ter directly under the egress, the air is constantly changed without a per- ceptible current, and it is nearly at the temperature of the earth below the frost and solar influence; no doors nor windows need be opened. By reference to our illustration of the ground plan, it will be seen that the stall partitions are radial. The stalls are five feet in width in front, and eleven feet at the rear end. The stalls V and VI are arranged with strong gates hung to the wall of the building, in a line witli the stall partitions, which, when closed, as seen in stall VI, form spacious, convenient box stalls. There is no partition between the carriage-house, VII, and the stable por- MODEL CARRIAGE-HOUSE AND STABLE.— ELEVATION. tion of the building, except that formed by the stall partitions and the gates closed, as seen in stall VI, The ventilation is so effectual that the air of the stable does not effect the carriage-house; and it being arranged with three drive doors, three pairs of horses to carriages may all be driven into the carriage-house at once, and the doors closed behind them, and the horses taken to their respective stalls. There are two harness closets, H, H. The rectangular figures in each stable floor, are cast-iron drip grates, each covering a sink, or pit, into which the urine falls. These are all con- nected by pipes, which all connect with a main inner conduit, laid in the 26 "phS farm. ground by way of the stable door. This conduit discharges into the manure house. The quadrant-shaped figures at the head of the stalls, are hinged iron mangers, which may be turned into the feeding passages for conven- ience in feeding, and the man- gers may be unhinged and removed from the building when cleansed. The circular figure in the line of the stall partitions, is the base of a sheet-iron hay tube, which is supported at the height of the manger, and extends to the upper surface of the loft floor, where it is supplied with hay. These tubes have an opening to each stall, so that one tube sup' pHes two horses, the tube be ing covered at the top, and close, except the feeding open- ings, and the lattice bottom to them protects the hay from air and dust, and is the most per- fect and durable hay-feeding arrangement yet discovered. The object of the lattice bot- tom to the hay tubes, is to preserve the hay seed which sheds. It falls into a drawer for the purpose, and the seed thus saved is of excellent quahty, and the qiaantity thus collected well remunerates for the cost of the arrangement. The cupola is octangiilar, and has four openings, with stationary blinds, and four with glazed sash, which thoroughly light the hay-loft and feeding passage. The building is perfectly lighted and ventilated, and exhibits a pretty elevation from any point of vi*w. MODEL CARRIAGE-HOUSE AND STABLE.— GROUND PLAN. FENCES AND GATES. Farm Fences. — lu tho following list of farm fences we have endeavored to illustrate and describe only those that are of practical value and in actual use by many farmers. They illustrate the various modes of arranging rails for the turning of stock and indicating the boundary line of farms. In many sections of the country the common crooked, zig-zag (sometimes called the Virginia or worm) rail fence is extensively used, and, in consequence of the scarcity of the desired material, cannot be immediately replaced by the im- proved board, post and rail, iron or stone fence. As commonly constructed, with wide-spreading stakes at each corner, it occupies a strip of ground nearly a rod in Avidth, which is far Avorse than useless, affording a harboring place for noxious weeds, etc. Fig. 1 represents a section of a straight rail fence. The stakes are first driven in the soil from four to six inches asunder, stifficient to admit of a rail of medium size; a stone or block of wood a few inches in height is placed between the stakes, upon Avhich are properly placed tAvo or three rails; a piece of annealed Avire is then placed around both stakes, the ends being Avell twisted together, upon Avhich are placed rails until Avithin a few inches of the top, Avhen another bit of Avire, a Avooden pin, or a Avooden cap, as most convenient, is attached. In building this class of fence, it will be necessary to cut aAvay Avith an axe a portion of each end of many rails, that they may fit closely AA'ithin the stakes. In this, as Avell as other rail fences, the largest and heaviest rails should be reserved for the top, rendering their removal by unruly stock and high Avinds less easy. Keep the crooked ones in a panel by themselves, and if they are very crooked it is policy to use them for stakes, or consign them to the flames; for to have a fence to please and not to provoke the intrusion of stock, use none but straight rails. When economy of rails is desired, immediately after setting the stakes cast up a ridge of earth by ploAving tAvo furroAVS on each side, thi'owing up the second furrow with a shovel, making a ridge a foot or more in height, and not less than a foot in bi-eadth at the top; proceed as above in the con- struction of the fence; sow grass seed upon the ridge. This plan saves two rails to a panel, renders the stakes more firm and less liable to heave by the action of the frost, and um'uly cattle do net have the same advantage in attemipting to get through or over it. In situations not liable to the preva- lence of high winds, this is the fence that should be used, occupying less FARM fe:?ces. THE FARM. ground than many other kinds; and, when properly constructed, it is a substantial and neat fence. Fig. 2, though in appearance somewhat resembling the previous one, is more expensive, and is designed especially for the use of poles or slender rails that it would be im- possible to properly arrange in a fence by any other plan. To the stakes are nailed cleats, as shown, from four to seven at every set of stakes. Size of rails and purpose of fence Avill decide this point. A lidge of earth can be thrown up as in the previous plan, with a corresponding economy of timber. Fig. 3 exhibits a mode of stak- ing a zig-zag fence. After the foundation has been laid, the stakes should be driven; holes should be made Avith a crowbar to One man, standing on a box or bench, common wooden beetle, Avhile an FAKM FENCES. — FIG. 2. the depth of twenty inches at least. drives them with a sledge-hammer or assistant keeps them upright. Make all the holes before you commence driving the stakes, which should be all sharpened, and the top end reduced to a size admitting the caps to pass over them readily before they are brought to the field. When the fence is made four or more rails high (the size of rails, etc., will govern), the caps are put ui3on, and the fence finished by the addition of two or three more rails. In localities where caps are expensive or difficult to obtain, good annealed wire, size 10, will answer all purposes. It should be drawn tightly up around the stakes; it will bury into them, and the weight of the rails above the wires Anil rest upon the stakes, having a tendency to keep them in the ground when acted upon l)y the frost. The most expeditious manner in which to shai'peu stakes is to have a large, flat block of wood for the stake to stand on, which is held upright with one hand and sharpened Avith an axe held in the other; a holloAV cut in the upper surface of the block Avill consider- ably expedite the operation. Hop poles, stakes for grape-vines, etc., are best sharpened in the above manner. In Fig. 4 is shoAvn the best plan known for staking the common rail fence. It dispenses with stakes at the corners, and in consequence of their central position, they are not liable to be broken or loosened Avhile plowing; nor does the fence occupy as much land as by the old mode. In conseqiience of the central point at Avhich the stakes cross the upper rail of fence, it is required to sustaha the weight of the stakes and riders; therefore, this part should be made strong and durable, of well-seasoned material. FABM FENCES. — FIG. 3. FENCES AND GATES. 29 FARM FENCES. Fig. 5 represents a plan of bracing a rail fence, whether it be staked aad ridered, staked and capped, locked and ridered, staked and wired, or Avired and pinned, all of which kinds of fence are easily blown down by a heavy wind, rails broken, stock let into fields of valuable grain, time spent, and patience exhausted in rebiiildiug them. The manner of using the arrangement is clearly shown in the figure. It consists in placing on the inside leeward corner a piece of rail, one end resting upon the ground, the other placed underneath the third rail fi'om the top. A fence braced as shown has stood five vears without repairing, while a locked, staked and ridered fence by the side of it has been prostrated three times, although in a less exposed situation, thus demonstrating the value of this attachment when used in connection with the common rail fence. Straiglit Rail Fence. — We present a section of straight rail fence, which will be found easy and cheap to construct, and economical in saving timber and occupy- ing space on the land. In constructing this fence good posts should be firmly set at such distances apart as will admit of the rails reach- ing from the center of one post to the center of the other. If necessary, straighten the face of the posts Avith an axe, and hew down the ends of the rails to a uniform thickness. These rails are fastened to the posts by means of a stake, which rests on a stone or block of wood, and is firmly wired at the top and bottom to the post. In constructing the fence it is better to Avire the bottom of the stake first— at the proper distance— and the top rather loosely, so as to admit the rails easily. When the rails are laid up draw the top wire tight, and if proper care has been taken in straight- ening the face of the post, hewing the ends of the rails, etc., iftie work Avill bind to- gether very tightly. The fence will last as long as the posts; it is strong, requires no nails, nor any more wire than to stake an ordinary crooked fence, and it takes but little over half the posts necessary for an ordinary board fence. *Ck**'^%>i^Sii^^^'^ FABM FENCES.— FIG. 5. SECTION OF STRAIGHT RAIL FENCE. THE FAliM. Durable Fence Posts._We give hercAvith a drawing and description of a fence post which we think will last one's life-time. The bottom of the post is formed of a stone — some kind that will drill easily — about eight inches thick and twenty long. In this stone two holes are drilled, one an inch and a quarter in diameter and three inches deep, and the other, half an inch in diameter and two inches deep; the holes should be about one foot apart. Bed the stone in the ground nearly level with the surface, Avith the small hole on the inside of the fence. Next take a scantling four inches square and three feet long, and put a bar of inch and a quarter iron into one end, lengthwise, about six inches. The end of the bar should project four or five inches. Place this into the largest hole in the stone, hold it pliimb, turn in melted brimstone, and you have a post. Bend the end of a rod of half inch iron, and fasten in the other hole in the same DtTRABLE FENCE POSTS. way; the other end should be flattened and attached to the scantling with a stout screw. The bar should set tight in the post, and about one inch space for air should be left between the scantling and stone. Always-Ready Gate- gate — a small gate for a barnyard or elsewhere, where a passageway is much used. It is very convenient. This gate savings in a V- shaped inclosure, or in two sides of a triangle. Having the top hinge the longest and the post plumb, the gate, at rest, always hangs in the center, and rightly constructed will alAvays leave a passageway of two feet. Cattle cannot get through it, nor do we think sheep will pass it. It is -We give an illustrated plan of an always-ready ALWAYS-READY GATE. no watching ways. always shut and always open. It requires to keep it closed, and will be found conveniGnt in many 'FENCJ<:s AND (^ATJ^S. Si A Good Farm Crate. — We present herewith an engraving of a good and serviceable farm gate, which may be easily and cheaply constructed as follows: Four posts are set firmly in line, so that the front will be true. Measure fourteen feet, on line with those already set, and set the post the gate shuts against. Then place the sill for the gate to run on, fourteen or sixteen feet long, put down solid. The sill for the gate to run back on can be made of any light material that will sustain the weight of the gate. The sill should have about one inch down grade toward the shutting post, and be spiked fast to S A GOOD FAKM GATE. the posts. The gate is made of any width lumber, and long enough to lap four inches on the shutting posts, and about two feet on the groove post, to keep it shady. At the bottom, the gate must have two boards to support the bolts that the rollers turn on. These rollers should be six inches in diameter, an inch thick, to run on half-round iron, placed at a proper distance from the bottom board of the fence, so as to let the gate pass without rubbing. The iron rod should have holes punched so as to let twelve-penny nails through to nail to the sill, about two feet apart. Nail down the rod and it is ready for the gate. The gate is put together with .sixteen two and one-half inch bolts and eight three and one-half inch bolts; the three and one-half inch bolts go through three boards at the bottom. The rollers (as per drawing) go between the bottom boards close under the brace, so as to get the bearing; the bolts should fit the rollers as tight as possible. These rollers in their place, put up the gate on the rod, and run it back on the fence; mark the four posts one inch above the top of the gate; saw them off square, in line; place on top of the posts a joist twelve inches wide, two inches thick; let it project over in front of the gate far enough to clear it; now nail a six-mch strip on the edge of the joist, so that the top edge will be even with the top side of the joist; the four inches projecting down will serve as a groove for the gate to run in and keep it in its place; now spike the joist to the top of the post firmly; let the gate lap on the shutting.post about four inches on half the posts; then nail the ends of the boards to the post occupy- ing the other half, so that the gate will shut against the butts, which will help sustain the post; now nail a board solid in line with the butts, and thick A CHEAP GATE. M THE FAR. enough to project a quarter to a half inch from the gate; nail a stout board on the previous one, and let it project over about three inches toward the gate, and in line with the post, so as to make a groove for the gate to stand in. If it is properly shaped the gate will jam in it and remain solid until it is removed back. A Clieap Gate. This gate, illustrated on preceding page, is designed merely for farm lase. Wood and metal or wire are combined in a novel manner in its con- struction. It may be cheaply made by un- skilled labor, and combines lightness with durability. The gate is composed of two wooden uprights, one at the hinge end and the other at the free end, two horizontal rails and an oblique brace connecting the rods. An iron brace connects the upper end of the inner upright, and is provided with an eye which receives the pintle of upper liinge. Wires are stretched between the up- rights, forming a complete panel. This gate is very light, and at the same time simple I and strong. FANCY GATES. — FIG. 1. Some Fancy Gates.— For the benefit of such readers as may be contemplating the luxury of a new front yard or garden fence, or, in fact, an ornamental fence of any de- scription, we present on this and the following page four neat and orna- mental designs of cheap, fancy framed gates, which any carpenter can make, and which may be used approi^riately with almost any style of picket or even with iron fences. These gates arc usually made three feet six or eight inches wide. The space between the posts for an ordinary door yard gate should be three feet ten inches. That is, however, a matter to be decided by convenience, and the use to which it is to be put. A wide gate is more convenient than a narrow one, especially where baby carriages and wheelbarrows are much used, and the gate is employed as a common and general entrance and exit by the family for all purposes. To Preser^-e Fence Posts. — A cor- respondent at Benton Harbor, Mich., sends us the following statement by Parker Earle (a Avidely known horticulturist), in the Chicago Times, and requests our oi^inion of his mode for preserving fence posts. In answer, it may be stated that no single experiment, or no single series of expei'iments under like circum- stances, can be adopted as a rule for unlike conditions. For general appli- cation, we would recommend first impregnating the whole of the post Avith crude petroleum as a general jireservative, and when dry apply hot tar to the portion going into the ground, but none above. The petroleum will penetrate the pores, and the tar coating will hold it there. The following is FANCY GATES. — FIG. 2. FENCES AND GATES. FANCY GATES Mr. Earle's statement: "In building a fence around our young orchard, several years ago, we tried many plans for preserving the posts. Having occasion to remove the fence this winter, we noted the condition of the posts as follows: Those set with no preparation were decayed an inch or more in thickness; those coated with a thick wash of lime were better preserved, but were quite seriously attacked by worms; those posts coated with hot tar were perfectly sound as when first put into the ground; those painted with petroleum and kerosene were equally sound, and as good as new. In future Ave shall treat all posts in the following manner before setting: Let the posts get thoroughly dry, and then, with a pan of cheap kerosene and a white- wash brush, give the lower third of the post, the part to go into the ground, two or three good apphcations of the oil, letting it soak in well each time. Posts so treated will not be troubled by worms or insects of any kind, but will resist decay to a remarkable degree. This we find to be the simplest, sasiest, cheapest, and best method of preservation." — Country Gentleman. Easy Method of Taking Up Posts—Wishing to take up fence posts, which were sound, and standing solid in heavy clay soil baked hard by drouth, a cor- respondent made his head save his muscle: "I found that by pouring a pail of water around the post it may be very readily loosened by the hand. Then by hooking a chain about it loosely, slipping the noose down as far as possible below the surface of the ground, and hooking the other end of the chain around a piece of light scantling, near the center, to act as a lever, the post may be lifted out of its bed very easily." A Good Feiice.—Eaise black walnut posts on the lot where they are wanted. If they grow fast they will do in from five to seven years. Use the barb wire. Black walnut injures crops less than almost any other tree. •No stock will gnaw or hurt it. The roots run straight down, so you can plow against the trunk. It grows straight and tall, and has but few limbs. The working of the tree will not break the wire. Black wal- nut will pay all expenses in a few years in fruit. Post and Rail Fences. — We give herewith plain directions, with appro- priate sketches, which we think will enable any ordinarily skillful farm-hand to make the simple machinery necessary for boring the holes in the posts, mortising them out, pointing the rails, digging the holes in the earth, and putting up a good and substantial rail fence. The posts are 7 1-2 feet long for a six-rail fence, which is the best and most generally used, and 3 to 4 inches thick by 7 to 8 inches wide. These posts are hewn out. The holes in the posts are oblong (up and down the post), and in size are 2 1-2x6 inches, FANCY GATES. — FIG. 4. 34 THE FARM, The rails are 9 1-2 feet long, and 5 to 6 inches wide by 2 to 3 inches thick on the bark edge, and a quarter to a half inch thick on the othpr edge. In building the fence the bark edge is placed doum, as the thin edge sheds rain or snow more readily, which prevents rotting so rapidly. The rails lap in the holes about five or six inches, as shown in the section, Fig. 4, In making the posts the timber is cut into proper lengths, and then split in proper size and hewn, leav- ing the ground end for two feet rough and unhewn, giving a stout base. This part of the Avork is done in the forest, after which they are hauled home, and put in piles ready for boring. The mode of making the oblong holes in the post is shown in the cut (Fig. 1), a representing the post, thin edge up. Two holes are bored with a two-and- a-quarter-inch auger at the points shown by the holes in the post on the trestle at a. The auger holes are six inches apart/ro?a outside to outside. The trestle frame is made of stout timber and planks, as shown in the fig- ure. The planks are put on the benches edgewise, and fastened with stout pins. A plank is placed from one bench to the other for the post to rest on, and these benches are eleven and a half feet apart. In the two planks it will be seen that notches are ^wed at points to cor- respond with the holes to be made by the auger. These notched planks are placed thirteen or fourteen inches iipart, to enable the round or square wheel (see Figs. 1 and 5) to run easily in between them. The post is held on the plank firmly by stout wooden pins and wedges. The bottom hole in the post is made two inches above the ground level. The next hole is three inches from the top of the bottom hole; the next four inches above that; the next is five above that; and the top hole is six inches above the one below it. In boring the holes the auger, which is firmly fastened in the wheel, must be moved (wheel and all, of course) into the proper notches, and in this way every post is bored FE-S^C'ES AN^D GATES. 35 alike, and all the holes in tiie post are the proper distance apart. After your posts are bored, the next step is to have a narrow-blade axe, with a short handle, as shown at e. Fig. 2 (a common axe, would do, however), and with this mortise out the holes, which is done by laying the post flat- wise on the ground, or on a stout, low trestle, similar to the " pointer " shown at Fig. 3. When one side is mortised half out, turn the post and finish. A good hand will bore and mortise fifteen posts a day with these tools. The i-ails for this kind of a fence are split out in the woods, 9 1-2 feet long, all of the same length. A good hand can cut down the tim- ber and split out one hundred of them in a day, in fair timber. They are hauled home gener- ally before being pointed. The epds of the rails should fill the holes as nearly as possible, so as to exclude moisture, the tighter the better. Pointing the rails is simple work. Two short-legged, stout trestles of any rough logs are placed about eight feet apart, as shown at Fig. 3, in each of which two large wooden pegs are driven to receive the rail, and between these pegs the rail is placed, thin edge up, and fastened in between the pegs Avith wedges of wood. They are now sharpened off to about an inch thick for six to eight inches, the corners slightly nipped, and the work is done. A man will point over two hundred in a day. To make holes in the earth, a digger (see Fig. 2) is used. It is about ten inches long by five wide, made perfectly straight, and to weigh, handle and all, about twelve pounds. It is made of good iron, laid with the best steel. Any blacksmith can make one. They cost about $1.50, without handle. The handle should be six feet long, and heavy. A club at one end would do for a ram- mer to run the dirt in the holes. In making the fence, set the first post firmly, and slip in one end of the rails, as shown at a, in Fig. 4. After the next hole is dug set the next post in, and before you put in the dirt place the other end of the rails in on both sides, and drive; then fill up and ram firmly, and so on to the end. Drive the rails Avith a wooden maul. Never use an axe. When you come to a corner, yon must have a large post with FIG. 2.— SHOVEL, AXE AND DIGGER. TRESTLE FOR POINTING THE RAILS. S6 THE FARM. holes in the sides— the other holes only half way through the post — to re- ceive the turn raila. In dig- ging the holes, a little prac- tice will enable you to throw Gilt over half of the dirt with the digger (see Fig. 2), es- pecially if the earth is tena- cious. After that a long- handled, small scoop shovel, as shown at d, Fig. 2, will be found serviceable. auger is about 3 1-2 feet long, FIG. 4. — SECTION OF THE SIX KAIL FENCE. We neglected to say that the handle to the and can be, as it usually is, fas- tened on by a blacksmith. The square wheel shown in Fig. 5 is easily made, and is about 5 feet in diameter. The trestle (Fig. 1) is 3 1-2 feet high. The auger is put in the wheel and hung on the trestle precisely Hke an ordinary grindstone. As to the best materials for this fence, black locust is the best for posts, mulberry next, then wliite oak. For rails, white oak, ash, walnut, and cotton- wood, in the order named. Fence foi' Marsli or Soft Soil. — T h e improvement we herewith illustrate is designed for braciug the common board fences built across low, marshy ground, that is overflowed at every fall of rain. The work, or face side, of the fence is supposed to (and should) front up-stream; in FIG. 5. — AUGER W^HEEL. FENCE FOE MARSH OR SOFT SOIL. the rear, and four feet from each post, is firmly driven into the ground a stake (K), left projecting one foot above the surface. This stake is connected Avith the. fence- post by strip (B), as indi- cated. The strength of the fence to resist the force of rushing water that may come in contact with it is in- creased tenfold. Where high winds are prevalent, fences may be braced in this way upon the leeward side. FIELD CROPS. "Wlieat Shoclcs.— The illustrations portray the various methods prac- ticed for securing wheat, rye, oats, etc., iu shocks, in which position they should be arranged. Wheat should be cut from five to ten days before maturity— that is, when about one-third of the chaflf is yet green, or while many of the berries can be mashed between the thumb and finger. The points gained thereby are: By thus early reaping the grain is not as liable to be prostrated by rain or high winds, and is not as hable to shell during the process of gathering. The grain secured by this process, and at the time indicated, is heavier, and the flour is better. Fig. 1 delineates a large, oblong shock which is made by placing ten sheaves in a double row, the bottom of each pair being a foot asun- der, set bracing and meeting at Hie top, the whole covered by two sheaves, whose ends, each side of band, are so spread that when in position they will afford a more secure protection from rain, and render the liability to derangement in high winds much less. In Fig. 2 is shown a very good plan for securing a dozen or more sheaves in a round shock, right angles above the center of the shock. Fig. 3 illustrates another mode of capping a round shock. But six sheaves should be placed upright in each shock, unless the straw be of extra length, as in the case of rye. Bind the caps securely near the butts, break- mg down all around before placing iu proper position. The latter is a mode seldom practiced, yet highly recommended by many farmers. Should the sheaves' be damp or contain slowly drying weeds, shock in the manner shown in Fig. 1, which exposes a greater area of each sheaf to the combined in- fluence of sun and air than by any other known process. Harvesting AVlieat. — Wheat, when cut before the grain has passed from the milk to the dough state, will shrivel and give small measure and light weight. The straw will be more valuable for fodder, however, than if harvested later. On the other hand, if left to become over-ripe, the grains grow harsh and rough, and the bran will be so thick and brittle that no after manipulation of the kernels will bring the wheat in condition to make the best quality of fioiir without carrying a large proportion of flour off with the bran. WHEAT SHOCKS. — FIG. 1. Two caps are used, crossing at 3S THE FARM. The cultivator's safety lies, therefore, between the extremes of early and late cutting. In a word, harvest the crop when the grain has passed from the milky stage to a doughy one. If the wheat be cut when the grain reaches the dough state, the bran will be thin and elastic, and can be separated more A^ HEAT SHOCKS. — FIG. 2, readily from the flour than when dead i-ipe. In addition to the flour being finer, it will also be increased in quantity in consequence of the bran being lighter than when ripe. A saving of w^heat is likewise gained, which otherwise would be lost by shelling in the field. The novice can ascertain the exact time when wheat and other small grain ought to be cut by opening heads in different portions of the field, and examining the ker- nels carefully. The straw near the ground Avill also proclaim the time for harvest by its yellow hue. Wheat cut in the dough state ought not to be dried suddenly. It may be bound and stacked at once, or, if there is only a small quantity, drawn to the barn. Some farmers put it into small stacks. If stacked so that the Avind and sun will not diy up all the juices in the plant, enough of these will be slowly con- centrated in the seed to accomplish the maturity of the grain in perfection. If by rapid I'ipening in the sun the kernels are shrivelled, more bran is formed in proportion to the flour. A large class of farmers practice threshing from the shock and hauling grain direct to market. The advan- tages of this plan vary with the season. When the wheat has been bleached out by hot suns and repeated rains, it should be stacked and go through the "sweat." During this process the straw and grain become damp and heat is evolved. At such times the grain cannot readily be threshed, therefore it is not advisable to attemj^t it until both straw and grain are dry. Then it ydW be found that the berry has been restored to color and exhibits a plump appearance, having absorbed nutritive matter from the stalk. The grain has not only undergone a change for the better, but the straw is also improved in quality. It is suggested that farmers take time to look about for extra fine heads of wheat for future seed. It will also be wise to carefully note the results of WHEAT SHOCKS. — FIG. 3. FIELD CHOPS. the several varieties grown, with a view to compariug their respective merits, aud selecting for another year's crop those sorts which promise best returns. When fertilizers have been used, it will also be well to mark the results. It is only by a careful comparison of diiferent plants under different treatments that a farmer surely arrives at conclusions which best suit the special require- ments of his land and his location. How to Stack Strav*'. — We give an illustration showing hoAV straw can be stacked so that it will be preserved from spoiling, and at the same time answer for a shelter to protect stock from the storms. The pen should be two or three logs high (or higher, if the logs are small), and large enough to corres^jond Avith the quantity of straw. Then set fence rails or poles all around inside of the pen, as represented. It can be biiilt at the tail end of the threshing machine, so that the straw can fall in it. It will require less hands to stack. D r a i li i n g W heat Fields—If no other method has been devised for drain- ing wheat fields, which are sometimes too wet, it will pay to plow furroAvs from the lowest spot to some lower point outside. Every experienced wheat grower knows that if water is al- lowed to stand upon the ground late in the fall, the crop will not only be direct- ly injured thereby, \>\\i will also be liable to be severely damaged by "winter kill- ing," and it should be the aim to prevent, as far as possible, both of these evils. A heavy rain will do little damage to a' wheat field if provision is made for the prompt removal of the surplus water, while a moderate rainfall upon undrained land which is already too wet will cause the destruction of many of the plants, and largely reduce the possible yield of the crop. While thor- ough drainage is much better than any makeshift which can be invented, it is much better to adopt the very imperfect plan recommended above than it is to make no provision for the protection of the crop from injury by an ex- cess of moisture in the soil. "Weevil in AVlieat. — A correspondent of an agricultural paper says: "Some years ago, hearing complaint of weevil in wheat about the close of harvest, when I was ricking my wheat, I got fi-esh slaked lime and threw over the rick in building it — laying two courses of sheaves, then lime suffi- cient to whiten the stack. A neighbor who threshed his wheat from the shock came to me a few days after, and said he should lose his wheat, for it was alive with weevil. I told him to throw lime over it, and shovel it through his wheat, which he did. Tavo davs later there was not a weevil seen in it," HOW TO STACK STRAW. 40 THE FARM. Wlieat Ma,xinis in Small Conipa-ss. — The fullowiug iuformation about wheat growing has been condensed: 1. The best soil for wheat is rich clay- loam; 2. "VVTieat likes a good, deep, soft bed; 3. Clover turned under makes just such a bed; 4. The best seed is oily, heavy, plump, and clean; 5. About two inches is the best depth for sowing the seed; 6. The drill puts in the seed better and cheaper than broadcasting; 7. From the middle of Sep- tember to the last of Octo- ber is the best time for sow- ing; 8. Drilled, one bushel of seed per acre; if sown broadcast, two bushels per acre; 9. One heavy rolling after sowing does much good; 10. For flour, cut when the grain begins to harden; for seed, not until ""^G 1 "' ^^ ^^^ hardened. All Oliio Corn Crib— We give an illustration (Fig. 1) of a very convenient and substantial double corn crib, with a wagon shed between. Such a crib can be built any size, and filled with grain, without the least sign of weakness. One is a brace for the other, and the more grain you have in it the firmer it will be. It is use- less to explain how the tim- bers should be put together^ and whore every door should be cut oiit, when one glance at the illustration will an- swer. Fig. 2 represents the double doors made to corre- spond with the entrance of the shed. The doors, when shut, are fastened to a piece of scantling, standing per- pendicular — one entering the beam, the other enter- ing a block put in the ground. The foundation can be of wood or stone, as suits best. This is what wo call the "Ohio Dutch Yan- kee com crib." Hilling Injurious to Com — Careful experi- ments have proved that corn which is hilled will blow down more readily than that which has level culture. This can be accounted for by the fact FIG. 2. FIELD CROPS. il that com roots run very near the surface, and when hills are made they are confined to the small space covered by the hill; while in level culture the roots run from one row to the other, thus enabling the corn to stand strong, as nature intended, and in no way liable to be blown down, except by winds of unusual violence. A Convenient Corn Crib. — We illustrate a very convenient style of com crib, which, while costing but a mere trifle more than an ordinary crib, pos- sesses some of the main advantages of a corn house; namely, a space pro- tected from the weather sufficient to accommodate a team with a wagon load of com. At the proper season the grain may be shelled therein, and it is an excellent place to shelter a lumber wagon. The plan needs but little expla- nation. It is simply two cribs placed side by side, and facing each other. The cribs and space between them are covered by one roof. The cribs should be about four feet wide at the bottom, and grow broader as they rise, the taper being on the outside; the projecting roof throws the water clear of A CONVENIENT COKN CBIB. the crib. The height should be sufficient to allow easy shoveling of the com from the wagon into the top of the crib. If one wishes to make it rat- proof, it may be elevated on posts, capped with inverted tm pans; but in that case it would hardly do to store tools in it. Some would suggest a floor and doors, which can easily be added to the plan, if desired. The best ma- terial is sawed scantlings for a frame, and three or four-inch-wide strips for sidmg. The roof may be made of matched boards. In case it should be determined to floor and hang doors, it would be well to board up the inside of the crib with matched stuff to the height of the eaves. Seed Corn — No one will deny that great care should be observed in se- lecting seed corn to plant, and yet numbers of farmers never see their seed com until it is carried to the field at planting- time. We think the best plan is to place a barrel in a corner of the crib, and throw in it every large and vigorous ear. Shell off about two inches of the large ends, in order to get the largest and most prolific grains. This produces a large and healthy plant, that grows much faster than small ones do. Many farmers may think it quite a tedious job to select every ear of com planted in this way; but they 42 THE FARM, will not find it so after giving it a trial, and selecting as much as possible on rainy days. This plan, once adopted, will ever be adhered to afterward. Try it; you will not regret it, but find it re- munerative. Cheap Corn Cribs . — There are many farmers who follow a mixed husbandry, and Avho raise comparatively' small quantities of corn, who cannot aflford to pay much for structures used for this pur- pose. For such we herewith give directions, accompanied with drawings, showing how a cheap and yet suitable crib may be made. The elevation (Fig. 1) is an excellent crib. The sills are four by six inches, framed; if only a small crib is needed, it will only be necessary to bore two-inch holes at each corner, and one intei-mediate, and insert sharpened sticks three inches square, to which secure slats horizontally, thrce-qiaarters of an ^^ COEN CRIBS CORN CRIBS. — no. 2. inch apart. As this structure has but one door, it is best to divide the room in two parts, the best or sound corn to be put in the near compartment, and the poor corn in front, where it may be first fed out. A still cheaper plan CORN CRIBS. — FIG. of construction is to use poles or small logs, secured together in the form shown in Fig. 2. This is an exceedingly cheap and expeditious manner of constructing a corn crib, If properly done, it will last for years, is easy of PtELD CHOPS. 48 access, and, with a good cover, coru will keep iu it as well as in those more expensive. Fig. 3 gives a side view of a crib constructed of poles or logs, showing the manner of splicing at A, A, the logs midway between the supports. Pin or nail the logs at the point of joining. In this way log cribs several hundred feet iu length are often constructed. Tlie Enemies of Corn. — Its enemies in the field, the bin, and the mill are numerous. Among its bird foes the crow is most dreaded by the farmer. He is a bold, saucy fellow, well endowed with bird sense, and soon sees a scare-crow is a humbug. The common devices used for this pui-pose — an open newspaper, bright tin, a clapping wind-mill, an eftigy, etc., are effective only for a short time, when something new must be found. A prac- tical farmer suggests that early planting will circumvent him, since he is not particularly an early bird. Another claims that the use of a planter which covers the seed and presses down the earth upon it has been a perfect de- fense for him. He has seen twenty crows pulhng away after the corn had got above the ground, and found they liad nipped the tops off, yet could not get. the kernel up. Great damage is often done to the corn crop by a corn- worm (Heliothus Armiga), identical Avith the boll- worm, so injurious to the cotton crop. The parent of the worm is a moth of brownish-yellow color, with dark brown or black markings. The caterpillar is green with black stripes and dark spots, and is covered with hairs. WTien full grown it measures about one and one- half inches. It is extremely voracious, though not particularly dainty, since it eats whatever comes in its way. Peas, stringed beans, tomatoes, pump- kins, cotton or corn are all one to his greedy api^etite. The moth deposits its eggs upon the corn silk, and the young caterpillars soon wwk then- way down to the tender kernel. When the caterpillar attains its full si^e it descends into the soil a few inches and there weaves its cocoon. Two or more broods are produced each year. Birds and parasites destroy this- insect both as worm and moth. Men destroy it by means of torches, lampa and lanterns, sometimes arranged over dishes of oil or water, into which it falls and drowns. Plates of vinegar and molasses put among the corn will entrap many of them. Aphis Maidis, a little plant louse, infests corn and lives upon its juicea. The eggs, which are laid in the ground, hatch in May, when the lice gather iipon the roots, and here remain until the roots harden so that they are driven to the stem and tassels, where they are found in great numbers about July. Their presence can be easily detected by an anny of red ants dancing attendance upon them, since they wear two black honey-tubes standing up like horns on the upper and hinder part of the abdomen, which secrete a sacchaiine fluid, of which the ants are very fond. They have a curious history of reproduction. The female deposits her eggs in the ground and dies. The brood are Avingless females, and without the intervention of the male bring forth alive another female brood. These do likewise, and so continue for five or six or more generations. The last brood are both males and females. These pair again, and deposit their eggs, which remain over winter in the ground, and the next spring begin the same round over again. It is claimed that nothing but cropping against them is of any avail. The corn-stalk borer is a comparatively new enemy, or, at any rate, has been only lately described. The moth is of an ashy-gray color, and probable 44 'I HE FARM. lays her eggs near the base of the leaf where the leaf is sheathed around th^ stalk. The worm is orange yellow, with rows of reddish warts, and a flat, black head, with which it bores its way into the stalk. It sheds its skin four times before it attains full growth. The cocoon is woven within the stalk, and the moth makes its exit through the holes bored by the worm. Three or more broods are produced each year. It hibernates in stalks and stubble. The stalks not eaten by stock should be burned early in February, and the stubble should be plowed up and burned, or plowed under very deeply. Cui-ing Corn Fodder. — Much com fodder is spoiled while being cured. A good way to prevent this is to set firmly in the ground a small stake or large-sized bean-pole, around which a few armfuls of corn is set, and bound securely near the top. This makes a firm center around which to build. Then set up more corn, placing it evenly all around, and leaning it no more than is necessary to have it stand. When enough is placed to make a large stock, all that can cure, draw a rope, with a slip noose in one end, around the stock as tight as convenient, using a step-ladder to stand upon if the corn is very tall. An assistant can now bind with a straw band or with selected stalks, after which the rope may be removed. If doing the work alone, the rope can be tied while the band is being put on. Corn fodder well put up in this way may be kept, if desired, in the field till winter. Saving Seed Corn. — To save seed com successfully in a cold climate, you should not keep it in a warm place, or especially Avhere it is warm but a part of the time, as there is danger that the changes of temperature may de- stroy the germinative power. Continued Avarmth is also conducive to de- composition, which will destroy the life of the seed. Corn and similar seeds are best kept in a dry, cool room, where the temi^erature is uniform. When your seed from the "small pile over the living-room" failed to germinate, the cause was probably due to both dampness and warmth, which incited incipient decay. Seeds differ greatly in the degree of cold they will endure ■without losing vitality. Corn has germinated after having been subjected to the most intense cold of the polar regions, and an experiment is reported m which other seeds germinated after having been frozen into a cake of ice. Corn Culture. — "The suckers," says H. M. Engle, in a prize essay, "should, under all circumstances, be taken off before they appropriate too much substance which the main stalks should receive, but under no circum- stances allow suckers to tassel, for, whatever pains may be taken to bring or keep corn at its greatest perfection by selection of seed, the pollen from the sucker may undo what has been gained by years of careful selection, I would as soon think of breeding from a scrub male to a thoroughbred ani- mal as to have the pollen from suckers cast upon an excellent variety of com. It is also well known that the pollen from a neighboiing field is oft- times carried to an almost incredible distance, and consequently may cause more mixture than is desirable." Points on Corn. — Deep plowing among growing corn after the roots have met in the rows is disastrous; "root pruning" is a mistake; to break the roots checks the growth, and in hot, dry weather deep cultivation will surely cause the com to curl, showing injuring and suffering, while shallow working will keep it fresh and green. As soon as a crust is fomied on the soil, it should be broken up to admit both moisture and air, for the one dis- solves the fertilizing matter which is in the soil, and the latter effects its de- FIELD CHOPS. 4ii composition and renders it soluble. So that after a rain, which has crusted the surface, the cultivator should be started as soon as the soil is dry enough; this tends to hold the moisture and prevent speedy evaporation. Raising Ooocl Corn in a Dry Season. — " Some Yankee," says a prac- tical farmer, " will ask, ' How do you raise good com in a drouth ?' I'll tell. I plowed and rolled my ground, spread my manure on, and harrowed it in; put a handfiil of hen manure and fine bone composted in the hill; cultivated it fiat; did not hill any. When the drouth came, cultivated, but veiy shal- low; the result was a good ci'op. On another plot the manure was spread on the sod and tui-ned under without any fertilizer in the hill, and was al- most a failure. My neighbors report that they have very fau- corn on land that the manure was spread on after plowing and fertilizing in the hill." Plusking. — Some people who husk corn throw the shock upon the ground, spread it out, and go to work on their knees. They know no better. If they will make a frame four feet Avide and long enough to hold a shock after it is spread out, with a board in the middle running lengthways to sit on, they will iind they have done a sensible thing. The frame may be eigh- teen inches high, or any other height they may like better. Cabbages witli Corn. — A writer in the Fruit Recorder says that one of his neighbors planted some cabbage among his corn where the corn missed, and the butterflies did not find them. He has therefore come to the conclu- sion that if the cabbage patch were in the middle of the corn patch, the but- terflies would not find them, as they fly low and like plain sailing. Potato CiUttire. — Destroying the potato beetle, says the American (Jid- tivator, and its even more destructive larvae, has come to be the most im- portant point in the successful growing of j^otatoes. Paris green is the com- mon agent emi^ioyed, though London purple is cheaper, equally effective, and has the advantage, Avhen used with w^ater, of being soluble, while Paris green, under similar conditions, is insoluble. It does not follow, however, because these poisons will do the work, that every grower can make them equally effective. In their indiscriminate use the inexperienced cultivator is hable to do more harm than good. The young potato shoot is very tender, and either Paris green or London purple applied in too strong doses wiH bum the vines. If the vines be injured at this early stage of their growth from any cause, the resultant crop will be greatly diminished. For nearly all early planted potatoes, when the vine gi-ows slowly, hand picking to destroy the first crop of beetles is very important. It should be performed as soon as the shoots are up, and, if possible, before any eggs are laid. In a potato-growing section, where old beetles from last year's hatch appear by the thousands, this indeed involves considerable labor. In fact, in such a locality it is not easy to grow early potatoes on a large scale. From a few short rows in a garden we have picked up by count between eight hundred and nine hundred beetles on a warm, sunshiny half-day, just as the potatoes were coming up. The next day the process was repeated, Avith nearly half as many beetles secured, while more or less in number were gathered every subsequent day for a week. It was just at the time the beetles were coming out of the ground, and the garden potatoes being early planted, attracted all the beetles in the neighborhood. It is of little avail to attempt to poison these beetles in the spiing. Occasionally one will eat as expected, but the majority are too busy propagating and laying egga to 46 77/ i^' rAtiU. attend to anything else. It is the fact that beetles are very numerous iu spring, together with the difficulty in destroying them by poison, which frightens so many from the business. The inexperienced grower is apt, as soon as he finds his vines infested, to prepare a dose of poison, making it of very great strength, so as to make certain of killing the enemy. In nine cases out of ten the tender vines are injured, and the beetles are seldom appreciably diminished in numbers. With close hand jjicking at first, and a reserving of the poison until the larvae make their appearance, the result is very difterent and much more satisfactory. The main crop of potatoes should be planted late— that is, if large quan- tities are to be grown. Planting a few in the garden or somewhere else, as a bait to draw the first beetles, greatly lessens the subsequent work. Even in the same field the potato beetle is more destructive on some varieties than on others. Those who have grown the Magnum Bonum say it is especially liable to attack. Grown alongside other varieties, the bugs sin- gled out this, while the others largely escaped. It has been siTggested that one or two rows of this kind be planted around the potato field as a protec- tion to the main crop. On the other hand, it is said the Early Gem is especially distasteful to the bugs. There is probably some difference in the comparative liability of different varieties to this insect attack. We have generally found, however, that tlie larger growing varieties and the strongest hills of the same variety are least injured. It is possible to plant on highly- manured ground, with seed so Aigorous that its rapid growth will largely reduce the cost of fighting the bugs. The female beetle instinctively chooses a vine that is a feeble grower on which to deposit her eggs. Where the vine is full of sap, either the eggs will not be laid or many of them will fail to hatch. We hope very much, from the results of recent experiments, iu dis- covering the true way to cut potato seed. If the proper cutting of potato seed will insure greater vigor or growth, many of the difiiculties in fighting the potato beetle \d\\ be overcome. It should not be forgotten that the potato grower has insect friends as well as enemies. All kinds of lady-bugs eat the eggs of the potato beetle. It is the abundance of these lady-bugs about old apple orchards that often makes i)otato gi'owing siiccessful near an orchard when the field crop Avill be entirely destroyed. There are several varieties of insects that prey on the potato larvae. Farmers who use no poison sometimes find dead potato bug larvje on their vines. These dead specimens should always be left undis- turbed, as in all probability they are filled Avith eggs of the parasite that has destroyed them, only needing opportunity to hatch and continue the good woi-k. On general principles, if any insect is found iu the potato field whoso habits are not known, it is best to leave it undisturbed, since it is quite probably a friend engaged in destroying the farmer's enemies. Entomolo- gists have discovered thirty or more insect enemies of the potato bug in its various stages of growth, and there are probably others not yet known. But for these friendly insects difficulties in growing potatoes Avould be much greater than those which now prevail. Pliospliate for Potatoes. — Wm, T. Woerner, of New Brunswick, N. J., writes: "In planting potatoes I have used no other manure than phosphate of some reliable brand, for the last ten years, and in that time I have not had a gi'ub-eaten potato where I put the phosphate. All my potatoes grow as smooth as a bottle, and of a large, salable size. I never use stable manure of any kind on potatoes now. I would not put it on if it was given to me, FIELD GROFS. il and I had to pay fifty dollars per ton for phosphate. My neighbors have tried it with a like result. It is a very cheap fertilizer; on good ground I only use about two bags per acre (400 lbs. ) , which is a good manuring on ordinary soil. I have raised four hundred bushels to the acre with nothing but phosphate, applied in the row." A Handy " Bug-Catclier."_Although it is now the custom of most of our farmers to rid theii- crops of that terrible pest, the potato bug, by Paris green poisoning, still we think the following illustrated sketch of a bug- catcher, sent by a gentleman who has used the contrivance with great suc- cess, will prove interesting and profitable to our readers. He says: " With the pan I use for catching Colorado beetles, any one can do as much work as three or four people collecting the pests, according to the ordinary method CONTRIVANCE FOR CATCHING THE POTATO BEETLE. of hand picking. The pan is made of tin, and any tinman can fashion it. It is a box or pan, two feet long, one foot wide, and six inches deep. The bot- tom should be round, or cylindrical, so that the rim of the pan can be got close to the ground when the vines are small. Stiffen the edge with wire. On the inside, at the top, solder a rim or flange about three-quarters of an inch wide. This should slant downward somewhat, as its object is to pre- vent the ' bugs ' from crawling out when once they have gone in. On one side of the pan solder or rivet a handle, such as those on common tin milk- pails. On the same side as the handle solder a sliield of tin eighteen inches high, and of the same length as the pan, slanting backward a httle. The edges should be stiffened with wire. About four inches from the top of the shield, and in the center, solder a loop or ring large enough to admit the arm to the shoulder. In using, insert the left arm through the loop, and is THE FABM. grasp the lower handle with the hand, then, holding the pan close up to the vines and near the ground, with a crooked stick, like the one represented, gather the vines over the pan, giving them a smart shake against the shield and over the pan. A good, active man, with this contrivance, can ' bug ' an acre of potatoes effectively in two hours." Tlie Potato Disease. — There are many devices suggested for avoiding the disease known as potato rot. There is one made by an English writer, who says it has been found that " by hilling the plants up very high as soon as the blight appears, the spores are prevented in a great measure from being washed down by the rains, and the rot consequently much di- minished. It was found that although the spores were readily washed downward through one or two inches of earth, they very rarely reached a depth of five inches. The experiment was repeated many tunes Avith the uniform result that where the plants were not hilled up, and the tubers lay but one or two inches deep, the percentage ©f rot was very large. But Avhere the tubers were covered to the depth of five inches, the damage from the disease was inconsiderable." If a physician were to say to a patient having the small-pox that if the lower part of the body were swathed in wet sheets the disease would not get down to the legs and feet, it would be a parallel suggestion to this. The rot is a disease which infects the whole plant. It has been found that when the disease began in the tops at a late stage of the growth, mowing off the diseased tops saved the tubers. This ia something like amputating a gangi-ened limb to save the body, and is a rea- sonable remedy. But the spores are not always, and are in fact rarely, ripe at the season of growth, and are generally in the soil and infect the i)lant from the roots. The tubers are not roots, but stems, and receive the infec- tion from the roots when the source of it is in the soil. When the leaves are infected by spores, carried in the air from distant fields, where they have re- mained during the resting season, the disease spreads through the tissues of the plant and reaches the tubers in that way, from within, and not from without. The spores are not free until the plant decays, being set free by the decomposition of the diseased tissues. This being distinctly known, it. becomes of the greatest importance to destroy the infected vines by burning them, and thus preventing the soil from infection by the matured spores in the leaves and stems. Earthing up the potatoes might possibly have helped to preserve the tiabers from the disease by removing the water from the saturated soil; this water being injurious to the plant and producing all the conditions favorable to the spread of the disease. A more healthful condi- tion of the plants would tend to prevent tlxis unhealthful condition and con- fine the disease to the leaves and stems, and save the tubers. But every one who has had diseased potatoes, knows that tubers, apparently sound when dug, will rot in the cellar. This is because the disease is already in them when they are dug, and develops in them in the course of time from the infection. Earthing up cannot save them then, nor can it at any other time, excepting through its influence in the way we have pointed out. But here, where our seasons are not so wet, it would not avail us as it might the farmers of sodden England or Scotland or Ireland, where " the rain it rain- eth every day," more or less. This difference of climate is very important to be remembered when considering such matters as this from an English view. , Metliods of Raising Potatoes — There is, writes a practical farmer, a great variety of opinion in regard to raising potatoes, size of seed, and culti-- Pi ELD OiiOPB. 49 Vation. Some advocate large, Avhile others prefer small potatoes for seed, thinking that they are as good or better than large ones. They may raise good crops from small seed for one or two years, but if they do not obtain their seed from those that do take pains to select large seed, I think they will soon find their potatoes run out and become small. Why do we select a nice, well-shaped ear of corn for seed, not always the largest, but the best developed? Also, why screen wheat, oats, etc., to secure the plumpest and best seed to plant or sow ? (At least we should if we do not.) We thereby raise a better quality of grain, and more of it, from year to year. I do not wish any one to infer that we should take the largest potatoes for seed, but those of a good marketable size, of nice shape, free from warts, scabs or other deformity. Having my seed selected, I cut them to single eyes, or at most two, and plant them in drills three feet apart, and fifteen inches apart in the drills, having the drills deep, in well-plowed and thoroughly pulverized soil. I prefer a piece that had corn on the previous year, Nvell manured and plowed in for that crop, and kept under good cultivation during the season. On po- tatoes I use some good commercial fertilizer that has plenty of potash in it, and use it hberally — iOO to 500 pounds per acre. This will help keep the wire-worms away, and will increase the potatoes in size and quality, I am quite certain. I harrow, as soon as I see the first plants breaking the ground, with a smoothing harrow, to kill all the weeds that may have started. I cultivate often, whether there are any weeds or not, until they are in blossom. I have never failed to raise a good crop of nice smooth po- tatoes, and there was always a ready market for them. I often get consid- erable more than market price for them, which is quite an advantage in a plentiful season. My crop averaged about 500 bushels per acre last sea- son. How to Keep Sweet Potatoes. — A Texas writer says: I would like to give my plan for keeping sweet potatoes. I think the most essential thing is to dig them at the proper time, and I think that time is about the full moon in October (that is, in Texas). No matter about the weather, unless the ground is too wet. I never wait for frost; but if frost comes before the full moon, dig as soon as possible, or at least before any rain. I dig with a bull-tongue plow; but any way, so they are not cut or bruised too much, will do. In gathering them, sort out the cut ones; but before putting up let them have at least one day's sun. If the ground is wet, two days is better; but in no case let them take the dew of the night. I put them in a shallow cellar under some house, say from three to four feet deep. After they are put away, throw a little fine, dry dirt over them, just enough to dust over the cuts. That will cause them to dry and not commence rotting. Let them lay that way till the weather begins to turn cool. Then begin to cover up as the weather gets colder, till they are from ten to twelve inches deep; in all cases cover with dry dirt. I difi"er with those who want straw ©r leaves under potatoes; I want them on the ground. When they are banked outdoors they should be on an elevated place, or throw up the dirt so water will not stand about them. Put the potatoes on the naked ground, about twenty-five or thirty bushels in a bank; set up corn stalks around them; then throw some grass or leaves on the stalks; bank up enough of dirt against the stalks to hold them. Let them stand that way till the weather begins to get cool; then begin to cover. When the weather gets verv cold thev should be covered at least twelve inches; but in warm 50 fH£ PARM, weather they should have a little air at the top. In all cases have theril well sheltered; a very small leak will ruin a bank of potatoes. Points About Potatoes—In the judgment of the South Deerfield (Mass.) Farmers' Club, potatoes, when properly cared for, are, next to tobacco, the best paying crop a farmer can raise. The trouble is, potatoes are too often neglected and receive attention only when other crops are cared for. Turf land is the best, except in vexy diy seasons. Plow in the fall and harrow in a good coat of manure in the spring. Furrow out, and in the hills apply ashes and tobacco stalks cut about six inches long, at the rate of sixteen loads per acre. Twelve hundred pounds of fish and potash to the acre, harrowed in, with a little phosphate in the hill, produced a good crop. More attention should be given to selecting good seed potatoes. Use good-sized smooth tuber cut into four pieces. Change the seed every year or two. The Early Kose is the best kind for home use. Peerless, Beauty of Hebron, and Burbank Seedling give larger yields, but are inferior in qualitj^ The Snowflake bakes well. Early Vermont resembles Early Rose, and is better in yield and quaUty. Hoeing potatoes is best done with a horse-hoe or tobacco-ridger. Go through the piece three times with a horse-hoe, and you wouldn't need to put a hoe into it; that is, on smooth land free of stones. To get ahead of the bugs, cover the potato tops about an inch deep as soon as they are up; in about a week cut a lot of small potatoes into four or more j)ieces and wet them and sprinkle Paris green on them, stirring well until the pieces are covered with it; scatter these pieces over the field, and the beetle will eat them and die. If all do not partake of this wholesome diet and slugs ap- pear, apply Paris green mixed with plaster. Potatoes are a paying crop at fifty or sixty cents a bushel, and the small ones are excellent to feed hogs, stock, and horses. Getting Potatoes Early. — Some years ago, writes a correspondent of the Qardener^s Moni/dy, 1 conceived the idea of planting my potatoes with shoots to them. Probably the sprouts suggested the idea; at any rate I car- ried out the plan, and have been so well pleased with it-that I have followed it out for three years. A few weeks before planting time I select my seed potatoes, and set them in a warm place to sprout. By the time my ground is ready the shoots are about three inches in length. The potatoes are handled carefully, so as not to break the growth, and cut up in suitable sizes, as in the ordinary way. One strong shoot is left to each piece. The sets must be put into the ground carefully, of course, or the shoots will be broken off. As growth commences at once, the green tops show in a few days. There is easily a saving of two weeks time at the start. Those who have rather a low ground, which cannot be worked very early in spring, as I have, will find this method will enable them to compete with their neigh- bors on higher gi'ound, with success. By July 10th, I was using fine Beauty of Hebrons (an excellent early sort by the way), planted April 25th. They were not then fully ripe, though the yellow tint in the leaves was getting quite perceptible. Generally the tops are dead at this date, but an unusu- ally fine potato season kept them growing later this year. Raising Potatoes. — The following suggestions are from a practical farmer: I select a piece of suitable ground in the fall. Sod is best. Ma- nure it heavily with good barnyard manure, and plow under so as to let the FIELD CROPS. 51 sod rot before cold weather; then in the spring I manure with well-rotted manure on the surface, and harrow thoroughly till the manure is com- pletely incorporated Avith the soil; then I mark one way three feet apart and plant two pieces in a place about one foot apart, about four inches deep. Then, just as the potatoes begin to break ground, I harrow thoroughly, then cultivate till it is time to lay by; then I use a single-shovel plow to hill them with; keep all weeds down — they are death to potatoes. I have raised from 450 to 500 bushels to the acre in favorable seasons. Now, as to the seed: I cut to a single eye; I would as soon think of plant- ing a whole ear of corn in a hill as a whole potato. I have often, in case of a new kind, exit the eye cluster into three or four pieces, and had a good hill from each piece. As to time of planting, I always try to get my whole crop in for early potatoes. I believe the earlier they can be got in the more cer- tainty of a good crop. As to kinds, I have raised legions of them, but for early, the Beauty of Hebron; for medium, the Burbank's Seedling and the Mammoth Pearl; and for late, the Belle and the Late Kose. Of course, others are good and may do better in other places. Nov Remedy for Potato Bugs. — A farmer successfully tried a remedy for potato bugs, as follows: He procured a number of boards and placed them here and there among his potatoes, and on these boards were placed raw potatoes sliced. At noon on the first day of the experiment he and his hired men found every piece of potato covered with bugs. The men killed this crop, and at night another crop was killed, though not so large, and in a week not a bug could be seen, and his trouble with bugs after this was comparatively small. He thinks it would be a good plan to dip the pieces of potato in Paris green, as it would save the work of killing the bugs. Potatoes ill "Winter. — Potatoes stored in cellars, in some cases, rot. To check or prevent this, keep the cellar as cool as possible without freez- ing. Then scatter quick-lime over them. This is of threefold benefit. It keeps them from rotting, makes the potatoes dryer and better, and disin- fects the atmosphere, preserving the family from malarial fevers. Expei-iinents in Plowing. — Mr. Knox, a veteran plow-maker, has called our attention to the effect of deep plowing of some soils to offeet the danger from lack of rains in dry seasons. Some years ago an experi- ment was made by a Western Massachusetts farmer in plo^ving poiiions of a large field at varying depths. One part was turned over seven inches deep, another ten inches, and a third, after being plowed ten inches, was sub- soiled to the depth of ten inches more, making a soil comparatively loose to the depth of twenty inches. The next year, which was a dry one during the summer, corn was grown upon the whole field, which was treated uni- formly throughout, and the yield of the three divisions carefully measured. The seven-inch plowing yielded as Avell as the ordinary fields in the vicinity. That part plowed ten inches deep was greener all through the season, and gave decidedly better jdeld, but that which was plowed ten inches, and sub- soiled ten inches in addition, produced just one-third more corn than that plowed in the usual way, seven inches deep. The next year the whole field was by agreement sowed to oats, as a continuation of the experiment, the season proving even drier than the preceding one, when corn was grown. When the oats were about ready to cut, Mr. Knox, being in the neighbor- hood, called to see them. Before reaching the farm, the field came in view from the Car windows, and Mr. Knox, who was on the lookout, said to 52 THE FARM. a oompanionj that the gentleman had not done as he agreed, for he could see that he had sown different kinds of grain upon the different plots, the size and color of the growth both niai'king the lines, dividing the land plowed at three different depths. But on arriving at the field he found nothing but oats, and as stated by the owner, all sown on the same day, and treated pre- cisely alike in every respect. On the shallow plowed section, the growth was short and the straw yel- low; on the ten-inch ploAving the oats were taller and less yellow, while on the sub-soiled portion they were green and very heavy. The final tests showed full one-third more grain on the sub-soiled part than on that which was plowed only seven inches deep. Now, it will not do for farmers to calculate that deeply stirring every kind of soils would alone add fifty per cent, in the yield of crops grown upon them the following two years, for they would doubtless be disappointed in very many cases. Yet, as a rule, a deep, mellow soil from which surplus water can readily settle -wdthout making the land into mortar, and through which the same moisture can again freely rise by capillary attraction, other things being equal, will always bring a farmer the better results. There are soils which naturally are never too wet, and rarely too dry, and it will usually be found on examination, that they ai-e in the same mechani- cal condition for a considerable depth, say two feet or more, that one likes to have his surface soil, light, friable, and containing a due proportion of vege- table matter. They will also be found to contain sand and clay in about the right proportion to keep the soil both mellow and moist through the varying climatic conditions. Deep plowing of stiff clays is often dangerous at first; but a good dry soil suits all kinds of crops in all kinds of weather. Deep plowing tends to make such a soil, but this alone will not always be sufficient. Draining and manuring must accompany deep plowing. Early or Late Fall Plowing. — There is this against early fall plow- ing, that it favors the springing up of grass and weeds, which necessitates re- plowing in the spring. The fall rains, should they be heavy, will pack the surface of clay soil, which the frost that follows does not always relieve, and never if pressed during the winter by a deep snow. This not only compels plowing in the spring, but the soil then turns up rough, and generally too wet and sticky, and also it is necessarily done late in the season, so that fall plowing, instead of benefiting, hurts it, and the crop for the season is lost or seriously affected— the land shoAving it for a year or two more. But as the season is now advanced, there is Uttle danger from the rains; the land would rather be benefited by them. Late plowing, therefore, is in order. Land ordinarily the wettest can now be plowed to the greatest advantage. It requires more power to break it, but the improved condition in the spring will more than pay the expense. This is a point not sufficiently considered. If late fall plowing is an advantage, better still if it can be done in winter or early in spring, so as to be followed by freezing and thawing. My best success has been obtained by winter and early spring plowing. Yet there is hardly a year in Avhich one of the three seasons — either late in the fall, during the winter or early in the spring— is not available. To make as sure as pos- sible, do the work in the fall, if the ground will admit, but avoid making mortar. The same applies to winter and early spring. Other soils, especially the sand and leaohy shales, have less to fear from water; they are also less benefited by the frost. They are the soils, therefore, that may be left unplowed till spring. One of the difficulties with FIELD VMOFS. 58 spring plowing is that it does not allow of the winter application of manure, should it be required, though with an early spring and favorable weather, this may be done without interfering much with the work Avhich usually requires all the time. The aim s-hould be always to get the plowing done near to winter (or in it) as possible, so as to get the benefit of the freezing and thawing, and avoid the packing of the heavy rains. The Philosopliy of Hoeing — It may be overdone- or underdone. There is reason in everything, "even in reasting eggs," as the saying is. So in hoeing crops. If we hoe up the soil ia large lumps, as we are apt to do with the xery serviceable modern prong-hoes, we let the keen, dry air into con- tact with the starting but enfeebled roots, and, by their parching, an irre- parable injury is done. Such lumps should be crushed down so as 'to be permeable to air throughout, and yet serve to protect the roots from its free sweep. But, as in avoiding Scylla we may run to wreck on Charybdis, so, in crushing the soil, we may make it too fine, in wliich case the first heavy rain will run the surface together in a crust impervious to the air, and, for want of enough of air, essential to active root action, growth will be checked until the hoe or its equivalent is used. Q,aantity of Seed to an Acre—The following should be kept for reference: "Barley, broadcast, two to three bushels; bean, pole, in hills, ten to twelve quarts; beets, in drills, five to six pounds; broom coi'n, in hills, eight to ten quarts; buckwheat, one bushel; cabbage, in beds, to transplani, half pound; carrots, in drills, three to four pounds; Chinese sugar canw twelve quarts; clover, red, alone, fifteen to twenty pounds; clover, alsike, alone, eight to ten pounds; clover, lucerne or alfalfa, twenty pounds; corn, in hills, eight to ten quarts; corn for soiling, three bushels; cucumber, in hills, two pounds; flax, broadcast, one and one-half bushels; grass, Ken- tucky blue, three bushels; grass, orchard, three bushels; grass, EngUsh rye, two bushels; grass, red top, three bushels; grass, timothy, one-half bushel; grass, Hungarian, one bushel; grass, mixed lawn, four bushels; hemp, one and one-half bushels; mustard, broadcast, half bushel; melon, musk, in hills, two to three pounds; melon, water, in hills, four to five pounds; millet, common, broadcast, one bushel; oats, broadcast, two to thr-ee bushels; onion, in drills, five to six pounds; onion for sets, in drills, thirty pounds; onion, sets, in drills, six to twelve bushels; parsnips, in drills, four to six pounds; peas, in drills, one and one-half bushels; peas, broadcast, three bushels; potatoes (cut tubers), ten bushels; pumpkin, in hills, four to six pounds; radish, in drills, eight to ten pounds; rye, broadcast, one and one- half to two bushels; salsify, in drills, eight to ten pounds; spinach, in drills, twelve to fifteen pounds; sage, in drills, eight to ten pounds; squash, bush varieties, in hills, four to six pounds; squashy running varieties, hills, three to four pounds; tomatoes, to transplant, quarter pound; turnip, in drills, one pound; turnip, broadcast, half pound; vetches, broadcast, two to three bushels; and wheat broadcast, one and one-half to two bushels." Soaking Seeds — I am often asked, writes a New England agriculturist, whether it does any good to soak seeds before sowing th«m ? In general I believe it does more harm than good, and if dona at all, a good deal of judgment should be used to prevent mischief. Thus peas, beans and corn are often soaked to hasten germination with the belief that they will come a day or two earlier, but in case the weather is cold and wet for some time after sowing the seed, it will be more likely to suffer- injury from the weather hi THE FARM. than if sown dry. Especially is this true of the McLean pea and other deli- cate green peas, and of the various kinds of sweet corn. When the weather is dry and hot, however, it may be an advantage to steep the seeds before using them, and especially so in the case of seeds that are slow to germinate, snch as celery and parsnips and carrots. To steep these seeds for a few days until germination has started and then dry them just enough to make them pass readily through the seed drill, will hasten their coming up, so that weeding will be less difficult in case the laud is foul: but such seed should not be sown upon foul land if it can be avoided. Care is required in steeping seed that fermentation does not occur, which Avill frequently kill the seed. It may be arrested by turning off the water and spreading out the seed thinly upon a piece of sheeting and partially drjang it. To steep seeds in chemical solutions with the belief that this will answer in place of fertihz- iug the land, I believe, is sheer humbug and imposition upon common sense. The only chemical stufifs that have proved useful, so far as I know, arc the blue vitriol to destroy germs of smut, strychnine to destroy crows and black- birds and a smearing of tar on coni seed for protection from these birds. Raisiug Roots. —The average farmer is now devoting all his energies to the production of the greatest possible number of bushels of grain. Concen- tration of effort is generally commendable, but when applied to oue particu- lar branch of agriculture to the exclusion of others just as important, or to the detriment of the whole enterprise, it is not commendable. In other words, it is very bad management, and the evil effects of such a course will, sooner or later, become manifest in the exhaxisted condition of the soil, where this system of indiscriminate grain raising has been pursued. The true pohcy of farming is to produce good crops and feed them out, so far as practicable, upon the farm. The larger the stock carried on the farm the greater will be the amount of fertilizing material produced. In this case, good management Avould consist in growing those crops from which we could realize the greatest return per acre, thereby enabling us to carry more stock upon a given area. Considered in this way, the root crop is an important factor in stock raising, as it jields largely to the acre, and is a most nutritious and whole- some diet, when stock is deprived of other green food during the feeding months. Aside from their nutritious qualities, roots possess a mechanical value of no less importance, as they materially aid in the assimilation of dry food, which too often forms the exclusive diet of stall-fed stock. Of all roots, carrots are the most nutritious, and when the soil is deep, rich, a«d mellow, they will yield enormously, sometimes as high as ten or twelve tons to the acre. They keep well and can be fed all the year round if properly cared for. They are not so easily harvested as the beet and man- gold, as the roots penetrate deeply into the soil, necessitating the use of the spade or plow when harvesting. Probably, for this reason, they are not so extensively raised as they should be. The mangold seems to be the favorite at present, as, perhaps, all things considered, it should be. Under the most favorable circumstances it Avill \deld even heavier than the carrot, and it also keeps well for spring feeding. Rutabagas and turnips come last in the order when considered as to their respective values. The greatest argument in their favor is, that they can be raised with the least labor and can be raised as a second crop, sown late in the season. This is particularly the case with the turnip, which may be gown as late as August 1st. PISLD CHOPS. 55 To raise roots profitably, wo must, of course, do away as far as possible, with all hand labor. The garden or field should be long and narrow, with the drills running lengthwise, so that horse-power may be used to advan- tage when cultivating them. For sowing, the garden seeder, run by hand, is the best implement. When rightly managed this work need not interfere with other farm work. Many farmers have an idea that such crops must be in the ground the very first of the season, before the other field crops are sown; but such is not the case. Those calculated for feeding out to stock should not be started out before the first of June. By leaving them until this time, the seeds will germinate more surely and rapidly, and the weeds will not have three or four Aveeks the start of the plants, as is the case when sown early in the spring. Let us have acres of roots this year instead of rods. I am confident that the farmer who sows and properly cares for an acre of roots this year, will want two acres or more next year. -Storing Root.'^. — A writer in the Nebraska Farmer says: " We always find turnips put in the cellar become pithy and worthless. My method is to obviate this, and I do it in this way: When I pull my turnips I cut off the top way down into the turnip, cut deep enough to cut all the eye out; then cut the root off smooth and nice, and you have them in a condition to place in a cool part of the cellar, or to bury out in open ground, and you need have no fear of pithy turnips. Beets should be buried out of doors, with manure over the dirt, so the ground will not freeze. In this way you can get at them any time in the winter. A part of the parsnip crop should be in the fall; they may be put in the cellar; no matter if they do wilt, they are so much the sweeter." Cutting Clover Hay. — Clover hay is greatly improved by curing in the cock. The method is as follows: The clover cut in the forenoon is left to wilt in the swath until evening. Before the dew begins to fall it is raked into winrows, and is thus left until noon the next day. Then it is spread, and is exposed for an hour or two to the sun. It is then raked and heaped into cocks, about four feet wide and five feet high, and then left until the whole crop is ready to carry off the field, or at least twenty-four hours. In the cock it ferments, heats and sweats, but takes no injury, because the heated vapor passes off freely, as may be noticed by walking in the field at night. During this curing process, some of the woody fiber is changed to starch and sugar, and the quality of the hay thereby improved. Before the hay is hauled the cocks are thrown over, and the insides are aired for a short time, to evaporate any moisture. It is then drawn to the barn, and al- though it may heat again, it \nl\ suffer no injury. Generally it will not heat after the first fermentation, and will go into the barn gi'een, sweet and with- out any loss of leaf by over-drying. Sometimes immature buds have bloomed in the mow when the clover has been thus cured, and the hay has preserved even the color of the fresh blossoms. Making Hay_A Good Suggestion — Farmers who have cut grass for hay should let it alone during the continuance of wet weather. There is no greater mistake than to break the swath, as grass never takes less harm and throws off more wet than just as it is left by the scythe or machine. Every blade of grass is provided by nature with a waterproof mantle in the shape- of an impenetrable glassy covering of silica. This envelope is perfectly able • to keep out the rain; but tedding and turning breaks it and opens joints into 66 THE FAUM. which the wet enters. It is then that the mischief begins, the external wet miaghng with the internal sap and causing fermentation. How long grass will resist the bad effects of rain we hardly venture to state, but we are con- fident that a week or ten days' bad weather will be best met by the passive system here indicated. To Banisli Crows Prom a Field. — Machinery of various kinds, such as wind-mills in miniature, horse rattles, etc., to be put in motion by the wind, are often employed to frighten crows; but with all these they sooh become famiUar, when they cease to be any use at all. The most effectual method of banishing them from a field, as far as expeiience goes, is to combine with one or the other of the scare-crows in vogue the frequent use of the musket. Nothing strikes such terror into these sagacious animals as the sight of a fowUng-piece and the explosion of gunpowder, wliich they have known so often to be fatal to their race. Such is their dread of a fowling-piece that if one is placed on a dyke or other eminence, it will for a long time prevent them from alighting on the adjacent grounds. Many persons now, howevei", beUeve that crows, like most other birds, do more by destroying insects and worms, etc., than harm by eating grain. About Tobacco Grooving — The ground for tobacco shoula be plowed in the fall or early in spring, six to eight inches deep, and just before plant- ing plow it again, this time more shallow. Pulverize, and level the surface 80U, then mark out in checks or drills. If White Burley tobacco is to be grown make the rows three and a half feet one Avay by twenty inches the other. Always procure well matured, pure seed, and be sure that it is true to name. Some kinds are better adapted to certain soils than are others, and you may labor under a disadvantage if seeds are not true to name. When the plants appear above the ground, after being transplanted, begin using the hoe and continue until they are too large to work in. Seed Corn. — In an address on the subject of corn. Professor Beal re- marked that the top-most ear was the best for seed; of two fields, one planted with seed taken at random and the otber selected in the field, the latter yielded as much again as the former. Manure and cultivation may be thrown away on poor seed. The best time to cultivate corn is before plant- ing. A shallow cultivation was recommended. Twenty-three ears of com can be pi'oduced from one kernel: by proper cultivation and the use of the best seed as high as twenty-five ears. Smut is a great damage to corn, and smutty corn is very injurious to cattle. Weeds. — There is no surer or better way to perpetuate weeds, than to pull or mow them and cart to the bam yard or pig pen. The seeds will ripen perfectly, and when carted out to the field again with the manure, they will find plant food just where they would put it were they, instead of us, lords over creation. If one finds a weed that he is choice of, with its thousands of seeds just ripening, and fears that pulUng and leaving it on the ground will cause the seeds to rot from dampness, it is well to deposit such weed on a rock or fence, where it will dry, and the seeds ripen in safety. Improving Pasture I.ands. — A few years since, says a writer, I had an old pasture that had almost run out, covered with weeds and patched with moss. I mixed a few barrels of salt and wood ashes, and applied about two ban-els of the mixture per acre, covering about half of the lot. The result surprised me. Before fall the moss had nearly all disappeared, and ike weeds were rapidly following suit, while the grass eame in thick, assum- ing a dark-green color, and made fine pasturage. The balance of the lot re- mained unproductive as before, but the follo-\ving year it was salted with like results. Blue Grass and Tiinotliy. — A writer on blue grass says: "Prepare the ground late the previous autumn, so that it may have a mellow, fi-esh surface in the spiing, and very early sow timothy, clover, and blue grass at the same time. About two crops of clover and timothy are obtained before the blue grass gets fiill possession. After that it chokes them out. The land is not pastured in less than two years from sowing." Combining Different Varieties of Potatoes. — It is said that the qualities of two different varieties of potatoes may be combined in one new variety in the following maimer: Cut an eye, with some of the flesh, from one kind and insert it in a corresponding cut in another with which you desire to mix. When the sprout starts it will feed for a time upon the potato and partake of its qualities. Killing Canada Tliistles. — The best way is to let them grow until they blossom, then cut them off" near the top of the ground; the jtalk will then be hollow; the water will get in the holloAV and rot them, so they will never sprout again. If they are cut off with a hoe or plow, the ground will close over them, and there will come two sprouts for one. Late "Weeds— In the old wheat fields, where the weeds have started up, turn in the sheep. They are not dainty in the choice of food, and weeds that are pushed forward by the late rains might as well be converted into mutton as to remain and make the field foul. FERTTLTZERS. A Few "Words About I.ime. — Professor Puryear, who is recognized as a skillful cliemist, gives in a recent paper the following succinct suggestions on the uses and misuses of lime: "What are the uses of lime in agriculture ? 1. Lime is always one of the nine substances found in the ash of plants. The grasses and forest trees particularly take it up from the soil in great abundance. 'VV'^hen lime is not present in the soil in sufficient abtkndance to meet this demand, it should be added. 2. Lime is needed to hasten the decomposition of vegetable matter, and 8o make it available as plant food. If we wrap up a piece of Hme in. a cloth, in a short time the cloth is so decomposed that it will fall into shreds from its own weight. Tanners use lime in their vats to rot the hair from the hides. Now, lime behaves exactly in this way in the soil. The vegetable matter in the soil is useless until it decomposes, and lime hastens the pro- cess of decomposition. 3. Lime is frequently necessary to correct acidity in the soil. Soils charged with vegetable acids are never productive. On such soils we piit lime, which, com!»ining with these acids, forms neutral salts of lime. A person takes a little lime-water for the same reason when he suffers from acidity of the stomach. WTien lands have been freshly drained, they are always acid. The excess of water, with which the land was saturated, had excluded the atmosphere, and so had prevented the complete decomposition of vegetable matter. This vegetable matter, if the air had not been excluded, would have been converted by atmospheric oxygen into carbonic acid, am- monia, etc., ijut, without oxygen, its elements rearrange themselves, and form those injurious compounds, ulmic, humic, and geic acids. When the soil is drained, the atmosphere strikes through and destroys these acids, but not entirely in a single season. The process, of necessity, is slow. The soil to the depth of several feet, it may be, is sour, and it will be some time before the atmosphere can thoroiighly permeate this soil and burn out these hurtful acids. Lime, then, comes to help the slow operation of natural causes. "When it is spread upon the soil, it is carried downward by the rains, and combines with and neutralizes speedily and effectu.ally the vege- table acids. We cannot possibly err, then, when we put lime on freshly- drained lands. In such lands there are not only free acids, but a large amount of organic matter, which has not been decomposed because of the exclusion of atmospheric oxygen. The application of lime to such soils cor- rects this acidity, and, by decomposuig, renders immediately available this large amount of vegetable matter. The ash of the grasses contains twenty-two per cent, of Hme. Hence the practice of top-dressing the grasses with gypsum, whiclT is the sulphate of lime. Lime may be injuriously applied. If the soil contain but little vegetable matter, the application of lime, particularly heavy applications, will cause FEETl LJZEJIS. 59 this vegetable matter to tiecompoae too quickly. When the crop approaches maturity it finds that its quantum of vegetable matter has already been decomposed and used up. The resialt will be conspicuously disastrous if the soil was not deticient in lime. The lime has supplied no want, but has only inflicted an injui-y, 1. Lime is known as caustic or quick lime. This is the article as we obtain it fi'om the kiln. Heat has expelled carbonic acid from the carbonate of lime, and caustic linie is the resiilt. 2. Hydrated or slaked lime. When we add to lumps of caustic lime about twenty-live per cent, of water, the lumps fall down into a perfectly dry powder, giving its slaked lime. 3. Upon exposure to the atmosphere, this slaked lime ji!oses its properties. It becomes the carbonate of lime, or mild lime — the very compound chemi- cally from which the lime was originally obtained. This mild lime, or car- bonate of Ume, has no caiistic or disorganizing properties whatsoever. It may be asked, then, why we do not use lime in its natural state, namely the carbonate of lime, if it gets into that condition when we spread it on the soil V We answer: 1. Although lime goes back to carbonate of lime, it does not do so all at once, and, in the process of returning to that condition, it decomposes vegetable matter, and so makes it plant food. 2, The natural limestone rock — the carbonate— is very hard, and its re- duction to a powder by mechanical means would be difficult and expensive. Now, when lime slakes in the air, it falls down into a dry powder. No mechanical reduction, therefore, is necessary. It requires less expendittire of force to burn the limestone, and let the lime fall to powder of itself, than to reduce the natural rock by mechanical power. Trees, like grasses, contain lime largely. The indication is to apply old mortar, or lime in any form, to fruit or shade trees, and this should be done in the fall. Hoiae-Macle Fertilizers for tlie " Common Farmer." — The follow- ing is from the Ohio Fanner: Let us look at an average barnyard — one that may be met with most anywhere. Here we see a large pile of horse manure steaming aAvay as though on fire. Here a pile of cow manure all frozen so it cannot rot its own litter before summer. There a pile of dry corn-stalks, as they have been thrown out of the feeding-room. In one part of the yard stands a straAV stack that the cattle run around and pull down, but the scat- terings are left close around the stack, and are tramped two feet deep, Avhile a few feet from the stack the ground may be seen. The corner of the yard where the out-door feeding is done is the only portion that is in any order for manure. Now I will leave it to my readers if I have not described an average baru- yard. This is where farmers are to blame. It is but little trouble to keep our barnyards in proper shape if we only will. Let us ask the proprietor of our sample barnyard if he has so much work during winter that he cannot attend to his yard. His answer will be: "No, but I thought the barnyard could take care of itself." With most of farmers there is a great deal of spare time during the winter. Their work, aside from stock feeding, is not very pushing, and a day's time now and then would not be missed. Let us have that day once in a while to straighten up that yard, and I will see to it that you are paid for it next fall. Let us take a fork every few days and go around that straw stack, taking the loose straw that is under foot and cover 60 THE FARM. up that bare spot of ground. Throw it wherever ^Jae manure is thiu, and the cattle will tramp it more, making better manure of the straw, while it helps the quality of what is already there. Take a horse and sled every week or so, and move that pile of horse manure and that pile of eoru-stalks. Put them around iu thin spots in your yard, like you did that straw, and then see what a difference it makes in your yard. Above that cow manure pile just have a few stock hogs where they can get at it, and I dare say it will be taken care of. Two or three hogs are the best aids you can find to assist about the yards, but in justice to the h«gs I will say that it is not the best thing for them. But every farmer has a fcAV stock hogs that he is carrying over winter, and I am sure he cannot keep them cheaper than in his barnyard, where they get most of their living out of the cattle dropi^ings and what is left after feeding. If your cattle are fed on corn in the stable, the hogs will thoroughly scatter the manure pile to secure the corn. But noAV let us look a little to the bedding of our cows and horses. You read of A.'s or B.'s plan of securing liqiaid manure by troughs and pits, but you say you cannot do that way. I Avill tell you what you can do. Go to that straw stack and take largely of straw to bed your stock with. Don't be afraid of it, but make their bedding deep, especially behind them, where it Avill catch all the droppings. Then in cleaning your stables don't sort the straw too close, but throw out all that is dirty and fill up again with clean straw. The resiilt will be that you are saving nearly all the liquid manure as well as brother A. or B. does it, and you have not had any of the trouble you were so afraid of. Moreover, your cows have had the benefit of a nice bed to sleep on, and they come oxit of the stable looking clean, instead of reminding you of a Avalking manure pile, as we often see cattle that are poorly bedded. There are some who have not got this extra amount of straw to lavish on their stock. To all such I say, go to your nearest saw-mill and get sawdust, and use fi-eely for bedding, as this is as neai-ly as good an absorbent as straw, and makes good bedding. Now, my brother farmers, such of you as unit not give heed to the subject of foreign fertilizers and articles pertaining thereto, just try my plan for your own home-made fertilizers, and see how much you can increase them, and just that much will you increase your profits of the farm. • Let us keep our eyes open through the winter, and at every opportunity turn a hand toward the barnyard, and manage carefully until we turn our stock out in the spring, and then we will counsel together again as to how we will handle what we have already saved, so as to improve the quaUty, and reduce the quantity, thus lessening the expense of removing to the field. ^oiiietliiiBg in Regard to Fertilizers. — Difterent soils and different crops require veiy much different treatment and different elements of plant food. A judicious cultivation of the soil adds to its producing capacity. The elements of plant growth contained in soils are unlocked and made available to some extent by proper worldng of the soil. It was formerly beheved that it was necessary to add all the constituents of plant growth to the soil before plants could be produced. That if we wished to raise wheat we must add the constituents of wheat. If we -vAdshed to raise potatoes add the constitu- ents of potatoes. This is not now considered absolutely necessary. If we use a fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, with judicious rotation of crops, we may not only raise good crops indefinitely, but bring the land up to a higher state of productiveness every year. On soms soils we could safely leave out the potash, enough being yielded FERTILIZERS. fil annually by decomposing particles of soil — unlocking the sand grains, as it were, to get their treasures. On some soils nitrogen perhaps would not be called for at first, and on others, rarer still, phosphoric acid might for a time be found sufficient in the soil. Cereal crops are especially benefited by nitrogen and nitrogenous man- ures. Usually from forty to eighty pounds per acre are required for full crops or largest crops. Clover is the best medium to use in charging soils vnih. nitrogen. It is a nitrogen trap that is easily set and sure to catch. Clover may be specially fertilized with plaster. Potash is of little value in cereal growing, and phosphoric acid not greatly called for. In connection with nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are both useful in small quantities. For Indian corn phosphoric acid is perhaps the best special fertilizing element. Land plaster often does good service. On some soils potash also proves valuable. Grass requires all the elements of plant food. Well-rotted manure is perhaps the best special manure for it. Bone-dust comes next. Either of these can be used at seeding, or afterward as top dressing. Clover requires nitrogen and phosphoric acid in small quantities. Potash and lime are its moet valuable manures. Turnips require nitrogen and phosphoric acid, the latter in soluble form. Superphosphates are specials for the turnip crop. Mangels want more nitrogen and less phosphoric acid than turnips. Potatoes are similar to turnips in their likes, and on most soils they need a supply of potash furnished. There is usually potash enough in our common barnyard manure for potatoes. One hundred pounds of good bone, thirty-five pounds sulphuric acid, and thirteen pounds of Avater, mixed in a wooden vat or tub, will make one hundred and forty-eight pounds superphosphate dry. In mixing, however, much more water will be found necessary to possibly properly mix the mass, and when properly mixed, if after standing a day or two it is too damp, may be dried by adding ground plaster, or other material. The bone-dust should be wet with the water first, then the acid added, a little at a time; by so doing the vessel in which the mixture is made is less acted upon, and the incorporation with and action upon the bone is better. Stir with a wooden hoe or mixer. Never attempt to reduce whole bones with the sulphuric acfd. The advantage of reducing bones or rock phosphate with sulphuric acid is to render the solubility in water the greater when applied to the soils. Liming soils really adds no plant food to the soil, but has a tendency to develop it in the soil by the caustic, dissolving, breaking-down effect that the action of the lime has upon the particles of the soil, unlocking them, making them give up their hidden stores of plant food. It not only acts upon the mineral constituents in the soil, but upon the vegetable constituent parts. Variation in Manure^ — The subject of manures is ©f the highest im- portance in practical farming, for it is the basis of every effort at improve- ment. It is much better understood than formerly, thanks to the effort of agricultural scientists, combined with the experiments of practical workers. There are, however, some points which, though fully established, are too often overlooked. One of the most important of these is that bulk counts for little in fertilization as compared with quality. The introduction of guano and similar concentrated fertilizers, as superphosphate, nitrate© of 62 THE FARM. potash or soda, has had a wonderfully educating influence in this respect. Farmers have marveled to see the large results from application of a few hundred pounds per acre of these fertilizers, and in some quarters these re- sults have led to an undervaluation of the home-made manures. The fact that the concentrated fertilizer, being deposited generally with the seed, is more immediately available, does not demonstrate its superiority except for the single crop to which it is applied. The farmer who owns the land he tills, as most American farmers do, is interested not only in immediate pro- tits, but in maintaining, if not increasing, the fertility of his soil. It behooves such a farmer to make himself thoroughly posted as to the comparative value of stable and barnyard manures made fi'om different feeds and by dif- lerent animals. There is a much greater variation in the value of stable manure than is usually supposed, and this not depending on the amount or quality of the litter used as an absorbent, but rather on the excrement itself. A well-fed horse standing idle in the stable passes more of the mannrial value of what he eats in his excreta than the same horse fed on the same material and hard at work. The nitrogenous and phosphatic materials that are of gi-eat- est value for all crops are precisely those which are retained in the working animal to repair the waste of sinew and bone fnmi labor. There is an equal and invariable difference in manure, depending on the kind and value of the food used. It does not follow that food of highly fattening qualities will make rich manure. Few materials are more fattening than sugar, but as sugar is only carbon, though it -will lay on fat rapidly, it adds little of vahie to the manure pile. Oil-meal makes a valuable fertilizer, for while the oil in the meal is fattening, it is also rich in phosphates. English farmers have grown rich, or, what is the same thing, made their farms rich, by feeding oil-cake to fattening animals. The oil, of little value manurially, went into the fat cattle and sheep, Avhile the principal part of the most valuable fertil- izing material was returned to their farms. We have other feeds costing nmch less than oil-meal, which for the resulting manure are nearly or quite as valuable. Among the least understood of these feeds is wheat-bran and coarse middlings. These are rich in the phosphates, comparatively poor in fattening qualities, but of more value for working animals than is generally siipposed. It has been found by experiment that a mixture of wheat-ba-an with com-meal makes a much better feed for Avork-horses than corn alone. It is not only in diluting the corn, which by itself is of too heating a nature, that such a seed is valuable, but the bran is absolutely richer in nitrogen and greatly richer in phosphates than the corn-meal. The time Avill undoubtedly come when progressive farmers in the older sections of the country will feed for the purpose of making the most valuable manures with as much carefulness as they now feed for growth, milk, wool, or fat. In large sections of the country most of the profit of feeding must be found in the manure pile. As this fact becomes better recognized, the nia- nurial value of certain feeds and the difference in the resultant manures will leceive that attention which its importance in the farm economy deserves How to Euricli the Soll._The Farm and Fireside says: The produc- tion of paying crops on old, upland clay soils depends largely upon restoring to it, in the most economical way, the plant-food most needed by the crop to be grown. If corn is to be grown, maniu'es containing a liberal amount of phosphoric acid and potash will be required. As these substances are valu- able, constant cropping with corn will soon greatly diminish the value of the FERTILIZERS. {^^ land. If wheat is to be grown care must be taken to supply the necessary amount of phosphates. Wheat, oats, barley, and rye each require a large per cent, of ammonia, which accounts in part for the excellent results that follow the use of ammoniated superphosphates. If a ci-op of seven hundred and fifty pounds of seed cotton is grown upon an acre of land, about six and one third pounds of phosphoric acid and seven and a half of potash will be taken fi'om the soil. In growing tobacco the soil is quickly exhausted of potash; for this reason excellent results follow the planting of this crop on newly cleared lands. Manures of all kinds should be carefully saved and applied to suit the needs of the crop to be grown. Cabbage grows luxuriantly when supplied with green manure. The bean plant, on the contrary, requires that which is thoroughly rotted. Nitrogenous manures greatly in- crease the yield of wheat and other grains, and when used with phosphates on soils of average fertility, give a visible increase of root crops also. An- other important factor in em-iching the soil is a judicious rotation of crops, to be determined to some extent by the soil, climate, and the leading crops to be grown. In the North clover is indispensable, but in the South the corn- field pea answers an excellent purpose, especially for green manuring. In this section, where the soil is clay, and wheat and corn are the leading crops, red clover is indispensable. Soil exhaustion may be measurably prevented by even the simplest of all rotations, that of wheat, followed by clover, and this by corn. Such a rotation may be begun by sowing red clover in March upon the fields now seeded with wheat. Sow three pecks of red clover and one peck of mammoth clover, and one peck of timothy seed upon each six acres. The clover should not be pastured for the first year, except fer a sufficient time for the hogs to pick up the scattered grain after harvest. After the 1st of June of the second year the clover can be pastured, but a sufficient quantity of that in which the most timothy gi'ows should be reserved to cut for hay. This system provides for the accumulation of manure in a level yard with raised sides, so that the liqxTids will keep the entire crop of wheat straw and refuse cornstalks and other matter in a moist condition, and the decomposition of these materials is much hastened. After the haying and harvesting season is over, twenty-two horse loads of manure are applied to the acre on the clover field; that is to be plowed to a depth of eight to ten inches very early the following spring, where the corn corp is to be planted. Each load is divided into eight piles, placed five and one-half yards apart. Before seeding to wheat the corn is cut and shocked, and a heavy, sharp-toothed harrow precedes the drill. The high-cut stalks, when harrowed down, act as a mulch for the wheat plants during the winter, and measurably prevent washing even upon high ridges. A great advantage in this method of rotation is that the labor reqiiired to bring up the land in April is not half as great as in midsummer, and the corn, by being planted fully a Aveek earlier than it can be on similar soils where there is no sod, yields abundantly and matures early, so that there is no delay in seeding with wheat early in the fall. As may be inferred from what has already been said, the prime factors for cheaply enriching the soil and increasing its fertility annually, are the hbei'al application of properly-cared-for barnyard manure, and a systematic rotation of crops, of which red clover is the basis. Composting Manure. — Mixing manure or fertilizers is laborious work, and if nothing is gained by it, it is labor lost. But something may be gained by it when the condition of the material can be changed for the better, and at the same time something may be lost Avhen anything can be changed for iU TitE FAkM. the worse. In composting, for instance, snch raw substances as swamp muck, leaves, tannery wastes, with manure, or in mixing various manures, as from the hoi'se stable, cow sheds, pig pens, and poultry house, valuable results may be obtained; while in mixing lime or wood ashes with manure, and especially in mixing the common fertilizer with poultry manure and wood ashes, harm may be done and valuable fei'tilizing matter may be wasted. In the one case the more actively fermenting horse or pig manure will serve to decompose more readily the colder cow manure, and to pro- duce decomposition in the abundant litter or raw matter that may have been used. Besides, when the whole manure heap has been reduced to an even and homogeneous condition and quality, it is made more valuable for use in the field, and "neither unduly or wastefully enriches one portion of it while inadequately fertilizing another portion. It is, therefore, a judicious and useful practice to mix these manures or these substances in the heap, either in the yard or the field, and so add considerably to the value of a part with- out detracting from the value other portions. But in the other case much harm may be done by mixing any substances in the heap which may exert an injurious action upon the others. This may happen when hme or wood ashes are mixed with the manure or mth the poultry manure; and the more harm is done, the richer in ammonia the manure may be. Lime and potash are alkalies, and when fresh are in a caustic condition. That is, they are free from carbonic acid, which, when combined with an alkali, renders it neutral, or mild and inert. When fresh lime or wood ashes are mixed witli manure they at once seek to combine with carbonic acid, from whatever source they can procure it. Ammonia is an alkali, and in manure is gener- ally in combination with carbonic acid as carbonate of ammonia. The hme or wood ashes take the carbonic acid from the carbonate of ammonia, and the ammonia escapes as gas into the air, and so far as the owner of the ma- nure is concerned this ammonia is lost, and as ammonia is the most valuable and costly fertilizing element in existence, the loss is very serious. It is easy, however, to avoid this loss by using the lime or the ashes by them- selves on the soil, and not with the manure directly, in which way they will do as much good. But sometimes it is advisable to mix hme or wood ashes in a compost heap, and this may be done safely when the special behavior of these three indispensable substances are understood. If the manure is quite fresh there is very little ammonia in it, and if there is more, a large proportion of absorbent matter, as swamp muck in the heap \f\\\ absorb and hold it, and carbonic acid will be produced by its decomposition in sufficient quantity to saturate the alkah of the lime or ashes or to take up the ammonia as fast as it is formed or set free. In fact, a farmer who understands the chemical de- compositions and combinations which go on in a heap of decaying manure or compost may use lime and wood ashes with safety and with advantage. With regard to the common mixture of ashes, hen manure, and plaster, too, this may be safely and beneficially made at the time it is to be used, but not if it is to remain mixed for any considerable time previously. Salt as a Manure. — Since soda, if essential in plant growth, is only re- quired in small amounts, and chlorine, though essential for most plants, is still required in only small amounts, and common salt is found in minute quantity in most soda, chemists have asked why salt should be of any benefit as a manure, and from theoretical grounds have been disposed to deny that salt has any value as a manure. Yet practical farmers, not having the fear FERTILIZERS. 65 of science before their eyes, have pointed to the increased crops, and asked, " How is that ? " There can be no conflict between practice and science, because science is the classified explanation of practice. I have said enough to show that it is not enough to cause the rejection of a substance as manure to say that it is not " essential " to plant growth. Let us see what explanation can be made of the use of salt in agriculture beyond the small amount required for the ash element. Professor May showed that solution of salt would render soluble the am- monia which had entered into insoluble condition in the soil. Professor Atwater, in a recent report says: " Something has been said about the use of ordinary salt as a fertilizer. *One important office of the salt is to make soluble, and consequently useful in the plant, the materials al- ready locked up, as it were, in the soil. Supposing you have been putting on barnyard manure and other fertilizers. Some of the nutritive materials, as, for instance, potash and phosphoric acid, may perhaps have been taken up by the soil, and remain there in a difficult soluble condition. Furthermore, there are in the soil some of these ingredients that were in the original rock of wliich the soil is made up, and are still, so to say, locked up, or, in other Avords, still remain in an insoluble form therein. One effect of salt, as is the case oftentimes with gypsum and lime, is to set loose that potash as phos- phoric acid. You must expect, therefore, in putting on salt, that its chief use will be, not as a direct nutriment to the plant, but rather as a means of setting other materials loose; and salt is very useful on this account, because it is not readily observed in the lapper layers of the soil, but often leaches through into the layers; and it will have the effect of setting these materials free all the way down. " The German farmers say, however, that you must be careful in the use of salt. If you put on too much it injures the vegetation. Further, it will not do to put on loose soil. A very loose, sandy soil is not ordinarily bene- fited by the application of salt. Again, it is best applied to soils which con- tain considerable humus. And, finally, it should be used on soils which are in pretty fair condition as regards the contest of fertilizing elements. On soils which are not too loose, which have a good amount of humus, and which are in pretty fair condition as regards the amount of fertilizing ma- terial, organic and inorganic, contained in them, it is oftentimes a good thing to apply salt." Refuse Salt as a Fertilizer—A Wisconsin farmer writes: I have used salt as a fertilizer for the last three years with good success, and I also find that where I have sown 200 pounds per acre the previous year my crops are much better than where I sowed salt in the spring of the same year. We have better crops in this county than in any other county in the State of Wis- consin, and produced by the use of salt. Farmers who at first could not be- lieve that salt is good for anything are the most firm believers in it to-day. Those who sowed salt last year will sow double, and those who did not sow are going to sow next spring. I sow the refuse salt fi-om the packing houses. I have just finished drawing 22,000 pounds home to sow on^my own farm. I shall try it on my winter wheat this week at the rate of 300 pounds to the acre. I have spread 2 1-2 tons on an acre, but plowed and worked it up with the soil for a turnip crop or for barley. It cost only 50 cents per ton, which made it a cheap fer- tilizer. It is used very liberally in England, where I came from. Many 66 THE FARM. people have a wrong impression about salt. They think when they salt cattle and sheep that salt kills the grass, but this is not so. The stock kills it by eating the ground where the salt was put down. I will admit that salt will kill most plants, and would like to find some one who would pay for enough for me to try the experiment. I hold that in the West land needs salt as much as cattle do. The first time I tried it was on a twenty-acre lot sowed with spring wheat. In two weeks I could see the difterence between what I sowed with salt and that which had received no salt, and I could also see the difterence when harvested. The part sowed with salt had no chinch bugs, while on the other, which had no salt, I could gather up a quart to every sheaf the reaper threw oft". I have never seen any damage done by chinch bugs where there had been two hundred pounds of salt sowed broadcast on the crop. The time for sowing is when the grain is about four inches liigh. I have sowed salt when the grain was coming out in head, and with good results, but would prefer to sow it earlier. I prefer packing salt because it contains more or less grease and fat, be- sides blood from the meat, wliich is the essence of manure. Let farmers try the experiment, if only on a small piece, and not wait for some one else. Wheat yielded from twenty to thirty-five bushels per acre where salt was sowed, and where it was not sowed the wheat was not worth the cutting. Most of those who did cut it got nothing but No. 4 wheat, weighing fifty-one and fifty-tAVO pounds to the bushel. Formulas for Commercial Fertilizers. — A writer in the Fruit Recorder says: To produce a crop of wheat over what the natural yiekl would be Avithout manure, I use about two hundred pounds sulphate of ammonia, one hundred pounds ground bones, forty pounds oil of vitriol, fifty pounds of muriate of potash, forty pounds sulphate of soda, one hundred and seventy pounds land plaster. For Indian corn, to produce about thirty bushels shelled per acre, over natural yield: one hundred pounds of ground bones, forty pounds oil of vitriol, one hundred and fifty pounds sulphate of ammonia, one hundred and twenty-five pounds muriate of potash, high grade or eighty per cent., thirty- five pounds sulphate of soda, one hundred and twenty pounds land plaster. For oats, to produce about thirty bushels over natural yield; One hun- dred and fifty pounds sulphate of ammonia, fifty pounds ground bones, twenty pounds oil of vitriol, fifty pounds muriate of potash (high grade), thirty pounds sulphate of soda, one hundred pounds land plaster. For cabbage, to produce fourteen or fifteen tons (^'er natural yield: Three hundi'ed and fifty pounds muriate of potash (high grade), four hun- dred pounds sulphate of ammonia, two hundred and fifty pounds ground bones, one hundred pounds oU of vitriol, fifty pounds sulphate of soda, two hundred pounds of land plaster. For potatoes, to produce over two hundred bushels over natural yield: Five hundred and fifty pounds sulphate of potash, two hundred pounds sulphate of ammonia, one hundred pounds ground bones, forty pounds oil of vitriol, one hundred and twenty pounds land plaster, forty pounds sul- phate of soda. For onions, to produce about four hundred bushels over natural yield: Two hundred and twenty pounds sulphate of ammonia, one hundred and fifty pounds ground bones, sixty pounds oil of vitriol, two hundred and fifty pounds sulphate of potash, one hundred and twenty pounds land plaster. PEHTlLIZKn^. eT Por rutabagas, to produce ten to eleven tons over the natural yield: One hundred pounds ground bones, forty pounds oil of vitriol, two hundred and seventy-five pounds sulphate of ammonia, six hundred pounds sulphate of potash, one hundred and fifty pounds land plaster, thirty-five pounds sul- phate of soda. The above formulas are given in quantities for one acre of each kind of crops. , It requires one hundred pounds oil of vitriol to dissolve forty pounds ground bones. Put the ground bones into a water-tight plank box and soak the bone with water for two or three days, turning on about twenty-five pounds of water to each one hundred pounds of bone; then turn on your oil of vitriol and stir it thoroughly Mith a wooden stick, two or three times a day for five or six days, then mix in the sulphate of ammonia, next the muriate of potash and sulphate of soda, and lastly the land plaster; thoroughly mix the whole mass together. To 4ry it otf and make it fit to handle, incor- porate dry muck, fine charcoal or sawdust, but do not use lime or wood ashes as a dryer. Sometimes farmers can collect bones on their own or neighboring farms, or get them very cheap from a butcher, in this c*se they want to mash them up fine with a sledge, and about sixty pounds oil of vitriol used to one hundred pounds of coarse bones. Fertilizers vii. Plant Food. — The Farmer\s Magazine and Patroii's Guide says: Experiments are becoming continually reported by farmers that are misunderstood, and lead to conclusions, on the part of lAie experi- menters at least, that are detrimental to agricultural progress. Take an example now before us, that of a farmer who used lime, superphosphate, guano, salt, a chemical fertilizer, and no manure, on as many j)lot8 of wheat. The yield in each case was good, varying from twelve bushels on the unma- nured to twenty-six to thirty-five bushels for the manured plots. The lime gave the greatest apparent prq/i/ per acre, though the jield was not so large as where guano, chemical and supei*phosphates were used. Reasoning ffoni the figures alone, this experimenter thinks he has a guide for future prac- tice in wheat farming, and accordingly has now put seventy acres in winter wheat manured only Avith lime. We shall be interested to learn the result of several years of this practice, but predict that it will prove an unprofitable venture. The soil on which this experiment was tried is naturally fertile clay wheat soil. Lime on such land always has a good effect for one or two applications— not as plant food, however, but in acting upon the soil chemically to make available that fertility wliich is contained in the soil, but in an unavailable condition. Lime adds no element to the soil, but forces it to yield up its stores of fertility. It should not be understood from this that lime is not plant food, for it is; but the great majority of soils, if not all, contain so much of it already that there is no necessity for supplying more. This lime, however, is in such a form that it does not have the effect upon the soil of newly applied freshly slaked lime. It is a wise economy to utilize whatever of fei-tility the soil contains, but it must be done judiciously and not wastefully. So soon as it is found that the application of lime no longer produces adequate crops, the true reason should be assigned to the result, and that reason is that the supply of plant food is being exhausted, and outside, sources must be called upon to make up the deficiency. It is legitimate and proper to draw upon our bank account, but 68 THE FARM. we must also deposit, or there will soon be nothing in the bank to draw from. Making Our Own. Fertilizers. — A Virginia farmer writes: Having studied the subject of fertilizing our lands when it is impossible to manure with stable manure, and watched the effects on different kinds of land, I have come to the conclusion that when commercial fertilizers are honestly made it pays, even at the low*price of grain, to buy and uee them on grain lands, especially when being seeded down to grass, and Avhen the land is too thin to make a set of grass a certainty. My experience has been that the money will be returned out of the gain. The set of grass will be always im- proved; the benefit \d\\ be felt while the land is in grass, and there will be a much heavier sod to turn under when the land is broken up. Now if it pays to purchase these fertilizex-s at from $25 to $90 per ton, besides paying freight on them and hauhng them from the depot, how much better it would be for us if we could manufacture our fertilizers at home at one-fourth the cost! I once heard a gentleman, who had had years of experience in this line, say that pure Peruvian guano, even at $90 to $100 per ton, is the cheap- est of all fertilizers. Now, unless I am mistaken, Peruvian guano is simply rotted bird manure, and must have lost some of its strength by being exposed to the air and sun. I suppose the birds that made this guano fed on bugs, fish, wild seeds, etc. We thus have one ingredient at least equal to the best fertilizer known, right on our farms, and one that can be vastly increased with very small additional expense. It is certainly of vast importance to the farmer to see that the flock of fowls is kept up, and see that not one ounce of manure is wasted. Another thing is the hog manure. Tliis is certainly a splendirl fertilizer, and should be saved with the utmost care. I have known farmers to build their hog pens on a hillside leading to a branch to let the hogs get water, and thereby lose nearly all their manure. It may not be equal to Peruvian guano, but it is certainly half as good. Another valuable fertilizer is wasted on nine-tenths of all the farms in the country. This is the night soil, and everything that comes from the house— the liquid manures are as strong as the soUds. My plan is to save all these things; pulverizing and making them into a real genuine fertiUzer that can be drilled, handled, or used as are commercial fertilizers. Sink in your yard a vat that will hold two hundred bushels. (If one is not enough, you can sink another.) It should be well made out of two-inch oak planks, and have a lid with a good handle, so the wash-woman can lift the lid and pour her soap suds into it as easy as pouiing it elsewhere, and where the chamber-maid should be required always to put into it everything in her line. Now add all the hen manure you can get; all the night soil, and a load or two of the best hog manure. Then add muck, loam or plaster enough to absorb all gases and stop all smell, so as to make it perfectly inoffensive. When the box is nearly full, add (if there is not enough already) enough liquid to make the mass mix easily, and with a long pole thoroughly mix, and keep stirring for several days, so as to reduce' all lumps. You can then remove all sticks, cobs, etc., that may have found their way into it, with a coarse sieve fastened on a long pole. When thoroughly mixed and sifted, allow it to dry out, and if not dry enough when you want to use, spread it on boards and dry thoroughly. This fer- tilizer can be made at a small cost per ton, and will be found to do good work. PjERTlLlZEItS. 69 Honie-Made vs. Commercial 3Iaiiures. — A correspondent of the Kem Etigland Homeslead writes: The great body of common farmers will never profitably develop their agricultural resources or to any great extent increase the fertility of their farms until they keep or fatten more cattle and sheep. And the way to keep more stock is, to keep it without more ado— just as our wise financier remarked that the way to resume specie payments was to re- sume. Notwithstanding the legislation for the protection of the honest manufac- turer as well as the purchaser, the common farmer feels that in buying many vai-ieties of commercial manures he is not master of the situation. This is why I advise farmers to keep stock or make their fertilizers upon their own farms as much as possible— to buy animal food rather than plant food. For horned cattle as a rule, buy firm cotton-seed meal, corn meal, fodder corn or corn fodder and swale hay. In purchasing food for other kinds of stock, we must be guided by their varied conditions, always feed- ing such kinds and quantities as will be kindly relished and thoroughly di- gested. For several years I have boiight twenty-five cords of stable manure an- nually. A large proportion comes from Boston and costs me eight dollars per cord delivered on my farm. Yet I consider it as cheap as any fertiUzer in the market. , In a cord of good manure free from foreign substances, we get the results of about two tons of hay together with the grain fed, less the animal waste or growth. If judiciously appHed, the ground that receives the manure will in a number of years yield its full equivalent with interest. If plant food is to be bought, buy first good stable manure, fine ground bone, good hard wood ashes, and muriate of potash. When the honest manufac- turer will sell these elements compounded as cheaply as the farmer can purchase and compound them himself, it may do to buy still more largely of commercial or chemical fertihzers. And in their application we must no longer work blindly. Use of Plaster and Aslies.— Henry Ives, one of the best farmers in far- famed Western New York, writes thus sensibly to the Tribune: "To use plaster on any of our growing crops requires so slight a cast and so often proves beneficial, that one can hardly aftbrd to neglect its application, al- though occasionally no pei'ceptible advantage is derived from it, and, at best, we scarcely look for benefit except for the one season and the one crop. But in using ashes we are more sure of benefit, and its good efi"ects are so lasting that after one Uberal application, say of from 50 to 100 bushels per acre (though if leached ashes are used one could safely apply three to six times this quantity), the effect will show for five, ten, or even fifteen years, by increasing fertility. When applying plaster to corn, or plaster and guano, phosphate or hen manure, oi* even with a small quantity of ashes (in all cases from 100 to 200 weight to the aci-e is enough of the plaster) , the in- gredients should be prepared and well mixed on the barn floor, loaded into an open wagon, so as to have it along convenient to the work, and almost any time in the early growth of the corn apply a small handful to each hill, not as some do, by throwing it carelessly in a compact heap near to the hill, but as it is thrown sift through the fingers, giving it an even distribution all about the hill. But after the com is a Httle more advanced I believe it would do it more good, and without costing much if any more, to use two or three times as much of the fertilizing mixture, sowing it broadcast over the field. If, instead, the fanner could apply 60 or 80 bushels of ashes to the 70 THE PARM. acre, it should be done before i^lanting or seeding, so as to be well mixed with the soil when preparing it for the seed-bed. This, I believe, is the most lasting of any kind of fertilizer, and one of the cheapest, too, when the ashes can be obtained without costing more than 25 or 30 centa a bushel. After such an application of ashes, or other fertilizer, or manure, it is still just as desirable as ever to plaster the corn growing on such fertilized land." Experience witli Muck; — A correspondent of the Country Gentleman gives his experience with muck as follows: As the attention of farmers is drawn to the necessity of enriching their farms, I will give the result of sev- eral years' experience with muck. My practice has been as follows: In the fall, when the muck beds are dry, I throw out into piles as much as I think I need for the coming year. At some convenient time I draw a quantity near the house, where I can throw on it the soap suds fi-om washing, night soil, scrapings from the hen house, and leached or unleached ashes. I generally commence this compost heap in the fall, but if any one would commence in the spring he would make a much larger amount. In the spring I shovel over the pile once or twice; then it is ready for use. This manure I use in the hill foa- all hoed crops, as phosphate is used. I consider it far ahead of barnyard manure in the hill, and equal to phos- phates, for the nature of manure is to dry up, while the nature of muck is to attract moisture. It is about one day's work for a man to put this into one acre of corn or potatoes, putting a good handfid in each hill. I have foiind that this manure contains an alkali, or something, so that birds and crows will not pull corn, and wire-worms will not eat the roots of corn. White grubs will not gnaw potatoes that are planted in it. It makes a corn crop ripen about one week or ten days earlier than Avithout it. I have known fanners to pay 50 cents a load for muck to make compost from to be used on tobacco, and they thought it paid them well. I have noticed that the first crop does not use up all the strength of one application. It can be seen in the next crop. It does not hurt seed corn or potatoes to be dropped into this compost, they will grow better than in com- mon earth. This compost heap has some advantages over phosphate. It does not cost any money if one has a muck bed, and it will keep insects away fi'om the roots of cx'ops. I have drawn and mixed barnyard manure and miick in piles during the A^inter, in the pr«portion of two of manure to one of miick, and I consider it better than raw manure from the yard for any crop. Wliat a Pint of Maiittre Did._A Wisconsin farmer sends this experi- ence to ih& American Agricnltxirist: "Last year, in hauling yard manure across a field afterwards planted to corn, some of it scattered off in driblets, fi-om a handful to a pint or so in a place. When planting the corn, I found portions of these dropjiings, and where noticed, drew them into the hills, and with the hoe mixed ihem a httle with the soil as the seed was dropped. In three instances, Avhere a large handful or about a pint of the manure was thus put in, a stick was di'iven down to mark the hills. When hoeing, we noticed that in these hills the corn plants had started off more vigorously, were greener, and at the third hoeing they Avere six to twelve inches higher than the other hills adjoining. Our curiosity being awakened, we followed up the observations, and when gathering the crop each of the three stalks in all the three hills had on it two large plump ears, while the surrounding corn did not average one good ear to the stalk. " This set us to thinking and figuring. That bit of manure had given th-e FEJiTlLlZEES. 71 yoiiug corn roots a vigorous start, just as good feed starts off a young calf, or pig, or lamb, aud the roots penetrated further in every direction and gathered more food and moisture. These stalks being better nourished from beloAv, ran far away from the poorly fed neighbors. As to the figiares, the roAvs were three and one-half feet apart, and the hills three feet distant in the rows, say four thousand hills on an acre, aud four thousand pints of manure is about sixty-two and one-half bushels, or two large wagon loads. Anybody can reckon the diflerence betAveen six large, well-tilled ears of corn on each hill, and less three per hill, and the cost of the manure as com- pared with the total value of the final crop. The ploAving, and the seed, and the hoeing, amount to the same in each case. All I have to say is, that every corn-hill planted on my farm this year will have at least a pint of manure in it." HoTV to Double tlie Usual Q,uaiitity of Mamii'e on tlie Farm. — Provide a good supply of black swamp mold or loam from the woods, within easy reach of your stable, and place a layer of this, one foot thick, under each horse, with litter as usual on top of the loam or mold. Kemove the droppings of the animals every day, but let the loam remain for two weeks, then remove it, mixing it with the other manure, and replace with fresh mold. By this simple means any farmer can double not only the quantity but also the quality of his manure, and never feel himself one penny the poorer by the trouble or expense incurred, while the fertilizing value of the ingredients absorbed and saved by the loam can scarcely be estimated. Josiah Qiiinc}^, Jr., has been very successful in keeping cattle in stables the year through, and feeding them by means of soiling. The amount of manure thus made had enabled him to improve the fertility of a poor farm of one hundred acres, so that in twenty years the hay crop had increased from tAventy to three hundred tons. The cattle are kept in a Avell-arranged stable, and are let out into the yard an hour or two mornings and afternoons, but they generally appear glad to return to their quarters. By this process, one acre enables him to support three or four coavs. They are fed on grass, green oats, corn fodder, barley, etc., Avhich are soAvn at intervals through the spring and summer months, to be cut as required; but he remarks that liis most valuable crop is his manure crop. Each coav produces three and a half cords of solid, and three cords of liquid manure, or six and a half cords in all. Five to eight miles from Boston, such manure is Avorth from five to eight dollars a cord. From this estimate, he has come to the conclusion that a cow's manure may be made as valuable as her milk. Advantages' of Slielteriiig Maixwre.—Many farmers alloAV the manure made by their stock of cattle to be thrown out doors, Avhere it remains exposed in heaps or in the yard for several months. The rains fall upon it, and streams of black water laden with the soluble and valuable elements of the manure run away from the manure heap during every heavy rain, the sun burns it, and the Avinds dry it, the volatile gases escape and are lost. In this AA'ay a large part of the plant food contained in the manure is lost. That a serious loss is thus occasioned has been proved by experiment. A Scotch farmer and land-owner shoAved by experiment that covered manure increased the productiveness of his land enough the first year he used it to pay the cost of rough sheds put up to protect it. Four acres of good land were measured off ; two of them were manured AA'ith ordinary barnyard manure, and the other tAvo Avith an equal quantity of manure from the covered shed. Tlie whole Avas planted to potatoes, The two acres manured with barnyarci 72 THE FARM. manure, which had been exposed to the weather, yielded five hundred and sixty-four bushels of potatoes, while the other two acres manured with covered manure, yielded nine hundred and thirteen bushels, or four hun- dred and fifty-one bushels more than the other. The increased efl'ect of the covered manure did not cease with the' first year. The next year both plots were sown with wheat, and from the two acres dressed with the barnyard manure ninety biishels of wheat were harvested, wbile from the two acres dressed -with the covered manure, one hundred and eight biashels of wheat were obtained. These facts show the importance of protecting the barn manure from the weather. The Fertility of Soils. — The fertility of a soil depends not alone on its composition. A proper mechanical te"ture is essential. On the texture of soils depends not only their suitableness for the growth of different crops, but likewise the rapidity of their growth. It is the texture, also, which regulates to a just extent the soil's power of absorbing and retaining heat, moisture and manure. To be fertile the soil must be firm enough to aftbrd a proper degree of support to the growing plants, and yet loose enough to allow the dehcate fibres of the rootlets to extend themselves in all directions. It must be loose enough to allow free access of air and suitable drainage, and at the same time close enough to retain sufficient moisture. Unless there be a sufficiently free passage for the rain throughout the substance of the soil the plant food will not be properly prepared, nor the stationary roots of plants be fed. The fertiUty of a soil is also dependent on the cnmate in which it lies. Local conditions as to rainfall, temperature, etc., must be considered in estimating the value of soils. They may be the same in composition and texture and yet difier widely in value. The amount of rain, the season of its descent determine largely the value of the soil of localities for agriculture. The temperature of the air in any given locality has an important bearing upon the productiveness of the soil, whatever may be its composition and texture and the amoiyit of rainfall. Crreeii Maimres. — I have never yet been able to make as much barn- yard manure as I wanted, writes a Southern fanner, and commercial fer- tilizers are dangerous things to come in contact with a farmer's pocket, so I touch them lightly; then what is the next best resort? Green manures. In the fall of 1882, I determined to try rye as a fall crop, and I sowed a tAventy-tive acre lot in it, and the following May I plowed it under, when fully headed, and sowed black peas, one bushel per acre (having used the same quantity of rye) . We had a nice pea fallow, and plowed them under about the first of October, and sowed wheat in the latter part of October, 1883. Last year we cut the wheat, and though it had the rust very badly, we made between twelve and fifteen bushels per acre. The growth of the straw Avas very fine, and I am confident Ave would have made from tAventy to thirty bushels per acre but for the rust, on laud that would not, "before these green fallows, have made ten bushels of Avheat. I now beUeve you may groAV wheat on the same lauds every year by following each crop with a pea-fallow, along with ten bushels of lime per acre, applied when the peas are falloAved in. We did not apply any lime on our fallow, as the land had been limed a few years before with fifty bushels per acre. I verily believe the lands can be ci'opped, as above stated, and constantly improved. We should never buy peas to sow but once, and thus saA'e oui* seed each year, FERTILIZERS. 73 even if you have to sow a separate lot for that purpose. I have tried peas as a fallow crop for the past three years, and find them the best and cheap- est substitute for barn-yard manures that the poor land farmer can find. They are good to sow on the corn lauds, at the last working iu June, and fallow in when the corn is cut off in October; and I have been told, by some old farmers, that they will improve the land just as much if left until the frost kill them, and then fallow, as Avhen fallowed under green. If all farmers would use every means in thek power to feed and improve their lands, we would soon have a different country from the present. Bone Dust for Top Di-es.sing — In reply to a correspondent who asks if bone dust would not make a good dressing for grass land to be applied in the fall, the American AgrlcuUarist says: " We think it would be better to compost the bone dust with yard manure and then apply the compost. If six or eight cords of this fine compost were appUed to the acre it would only fux-nish a good dressing of itself, which the land would be the better for, would act as a sort of mulch or protection for grass roots, and if the soil was at all inclined to 'heave,' it would be a positive benefit. But our corre- spondent must remember that the disadvantage of iising bone dust or ground bone alone, as a fertilizer, is the fact oi its slow action. The ni- trogen and phosphoric acid which the bones contain is very slowly rendered available for plants, on account of their insoluble nature; bxit where the bone dust is added to yard or barn manure as a compost, the bones cause the mass to ferment somewhat, and the heat engendered hberates the phos- phoric acid and nitrogen, which is absorbed by the manure and given out more quickly to plants when brought in contact with them. Good practice and the last scientific authorities have united in recommending this as the best treatment for ground bone and the best manner of its appUcation to plants. Fifty pounds of ground bone to a cord of manure would be sufii- cient." Liiquid Manure for hardening — It is well known that the liquid ma- nure of animals is more valuable than the solids. In all densely populated countries all these are carefully saved and carried direct to the fields, or stored in tanks for future use. In the West, and indeed all over the United States, but little attention is paid to the liquid wastes of the stables and yards. This has given rise to the saying that " the leaks in the stable^re not in the roof." The point is, that it 'costs but little more in building a stable to provide drainage through which the liquid manure may safely be carried to a tank or a tight-bottomed pond in the yard, than it does to leave the whole without drainage, to rot the foundations and saturate the soil beneath. Once conveyed to the place of deposit, it may be pumped to the manure pile, or carried direct to the garden, the meadow, or fields, where it will pay for the labor expended, ten-fold. For the garden it is especially valuable, for here the chief expense is in the cultivation. It costs no more to cultivate an acre of thoroughly enriched land than an acre of poor land; in fact, not so much, for on rich soil the vegetation will quickly cover the gi'ound, and thus smother the weeds, while on poorer soil the weeds continue to grow during the whole summer. If no other convenience be at hand, a hogshead may be placed in the wagon, having an orifice at the bottom, to which a hose may be attached, and thus the land may be watered on either side as the team passes through the cen- tral drive, which every garden should have for convenience in hauling in 74 THE FARM. aud hauling out manure, trash and produce. If this be not feasible, on ac- count of the small size of the garden, a can with a flat spout, or even largo buckets to which a flat poiiring place is added, will be speedy and efficient. Gardeners well know the value of manure, and especially of liquid ma- nure. They spare no pains or price to get all they can, and often apply from 20 to 40 loads of compost or decomposed manure per acre, annually. It is what makes or mars the profit in gardening.' The result of the gardener's experience may be easily learned by any farmer who reads, if indeed, it be not so devoted to impractical matter that the jiroper talent in tliis direction is not retained. It is just this that makes the difterence in the value of any technical journal. If it spread over too much ground, it is efficient in no- thing. Just so with the individual. If he engage in three or four separate callings, some of them must sufter. The field of agricultiire is broad enough, and in this field there is none more important than the proper saving and application of manure, and especially so in the vegetable gar- den which no farmer. hoAvever few his acres, can aflbrd to be without, es- pecially if he have due regard for the health of his family. , Application of Fertilizers. — Kecent experiments have demonstrated that whei-e the appUcation of superphosphates to the soil has produced no effect, the cause was to be attributed to a sufficiency of those salts already existing therein. Where 2 cwts. soil contain less than 3 1-2 ounces of phos- phoric acid, the superphosphate will prove beneficial. When it contains 5 ounces of phosjDhoric acid, the addition of the salt will turn out to be useless. It follows from this that, contrary to the received opinion, it is not necessary to apply nitrates mixed Avith the phosphates, when the latter are present in the soil. M. Paguoul continues his interesting experiments as to the solu- bility of phosphates by di\erse agents. He conclusively proves that stable, indeed, we may add barn-yard manure, will dissolve natural phosphates in the powdered state, and thus economize the expensive superphosphates. A Patent Fertilizer AVliicli Aiiyljocly May Use. — This invention re- lates to a combination of chemicals to be used in connection with dry peat, or muck and unleached ashes, or with any refuse matter having fertilizing properties, to form a fertilizing compound; and it consists in combining dis- solved bone, ground plaster, nitrate of soda, sulphate of soda and sulphate of ammonia, in proportion substantially as follows: Dissolved bone, three bushels; ground plaster, three bushels; nitrate of soda, forty pounds; sulphate of soda, forty pounds; and sulphate of am- monia, thirty-three pounds. This mixture is incorporated with, say, twenty bushels of dry peat or muck, and three bushels of unleached ashes. The manner of preparing a fertilizing compound from the above ingredi- ents is as follows: The peat or muck and ashes, if such matter be used as the base of the mixture, are thoroughly mixed with the dissolved bone, and the nitrate of soda, sulphate of soda, and sulphate of ammonia, after being dissolved in water, added thereto. The ingredients are next incorporated with the ground plaster, after which the compound is allowed to stand for, say, thirty or forty days, when it becomes ready for use. The Work of Potasli.-Ipotash is a fertihzing element whose restora- tion to the soil is indispensable, as it is carried off by crops in considerable proportions. This restitution becomes the more imperative when plants of the leguminous family, such as clover, disappear, to be replaced by mass. Unwashed wood ashes, containing six to eight per cent, of potash, and three to four of phosphoric acid, ofteu produce marvelous eflfects; the mass dis- appears, and the clover aud similar plants take its place. M. Rimpeau, at Schlanstedt, Saxony, aud Prince William, at Schaum- bourg, have been occupied with the influence of potash on the production of sugar in beets. After the bedding Avas cleaned h\ the morning, the boards were strewn with one cwt. of kainite and one-half cwt. of gypsum, per two tons of soiled bedding; the latter, on being removed, was allowed to steep in putrid wine, and in time ai^plied at the rate of eleven tons per acre, to a marly soil. The manure, enriched with kainite, produced a slight augmen- tation in yield of roots, over the gypsum combination. The salient fact elucidated by Prince William on his estate in Bohemia is, that chloride of potassium exercises no essential action in humid years, while in dxy seasons one and a half cwt. per acre secures an increase of three tons of roots per acre; that the salt of potash acts less by furnishing that element to vegeta- tion, than by its absorbing and retaining humidity for the plant. Asliejj in Hie Coiupost. — When ashes are used in combination Avith stable manure, the latter is decomposed too rapidly, but if immediately ap- plied to the land there is no waste, or if covered with loam, the component parts are rendered more soluble and the maniire acts Avith greater rapidity. If the liquid excrement from the cows is mixed Avith the manure, sufficient soluble matter is thereby supplied for a first crop, and Avhile the ci'op is groAving and maturing, the solid manure has been decomposing and prepar- ing for another crop; or, it may be said, the liquid manure Avill give the yoimg plant a quick start, while afterwards the solid part Avill aid in finishing the crop. Ashes do not act so quickly on hen manure as on stable manure, since the former is much di'yer; consequently decomposition does not take place immediately. If applied soon after composting, the compound Avill giA^e good results, but if allowed to remain too long after composting, the ammonia Avill be lost to some extent. If the compost be covered with fresh loam, there will be no loss, since the loam will absorb the ammonia. HoAv to Keep and Spread Manures. — It seems to be conclusively settled in Europe that by far the best Avay to keep manure is to let it remain under the animals all Avinter, acciimulating to a depth of several feet under them, and absorbing all the urine. When thus tramped doAvn fii^-mly it ncA'er heats, and is fully one-fourth stronger than when jiiled out doors ex- posed to the Sim and rain, both of Avhich injure it greatly. The animals are kept clean by abundant applications of leaves, loose straAV, etc., for beds. Mr. Gregory, the great Marblehead seedsman, pronounces night soil or priA'y manure to be fully fifty per cent, stronger than that of animals. It is too strong to apply separately and requires to be decomposed AAdth stable manure to get the best results. In China, Japan and East, all human manure is carefully saved. There it is carried about in buckets, and is very highly prized as a vahiable article. In this country it is recklessly throAvn away and wast*?d, being treated as a nuisance. In no possible manner can the fer- tility of lands be so kept up as by saAang all the excrement from men and animals, voided after eating their food, and returning it to the soil from which it came. Value of Home-Made Man.ure._Of manures, that of the coav is the poorest, that of the horse being double in value, and that of the hog five times that of the horse. Hen manure, mixed with tAVO or three times its OAvn bulk of muck, or even loam, is as good as most guano kept for sale. Ashes, 76 THE FARM. leached or unleacbed, are excellent. The contents of the closet may be kept inodorous, and in an easily workable condition, by casting plaster on them frequently until removed, and then by adding four times as much more of muck or loam, you will have a fertilizer equal to poudrette. Bones, old boots and shoes, hogs' bi'istles, and all old scraps, which would otherwise lie about as nuisances and eyesores to all who see them, may be made solu- ble and fit for fertilizing by burying them in unleacbed ashes, -with an occa- sional slight watering and stirring of the heap, and addition of ashes, until reduced to a proper state for piilverizing. The pig should be supplied with all the weeds you can gather before they seed, and peat, muck, turf, etc., if thrown into his yard, he will work over, and pay for his keeping by largely increasing the amount of manure. He will work over ten or twelve loads if given to him. Clover as a Fertilizer. — A stick of Wood burned on the surface mostly passes off in gas, lea\ing only the ashes; but the same stick if burned in a coal-pit, excluded from the air, forms a mass of carbon of nearly or quite its original si^e. Now all decay of vegetable matter is a slow combustion, and when tliis is done under the soil, uot only the gases retained in the soil, but laore carbon is fonned, and this carbon has the power to appropriate the valuable gases always present in the atmosphere. The great value of clover as a fertilizer is due, first to the carbon furnished by the decay of the plant, and second to the fine mechanical effect on the soil, which renders it porous, so that the atm(*Ji)hore penetrates it and deposits plant food. It is clear that better fertilizing effects will result from tlie plowing down of the crop to decay in the soil. Ordinarily moi-e can be made out of the tops than they are worth for manure, and if rightly niftnagod, the roots will supply the needed fertility. Home-iuade Snperpliospliate. — A Western journal remarks that almost eveiy farmer has upon his own premises one of the best superphos- phate maniires known. The elements are found in the old bones, scattered carelessly over yard, garden and farm, and common wood ashes, generally allowed to go to waste. If the liones are gathered, placed under shelter, thoroughly mixed with three or four times their bulk of ashes, kept moist with water enough to make a good lye and occasionally stirred and mixed, they will, in a few months, become so tender and friable that they may be pounded into powder, and in this state they form a valiiable manure, better than the average of the commercial fertilizers that seem so expensive. The ashes, of course, should be mixed with the bones. The fertilizer thus made should be applied by the handful in the hill of corn, and its effects may be early seen in the deep, rich green of the growing plant. This may seem like small business to a farmer who has but little spare time, but it is l)y just such economy that our best farms become so profitable, and it is by lack of such economy that so many farms fail to yield even a comfortable living. Soap Siifls. — The value of this article as a stimulant of vegetable life can- not be too highly appreciated. It contains the aliment of plants in a state of ready solution, and when applied, acts not only with immediate and obvious effect, but with a sustained energy wliich pertains to few even of the most concentrated manures. When it is not convenient — the most economical method, perhaps, of using it — it should be absorbed by materials which may be used as an ingredient in the compost heap. Suds, muck, and other similar articles, should be deposited where the suds from the sink and FEETILIZEUS. 11 laundry cau 6ud its way to them and be absorbed for the benefit of the cMops. In this "vvay several loads of manure, suitable for the support and suste- nance of any crop, may be made at comparatively small expense. The highly putrescent character of this fermentable liquid qualifies it admirably for the irrigation of compost heaps of whatever material composed. Being a potent fertiHzer, it must of course impart additional richness to almost any material to which it may be added. Try it, and mark the result. Manure for Almost Nothing. — If you have any dead animal — say, for instance, the body of a dead horse — do not suffer it to pollute the atmos- phere by drawing it away to the woods or any other out-of-the-way place, but remove it a short distance only from your premises, and put down four or five loads of muck or sods, place the carcass thereon, and sprinkle it over Avith quicklime, and cover over immediately with sods or mold suificient to make, with what had been previously added, twenty good wagonloads, and you will have within twelve months a pile of manure worth twenty dollars for any crop you choose to put it upon. Use a proportionate quantity of mold for smaller animals, but never less than twenty good wagon-loads for a horse; and if any dogs manifest too great a regard for the enclosed carcass, shoot them on the spot. Poultry Manure — Fifty fowls will make, in their roosting house alone, ten cwt. per annum of the best manure in the world. Hence fifty fowls will make more than enough manure for an acre of land, seven cwt, of guano be- ing the usual quantity aj^plied per acre, and poultry manure being even richer than guano in ammonia and fertilizing salts. No other stock will give an equal return in this way; and these figures demand careful atten- tention from the large farmer. The manure, before using, should be mixed with twice its bulk of earth, and then allowed to stand in a heap, covered with a few inches of earth, till decomposed throughout, when it makes the very best manure which can be had. An Experiment with Aslies— An experiment made with five wagon loads of coal ashes on twenty square rods of ground may be cited as an in- stance of beneficial mechanical effects. The amount of ashes was about two hundred bushels, that is to say, ten bushels to the rod. They wei"e drawn on late in the fall, the ground having been recently plowed. In the spring, the ground was plowed again, thus mixing the ashes with the soil. It was then planted with garden stuffs. All the plants made more growth than in the previous year, when the groimd, after being liberally manured, was planted to the same crops. But the favorable change was not attributable to manurial properties in the coal ashes. Before the appUcation the soil Avas compact and heavy, a fault that the ashes corrected, and without doubt this Avas practically the sole effect. Peter Henderson on Fertilizers. — Peter Henderson says that the best known fertilizers of commerce are Peruvian guano and bone dust. What- ever kind of concentrated fertilizer is used, he finds it Avell repays the labor to prepare it as follows before it is applied to the land: To every bushel of guano or bone dust add three bushels of leaf mold, well pulverized dry miick, yard scrapings, well decomposed stable matter, or, if neither of these can be obtained, any loamy soil, but in every case the mateiial mixed with the fertilizer must be fairly dry, as it is used as a temporary absorbent for the fertilizer. 18 THE FARM. Top-Dressiiig— Some farmers think that top-dressing with manure is best done during the winter. In the fall the manure, unless very fine and evenly spread, will cover up injuriously much of the plant. When spread in winter, on the contrary, it acts as a mulch and a protection while the plant is dormant, neutralizing the effects of fx-eezing and thawing. An au- thority on the subject advises that artificial fertilizers be spread on grain* lands in the fall, and barnyard manure after the snow comes. Improving Liiglit Soil. — The best way to improve a light sandy soil is to put on all the vegetable matter you can, either in the form of muck from swamps, or by turning under peas, buckwheat, clover, or some similar crop. If the land is very poroiis, more or less of the fertilizing materials a^jplied will sink out of the reach of ordinaiy crops. Your main point is to get the land full of A'egetable matter, not only to increase its fertility, but to make it hold moisture in summer. Liquid Manure—The liquid voidings of animals are worth more (good authoiities say one-sixth more), pound for pound, than the solid excrements, and are saved with greater care by the best European farmers and gar- deners. All the leaks in the stable are not in the roof; those often in the floor are quite as objectionable, and are the cause of a great deal of wastage. Make the stable lioor tight, with a gutter at the heels of the stock to carry it off to an adjacent tank, or into a heap of muck or other absorbent. Saving Pertilixers. — One of the most prevalent errors among average farmers is the neglect of making and preserving manure, and also its im- proper application to the ground. Collect all the refuse material you can, use your chip dirt from the wood pile in absorbing liqiiids. Apply it to the flat lands at any time during winter. It can then be thrown on broadcast and plowed in as soon as the ground ojDeus. The necessity of returning as miich vegetable nutriment to the ground as has been taken ofl' by the crop cannot be too strongly impressed upon the attention of our farmers. Ho-»v to Apply Manure. — The old plan of plowing under manure has pretty much been abandoned by many farmers as wasteful. Advanced farming believes and teaches that the intimate and thorough incorporation of the fertilizing principle, into that portion of the soil which is to be occu- pied immediately by roots of the growing crop, is a truth taught by experi- ence on all soils, and in all climates, and the more evenly and thoroughly this is done the more surely will the crop be satisfactory. Spreading Manure. — An English writer says: " The wasteful practice of spreading manure on surface of the soil, and allowing it to lie bleaching for weeks, and even months before being plowed in, is still carried on in some counties in England, and stoutly defended by hosts of clay land farmers," and he expresses the oi^inion that "if the perpetrators of such an enormity be right, science is at fault, analysis is an illusion, and am- monia and all its kindred a family of impostors." Mixing Manure in AVinter — When teams are not otherwise employed in the winter it is a good plan to draw the pile of horse manure around horse stables and spread it over the heaps of cattle and sheep excrement. The manure of the horse and the cow especially are admirable supplements each to the other, that from the horse being naturally too active and that from the cow too slow. Enough bedding should be placed under horses to absorb all their liquid excrement, so that none be wasted. FERTILIZERS. 79 Home-Macle Guano. — Save all your fowl manure from sun and rain. To prepare it for use, spread a layer of dry qwamp muck (the blacker it is the better) on your barn floor, and dump on it the whole of your fowl ma- nure; beat it into a tine powder with the back of your spade; this done, add hard wood ashes and plaster of Paris, so that the compound shall be com- posed of the following proportions: Dried muck, four bushels; fowl manure, two bushels; ashes, one bushel; plaster, one and one-half bushels. Mix thoroughly, and spare no labor; for, in this matter, th the straw which is mixed with it has lost almost entirely its consistence, when it has become greasy, and the smell is not longer the same as when fresh. It is difficult to obtain a good material without preparing a heap of at least three feet each way; and if that quantity is not required for making the beds, the surplus may with advantage be used in the kitclien-garden. The material is now brought to the place where the beds are to be made, which may be of any form and size; but experienc.e has shown that the best way to make use of space and material is to raise the beds to a height of from twenty to twenty- four inches, with a width of about the same at the founda- tion. An excessive rise of tke tempera- ture, in consequence of renewed fermen- tation, is to be less feared than when the beds are of larger dimensions. When a large place is at disposal, preference is given to beds with two slant- ing sides; when the beds are resting agarast a wall, and consequently pre- sent but one available side, the width ought to be less than the height. Barrels sawn in two, so that each part forms a tub, are well adapted to form beds, as Avell as simple shelves on which sugar-loaf-shaped beds may be raised, which, already formed, may be carried into Cellars, etc., where the introduction of the raw materials would be objectionable. ^ _ The beds thus established should be left for a few days before spawning, to see whether the fermentation will not be renewed with ex- cessive vigor, which may be ascertained by the touch of the hand, but it is safer to use the thermometer; as long as the temperature exceeds 86 degrees Fahr. the bed is too hot, and it should be al- lowed to cool by itself, or by making openings with a stick to allow the heat to escape. When the temperature remains at 76 degrees, it is time for spawning. Prepared spawn is found in the seed stores at all times, which may be kept without trouble from year to year. The spawn sold in France is not in bricks or sohd lumps, as in England, but in light masses of scarcely half- decomposed loose and dry litter. A few days before epawmng, it is advisable to expose the syawn to a moderately Warm moisture, which %Mill insure a safer and more rapid growth; it should be broken up in pieces about the len^h and thicknesa of "the haad MOVABLE SHELF. 80 THE FARM. by half that width, and inserted into the bed at a distance of ten to twelve inches each way; on beds twenty to twenty-four inches in height, which are mostly in use, it should be inserted in two rows, dove-tail fashion. Where the bed is situated iu a place under cover and of an even temper- ature, nothing else is to be done but to wait for the growth; if, however, the bed is placed in the open air and exposed to change of the weather, it must be covered with long litter or hay to keep a uniform temperature all around the bed. Under favorable circumstances, and if the work has been done well, the spawn ought to show activity in seven or eight days; it is advisable to look to it, and to replace such spaAvn as might not thrive, which can be seen by the absence of white filaments in the surrounding materials. Fifteen to twenty days later the spawn ought to have taken possession of the whole bed and should come to the surface; the top and sides of the bed should then be covered with soil, for Avhich a light mold in preference to a heavy one should be used, slightly moistening it, without making it too wet. If it does not naturally contain saltpetre, it would be good to administer a small quantity of salt or saltpetre, or to give it a watering of liquid manure. The covering with soil should not exceed more than an inch in depth, and be pressed strongly so as to adhere firmly; watering should only be done where the soil becomes very dry. Where a covering has been re- nu)ved for some purpose it must be replaced at once. A few weeks after, according to the state of temperature, more or less, the mushrooms Avill appear. In gathering them care should be taken to fill the empty spaces with the same soil as used for the covering. Leaving the bed to itself, it will produce from two to three months; but its fertility may be prolonged by careful waterings at a temperature of 68 degrees to 86 de- grees Fahr., Avith an admixture of guano or saltpetre. By establishing under cover three or four beds annually in succession, a continued supply may be reckoned upon; besides, during the summer months, beds may be raised out-of-doors a^. very little expense, securing an abundant supply. Frames in which vegetables are forced may in the inter- vals be used for mushroom culture Avith very good results, providing the temperature be congenial, and that the yottng miishrooms are slightly pro- tected Avith soil as soon as they appear. — Tlte Americati Garden. Asparagus. — A Avriter in the Mdssdchusetts Floughmati says: I desire to impress upon the attention of our farmers the importance of using asparagus more largely as a luxury of the table. It is more rarely to be found in coun- try gardens than any other esculent, and Avhen found hard to take note of, as the plat is scarcely bigger than a door mat and furnishes about enough shoots for one square meal. When an expenditure of tAvo or three dollars Avill provide a bed Avhich Avill last tAventy or twenty-five years, and annually furnish one of the earliest and most delicious vegetables, it seems almost impossible to account for its being so much neglected by the farming com- munity. It is not only an appetizer and a luxury but a very valuable diure- tic, and especially beneficial to sedentaiy persons and all Avho are troubled AA'ith symptoms of gravel. Our best growers make a bunch of sixteen stalks Aveigh four pounds. Almost evei-y one who cultivates vegetables knows how to make an asparagus bed, but the opinions as to its after treatment are very discordant. For a private family the bed should not be less than five feet wide and twenty feet long. Dig out the ground two, or better, three feet deep, and fill up with chips, sawdust or sticks of wood packed close together five or six inches from the bottom. Put on this six inches of the strongest stable manure, and fill np to the top with manure and dirt, about half and half. The whole space need not be dug out at once, but the bed can be made in the usual mode of trenching. The roots may now be put in over the entire bed ten inches apart, or in single rows two feet apart, and ten inches plant from plant, and then covered with rich soil about three inches deep, and over the whole a peck of salt and a peck of ashes mixed to- gether, sown. , Asparagus, being a marine plant requiring salt and alkalies for fertilizers, needs in most localities an annual supply of these materials, thoiigh culti- vators living within the influence of the sea -coast say they can find no bene- fit in using salt. The beds, of course, are to be kept clean at all times, and an abundant supply of liquid manure from the stable or washroom during the summer will bo found the best method of manuring. The ordinary method of after culture in this coitntry is to let the stalks grow until Novem- ber, then cut them down. Cover the bed with coarse manure, and in the spring fork it in. In France the stems are cut down to about thirteen inches. In England they do as we, cutting down to the ground, but uncovering the stools, so as to leave on only a very slight covering of soil. Now, for small gardens in which asparagus is grown for family use, I doubt the propriety of cutting down the stalks in the fall, and consider it the best plan to let them ^tand until spring, and then put on the bed all the old pea-brush or other loose dry material, and burn them and the stalks together, and the ashes will furnish all the manure required, and the bed go on improving indefi- nitely. The practice of the Romans was to "burn the haulm in its own X)lace." And later authorities say, "Cut the dry tops close early in the spring, spread and burn them evenly on the grou^nd, hoe and rake the beds over, and you will have large crops for twenty-five years." Not far from my residence is an asparagus-bed which the present owner, now an octogenarian, helped make more than half a century ago. The only manuring it has re- ceived for the latter half that period is the annual spring burning of the stalks and refuse material on the bed, and it is not only vigorous, but im- proving, sending up new shoots to fill the vacant places occasioned by too late cutting. If this practice works well in Bei'kshire, where the frost de- scends to the depth of several feet, and asparagus-beds are not injured, though covered with nothing but the haulms, during such a winter as last, when the white mantle of snow was wanting, it would seem to be adapted to any chmate. The greatest injury to beds of asparagus is cutting too late. Cut all the shoots at a suitable age up to the 20th of June. Always cut below the sur- face. In Spain, previously to the cutting, the bed is covered lightly with dead leaves to the depth of about six or eight inches, and the cutting does not commence till the plants peep through this covering. In France the cultivators form over each stool a conical lump of soil, like a large mole-hill, ten to twelve inches high, in early spring or soon as the ground is dry, and the asparagus is gathered when it pushes an inch or two above the hills. In the climate of Paris the cutting is never prolonged beyond the middle of June. The experience of nearly all who grow this vegetable is, that if some shoots are not allowed to go to seed, the plants will soon become weakened, and die. Celery. — Our manner of treating ^the celery crop of late years is very muclvsimplified, says Mr. Peter Henderson. Instead of sowing the seed in gS ^BE FARM. a hot-bed or cold frame, as practiced in Europe, it is sown in the opeii ground, as soon as it is fit to work, in April, and kept carefully clear of weeds until the time of planting, in June and July. In our warmer climate, if raised in hot-beds, as in England, a majority of the plants would run to seed. The tops are shorn off once or twice before planting, so as to insure "stocky" plants, which suffer less on being transplanted. After the ground has been nicely prepared, hues are struck out on the level surface, three feet apart, and the plants set six inches apart in rows. K the weather is dry at the time of planting, great care should be taken that the roots are properly "firmed." Our custom is to turn back on the row, and press by the side of each plant gently with the foot. This compacts the soil, and partially excludes the air from the roots until new rootlets are formed, which will usually be in forty-eight hours, after which all danger is over. This practice of pn-ssiug the soil closely ai'ound the roots is essential iu planting of all kinds, aud millions of plants are annually destroyed by its omission. After the planting of the celery is completed, nothing further is to be done for six or seven weeks, except running through between the rows with the ciiltivator or hoe, and freeing the plants of weeds, until they get strong enough to crowd them down. This will bring us to about the middle of August, by which time we have usually that moist and cold atmosphere essential to the growth of celerj'. Then we begin the " earthing up " neces- sary for the blanching and whitening of that which is wanted for use during the months of September, October, and November. The fii'st operation is that of "handling," as we term it; that is, after all the soil has been drawn up against the plant Avith the hoe, it is further drawn close around each plant by the hand, firm enough to keep the leaves in an upright position and prevent them from spreading. This being done, more soil is drawn against the row (either by the plow or hoe, as circumstances require), so as to keep the plant in this upright position. The blanching process must, however, be finished by the spade, which is done by digging the soil from between the rows, and banking it up clear to the top on each side of the row of celen,'. Three feet is ample distance between the dwarf varieties, but when larger sorts are used the width of the rows must be at least four and a half or five feet. An Easy Method of BlancUing Celery. — The common and laborious process of earthing up and winter storage of celery is doubtless a great ob- stacle in the way of its culture by many busy farmers. The Country Gerdle- tnnn suggests this easy method of blanching, which does away altogether with the necessity of trenches or banking, at least for moderate supplies: "If intended for winter blanching, about the middle of November they are taken up on a dry day and placed in water-tight troughs or other vessels iu a quite dark cellar, the plants standing erect and closely together. Enough water is poured on the roots to cover them, and the supply is continued through the winter as it evaporates. This constitutes the entire labor. The stalks are gradually and handsomely blanched in the darkness, and many new ones spring up during the winter months, especially if the apartment is not very cold, and these new shoots are remarkable for their delicacy an(3 perfect freedom from any particle of rust, appearing like polished ivoiy. A small separate apartment in the cellar, without windows, answers well for this purpose. Boxes, tubs, or any vessels Avhich will hold a few inches of water may be employed. The plants, as grown in the open ground, need not be earthed up at all, or they may be slightly earthed to bring them into THK nAr.DEf. 89 a move compact form, if desired. Probably the best way would be to adopt the ceurse which is sometimes employed of setting out the plants in summer on the level surface of deep, rich soil, eight or ten inches or a foot apart each way, in order that their close groAvth may tend to give them a more upright form. They are merely kept clean by hoeing through the season. Catiliflo-wer.—The growing of cauliflowers is receiving more attention than formerly, particularly so the earlier varieties. The crops of Dwarf Erfurt and Snowball begin to come forward in June, and these, with the later sorts, are in market almost without intermission until November. Cauhflowers requii*e very liigli cultivation, even more so than cabbages, and plenty of moisture. Whether grown in the kitchen garden or upon a large scale, the crop is a paying one. The demand is evidently rapidly increasing, and there is no more delicious vegetable grown. Cold-frame plants are probably the best and hardiest for early crops; the frames, however, need rather more protection during cold nights than is re- quired for cabbage plants. Seeds sown in hot-beds in February will pro- duce plants that are not much, if any, inferior to cold-frame plants. They should be transplanted out once before setting in the open ground, and also should be gradually hardened by exposure; in this way they may be in con- dition to set out as early in April as the ground will permit. Set the early sorts about two feet by fifteen inches, and cultivate the same as cabbages. Where irrigation is jpracticable, great advantage is thus obtained during a drought. For late cauliflowers, sow seed in open ground, from the middle of May till the middle of June, in hills, the same as directed for late cabbages. Thin to one plant in each hill; this avoids the drawbacks resulting from transplanting in a dry time. When the plants first appear, they are liable to the attacks of a small black fly; guard against this by frequent dusting with plaster, which apply in the morning, while the dew is on. When the heads are forming, tie the leaves together at the top, thus avoiding discoloration by exposure to the sun. Tomato Culture. — Perhaps no other garden vegetable, says a com- petent authority, has grown more or faster in public favor than the tomato. It is one of the most profitable garden crops, if cultivated right and got iuto the market early, I have made tomato culture a special study for the last six or seven years, endeavoring to grow the best and earliest tomatoes. T would get all the new varieties I could to test, cultivating them in the best way according to my knowledge and judgment to make the vines produce the earliest and nearest perfect fruit. I will give the mode of cultivating that I have found to be the best and most profitable way as yet. Start the plants in a hot-bed; sow the seeds in a box large enough to hold the required number of plants wanted; sow in this box in rows one or two inches apart the seeds thick, and insert in the hot-bed up to the top. When the plants have four or six leaves, transplant in another hot-bed four inches apart. Notice that the beds are the same or near the same temperature. The transplanting is done to give the plants more room and give them abun- dance of roote. The plants should be hardened by taking oft" all cover, or if sash is used raise them of a warm, clear day. When all danger of frost is past, transplant to the open ground. Break the ground deep and work it mellow, mixing with the soil all the manure that can be spared from other crops, for the richer the soil, if it is warm, the better. Mark off the rows five feet apart; put one or two shovelfuls of rich, well-rotted manure every §0 THE FARM. three feet in the rows, working it well with the soil, and set the plant some deeper than it was in the bed. Before taking the plants np, wet the bed thoroughly, and take np as much soil with the plant as you can. Set in cloudy weather, if you can, if the weather is warm. The least check the plants re- ceive the better. As soon as they start to grow, begin to cultivate them. Cultivate the balk or space between the rows, deep and thoroughly, raking the ground level. Cultivate every three days, if the weather will admit. Kemember, tillage is eorliness! Tillage is manure. As soon as the laterals or suckers appear keep them off. At the second or third cultivation top-dress the ground with hen manure and work it in the soil. If you have but little hen manure, just piit it around the hills. Keep the vines nicely and well tied up to stakes. As soon as the fi-uit begins to form, go through the vines and keep all imperfect, deformed fruit off and all laterals. Sell by the number, three to five cents each. Sell to the consumer; they are the ones to appreciate nice fruit, and vnll pay for it too. As soon as the fruit is grown let the suckers alone; they will give you fruit later. Varieties — Perfection, Paragon; or Acme is very nice, but I pre- fer the two first. Tx-aiiviiig Tomato Plants. — There is no doubt that a greater quantity of desirable fruit is obtained when the branches of each tomato plant are elevated on brush or frames, as the fruit is by this means exposed to sun and air; oftentimes only one stake is employed; any arrangement that brings about the required exposure and keeps the fruit from the groiind will serve a good purpose. The maturity of the first fruit that seta may be greatly accelerated by piuching off the extremities of the tops and the surrounding shoots that appear. A good rule is to stop side shoots at the first blossom. A novel method of training the tomato plant appeared in a report of the Maine Pomological Society. Stakes seven or eight feet long were inserted in the ground the last of May, three feet apart, in a warm, sheltered location, and strong tomato plants were procured, which had been started under a glass and contained one or two blossom buds. These were planted near the stakes. The plant was then tied to the stake with listing, and all the side branches which had pushed at the axillar or angles formed by the separation of the leaves, were pinched or cut out with scissors, so as to compel the plant to grow on a single stem; and every week during the season, these branches were removed, and the stems, from time to time, were tied to the stake. When a sufficient number of clusters had been formed, the remainder were removed, so as to concentrate the whole energies of the plant to the growth and ripening of the remaining tomatoes; and the heavier branches were sup- ported by tying them to the stakes. It was claimed for this method that the ripening of the fruit was not only hastened, but its size increased. Liate Tomatoes. —To raise late tomatoes a good plan is to stick into each watermelon hill a tomato plant. They do not interfere with the former, and come in after the garden crop gives out. Those coming in late are the best for canning and putting up for winter use. Onion Gro-wing. — A successful gardener writes: Let me say to those who, by reason of repeated failures, have become discouraged, and aban- doned the growing of onions, that if they will put the following directions in practice they will be astonished at the result. One of the most important and first considerations is the soil, for it is of no more use to try on unsuit- THE GARDEN. 91 able soil than it is to " spit against the -svind," and if you attempt it you will only " get your labor for your pains." Illie soil must be eleau, rich, and light, not a gravelly kind, or one so dry as to suffer from drouth— sandy loam is the best. Next, the ground should be heavily salted, and this well worked in before soAving. The sowing should be done in April, and as early in the month as possible; " delay is dangerous." With a heavy roller, or the feet, or in some way, the ground in which the seeds lie should be pi-essed down quite hard. "Weeding should be attended to as soon as you can safely do so, and as often as the grass (which is the only weed that Avill be likely to appear if the ground has been heavily salted) appears and is large enough to pull (the smaller the better), being careful not to throw earth upon the onions in any way or at any time during their growth. FoUoav these rules, and if weather favors, success is certain, and the weather must be quite unusual to cause failure. The tops should be left on the bed or held to rot, or to spade or plow in; and onions improve by being grown on the same ground year after year. While I believe it to be better to work the soil up fine for the reception of the seed, and after sowing to press the ground down hard upon the seed, yet I have known very good crops grown by making a groove or furrow with a sharp instrument in itnplowed ground, covering the seed with the earth thrown out by the process, pressing it down, a heavy coat of manure having been applied as a top dressing the fall be- fore, and raked or burnt off before sowing. Top dressing is a good practice for onions, whether the land is plowed or not. Plow shallow if you plow at all. A Ne^v Metliocl of Raising Onions. — A neAV method of onion-growing is strongly recommended by a French horticulturist. Some of the seedlings in the original bed should be left standing at iutervals of about a couple of inches, and the spaces between them caused by the removal of the rest, filled in Avith good garden mold mixed Avith pigeon's dung, or ordinary faeces. The beds must be kept Avell watered, and it is said the resulting crop AA^ll astonish the groAver. Kleepiiig Winter Squaslie^. — Many farmers are at a loss to knoAV hoAV some are successful in keeping their squashes in good condition, until May or June, while they lose most of theirs before the end of February; they usually attribute their Avaut of success to causes beyond their control, Avhen a careful investigation Avould shoAv that mismanagement Avas the principal cause. Squashes to keep Avell must, first, be Avell ripened; second, they should be gathered before heavy frosts come; third, should be Avell dried; fourth^ the shell should be Avell glazed over, and while it need not be thick it should be hard; fifth, they should be kept Avhere the temperature is very even, never very cold, or very hot; sixth, in handling, great care should be taken not to bruise them; this is of the highest importance. Many farmers leave their squashes out until the frost kills the vmes; the squashes are thus left exposed to the cold Avinds, and they are frequently left until it is cold enough to freeze water, and change the color of the tops of the squashes; this is fatal to their good keeping. Others, Avhen they find that cold weather has come, hurry them in just as night sets in, and in their haste to get them under cover, they load them into the wagon as though they were stones; thus bruising nine out of every ten to a degree that causes them to rot by ThanksgiAdng time. Squashes are often stored in the barn, in one heap, until they get chilled, when they are carried into a Avarm, damp cellar, Avhere they soon rot, and 92 THE FA M ¥. the owner is at a loss to know the reason. When stored in heaps, if the storehouse be dry, the under squashes will send out moisture in such quan- tities as to keep the whole heap surrounded by moisture. Squashes to keep well, *ould not only be kept in a dry atmosphere ^^•ith a very even tempera- ture, but they should be spread on the floor, or on shelves, so that the air can easily pass between them. All of the sett shell and unripe squashes should be disposed of as soon ,18 possible after they are harvested, and only the hard shell and perfectly ripe ones should be kept for winter; crookueck squashes keep best Avith most people; the reason probably is, they are ripe and are handled Avith care, and are xisVially hiTng up in a dry place. The same treatment of mar- row squashes w^ould no doubt secure A^ery satisfactory results. Sqiiasli CiiKiire, — A successful raiser of squashes says he manages in this way: I dig holes as deep as I conveniently can Avith a hoe, six feet apart, close by the side of early peas or potatoes. As soon as the Aveather will per- mit I stamp a AvheelbarroAv of uufermeuted manure in each hole, pour in a pail of Avatcr, and haul over the manure six inches of eart^i, being careful that the hill is no higher than the surrounding surface. Plant ten or tAveh'e seeds in each hill; Avhen they begin to run, thin to two vines in each lull. The potatoes Avill be tit for family use before the squashes begin to run, and can be dug ahead of them, leaving the ground melloAV, so that the squash vines Avill root at every joint. This is a great saving of ground in a small garden. Train them all one Avay. Experiments in Melon and Stiua,.sli Culture. — A practical gardener makes the following statement: " Last year, as a test of a frequent practice among groAvers of melons and squashes, I pinched the ends of the long main shoots of the melons, squashes, and cucumbers, and left some to ran at their own Avill. One squash-plant sent out a single stem reaching more than forty feet, but did not bear any fruit. Another plant was pinched until it formed a compact mass of interminghng side-shoots eight feet square, and it bore sixteen squashes. The present year a muskmelon-plant thus pinched in, covered the space allotted to it, and it set tAventy-three specimens of fruit; the most of them were pinched cff. The pinching causes many lateral branches, AA'liich latter produce the female or fertile blossoms, Avhile the main vines produce only the male blossoms. The difference in favor of the yield of an acre of melons treated by this pinching process may easily amount to 100 barrels." Hints on Melon Culture. — A correspondent at Brighton, 111., Avrites to an agricultural paper: " Of course everybody who knoAvs anything at all about melon culture understands that melons do best on Avarm sandy land, but everybody, perhaps, don't know that I have raised fine melons on heavy clay soil. I put the land in first-rate condition and fertilize in the hill with Avell-rotted barnyard manure. I also raise the hills a feAv inches above the level to make the ground Avarmer and dryer. I never put seed in the ground until the Aveather is settled and the soil is dry and warm. I use plenty of seed, so as to insure a good stand. The A'ery day the vines begin to shoAv g;reen above ground I begin sprinkling the hills Avith bone-dust, Avhich opera- tion I repeat every day until they ai-e out of reach of the striped bug, that foe to melon patches. Noav I don't say that sprinkling Avith bone-dust is a sure preventive in all cases to the bug, but it has proved a paying applica- tion to me. I have had fewer bugs in my melon patl;h since I began using THE a AM DUN. 93 it, and it also acts as a tonic to the vines, making them more vigorous. I do not confine the applications of bono dust to melon vines, but use it where- ever I fear the striped bugs." A fiejw Method of Watermelon Culture. — A correspondent of the Rural JVeni Yorker describes the following method by which an extraor- dinary ci'Op of watermelons was raised: Holes were dug ten feet apart each way, eighteen inches square and fifteen inches deep. These holes were filled witti well-rotted manure, which was thoroughly incorporated with the soil. A low, flat hill was then made and seed planted. When the vines Avere large enough to begin to run, the whole sui'face was covered to the depth of a foot or tifteeu inches Avith Avheat straAV. The straAv was placed close up around the vines. No cultivation whatever Avas given afterAvard; no Aveeds or grass grcAv. The vines spread over the straAV, and the melons matured clean and nice. The yield Avas abundant, aud the experiment an entire success. This is surely Avorth trying. Boxe^ for Melons and Cucumbers. — It is a good plan to make boxes. Bay twelve inches square and eight inches high, without bottom or top; these, placed over the cucumber or melon hills, and covered with grass, give an impetus to the plants early in the season that nothing short of a hot-bed Avill effect. If very early, place a little fresh manure around these boxes to keep the contents Avarm. It is astonishing what an effect this simple contrivance Avill produce; and not only is it valuable for protection from the cold weather, but it is equally valuable as a protection from melon bugs and other predatory insects that seem to Avatch for our choicest esculents. Cucumbers on TreUises — No one Avho has not tried it can have any idea of the luxurious groAvth of a cucumber when trained on a stake, Avhich has a set of stubby side branches left along its length, and the crop on some so trained Avas enormous. By this the vines occupy less space, and it is the natural habit of the cucumber to climb instead of trailing on the ground. How to Grow Early Cabbage:* — A successful gardener Avrites: I sow the seeds of the kinds I Avish to groAV in February or first of March, in small or shallow boxes, in forcing-pit, hot-bed, or if these are not to be had, a sunny AvindoAv of the house Avill do. The boxes I use are eighteen by twenty-four inches, three inches deep, made of one-half inch boards. The kinds of early cabbage I generally raise are Early Jersey Wakefield (best if pure), Winningstadt, Early Summer and Fottler's Early Druhihead. The first tAVO for early, the others for second early. I only treated the first two as above stated; the second early I sow in common hot-beds from the 1st to the 15th of March. After the seeds sown in boxes are up and about three inches high, it is necessary to transplant them in other boxes, like those they Avere soaa'u in, about one and a half to two inches apart every Avay; or put one plant in each pot, and pots close together in boxes, treating the same as if planted in boxes. Pots are better than boxes, and I use them largely. About o«ie week or ten days before planting in garden, they must be hard- ened off by exposing gradually, night and day, in the open air. I set my plants the end of April or beginning of May. The plants Avhjch are in boxes are taken in the boxes to the part of the garden where the ground is ready to plant. Plant Wakefield twenty inches in roAvs and Early Summer the same; the other kinds tAVenty-four inches. The rows should be thirty inchea jipart, so that a cultivator can be used. Early radish, lettuce, spinach, etc.. 94 THE FARM. can be sown between the cabbage rows, and be out before the cabbage needs all the room. After cabbage, celery can bi^sown, on the same ground. In this Avay other vegetable plants can be raised to advantage. In fact, I have raised all the following with success: Early cauliflower, early lettuce, early kohlrabi, early savoy, early celery, early beet, early tomatoes, early cucumbers and early squashes. Fertilizer for Cal>l>age. — " I tind," says a writer in the Netc England Homei>iead, "that cabbage needs more hoeing and stirring of the soil than almost any other crop. Neither do I approve of too much stable manure, except for an early crop, for it has a tendency to dry the soil and does not furnish potash enough. I had much rather have tobacco stems or stalks, cut up tine and plowed under broadcast, with some chemicals in the drill, for a mediuni or late crop. As to chemicals, Avhether to be used alone or in com- bination with other manures, I recommend this formula as being best and cheapest, wliich every farmer must make for himself: Two hundred pounds of dry ground fish, two hundred pounds of bone meal dissolved in sulphuric acid, two hundred pounds castor pomace and one hundred pounds of muriate potash, or more if the potash salts (kainit) are iised. The fish and castor pomace furnish ammonia in quick and slow forms; the bone, phos- phoric acid; while the potash is very necessary to a cabbage crop. A ton of this mixture costs aboiit $40, and is STiflicient for an acre with light manuring, or half the quantity if mamire is used liberally. This is the best cabbage gi-ower I have found. With it and tobacco stalks, used as described, I raised cabbages that weighed over tAventy pounds. One dozen, as they were taken to market, weighed over two hundred jiounds." . Novel Metliod of Growing Cabbages. — A novel plan for setting celery and cabbage plants which has several desirable points to recommend it, is to place them between the rows of your potatoes or sweet corn after the last hoeing. The gi-owiug corn or potatoes will afford a partial shade which is very desirable at the time of setting the young plants and until they get fully established, and yet ripen and can be removed in time for them to occupy the ground as a second crop. Two crops on one piece of ground with ten dollars' worth of labor and manure Avill afford more profit than one crop on which five dollars are expended. Parsley. — No garden is complete without a parsley bed, and nothing looks prettier or more ornamental. It is not only useful in soups, but for garnishing dishes of meats and vegetables it cannot be surpassed. The only objection to it is its slow germination. As a small bed of parsley is sufficient for a family garden, the labor necessary to its cultivation is trifling, as the attention to a few square yards of groiand can hardly be considered an encroachment upon regular work. It is a native of Sardinia and loves warm weather, but owing to the length of time required for the seeds to germinate, a should be sown very early. It the seed is soaked for twenty-four hoiirs in warm water, previous to sowing, they will sprout in shorter time, or, what is better, mix them with earth dampened with warm water, and keep near the stove in a box until the seeds burst. The earth in the box should not be allowed to become dry from evaporation, but the moisture should be kept by frequent additions of warm water, care being observed not to have it too wet. The ground should be very rich, with well-rotted manure if any is used, spaded deep and fine, and well raked, in order that not the smallest Jump or stone may remain. Then sow the seed in rows, mixed with radish, fitE aARDEN. 95 and cover lightly. As the radish will soon push through and show the rows, the grass can be kept down with the hand. Spinacli. — Spinach, though an aristocratic crop on some accounts, may become also the one crop of the masses for early use, if they will only groAv it. And this is the way: Wheel some manure upon the patch where your early garden peas were, spade the ground thoroughly, marli it off in drills eighteen inches apart and an inch or so deep, and sow to spinach. That is all there is to it. Sow the seed thickly in the rows, and when it has attained sufficient size to thin out, what a delicious dish of " greens " you will have this fall, at a season, too, when, although green things are generally no rarity, yet, because of their extreme delicacy and lusciousness, you will esteem them a great and rare treat. Then with the on-coming of freezing ground, cover Avith straw or litter of any kind. Let this remain till after the frost is out of the ground in the spi'ing, when it may be taken off, and, with the first tulips of your floAver garden, you will also have spinach greens for your din- ner — a most dehcious and healthy dish. Moreover, if you do happen to have more than you want, just take them to the village market, and see how readily you can sell the surplus. Perhaps, indeed, you may thus establish quite a profitable local trade in this delicious crop. Try it. Poles for Beans and. Otlier Climbers. — White birches and alders so commonly used for bean poles, are about the poorest, for they last only one season at the best, and sometimes break off at the surface of the ground, and let down the beautiful pyramid of green before the pods are ripe. White cedar from the swamps is durable, and the rough bark enables the vines to chmb without any help from strings, but these are not always accessible. Red cedar is much more widely distributed, and on the Avhole makes the best bean pole. The wood is as durable as the white cedar, and young trees, from which poles are made, grow quite stout at the ground, and, if well set, will resist very strong winds. A set of these poles will last for a generation. For bean poles, all the side branches are trimmed off, but for a support for ornamental climbers, these may be left on. A cedar, six or eight feet high, with the branches gradually shortened from below, upwards, makes an ex- cellent support for ornamental vines. One of these, covered with a clematis, or other showy climber, makes a pyramid of great beauty. It is well to pre- pare a supply of poles for beans and other plants before the work is pressing. Beets. — For beets the soil should be rich, mellow and deep. Plant in drills about tNvo inches deep and the rows about twelve or fifteen mches apart. Set the seeds in the drills about two inches apart. For field culture the rows should be wide enough to admit, the horse cultivator and the roots not nearer than one foot in the rows. The mangel-wurzel beets grow to a very large size, are coarse and wonderfully productive, making excellent food for cattle. Those who have never tried the mangels for stock have yet to learn of then- great value for cattle, both for milk and meat. Then, they are juicy and refreshing, and add to the health and comfort of the animals. In no way can so much good food be grown as cheaply as in mangels. Tlie Melon Worm. — The melon worm (Phakellura hyalinaialis) is about an inch and a quarter in length when mature, of a Hght yellowish-green color, and nearly translucent. The moMi is remarkable for its beauty, its wings being pearly- white bordered with a narrow band of black, its legs and 96 THE FARM. body white, and the abdomen termmated with a feather-hke tuft tipped with white and black. In our accompanying illustration, the chrysalis, worm, and moth are shown. This worm belongs to the same genus as the pickle worm ( Phakellara mitidalis), the moth of the latter differing fi"om that of the former in having the ground-work of the wings a bronze-yellow, and the black border a Httle broader. The melon worm is proving to be, in many parts of the country, a most destructive enemy to melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, and other cucurbita- oeous plants. It goes to work in an exceedingly business-like way, making skeletons of the plant leaves ar excavating numerous cavities in the fruit where it ap- pears. Sometimes it forces its way into the melon until out of sight, though more frequently it makes a shallow cavity sm eighth of an inch or more in depth, and in this pursues its work. Efficient remedies for this pest are still wanting. Paris green and London purple would proba- bly prove effective, but it is not safe to use these on account of their liability to poison those who eat the fi-uit. Pijretn- rum, or Persian In- sect Powder, might prove as effective in ridding the plants of the worms, and it has the advantage of be- ing entu'ely harmless to human beings. Whatever poison is used, it should be applied to both foHage and fruit, inasmuch as the destruction of the fomier will prevent the latter from coming to maturity. Early planting, so that the fruit may be picked early, or before the destructive brood appears, is a preventive, and if the worms be destroyed on their first appearance on the foliage before the fruit begins to form, there will be much less danger to the fruit crop. Insects on Garden Vegetable >;._The most common of these are the saterpillars of medium-sized butterflies, the wings of which are white, with a few black spots; there are three distinct species, but all are similar in their habits. Wherever these buttei-flies are seen flitting about over the cabbage and cauliflower plants, trouble from " worms " may soon be ex- THE MEIiON WORM. THE GARDEN. 97 pected. Safety consists in attacking them early. Some worms eat into the forming head, and when they have thus hidden, nothing can be done. In small gardens, hand-picking will answer, but where there are many cab- bages, this is not practicable. The Persian Insect Powder, the Pyrethrum, is the best, and a safe application. There are in some localities cabbage woi'ms which come from other butterflies, but they are to be treated in the same manner. The large green caterpillar, of the live-spotted Sphinx, known as the " Tomato Worm," is most destructive; it will soon leave no- thing but bare stems upon a tomato plant, eating the greeu fruit as well as the leaves. When the tomatoes are supported by some kind of a trellis, as they always should be in a garden, worms may be detected by the quantity of large pellets of droppings found upon the ground. Where these are seen, the worm should be sought for. Stems without leaves also indicate its pres- ence. When not eating, it \Aill be found close to the stems, on their under- side, and as it is of nearly the same color, may escape notice. The " worms " are never very numerous, and hand-picking is the best way to deal with them. In spite of the horn at the tail-end, they can neither sting nor bite. Frequently one of these will be found with its body nearly covered with small egg-shaped white cocoons, often mistaken for eggs. Worms ■with these should not be destroyed, as they are too weak to do much damage, and the parasitic insect should have time to leave these cocoons, as they are our friends, and should be encouraged. The tomato- worm may sometimes be found on potatoes. — American Agriculturist. Hot Water on tlie Gardeii—Insecticides are in demand. The farmer's first interest is to gain an insecticide that is effective. The next important point is that it be sufficiently cheap in cost to permit of free use. Hot water some of the English gardeners accept as a cheap insecticide not sufficiently appreciated, and capable of more extended employment than is usually believed. Hot water judiciously applied has been found eflective among American farmers for cabbage worms. In careful hands its appli- cation, after the cabbage heads begin to form, has not injured the plants, but has destroyed the bugs. Experiments Avith hot water on the aj)his at Stoke Newington and reported in the English journals, made it appear that aphides perish immediately if immersed in water heated to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to ascertain the degree of heat infested plants could endure in the dipping process, a number of herbaceous and soft-wooded plants were immersed in water heated to various degrees above 120. Fuch- sias were unharmed at 140 degrees and injured at 150 degrees. Pelargo- niums were unhurt up to 150 degrees, but the slightest rise above that figure killed the soft wood and young leaves. Ferns, heliotropes, petunias, be- gonias, mignonette and many other plants of soft texture were unhurt by being dipped in water at 140 degrees, but the slightest rise above that point proves detrimental. Boses grown in pots for market Avere kept clean by dipping in water at 120 degrees without injury to the plants and every aphis destroyed. Gas Tar ag a Remedy for Bugs. — A correspondent of the Chicago Tri- bune says: " For the last five years I have not lost a cucumber or a melon vine or a cabbage plant. Get a barrel with a few gallons of gas tar in it; pour water on the tar; always have it ready when needed, and, when the bugs appear, give them a liberal drink of the tar water from a garden sprinkler or otherwise, and, if the rain washes it off and they return, re- peat the dose. It will also destroy the Colox-ado potato beetle, and frighten 98 THK FARM. the old long potato bug worse than a threshing with a brush. Five years ago this summer both kinds appeared on my late potatoes, and I watered with the tar water. The next day all Colorados that had not been protected from the sprinkler were dead, and the others, their name Avas legion, were all gone, and I have never seen one on the farm since. I am aware that many will look upon this with indifference, because it is so simple and cheap a remedy. Such should always feed their OAvn and their neighbors' bugs, as they frequently do." Remedy for tlie Green Fly — A writer in the DeidscUe Zeitung states that he last year had an opportunity of trying a remedy for destroying green fly and other insects which infest i)lant8. It was not his own discovery, but he found it among other recipes in some provincial paper. Tha- stems and leaves of the tomato are well boiled in water, and when the liquid is cold it is syringed over plants attacked by insects. It at once destroys black or gi'een fly, caterpillars, etc. ; and it leaves behind a peculiar odor, which pre- vents insects from coming again for a long time. The author states that he found this remedy more effectual than fumigating, washing, etc. Through neglect a house of camelias had become almost hopelessly infested with black lice, but two syringings with tomato plant decoction thoroughly cleansed them. To Destroy Bugs on Vines. — To destroy bugs on squash and cucum- ber vines, dissolve a tablespoonful of saltpetre in a pailful of water; put one pint of this around each hill, shaping the earth so that it will not spread much, and the thing is done. Use more saltpetre if you can afford it — it is good for vegetable, but death to animal hfe. The bugs burrow in the earth at night and fail to rise in the morning. It is also good to kill the " grub " in peach trees — only use twice as much, say a quart to each tree. There was not a yellow or blistered leaf on twelve or fifteen trees to which it was applied last season. No danger of killing any vegetable with it— a concen- trated solution applied to beans makes them grow wonderfully. Protecting Yonng Plants. — The striped bug is very destructive to young plants, especially of vines. It is almost impossible to get a stand of early cucumbers, on account of this pest. A wi-iter in one of our exchanges states that a good protection is secured by cutting a sheet of cotton wadding into nine equal pieces, and then spliting them, making eighteen, at a cost for all of only four cents. These are placed over the hills before the plants are up, the corners held down with small stones. They are elastic and stretch as the plants grow. The bug cannot get through them. They are also some protection against frost. A Valuable Mixture. — A valuable mixture to keep on hand is one of coal ashes, sulphur and hellebore. The ashes should be very fine. It is best after passing them through the ordinary coal-ash sieve. To one pailful of ashes thus sifted, add a quart each of flour of sulphur and hellebore, and mix together. For currant worms, plant lice, cabbage fleas, slugs on pear trees, melon bugs, we found this so effectual that we confidently recommend it. It is always best to use it in the cool of the morning while the dew is upon the leaf. To Get Rid of Grubs. — The carrot crop is rendered useless in many gardens by grubs eating into the roots. This takes place in many well-man- aged gardens. The best remedy is to scatter a quantity of soot and lime THE GAIiDEK. 99 over the surface of the ground before forking it over for the carrots. This works it into the ground, and keeps the soil free from all sorts of grubs for the whole season. The next best way is to sow the lime and soot between the rows and hoe it into the ground. Coal Asli Walks for tlie Crardeii. — Good, sound, dry walks are a necessity in all garden grounds, in order that the work in them may be car- ried on with comfort during all weathers, and although there is nothing like good gravel for walks in pleasure grounds, it frequently happens that, from the difficulty of getting gravel in quantity within a reasonable distance, the kitchen garden walks have to be made of what is most abundant. After try- ing all sorts of materials in different counties, it was found that nothing makes a better path than ashes. The way in which we use them is to form grass verges one foot wide and about one foot deep. In the bottom of the Avalk are put brickbats, stones, or other rubbish. On these a good layer of clinkers is spread, and broken down tolerably fine, when a good coating of ashes is spread evenly over the surface, and rolled down. These form one of the pleasantest paths on which to walk, wheel, or cart that it is possible to have. Weeds are not troublesome, for the material has been cleaned by passing through the furnace, and if a few seeds blow on to the surface and germinate they can be easily removed. Club Root ill Cabtoage. — M. Waronin, an authoritative microscopic' botanist of Europe, who has given particular attention to destructive insects, and especially to those predatory in the cabbage, finds that the abnormal growth on the roots, which he denominates club root, but which is known in the United States as club foot, is caused by a minute fungus, to which he has given the name of Plasmodiophora hrassicce. Thin sections of the diseased portions reveal the fungus with its spores, under the higher powers of the microscope. As the spores are exceedingly numerous, the soil becomes in- fested Avith them, and communicates the trouble to plants upon the same soil next year. A diseased crop should not be followed by cabbage again. Only healthy plants shoiild be set. An application of lime to the soil has proved of benefit, and from the nature of the trouble, he thinks, the use of sulphur would be useful. Soil for Sugar Beets. — The beet requires a deep, permeable soil, for its roots penetrate deeply into the ground and are abundantly supplied with fine fibers through which it receives its nourishment. If the soil does not permit the root to grow down deeply the top will be forced to grow above the ground, and the crown which grows out of ground is nearly worthless for sugar purposes. A deep, sandy loam is the best soil to produce beets rich in sugar. They will, however, gi*ow on a variety of soils, and any soil which mil plow and subsoil to the depth of twelve or fifteen inches is a good beet soil. Avoid all wet lauds and muck bottoms as unsuitable. Beets will not flourish on wet lands, and what grow are not sweet. Muck bottoms produce large tops but small roots with little sugar in them. Sulpbui- and Tobacco. — A mixture of sulphur and finely ground tobacco, two parts of the former to one of the latter, has been found an ex- cellent preventive of the ravages of insects on squash and other vines, as well as for keeping lice from cattle, dogs and poultry. It is also recom- mended for sprinkling trees and bushes that are eaten by canker worms or currant worms. loo THE FAliM. Cultivation of Tobacco — To raise tobacco, select a sheltered aituatioti^ where the young plants can receive the full force of the sun; burn over the sui-face of the ground early in spring (new land is best), rake it well, and sow the seeds; have a dry, mellow, rich soil, and after a shower, when the jilants have got leaves the size of a quarter-dollar, transplant as you would cabbage plants, tlu-ee and one-half feet apart, and weed out carefully after- ward. Break off the suckers from the foot-stalks, as they appear; also the tops of the plants when they are well advanced, say about three feet high, except those designed for seed, which should be the largest and best plants. The ripeness of tobacco is known by small dusky spcits appearing on the leaves. The plants should then be cut near .the roots, on the morning of a day of sunshine, and should lie singly to wither. When sufficiently with- ered, gather them carefully together, and hang them xip Tinder cover to cure and prepare for market. Starting Plants Early. — A writer on gardening gives the following hints on starting tender seeds, such as tomatoes, squashes, melons, and the like: " It is desirable in transplanting not to check the growth by disturbing tlie roots. A good way to avoid this is to scrape out turnips, fill them with good soil and plant in two or three seeds, setting them in a warm, light place, and keeping them moist. Wi\en the weather is suitable, place these out in the garden at the proper depth. The turnip will decay and the plant Avill thrive unchecked if j^roperly cared fur. Do not use potatoes instead of turnipa. Another method is to get squares of sod, say six inches wide, from good, mellow soil, turn them bottom up, and put such seeds as squash, melon or sweet corn, and treat them in the same way, not putting out tiU the weather is quite warm, and then protecting against bugs. For more delicate plants, flowers, etc., make little square paper boxes out of thin writing paper, or thick newspaper, merely folding tlem at the corners as you would the paper in •covering a book, and tacking them with a needle and thread; make them about three inches square and two deep. Fill with good soil; start the seeds and put them out at the proper time, boxes and all, without disturbing the roots. If you fear the paper is too strong for the roots to penetrate, cut carefully on the bottom of the box the shape of a cross, and all will be well." Seeds for Small Gardens—People who grow largely for market know, as a part of their business, how many garden seeds to sow% but this is not always the case with the man or woman who has but a small garden. For these we give the following: Asparagus, bed of 15 square yards, 1 pint. Beet, row 50 feet, 2 ounces. Cabbage, bed of 8 square yards, 1 ounce. Carrots, drill of 120 feet, 2 ounces. Carrots, bed of 12 square yards, 2 ounces. Celery, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. Endive, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. Bush beans, row 80 feet, 1 pint. Leek, 2 square yards, 1 ounce. Lettuce, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. Onions, 9 square yards, 2 ounces. Parsley, row 80 feet, one and a half ounces. Parsnip, drill of 200 feet, 2 ounces. Peas, early, row 60 feet, one and a half pints. Peas, large, late, row 80 feet, one and a half pints. Potatoes, row 30 feet, half jjeck. Radishes, 4 square yards, one and a half ounces. Spinach, 10 square yards, 2 ounces. Spinach, drill of 120 feet, 2 ounces. Turnip, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. Asparagus as a Lia-*vn Plant. — A friend suggests a very good idea as to asparagus: " Of course the old plan of sticking the plants in close beds is all wrong. There are many bits of fine soil in gardens, even tho so-called THE aMtDEK. lOl pleasure grounds and hardy plant borders, where a strong clump of the common asparagus woxild be a great ornament, as well as of use. I shall plant a hnndi-ed or more good clumps ®f asparagus in our borders here, partly for its tender shoots in spring, partly for its spray for cutting during the summer and autumn mouths, but mainly for its feathery grace as a beautiful, hardy plant. In many a villa garden, even where good asparagus may never be seen raised in the ordinary way, a capital supply could be o))- tained by simply dotting a few plants here and there in borders, and on the margins of shrubberies, not only as single specimens, but as groups and masses— never, however, nearer to each other than four feet." Training Tomatoe., — A housewife, who vouches for the success of her plan, makes these sviggestions for tomato training: "When the plants are ready for the garden, make a considerable hill of good compost. Chip ma- nure is excellent, and a quantity of chicken manure is good. After the hill is made, drive a long stake through it. This may be six feet high. Set the plant near it. The training will require attention. The j^lant Avill immedi- ately begin to sucker, or throw outside shoots, just above each leaf. These must be cut off, and then the plant will rim up vigorously. Tie it to the stake, and do not be afraid to use the knife. Keep on cutting each stem that appears in the axil of a leaf, and keep on tying. The first bearing branches come directly from the body of the plant. Remember that this trimming must be continued as long as the plant bears. Thus trained, *he fruit is superior in size, quantity, and flavor, besides being less liable to rot or drop off." Bending Down Onions — Many old truck farmers have caused surprise to lookers-on at their Avork, to see them ])ending over their onion tops. The time to do ttiis is when some begin to show signs of flowering. The method is thus explained: "This operation maybe done by the hand, but time is saved 1%' two persons each holding one of the ends of a pole in such a man- ner as to strike the stems an inch or two above the bulbs. This is called ' lajdng over,' and is of great benefit to all crops of onions, as the growth of the stems is thereby much checked, and the whole nourishment thrown into the bulbs. It is an old practice in family gardens, and has never failed to give satisfactory results." Early Cncnnibers and Melons — For early melons or cucumbers many plant the seeds on inverted sods cut about four inches square. The sods are placed in a frame of any kind, and covered to the depth of half an inch with mellow, rich earth. The plants root firmly in these sods the same as they would in small flower-pots, and may safely be transplanted as soon as the weather becomes settled and warm. For melons this is an excellent plan, since our seasons are scarcely long enough to ripen them before the cool nights of autiimn, when the seeds are planted in the ground in the usual way. Benefits of Hoeing — Any one passing along where there are gardens can nearly always find evidences of the benefits of a constant stirring of the soil. The man who cultivates continually has always a better crop than has the one who is satisfied with a hard surface. The benefits from a loose soil are, in fact, so great as what many a load of manure gives. Those who have flower-beds know how much better plants grow when the ground is stirred. In the growing season all the rain that falls is needed by the crops, and a loose soil keeps the rain which the hard ground allows to run off. 102 THE FARM. New Idea i in A.'^paragus Culture. — Gardeners generally are beginning to adopt the practice of giving at least one yard distance between the plants in making new plantations of asparagus. They have found that the roots run horizontally, and not directly downward, and, therefore, that it is not advisable to continu^e the old practice of digging doAvu two or three feet for a narrow bed, to be filled with manure mixed with soil, on Avhich plants are to be set only a foot apai-t. Large shoots of asparagus an inch in diameter cannot be had by such treatment. Siibstitiite for Beau Poles. — A New England farmer says: " In my own gardening I have found a most satisfactory substitute for bean poles, which latter are not only expensive, but a source of trouble and care. I plant a sunflower seed by each hill of beans, the stock answering the same piirpose as the ordinary beau pole, besides providing an excellent feed for my poul- try. I have been using for this purpose a mammoth variety of sunflower seed, many of the flowers of which measured fifteen inches across the seed bed." Potato Juice as au Insect Destroyer. — As an insect destroyer the juice of the potato plant is said to be of great value; the leaves and stems are well boiled in water, and when the liquid is cold it is sprinkled over l>lants attacked Avith insects, Avhen it at once destroys caterpillars, black and green flies, gnats, and other enemies to vegetables, and in no way impairs the growth of the plants. A peculiar odor remains, and prevents insects from coming again for a long time. To Force Radislies.— Badishes may be grown in a few days by the fol- lowing method: Let some good radish seed soak in water for tAventy-four hours, and then put them in a bag and expose to the siin. In the course of the day germiuation will commence. The seed must then be sown in a well- manured hot-bed, and Avatered from time to time in lukeAA-^arm Avater. By this treatment the radishes Avill, in a very short time, acquire quite a large bulk, and be very good to eat. Culture of Sugar-Beets. — The best sugar-beet, AA'hen properly grown, should 1)0 conical, and Avith a single tap-root. To groAv such beets the soil should be deep, melloAv, free from stones, and abundantly rich. A deep, sandy loam, Avith plenty of vegetable matter, may be expected to pi'odnce, Avith clean culture, a profitable crop of sugar-beets. A strong clay is not suitable, neither is a soil that is low and naturally wet and cold. AVeeds oi» Gravel "Walki^fc—Weeds on gravel walks may be destroyed and prevented from growing again by a copious dressing of the cheapest salt. This is a better method than hand-pulling, which disturbs the gravel and renders constant raking and rolling necessary. One application early in the season, and others as may be needed, Avhile the Aveeda are small, will keep the walks clean and bright. Water Necessary to Cauliflower.— A gentleman in Colorado informs us that by irrigation he grcAv cauliflower-heads four feet three inches in cir- cumfei'ence. Cauliflower is fond of Avater, and we have seen large planta- tions on the continent of Europe that Avere regularly Avatered every evening except during rainy weather. ORCHARD AND VINEYARD. Pruning— Malting tlie Cut. — In pruniug branches from trees with the kiiife, the method of making the cut is a matter of some importance. We have had some illustrations made, showing several ways, often fol- lowed, which are wrong, and the one which is right; a shows the right method of making the cut, at an angle of about forty-tive degrees, and having the bud at the back in the best position for throwing new bark and wood quickly over the wound; b shows too much of the wood cut away, leaving the bud ex- posed and liable to die by drying or freezing; c, this cut was started right, but, owing to a dull knife or want of firmness in the hand, the cut was made too sloping. This will not heal over so quickly as the cut at a; d, e, and / are all wrong; the wood above the bud dying will cause knots and perhaps decay. Crooked limbs will also result fi'om these ways of cutting. Prnning Decidisoiii Tree.^— As a general rule, the less shade trees are pruned the better. Nature will kP- form a better top and a more har- monious tree in all its parts than art. Severe pruning is no longer practiced, even in frviit orchards, by our best horticulturists. The custom that formerly prevailed of pruning evergreens and other trees, so as to make top-shaped, ovate, and other fantastic tops, is no longer regarded as good taste. If you want a tree with a low- spreading top, plant one that grows that way. If you want an ovate or pyramidal top, plant a tree. that will make such a top, but do not at- tempt to force trees to assume dif- ferent forms from those which nature gives them. Each tree treated in this way is a standing lie, and proclaims to every passer-by the folly of its owner. The true idea is to make each species assume, as nearly as possible, the typical form of that species. To do this, some pruning is sometimes neces- sary. If the trees are not crowded — if each one has room enough for the air W)4 THE FARM. aud sunlight to have free access to it on all sides, it will round out and de- velop its full proportions, and if it does not actually attain it, will approxi- mate its tjq^ical form. Where the lower limbs are in the way, of course they must be sacrificed; but where they are not, leave them, and you will have a finer and more thrifty tree. If a limb, as is often the case with the elm in our dry soil, extends beyond the rest, absorbing the strength and destroying the symmetry of the tree, it should be cut back while yet small. The soft maple often throws out limbs that have no firm attachments to the body, and they will sooner or later spUt off; these should be removed while small. The idea of cutting back the top of a soft maple, or any other tree, to prevent it from becoming top heavy, is fallacious; it reUeves for the time, but makes it worse afterward. If a soft maple, as some of them will do, breaks bodily, and continues to do so, it is better to remove it aud plant another in its place. Severe pruning lowers the vitaUty of any ordinary tree, making it less able to bear the drouth aud heat of summer and the cold of winter, aud lea^^ng it an easy prey to borers and other noxious insects. As a strong man is able to resist disease, so a vigorous tree is able to re- sist the attacks of its enemies, while a feeble one succumbs. ' So far as possible all limbs should be removed while small. It is rarely necessary to cut a large limb from a tree that has been properly cared for. Tlie Best Time to Prune Fruit Trees— -The correct principles which underUe the pruning of fruit trees are probably as imperfectly understood as any other point in fruit-growing. Most i)eople prune in the spring, some through the winter, others in the summer. Noav, after carefully observing the effects of pruning done at difi"erent seasons, I have come to the conclu- sion that the best time to prune is in early summer, after the first rush of sap is past, and before the trees have made much growth of new Avood. When trees are pruned in winter, a considerable time must elapse before the Avounds made begin to heal over. Duiing this time the combined action of the frost and sun are injurious to the newly-cut and exposed Avood aud bark, and it Avill take a longer time to heal over than if the Avound was made at the time Avhen the tree Avas beginning to make new groAvth.. When trees are pruned in early spring, the saj) is then in a thin, Avatery state; it oozes out of the cut, causing premature decay and permanent in- jury to the tree. When trees are pruned in early summer, after the rush of thin, watery sap is past and the tree has fairly commenced to make a new growth, the Avounds AAill commence at once to heal over. The exposed Avood Avill remain sound for a longer period than if cut in early spring. Another very important point in early summer pruning is, it does not check the groAvth of the tree, as Avheu it is done later in the season. Some advocate pruning in July and August, but I Avould only prune then m cases Av^here the tree was making too much Avood growth, AA-hich I wanted to check and throw the tree into a bearing state. Another very important point in pruning, and yet one Avhich is very much neglected, is to cover the cuts AA'ith some substance to protect them fi-om the influence of the Aveatiier. Common grafting Avax, or a mixture of clay and cow manure, is beneficial; but perhaps the best thing, AA^hen it can be got pure and good, is gum shellac dissolved in alcohol to the consistency of paint. A protection of this kind is always beneficial to newly-pruned trees; it neutralizes to a great extent the injurious effects arising from pruning trees at an improper season. ORCHARD AND VINEYARD, 105 Pruning Versus Mutilation.— There is, perhaps, no one item in hor- ticulture about which so httle is really understood as the principle which should govern in the pruning away of Umbs and branches from trees The following illustj-ation will serve, perhaps, better than a long homily, to show how we Avould prune a tree and keep it in condition from year to year, healthy and productive. Fig. 1 exhibits a tree which has had little or no pruning; its top branches have become rather crowded, and some seasons the fruit is not well colored. We take our long stepladder and a pair of good, strong pruning shears, set our ladder just outside, underneath the Umbs, and with our sharp shears cut away the small spray and limbs that cross one another and crowd the extremities, so as to prevent the sun's rays penetrat- ing to the center of the tree. The dark, short marks indicate some of the cuts that we should make in pruning the tree. Fig. 2, shown on next page, exhibits the tree as it is often found after the mutilator, not pruner, has operated upon it. Vandals roam the country every spring claim- , -,; ^ ^^ ^1 ^ ing to know how to prune trees. We hope what we have here said and illustrated may save at least one good orchard from this sys- tem of murderous pruning. Pruning for Fruit. — By arresting or removing the little faults of his children as soon as they are shown, the wise father prevents their attaining such in- veteracy as will not submit to correction, but burst out imme- diately with fresh misdeeds. So with orchard trees. It is a great mistake to let growth nin on without restraint for two or three years, and to suppose that a pruning then will set all to rights. The fundamental rule of the art is to take away all young shoots that are not fitted to make per- manent bearing branches. Ee- move these, the sooner the better, but remove no others. Cut out and flup- press all wild shoots that issue below the graft, and whose growth would rob or smother it. Cut out all shoots in the interior of the trees that will not have light enough in summer for the leaves of any fruit buds that might form on them, and which could, therefore, not mature into fruitage. Thin the new growth all over top so that no shoot will shade another or be shaded; those that are left being such as extend the main bearing branches, which gardeners call "leaders." Often a crowding branch can be propped or braced out into open light, and so two branches be relieved with little or no pruning of either; with a gain of large fruit-producing area. One other case must be noted: that of a tree exhausted so much as to be covered with fruit buds and mak- ing no new shoots. A tree in health should make new shoots every year all over the top, at least eight inches long. If it does less, the soil is poor, or the roots are robbed or dried, or the stem is injured and cannot cjirry tjie PRUNING. — no. 1. 106 THE FARM. bap, or the wood of the top has become unsound. The thing to be done then is to cut back the top, reducing it largely, to give the exhausted system less to do and more chance to recover. The vexed question of even and odd years, or fruitful and barren ones in alternation, which is so important to growers of Baldwins, Greenings, and some other Avinter sorts is solved most easily by a resolute thinning in the winter preceding the fruitful years, so as to reduce the bearing, and increase the wood and bud forming, for the next year. Pruning Peacli Trees. — A fruit tree overloaded with fruit is very unsatisfactory to its owner. The fruit itself is of no more value than half the quantity of a better size. Then, too, the tree is often injured, so much 80 as to cause it to lose a year or two recovering. It is better to be satisfied Avith a small quantity of fruit, and this judicious pruning brings about. The Prairie. Farmer advocates the fol- lowing system of pruning peach trees: " The main branches of a young tree should be, early in spring, cut back to eighteen inches, being careful to leave on them any sub-branches near their base. The next spring the resulting, or next crop of branches, should be cut back in about the same way, and sub- branches half of them cut clear away, leaving every other one, and those not cut away cut back one-third or one-half. The summer after this the trees should give a splendid crop of fine fruit that will need no thinning. The after cuttmg back and pruning should be after the same general plan, tliinning out and cutting back the upper and outer branches, but never thinning out the small branches near the base of the large branches, except as above. As the trees grow older it will be necessary to ciit back and thin out more, year by year, and, eventually, it will be necessary to cut back half the ntain branches near their base at some point just above where a thrifty young twig is growing, so as to form a vigorous head." Bfecessary Precautions After Pruning. — After pruning the orchard, care should be taken to clean up and burn all the brush before the embryo insects harboring in it have time to mature. The loose bark should also be scraped off and burned, and every cluster of the eggs of the tent caterpillar be removed betimes and cast into the fire. Attention to these matters will save a great deal of vexation and loss, PRUNING. — FIG. 2. OUCrtAltP AjS^D VIKEYARi), 107 drafting Apple Trees — Apple trees maybe grafted in spring, anytime after severe cold weather is past, until the leaveH are fully formed. There are many different methods of grafting in vogue among nurserymen and or- chardists, but for large trees in the or- chard, what is called cleft grafting ia the one usually practiced. In per- forming the operation, the main stem, if not more than an inch or two in di- ameter, or a branch, or any number of them on a large tree, is sawed off, and the portion remaining is split down- ward two inches or more with a large knife or chisel, being careful not to bruise or break the bark. Then a cion from a tree which we desire to propa- gate is cut, with two or three buds upon it, as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end being cut on each side, forming a long, slender wedge. The cleft in the stock may be held open witli a small hard wood or iron wedge, driven in the center. When the cions are pre- pared, insert one on each side of the cleft, as is shown in Fig. 2, being care- ful to have the outside of the wood of both cion and stock exactly even, and then withdraAV the wedge, and the stock will grasp and hold the cions firmly in place. The end of the stock and the side clefts should then be carefully covered with grafting wax, for the purpose of excluding air and water. To prevent the grafting wax sticking to the fingers of the opei'ator, a little piece of tallow or other kind of grease may be applied to the hand and fingers each time, before taking hold of the wax. When cions are to be taken from trees in the same orchard or neighbor- hood, they may be cut and inserted the same day, even if somewhat ad- A'anced in growth of buds; but, as a rule, the cions should be taken from the trees before the buds begin to swell in spring, and then put in a cool cellar and rolled in damp moss cloth, or buried in earth, where their growth "" will be retarded. Grafting trees is a very simple operation, and almost any ftoy who can whittle a stick can readily learn how to perform it successfully. Make a clean smooth cleft in the stock, and use a sharp knife in preparing the cion, and then see that the two join as we have directed, and there is lit- 108 THE FAR tie danger of failure if the ciona are healthy and in proper condition. Strong, tirm one-year-old wood should be used for this purpose; that which is about one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch in diameter is the most suitable. The apple, pear, plum, and cherry may be grafted in the manner we have described, and by almost any one who will try. Grafting Wax. — There are a great many recipes given for making grafting wax, but the following is, in our opinion, the best: To four pounds of resin and one of beeswax add one pint of linseed oil; put in an iron pot, heat slowly, and mix well. Pour into cold water, and pull by hand until it assumes a light color; work into sticks, and put into a cool place until wanted. In using, oil the hands, work the wax until soft, and press it tightly around the graft and over the cracks. If the day be warm, it is better to oc- casionally moisten the hands with water. Grafting the Ti^ild Cherry. — The common black ehei'ry regarded as "wild" can be grafted with other and best varieties as easily as cherries usually are. Many of these trees, which produce the poorest kind of fruit, can all be top grafted, and may be made to yield an abundance of ex- cellent fruit. Only healthy trees should be selected for grafting, and the cions should be in the best condi- tion. Transplanting I^arge Trees. — Many and various are the reasons for trans- planting large trees. Many persons desu-e to remove from the forest to their own grounds trees of twenty or more feet in height for farming, new ornamenting, screens, or shade. Ti'ees of more than four inches in diameter should be removed with a ball of earth attached. This operation is easily and safely performed in two different ways, as the accompanying figures indicate. When the trees are to be re- moved long distances, the plan used in Fig. 1 should be adopted. First dig around and loosen the tree, care being taken not to injure the roots by dig- ging too near the tree. Place the connecting pieces (M) of the standards (R R) against the tree, to which fasten by ropes winding cloths or matting about the tree, to prevent breaking the bark. One horse attached to the rope (B) will easily raise the tree and ball of earth and place it ula8- ter, for it will be worth all it costs, and more, for soAA'ing on the land after the apples are used Bark liice on Apple Trees — Judicious pruning of the branches, drain- ing the land Avhere the trees stand, manuring the soil and keeping it free from grass and Aveeds, all have the effect to promote vigorous groAvth, and are therefore useful in preventing the depredations of bark lice. Unless a vigorous growth of a tree can be insured, it is of little use to apply sub- stances to kill the lice. The lady-bird, whose presence should always be welcomed on farms, is the mortal enemy of the bark louse, as it is of many other sorts of insects. But hurtful insects increase so much faster than use- ful birds do that we may neA^«r expect to see the latter exterminate the former. Indeed, no amount of cultivation and no number of birds ever col- lected in an orchard will be sufficient to clear it of the scale bark lice, if they are generally distributed among the trees. If but a few trees have bark Hce on them, and they are well covered with them, it is best to cut them up. This heroic treatment will prevent their spreading to other trees. The time to kill the insects is when they begin to hatch. They are most readily killed by applying some wash to the bark Avith a stiff brush or swab. The articles most highly recommended for killing the hce are strong lye made of wood ashes, a solution of caustic soda of potash, diluted soft soap, and a mixture of lime whitewash and kerosene oil. If the latter is employed, the propor- 124 THE FARM. tions of the mixture should be one pint of kerosene to a gallon of the white- wash. Whatever substances are chosen, they should be applied thDroughly. To insure complete destruction of the insect, a second application should be made some days after the first. Top Grafting Trees.- -A practical fruit grower gires the following as his mode of top grafting: I have in a measure discarded the old system of cleft grafting, for a cheap, safer and easier way. I save the cions by cut- ting them in the fall or early winter, pack in sand or saAvdust and keep in a cool cellar. After the trees have come out in leaf, during May and June, cut a bud from the cion and insert under the bark well tied and waxed U) keep out the air and water, setting one bud in each leading limb all over the tree. In the course of two or three weeks these buds will have connected or else have died. For all that have connected saw the limits off above the bud and throw the growth into them. Those that have died set again in July or August with buds taken from the new growth of wood, and cut them off the next spring. I set tops in that way in twenty seedling apple trees twelve years old in June, 1878, piitting in on am average twelve to the tree. In 1884, six years from setting, they have forty bushels of Stark apples, worth one dollar per bushel. The expense of budding was ten dollars. If the same trees had been changed by cleft grafting the change would have cost two or three times that amount. Hints on Marketing Pears. — Pears, whether early or late, shoiild never remain on the tree until they become mellow. Whenever they have made their growth they should be gathered. It is easy to tell the proper condition by observing the ease Avith which the stem parts from the tree. If, on taking hold of the pear and lifting it, the stem readily breaks away from the spur to which it is attached, the fruit has received all the nourishment it can get from the tree, and the sooner it is gathered the better. Pears are sent to market in crates and half barrels; especially fine specimens are sent in shallow boxes, only deep enough for a single layer of fruit, and each pear is wrapped in thin white paper. Extra specimens of any of the standard kinds will brmg enough more to pay for this extra care in packing. The early varieties mature quicker after gathering than the later kinds, but all should reach the market in a firm and hard condition. As with all other fruits, it will pay to carefully assort pears. Make three lots, firsts and seconds for market, and the third for keeping at home — for the pigs, if need be; there is positively no sale for poor pears. Ants in tlie Orcliard. — Many o^ the leading orchard proprietors iu northern Italy and southern Germany are cultivators of the common black ant, an insect they hold in high esteem as the fruit grower's best friend. They establish ant-hills in their orchards, and leave the police service of their fruit trees entirely to the colonists, which pass all their time in climb- ing up the stems of the fruit trees, cleansing their boughs and leaves of malefactors, mature as well as embryotic, and descending laden Avith spoils to the ground, Avhere they comfortably consume or prudently store away their booty. They never meddle AAith sound fruit, but only invade such apples, pears and plums as have already been penetrated by the canker, Avhich they remorselessly pui'sue to its fastness within the very heart of the fruit. Nowhere are apple and pear trees so free from blight and destructive insects as ia the iLimediate neighborhood of a large ant-hill five or six years old. The favorite food of acts would appear to be the larvae and pupae of OB. CHARD AND Y IN E YARD. 125 those creatures -vyhiob spend the whole of their brief existence in devouring the tender shoots an«l juvenile leaves of fruit trees. Cultivating tlie Orcliard.- A successful fruit grower pursues the following plan: He plows his orchard one Avay, leaving strips close to the trees about eight feet wide, and plaiats potatoes, covering them with straw. In the fall, when he digs his potatoes, he piles the straw, and the next spring he plows the ground crosswise and plants again, using the same straw. After the straw has been used two years, it is turned xinder in the fall, to manure the ground. In this way his orchard is manured with very little trouble, and he cultivates his orchard at the same time. He says that he does not believe, from his o^vn experience, that it is good for fruit trees to have the plow run any closer than four feet on each side, but thinks it better to cultivate in this way between the rows than to seed down to grass and pasture. Hints on Gatliering Apples and Pears. — Most people are disposed to gather the autumn fruits too soon. A rule is generally adopted by gar- deners, that if the pips of the apples or pears are turning brown, the crop may be taken; but a decidedly dark and settled hue of the seed is a safer criterion. As to the objection that waiting late into the autumn causes a loss of the fruit by ialling, it has httle weight, because it is by this process that ihe. weaker and least sound fi'uit is got rid of, while the best remains. Tak- ing the crop too early will not only injure the good fruit by causing it to shrivel, but will also render frequent removals necessary in order to separate from the stock the rotten ones, which would, of themselves, have fallen from the tree if more time had been given. To Preserve Pear Trees From Bliglit. — A New Hampshire fruit grower preserves his pear trees from blight by winding a rope of straw around the trunks so as to completely cover them from the ground to the limbs, keeping it on, moderately tight, through the season. His theory is that the blight is caused by the rays of the hot sun coming in contact with the body of the tree, heating the sap and causing it to dry up and the bark to grow to the wood of the tree. Iron for Fruit Trees— The scales which fly off from iron being worked at forges, iron trimming, filings, or other ferruginous material, if worked into the soil about fruit trees, or the more minute particles spread thinly on the lawn, mixed with the earth of flower teds or in pots, are most valuable to the peach or pear, and, in fact, supply necessary ingredients to the soil. For colored flowers they heighten the bloom and increase the brilliancy of white or nearly white flowers of all the rose family. Secret of Raising Q,wiinces._Purchase the orange variety, and set the trees from six to eight feet apart in rich soil. Bandage the stem with two or three wrappings of old cloth as far down in the ground as possible, as the root starts fi-om near the surface. Let the bandana run six or eight inches above the ground, then pack the soil a couple of inches around the band- ages. This should be renewed every spring. Fruit Pests. — At the time when fruit trees arc blossoming, and when sparrows have commenced fheir annual raids upon them, a good way of driving away these diminutive plaguei, consists of lime-washing the trees, "WTaen thus whitened, the birds disappear. 126 THE FARM. IN THE VINEYABD. — FIG. 1. Ill the Vineyard._We present herewith a brief iUustratecl article, from the pen of a successful grape grower, giving some hints and suggestions ou the planting and culture of grape vines, which we think will be found inter- esting: '* I have been looking over my former years' work, have been reading back, or rather over again the views of others, and after studying all I took my spade and digging fork and Avent to an Isabella vine, planted some ten years or more since, and which has never shown any disease, but yearly ripened its fruit regularly and evenly. It was on clay soil. I dug carefully all around it a distance of four feet each way from the vine, or eight feet diam- eter, took out a trench mth the spade, then with my fork I commenced to shako out roots, which I found much as here represented (Fig. 1). Of course the length of the roots is not here showu, for some I broke oflf in digging; but there was no direct tap root of any size, and altogether the larger portion of the roots were within ten inches of the surface. Small roots as large as a goose quill, it is true, were apparently down below. Some of them pulled upon lifting the vine, others broke off, but there was not a large or main root so situated. It may not be that this is any guide showmg the general habit of roots of the vine, when grown in vineyards of clay soils and yearly pruned; but for the present I will so con- sider it, and when I plant avoid, as I have generally heretofore, setting the roots too deep. Most workers on the grape tell us that the roots must be planted deep, at least, they must have ten inches of soil over and above the upper root of the plant; and *k^ they tell us that if the plants \ are too small for such pur- pose, then we must excavate a basin, set the plant, and as it grows fill up around the stem. The accompanying figure shows this mode of j^- ^^^ vineyaki>.--fi(>. 2. plantmg as I understand it (Fig. 2). A straight line drawn across from the ends of the dotted line would show the level of the ground; the dotted line the excavation, with the plant having two eyes, and set in just deep enough to cover the lower eye or bud with soil. The roots ar6 shortened as here shown to about eighteen inches in length and spread out regularly, setting the base of the main stem on a little mound or rise, not a sharp cone, but a broad mound. The next manner of planting, highly recommended by a good cultivator, I have followed with good results. It is to prepare the ground where this plant is to stand by finely pulverizing it, then excavate a breadth or circle Bufificiently wide to admit of straightening out the entire roots of the vine OliCtiABi) AND VINEYARD. Vll without cutting avray a single inch; make the excavation about six inches deep at the outside of the circle and rising so that the center is four inches l^elow the level of the surrounding ground. Fig. 3 shows this method, the straight line being the surface of the mound on which the plant is placed before filling in the earth. This depth for planting I beheve a good one." Winter Care of Grape Vines.— AH varieties of grape vines not thor- oughly hardy should receive some winter protection to secure best results, and it is claimed by many that it pays to give protection to the hardiest kinds even. Some growers attribute their success with Delaware, Duchess, Roger's Hybrids, etc., simply to covering, while their neighbors signally fail with the same varieties. As the treatment in both cases is exactly alike, the different results can only be attributed to the protection given in one case and its omission in the other. The process is simple, and depends on the extent of the operation. After the vines have shed their leaves and ma- tured their wood, they should be pruned, and on the approach of cold weather, loosened from the trelhs, bent down on the ground, and held there with stakes, rails, or something similar. This is sometimes found sufficient, especially when snow lies till late in the spring. If not satisfied with this dependence, a shght covering with leaves, straw, cornstalks, limbs of ever- greens, will prove effectual. If danger is to be apprehend- ed from the depredations of mice, which in some sections are very troiiblesome, a slight covering of earth on the top is all that is necessary. It should be remembered that it is the young wood of the in the vineyakd7— fig. 3. present season's growth that is to be protected — this containe the buds in which are the embryo frgit cluster for next year's crop. Of course, similar protection would not hurt the old wood, but it is not always feasible to provide it. But the main ques- tion necessarily preceding all this, on which depends the success or entire failure of the w^hole operation, is the maturity and thorough ripenin|; of the wood. Keeping Grapes. — In Europe a method of preserving grapes is now veiy generally followed. The cluster is cut with a piece of the cane still attached, and the lower end of the cane is inserted in the neck of a bottle containing water. Grapes thus treated are kept in a perfect manner for a long time. European journals have figured racks and other devices for holding the bottles in such a manner that they may sustain the weight of the fruit, and also to allow the clusters to hang free, and much as they would upon the vine. We are not aware that this method has been tried with our native grapes. These, even at the holidays, when the price is the highest, sell for too little to make this method of keeping profitable, but for home use, the experiment seems to be worth trying. Keeping Grapes in Cellars._If grapes mature perfectly they may be kept for a considerable length of time if cut without bruising, and hung up in a dry, cool, and rather dark cellar. The stem should be covered, when cut, with wax, and hung with the stem up. Immature grapes will not keep in this way or any other. 12H iTHE FARM, FIG. 1. — KEEPING GRAPES IN WINTER. liieeping Grapes in "Winter. — Perhaps among the many methocls and devices employed in keeping grapes in their natural state for winter use, there will be found none better than the simple ones we here illustrate and describe. The first method is to take new soap boxes, or any other box of about that size, and nail cleats on the inside of the ends or sides about one inch from the top, and between them bars at various distances, as required by the varying length of the bearing shoot cuttings. The bars are made by nailing a small strip on top of each, as shown in our illustration, Fig. 1. As late as possible cut off the bearing shoots containing the bunches, with pruning shears, and shorten them so they will crowd between the end of the box and the top part of the bar, resting on the bottom part, thus hanging the bunches in their natural position. By this method the boxes can be handled without shaking the shoots off the bars, carried to the light, each bunch ex- amined as winter advances, decaying ber- ries or bunches removed, and the best kept without any moldy taste, as is so common when they are packed solid. Another method of preserving grapes for Avinter, is in the first place to have the bunches as perfect as possible. Cut away all green, decayed or imperfect berries. Air them sufficiently to slightly dry or cure the stem, then keep the grapes cool, dry and in the dark. Shallow boxes, of about five inches in depth, are well adapted to keeping grapes, but the wood should not be of a resinous character but wholly odorless, that the fruit may not be tainted. Our illustration, Fig. 2, repre- sents a plan adopted by the French, which is to suspend the bunches from hoops in a warm room or dry cellar. In this position they may be readily exam- ined at any time. It is said that grapes will keep well treated in this manner. How to Prune tlxe Grape. — The custom has usually been to prune in February, but we believe it would be better if done earlier. The excised portions should be cut up in pieces from one to two feet in length, as the buds might be best adapted to planting, tied in bimdLe* of, say, one or two dozen, and buried a few inchei under the soil -KEEPING GRAPES IN WINTER. ORCHAMJJ AND VINEYARD. 129 in a location whence the water would drain off, or under an open shed. There they would keep fresh and in full life until planting in the spring. The vines should be cut loose from the trellis and left to sprawl over the ground, in which position they will stand the winter much better. A Cheap TreUis— Our illustration upon this page gives a good idea of a permanent and quite cheap grape- vine trelhs. The posts lest on stones sunk a little into the ground. The posts may be of any desired size of timber. A capping piece connects them along each side, and cross pieces join the opposite posts. Wire is used for the lattice work. Such a trellis costs about fifty cents a running foot, and is not at all unsightly. Culture of Hardy Grapes. — J. T. Lovett, of Little Silver, the well-known New Jersey fruit grower, says in re- gard to the culture of hardy grapes: Plant in rows six feet apart, and the vines eight feet apart in the rows. Dig holes twelve to fifteen inches deep, and of a size amply large to accommodate the vines. They should then be filled to witliin six or eight inches of the top with fine, rich soil, throwing in while doing so a few bones or some wood ashes, if to be had. Cut back one-year vines to two eyes, placing the lower one below the surface; two-year vines to three or four eyes, and putting two or three eyes below the surface. Spread out the roots (which should have previously had one-third their length cut off), place the stock of the vine at one side of the hole, and fill ynih. fine soil, pressing it firmly. When planted, set a stake at the stock (to which the vine should be* kept tied), which will be all the support requu-ed for two years. Keep old wood trimmed off, growing fruit on new canes. Any manner of pruning that will admit the sun to the fruit will insure a crop; and laying the vines on the ground, even without covering, will increase both the quality of the fruit and the size of the bunches, besides insuring safety from injury by frost. For mildew dust with flower of sulphur while the vines are wet. Bleeding Grape "Vines. — It is stated that an English grape grower stopped the profuse bleeding of a thrifty grape vine by forming a sort of hard cement over the cut ends by repeated dustings at short intervals with Portland cement, SMALL FRUITS. Cranberry Culture— The constantly increasing price of the cranberry, and the great numbers of marshes Avith alluvium soil free from clay or loam that one meets almost everywhere, prompts the question why cranberries are not more generally cultivated. Of all the self-supporting crops, none needs less care than the cranberry, if the conditions that govern its culture are first complied with, and none certainly shows greater financial results. The first essential is the marsh and its soil, with reference also to the ability to control the water supply. A soil having any proportion of clay should be avoided, and selection made of a combined decaying vegetable mass, with natural sund, and the less loam there is in this the better. Eastern growers cover their marshes with sand, but in the West, if the swamp, upon exami- nation, seems to have a fair amount of sand or silex, it is quite i)robable that success may be attained in putting out the plants without this sand mulch. As a rule, it is a greater guarantee of success to have a stream of water crossing the marsh, for then in dry Aveather the gates can be closed and the marsh satui'ated, and if insect pests make their appearance the vines can be submerged for a day, which will make the worms loosen their hold, but the chances may be taken on a common " dry " patch of swamp. It is supposed that any one who attempts the culture of cranberries will make the dams and embankments of the most solid and substantial character, Avith gates that will not only Avork, but be water-tight, else failure Avill come with the first freshet. Ditching should next be seen to, and rapid drainage secured. This is done by a broad central channel and lateral ditches, Avhich should not be at right angles to it, but approaching it in diagonal lines. The amount of Avater Avill have to be taken into consideration — the more water, the more ditches — a fact that will determine also the Avidth of the main out- let. If the swamp is of some extent, it is to be presumed that a ditch at least six or eight feet in AAidth will be needed. These ditches should not be over tAvo feet in depth, and unless there are very heavy discharges of Avater from the uplands, or natural Avater courses, the side ditches need not be nearer than one hundred feet from each other. One ditch should always run parallel Avith and about six feet, or even more, from the dam; the soil throAvn out can be utilized in building the dam. The planting requires some discernment. If the muck is covered with alders, reeds, and the like, a great amount of labor aa411 have to be performed in advance, but the experi- ence of a great many has been, whei'e the muck Avas only covered Avith a growth of wild grass, that the ditching and consequent dry soil will so hinder its growth that the berry vines Avill thrive and soon force it into subjection, and, upon the Avhole, it Avill, in the first year of the growth of the cranbei-ry, prove a source of profit in the way of protection from exposure and the like. By this method the labor of setting the Adnes Avill only be one of thrusting a narrow spade into the soil, pushing the handle over to one side, insert the plants, three or four in number, and press the soil firmly about the plants witb the foot, Where weeds and wild sage have a strong hold upon the ^MALL FRUITS. 131 awamp, the removal of the turf is the only way to aucceecl with tlie cran- berries. To pay $50 and $75 an acre to clear the ground, in addition to the expense of ditching, seems a large outlay, but Avhenjhe plants have estab- lished themselves and you find that the acre has produced one hundred to one hundred and fifty bushels of berries, worth $4: per bushel, the "light shines from an entirely difterent quarter." Planting these hills three feet apart each way gives both ample room and chance for cultivation, and in a couple of years the plants will occupy the entire ground, and if no chance is given to seed the ground with weeds, the care of the vines will be quite a small item for several years. Preparing Soil for Stra-fvberries. — Upon tliis subject E. P. Eoe writes as follows: In the garden, light soils can be given a much more stable and productive character, covering them with clay to the depth of one or two •inches every fall. The winter's frost and rain mix the two diverse soils to their mutual benefit. Carting sand on clay is rarely remunerative; the reverse is decidedly so, and top-dressing of clay on light land is often more beneficial than equal amounts of manure. As practically emj^loyed, I regard quick stimulating manures, like guano, very injurious to light soils. I bcUeve them to be the curse of the South, ^hey are used " to make a crop," as it is termed; and they do make it for a few years, but to the utter impoverishment of the land. And yet, by the aid of these stimulating commercial fertilizers, the poorest and thinnest soil can be made to produce good strawberries if suf- ficient moisture can be maintained. Just as a physician can i-ally an exhausted man to a condition in Avhich he can take and be strengthened by food, so land, too poor and light to sprout a pea; can be stimulated into pro- ducing a meagre green crop of some kind, which plowed under, will enable the land to produce a second and heavier bixrden. This, in turn, placed in the soil, "will l^egin to give a suggestion of fertility. Thus poor or exhausted soil can be made by several years of skiflful management, to convalesce slowly into strength. Coarse, gravelly soils are usually even worse. If we must grow our strawberries on them give the same general treatment that I have sug- gested. On some peat soils the strawberry thrives abundantly; on others it burns and dwindles. With a soil, I should experiment with bone dust, ashes, et" until I found just what was lacking. No written directions can take the place of common sense judgment, and above all, experience. Soils vary like individual chai-acter. I have yet to learn of a system of rules that will teach us how to deal with every man we meet. It is ever wise, however, to deal justly and liberally. He that expects much from his land must give it much. I have dwelt at length upon the preparation and enrichment of the laud, since it is the corner stone of all subsequent success. Let me close by emphasizing again the principle which was made prominent at first. Though we give our strawberry jDlants everything else they need, our crop of fruit will still be good or bad in proportion as we are able to maintain abundant moisture during the blossoming and fruiting season. If provision can be made for irrigation, it may increase the yield tenfold. When to Plant Stra-w'toerries. — The above question is often asked, and its answer must depend upon circumstances. One fact about the straw- i32 ^ME FAhU. berry plant should be known, and this will enable each one to decide for himself. The plants that are sent out by nurserymen are those that were formed last year by the runners from old plants taking root in the soil of the bed, If these are taken up in the usual way and planted in a new bed— it may be after the lapse of several days— they require a whole season to get established and become sufficiently strong to bear a cx-op. If these plants are set this spring, they will bear a crop next spring; if such plants are set next autumn, they will require all of next season to grow in, and while they may i^roduce here and there a few bei'ries, they will give no real crop until the following year. Growei-s of fruit for market set a share of their plants in the fall, because then they have leisure and the ground is in excellent con- dition. If the plants are made to strike root in pots, these in early autumn may be planted in beds without any disturbance of their roots, and will give a fair crop next spring. Such jjlants are more expensive than others, and if a crop of fruit is wanted next spring, it is better to set out the plants now.' Making the rows two feet apart, and setting the plants one foot apart in the row, as a general rule is best. With regard to protecting strawl)erry plants, if some light material can be put over the plants that will not smother and rot them, and yet will be just enough to make shade from the winter sun and a screen from frosty winds, it will be doing a good turn to the strawberry plant. Manure is bad. There is salt in it, especially when fresh, which is destructiye to foliage; but clean straw, or swamp, or marsh hay that is free from weeds, answers the purpose very well. But it must not be put on very thick. The idea is, just enough to make a thin screen, and yet enough to hold the moisture long. Shade without damp is the idea. Such light protection is good for the plant. Covering Stra-ivberries. — The strawberry endures cold well, writes a successful small fruit grower, but not the great sudden changes of tempera- ture, and cold, drying winds. If the situation is such that the plants are not exposed to the winds, and the ^ools are large and thick with foliage, this foliage will be a sufficient protection; doubtful, however, should the snow be very deep and close packed, and lie long, or ice form on the surface of the ground, locking it for a long time. It is worse still if the frost extends deep into the gi'ound. Under such circumstances the smothering influence may either kill the plant or seriously injure it. The plants without covering are safe where the winter is mild and the soil has perfect drainage. But the safe thing is to cover the plants. For perfect protection I find nothing so good as hemlock briTsh, or straw kept in place by a hemlock bough, with the con- cave side under, thus preventing the tatal pressure of the snow. I put on the covering at the beginning of winter, and keep it on until spiing frosts are over. The plant ■svill then come out fresh, sti'ong and unharmed, and imme- diately push its growth. This answers for a small plot of ground. For field cultui-e, light stable manure with three or four parts of sawdifst, or other fine vegetable absorb- ent, to one of manure, succeeds well as a covering, but should be used only where the soil requires the fertility, as too high manuring produces foliage rather than fruit. Vegetable material worked into the soil is one of the best elements in the strawberry culture, as also in the culture of other beriies. It loosens clay and improves the character of sandy soil, seeming also to form the right pabulum for the fruit. I also get the best crops and the finest berries in this way. Two weeks ago I gave the plants a spiinkling of liquid manure f^MALL FJiriTS. m (diluted urine), and they are briglitcuing up and invigorated so as to with- stand the winter better, and put out strong and early in the spring. This attention is only a trifle, but it helps a good deal. The strawberry, like the grape, is very susceptible to treatment, and can be made to do much more than we xisually see. Cultivation of Strawberries.— An Illinois journal says that the pre- paration of the ground for strawberries, and, indeed, for all berry fruits raised in the garden, is exceedingly simple. Any land rich enough to bring forty to lifty bushels of corn per acre, under good cultivation, will do. The ground should be plowed deeply and thoroughly well pulverized. Mark the land if for field culture, the distance as for corn. If for garden culture, the field may be marked both ways, and one good plant placed at each intersec- tion, spreading the roots naturally, placing the plants so the crowns will not be above the surface, giving a little water to the roots if the soil be not fairly moist, and after the water has settled away, drawing the dry earth over all. For garden culture, one plant to three feet of space will be sufficient, unless the plants are to be raised in stools, and the runners kept cut out, when a plant to each two feet will be about right, if you want extra large berries. The cultivation is simple. The spaces between the rows, about two feet wide, may be kept clean with the cultivator. In the rows the weeds may be kept, early in the season, clean with the cultivator; later, when the runners have encroached on the rows, the weeds must be pulled out if necessary, but on faii-ly clean soil, the cultivation will not be difficult. Beds of the pre- vious year, and which should be in full fruit this season, may be kept clean between the rows with the cultivator. . The weeds will not trouble much until the crop is gathered. About Raspberries. — Not one-half the people grow raspberries that should. To say nothing of the excellence of this fruit freshly taken from the vines, with cream or without, it is really the best there is for canning, and either raw or canned it finds a ready market. It is easily cultivated, pro- duces large crops, and has few insect enemies. In starting a bed the best time is in the fall, but if neglected then, plant early in the spring, pressing the earth firmly about the roots and cutting the canes off six inches high. Count all suckers as weeds except three to five to. the hill. The hills may be four feet apart each way, so they can be worked with the plow and cultivator. No stakes are needed, for the canes are kept stocky by being pinched otf hen about a yard high. As to varieties, of course there is none better for this locality than the Brandywine. It is true and tried. It carries well to market, and its bright red color makes it the most salable berry in the catalogue. For home use alone it is no better than the Herstine, but this is not solid, and the plants need covering in winter north of this latitude. The Herstine is a splendid berry — good enough for anybody. The Philadelphia is a valuable old stand- ard, but is soft and too dark in color. The Keliance is nearly of the same color, but we believe every way better than the Plnladelphia. The Cuthbert is immensely praised just now, and so many unite in com- mending it, that it certainly must have merit. It is perfectly hardy, and thrives North and South. It is said to be very productive, the berries are immense, and the bearing time holds on a long time. The Queen of the Market is quite similar to the Cuthbert, in fact so nearly alike are the two berries, that many consider tliem identical. lU THE FAHM. The above are all red varieties. Of the black caps the Mammoth Cluster is the old popular variety, but the new Gregg is said to be greatly superior to it. Tlxe Blaclcbei-ry and 'Wliortleberi-y — Those who find it difficult to get good ripe blackbei-ries and whortleberries maybe glad to know that they can be grown in their own gardens as well as the strawberry, and that with the right treatment they will surpass in tiavor and size any which may have grown in their grandfather's day. The low-bush or running blackberry grows best on a warm soil of either sandy loam or gravel, and when properly grown and well ripened is much better than any of the high bush varieties. The plants should be set in May, in rows three feet apart and two feet in the rows. Care should be taken to select good strong young roots, and those which bear large sweet berries, avoiding those Avhich bear the sour hemes that ripen later in the season; it is best to mark the plants when the fruit is ripening, or secure the assistance of one who knows where the right variety grows. For garden culture the ground should be well hoed the first part of the season, and mulched Avith leaves or hay about the first of August. If properly cared for the first year, but little needs to be done the next spring; the crop will be large if the vines are well supplied with water during the ripening season; during this time they require quite as much water as the strawberry. The berries should not be picked until fully ripe, and to be in the best condition for sauce should be picked but a short time before eaten; when thus picked, they surpass in richness and flavor the strawberry; as it cannot be transported when fully ripe, any better, if so well as the strawberry, its good qualities are known only to those who cultivate it in their own gar- den, and understand the right time to pick it. But few dishes can be placed upon the table so acceptable as a dish of good, well-ripened blackberries of the variety which grow on the low running vines. To keep the garden clean, new ^dnes should be set every year, and the old ones removed as soon as the berries are picked. The whortleberry, both the high and the low-bush, re quires a different treatment from the blackberry; it will grow on almost any soil. Bushes should be selected that are known to produce large-sized and good flavored berries; they should be set near enough together to shade the ground; a large portion of the top should be cut oflt"; the ground be mulched with a heavy coat of leaves, and should not be disturbed by cultivation; but should be kept well mulched until the bushes are thick enough and large enough to shade the ground, and thus they protect themselves; when once established they require biit httle care. When the bushes seem to have too much old wood to bear well, they should be cut down to the gro\ind in the autumn; the next year they will make a vigorous growth, and the year after bear some very large berries, but not a full crop until the following year. Croosetoeri'ies and Cui-raiits. — There is no reason why both these very useful fruits should not be found abundantly in every garden. They are no trouble to raise. They grow readily from cuttings. Take the wood of last year, from six to ten inches in length; prepare the bed or place where they are to stand permanently; force them into the ground not less than four inches, press the dirt firmly around them, mulch them, and let them alone. If a brush is desired let the buds on the cuttings remain; but if a tree or single stem be preferred, remove all the buds that Avould go beneath the surface. Let them stand about three feet in the row; and if there is more than one row, let the rows be four feet apart. SMALL FRUITS. 135 In the spring the ucad wood of both the gooseberries and currants should be cut out, and the new growth should be thinned where there is too much, as it will interfere with the product. The best red currant is the Dutch, and the best gooseberries are Downing's Prolific and Houghton's Seedling. Advantages of Mitlcliing — The Germantown Telegraph says: " Al- though we have suggested many times in the past the great advantage of mulching raspberry and blackberry beds, it cannot be suggested too often. But this mulching should not be done or rather renewed in the season until the heat of the sun or drought requires it; neither should it be done until after the suckers or new plants show themselves and are of sufficient height not to be injured by the application of the mulch, which, if too thick and appUed too soon, will in a great measure prevent the sprouting, and Avhei-e it does not will cause the sprouts to be weak and spindling. Currant bushes also delight in a moist, cool soil, and mulching provides this if applied in sufficient quantity. Anything in the way of weeds, small branches of trees, grass from lawn cuttings, etc., Avill answer. The mulching of tomato plants, egg plants, etc., will prove very beneficial. We know that some persons have not our faith in mulching, and prefer beds of plants, young trees, etc., to have the soil stirred up about them frequently. This, we are aware, is excellent, but it does not hinder the mulching also. Let the old mulch be removed, the soil well loosened, and then apply fresh mulch." FaU Setting of Small Friiits._It is urged that those contemplating setting small fruits should give one trial at least to fall setting. All that is necessary is to either back up over the roots with earth, or throw a forkful of litter over each plant, before the ground freezes up, and in the spring haul this away. First, because they get settled in their place, and getting the benefit of early spring rains, start early, and make a full growth next season, while if set next spring, it cannot be done properly until the ground is set- tled and the heavy spring rains have ceased. Second, all fruit growers know how pressed they are for time in the spring. Third, raspberries and black- berries have very tender germs that start very early in the spring, and these are likely to be broken off if set then, while if set in the fall, they have not started enough to damage them in transplanting. And fourth, but not least, a much larger proportion of them live when set in the fall — a fact abundant in itself to show the superior merits of fall planting, especially of blackber- ries, raspberries, currants, grapes, and such sorts. Red Raspbei-ry. — There is no fruit that is in greater demand at such paying prices, and with which the market is so poorly supplied, as the red raspberry, and one reason why the market is so poorly supplied is because there has been sent over the country so many tender sorts that have so easily winter killed, but now with such hardy and productive sorts as the Brandywine, Philadelphia, Turner, Highland Hardy, Thwack and Cuthbert, and that succeed so well wherever tried, there is no excuse for not having this delicious fruit in abundance. Another reason why they pay so poorly is that they have been allowed to grow belter skelter all over the ground. If you Avould have fruit in abundance, and of larger size, the suckers must be kept down same as weeds, and the same cultivation that will keep the ground in proper plight and keep weeds down will keep suckers down. Easy Method of Cultivating Small Fruits. — A Avriter in the New York Ttnhune sap: "It is a source of confitant regret with farmej-s that 136 THE FARM. x small fruits require so much care and attention, and that, too, in the season when they are hardest at work at something else. Field work must be done at all events, and the ' berry patch ' stniggles on single handed with the weeds and grass, till it submits to the inevitable sward. Some years ago coming into possession of a patch of black cap raspberries that had received the iisual shiftless culture, I treated them in the following way: After cai-e- fully plowing and hoeing them, I covered the groimd "svith a heavy layer of very strawy manure, and the work was done, not only for that year but for the two years following, only renewing the mulch each spring. Only a few struggling Canada thistles will ever grow through such mulch; the soil is always rich and moist, and the berries can ask no better treatment. Since that time I have tried the same plan without removing the sod, and find the result is quite as satisfactory. Farmers, try it, and you will not need to complain that berries cost more than they are worth. Wiiitei- Protection of Stra-wberry Vines. — A good strawberry pro- tector is a cheap baked-clay saucer, twelve to thirteen inches in diameter, Avith a hole in the center. The advantages claimed by its use are: a much larger crop; much finer berries; cleaner, and free fi'om sand and dii-t; mulching the ground; the retention of the rains to the roots of the vines; lulling the weeds; early ripening; easier picking. They are turned over as a ■winter protection to the vines. Persons who have used it pronounce it the most important invention ever made in connection with strawberry raising. Setting a, Strawberry Bed. — The old plan of spading under a portion of the old strawberry bed, so as to leave the plants in i-ows, will not pay. Better reset clean land with vigorous plants, arranging to grow a crop of potatoes every third year to clean the land and mellow it. The picking of berries on heavy clay lands causes it to become so packed as to require cul- tivating at least one season in every four with some hoed crop. S+rawberry plants may be set in May or in August; in fact, at almost any time during the spiing, summer or fall season. Easy Metliod. of Disposing of the Currant Worui. — A successful small fruit grower circumvents the ravaging currant worm by allowing no sprouts to grow. He allows but three main stems to a bush, and rubs oft" all root sprouts when about six inches long. The worms begin with the new growth first; hence, he says, no sprouts, no worms. The fruit also is far finer on plants thus treated, the common red Dutch being nearly aa large as the Cherry currant, and a better bearer. An Easy Metliocl of Irrigation. — An old fruit can may be pierced with one or more pin holes, and then sunk in the earth near the roots of the strawberry or tomato, or other plants, the pin holes to be made of such size that when the can is filled with water the fluid can only escape into the gi'ound very slowly. Practical trials of this method of irrigation leave no doubt of its success. Plants thus watered yield bounteous returns through- out the longest droughts. Trellises for Blackberries and Raspbeii-ies — The fruit canes of the blackberries and raspberries should be tied up to stakes or trellisefe. The young growing canes form the fruiting ones for next year; cut away ali except three to five to each stool, and when large enough tie them up; thev should be pinched off at four feet for raspberries and six feet for blackberries. LIVE STOCK. How to Judge a Horse. — 1. Never take the seller's word. If dis- posed to be fair, he may have been the dupe of another, and will deceive you through representations which cannot be relied upon. 2. Never trust a horse's mouth as a sure index of his age. 3. Never buy a horse while in motion; watch him while he stands at rest and -you will discover his weak points. If sound, he will stand firmly and squarely on hia limbs without moving any of them, feet planted flat upon the ground, with legs plump and naturally poised. If one foot is thrown for- ward with the toe pointing to the ground and the heel raised, or if the foot is lifted from the ground and the weight taken from it, disease of the navicular bone may be suspected, or at least tenderness, which is a precursor of dis- ease. If the foot is thrown out, the toe raised, and the heel brought down, the horse has suffered from lamnitis, founder, or the back sinews have sprained, and he is of little future value. .When the feet are all drawn to- gether beneath the horse, if there has been no disease, there is a misplace- ment of the limb at least, and weak disposition of the muscles. If the horse stands with his feet spread apart, or straddles with his hind legs, there is weakness of the loins, and the kidneys are disordered. When the knees are bent, and totter and tremble, the beast has been ruined by heavy pulling, and will never be right again, whatever rest and treatment he may have. Contracted or ill-formed hoofs speak for themselves. 4. Never buy a horse with a bluish or milky coat in his eyes. They in- dicate a constitutional tendency to ophthalmia, moon-blindness, etc. 5. Never have anything to do with a horse who keeps his ears thrown backward. This is an invariable indication of bad temper. 6. If the horse's hind legs are scarred, the fact denotes that he is a kicker. 7. If the knees are blemished, the horse is apt to stumble. 8. When the skin is rough and harsh, and does not move easily and Bmoothly to the touch, the horse is a heavy eater, and digestion is bad. 9. Avoid a horse whose respiratory organs are at all impaired. If the ear is placed to the heart and a wheezing sound is heard, it is an indication of trouble. Feed foi- tlie Horse. — One of the most sensible articles on the treatment of a horse is that which is given from a physiological standpoint by Colvin. It is the opinion of this auf-hority that the horse's stomach has a compacity of only about 16 quarts, while that of the ox has 250. In the intestines this proportion is reversed, the horse having a capacity of 190 quarts against 100 of the ox. The ox, and most other animals, have a gall bladder for the re- tention of a part of the bile secreted during digestion; the horse has none, and the bile flows directly into the intestines as fast as secreted. This con- struction of the digestive apparatus indicates that the horse was formed to eat slowly and digest continually bulky and innutritioue food. When fed on hay it passes very rapidly through the stomach into the intestines. The 138 THE FARM. horse can eat but about five pounds of hay in an hour, which is charged, during mastication, with four times its weight of sahva. Now, the stomach, to digest well, will contain but about ten quarts, and when the animal eats one-third of his daily ration, or seven pounds, in one and one-half hours, he has swallowed at least two stomachfuls of hay and saliva, one of these hav- ing passed to the intestines. Observation has shown that the food is passed to the intestines by the stomach in the order in which it is received. If we feed a horse six quarts of oats it will just fill his stomach, and if, as soon as he finishes this, we feed him the above ration of seven pounds of hay, he will eat sufficient in three-quarters of an hour to have forced the oats entirely out of his stomach into the intestines. As it is the oflice of tlae stomach. to digest the nitrogenous parts of the feed, and as a stomachful of oats contains four or five times as mxich of these as the same amount of hay, it is certain that either the stomach must secrete the gastric juice five times as fast, which is hardly possible, or it must retain this food five times as long. By feeding the oats first, it can only be retained long enough for the proper digestion of hay, consequently it seems logical, ^vJlen feeding a concentrated food like oats, with a bulky one like hay, to feed the latter first, giving the grain the whole time between the repasts to be digested. Feeding Horses. — Another authority writes as follows: The horse has the smallest stomach, in proportion to his size, of any animal. This space is completely filled by four quarts of oats and the saliva that goes into the stomach with it. Horses are generallj'^ ovei'fed and not fed often enough. For a horse with moderate work six or eight quarts of bruised oats and ten pounds of fine hay are sufficient. This should be fed in three meals, and is better if fed in four. A horse's digestion is very rapid, and therefore he gets hungry sooner than a man. When he is hungry he is inefiective, and wears out very rapidly. Water fills the stomach, lowers the temperature, and di- lutes the gastric juice; therefore a horse should not drink immediately be- fore eating. Neither should he be watered immediately after eating, because he will drink too much and force some of the contents of the stomach into the large intestine, which will cause scouring. Scouring is also caused by too rapid eating, which can be prevented by putting half a dozen pebbles half the size of the fist into the manger with the oats. Give only a moderate drink of water to a horse. A large di'ink of water before being driven will have a very quieting effect on a nervous horse. A race horse always runs on an empty stomach. Digestion progresses moderately during exercise, if the exercise is not so violent as to exhaust the power of the horse. I con- sider bruised oats worth twenty per cent, more than whole. They are more perfectly digested. I prefer oats to any other grain for horses. Cracked corn is good imder some circumstances, but I would not use meal or shorts. The disease called big head is caused by feeding corn. When a horse comes in hot I Avould give a moderate feed immediately. If the horse is too tired to eat I would take the feed away. A heated horse is a reason against water- ing and for feeding, for the system is just then in a condition to begin diges- tion. A horse will not founder if fed immediately when hot. I prefer dry feed, unless the horse has some disease of the throat and lungs. I do not consider it worth while to cut hay. I always feed hay fi'om the floor, then the horses do not get particles in their eyes. Raising a Colt.^ A colt is regarded as an incumbrance because he is ueelesB until he arrives at a suitable age for work, but it really costs very LIVE STOCK. 139 little, compared with his value, to raise a colt. . When the period arrives at which the colt can do service, the balance sheet will show in its favor, for young horses always command good prices if they are sound and well broken. One of the difficulties in the way is the incumbrance placed on the dam, which interferes with her iisefuluess on the farm, especially if the colt is foaled during the early part of the spring. Some farmers have their colts foaled in the fall, but this is open to two objections. In the first place, spring is the natural time, for then the grass is beginning to grow, and nature seems to have provided that most animals should bring forth their young in a sea- son beyond the reach of severe cold, and with sufficient time to grow and be prepared for the following winter. Again, when a colt is foaled in the fall he must i)as8 through a period of several months' confinement in the stable, without exercise, or else be more or less chilled with cold fi-om time to time. Should this happen, the effect of any bad treatment will be afterward manifested, and no amount of atten- tion can again elevate the colt to that degree of hardiness and soundness of body that naturally belongs to a spring colt. Besides, a colt foaled in the spring will outgrow one foaled in the fall. An objection to spring colts may be partially overcome by plowing in )A\e fall, or keeping the brood mares for very light work, with the colts at liberty to accompany them always. A colt needs but very little feeding if the pastiwe is good and there is water run- ning through it. He needs then only a small feed of oats at night— no corn —and if he is given hay it is not necessary to give him a full ration. What he will consume from the barn will not be one-third his value when he is three years old, and if he is well bred the gain is greater. When a farmer raises his horses he knows their disposition, constitution and capacity. It is the proper way to get good, sound, serviceable horses on the farm. It should not be overlooked that a colt must be tenderly treated from birth, and must be fondled and handled as much as possible. He should never hear a harsh word, but should be taught to have confidence in everybody he sees or knows. This is an easy matter if his training begins from the time he is a day old. He can be thus gradually broken without difficulty, and mil never be troublesome. No such thing as a whip should be allowed in a stable that contains a colt. Colts should not be worked until three years old, and then lightly at first, as they do not fully mature until they are six years old, and mth some breeds of horses even later. Mares with foals at theu' sider should be fed on the most nourishing food. To Bit a Colt — The true way to bit a colt is not to bit him at all; that is, let him bit himself. When my colts are one year old, I begin to teach them to hold the bit in their mouth. The bit is of pine, some half-inch in diameter, and five inches in length. This piece of soft pine is held in the mouth by a cord tied to either end, and fastened on the head, back of the ears. The colt loves to have the bit in his mouth, because it enables him to bring forward the saliva process. He will bit, and work it over in his mouth, and enjoys it hugely. He will welcome it, and will actually reach out and open his mouth for it, as a trained horse will for a bit. After a few days, you can tie strings making miniature reins to this bit, and teach the colt the proper use of it. When this is done, he is ready for the x-egular steel bit. Put your bridle on with a leather bit, large and pliant; throw your check- line, if your bridle has one attached, into the pigsty; get into your wagon and drive off. This is all the " bitting" a colt needs. Treated in this way, he will have a lively, yielding, sensitive mouth. He will take the bit bravely 140 THE FARM. when working up to his speed, but yield readily to the driver's will. A horse, bitted in this sensible way, can be driven a forty-clip with the lines held in one hand, or be lifted over a five-barred gate with the strength of a single wrist. If you do not believe it, try it and see. A Convenient Horse- slioe. — Among the numei-ous horseshoes lately devised in this and other countries, that invention in England, by Mr. Joseph Offord, seems worthy of special notice. Its object is to fit the hoof with a mov- able but firm covering, which can be readily adjusted to fit every kind of work and road, so that, like its master, the horse may own several sets of shoes for different occasions. The device con- sists in having one or more perfectly wedge-shaped holes in the side and close to the edge of each shoe (Fig. 1), in which triangular cogs, or wedges, are inserted. These are fastened by the fangs being brought, with- out touching the hoof, to tke outaide of the shoe, over which they are clenched with a small liammer. The cogs do not penetrate the hoof, and there is no risk of hurting the horse. The holes being wedge-shaped, can- not fill up with stones or dirt, and the fangs being malleable, the wedges are easily removed or inserted at pleasure. It is necessary, however, to get the holes punched in the shoes before the horse is shod, and for the coachman to be provided with a sup- ply of these patent cogs to insure safety on any road in frost or on wood. As many are accustomed to use a- cog which screws into the shoe, Mr. Offord has prepared a steel wedge- shaped one (Fig. 2) for this purpose. The screw cogs are, of course, more expensive. In using them the shoe has to be di-illed and tapped with one or more holes before the horse is shod. The cogs are inserted into these holes when needed, or removed at pleasure by means of a wrench provided ilG. 1. HOBSESHOE. — FIG. 2. LIVE STOCK. 141 for this purpose. We give two illustrations, reproduced from the Agricul- tural Gazette, showing both these methods, with the punch, wrench, and cogs, both of which have stood the test of many ytiars' experience, and have given great satisfaction. To Break Horses H'oiii Pulling at tlie Halter— Two methods of breaking a horse of this habit are here illustrated, as follows: TO BREAK HORSES FROM PULLING AT THE HALTER.— Fia. 1. Fig. 1.— Get a strong half-inch cord twenty -two feet in length; put the center under the tail like a crupper; twist them a few times as you bring them forward over the back; pass for- ward on each side of the body, the pass them forward through the halter below the jaw. Tie firmly to a tree, post, or stall, and excite the animal by any means that will cause him to pull, until the habit is overcome. You may even whip across the nose keenly until there is perfect submission, which wdll not require long. Hitch in this way for a few days, or so long as there is is any predisposition to pull on the halter. Fig. 2. — This contrivance consists of an ordinary ring halter, with the two side rings connected by a strong, flexible cord. Whenever the horse pulls, the inner part of the cord is drawn forcibly against his jaw, and the effect is a severer punishment than he is willing to endure. "Warts on Horses. — A correspon- dent of an English agricultural journal writes: " Inquiries are made for a cure for warts on horses, mules, and cattle. Many remedies are prescribed BREAK A AT A HALTER. FROM PULLING -FIG. 2. 142 THE FA EM. —many barbarous and cruel to the animal. I will give you a remedy often tried, and never known to fail. Anoint the wart three' times with clean, fresh hog's lard, about two daj^s between times. I have had warts on my horses— bleeding warts, of large size, rattling warts and seed warts, to the number of more than one hundred on one horse's head. I have never been able to find the warts for the third application of the lard. All disappear after the second application. I have sent this prescription to several agri- cultural papers, hoping it would be of some use to farmers. But they all seem slow to believe, perhaps, because the remedy is at hand and costs no- thing. I own I was slow to believe myself; but, having a fine young mare with large bleeding warts, that covered parts of the biidle and girths with blood whenever used, I thought there would be no hami in trying lard on them. ^Vhen the mare was got up for the third application, there were no warts, and the scars are there now, after more than fifteen years, with very little change. I may say that for cuts, bruises, galls, etc., the application of fresh lard— either for man or beast— is worth more than any patent liniment in use. It will remove pain instantly, and does not irritate raw flesh, as all liniments do. Stumbling Hoi-ses—The Pittsburg Stockmait says: " Some good horses are addicted to stumbling wliile walking or moving in a slow trot. A well- versed veterinarian states that there are two causes that would tend to pro- duce this faulty action; one a general weakness in the muscular system, such as would be noticed in a tired horse; the other a weakness of the ex- terior muscles of the leg, brought about by carrying too much weight on the toe. To effect a cure, he adds, lighten the weight of each front shoe about four ounces; have the toe of the shoe made of steel instead of iron, it will wear longei-, have it rounded oft' about the same as it would be when one- third worn out, in order to prevent tripping, allow one week's rest; have the legs showered for a few minutes at a time with cold water through a h®se, in order to create a spray; then rub diy briskly, from the chest doAvn to the foot. Give walking exercise daily this week, for about an hour, twice a day. Wken you commence driving again omit the slow jog — either walk or send him along at a sharp trot for a mile or two, then walk away, but do not speed for at least several weeks. By this means the habit of stumbling from either of the above causes will l)e pretty well overcome. Cur© for Balky Hoi-se. — Hermann Koon, my German neighboi', writes a correspondent of the Prairie Farmer, is as patient a man as belongs to that patient race. Coming along the road a month or so ago, I saw Hei-- mann lying in a fence corner, under the shade of an elm, quietly smoking his pipe. A quarter of a mile or so beyond I saw Hermann's horse and buggy by the roadside, the horse evidently tied to a post. This was a queer condition of affairs, for my neighbor is one of the most industrious men I know. My curiosity was aroused, and I stoi)ped for an explanation. In broken English he told me his horse, a recent purchase, had proved balky, had stopped near where he now stood and no amount of coaxing could in- duce him to go on. Hermann did not curse the animal, he did not lash it Avith his whip, beat it with a club, build a fire under its belly, nor resort to any other of the brutal means some men use in such cases. He quietly got out of the buggy, tied the horse to the post, and walked off. Hermann had been taking it easy under the tree for three long hours. He thought the horse would be glad to go now if requested to do so. It had once before stopped LIVE STOCK. 143 with him, and after a paMent waiting alone, for an hour, it went on all right. He expected about four hours, this time, would effect a permanent cure of the bad habit. I 'went on about my business, leaving the stolid German to his pipe and his thoughts. To-day I met him again. He said the horse was eager to start when ho went back to the buggy, and though he has used it every day since, no disposition to balk has been manifested. He beUeves there will be no repetition of the offense. Most men think they cannot afford to waste time in this way, perhaps, but if the horse is cured he is a valuable one, whereas, if it had become a chronic balker, through cruel management, it would be worthless. Hermann thought he could not make money faster than by saving the reputation of his horse. It is a new system, but Hermann says it will work well every time, if the horse is not naturally vicious. It looks reasonable to me, and if my nag ever tries the stop game with me, and I can command patience sufficient, I will try his plan. Kicking Horses.— We present herewith a method that will be found available in all cases of kicking by horses. The beast should have a good pair of bits in his mouth, to which should be attached a strap or rope sufficiently long to reach back between and behind the fore legs about eight inches, and should pass through the girt or surcingle. A loop should be made in this, the back end of the rope or strap, about two inches or more in length. Now take a rope about seven or eight feet long. (The length of the rope will depend upon the size of the horse; the ropo should be long enough to allow of a free use of the horse's hind legs in traveling.) Pass one end of the rope round the leg, upon the inside, so the fastening shall come iipon the oiitside, to prevent interfeilng, and bring it round upon the outside of the leg, and pass the end over and around the middle of the rope and wind it round the rope upon the outside of the leg, as illustrated. Draw the noose up round the pastern— i. e., between the fetlock and hoof— and pass the unfastened end of the rope through the loop in the rope or strap Avhich passes through the surcingle, and fasten the end round the other leg, as was done the first time in fastening. This mode of fastening is simple, is easily done and undone, and will not work off, provided the noose is drawn up tightly around the pastern. If you have a horse that is addicted to the unpleasant hab- it of kicking, try this experiment, and you will find that it works admirably. Training Vicious Horses — A new and very simple method of training vicious horses was exhibited in West Philadelphia, and the manner in whieh some of the wildest horses were subdued was astonishing. The first trial ,was that of a kicking or " bucking" mare, which her owner said had allowed no rider on her back for a period of at least five years. She became tame in about as many minutes, and allowed herself to be ridden about without a HOW TO PREVENT HOESES FEGM KICKING. 144 THE FARM. sign of her former wildness. The means by which the result was accom- plished was a piece of light rope which was passed around the front jaw of the mare just above the upper teeth, crossed in her mouth, and thence secured back of her neck. It was claimed that no horse Avill kick or jump when thus secured, and that a horse, after receiving the treatment a few minutes, will abandon his vicious ways forever. A very simple method was also shown by which a kicking horse could be shod. It consisted in connect- ing the animal's head and tail by means of a rope fastened to the tail and then to the bit, and then drawn tightly enough to incline the animal's head to one side. This, it is claimed, makes it absolutely impossible for the horse to kick on the side of the rope. At the same exhibition a horse which for many years had to be bound on the ground to be shod suffered the black- smith ' to operate on him without attempting to kick while secured in the manner described. Cialls and Sores on Horses. — If the owner of the horses, the farmer ->&*. ONE CAUSE OF HIDE-BOUND. himself, could always be among his work animals, they would receive more attention and better treatment; but as he has so much to think about and look after, he cannot give this department his careful supervision, and many errors creep into the management which could not otherwise be found there. There are some horses which chafe more readily than others, Avhile some do not have the collarn and harness fit them, which will invariably cause galls or sores; and even when the harness does fit properly, the warm weather, or giving the horse a hard, warm day's work, may cause shoulder or saddle galls to appear, which will soon become larger and bad sores, if not promptly attended to. Bathing the shoulders, with spring or well water hardens them, and decreases the tendency toward galling. When galls ap- pear, wash the affected parts with good white castile soap (only use the best eastile and none other), and warm water to cleanse them. After the parts LTVJ^ STOCK. 145 have been dried with a soft cloth or rag or sponge, anoint the parts with a mixture of pure glycerine in which a little carbolic acid lias been mixed. Do this at night after work. In the morn cleanse well again, as above, and pnt on some pulverized alum if you work the horse regularly. Continue this course until the sores are pex-fectly healed up. Working Mares in Foal. — It is quite common to see or heiir inquiries as to how near the time of foaling, a mare may be worked without injury to her or the colt, on the supposition that it is necessary for her to go idle for a month or two before. This is not the case; and in the hands of a careful man she may be kept at such work as plowing, harrowing, or cultivating without the least danger, until she is ready to foal. Of course, fast driving or working to a heavy wagon tongue, on rough or muddy roads, or where heavy backing is to be done, should not be allowed. The writer has always worked mares moder- ately on the farm, when necessary, until it was evident they were likely to foal within a few hours, and has known of their foaling in harness, en route from the plow to the barn, but never with any bad results. While we think it more humane to let a mare have a few days' liberty before this trying event, there seems to be little necessity for losing the work of a strong mare for any great length of time before foaling, and we would prefer to allow the extra holidays afterward. Ordinarily, she will do first-rate work with a ten days' vacation, provided that she is not put immediately to work that is too severe, and fed partly with something else than corn. Kicking in the Stall. — The habit of kicking in the stable arises from idleness. Regular day work is the best remedy, but when that is not suffi- cient, a branch or two of some prickly shrub, nailed to the posts, will often stop the habit, care being taken to arrange it so as not to prevent the animal from lymg doAvn and obtaining needed rest. Mares are supposed to be much more subject to this vice than geldings or stallions; but so far as our personal experience goes, there is little difference. A broad leather strap, to which is tied a small wooden log, are commonly applied to one or both legs, but they are not always sufficient. A heavier weight than two pounds should not be used, for if a horse is frightened by it, he may kick worse and do himself injury. When, however, he is well used to a wooden log, and has got over his first alarm, a heavier one may be put on if required. The strap, which should be broad, is buckled around the leg above the fetlock, and the weight suspended from it, w^hicli should not reach farther down than an inch and a half above the coronet, as the coronet would inflame to a mis- chievous extent if bruised. Sometimes a weight is required for each leg, if the animal kicks at both stall posts. Occasionally, Avhen all other remedies fail, the practice will cease when the animal be turned loose in a roomy box stall. Reining Horses. —The habit of reining in horses very tightly finds less favor with many persons than it did. It is not easy to see in what way the habit originated. If a man has a load of anything to pull, he wishes to get his head as far forward as possible to pull with ease. But the horse is de- nied this. His head is reined back tightly, thereby making it much harder for him to pull the load. To our view, a horse looks better, and we know he feels better, Avhen pursuing a natural, leisurely, swinging gait. It is as necessaiy for his head to oscillate in response to the motions of his body, as it is for a man's hands to do the same thing. A horse allowed his 146 ■ TIIL FARM. head will work easier and last longer than one on which a check is used. Blinds are another popular absurdity in the use of horses. They collect dust, pound the eye, and are in every way a nuisance. A horse that cannot be driven with safety without them should be sold to a railroad grader. No colt should be broken to them. Animals fear noises they cannot see the ca*se of much more than those they can. We would dispense with tight reining and with blinds. Colic in Horses—This disease is caused by indigestion, over-feeding, or by giving cold water in large quantities, or by eating sour grain. If colic occurs from eating sour grain, one of the best remedies is a few lumps of charcoal. Pulverize it fine and pour on it about a quart of boiling Avater. When cool, strain off and give. If the above does not give rehef, stimulants should be given, with a view to arouse the stomach and get relief from the fermented food which it contains. Purges are of no sort of use for the pur- pose of reheving an overloaded stomach, and therefore if inflammation is present, their use is positively injurious. The use of saleratus and turpen- tine, which is so popular an agent with horsemen, are not always the proper remedies. To make use of the former, being an anti-acid it is supposed to combine with the free acid in the digestive organs, and thus neutralize it, but if its use is persisted in, it will injure the mucous membrane of the stomach. Turpentine is a powerful irx-itant, and it should never be made use of except by those who understand its action, and neutralize it by mix- ing it with linseed oil. The following has been used with good results, and can be recommended as safe and efiicacious: Sulphuric ether, 1 1-2 ounces; oil of pepperment, 2 ounces; water, 16 ounces. Mix and shake well before giving. If not reheved, give again in half an hour, and an injection com- posed of soap suds to be thrown into the rectum. Dr. N. Eowe, of Chicago, gives the following as the best simple remedy for coUc in a boi-se: If it is ordinary colic, or gripes without flatulence, give him a dose of whisky, say from two to four oimces, that being generally handy; or a strong dose of peppermint or spearmint tea, hot; but if a drug store is near, give from one to two ounces each of laudanum and spirits of nitre; repeat the dose in half an hour if necessary. If it is flatulent colic, the horse bloated with gas, give a teaspoonful of saleratus in half a pint of warm Avater, repeat it in ten minutes; if this does no good, give an ounce of turpentine in half a pint of linseed oil; or you may give half an ounce of chloral hydrate in half a pint of cold Avater. In addition to the above direc- tions, in all cases give warm water injections, and let the hoi'se remain quiet, allowing him to roll if he wants, to give friction to the belly, and give soft feed and rest afterward for a day or two. The Massachusetts Ploughman recommends salt, and as this is knewn among housekeeepers as useful in colic, we give Avhat the writer says: "Spread a teacupful of salt upon the back of the animal over the kidneys and loins, and keep it saturated from twenty to thirty minutes, or longer if necessary. If the attack is severe, drench Avith salt Avater. I have a valua- ble bull, Aveighing nineteen or twenty hundred pounds, Avhich had a severe attack of cohc a year ago last summer. I applied salt to his back as above, and it being difticult to drench, we put a wooden bit into Ms moitth, keeping it open about tAvo inches, and spread salt iipon his tongue, which, together with the salt upon his back, relieved him at once, and Avithin a very short time equilibrium appeared fully restored. I have for several years past succeasfiilly applied this treatment to other animals in my herd.'' LI VK STO §K. 147 Au ofticer wlio coiuiiiaudcd artillery during the late war used the follow- ing simple remedy for colic in horses, which he has tried with perfect suc- cess in hundreds of cases: Eub the horse well between the fore legs and around the girth with spirits of turpentine. Immediately relief follows. Another remedy is the following: Take some good home-made soap, and make about half a gallon of warm soap suds; then take a quart bottle, fill it, and drench the horse. Sometimes as much as a half-gallon may be needed. Bots—The hot larvae are liable to be found domiciled in the horse at any and at all times. It only does noticeable damage when the number accumu- lates in the passages, or when tliere is some disturbance in the digestion of the horse, when, it is said, it cuts through the membrane of the stomach, causing death to ensue. The bot-fly lays its eggs in the hair of the horse, about the flanks and frent legs, where they get to the tongue, and from thence are swallowed and hatch in the stomach. They live a certain period of time and are discharged, to become flies again. Several doses are recom- menied to be given to dislodge the grub, but when it is doing no perceptible harm many horsemen prefer to let it alone rather than medicate the horse. But some remove them by giving powdered aloes, asafoetida, each one- fourth ounce; mix in hot water, and when cold add oil of turpentine, sul- phuric ether, each one ounce. Give in linseed tea as a drench. Another authority says: Botsiu horses may be known by the animals oc- casionally nipping at their sides, and also by red pimples rising on the inner surface of the upper lip, which may be plainly seen by turning the lip up. The cure is eftected by taking two quarts new milk, one quart of molasses, and giving the horse the whole amount. In fifteen minutes afterward give two quarts warm sage tea; thirty minutes after give one pint of currier's oil, or enough to operate as physic. The cure will be complete, as the milk and molasses cause the bots to let go, the tea puckers them up, and the oil car- ries them entirely away. Another remedy is as follows: Give the animal one quart of sage tea, in which a large teaspoonful of soda or saleratus is dissolved. If not relieved in one hour, repeat the dose, and repeat hourly until relief is obtained. Foimcler. — Founder consists of inflammation of the laminae, or leaves of the hoof — the most sensitive portions of the foot, which serve to connect the interior part to the outer protecting covering of horn. It may be very severe and acute, or a simple stiffness of the limbs and muscles. In this case two drams of lobelia |may be given, and the limbs bathed with hot water and rubbed with liniment or kerosene oil. This may be continued for three or four days. Warm blanketing, with hot fomentations, will be useful. When the horse suffers very much, and the feet are hot and painful, a pound of salts should be given, followed by twenty-drop doses of tincture of aconite; the feet enveloped in large poultices of bran, or even sawdust, steeped in hot water, and the legs bathed in hot water and wrapped up. A deep, soft bed should be given, and the horse induced to lie down. After the worst symp- toms are over the hoof and sole should be rasped down and the feet kept in a puddle of clay and water. The shoes shoxild be removed. The following remedy, says an experienced farmer, of Texas, is a sure cure for founder, viz: " A large tablespoonful of pulverized alum amd a tablespoonful of pulverized saltpetre mixed. Moisten the dose and admin- ister it by' pulling out the tongue and placing the spoon as far back in the mouth as possible." 118 THE FARM, Heaves. — If you want to have no trouble M'ith heaves in your horses be sure that they are fed no dusty and dirty hay, which is the prolific source of this annoyance. Ordinary clean hay can always be fed with safety if prop- erly cut up, moistened, and mixed with ground grain; but to feed the musty or dirty sorts is very injurious. Clover, o-wdng to its hability to crumble, often gets divty, even after storage, and should never be fed Avithout being previously moistened. Very bad cases of heaves have been cured by simply feeding the animal upon cut and moistened feed, of very good quahty and in small quantities, three times a day. For instance, four pounds of timothy hay and three quarts of feed made of equal quantities of oats, corn, and wheat bran ground to- gether. With this was mixed a small quantity of salt, and twice a week one dram of sulphate of iron and half an ounce of ground gentian root were given in the feed. A liberal bran mash every evening will also be very useful. A horse that cannot be cured by this treatment is of no vahie, and may be con- sidered past cure. The following is recommended by an agricultural authority: One dram of tinctui'e of ai'omatic sulphuric acid in a pint of water night and morning, allowing the animal to drink from a bucket. The horse should also receive in his food, night and morning, equal parts of powdered ginger, gentian, sulphur, cream of tartar, charcoal, licorice, elecampane, caraway seed and balm of Gilead buds (choiDped fine), the dose to be an ounce. Be careful and not overfeed the animal. Still another remedy is the following: Asafoetida, pulverized, one ounce; camphor gum, pulverized, one-half ounce; mix and divide into four powders; feed one every other night for a week. Epizootic in Horses. — The disease known as " the ei:)izootic " is a com- mon one, but is rarely so general as to be justly entitled to that distinction. It is simply a catarrhal affection of the bronchial tubes, the lining of the air- passages of the lungs, and the nasal sinuses, in fact, what may be called a very bad cold, with some fever. It is treated by a saline purgative, as 8 to 12 oz. of Epsom salts, and afterwards half an ounce of saltpetre daily, with wai-ni drinks, general good nursing, and frequent rubbing of the limbs and body to excite the circulation. Sliying Horses. — A horsemau whose horse is given to shying, ought never to permit himself to evince symptoms of nervousness nor punish the animal for exhibitions of timidity. Whenever a horse directs the points of his ears in a certain direction, as though distrustful or afraid, the reins should be pulled in another dii-ection, thus diverting the attention of the a.nimal from the object causing the perturbation. If, on the other hand, force or harsh means are used to compel an acquaintance with the object feared the horse will be doubly excited, if n«t unmanageable. We have found, in cases of shying or halting at real or fancied objects of disquiet, that stopping the horse and using soothing language, answers a very good pur- pose. If the object is stationary, the horse, after a short time, Avill most usually advance in the du'ection of it, approaching cautiously till satisfied no danger is to be apprehended, when he will resume his way in a quiet mood. But if chastised for shying, he will have two obgects of fear instead of one, and become more confirmed in the habit of distrustfubiesB. Best Matei'ial for Stable Floors. — A Western writer says: " I have used plank, macadamj cinders and coal-tar mixed, and clay po^^nded hard LIVE STOCK. 140 for Btable floor, but the best material for the purpose, and which gives me the most satisfaction, especially on the score of cleanliness, is good, hard brick, laid edgeAvays, with an inclination of about one-quarter of an inch to the foot; the more level the floor is, the easier it is for the horse. Many a horse has been ruined by standing on a stable floor with too much inclina- tion. Persons making stable floors should study the comfort of then- ani- mals. Another great advantage of brick is, that it is always moist, which is an object to be taken into account, as the hoof never becomes dry, conse- quently there is no danger of contraction, providing the shoer leaves the frog alone, which should not be cut, not even the ragged edges of it. I have used the brick floor for the last three or four years, and am well satisfied that there is nothing better. Scratches on Horses. — A veterinary authority says he has never known a failure of carrot poultice for scratches on horses, and he gives the f®llowing directions, probably valuable, as carrot has an excellent effect on many un- healthy sores: Wash the sores thoroughly with warm, soft water and castile soap, then rinse them off with clear water, after which rub dry with a cloth. Now grate some carrots (about' a pint after grated) and bind them on the sores. The best way to bind it on is to take a cloth and wrap it around the sores, letting the lower edge come close down to the hoof; then tie a cord around this lower end, after which' put the grated carrot into the opening at the top of the cloth, press it down around the sores, then tie another cord around the top of the cloth, a little above the fetlock. This should be re- peated every day for four or five days, when the scratches will be cured. Ringbones on Colts. — For ringbones on colts, first pay at*^^ention t» shoeing. If he Avalks on the toe, have a high heel to the shoes; but if he strikes the heel first, let it be thin and the toe high. If there is inflamma- tion, reduce it by rest and Avater bandages. Then bUster with the following: Powdered cantharides, Venice turpentine, and rosin, each two ounces; lard, two pounds. Melt the last three together, and when not too hot stir in the cantharides. When the pustules appear, omit for a few days. Then apply again and alternate for three or four times. Eemember that in all diseases or troubles of this kind there will be more or lees fever, and attention should be given to the general health of the animal, even when no particular symp- toms of illness are seen Cure for Spavin and Ringbone. — Venice turpentine and Spanish flies, of each, two ounces; euphorbium and aqua ammonia, of each, one ounce; red precipitate, one half ounce; lard, one and a half pounds. Pulverize all, and put into the lard; simmer slowly over coals, not scorching or burning, and pour off, free of sediment. For ringbones, cut off the hair, and rub the ointment well into the lumps once in forty-eight hours. For spavins, once in twenty-four hours for three mornings. Wash well previous to each appli- cation with suds, rubbing over the place with a smooth stick, to squeeze out a thick, yellow matter. This has removed very large nngbones. Treatment of Sick Horse:,. — The practice of forcing a horse to stand on his legs, or walk about, while laboring under an attack of colic, is most in- human. The same remark is also applicable to the plan of exercising a horse during the time he is under the purgative action of a dose of physic, Jle should be moved gently about before the medicine commences to operate, but never after. Do those barbarians who knock the anjmal about while 150 THE FARM. euduring the pains of colic or when suffering the purgative action of medi- cine, ever think of Avhat they are doing ? If they Avere treated themselves on the same plan under similar circumstances, they would soon come to their senses regarding the management of the unfortunate animal which is placed ixnder their charge. A Muzzle *>r Biting Horses. — This dangerous habit is taught the horses by thoughtless OAATiers or drivers by playing with them when colts, or teasing them when full grown. A sharp cut with a whip across the horse's nose when he bites may serve to break him from the habit; but when the case is worse and incurable, a muzzle for this purpose may be made of strips of light hoop iron or of leather. A band may be made to encircle the muzzle to Avhich strips of leather or iron are fastened. At the bottom of the ■luzzle a round piece of leather should be fastened by rivets to keep the strips in their place How to Save Oats in Feeding. — A saving may be effected in the ccm- sumption of oats for horses by simply soaking them in tepid watc«. Practi- cal experiments which have been made show that by this method the ration for each animal may be reduced by a third. Horses whose teeth have seen their best days masticate the grain in its ordinary condition insufficiently, and younger animals often eat so greedily that the greater proportion of it is swallowed whole. This waste maybe obviated by the simple method recom- mended, which so far softens the grain that it is more completely masticated and digested, and consequently yields more nutriment. Three hours is a sufficient length of time to soak the grain, provided the water is not too cold. How Blindness is Produced. — It is said that dark stables tend to pro- duce blindness in animals. A veterinary surgeon says: '^ Darkness produces blindness, because nature is outraged in the fact that the sight of the eyes is destroyed by want of light to present objects properly to the vision, and thus, by continiied inactivity, producing blindness. Even so is blindness, or imperfect vision, produced by an over-action of light upon the retina of the eye, as is always the case Avheu light is admitted by a window directly in front of the horse. Nothing is worse than this light, so admitted. Nature is outraged, and as a penalty we have nervous, fretful horses, shyers, crib- bers, balkers, runaways, and anything but a reliable and pleasant horse." Care of Horses' Legs. — Few men who handle horses give proper attention to the feet and legs. Especially is this the case with the farmer. Much time is often spent in rubbing, brushing and smoothing the hair on the sides and hips, but the feet are not properly cared for. The feet of a horse require ten times as much, for in one respect they are almost the entire horse. All the grooming that can be done won't avail anything if the horse is forced to stand Avhere his feet are filthy, for his feet will become disordered and then the legs will get badly out of fix, and with bad legs and feet there , is not much hope for anything. In short, to those owning horses we would say attend to the feet and legs. How to Tell a Horse's Age. -The editor of the Southern Planter sq^jw: The other day we met a gentleman from Alabama, who have us a piece of information as to ascertaining the age of a horse after it has passed the ninth year, which was quite new t'o us, and will be, we are sure, to most of r-nr readers. It is this: After the horse is nine years old, a wrinkle comes in tlVS STOCK. I6l the eyelid, at the upper corner of the lower lid, and every year thereafter he has one well-detined wrinkle for each year of his age over nine. If, for in- stance, a horse has three wrinkles, he is twelve; if four, thirteen. Add the number of wrinkles to nine, and you will always get at it. So says the gen- tleman; and he is confident it Avill never fail. Sa\%'diist for Stalilei^. — Nothing makes so soft and easy a bed for our " dumb animals" as sawdust, more particularly the horse, as it is natural, before lying down, either by pawing or stepping back and forward, to brush all their bedding, if straw is used, under their hind feet, but would be less liable to move the sawdust. As regards injury to horses' feet or lungs on account of inhaling the dry dust, we know of a stable where horses are let, and I was informed by the owner that he had used sawdust for twelve years and never had been able to discover any bad effects from the use of it, and pointed out several horses that had been thus bedded for ten or twelve years; and had sold the mamire at the usual rates, and never had heard of any objections on account of the sawdiist. The Watering of Hox-ses— M. P. Cartledge, member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, urges the great necessity of allowing an un- limited supply of Avater to horses; and he alludes to the veiy mistaken notion among grooms and others having the control of horses that water ad lihitain is injurious. While grooms and others drink without stint them- selves, they profess to know when a horse has drank sufficient, and so take aAvay the pail before his natural wants are half satisfied. Horses Avill not drink to excess if watered frequently, and in their case drinking does no harm. Cribbing. — Cribbing is a vice which springs from habit more than any other cause. It begins frequently from a desire to ease the teeth from in- convenience or perhaps pain, at that period when the dentition is perfecting, and then becomes fixed upon the horse as a vice. It is not injurious except when accompanied with "wind sucking," which is a series of deep inspira- tions by which flatulence and belly-ache are caused. When the habit is fixed on a horse it is difficult to break it, and the only effective method is to use a muzzle which prevents him from thus using his teeth. Liinseed Oil for Hoi-ses. — Linseed oil is not only a valuable restorative for sick horses, but is exceedingly useful in cases of inflammation of the membi-anes, peculiar to the organs of respiration and digestion; it shields and lubricates the same, tranquilizes the irritable state of the parts, and favors healthy action. Put a couple of handfuls of seed into a bucket and pour a gallon and a half of boiling water upon it; coyer it up a short time, then add a couple of quarts of cold water, when it will be fit for use. In case of an irritating cough add some honey. AViiidgalls or Puffs. — ^Windgalls are puffy swellings occurring along . the tendons of the legs of horses, below the knee. They are the results of sprains or strains of the tendons, and are generally filled mth synovial fluid, or lymph, or serum. A padded bandage, with astringent lotions applied two hours a day^ at first, adding two hours every day after, until it is kept on continually, is the usual remedy. Eest fi-om work is helpful to a cure. Brittle Feet. — Some horses have such brittle feet that it is difficult to keep their shoes on. This is often caused by a sudden change from exces- 152 THE FARM. give and long-continued wetness to extreme dryness. The best treatment is to rub the soles and shells of the feet with a mixture composed of the fol- lowing: Tar, two parts; beef suet, two parts; whale oil, four parts; beeswax and honey, one part each; melt over a slow fire, and mix well.' Ignorance in Slioeing. — Some blacksmiths who shoe horses do not know that the frog of the foot should be allowed to come to the ground; that it should not be pared down, as is frequently done, nor should it be touched when healthy. It is meant to pound upon the ground, and it is the pound- ing that it gets that is the life of the foot, and those horse-shoers who have not yet learaed this very important fact ought to learn it or quit business. Most of the diseases and defects of horses' feet come from cutting away the frog or by raising it by high shoes clear away from the ground. Avoiding Indigestion in Horses. — It is best to give a horse water be- fore giving oats. The water stays in the stomach a very short time, but is quickly absorbed or passed into the bowels, where it is absorbed and goes into the blood. The horse secretes a very large quantity — more than four quarts — of saliva while eating a meal, which is sufficient to reduce the food to a pulp suitable for its digestion. So that to give water soon after eating, except in very small quantity, would be apt to cause indigestion and waste of the food by excessive dilution. Flies and Horses. — A physician writing to the London Daily News recommends, to prevent the torment inflicted by the flies on hoi'ses, applica- tion to the latter, before harnessing, of a mixture of one part ci'ude carboHc acid with six or more parts of olive oil. This should be rubbed lightly all over the animal \\ith a rag, and applied more thickly to the interior of the ears and other parts most likely to be attacked. To Cool Horses Wlien Hot. — There is danger of congestion when cold water is thrown on the body of a horse when very hot and tired; and yet, how many do it ? The better way is to throw water freely on the fore legs of the animal. This corresponds to the well-known custom of persons, when overheated, bathing the wrists for some time before drinking much. To Recruit a Hide-Bound Horse.— To recruit a hide bound horse, give nitrate potassa (or saltpetre), four ounces; crude antimony, one ounce; sulphur, three ounces. Nitrate of potassa and antimony should be finely pulverized, then add the sulphur, and mix the whole well together. Dose, a tablespoonful of the mixture in a bran mash daily. Sprains and Bruises in Horses. — Dissolve an ounce of camphor in eight ounces of spirits of wine; then add one ounce of spirits of turpentine, one ounce of spirits of sal ammonia, half an ounce of oil of origanum and a tablespoonful of laudanum. Rub in a quarter of an hour with the hand, four times a day. Plies in Horse Statole^.—It is said that kerosene oil slightly sprinkled on the floor of the horse stables will nerve to abate the nuisance of flies. It may be shaken out of a bottle through a hole in the cork. A pint will last a week for the purpose. Hemlock Cribs.—A horse will not bite a crib made of hemlock lumber, nor will rats, mice, or other vermin gnaAV through it. livt: stock. 153 Worinii in Horses— Worms in horses are caused by hard work, poor food, and general neglect. For ordinary cases of worms, common salt, nu- tritious food, and pure water will prove satisfactory. Salt should always be kept in the stalls of horses. Over-Reacliiiig. — An over-reaching horse, one whose hind feet is fre- quently hitting the forward shoes, should wear heavy shoes forward and light ones behind. The theory is that the heavier hoof will be thrown a little farther ahead than the lighter one. ■Worms ill tlie Rectum. —When a horse is affected with worms in the rectum there should be injected in the rectum, once daily for a week, a mixture of one pint of linseed oil and two drams of oil of turpentine. Feed at the same time bran mashes and oil meal. Sensitive Ja-ws. — Some horses are more sensitive than others in the upper jaw, and will not go up on the steel bar or snaffle upper-jaw bit. In such cases have a bit made of plain round leather, the usual size of the uppcfl*-jaw bit. Best Method of Cleaning Horses. — The best thing to clean a horse with is a corn-cob scrubbing-brush. It never can scratch his legs, as the currtj^-comb of tin does, while it does more work in the same time than curry- comb and brush put together. Hints to Breeders of Sliortliorns. — To learn a trade, is to do things precisely upon the same principles, and up to the same general standard that experts in the same trade attain to. The principles are simple, though the parts are complicated. So of Shorthorn cattle. They are, merely ma- chines for converting crude grain or grass into bone, muscle, adipose mat- ter, and hair; and the whole secret of excellence — the superiority of one beast over another — consists in their ability to convert the most crude food in a given time into the finest quality of the tissues named, so distributing these as to give us a roomy frame of bone in the parts where Ave want room for the vital organs and for the choicest cuts, and thick, fleshy, well-marbled roasts, and broad, well-marbled steaks, in the parts where best fiber is pro- duced. Such a conformation should be secured as will answer these ends so effectively as the engine is expected to generate steam through the consump- tion of fuel in the furnace. The conformation of the trunk of the cow is a subject worthy of very careful study. The bony frame is of secondary im- portance, the vital organs within being of the first importance, and the size and vigor of these, if accompanied by a liberal distribution oi cellular tissue throughout the system, ensures a rapid conversion of food into nutritive particles and the disposition of these in the various tissues. Large lungs, and large heart, stomach and liver give size and rotundity to the trunk and width to the bosom. A large stomach is of the utmost importance, because fur- nishing a large surface. From this the gastric juice issues, and when we consider the inner surface of the stomach, and the air cells of the lungs, we must prize an extended surface in those organs as highly as we do a large surface in a steam boiler if we expect great results. Two of the worse faults in the construction of a Shorthoi-n are the following, viz. : the ribs starting from the spine in a downward direction, giving a Avedge shape to the upper third of the chest; the other is a long rib deficient at the lower end, causing a curve upward in the lower line immediately back of the fore leg. We doubt 154 TH^ FAttM, if any other two defects are so hard to breed out as these. A drooping rump or low carriage forward may be brought up in one or two crosses, so that Avith after care they may not reappear; but the defects in the chest pointed out above depend upon deficient \atal organs within. The re-organization and enlargement of the heart, lungs, stomach, and liver require many dis- creet crosses to accomplish. Passing from the chest backwards, we would call attention to the importance of the short ribs being long, and standing out horizontally from the spine, forming a level plane forward of the hips. This broad, level loin generally keeps company with a round, deep chest and is a point of excellence that should always be sought. The hind quarter that holds its width well back, carries a large amount of meat not repre- sented in the quarter that narrows in rapidly from the hip back. A perfect symmetrically-organized frame, with the fleshy part so Avell distributed and packed as to make it difficult to tell where one portion of the carcass ceases and the next begins This is the goal to be aimed at. The third and last subject, " quality," we will treat very briefly. No intelligent breeder while striving to increase the depth and breadth of the carcass, loses sight of the equally important point, the textiirc of those parts of the animal that are to be consumed as human food. This idea of texture is never lost sight of by the fruit grower, and the excellencies which fix the value of the apple, viz., fair size, smooth surface, and tender, juicy meat, are the three things upon which we base our estimate of a Shorthorn. Now, the common notion is that all animals that handle mellow have high flavored, tender flesh. This is an erroneous idea, proved every day upon the butcher's block. We couple two animals together, expecting to secure well-fattened, ready feeders in the progeny they will generally transmit it. But if both the parents have dark, unsavory fl§sh, they and all their get, and all the progeny after for all time, will have the same, unless modified and improved by new crosses having light-colored, saA'ory flesh. Selecting Breeding ivVaies — The first object which any bi'eeder of cat- tle or sheep must keep in view is that his stock must be healthy. In the selec- tion of a male animal, therefore, the first things to be considered are the in- dications by which it may be possible to form a judgment as to his constitu- tion. There can be no doubt that this is one of the important points of form or shape to which it is material for a breeder to look into in the selection of either a bull or ram. It is not enough to observe that they have wide breasts or bosoms, but the width wliich is noticed in looking at them from the front, should be continued along the brisket, which should show great fullness in the part under the elbows; it is also important that they should be thick through the region of the heart. Another point to be carefully considered is the muscular system. Grreat muscular power is not only indicative of a good constitution and good health, but it has a merit in itself. Large muscles are the usual accompaniment of strength of constitution, and it also shows that when ready for the shambicri there will be a good proportionate mixture of muscle and fat in the meat. lu both bulls and rams a thick neck is proof of large muscles, and there can hardly be a greater fault in either animal than to have this wanting. Other indications of muscle will be more difficult to observe in sheep than in cattle. In a good bull there should be a full muscle on each side of the backbone, just behind the top of the shoulder blades. He should also have the mus- cles at the outside of the thigh full and extending nearly to the hough. A bull having these indications will seldom be found deficient in muscle. LIVE STOCK. 155 Ringing a Bull — We give au illustration of a plau lor putting a ring through the nose of a bull worthy of the attention of stock-breeders. A ring is undoubtedly the safest mode of controlling the bull. Clamp rings having two knobs, which press into the nostrils, may be useful for occasional use, but a good stout copper ring should he put through the cartilage of the nose of every thoroughbred bull before he is four years old. This will last him for his lifetime, and whether tied up in the stable or out for exercise, it will effectually control him. The old-fashioned plan of inserting the rings was by burning a hole through the cartilage with a hot iron, but this ATas a cruel and difficult process. The plan suggested is to use a Aveapon styled a trochar, similar to the surgical instrument employed for " tapping " in case of dropsy, and for " hoove " in cows. It is a sharp-ijointed, round dagger (the point three-sided), carrying a silver- plated shield reaching from the upper part of the point to the handle. The above illustration will further explain. The sheath being on the dagger when the operation is performed, the whole is ea^sily pushed through the nose, the sharp point of the dagger piercing the nostril with so little pain that one man can easily hold the head still. The dagger is then withdrawn, leaving the sheath in the hole. The ring is then inserted into the end of the sheath, which is slowly withdraAvn, leaving the ring in place. This is then closed and fastened with a screw. These rings should be so well- made that both the hinge and the screw should be perfectly smooth, and so fitting as to take a prac- ticed eye to notice the join- ing. The manner in which the operation is performed will be seen at a glance at the accompanying engrav- ing. The ring should turn freely round in the incision, Avhich, having been made with a three-cornered ciTt, will be more sensitive against a pull than the smooth-burned hole. Indeed, it is sometimes neces- sary with the latter cruel operation to take the ring out after a time and re- sort again to burning, in order to make the cartilage sufficiently sensitive for the ring to be effective in managing the animal. An Inexpensive Relisli for Stock. — Stock men of large experience ap- preciate the need of salt for stock, and usually make such provision that ani- mals under-their care are daily provided with this relish. There are, how- ever, many farmers who look upon salt as a luxury enjoyed by their stock when placed within reach, but not necessary to their thrift or comfort. Ob- 156 THE FARM, eervation and experience have proven to those who have given most at- tention to the subject that cattle require for best results the salt they crave. The French Government at one time commissioned a number of practical and scientific men to investigate the subject of salt as a relish for stock, and ascertain the quantity required for different animals. While only approximate figures could be arrived at in the numerous experiments made to settle this matter, a scale was fixed upon by this commission as the minimum daily al- loAvances for the difierent animals in ordinary condition. In this a working ox or a milch cow is allowed two ounces of salt per diem. Repeated trials appeared to prove that the amount specified produced in milch cows the greatest flow of milk. Oxen fed the same amount presented sleek coats, while others receiving uo salt were rough, mangy, and ill conditioned. The scale in question allowed for fattening stall-fed oxen, two and a half to four ounces of salt per day, and for fattening pigs, from one to two ounces. For sheep, from one-half ounce to two-thirds of an ounce Avas alloAved. One ounce was set down as the daily portion for horses and mules. The figures given above possess a practical value to feeders of stock, in that they represent the respective amounts best calculated to produce de- sirable results in the different animals named, and give an idea of the amount required by each kind. On small farms with few animals salt can be dealt out in small quantities each day, but where herds and flocks are numerous, salt boxes and troughs become a necessity, and ai'e in any case a convenient and economical arrangement. These troughs or boxes ought, of course, to be in sheltered places and at points where animals can have daily access to them. Home should be placed at elevations to suit horses and cows, and others set Avithin reach of sheep. A plan in favor in the far West, and which recommends itself on the ground of economy, is mixing salt and hardwood ashes in equal proportions, combined with a sufficient amount of water to make a solid lump or mass. These lumps are distributed in the trough, where, with diligent licking, each animal gets a small quantity, the belief being that they will take in this form n© more than they really require. In addition to the fact that salt is necessary to the thrift of animals, a strong argument in its favor in locali- ties where cattle and sheep are allowed extended runs during the day, is that it proves a strong attraction, bringing them home at night without other incentive. Cattle ill Coriistallts._A Kansas farmer writes: If cattle are allowed to run in stalk fields £or an indefinite time they are apt to die from eating too much food of an indigestible character. Cornstalks when left standing in the field become woody and indigestible. Cattle when allowed to run, fill themselves so full that the stomach becomes clogged, the food heats, does not pass off, and the animal dies. For three winters I have fed my cows on shocked cornstalks, feeding no hay or straw, and in all cases they have done better than when fed on hay. In the winter of 1880 and 1881, I wintered 3,500 head of Avarking oxen. I bought all the stalk fields that were acces- sible, allowed the cattle to run in them three hours each day, Avhen I had them driven out. My reasons for so doing Avas not on account of smut, but because the stalks had become hard, woody and indigestible. I lost no cat- tle from this management, and returned them in the spring Avith a loss of only two to the hundred. Feeders have fed beef cattle for years on shock corn; they consider it the best and safest kind of feed, LIVE STOCK 157 Relieving Ctioked Cattle. — The accompanying engraving represents the instruments employed for reheving choked cattle, as recommended by Prof. Simonds, of the Boyal Veterinary College of England. " In cases of choking," says Prof. S., " the amount of danger may mostly be calculated by the abdominal distension, for de ith results from the lungs being unable to expand in conse- quence of Mie pressure of the ru- men against the diaphragm." He says: "In many cases prior to unchoking the patient, the gaseous compounds which are disengaged from the ingesta and distend the rumen, must be given an exit to, by puncturing the rumen, to prevent suffoca- tion." The instrument for unchoking, as shown in the sketch, con- sists of a probang and a gag; the latter is to be placed is the mouth as shown. Two assistants ai'e re- quired. One of these should be placed on. either side of the ani- mal, holding the handle of the gag, which protrudes from the side of the mouth, with one hand, and the opposite horn with the other. They must also keep the head elevated so as to bring it as near as possible in a straight line with the neck. We give Prof. Simonds's instructions in opera- ting as follows: "The probang being held as represented, is to be passed through the opening in the gag and carried carefully over the dorsum of the tongue into the pharynx, and from thence pushed inwards until it reaches the ob- struction. Sufficient and well- regulated pressure is now to be made until the obstruction yields, when it is to be driven by the in- strument into the rumen. Care should always be taken to propel the root nxto the fir nt stomach, and we should never rely on the power of the esophagus to do this after we have succeeded in removing it from its origi- na'. situation. "Want of attention to this simple rule has often protracted suf- fering to the animal, and not unfrequently death. The probangs in ordinary uae are seldom of sufficient length, nor are the bulbs with which they are tipped of a proper shape. The instrument should not be less than six and a Jialf feet long, and the bulbs should be large and slightly cup-shaped," 158 THE FARM. Bone Disease in Milch Co-ws. — For more than half a century there have been occasional outbreaks of a peculiar disease in New England, mostly affecting mUch cows, and commonly known as bone-ail or stifle joint lame- ness. Heretofore the trouble has been chiefly confined to hilly sections, but seems noAV to be approaching the valleys. This disease, technically called Cachexhia ossljraga, is not confined to the stifle joint, frequently affecting the hip and other joints also. In one case, where the hi}) joint was affected, examination showed that the articular siirface of the head of the tibia or shank bone had been worn through by its friction with the femur, or thigh bone, by the absorption of the floating carti- lage between the ends of the bones. Similar conditions were noticed in other instances. As it is believed this cartilage cannot be regenerated, it was at first a question whether the disease was curable. Before investiga- tion, its cause was attributed to the phosphatic materials in the feed, and this idea has been fully established. Where such materials were supplied in the form of bran, the disease was thought to be occasioned by the excessive use of such feed, as it was knoAvu that such excess changes +.he bone into a sort of phosphate, while the healthy bone is an insoluble phosphate. In former outbreaks, bone meal was found to be an effective remedy, and in recent instances it has been used Avith good results. A 8uffield, Conn., man, of considerable experience, says that tAvo ounces of the meal in a pint of bran, three times a week during the early summer and fall feeding, will generally cure, if accompanied Avith plenty of salt. In aggravated cases, hoAvever, the free use of this material is recommended. Still, care must be exercised lest it should be supplied too freely, as an excess is sometimes liable to injure the butter, because the putrid, oily matter of the bone is ex- creted by the udder as a sort of oleomargaiine. But if the meal has been thoroughly clarified, this trouble is less apt to occur, and it may be avoided altogether by the use of cot-ton-sced meal, which is rich in phosphates Avith- out containing the obnoxious matter Hable to be in bone meal. Bran is also largely made up of phosphates, but it is Avell to add corn meal. The necessary mineral element can probably be furnished in hay that has been manured Avith superphosphates, Avhich furnish lime and phosphoric acid that are greedily taken in by the plant. Indeed, the recent outbreak is accounted for by the fact that Avhere it occurs, little, if any, mineral fertil- izers are used. They are noAV being apphed more extensively, and the gradual disappearance of the disease Avill doubtless folloAv. Marks of a Good Co-w. — Those who keep but one or tAvo cows natur- ally want them for general purposes, do not want a mere bvrtter cow nor yet a mere milk animal, but one AA^hich combines both in as great a degree as can be found. Such cows are not plentiful, Ave admit, or at least are not often for sale at a moderate price, so that when they are offered, it behooves Avould-be purchasers to l>e able to tell them. We do not believe iu very small coavs, nor yet in large, heaA-y animals, as neither, as a rule, are capable of filling the bill, the former too often falling short in the quantity, while the large ones are apt to run too much to flesh to make them profitable dairy animals. The medium-sized ones invariably produce the best results, and a heaA'v milker and a large butter maker is seldom fat, as the majority of the food she consumes is converted into milk and butter. The head should be fine but bony, Avith small horns, large, mealy nose and shapely ears.' The base of the horns and the iniside of the ears should be of a bright golden color. We have never yet seen an animal LIVJS STOCK. 159 Vrith horns and ears well colored (golden yellow) which failed to make a fine quality of butter and highly colored. It is an unmistakable sign. The body should be of good size, and the width and depth rapidly increase as it runs to the rear or hind quarters. The milk veins should be large and prominent, and the udder need not necessarily be large, so it is not meaty, but is small when milked out. The teats should be of good size, and only have a single hole in each; we have seen quite a number with teats having two holes. The hair should be fine and soft, while the skin should be pliable, and almost as soft to touch as velvet or kid. In color it should be tinged deeply with yellow, especially on the shoulders and flank and along the back. Color of the hau- is rather a secondary matter, though the best cows are generally yellow, tawn, gray or white, with dark marks edged with yellow. Black cows but seldom prove to be good general-purpose ones, though of course there are exceptions frequently met with. Cattle Rack. — We give the following illustrated design for a rack to feed cattle from in the yard. We think it far superior in point of economy and convenience to anything of the kind we have seen. It can easily be made by anyone possessing ordi- nary skill in using tools: The shape, as will be seen, is six sided, or in the form of a hexagon. It consists of six upright posts five feet long (3 by 4 scantling will an- swer, or round poles 3 or 4 inches through will do very well), and twelve boards, .each one foot in width and five feet long. These latter nailed to the posts horizon- tally will form the box. To strengthen the whole and keep the cattle from stepping over the sides, nail strips of thick boards or plank flatwise across the upper end of the posts. Then nail two boards diagonally upon each side, extending from the top of the posts to the bottom of the box, leaving a space of about a foot and a half in the center on a Une with the upper edge of the box. These slanting boards serve as braces, and give strength and firmness to the whole structure, and make six feeding places for the cattle. If scantling is used for posts, it would be well to hew off the corner from each, so as to make the boards fit well. Mode of Construction.— Na,i\ the boards to two sets of posts to form two opposite sides. Cut two strips of boards about ten feet four inches long; stand the side upright and nail these strips across the top and bottom — across the diameter — then bring the other ends within five feet, and nail on the boards across the end; you will then have three sides formed. Nail on the other two opposite sides and end. Put on the braces and it is done. It can be moved to different parts of the yard, and with care will last for years. Economy in Feeding Cattle—There is more waste in feeding than in anything else on the farm. Wheat straw, corn-stalks, and even chaff may be CATTLE RACK. 160 TITE FARM. fed, if propei'ly prepared. With a fodder cutter that not only cuts but crushes, corn fodder can be made as palatable as clover hay, and wheat straw, when cut into short lengths and mixed with hay, answers excellently when grain is fed with it. Cows will always eat chaff if it is mixed with cut food. If all such feeding material as corn fodder and wheat straw is cut up fine, and well moistened, salted, and mixed with bran, shorts and meal, with a pound of linseed or cotton-seed meal additional, a mess will thus be prepared that is not only noui-ishing and healthy, but superior to hay alone. It is not intended here to recommend straw in the place of better food, but we claim that if a saving can be effected by feeding straw in connection with concentrated food, there will be a saving, not only of the hay in the loft by reason of the substitution, but also of much that annually goes to waste. How wasteful it is to throw fodder and straw over the fence into the farm- yard to be picked over and trampled in the dirt without being consumed. Every pound of fodder and straw is valuable and can be put to useful service, which is very important when the winter's supply of hay seems unlikely to last, and when the cold season is unusually long. Nor is it proper to allow fodder to remain all the year stacked in the fields, for it is almost every time that the A^inds blow it down, where it remains until fed, but it is not then in as projDer condition as if well cured and placed under cover. As to using straw for bedding, tliis, also, is wastefully done, as if it possessed no value; and if chaff is not preferred for feeding, let it be used as an absorbent in the stables, for which purpose nothing is superior to it. A crop of turnips, or what may be better, beets, parsnips, and carrots, should be grown for stock, not only for their value for feeding purposes, in proportion to their cost, but also because they afford a succulent diet in winter when every other kind of food is dry, and at times not relished. How Good Cows are Ruined. — Milking is an art, and the farm hand who knows how to milk properly is more valuable to the careful dairyman than any other help. Of course, anybody can milk, and some can milk a dozen cows before breakfast. The careful manager, however, is not so anx- ious for fast help as he is to employ those who are careful. The operation should never be hurried, but the milk should be drawn steadily, and, as it flows, naturally. Some cows have very tender teats, and the rapid milkman forgets this fact in his endeavor to make speed. The cow that is naturally im- patient and fretful does not like to submit to rough handling, and her disposi- tion is soon ruined by such treatment. With the constant irritation she will fail in quantity, and be less productive, just as any human being would fail to perform faithful service when laboring under mental affliction or trouble. As the udder becomes distended and filled with milk, the desire on the part of the cow is to be relieved of its contents, and she willingly submits to it for the relief it occasions. The constant practice of being milked at stated intervals impresses itself strongly upon her, and she will seldom offer resist- ance without cause. When a cow, therefore, that has been a patient deliverer of milk becomes fractious, the fault can always be traced to the milkman. The careless dairyman is the one who complains of the failure of his cows to keep up the flow, and bloody milk, garget and other evils are the results of his own bad management. There is another point in the treatment of cows that demands attention, and that is allowing them to stand a long time wait- ing to be milked. With cows that give large yield it is very painful, and when the udders have been filled to their utmost, and the milkman is not on hand to relieve them, they become exceedingly nervous and restless. This LIVi: STOCK. 161 will do more to cause a cow to go dry before her period than anything else, and many a good cow has been sent to the shambles through diminution of quantity, simply because nature has revolted at her sufferings, and allowed her to dry up because her storehouse was not emptied of its contents at the proper times. She should also be milked to the last drop, if possible, and as the last portion of milk is claimed to be the richest, the udder should be left with nothing in it. With regularity in feeding aud milking, and kind treatment at all times, the cow will not only become gentle, and remain so, but will milk on several weeks longer than otherwise. An experienced dairyman needs help that are skillful, and he knows how to judge the milk- man's work by the behavior of his cows. When a stable of cows begin to give trouble in milking, it is only necessary to observe the manner in which they are milked in order to cure the evil. The udder of a cow is a very delicate structure, and she quickly rebels at rough usage or impi'oper periods of milk- ing. To Prevent Cattle from Hooking Fences. — The mode herewith illus- trated will be found a sure cure for cattle that hook or put their heads through fences. Take a one-eighth inch annealed wire ten inches long; make a ring in one end (one inch and a half) ; grind the other end sharp, to punch through the gristle in the nose. The animal's head has to be fastened securely in the stanchions, in order to bore the holes through the horns, which should be done with a three-eighth inch bit; then punch the wire through, and make the same sized ring in the sharp end; now take a cord that will run easily through the holes in the horns, and tie one end to the ring on one side and pass the cord through the holes in the horns to the other ring; the wire should be bent up above the nostrils to prevent the breath from rotting the cord; the cord should not be very tight when put on, for the rains will tighten it enough. To keep a bull from jumping and hooking fence, put on the above and a poke with the sword or arm running through a wire ring in the nose, long enough to keep the arm from bearing on the vnre, and *he animal is at home all the time. Currying Milch Cows._To the farmer the idea of currying a cow, milch or otherwise, is an absurdity; but to dairymen who have highly-bred cows, who take a pride in their business and get the top price of the market for their produce, it is a matter of moment, in that it is known to increase the milk flow and the butter produce by ten to twenty per cent. TO PBEVENT CATTLE FBOM HOOKING FENCES. 162 THE FABM. There are many points in the conduct of a dairy, unknown, indeed, un- thought of Iq^ farmers, that will presently have a prominent place in their management, very much to the benefit of themselves and those who receive and make use of their produce. Among those are: Succulent food, protection from inclement weather, kind handling, thorough and careful milking, full and regular feeding, clean stabling (when stabled), and an absence of foul odors, good ventilation, plenty of light and that thorough cleansing of the skin without which no milch cow can perform her duty thoroughly and well,. With all these we must, to have a " tip top " article of butter, have the washing of the udder and teats before milldng, and with this an entire absence of the filth accumulated in feeding and lounging between milkings. Of all these, one of the most important is that of periodical currying, in that it cleanses the hide of superfluous hair, keeps it active and healthful and void of that peculiar odor so commonly found in milk and sometimes in butter. It promotes the secretion and disposition of the putrid particles of the animal system which would otherwise be absorbed by the secretory glands and be carried ofl:* in the milk, and leaves the latter not only purer but of a much better quahty, and gives promise to the butter maker of a higher color and a purer flavor to the butter from the churn, hence a higher price in the market. Herein may seem lojs of trouble over details, but when reduced to a system they occupy little of time, labor or expense. To Prevent Cows Kick- ing — We give an illustration of a patented device for pre- venting a cow fi'om kicking, which is said by those who have used it to be effectual. It consists of a Hght iron semi-circle intended to go over the back of the animal, with a joint and ratchet at the side, and a wooden block at each end, which fits to the flank of the cow, and prevents her from moving her foot forward. The inventor claims that it can be affixed in three or four seconds and that its operation is neither cruel nor hai-sh. On the contrary the habit has been entirely cured after it is used for a short time. It will doubtless suggest a modification that will be iiseful to farmers without infringing upon the patent. Black Tongue ill Cattle — The symptoms are inflammation of the mouth, swelling of the head and face, discharge of bloody saliva, and high fever marks the first stages. Ulcers soon appear under and on the sides of the tongue. Then the throat and neck swell, and if the disease is not checked gangrene ensues and the animal dies. The disease is said to yield readily to early and proper treatment. The following has proved very successful: The animal should be bled from the neck vein. Give him castor oil, one pint, to be repeated in ten hours if it should not operate. Then use the following: Powdered burnt alum, four ounces; chloride of lime, two ounces; corn meal, two quarts. Mix, and with this powder swab the mouth frequently. TO PKEVENT COWS KICKING. LIV]^ SfOCK. 163 Lice on Cattle. — A correapondent of the Country Gentleman says on this subject: The more common remedies recommended for relieving cattle and stock from lice are more or less dangerojis to life or health, and mnst be used Avith extreme care. An unfailing remedy which may be used by any one without danger to life or limb would be a boon to many farmers. Such a remedy we have in the bee-larkspur of our flower-gardens. A strong tea made from the seeds or foliage of the plant can be iised as a wash with perfect safety. Any part of the plant may be used in making the Avash, either green or dried. The plant should be gathered before it is frosted, and cured and preserved as other herbs are. In the use of kerosene, mer- curial ointment, tobacco, etc., great care must be used or injury results from absorption; it enters the limbs or other parts of the animal and is often a permanent injury. No such danger need be apprehended in the use of larkspur. All the parts where the verudn lodge should be well scrubbed with the wash, and if thoroughly well done in a pleasant, mild day, one ap- plication is sufficient. In former days, when school children were troubled, I have heard old people tell theu- experience iu using this remedy to their complete satisfaction. Another equally harmless remedy is aloes in fine poAvder, which may be used dry by filling a common pepper box Avith the poAvder and sprinkling it freely into the hair on the neck, back, sides and rump of the infested animal. Rub it thoroughly through the hair and on the skin with the ends of the fingers. Leave the animal undisturbed for a Aveek, then card thoroughly and apply as before. Continue this at intervals of a week, till not a liAing parasite is left. Usually two applications, if thor- oughly made, will suffice. Another writer says that to destroy lice on live stock he has found no- thing better than strong carbolic soapsuds. The soap usually sold under that name is not strong enough for the purpose. It may be easily prepared and at any degree of strength that may be required. Get a pound of car- bolic acid ciystals, which may be had at any wholesale druggist's. I get them in Boston at a cost of sixty cents per pound. Take ten pounds of com- mon bar soap, put in a pan with a little water and heat until dissolved. Take out the cork from the bottle containing the acid, and set it in hot Avater, which will cause the acid to become fluid; add this to the soap and stir well. Set away to cool and you Avill have a soap at a small cost that Avill be strong enough to kill any vermin which infest domestic animals, and which will cure barn itch or any cutaneous diseases to which they are liable. It is good to cleanse and heal sores, and a wash of it will be found good where animals are hide-bound and the skin out of condition; it will be found good to wash the inside of poultry houses to render them sweet and kill and ^re- vent vermin. It is a cheap, safe and sure remedy, and should find a place in all well regulated premises. A stock-grower, writing to the New York club, gives his mode of de- stroying lice on cattle. He says: " I destroy them Avith brine — any kind of salt water Avill do it. I find two kinds of lice; the blue lice, and I think the other is hen lice. I tried red precipitate one year; it killed the lice, two yearlings, and a two-year old. But washing the cattle with brine is easier, •nd they get into the habit of licking one another, and are more gentle toward each other. Another writer recommends grease. He says: " Insects breathe by means of small pores on their sides. Grease or oil that comes in contact Avith the insects closes the pores and stops the breathing. Mercurial oint- ment kills as much by the lard in it as by the mercury—that is, so far as the 104 THE PAliM. vermin are concerned, but not as to the animals that lick it off from theii' bodies, so that almost any oily or greasy application will be destructive t® insect vermin that infest animals if it is applied where it will do the most good." Still another authority says: " A good remedy for lice on cattle is water in which potatoes were boiled. For every one of your cattle take two quarts of water and eight middle-sized potatoes cut in half. If you have terucattle, you must take eighty potatoes and twenty quarts of water. When the potatoes are soft take them out. Get a large sponge and wash the cattle freely, choosing a warm day. Comb them with a currycomb, and you will be astonished to see the effects of the potato water." Cheap Shelter for Stock—Shelter for stock is one of the great needs of farmers. It is costly to build a barn and shed, but for simple purposes of shelter farmers might make greater use of their abundance of straw. In some localities it is customary to burn this as the readiest means to get it out of the way. A much better use might be made of it in constructing shelter for all kinds of stock, both against rain and cold. A very good plan is to make a frame of poles (as the engraving represents), and stack straw over them. This work should be done at threshing time, but if it has been neglected it may be done at any later time. It pays richly in health, thrift, and in the saving of food, to provide shelter. The Soiling System with Cows—It 18 a ques- tion of economy as to whether it is wise in us to allow the herd the full oc- cupancy of a pasture, in order to reap the products in the shape of butter and milk. A large herd re- quires a large pasture, and before any estimate can be made in the way of profit and loss, the value of the pasture itself, and the probability of what it may yield if cultivated, should be considered. The soiling system, which demands that the cattle shall be fed at the barn instead of pasturing in the field, has many advocates, and the reasons in its favor are that fewer fences are required, more manure is saved, larger yields of milk and butter are procured, and less space is required. Those who oppose the method say that it requires extra labor, and that the health of the stock is improved by their having the liberty of the pasture. Every consideration should be made, however, regarding the conditions. If the stock is kept on farms that are too large for cultivation, and where space is no object, with an unlimited supply of grass that cannot be utilized except by being pastured, then the soiUng system is not economical, for no necessity arises for its practice; but on small dairy farms, where land is valuable and the products within easy reach of the best markets, the system of stall feeding of cattle is one that should be carried to an extreme, for the result will be very profitable, any other method being suicidal in the extreme. The extra labor required is equalized by the saving in fences, and CHEAP SHELTER FOR STOCK. L] VE tiTOCK. 165 the care and management is balanced by the savings of the liquid and solid manure. Both systems, therefore, are profitable under certain circum- stances, the whole matter being regulated by soil, chmate, capacity for pro- duction, and distance from market. Raising Calves. — A stock grower writes: As a general rule, I let the calf suck the cow for three days, then I take it away; and after it has been twelve hours without food, I give it some new milk — about ten pounds, if I can get him to eat it. If, while the calf is running with the cow, you can handle it a little, so as to make it tame, it will learn to eat much easier. 1 am a large, stout man, and can easily hold a calf. If the calf is tame, so that it will come up to you and suck your hand, you can get it to eat the first time without much trouble; but if it is not tame, I get a-straddle of the calf, back him up in a corner, hold the pail between my knees, put one finger in the calf's mouth, and with the other hand hold the calf's head in the pail, and keep doing so until the calf commences to suck. Sometimes he will begin right off, and others will refuse for maybe ten minutes; but I never had one but what Avould suck after a while. By the third time I feed him I commence to take my finger out of his mouth, and do so more and more until he drinks without having a finger to suck. I feed entirely on new milk for ten days, then give about half new and half twelve-hours-old skimmed milk (using the cream I take off the milk on the table); then, after another ten days, I drop the new milk, having done so by degrees, and feed half twelve-hours-old skimmed milk and half skimmed milk, I work it so for a little while; but soon give him all skimmed milk, giving about eleven or twelve pounds at a feeding, and feed twice a day, without any meal or bran. I give in winter all the hay they Avant, keeping some before them all the time. After a calf is three months old you can give it some meal or shorts, if you wish; but I do not think it is best if it can have plenty of milk. I feed calves until about five months old, and then commence to wean them by degrees. If calves scour while they are being fed milk, I give them about two teaspoonfuls of salt. In the summer I feed them their milk cold, and it is generally thick, sour milk. In the Avinter I warm it a little, about milk- warm or blood-heat. It is well to handle your calves some while they are eating, so as to make them tame, and that is one advantage of raising them by hand, for they are generally tame. Charcoal for Sick Animals—In nine cases out of ten, when an animal is sick the digestion is wrong. Charcoal is the most efficient and rapid cor- rective. The hired man came in with the intelligence that one of the finest cows was very sick, and a kind neighbor proposed the usual drugs and poisons. The owner being ill and unable to examine the cow, concluded that the trouble came from over-eating, and ordered a teaspoonful of pul- verized charcoal to be given in water. It was mixed, placed in a junk bottle, the head turned downward. In five minutes improvement was visible, and in a few hours the animal was in the pasture quietly grazing. Another instance of equal success occurred with a young heifer which had become badly bloated by eating green apples after a hard wind. The bloat was so severe that the sides Avere as hard as a barrel. The old remedy, saleratus, was tried for correcting the acidity. But the attempts at putting it doAVTi always raised coughing, and it did Httle good. Half a teaspoonful of fresh powdered charcoal was given. In six hours all the appearance of the bloat had gone, and the heifer was well. 166 THE FABM. How to Break a Heifer or a Vicious Cow to Milk. A vicious COW becomes so only by educatiou, or, as it is sometimes said, by being spoiled. The case is much worse than that of a heifer, and when the cow is appar- enth^ cured of a bad habit, it is liable iipon slight provocation to return. The principle involved in the treatment of all brutes is to employ kindness together with the means of proper restraint. In the case of the young or the vicious cow, place her in stanchions or fasten her securely. Pass a girth either a strap or a rope— around the body, just in front of the bag, letting it pass in the rear of the right hip and in front of the left. Draw the girth somewhat tightly— more or less so, to cori'espond with the severity of the case. Take pail and stool, and sit down to the milking. The case must be a very obstinate one which Avill give any lasting trouble. The philosophy of the treatment is that the sti-ap so restrains the actions of the muscles of the hind legs that the animal cannot kick to harm, or get its foot into the pail, while the restraimt is steady and sure and the punishment not severe. A woman or boy can manage an ordinary case. Heifers broken in this way, we think, become more thor- oughly gentle and sub- missive. Of course an even temper and kind treatment must be strict- ly observed. Feed Rack for Stock—The rack rep- resented in this engrav- ing is designed to be placed against a building or wall, under cover. It may be adapted to any kind of stock by placing it at the pi'oper height. The cut plainly explains its construction. The trough below the slats may be used for feeding grain or roots. This style of rack is very popular in Europe. Science Applied to Stock-Feeding. — It is often necessary to mix differ- ent kinds of food to secure the best combination of flesh and fat-producing elements. Experiments have been made in Germany to ascertain what-is^^ the proper combination of these principles. Ordinary food contains two leading elements, one of which supplies the flesh and muscle of the animal frame, and the other the fat and heat. These two elements should bear a certain relation to each other. In the combination producing the best re- sults, the ratio is one of the muscle-producing to three or four of the fat- producing. Our common crop contains these elements in very different ra- tios. In corn-fodder it is 1 to 10, Avhich is too small proportion of the muscle- producing element in proportion to the fat-producing. In wheat straw, they are 1 to 15; in oat straw, they are 1 to 16; in German millet, they are 1 to 3, 80 that this, when cut in the dough state, possesses the proper combination. In corn (grain) they are 1 to 7 or 8, too much of the fat for the muscle-pro- ducing elements. This corresponds to our experience. Corn is too heating for work stock in our climate in summer. It is, however, excellent for fat- tening animals. In oats (grain) these elements are 1 to 5, nearer eoi-rect FEED HACK FOR STOCK. LIVE STOCK. 1(57 than in corn. In wheat bran, 2 to 8 1-2; in rye, 1 to 6. European field bean has 1 to 1.8 (one and eight-tenths), showing too much muscle-producing for the fat-producing elements. The proper medium may be attained by mixing two kinds of food. Thus corn and peas mixed make the ratio about correct. Clover hay is 1 to 3; lucerne, 1 to 2; vetch, 1 to a little more than 2. How Practical Farmers Manage tlieir Cattle. A well-knoAvn firm of practical farmers give the following information of the method pursued by them: "Unless the weather is stormy, we turn our breeding bulls out for exercise half of every day, often with the cows in the pasture, when none of them are in heat. After breeding our cows we keep them in a stable, where they cannot be with the other cows for from ten to fifteen hours. We have a few stalls that are specially designed for cows that are due to calve during cold weather, and, of course, these are made as warm as we can get them. We turn the cows out with their calves three times each day, until the calves are six to eight weeks old, then only twice a day. We rarely allow calves to run with dam in pasture, though we put the calves out to grass as soon as they have learned to eat it. Feed young calves well on shelled corn, oats and meal. Have separate pastures for bulls and heifer calves and do not allow them to pasture together after the bulls are three or four months old. Our dry cows we winter principally on hay, feed- ing very little grain, except to young stock and those that have calves at their sides, or those de- signed for the show-ring. We breed our heifers when about twenty months old." CAJLF WEANER. Calf Weaner. — This invention relates to the class of calf weaners adapted to be attached to the central cartilage of the calfs nose, like a bull ring, the parts of the weaner being pro- vided Avith sharp points that come against the cow's bag when the calf attempts to suck. The parts or sections of the device are attached together by a pivot forming a part of one of the points. They are held closed by means of a small screw. This device is very effective, simple and cheap. Training Horns. — If it is desirable to straighten a horn, you may fre- quently scrape with a piece of glass, or a knife, the hollow side, which will cause it to grow faster on that side; but in that case it must not be scraped deeply, for then it becomes weaker on that side, and will be turned toward the weaker side. Some scrape the side toward which they wish to turn the horn quite thin, and then scrape the opposite side just enough to make it gi'ow faster, and that will turn it toward the thinly scraped side. If you wish to turn a horn up, scrape on the under side just enough to make it grow faster on that side. A very barbarous Avay to turn a horn is sometimes practiced, by searing with a hot iron on that side toward which the horn is to be turned. This prevents the growth of horn on that side, and the growth upon the other side turns the horn. The horns may be polished by rubbing them with fine sand paper, and then with pumice-stone, and then oiling them. But this artificial manipulation of horns is seldom necessary. The horns of well-fed cattle will generally grow in comely shape if let alone. The hair is sometimes oiled to give it a glossy appearance, but the best gloss is put upon the hair by rich and appropriate feeding. Nature, under proper conditions, does this work best, 168 THE FARM. HoUo-w Horn. — The first symptoms of the disease are readily seen. The animal affected refuses to eat, and shows an indisposition to move about. If not properly treated at once, the disease soon becomes so severe as to pre- vent the animal from feeding at all, and death is generally the result. The old plan of boring the horns and pouring in turpentine should never be re- sorted to, as it does no good, and gives the animal unnecessary pain. The horns are not effected, and consequently need no doctoring. The tongue is the member wherein lies the trouble. By securing the animal's head, so as to prevent injury to yourself from its horns, and then pulhng out the tongue a,nd pressing it downward, over the iinder lip, hundreds of little Mack heads of so-called tiesh- worms will rise above the surface. Take a dull table knife and scrape oft' these black heads carefully and gently; then throw on the longue a little salt or pepper, or both mixed together, which mil bring up the saliva and set the animal's tongue to working. In a few hours at most the animal will begin to eat, and the trouble will be ended. We have never known this remedy to fail, no matter how severe the case. Taste of Turnips in Milk—There are several remedies, says the American Agriculturist, to prevent the taste of turnips in milk, but we be- lieve no one of them can be strictly relied upon as effectual; we will, how- ever, give them in order: 1. The objectionable taste comes from the crown of the turnip. If this is cut off and thrown away entire, the remainder will not affect the milk. 2. Dis- solve a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda in a teacupful of wai*m water, and add this to six gallons of milk when first set in the pans. For a single gallon, of course one-sixth of the above would he sufficient, and for two or three gallons in due proportion. The turnips ought to be given to the cow imme- diately after milking. 3. Pulp or crush the turnips so fine as to make them quickly and easily digested after eating, and when fed mix with cut hay or straw. 4. Scald the milk as soon as drawn from the cows. The best way to do this is to insert the milk can into a large pan or kettle about three- quarters full of boiling water, and stir the milk until it reaches 80 to 90 de- gi-ees of heat, and then set it away to gradually cool off. The cream then rises thick, comes off in a lump, and is churned quickly. All the above remedies are so simple as to be easily tried, and if they do no good, cannot effect harm. lieaves for Bedding. — An economical farmer writes: " In the scarcity of rye straw, and the absence of saw-dust and other material for bedding cattle, we have been forced to use forest leaves to keep the horse and cow in cleanly condition, and on the whole are much pleased with them. The gathering was from the roadside, and along the walls, where brush and leaves had accumulated for years. A few basketfuls were put under the animals every morning, and kept there until they were well satui-ated with the xirine, and then throAvn out into the manure heap. With a plenty of this material, kept dry under a shed, and used abundantly, there is very little loss of liquid manure. As an absorbent, it is much more effective than we expected to find it. Leaves have a high reputation as a material for the hot- bed and the compost heap, and are worth the labor of gathering, in most cases for their fertilizing properties. Cords of them are going to decay in the sight of almost every rural home, and it is the rare exception that they are utilized. Meanwhile the fields and garden are famished for want of manure, or supplied with concentrated fertilizers at forty dollars a ton, LIVE STOCK. 189 The First Milk. — The custom of weaning the ealf from the oow when it is only three days old is a barbarous one. We are familiar with the fact that cows ai'e sometimes injured by such a course, also, especially if she is naturally of a nervous, anxious disposition, she soon learning the habit of holding up her milk, and when a cow holds up her milk she has become addicted to the most incurable vice known. There is another thing con- nected with the weaning of the calf at so early an age, Avhich is the plain statement that we make in claiming that the milk is unfit for use, although the calf is usually taken away in order that the milk may be sold. Those who have had experience in the dairy know that milk from cows that have recently come in is ropy, and possesses a distinct characteristic in appear- ance from that of cows that have been in service for a longer time. Thus, it is not only unnatural to deprive the cow of her calf so early, but to use the milk. It also pays to keep the calf on the milk until it is old enough to be sold at a fail- price. Obstructed Teats. — The more the udder is stimulated to extra secretion of milk, so much the more is it liable to congestion and inflammation. The pressure, too, of a great quantity of milk in the udder upon the circular muscle (sphincter), which closes the end of the teat, tends to set up more or less irritation there, and this will sometimes result in excessive thickening of the walls and hard milking, or oven complete closure of the orifice. The simplest and best te-eatment is to slightly dilate the opening of the teat, once or twice a day, with a perfectly smooth probe. A silver milking tube, about a twelfth of an inch in diameter, will answer; or, when this is not available, a probe of the same size made of gutta percha. A small size will be neces- sary at first, and, after a day or two, when that passes easily, a larger one, until finally the orifice is easily dilatable and the milking sufificiently free. In every case the probe should be well oiled, and introduced with caution, so as to avoid injury to the internal parts. A silver tube should be warmed before it is introduced. To Test the Healtli of a Horse or Cow. — In horses the pulse at rest beats forty times, in an ox from fifty to fifty-five, and in sheep and pigs about seventy to eighty beats per minute. It may be felt wherever a big art-ery crosses a bone. For instance, it is generally examined in the horse on the cord which crosses over the bone of the lower jaw in front of its curved posi- tion, or in the bony ridge above the eye, and in cattle over the middle of the first rib, and in sheep by placing the hand on the left side, where the beating of the heart may be felt. Any material variations of the pulse from the figures given above may be considered as a sign of disease. If rapid, hard and full, it is an indication of high fever or inflammation; if rapid, small and weak, low fever, loss of blood or weakness. If slow, the possibilities point to brain disease, and if irregular, to heart troubles. This is one of the princi- pal and sure tests of the health of an animal. Blacflc Lieg.—Black leg in young cattle generally attacks calves in the fall when they get the rank growth of feed and are subject to sudden changes of weather from rains and frosts. It sometimes attacks thrifty calves in the winter when they are in the house and eating dry feed. We believe the herdsman can trace the disease back to the cause, and we believe the cause is the same in winter as in fall and spring; that is, rapid growth from generous feed and liability to sudden chills from being kept in too warm houses and exposures to cold while out during the day. Stables J 70 THE FABM. should not be too warm, nor should calves be deprived of exercise. Salt- petre in salt is iised by experienced herdsmen as a preventive; bleeding mil prevent the disease spreading among calves; for, although it is not con- tagious, the cause that produces it in one is apt to produce it in others. Treatment of Horn Brittleiiess. — In treating cows for horn brittle- ness, a stock raiser in Austria found no good resulting from feeding bone meal when the water used from a spring was perfectly soiii: — that is, Avithout mineral matter. But upon changing them to the water of another spring containing carbonate, sulphate and phosphate of lime, and chlorate of mag- nesia in small quantities, the effects were as follows: 1. The animals drank half as much agam as before. 2. The cows gave more and better milk than before. 3. The worst diseased cows at once began to get better, and this was the first case in which any of them recovered without removal. 4. The oxen showed far better condition than could be previously attained on the best of food and with the most careful attention. No fresh cases occurred as soon as the change of water was introduced. Sores on Cattle—There are many sores on cattle, which if kept con- stantly washed clean with cold water and kept free from dirt, would heal of themselves. A very careful herdsman says his practice of curing hoof-rot is to thoroughly cleanse the affected parts with wai'ui water and soap; and then apply warm tar between the hoofs. In very bad cases there will be a large core to come out; remove it carefully with the thumb and finger, cleanse the cavity as above with soap and water, and then fill it with warm tar. Keep the parts thoroughly covered with tar, even if it is necessary to use a band- age. Keep the animal in a clean, dry pasture. It is no more liable to affect the whole system than any other ulcer. When once cured there is no danger of its appearing again unless from the same catise. Ho-w to Milk a Co^v. — The most economical way to milk a cow, all things considered, is to milk the* two fore teats clean, leaving off with a pretty full stream, and then milk the hind ones down to a short stream, and, returning to the fore ones, milk them to the same condition, not touching the hind ones again. This will leave the teats empty, and the bag, too. It is a false notion that tiigging away at the teats stimulates a cow to give more milk; but, on the contrary, emptying the bag as soon as possible yields more; then the cow can have the extra time to eat, which is a better stimulus than either. A slow milker is never tolerated in the dairy districts, and a " stripper" is an injury anywhere. The sooner a cow is milked, and all the organs connected with feeding, digestion, and secretion are left in their natural condition, the better it is for the cow. Caked Udder. — ^When a cow's milk suddenly dries up and becomes clotted in the udder, it is probably due to garget or inflammation of the iidder from some one of many causes. The udder is then hard or lumpy, and hot. A remedy is to give the cow at once eight or twelve ounces of Epsom salts, with half an ounce of saltpetre, repeating the latter in six hours. If the milk is difticult to draw, a solution of one ounce of carbonate of soda in a pint of water should be injected in the teats Avith a syringe, and then milked out. This will bring away the curded milk which, if left in, will make matters very much worae. If the coav is feverish, the saltpetre may be repeated for a day or two. To bathe the udder in cold water, rubbing and squeezing it gently for a considerable time, is useful, LI V K STlKJK, 171 Another remedy is to wash and rub thoroughly with water as hot as you can bear your hand. Then rub with a dry cloth. Then apply hog's lard, or what is better, grate good yellow carrot line and simmer it in the lard t(t an ointment and apply and nib as above. Cows AVijiter Tlieiiiselves. — Many farmers are accustomed to dry oft' their cows early, milking them only about eight months. We think it im- proves the milking qualities of the cows to milk them ten months, but they should be well fed. We have a neighbor, who, ten years ago, found himself short of hay in the fall, and lamented that he should have to pay out nearly all of the product of his cows through the summer to purchase hay at high prices to winter them. He had a moderate amount of straw, and we sug- gested that the product of his cows from the first day of December, if well fed, Avould pay for all the corn and meal, middlings, etc., necessary to mnter his cows in fine condition. He tried this, keeping account of pur- chases of feed and sales of butter, and found that the butter came out ten dollai-s ahead in the spring. Cornstalks foi- Cattle. — A Maine farmer says: Farmers justly set a high value on well cured corn stalks, but some find a difficulty in getting their stock to eat them as cleanly as they wish. I have overcome tliis difiiculty this winter by sprinkling them with hot brine. I withheld dry salt from the stock a while, also husks, and made a brine by putting salt into a watering pot and pouring on hot water; gave the husks a bountiful sprinkling and fed them the last thing at night, instead of feeding them in the morning, as formerly. I think if I had tried this plan years ago I should have saved a great amount of fodder that was thrown out and trodden under foot. Foul Foot in a Cow. — Cows and horses are subject to a disease of the feet similar to scratches in horses. Diseased granulations, similar in ap- pearance to the heart of a cauliflower, break out and excrete a thin acrid matter. The treatment should be, to dress the diseased part with caustics, such as powdered sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) or sulphate of zinc (white vitriol), rubbed up smoothly, with clean, sweeh lard, and give the animal repeated doses of one ounce hyposulphite of soda, as an alterative. The soda should be given every other day for a week or ten days. Kicking Co^ivs. — A writer says he once had a very valuable heifer Avhich was an exceedingly vicious kicker. To cure her of the habit, he put a common garden hoe end in front of her off hind leg, and behind and above the gambrel joint of the nigh hind leg. Then sitting down on the right to milk, he put the handle cf the hoe well up under his arm and began milk- ing. The heifer could not stir either hind leg, and after one week she could bo milked safely without fettering, and proved to be a valuable and gentle animal. "Vl'"arm Water for Cows.—Warm water is an excellent thing for cows giving milk; it is as good as two or three quarts of meal a day; but if you mix meal and shorts Avith it cows must be allowanced, as they will drink too much — enough to diminish the flow of milk. The quantity will vary with the character of feed and the cow. A little good judgment is a nice thing here, as everywhere else. Roots for Stock — The value of roots for stock is not appreciated to the extent that it should be. In the rotation of crops in England turnips rank 172 THE FARM. high, and it is not uncommou for a farmer to devote from twenty to fifty acres to this crop. Cattle are kept there in line condition in -sA^nter on raw turnips, and the latter also make excellent food for sheep. On rich land the crop produces very largely, and a comparatively small space is sufficient for or- dinary wants. Jumping Cattle. — To stop a cow or steer fi'om jumping over fences nail a horseshoe on one forward foot. This prevents the hoof fi-om spreading, and consequently renders the animal unable to spring. This is calculated to be very effectual. Mixing Hay for Stock. — A mixture of one-third clover hay with timothy and redtop is recommended for any kind of stock. This mixture, it is said, will produce more milk, more growth, and more fat in stock than clear timo- thy and redtop. Proportions of Pood. — A milch cow, on the average, requires daily three per cent, of her weight in hay to keep her in health, an ox two per cent., or two and a half per cent, if working moderately. An ox fatting, five per cent, at first, and four and a half per cent, when half fat; sheep three and a half per cent, to keep in stm-e order. If other food is substituted for hay, or a part of it, its comparative value as a nutriment must bo ascertained. Thus, eight pounds of potatoes are equal to fpur pounds of good hay, while eight pounds of turnips are only equal to one and three-fifths pounds of hay. Carrots for Stock. — It is asserted, by those who have tested the matter, that for stock-feeding an acre of carrots is worth about two htindred per cent, more than the same ground will do in grass. This will pay for increased expense of cultivation, and leave a fair margin of extra profit. Cattle take readily to carrots as a portion of their daily food, and the large yield per acre should make them a greater favorite with farmers than they generally are. The thinning and weeding appear to be a great drawback to their more general cultivation. But with this expense the crop pays well. Celery Tops for Co-*%'s. — A writer in an Australian paper states that in many instances the leaves of celery are highly esteemed as food for milch cows, and are often preierred to red uiovcr. The cows are said to eat them greedily, and to j-ield on this food a far richer milk than on any other. Some- times leaves are cut up small, scalded with hot Avater, and given as a mash mixed with bran, and sometimes they are fed whole in their natural state along with the other t)rdiuary food TUe Best Feed for Cattle. — "We have seen pumpkins fed quite freely with excellent result in quantity and quality of milk; but it is not fit or eco- nomical to feed too largely of any one food. Potatoes fed in moderation are excellent for milk; but giv«n in too great a quantity they will reduce the yield. Turnips or beets must not be given too liberally; corn fodder, given as a sole ration, is unprofitable; but fed with half pasture will keep up the yield of milk and add largely to the profit of the season. Pliospliate:^ for Cattle. — A natural instinct leads cattle to eat bones when their pastures are deficient in lime or phosphates of lime. If these bones are brought home and reduced to a fine powder, mixed with salt, and placed in a box or boxes fixed in the barn-yard, the cows ^vill lick them and LIVE STOCK. 173 derive very great benefit from them. This will save their teeth, and prevent them from choking themselves, as they might readily do with a piece of bone. Those who have no old bones should purchase a few, and treat them in the way indicated. Straw and Bran. — Professor Henry, of the Wisooyisin Experimental Farm, holds that it is wise economy on the part of the farmer who has a great straw stack, and small herd of cattle, and some hay, and who will not enlarge his herd, to sell the hay at $7 or $8 per ton, and spend the money in buying bran at $11 and $12, and feed it with the straw, together with some oil- meal. Good bright straw is made equal to hay by the addition of the protein in the bran and meal, and the whole is thus made into a far better quality of manure than usually comes from the usual way of feeding the hay, and half washing the straw. Feeding Bran "witli Meal. — For winti^' feeding, where cattle are kept in stalls and heavily fed, there is no better divisor for corn meal than wheat bran. It is also cheap, and funiishes what the corn meal lacks. When cat- tle are fed on corn meal as the principal food for fattening, it is apt to clog if fed in too large quantities; hence, our best feeders are in the habit of using bran as the cheapest and best means for rendering the meal fed more di- gestible. Rings on Covins' Horm^. — The first ring appears when the bovine is two years of age, and sometimes before. The ring gradually increases during the third year, and is fully formed at three years; the second ring appears during the fourth year, and is complete at the end of the fifth year; after that one additional ring is formed each year. A cow with three rings is six years old; with four, seven yeai-s old. After nine or ten years the rings are no indication ©f the age. Care of Oxen. — Oxen that work on frozen roads, although there is no ice, should be shod. The rough, hard surface wears down the hoofs very fast, and causes inflammation of the interior; the trouble may not become appar- ent until later, when the mischief is difiicult to repair. If the feet are tender and hot, and a slight lameness is perceived, examine the hoofs between the ciaws, cleanse the feet, and apply the needful remedies without delay, and so save trouble in the tuture. To Kxtei'minate Rats and Mice. — An English agricultural paper says: " Several correspondents write to announce the complete extirpation of rats and mice from their cow-stalls and piggeries since the adoption of this sim- ple plan: A mixture of two parts of well-bruised common squills and three parts of finely chopped bacon is made into a stiff mass, with as much meal as may be required, and then baked into small cakes, which are put down for the rats to eat." target in Co-*vs. -It is said that eight drops of tincture of aconite dropped on a piece of bread and mixed with the food at night, and next morning fom- drops more given in the same manner, will generally complete the cure of garget in cows. Scours in Calves. — For scours in calves, a raw egg broken into their milk is the most effectual remedy. A j^iece of rennet soaked in milk is also good, but we prefer the raw egg. 17-1 THE FAtiM. A Winter Piggery. — The object sought in the erection of this piggery is to secure a neat, clean, cheap and comfortable shelter for young pigs. The structure is thirty feet long, six feet wide, live and a half feet high in front, and four feet high at the rear. The roof slopes only one way, and projects fifteen inches, to throw water away from the pens. First make the spot on which it is to be built a foot higher than the natu- ral surface, Avith stiff, good clay soil. Gravel must be put on this several inches deep. Set round white oak posts a few inches in the ground at every corner of each pen or division. Nail on, with double-ten nails, scantling, two by four inches. Board up with vertical boarding, one l)y twelve inches. Cover the roof of building with the same mateiial, and make slatted divisions for the pens inside. Our illustration shows the trough into which slops and water are poui-ed from the outside. These have a one-inch hole at one end, with peg to let off surpliTs water in cleaning. A piggery of this size will hold from ten to thirty, according to size and age. It should be built facing tho south, so as to allow as much sunshine as possible to enter the doors. Whitewash flie g" inner apartments for health; also the outside, g which gives the structure a pleasant appearance. o The ornamental verge board is sawed out of one- ^ inch plank a foot wide, and a one-inch auger hole y put through the center of the figure, as shown in ^ the cut. The rafters project a foot over the front, ^ which proves a solid basis upon which to nail the ^ verge board. A little Venetian red in some lime is good to color the verge board, the corners and doors. The doors are made of open slat-work, and are furnished with small chains for fastening, and strap hinges. This piggery can be built for about $35. AVill it Pay to Steam Fodder! —Taking the word fodder in its broadest sense, says the Ameri- can Agriculturist, as any kind of food for gra- nivorous animals, Ave may say that it Avill always pay to steam or cook feed for SAvine, and often for cows, in stables containing twenty-five head or more, Avhile for 'sheep and horses it Avill be of doubtful expediency, and usually not advisable under any circumstances. The cooking of feed for fattening SAvine is so important as a matter of economy, that it Avill pay, even though done with little regard to the saving of labor and fuel. On the other hand, to cook the feed for neat cattle Avith profit, not only should there be animals enough to make it pay^ but the rations should be so carefully planned, that by min- gling of palatable, with less relished and coarse fodder, a saving may be ef- fected in that way. Besides the object for which the cattle are kept, is an important factor to be considered in the feeding. LIVE STOCK. 175 The flow of milk is increased by steaming the fodder— the color of the butter is, however, injured. The same ration will prove more fattening, while, at the same time, there will be little or no waste, if the steam is well managed. It is best to have the steamed ration composed of a variety of feed, such as com-fodder roots, hay or oat straw, with bran and corn meal, or cotton-seed, or linseed-cake, or meal. The substitution of one kind of fodder or meal for another, gives variety and relish. The coarse fodder is cooked soft, and the flavor of the roots and of the meal pervades the mass. It is not likely that any of the small agricultural steamers can be made to economically cook the food for as many as twenty-five or thirty head of cattle. When a boiler of several horse-power is employed to do other work, as pumping, thrashing, sawing wood, grinding, cutting hay and com fodder, etc., steam may be economically used for cooking fodder; Of this there can be little doubt. The steam box in which the fodder is placed for cooking, if it is big enough, need not be filled oftener than twice a week, and if, as already intimated, eveiy pains is taken in the operation to save in the items of labor and fuel, steaming fodder for cattle will be found profitable. Convenient Trongli. — This trough is designed more especially for an out- door or field trough for sum- mer and fall use. It is very desirable with many to feed their swine outside of pens in those seasons, and every farmer is aware that it is almost a necessity to have the trough arranged to keep the swine away, both *from the person who feeds them and from the receptacle into which their food is placed while the latter is being prepared. The trough which we illustrate is adapted very perfectly to this purpose. It may form part of the fence, so that the swine cannot come to the rear, from which side the food is placed in it, and the additional advantage is the shelter of both trough and animals from storms. The cut requires little explanation. The cover is hung on pins and fastened by a hook and staple on the rear side to keep it down. When food is to be placed in the trough the hook is unfastened and the cover Ufted up in the position shown by the dotted lines. By this movement the swine are completely shut away, and it is very convenient to place and mix their food. A slight effort brings the cover back to its place, and they can then " go in." Perhaps sheep feeders might take a useful hint fi'om this plan. Pig Raising. — We will suppose that the farmer has a litter of good, healthy pigs of good stock, one day old. He congratulates himself that, having escaped the dangers which are so thick at the critical period of far- rowing, he will have no further trouble. The pigs are lively, and well de- veloped; the mother shows no disposition to eat them, and is careful not to overlie them. There ai-e still two dangers right before the pig raiser CONVENIENT TROUGH. 176 THE FARM. into which he may ignorantly run — but Avhich may be easily avoided — which have caused the death of pigs by the million. The first is overfeeding the sow with lich, heat-producing feed. I think there is no one cause that has occasioned so much loss as this. Make it an invariable rule to feed sparingly of corn for the first week. A failure to pay close attention to the matter of diet at this time will often result in fever, which dries iip the milk, the in- sufficiency of which actually starves the pigs to death. When the result is not so bad as this, the sow loses appetite, runs down rarijidly in flesh, and although the pigs live they do not thrive, and before weaning the mother is a skeleton. For the first week feed house slops and bran, with but one ear of corn at a feed, and then increase gradually, and by the end of the second Aveek you can feed as heavily as you please. The second danger to young pigs is that they become diseased for want of exercise. It the sow is kept in a close pen and proves to be a good suckler, it is often the case that in two or three weeks the pigs get so fat as to die. Many a farmer, with a valuable litter of pigs shut up in a close pen, has seen them die • one after the other until the litter disappeared, and yet he had no idea what was the matter. Lay it down, then, as a second rule in pig raising, that young pigs must have exercise. Still another important thing is a clean bed. If allowed to sleep in dust they are likely to die of thumps, and if in a wet place or a manure pile, they become mangy, or contract colds and die. But we will suppose that the farmer is wise enough to guard against the dangers I have spoken of, and has brought the litter safely to the age of four weeks, with the mother in good condition, and having a good appetite. It is now time to begin to pre- pare the pigs for Aveaning. Make a j^eu near where you feed the sow, and arrange it so that the pigs can go in and out at pleasure, but let it not be accessible to the sow, and begin feedmg with milk and soaked corn. The quantity must be very small at first, and only what they will eat clean. In- crease gradually, and by the time they are eight weeks old they will be eat- ing enough so that they can be weaned withoiit checking their growth. If, as is often the case, there are in the litter two or three pigs that are not quite up to the average, it will be good, both for them and the sows, to let them run with the mother a week or two longer than the remainder of the litter. For four months after weading feed liberally. No matter whether your pigs are to be kept for breeders, fattened the first fall, or wintered over to be pastured the next summer and fed the second autumn, the treatment should be the same. Do not aim to make them fat, but get all the development of bone and muscle you can. The food should not be com exclusively, for we want more of the flesh-formers, and they shoiild have the run of pasture, and be fed on bran slop with the corn. Exercise, a varied diet, with part bulky food and not too much corn, will give a profitable hog. Overfeeding Stock. — Overfeeding an animal is worse in its effects than a spare diet. A great many more young animals are checked in their growth, and otherwise injured, by overfeeding than by a deficiency of food. In illustration of this statement, a correspondent tells the following story of his own experience: A rather opinionated and willful hired man, who requires the closest watehing in feeding the stock, in defiance of strict orders, gave some Berk- shire pigs some cotton seed meal in their feed, in the expectation that it would help them to grow. Their feed had been skimmed milk, with a quart pf wheat middlings to the pailful. Considerable more cotton seed meal was LIVE STOCK. 177 added to the feed during my absence from home for a day and night, and on my return the next day two of the young pigs were talven with convulsions and severe spasms. They died the next day, when two more were taken, and soon after two more. The whole six died in the same way. First they slowly turned around and around, then stood with the head in a corner and pressed against the wall or yard fence; the jaws were chopped together, and they foamed at the mouth. After a few hours they lay upon their sides and struggled violently with the legs until they died. A dose of lard oil allayed the symptoms for a time, and had it been given at first, would probably have saved them. On opening them the lungs were found congested and very red in patches, and the brain, also, was much congested, the blood vessels being dark blue. The stomach and intestines were filled with cotton seed meal, ttv0 milk having been digested. So short a case of indigestion, or stomach staggers, as it is popularly called, is rare; but the pigs were but two months old, and had probably been misfed previously. A Convenient Feeding Trougli. — We give an illustration of a con- venient trough for feeding hogs or sheep. It is especially well designed for feeding hogs, and may be placed in the pen, the swing door above the trough forming one side. ffljlffl|ri| ___^ fl^|\ If desirable to use it out ^^ |l | ^ ^^__^ . ~=^=^'^^^ ~ -"""^ || e ©f doors, it may form part mlilii i! \^^^i-!'k^ ^^^M^ _:- llil li'l i» of a fence. The construc- tion is simple. Two up- right board standards, about four feet high, are nailed to the ends of the trough to support a swing door or partition, which is adjusted so that the lower edge plays back and forth just over the top of the trough. The -sdew given is of the rear side of the trough, and the partition is swung forward to shut the animals away while their food is being prepared. When ready, the slide is withdrawn, the par- tition swings over the rear side, and the hogs can "go in." Slats of wood should be placed across the trough to keep the animals from standing in it. By swinging the partition high enough, the hogs may pass under. Sanitary Management of Swine. — One great fault in the manage- ment is to keep too many hogs together in one shed or inclosure. From want of proper protection in the way of housing, hogs are very apt to crowd together in bunches during cold weather; and, coming into the sheds wet and dirty, and being obhged to lie either on old and filthy straw bedding or on a wet and damp floor, +heir sweating and steaming soon produces a foul atmosphere, and the bedding, not being removed at proper intervals, gets rotten, and adds to contamination of the air. Being thus packed together in the building, the hogs, in a warm and perspiring condition, are next exposed to the influence of cold winds and wet, by being turned out in the morning hours to run in the fleld among grass wet Avith cold dew or from rain or hoar-frost, or to be fed from troughs in the yard. Among the common con- sequences are congestion, cold or catarrh, and, if the so-called hog cholera A CONVENIENT FEEDING TROUGH. 178 "ritE FARM, happens to be prevailing, they are almost certain to be affected with that disease, as theh' systems, under such management, are rendered predisposed or susceptible thereto. In many places the hogs are kept in miserable sheds", no provision being made for proper drainage, the ground sloping toward the sheds, which frequently being unpaved, or without proper tiooring, are con- stantly damp and Avet, while pools of urine and filth abound, and with wind and sleet approaching from all quarters. In proportion as the standard of breeding has become higher, so has the vital force, energy, and hardiness become lessened; and the effects of improper quantity and quality of food, filthy or stagnant water, faulty construction of houses, and undue exposure to atmospheric influences, have become proportionately more baneful. A Crood Pig Sty. — We furnish herewith a plan for a good pig sty, with a detailed description showing the best manner of constructing the same. Our illustration represents the ground floor, 25 feet wide by 32 feet long. A is an entry five feet wide, running.the whole length of the building, Avith a door at each end; it is used for feeding, as the troughs in boxes b, b, b, b, run along one aide of it. The roof extends only over the entry (a) and the boxes b, b, b, b. The boxes c, c, c, c, are not under the roof. The whole building is floored with plank, with a shght'depressionin grade toward the front of about half an inch to the foot, for the purpose of drainage. The inside partitions need not be more than about four feet high. The small door between b and c is hung by hinges from the top, so as to open either way, made to work easy, not reaching quite to the floor. The pig soon learns to push it open and pass through, and the door closes after it. When pigs are put into the boxes, one corner of the box floor (c) should be made tcei, and the pigs will be careful not to wet anywhere else. 0, o, o, o, are feeding troughs. The height of the building should be seven or eight feet. No bedding is required. Keep the floor clean. Hog Cholera. —The Lewistown (?a2;e^fe, published in Fulton County, 111., says: "Every paper in the United States ought occasionally to keep the fact before its readers that burnt corn is a certain and speedy cure for hog chol- era. The best way is to make a pile of corn on the cobs, effectually scorch it, and then give the affected hogs free access to it. This remedy was dis- covered by E. E. Lock at the time his distillery in this county was burned, together -with a large lot of store corn, which was so much injured as to be unfit for use, and was hauled out and greedily eaten by the hogs, several of Avhich were dying daily. After the second day not a single hog was lost, and the disease was entirely conquered. The remedy has been tried in a number of cases since, and never failed." The Washington (Iowa) (razette says Mr. Donahey, of that place, furnishes the following recipe for the cure of hog cholera: To prevent hogs fi-om hav- c c c c I "b h h o o • \ A OOOD PIO STY. LIVE STOCK. 179 iug cholera, quinsy, or pueumonia, use one gallon of soft soap, four ounces of saltpetre, and half a pound of copperas. Mix well in swill, and feed to about forty hogs in one day. In four or five days give the following: Carbolic acid, eight drams, black antimony, two ounces, half pound of sulphur. Mix well in swill, and feed to about forty hogs in two days. Eepeat the above once a mouth, and it will prevent any of the above diseases. I have used it for ten years Avithout a single case of any disease among my hogs. A simple cure for hog cholera, says the Kentucky Live Stock Becord, is an infusion of peach-tree leaves and small twigs in boiling water, given in their slop. Peach leaves are laxative, and they probably exert, to a moderate extent, a sedative influence over the nervous system. They have been used as a worm destroyer with reported success. They have also been recom- mended as an infusion for irritability of the bladder, m sick stomach and whooping cough. The cases of fatal poisoning from theu' use in children are tm record, as peach leaves contain prussic or hydrocyanic acid, but as it is almost impossible to poison a hog, their use would not be objectionable. The specific is worth a trial. The report of the Greorgia Agricultural Department has a statement to the eflfect that forty cases of hog cholera Avere averted, if not cured, by turning the animals on to a quarter of an acre of clover, to graze for one Avcek. It has long been held that this disease springs mainly from malnutrition, and too much feeding on corn or other carbonaceous food. The fact that clover — a nitrogenous fodder — in this case averted the threatened disease is of great interest. The culture and use of clover in the South may through this Imowledge be greatly extended. Nancy Agree, of Missouri, some years since claimed the $10,000 premium •flfered by the legislature of that State for a cure for hog cholera. Her spe- cific is as follows: " Take inside bark of the Avild cherry tree and boil it down v,'ith water so as to make a strong solution, and give it to the hogs to drink, excluding them from water. It has proven a perfect cure, even in the last stages of the disease. I also recommend an admixture of the root of the bull nettle." A correspondent of the Journal of Agriculture recommends a half tea- spoonful of carbolic acid in a gill of milk. This remedy, he states, has been successful in every case and not only cures but stops the spread of the dis- ease. It is administered from the mouth of a long-necked bottle. Tlie Pig as a Plowmaji. — Farmers everywhere, says the Araei'ican Agricu'tinist, are influenced by the construction of railroads and other means of quick transportation, but none of them more so than those who grow meat as a branch of their farm operations. The pork-raisers in the older States come in competition Avith the swine products of the prairie States, Avhere the pig is a condenser of the corn crop, and among the most economical methods of sending that cereal to market — yet CA'en with cheap freights, it Avill not do for Eastern farmers to abandon the sty, and look to the West for their salt pork and hams. There are economies to be practiced in SAvine raising that Avill make the Eastern farmer successful in his competition Avith the West. He has the protection of freights over long distances which can never be very much reduced. The home market Avill ahvays be remunera- tive, so long as pork products are in demand. His lands need manure, and that which is made in the sty and under cover, is among the best of the home made fertilizers. Herding SAAine upon pasture, or old meadow, that needs breaking up, is not very much practiced, but is one of the best methods of 180 THE FARM, raising pigs. They are as easily confined within a movable fence as sheep, utilize the grass and coarse feed quite as well, and perform a work in stir- ring the soil that sheep cannot do. The nose of the pig is made for rooting, and we follow Nature's hint in giving him a chance to stir the soil. A mova- ble yard, large enough to keep two pigs, can be made of stout inch boards, about fourteen feet long, and six inches wide. For the corner posts use tAvo by four inch joists. Nail the boards to the posts six inches apart, making four lengths or panels four feet high. Fasten the corners with stout hooks and staples, and you have a pen or yard fourteen feet square, which is easily moved by two men. If you place two fifty-pound pigs mto this yard they will consume nearly all the grass and other vegetation in it in three or four days, and thoroughly disturb the soil several inches in depth. When they have done their work satisfactorily, the pen can be moved to the adjoining plat, and so onward throiigh the season. The advantages of this method are, that it utilizes the grass and other vegetation, destroys weeds and in- sects, mixes and fertilizes the surface of the soil about as well as the ordi- nary implements of tillage. In the movable yard there is thorough work. Even ferns and small brush are eflfectually destroyed. Woi*ms and bugs ai-e available food for the pig. And it is not the least of the benefits that the small stones, if they are in Hie soil, are brought to the surface, Avhere they can be seen and removed. Tlie pig's snout is the primitive plow and crow- bar, ordained of old. No longer jeAvel this instrument, but put it where it Avill do the most 30od, in breaking up old sod ground, and help make cheap pork. Cliarcoal for Hog^.- -We have but little doubt that charcoal is one of the best known remedies for the disordered state into which hogs drill, usu- ally having disordered bowels, all the time giving off the Avorst kind of evacu- ations. Probably the best form in Avhich charcoal can be given is in the form of burnt corn— pei'haps, because when given in other forms the hogs do Mot get enough. A distillery was burned in Illinois, about which a large number of hogs Avere kept. Cholera prcA'ailed among these hogs somewhat extensively. In the buraing of buildings a large amoimt of corn was con- sumed. To this burned and partially burned corn, the hogs had access at will, and the sick commenced recovering at once and a large portion of them got well. Many farmers have practiced feeding scorched coi-n, putting it into the stove or building a fire upon the ground, placing the ears of corn upon it, leaving them till pretty Avell charred. Hogs fed on still slops are liable to be attacked by irritation of the stomach and boAvels, coming from too free generation of acid, from fermentation of food after eaten. Charcoal, whether it be produced by burning corn or wood, Avill neutralize the acid, in this way removing the irritating cause. The charcoal will be relished to the extent of getting rid of the acid, and beyond that it may not be. Hence it is Avell to let the wants of the hog be settled by the hog himself. Iron Hog Troughs — Upon the subject of the best material for hoK troughs, a writer says: " I make them out of iron, not out of iron-Avood, but cast iron. I grappled Avith this problem a half dozen years ago and mas- tered it. I became an inventor. I had an invention put into the forni of a model and got the proprietor of an iron foundry to cast eight troughs aftef the model. They were put into the different pens and they are there now, bright, clea», sjaooth, sound, and all ri^t, and I expect to leave thena just m this shape to my heirs. The model cost $18, and the troughs 6 cents a LIVE STOCK. 181 pound, and they weighed an average of at least 100 pounds. Th« Bpout is east with the trough in one solid piece, and there are also feet oast and at- tached, by which it is fastened to the floor. The corners are made rounding and so is the bottom, so that freezing does not crack them, as the ice does not press against the corners or sides, but around the whole. They arc easily cleaned out, as the sloping sides allow the dirt to slide out before a broom, are always iu place, and will never wear out. The Avear and waste and annoyance ol modern troughs became unbearable. Now I contemplate this part of farm experience with a feeling akin to perfect satisfaction. The trough is not patented." Pliospliates Essential to Pigs. — Experiments made by Lehman upon young animals showed that food containing an insufficient amount of phos- phates not only affects the formation of the skeleton, but has an essential in- fluence upon its separate parts. A young pig was fed one hundred and twenty-six days upon potatoes alone; a result of this insufficient food, ra- chiiis (rickets, or softening of the bone). Other pigs, from the same litter, fed upon potatoes, leach-out-meat, and additional phosphates, for the same length of time, had a normal skeleton; yet even in these animals there was a difference according to the kind of phosphate added. Two that were fed on phosphate of pot- ash had porous bones, specifically lighter than the others, which were fed upon phosphate and carbonate of lime. Pig Scraping Table.—This table can easily be made by a handy man. It is formed by bars of Avood fixed into a frame. By using a table of thip description when scraping pigs, the water and hair fall to the ground, and the latter is ef- piQ sobaplng table. fectually disposed of. It is a simple arrange- ment, and its construction and use will materially aid in neatness and de- spatch. Preparing Food for Swine. — A writer gives the following opinion: " The present practice with the greater number, I believe, is to prepare food for pigs either by steeping, steaming, or boiling, under the belief that cook- ing in any shape is better than giving in the raw state. I am not at present prepared to say definitely what other kinds of food may do, raw or cooked, with pigs or other domesticated animals, or how the other animals would thrive with peas or com, raw or boiled; but I now assert on the strongest possible grounds — by evidence indisputable, again and again proved by actual trials in various temperatures, Avith a variety of the same animals, variously conducted— that for fast and cheap production of pork, raw peas are fifty per cent, better than cooked peas or Indian corn in any shape." Hogs as Producers of Manure. — One hog, kept to the age of one year, if famished with suitable material, wUl convert a cartload per month into a fertilizer which will produce a good crop of corn. Twelve loads per year multiplied by the number of hogs usually kept by our farmers would make sufficient fertilizing substance to groAV the corn used by them; or, in other words, the hog would pay in manure its keeping. In this way we oan afford to jftai.e porJi at Idw prices, but ia oo other Way Adth spirits of turpentine, and mercurial ointment. Ticks, Avhen very numerous, greatly annoy and enfeeble sheep, and should be kept out of the flock if possible. After shearing, the heat and cold, the rubbing and biting of the sheep, soon drive oft' the tick and it takes refuge in the long wool of the lamb. Wait a fortnight after sheaiing to allow all to make this transfer of residence; then boil refuse tobacco leaves until the decoction is strong enough to kill ticks beyond a peradventure. This may be readily tested by experimenit. Five or six pounds of cheap plug to- .5 ^A FIG. 1. — SHEEP TICKS, MAGNIFIED. LIVE STOCK 187 bacco may be made to ausAvcr for one hundred lambs. The decoction is poured into a deep, narrow dipping tank kept for this purpose, and which has an inclined shelf on one side covered with a wooden grate, as shown in our illustration below (Fig. 2). One man holds the lamb by the hind legH, another clasps the fore legs in one hand, and shuts the other about the nostrils to prevent the liquid entering them, and then the lamb is entirely immersed. It is immediately lifted out, laid on one side on the grate, and the water squeezed out of its avooI. It is then turned over and squeezed on the other side. The grate conducts the fluid back into the box. If the lamljs are annually dipped, ticks will never trouble a flock. Eai-ly L.a,inl>s. — lu many localities an early lamb Avill sell for more money than will the ewe and her fleece; therefore, Avhere there is a market for eai'ly lambs the breeding of these is a very profitable business, if the per- son who attempts it is pro- vided with ample shelter and understands the man- agement of both ewes and lambs. Lambs for early market are bred so as to be dropped in February and March. February is a hard month to bring them through, and Avithout judicious treatment and warm shelter many lambs will be lost. The chief aim is to get the lambs ready for market as soon as possible, as it is the earliest arrivals that gain the high- est prices. It is necessary to keep the dams in good condition with sufficient food to make plenty of nourishing milk. Experi- ence and judgment are required in feeding the lambs; they must have food enough to promote rapid, healthy growth, and yet of a character that will not j^roduce scouring. While the lambs are still with the ewes, it is well'to supply them additional food. They can soon be taught to drink milk which is fresh and warm from the cow. Later on, oats, rye and wheat bran finely ground together make an excellent feed. As a gentle laxative a few ounces of linseed oil-cake will be found beneficial and at the same time nourishing. As the lambs approach the period for weaning extra food should be in- creased; indeed, the weaning miist be very gradually accompUshed. The sudden removal of the lambs from their dams is injurious to both. A plan generally followed to avoid the evil effects of a sudden change, is that of removing the lambs to a good pasture of shoi't, tender grass, and at night returning them to the fold with the ewes. The ewes must not be neglected. Their feed should be gradually diminished so as to diminish the yield of milk. How to Make Slxeep Pay —Any farmer in the Eastern or Middle States having a farm of one htindred acres in good fence can keep a flock of FIG. 2. — TANK FOB DIPPING SHEEP. 188 . THE FARM. fifty sheep and receive larger profits than from any other investment of the same amount, providing they will care for them in the following manner, viz.: Have your sheep in good condition when you take them from pasture to winter. Have a sheltered pen, with plenty of room, to protect them from the cold and storms; have an oxit-yard where they can be allowed to go in on nice sunshiny days, in Avhich tliroAV cornstalks, oat or wheat straw, if you have plenty of it, for Avhat the sheep do not eat will make manure, so there will be notliing lost. Also keep the sheltered pen dry, by tlirowing in straw, as fast as it is cut up in manure. Feed them on clover hay. If you do not grow any buy it, for one ton of clover hay is equal to two tons of any other for sheep, in my experience. Try and have your lambs dropped in January or February. Build a small pen alongside of your sheep pen, cut a small hole, so the lambs can get in, but not large enough to admit the sheep. Put troughs in the lambs' pen, and feed them on ground feed. They will soon find the hole and learn to eat, and if you have never tried it before, you Avill be surpnsed how much faster they will grow, and you Avill also find that the butcher will buy your lambs earlier, and pay a larger price for them than he will for your neighbor's, who does not observe the above advice. Feed Rack for Slieep — Feed racks for stocks are indispensable articles of furniture in the sheds and yards of the farm. We give an engraving of one of these, designed especially for sheep. Its dimensions are thirty inches high, twenty- eijrht wide, bottom formed by naihng together four boards, eight or nine inches wide, in FEED EACK FOB SHEEP. the shape of two troughs, or the letter W, resting on the cross piece B. The novel feature, perhaps, is the cant boards A A, which are hinged and then fastened by movable braces. These boards serve as par- ticular shelter to sheep, both from storm and chaflf from fodder; and by moving the braces they assume a vertical position, and thus keep out the sheep while one is filling in the grain. AVIiy Slieep are Profitable — Sheep are i)rofi table for several reasons, among them being the small expense of maintaining a flock. By that we do not mean the plan pursued by many of turning them into the woods and fields to be called up occasionally to be " salted," but they cost but little when cared for, because they are not choice in the matter of feeding. They greedily devour much that would be unserviceable, and for that reason are a necessary adjunct on a farm as a measure of economy. Where they become serviceable mostly is on those pastures that are deficient in long grass, and Avhich are not used for making hay. It is on this short grass, even if scatter- ing, that the sheep pick up good feeding and thrive well. In fact, long grass is not acceptable to sheep, as they graze close to the ground. A flock of sheep would almost starve in a field of tall clover, and will quickly leave such for the privilege of feeding on the short herbage that grows in the fence corners, in the abandoned meadows, and among the wheat stubble. The crab grass, which becomes a weed on laght soils, is Ijighly relished by abeep when just beginning to spread ©ut, and even the purslane is kept down by LIVE STOCK. \m them. Fields from which the corn has been harvested afford them much valuable pasturage, and they are always able to derive something for food on places that would support no other animal. In saying this it is not in- ferred that they require no care at the barn. They surely do, but require less than may be supposed. They are also great renovators of the soil, scattering manure evenly and pressing it in, thus improving the ground on which they feed. They multiply rapidly, a small flock soon becoming a large one, and they produce profit in three directions— wool, mutton and lambs. Tar the Noses of Sheep. — The months of July and August are the ones when sheep in many localities are subject to a most aggravating annoyance from a fly (oes >^ =^s ^^^g^^ ^^_rfl-'.^ s^^ i^si ^^. ^.-^.^^i^-^ ^^§s^si^'''€jc ^^E ^^ -^--.<^yyy ^ K^"--' i --^M ^'- l^-/^' "llFij^^ ^^^^^aaLatf^ ^^^~^L ^T^ ^3 ^^^ -,^^^^ ' ^^^^g f^^^~^^^^ ^^^^^ M_'V'-' ' •* !^i|^--j^"Y>i-i^ 'J ^^Xaa^ ^^s PACKING POULTRY. — FIG. 2. THE POULTRY YARD. 207 can be kept to an acre. If the yards are kept clean by an occaHional spading, however, green stuff may be grown elsewhere and thrown over to them. This may consist of cabbage, grass, turnip tops, kale, mustard, lettuce, etc. Watering must not be neglected, or the meals given irregularly. Care must be observed not to teed too much, as over-fat fowls will lay few eggs, and such eggs will not hatch. A good poultry manager is always among his fowls, and observes everything. The breeds have special characteristics also. The large fowls must be hatched in March, if early pullets are desired for winter laying. This applies to Brahmas, Cochins and Plymouth Rocks. If the manager finds this impossible, Jie should at once substitute cocks of the Leghorn breed, which crossed with large hens, make good marketable chicks, and produce pullets that mature early. A knowledge of the charac- teristics of the several breeds is indispensable to success. Crossing pure- bred cocks with common hens is excellent, but "fancy poultry "is not profitable to any but those who understand thoroughly the mating and selection of the several breeds. Poultry on a liarge Scale. — People thinking of raising chickens on a large scale will do well to note the following sound advice by the FoiiUry Mouthly: " There are many persons of moderate means who have had perhaps some Uttle experience with breeding poultry, and who get to wondering if it will pay to breed poultry on a large scale; whether it will pay to embark in the breeding of poultry for market purposes as a business, and if it is good policy to give up a fair paying clerkship or small business to engage in it. Such questions are very difficult to determine to the satisfaction of all persons concerned, for much more really depends on the person than on the business in nearly every department of human industry, and where one person may make a success of any undertaking another one may fail, though having started with equally as good chances of success. Poultiy, to be successful on a large scale, must be kept in small colonies of about fifty birds each, for many more than that number in a single house is apt to cause sickness or disease, ere long, among them. Small flocks like that can be given better attention than larger ones, and the first approach of disorder can be seen readily and promptly checked, while there is less danger of great loss when thus kept in small flocks, as the trouble can usually be confined to the flock in which it started by proper and prompt sanitaiy measures. When the breeder is not too far away from large retail markets, and especially where the breeder can market them himself, thus saving commission, freight, and loss, it pays best to breed and keep poultry for the eggs they produce, as eggs known to be strictly fresh are always in good demand at quite an in- crease in price over that received for the ordinary " store " eggs. Such breeds as the white and the brown Leghorns, and birds bred from them, either pure breed or cross breed or grade, as a basis, are first-class egg pro- ducers, while a game cock is also valuable to breed to good common hens, producing, as a rule, vigorous, active pullets, which are invariably good layers. Those who wish to raise poultry principally for the flesh should raise the light Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks, dark Brahmas, or some of the Cochin breeds, the first two named, however, being general favoi*ites in this respect, and also combining with it good laying qualities under favorable circumstances. Those who cannot or will not give the poultry regular or constant attention, shelter them properly, supply proper food in liberal quantities and at frequent and regular yitervala, and pay a strict attention 208 THE FARM. FIG. 1.— FEEDING HOPPEK, to cleanliness and thoroughness in all the details of the management, need not expect even to succeed, not to even consider the question of loss or jjrofits, for success and profit here means work, work, work." Feeclimg Hoppers for Fowls. — We give herewith designs for two styles of feeding hoppers for fowls, deeming anything that has a tendency toward economy will be beneficial to the farmer as well as to the amateur breeder of fowls. The illustration. Fig. 1, represents a veiy good and easily constructed hopper, that can be made to contain any quantity of corn re- quired, and none wasted. "WTien once filled it requires no more trouble, as the grain falls into the receiver below as the fowls pick it away, and the covei's on that which are opened by the perches, and the cover on the top, protect the grain from rain, so that the fowls always get it quite dry; and as nothing less than the weight of a fowl on the perch can lift the cover on the lower receiver, rats and mice are excluded. Our illustration. Fig. 2, represents " a perfect feeding liopper," Avhich, from the description here given, can be easily con- structed by any person. A is an end view, eight inches wide, two feet six inches high, and three feet long; B, the roof pro- jecting over the perch on which the fowls stand while feeding; C, the lid of the receiving manger raised, exhibiting the grain; E, E, cords attached to the perch and lid of the manger or feeding trough; I, end bar of the perch, -ndth a weight attached to the end to balance the lid, otherwise it would not close when the fowls leave the perch; H, pully; G, fulcrum. The hinges on the top show that it is to be raised when the hopper is to be replenished. When a fowl desires food it hops upon the bars of the perch, the weight of which raises the lid of the feed box, exposing the grain to view, and after satisfying its hunger jumps off, and the lid closes. Of course the dimensions of either of these feeding hoppers may be increased to any size desirrjd, A PERFECT FEEDING HOPPER. T^E POULTRY YAn3. 200 Winter Egg-Production — The following is from the Counby Gentle- man: To obtain a breed of fowls that are perpetual layers is the object that many aim at. This is an impossibility, for nature will exhaust itself and must have a period of rest. In order that Ave have a perpetual produc- tion of fresh eggs, the busmess must be arranged beforehand. There is a diflference in breeds, some laying better than others at any time of the year, and others, again, giving their eggs in winter. There is httle difficulty in obtaining eggs in summer, but the winter eggs must be worked for, and the fowls managed beforehand. Hens that have laid well during the summer cannot be depended on for late fall or early winter, even if well fed, but will generally commence in January, and keep it up throughout February and March, giving a good supply of eggs if not too old. But it is better not to allow such birds to go into the winter. They are generally fat, after having finished the annual moult, and should be killed for the table. After the second annual moult hens are apt to become egg-bound, especially if well fed and fat. The excess of fat that accumulates about the lower intestines and ovaries Aveakens these organs and renders them incapable of performing their offices. Hence the fowl suffers and becomes profitless. When left too long the bird becomes feverish and the flesh is unfit for food. The better way is to avoid this ti'ouble, since there is no cure, by not allowing the birds to go into the second winter. Trouble of this kind seldom occurs with pullets or young hens.' To obtain a supply of winter eggs, we must have the chicks out in March or April. Leghorns and some of the smaller breeds will do in May or the first of June, but the Brahmas and Cochins must come off early, that they may have the full season for growth. The Asiastics are generally good layers in winter, and need less artificial heat, as nature has not furnished them with any ornamental appendages which suff"er by exposure to frost. For them it is not necessary to spend large sums in warm buildings. What they can dispense Avith in this respect they demand in feed, which must be given regularly. The feed must be kept up and varied with animal and vegetable diet. The supply of Avater must never fail. We must feed and feed a long time before the eggs will come. Any breed of hens will con- sume an enormous quantity of feed before commencing to lay, but after having once begun they will not require, or even take so much grain. When laying, their great craving is for vegetable and animal substances, and crushed clam or oyster shells. Fowls that are regularly trained have certain portions of the day for their different feeds. My birds require their shells at night, as well as their greens, and their grain in the morning, and ahvays fresh water. When one has the time and convenience, and enjoys the petting of foAvls, making warm stews on very cold days is an admirable plan, and the birds relish them marvelously. Take beef or pork scraps, and put into an old kettle, having them previously chopped fine, and fill it half full of water. While stewing, throw in a dozen chopped onions, tAvo dozen cayenne peppers, and the day's coffee and tea-grounds. Thicken the mixture Avith cornmeal, and serve it around among the hens hot. They relish it amazingly Avhen once taught to eat it, and will look for the ration daily at the certain time. On cold winter days give this feed between tAvo and three o'clock in the afternoon, and the chicks get their crops warmed wp for the coming cold at night. If scraps are not handy, boil unpeeled potatoes, and serve in the same manner, adding a little grease or cold gravies left over from yesterday's dinner. The combed varieties reqiiire Avarmer quarters and sunnier exposure 210 'THE FARM. CHICKEN COOP.— FIG. 1. than the Asiatics, and are good winter layers after December and early January. They will lay in the fall if early hatched, but the change of fall to winter, and the getting into winter quarters affects them, and they seldom commence again before the days begm to lengthen, at which time Brahmas will cease egg-production and become broody. Where one has the con- venience it is well to keep both kinds, in order to insure a supply of eggs. It is useless to expect many eggs from old fowls of any variety. Have the buildings ready early, and the fowls of the right age and in condition to insure success. The business of our domestic hen is to produce eggs, and we must feed her for it. A ClxickeiL Coop. — Nail short pieces of matched boards together as indicated in the cut; then board up the rear end tightly, and nail nar- row strips of boards or lath in front; put a floor of boards in the back part of the coop, large enough for the hen to brood her young upon, and lay a wide board in front to feed upon, as long as the width of the coop. The coop should be at least two feet high, and from two to three'feet deep. The board in front may be tunied up at night to prevent the young against rats, cats, etc., and should remain in the morning until the dew is off from the grass. The coop should be moved eveiy two or three days to a clean place. The second engraving shows a coop of another construction, the tight apartment at the end with a slide door to let down every evening, keeps the little inmates secure from all enemies. A few auger holes must be made for ven- tilation. The front is a simple frame, with lath attached at sufficient dis- tances to allow the chickens to pass through. The top should be made separate, and attached to the side by leather hinges. Feeding and Laying. — The best of feed some- times fails to induce the hens to lay. This is not because the fowls do not get enough, but because it is not the kind they desire. It may be feed consisting of everything that serves to satisfy the demand for egg material, and yet no eggs will be the result. There are several caiases for these complaints, one of the principal being the fact that a plentiful supply of pure fresh water is not always within reach, and unless water is plentiful the fowls will not lay. Water being the principal substance in an egg, it cannot be limited. Unless the water can be procured for the egg the fowl cannot lay. And in cold weather it must be so situated as to be either protected from freezing or else have a little warm water added to it occasionally. Now this is a trouble- some job in vrinter, but water will freeze on cold days, and consequently is CHICKEN COOP. — no. 2. THE PorLTJiY YARD. 211 neeleee to the fowls when in a frozen conrlition. The feed, however, even when of the best qualitj', may not give satisfaction. In that case, when no eggs are being derived, change it entirely for three or four days. Give something entirely different in the moi'ning from that previously given, even if inferior, but still give whole grains at night in cold weather, for then the fowls go on the roost early in the evening, and have to remain in the coops until daylight, which is nearly thirteen hours, and so long a period demands the solid food in order to keep them Avarm during the long cold nights. Whole corn and wheat is best for them then, but in the morning any kind of mixed soft food makes a good meal for a change. The changes can be made by using good clover hay, steeped in wami water, after being chopped fine, shghtly sprinkled with meal, and fed w'arm, which will be very acceptable. A few onions chopped fine will also be highly relished. Parched ground oats or parched cracked corn is a splendid change of food for a few days from the ordinary routine of every day. It stimulates them if fed warm, and is a good corrective of bowel complaints, especially if some of the grains are parched till burned. The matter of feeding is to give variety, and if the food is of good quality also, a good supply of eggs may be expected at all times, but with good quarters and plenty of water the prospects will be better. Successful Poultry Raising. — Mr. Charles Lyman, a successful raiser of poultry, writes as follows: In raising poultry or stock of any kind, it should be the aim of every one to keep it healthy and improve it. You can do it very easily by adopting some systematic rules. These may be summed up in brief, as follows: 1. Construct your house good and warm, so as to avoid damp floors, and afford a flood of sunlight. Sunshine is better than medicine. 2. Provide a dusting and scratching place where you can biiry wheat and corn and thus induce the fowls to take the needful exercise. 3. Provide yourself with some good, healthy chickens, none to be over three or four years old, giving one cock to every twelve hens. 4. Give plenty of fresh air at all times, especially in summer. 5. Give plenty of fresh water daily, and never allow the fowls to go thirsty. 6. Feed them systematically two or three times a day; scatter the food so thny can't eat too fast, or without proper exercise. Do not feed more than they will eat up clean, or they will get tired of that kind of feed, 7. Give them a variety of both dry and cooked feed; a mixture of cooked meat and vegetables is an excellent thing for their morning meal. 8. Give soft feed in the morning, and the whole grain at night, except a little wheat or cracked corn placed in the scratching places to give them exercise during the day. 9. Above all things keep the hen house clean and well ventilated. 10. Do not crowd too many in one house. If you do, look out for disease. 11. Use carbolic powder occasionally in the dusting bins to destroy lice. 12. Wash your roosts and bottom of laying nests, and whitewash onoe a week in summer, and once a month in winter. 13. Let the old and young have as large a range as possible — the larger the better, lA. Don't breed too many kinds of fowls at the same time, iiulees you are going into the business. Three or four will give yoti your hatide full. 212 THE FARM, 15. Introduce new blood into your stock every year or so, by either buy- ing a cockerel or settings of eggs irom some reliable breeder. 16. In buying birds or eggs, go to some reliable breeder who has his reputation at stake. You may have to pay a little more for birds, but you can depend on what you get. Culls are not cheap at any price. 17. Save the best birds for next year's breeding, and send the others to market. In shipping fancy poiiltry to market send it dressed. Fisli for Powltry. — In preparing lish for fowls, we prefer to chop them up raw, add a very little salt and pepper, and feed in small quantities in conjunction with grain and vegetables; but for young chicks it is advisable to boil before feeding, and simply open the fish down the line of the back bone, leaving to the chicks the rest of the task. This food shall be given to layers sparingly, or we may perceive a fishy smell about the eggs, especially if the fish is fed raw. All who can will do well to try this diet for their flocks, and note its effect on egg production. We have always marked a decided increase in the rate of laying following an allowance of fish fed in moderate quantities. There are hundreds of our readers who live near or on rivers or lakes, or the sea shore, where they can get considerable oflfal fish, such as are either too small torax suffices to produce the desired effect, and also that simple solutions of the salt act quite as well as the dried powder. Don't Flavor Yoiu- Butter too Mucli — It is too true that unless we adopt the im^Drovements of the day and look carefully after our interests, we shall be left in the background as to quality and profit. But why is it that western creamery butter biings a better price ? We are told it is because of its uniformity of quality. The butter is made from day to day, from week to week under the same conditions, and always free from anything that would impart unpleasant flavors. Milk set in a farmer's kitchen or in any place where it will absorl) unpleasant odors from cooking vegetables, from to- bacco smoke or from clothing fully charged Avith the odor of the stables, cannot make butter free from unpleasant flavor. "We complain of low prices received when we ourselves are to blame. The flavor of the butter is af- fected by the feed of the cows. We lay the blame at the door of the dairy woman, when he Avho feeds the cows is responsible. To Color Butter. — As a rule, it is absolutely essential in the winter to color butter in order to make it marketable, or at all attractive as an article of table use at home. There may be a possible exception to this rule, in cases where cows are fed largely upon yellow corn, pumpkins, carrots, etc., but this does not lessen the importance of the rule. Of the various sub- stances used in coloring butter, we thiuk\that carrots (of the deep yellow THE DAIRY 231 variety) give the most natural color and most agreeable flavor. Annatto, however, is principally used, with most satisfactory results. If carrots are used, take two large-sized ones, clean them thoroughly, and then with a knife scrape off the yellow exterior, leaving the Avhite pith; soak the yellow part in boiling milk ten or fifteen minutes. Strain boiling hot into the cream; this gives the cream the desired temperature, colors it nicely, and adds to the sweetness of the butter. How to Detect Oleomargarine. — A Frenchman points out in a note to the Belgian Academy a simple way of distinguishing between natural and artificial butter, based upon the different behavior of the two substances when exposed to a temperature of from 150 degrees to 160 degrees in a cap- sule or test tube. At this temperature artificial butter produces very Httle froth, but the mass undergoes a sort of irregular boiling, accompanied by violent jerks, which tend to project some of the butter out of the vessel. The mass grows brown, but this is by reason of the caseous matter separa- ting into clots on the walls. The fatty portion of the sample sensibly retains its natural color. Natural butter, on the other hand, at the same tempera- ture, produces abundant froth, the jerks are much less pronounced, and the mass grows brown, but in a different way. A good part of the brown color- ing matter remains in suspension in the butter, so that the whole mass has a characteristic brown look. All natural butter behaves in the same way. ViriuL Butter IVitliout Ice. — In families where the dairy is small, a good plan to have the butter cool and firm without ice is by the process of evaporation, as practiced in India and other warm countries. A cheap plan is to get a very large-sized, porous, earthen flower-pot, with a large saucer. Half fill the saucer with water, set it in a trivet or light stand— such as is used for holding hot irons will do; upon this set your butter; over the whole invert the flower-pot, letting the top rim of it rest in and be covered by the water; then close the hole in the bottom of the flower-pot with a cork; then dash water over the flower-pot, and repeat the process several times a day, or whenever it looks dry. If setia a cool place, or where the wind can blow on it, it will readily evaporate the water from the pot, and the butter will be as firm and cool as if from an ice-house. THE APIARY. PLATFOBM. Wintering Bees— For the benefit of those who are interested in the subject of bee-keeping, we present herewith an illustrated article upon win- tering bees, the suggestions in which we think will be found both valuable and timely. Prepare, of any sound matched flooring, a plat- form nailed to 2x4 or 3x3 joists. When ready, set it upon blocks or stones, and it will appear as shown in Fig. 1. On this you are to put the bee hives, eight in number, and arranged as stated further on; also a north-end board, two side boards, a south-end board and a movable cover or roof. The arrangement of your hives should be as shown in Fig. 2, Avhere a is the north-end board, made square, but with cleats, as in the next figure; and bb are two hives with their en- trances facing the south; ecc are three hives with their entrances to the east; (I (Id are three hives with their entrances to the west. The object of this arrauge- C C d d FIG. 2. — ARRANGEMENT OF HIVES. meut is to vary as far as possible the entrances, that the bees be less con- fused when they fly out in winter. Experience shows that most of them find out their own hives by this arrangement. Fig. 3 shows the inside of the north- end piece of the boxing about the hives, the outside of which is perfectly plain, and a a are two cleats that hold the boards together, with the square wall cleat at the bottom and the longer cleat close by the first cleat, the three cleats making an inch space, marked dark, which dark places allow the side pieces to rest in and be held to the north piece. Fig. 4 shows first the outside of the south-end piece, and that it has two cleats, but that the boards do not go , down to the bottom of them. The construction of this south piece is further seen in the end vieAv, at the right hand of the lar.- ^^^^fc^^ zr- wM ^^b 1 ' "-vll WJ^^^^^ - Ms -H^H^.=^=.^:^ — IHI lliii 11^ H ^ •- KIIIHI vM J^a^^ ,_._^,= B '^^■^ " "' -'-—--' iBMlHIIIlllilllllllMlllllllnHiillinHH * V T HIIIIII llHII ^IP -^^i - jK^ ^^ 1 II ^'^^vp '^^ - --.— - — - "ww'''^^*^^ a«^jaSm\^^fly ^^^M THE SWARMING BAG, A GREAT IMPROVEMENT. was entered on. In the meantime a number of colonies of the com- mon black or English bee had been secured and transferred to frame hives, and as Italian queens were reared, the black queens were removed and replaced by Italians, the progeny of which replaced the black bees, as the latter died out. Not much attention was paid to producing honey until the race of Italian bees could be firmly established, and the result was that in the spring of last year there were about eighty colonies of gold-banded Italians actively at work. The bee master is an adept at his profession. With a pipe in his mouth, THE QUEF>' BREEDING HIVES. THE FARM. he opens hive after hive, blowmg a whiff of smoke upon them, to give the bees something else to think about when they seem any way refractory, a projection fi-om the stem of the pipe allowing this to be clone conveniently. The hives used are of the German bar-frame kind. They open from the back, and each hive is two stories high, so that ample space can be given to the bees when they are storing honey rapidly. The main house is about 150 feet in length, 10 feet high, 10 feet wide, and two tiers of hives are arranged on each side, as shown in the sketch. The swarming bag is one oi the best things wo have seen in bee culture. It is about six feet in length and one foot in diameter, and formed of alter- nate lengths of calico and mos- quito netting, each length having a ring of cane inside to hold out the bag, as shown in the sketch. When the bees are about to swarm, the bag is fastened on to the front of the hive, and the When the queen emerges she bounds up into CENTKIFUGAL MACHINE, SHOWING mSIDE. other end fastened to a stake, the upper end of the bag, and is quickly surrounded by her followers. Thus the swarm is oaptured with ease, the alternate breadths of mos- quito netting and calico mak- ing the interior light and enticing for the bees to enter and cluster. They are then shaken into a bar-frame hive. The queen breeding hives are much smaller than the others, and are arranged at distances of about twenty feet apart alongside the fences. Two or three frames of brood comb are put into each hive, with a queen cell coming to maturity. When the queen bee hatches out of the cell she makes a flight (the only flight of her life) in order to meet a drone or male bee. She is then fertilized, and becomes the mother and queen of a family, laying eggs THE QUEEN CAGE. THE APTABY. SSt at the rate of 2,000 daily when the season is good and stores abundant. The centrifugal machine is used for extracting honey without destroying the comb. The caps with which the bees seal up each cell of honey are sliced off with a very thin-bladed knife of simple form, and the frames are set in the metal basket of the inside of the machme. Then, by turning the handle, the honey is thrown out and runs down the sides of the machine, from which it is drawn by a tap, leaving the comb undamaged and ready to be returned to the hives for the bees to fill over and over again with nectar. In this way absolutely pure honey is got without any other substance whatever, and without injuring the bees or annoying them. The queen cage, as shown in illustration, is dravm to scale, as is the queen or mother bee seen inside. The Culture of Buckwlieat for Bees—Prof. Cook gives the following on this subject: Buckwheat is valuable as a honey plant, as it can be made to bloom when there would otherwise be a dearth of flowers. We have found in our experi- mental beds that the Silver Hull variety has more flowers in the panicles, and yields more to the acre. The honey is dark, but is preferred to all other kinds by some people. It blooms from four to six weeks after sowing. It will do fairly well on any soil, but thrives best on a i"ich soil. It should be sown broadcast, three jDCcks to the acre. It is usually sown here late in July, but for bees it had better be sown early in June. Then it will bloom about the middle of July, when bloom is usually absent, and will, I think, yield just as well; though I judge simply from observing small plots. The cultivation before sowing should be deep and thorough. When ripe it is cut and allowed to lie on the ground to dry. V/hen drj- it is bound and drawn to the barn, where it may be threshed at once, if it is desirable to do so. In fact, the cultivation, scil and harvesting of buckwheat are much the same as that given to oats. It is safe in estimating that each acre of buckwheat sown within one and one-half miles of an apiary is Avorth $100. Buckwheat, like other plants, is capricious. Some seasons it yields but little honey. It is not a favorite of bees; at least I have known bees to leave it for other plants. Perhaps it contained no nectar at the time. Will Bee Keeping Pay 1 — ®f course it will. There is nothing that either men or women can engage in that will pay anywhere as well as bee culture; and there is nothing so well adapted for the farmers' sons and daughters as bee keeping, and if they would take hold of four or five colonies of Itahan bees they never would want for a few dimes to go to a strawberry festival, or perhaps they might want to go to that world-renowned exposition that always visits every village about the July days, and if they have been good, industrious boys and girls, and will have looked after bees, they will have the satisfaction of having their own money, and will not have to ask father for the money when he is so pushed with his crops and so short of money to pay his hands. But to make the keeping of bees a success, you must go into it understandingly, and if you have not already the bees on hand, you will have to purchase a few colonies, and be sure to get Italians. If they are not in a movable comb they will have to be transferred. You will then have them in a hive that you have complete control over, even to examine eveiy comb and seeing every bee or queen in the hive. Clipping tlie Queen's Wing. — The clipping of the queen's wing hav- ing become a matter of acknowledged good policy, as we knew it would, the m THE FARM. question naturally arises, What is the best method for clipping it? We have tried all plans, and find the quickest, easiest and the least risk attend- ing the following: Lift from the hive the comb on which you find the queen, slant it toward the hive with the lower end resting on the ground and the upper end against the hive, make no rapid motions to alarm the queen, biit deUberately Avait till she is iu a position that you can grasp the end of one wing between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, then with a sharp pocket knife and an up and backward motion cut off" about one-third of the wing. If deliberate in your movements, the queen will not become nervous, nor will she be aware she had been meddled with, no scent of the fingers will be left on either her wings or body, and no commo- tion created in the hive. A n Unpatented Bee Hive. — Apiarians know full well the im- portance of providing the honey bee with a properly constructed amd well arranged hive, in which these little workers may safely store the nectar care- fully gathered fi'om the blossoming sweets o f earth. Many good and valuable hives for this purpose have been constructed, and are the subject of letters patent, for the manu- facture and use of which a royalty is re- quired by the owners thereof. The hive shown in connection with this ar- ticle is, beyond ques- tion, the simplest, cheapest, and best ar- ranged unpatented hive extant. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of tjie hive as it appears upon the sand. In appearance it has a neat, unpretending look of self-recommendation. The advantages gained by having a passage for the bees at the bottom, and six inches upward therefrom, at one side of the hive, are: First. Dur- ing winter snow and ice accumulate in sufficient quantities to entirely fill and cover the lower series of holes, AvhUe the upper ones remain open, ad- mitting fresh air, the importance of which all apiarians are famiUar with. Second. Bees alighting at the upper series of holes, upon returning from a long and fatiguing flight, have but a short distance to traverse to reach the plate where the accumulated sweets are to be deposited. _..,.j\»-^i \i vvv^'^l. BEE HIVE.~FIG. 1. THE APIARY. The hive proper is 12x12x15—2,160 cubic inches, inside measurement. When filled with honey it weighs eighty pounds— a sufficient quantity to feed a large colony of bees during the season not fruitful of flowers. For supporting the comb in the desired position, small round sticks are used in the same manner as in the old box hive. The cover to this portion has its upper surface beveled near the edges, to receive and retain in position a small or upper hive, seven inches high and twelve inches square, inside dimensions. It is shown in proper place in Fig. 1, and raised in Fig. 2, disclosing the surplus honey boxes, which are two in number, 11 1-2 x 6 x 5 1-2 inches, outside measurement, made from quarter-inch pine lum- ])er, with glass ends or sides, cither plain or ornamental, as the contents may be designed for home consumption or exhibition at the sale-room, or to compete for pre- miums at fairs. Each of said boxes connects with the lower hive by four one-inch holes, which are made in hive and boxes at the time of their construction. They afford a sufficient passage-way to and from said boxes. The top of the hive is delineated in Fig. 3. One series of holes is shown, while the other is covered (in use both should be) by securing a thin strip in the proper position by screws. They remain thus until the hive is thought to be tilled, or a sufficient quantity accumulated to successfully winter the bees. At this juncture carefully remove the screws, slightly raise the strip, place one of the surplus boxes at the end of the strip, and gradually, or by a dextrous movement, get it in place, as shown in Fig. 2. When both are in position, place over them the cover, and, unless you are care- less, not one bee is injured by the operation. Should the surplus boxes be provided with glass ends you may at any time during the season view the stores therein accumulated by raising the cover. At or soon after the ap- pearance of autumnal frosts, remove BEE HIVE. FIG. '6. ^^^ surplus boxcs, cover the seiies of holes as above stated. At the approadh of winter again remove them; thereby all vapor arising from the breathing of so great a number of insects passes into the empty space above, thus in a great measure, preventing death by the congealing of this vapor. Other points of merit could be noticed, but will suggest themselves. Advice to Young Bee Keepers. — Beginners in bee keeping should not, when going into the business, build costly bee houses, provide high- BEE HIVE. — FIG. 2. 240 THE FARM. priced, untested, patented hives, purchase a large number of colonies, or buy " three-banded" Italian queens at a time when, as yet, they can hardly tell a drone from a worker. Begin moderately and hasten slowly. The needful experience in practical bee culture is much more easily and far more efficiently acqiiired by careful attention to a few choice stocks, than by a hur- ried supervision of a large number, even with the aid of manuals and text- books. Plain, simple, movable frame-hives, too, will be found better suited for the requisite manipulations than fancifiil and complicated contrivances devised by persons really ignorant themselves of the habits and wants of bees. And colonies placed in an open situation, with their hives readily accessible from all sides, and somewhat sheltered or shaded by trees or vines, will be much more conveniently managed than when placed in ordinary sheds or out-door bee houses. Study first to know what is required for success, and then extend your operations when yoii are sure that you can have the business " well in hand." How to Catcli S-warms. — For the past ten or twelve years, says a cor- respondent of the Araerican Bee Journal, I have not cut my fruit trees to catch swarms. I get an ordinary sized basket, and nail a three-eighth-inch board on the bottom, with some suitable spx-ings under it; then bore a hole in the center, and put an iron down tlirough, with a loop on the top and a nut on the inside, and screw it fast; buckle a strap, six or eight inches long with a snap on it, in the loop. Have a pole cut from the edge of a two-uich plank, dressed any length, from eight to ten feet, with a ferule on each end and one-quarter inch iron rod sixteen inches in length; take a small ling, and bend an eye on the end of the rod, with the ring in it; taper the other end, and make it secure in the end of the pole; then curve it so as to project it six or eight inches, in wluch snap the basket catcher. To use it, push it among the branches of the tree which the bees are making for, and if they do not Ught upon it, when they begin to cluster, put the catcher up against them, and when you get part of them on your basket, move it a Uttle away and toward the branch that they are on, and they will all settle on the basket in-five minutes. To complete the pole, get a one-half inch rod of iron, twelve inches long, tapered at each end, and secure it in the lower end of the pole; and when the bees begin to settle on the basket, stick the spear in the ground and let it stand, while you are preparing the hive, etc. Then take down the pole and unhook the basket with bees, which may be carried any distance you wish. Shake off the bees on an open sheet in front of the hive, showing them the way, and they will go in faster than a flock of sheep into a yard after the gate is open. Mice ill the Apiary—During the winter mice are sometimes trouble- some guests in the apiary, especially if the hives are surrounded by straw in which they can harbor. The best preventive is to have hives so tight that they can gain no admittance. For the sake of ventilation it is not well, how- ever, to have the entrance closed air-tight; therefore, fasten a piece of wire gauze over the entrance of the hives that may be in the cellar, or that may be buried in the ground; this will exclude mice and admit air; and over the entrance of hives that are covered with boxes, fasten a piece of tin about a quarter of an inch above the bottom board, so that the bees can just pass ttftder the edge of it, while the mice are excluded. FARM IMPLEMENTS. Combined Rollei' and "Vibrating Harrow. — The thorough puiveriza-* tion of the soil is, and will be, an important item in the tillage of the earth. The most effective method, therefore, of attaining this re- sult, is one of interest to every individual. Our engraving on this page is intended to rep- resent an arrangement of a combined roller and vibrating harrow, the successful work- ing of which we have had the opportunity of witnessing. The invention consists of the fi-ame, A, roller, B, which may be constructed of either iron or wood, the axle of which terminates at each end in a strong crank, C, C, of from six to nine inches in diameter. These cranks are keyed upon the axle in opposite positions. Connected to the wrist pins of each crank are the connecting rods, D, D, Avhich extend back- wards, and are attached to opposite corners of the har- row, E. The attachment of the connecting rods to the cranks is made with universal joints, so as to allow of a free and easy working of all the parts, and to permit the roller and harrow separately to ac- commodate themselves to the inequalities of the ground. The manner in which the har- row is vibrated through the medium of the crank in rota- ting with the roller, it is not necessary further to explain. If the machine is used as shown in the drawing, the last operation performed will be that of harrowing, but if 't is desir(?d to leave the ground in a rolled condition, all that is necessaiy to do is to turn over the tOngue, F, of the roller, until it rests upon the cross pieces, G, and attach the team by a chain, to what will then be the front comer of the harrow. Or should it be desired to use COMBINED ROLLER AND VIBRATING HARROW. 242 THE FAHM. the roller or harrow separately, they may be readily disconnected by driving' out two of the bolts in the universal joints. This invention is public prop- erty for the benefit of the world at large. Hay Elevating Apparatus._We present herewith a sketch and de- scription of a new hay elevator, in the form of a suspended track and hay- fork traveler, which we think will not only prove a timely suggestion, but a positive boon to many farmers. This track can be suspended in any barn, high or low, without any additional timbers. The hay can be run up, and over beams, without any scattering or dragging. Another great advantage in this plan is having the rope double from the fork to the traveler. This gives the HAY ELEVATING APPAEATUS. horse great power on the fork just where it is needed, that is, when the forkful of hay is separating from the load. It consists in part of a track made of hard wood, in the form shown. The center piece A is six inches wide and one and a half inches thick, put to- gether with dowel-pins, until as long as wanted. The slats B B are two inches wide and one inch thick. They are nailed on the lower edge of A, breaking joints as they are put on. They are put on each side of A as shown in sketch. There is a pulley C, six inches in diameter by one and a half inches thick, put in the back end of the track. The box for this pulley is made by bolting a short piece, six inches wide and one inch thick, on each side of A. A, clevis; D goes over the track and is fastened on with the bolt that goes through the pulley. C, a rope is put through the clevis and this end of the track is drawn up close to the rafters. The front end is suspended by a clevis and two ropes; it is hung a foot or so lower than the back end. Screw into A the hooks that come with the fork, about eight feet apart, and into each put a strong link six inches long by one and a half inches in the FARM IMPLEMENTS. 243 opening, as shown at E, E, E: these are for the rope to pass through, aaid also to suspend it by. The traveler consists of a pulley and pulley box, H, with sides four inches apart, extending up some seven or eight inches, which carry two rollers, N N, four inches in diameter and one inch thick, which roll on each side of A, and directly on B B. There is an eye, O, on the traveler, in which one end of the haul rope is tied; it then passes around a pulley on the fork, then through the pulley in box H, around pulley C, through the links E E E, around pulley P, and around a pulley at the floor, then to horse. There is a latch, as shown at the right of the drawing, to hold the traveler •ver the load until the fork is elevated; when the pulley on the fork strikes the bottom of the latch and raises the catches up, then the fork moves back; Avhen the fork returns, the catches slide over the pin. Tkere is a small rope (1) fast- ened to the traveler by a clevis, 2; said rope passes over a pulley, 3, down to weight, 4, around the pul- ley fastened to the weight, up to the eye, 5, where it is tied. By this arrangement a long track can be used in a low barn. The weight will bring the fork back without pulling on the trip cord. In using this plan, the horse, after he has drawn up a forkful, is turned to the left; around to the side of the rope, and walked back to the starting place; he is then turned around to the right, on the same side of the rope that he came back on; by so doing, there is no stepping over the rope, which gen- erally twists or untwists it, and renders it very Uable to loop around a horde's legs as the fork comes back. The weight must be only just heavy enough to bring the fork back slowly, then the rope will not pull on the horse when he is coming back. Home-Made Tools._Fre- HOME-MADE TOOL.— FIG. 1. quently the farm and garden tools and contrivances that are home-made are quite as effective as expensive boughten ones, and farmers that are blessed with a little ingenuity are con- tinually " fixing " up some kind of a labor-saving machine to work with. Our illustrations represent two very handy and useful implements, of which a farmer writes as followe: "While using to-day a tool which just suits me for killing weeds, it struck me that it might just suit others, even if it is home- made and not patented. To make it, take an old twelve or fourteen-inch halirouHd file; grind off the teeth, bend it as shown in Fig. 1, and put it in an ordinary handle. Now, if you want to loosen the soil, or puU out sods or large weeds, you have a light pick to do it. If you want to kill ordinary. 241 THE FARM. weeds turn the hoe flat on the ground and scrape away. Now, as the file or hoe has two sharp edges, you can use either side; as it is long it will work very rapidly; as it is narrow it will work easily, and not draw the dirt over the weeds and re-plant them, but will tumble them on top for old Sol to deal with. " Another home-made tool now in season, and which has saved me much labor between rows of mangel wurtzel, carrots, etc., is made by taking a piece of old, thin, sharp tire, reversing the bend so as to bring the flat side down, bending it to fit between the rows and with the two ends brought to- gether so as to bolt to an old plow beam, as shown in Fig. 2. Make one, hitch old Tom before it, and go to work, and if it don't work to a T, tell." Care of Farm Implements. — Any implement that with good usage and protection will last eight years, will become weak and defective and generally useless, if exposed during four years to dews, rain and sun. It cannot be otherwise. Dew is very destructive to all wood, and sun cracks admit rain and moisture to the interior fibres, to work injury there. To leave implements thus exposed is a direct loss of fifty per cent., a heavy tax. But to state it mildly: An implement which, left unprotected would last five years, will undoubtedly last six years iif always kept dry and in the shade when not in actual use. This will save one-fifth of its efiiciency, or twenty per cent. A few boards or a straw cover, and attention to having implements always put under, is far more profitable than to " work out " the twenty per cent, to buy new ones. Woodwork that must be left exposed, will be greatly benefitted by a fre- quent application of paint, or simply a coat of painting oil and by filling up all sun cracks, as soon as formed with such oil. The use of crude petroleum tends to the preservation of wood, and may be applied to all unpainted wood- work of implements. Improved Tread Power. — In the tread-mill power \. e have here illus- trated, the endless traveler consists of cast-iron chain links joined together and carrying lags which are connected to the links by a tenon on each end fitting in a corresponding mortise in the link. Carrying rollers are fitted to run in boxes attached to the frame, so that the chain links run along on them from one to another, and in order that the rollers may be of larger than or- dinary size and placed farther apart, the chain links have abutting shoulders above the pivot joints, which hold the lags up level for the horse to walk on. I^Rch lag has a rib or cleat nailed on the upper surface just back of the front HOME-MADE TOOL.— FIG, FARM IMPLEMENTS. 346 edge. The rollers that sustain the weight of the horse may be larger, stronger, and easier running than where the rollers are attached to the chains. For a brake to regulate the speed of the machine, a couple of centri- fugal levers are pivoted to a couple of the arms of the flywheel, and having a brakeshoe on the short arm to act on a friction rim attached to the frame, the long arms of the levers being connected to the rocker bar by rods, and to the rocker one of the levers is connected by a coiled spring and adjusting screw, which tend to keep the brakes off the ' rim when the speed is not too high; but impboved tbead poweb. when excess of speed throws out the centrifugal levers the shoes will be pressed on the rim till the speed slows to the proper limit. The machine is provided with a simple stop device and is improved in other details. A Good Corii-Marlcer. — The worst difficulty with ordinary three or four tooth corn-markers results from the inflexibility of the long bar to which the teeth or marker are attached. In passing over uneven ground some of the teeth will not touch the earth, and conse- quently the planter must guess the position in which the seed should be planted. The marker we herewith il- lustrate is constructed to sur- mount this difficulty— two joints being made in the bar which allow each tooth to make its proper furrow on a, very uneven surface. The joints are made by sawing the bar apart at the places indicated in the engraving, then connect- ing the sections by bolting on two stout iron straps, the bolts passing entirely through the bar of wood. Four straps of light wagon tire ii'on, each six inches long, and four six inch bolts will make the two joints. A A Good Clod Crusher. — Take two pieces of board 2x6 or 8, and round the end of each with an ax. Nail boards 6 feet long on the bottom. They should be ^ Gooi> clod oeusheb. about 1 1-2 or 2 inches thick, beveled and lapped, as shown in our engraving. Bore 2 holes (in place where indicated) with a half-ioch bit; take 8 feet same sized rope, and tie loop in middle; put ends through holes and tie knot in A GOOD COBN-MABKER, 246 THE FARM, each to keep it there. Hitch your team to it, jump on yourself, and driv© ahead. Once going over mil be sufficient. Your land will be finer than you could harrow it in a week. It is better than a roller, for it levels the land, does not pack it, and draws easier than either harrow or roller, and can be made by a boy ten years old in half an hour's time. Spile or Post Driver. — Every farmer has often seen the time, we believe, when he could have saved himself or his men a great deal of hard labor, if he could only have had the use of a spile or post driver to sink a few spiles here on this marshy land, to build a dam, or to drive down a few posts there to erect a small building upon or to drive doAvn a line of fence posts; but, not being the possessor of one him- self, and not knowing where he could borrow one con- veniently from a neighbor, the work has been done without it, and much un- necessary labor wasted thereupon. We consider a post driver one of the most useful implements, for gen- eral use, to be found upon a farm. We present an il- lustration of a good and substantial post driver, with simple directions how it can be made, and Avould offer the suggestion that the dull months of the winter season will afibrd a good opportunity for those who wish to provide them- selves Avith one of these useful implements, to do so, and thus have it in readiness for use when next season's work begins. The machine we have illustrated is of quite simple construction, and with the exception of a little iron work, the pulleys and ropje, may be made by any farmer who is handy with tools. The pair of runners (1) are 9 feet long, made of oak 7 inches wide and 4 inches thick. The cross pieces (2) are of 4 by 4-inch scantling. The distance from the rear cross piece to the next one is 10 inches, and from that to the front one is 2 1-2 feet. The rear on© is left open m the middle, as represented, for the post. Two pieces of 2 by 4-inch SPLLE OR POST DRIVER. FARM IMPLEMENTS^. 24ff Bcantling are bolted across the top of the cross pieces near the middle, as seen in the cut. The two upright pieces (4) arc 20 feet long, of 2 by 6-inch scantling stiffened by a 2 by 4-inch piece spiked on the outside edgewise,. They would be better made of 4 by 6-inch stuff, or even 6-inch square, as they are required to be stiff. The braces (5) are 2 by 4 inches, the front ones a foot the longest. The weight, or block (6), may be round or square, 20 inches in diameter, and 2 or 2 1-2 feet long, of solid, heavy oak, and grooved on the sides next to the uprights. In the top of this is a strong staple, to Avhich the shears, which are fastened in the sliding block above, catch. The grooves in the w^cight are 6 inches wide, to take in the whole Avidth of the uprights (foiir pins on each side would answer the purpose of the grooves). Two 2-inch auger holes are bored through the rear portion of each runner, in order to drive in stakes or a crowbar to keep the machine from being drawn forward while driving the post. The working will be readily understood. A chain is fastened to the front cro8h>-piece at the points where the top pieces are joined, to which the whiffletrees are hooked. It is then draAvn forward by the team (a span of horses or mules) until the weight is over the mark for the post. The post being placed, the whiffletrees are then unhooked from the chain and hooked to the rope which pulls up the weight. One to three blows will drive the post in to the required depth. It is then drawn forward to the next post. Two men and a span of mules Avill drive three-fourths of a mile of posts in a day, and one man will mark for the posts and face them ready for the boaixls in the same time. The posts are slightly pointed, and thus driven, set very firm. The cost of such an implement is about $25, and it will pay for itself in a few days. A Convenient Tool. — A cheap tool that will prove very handy and can be made very cheaply and quickly, and used for setting out plants such as sweet potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, etc. Take a round- piece of wood one and a half inches in diameter and about a foot long; sharpen one end neatly; at the o-ther end cut down to one inch in diameter, one inch below the end; this will give a small shoulder all around. Take another round piece of wood the same size, or if a Uttle larger it \n\\ answer as well. Cut it four inches long, in the center bore a hole with an inch auger, and fasten this on the top of the other piece; this will serve as a handle, and the stick can be pushed down into the soil easily and pulled out, and can also be used to press the dirt firmly around the roots of the plants that you are setting out. Ten minutes' work will make one, and you will find it very convenient for use, so as not to have to hunt around for a sharp stick every time you want to set out a few plants. Implement for Small-Crop Hoeing._A Massachusetts fanner writes: "' I beg to introduce a small hoe which has not been used among the agri- culturists yet. It can be made of old discarded scythe-blades, cut sloping at the corners, so that the face next the ground is nine inches wide and the back six inches wide. At the corners, a quarter or half inch can be turned up at an angle to make a hook lilce a blacksmith's knife used to finish off horses' feet. Then a shank of three-eighths inch wrought iron can be welded on to the center, and the other end into a good handle. Any person skilled in hoeing trjing this hoe to single out carrots, parsnips, etc., will wonder why he did not think of it before. I get an old table knife and heat it, turn- ing about two inches of the end to a hook shape, to thin out my cabbage seed and onion beds, cutting the ground clean and quickly between the plants." 248 THE FABM. Coulter Cleaning Plo-w Attacliment. — Our engraving represents a simple attachment to a plow, intended to keep the coulter free from ob- structions when plowing in stubble or turning under long manure. It consists of a rod of iron, one end of which is attached to the wheel of the plow ix such a manner that its turning will give the rod a backward and for- ward motion. The rod passes along under the beam and is bent around its base, or the shank of the plow in wooden beamed ones, just above the mold board, and forms a loop against the coulter. This loop, working backward and forward, workH ofl: all obstructions from the coulter. H A Farm Tool Housre. I One of the most useful and W money-saving buildings that < a farmer can place on his H premises is a spacious and „ convenient tool house. It is g generally the case that there o ia room enough in the various ^ outbuildings ' to house the g fiirm implements if it is econ- g omized; but it is a corner ^ here and a few feet of barn or o shed floor there; sometimes « in a cellar and sometimes in H a loft, possibly easy of access, p but probably difficult, and in 8 all such instances it is space originally intended and needed for some other pur- pose. Tho main reason why so many farmei-s neglect pro- tecting their implements from the weather when not in use, is the lack of convenient and roomy storage. We lay great stress on its' being spacioue and handy; for if it is thus, James will always drive the lumber wagon inside to take the hay rack off, and he will draw in the stone boat with the plow and harrow and cultivator on it, and they will escape the next rain or dew and the consequent coat of rust. A farmer needs a tool house as much as a horse-barn or a woodshed. Our illustration is sug- gestive. It is adapted to a locality abounding with stone. The walls of the building are made of that material, laid without mortar. The foundation is placed below the frost, and the earth is banked on the outside to further protect them and to throw off water. The top of the wall is leveled with FARM IMFlEMENTS, 249 FARM TOOL HOUSE. mortar, and a two-inch plank laid on, to which the rafters are spiked. The latter are braced on the inside by nailing on cross strips. The roof may be made of the cheapest material, which varies with localities. There is one window in the end opposite the door. The doorway should be twelve feet wide to admit a reaper, and if the location is not too mnch exposed there is Uttle need of doors. The ground is the floor. The walls are but six feet high, and the structure should be twenty Avide by thirty or forty long. Such a building will cost but little where stones are in the way. The farmer can build it, and will save many dollars in twenty years, and many steps each year other- wise taken after mislaid im- plenaents. A Home-Made Corii- Slueller — This is simply the use of a bar of iron laid across a box. The box is made of a convenient height to sit upon, say twelve or fourteen inches, and is eight- een by thirty inches square. This size will hold over two bushels. The bar of iron (or, better, of steel) should be 3-4 by 1-4 of an inch in size, and a little longer than the box. Put a staple sufficiently large to admit the bar into the middle of the upper edge of one end of the box, and cut a notch the size of the bar in the other end. Put in the bar, put a piece of board across the notched end for a seat and go ahead with your shelling. Both hands are used in the operation, the left clasped tightly around the bar between the legs of the operator, while the ear is drawn up- ward by the right hand, the fingers of the left holding it firmly against the bar, and slightly pushing it upward. Shell two thirds of the small end first, then turn and shell the butt. Two bushels of our small corn can be easily shelled in an hour, after getting a little accustomed to the manipulation. I have tried many other ways, but none have proved at once so easy and so rapid as this. We present a sketch of the box and bar. A Good Weeding Im- plement. — We give a COEN-SHELLER. sketch ofau excellent weeding implement which is valued very highly by those who have used it. It eaves at least the wages of three men. By actual experiment one man will do more weeding with it in the same time, and do it better, than four men with hoes. The implement costs about three dollars— not more, cer- tainly—and will save fifty dollars worth of labor during one season. The frame is eighteen inches long and twelve inches wide. It is light, made of two or two and a half inch material. The wheel is ten inches in diameter, of inch and a half or two inch plank, with a tire of sheet iron. The knife in the rear is a bar of steel two inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick, bont 250 THE FATiM. 80 as to lift the frame about five inches from the ground as it sits upon the surface. Each edge is sharp in order that it may cut both ways— the opera- tor pushing it before him by means of the handles, cutting off the weeds, then drawing it back the same distance and hfting the knife at the same time, in order to insure a displacement of the weeds. The knife may be made of a width to suit any space between rows of vegetables. The form of the knife is such as that it may be run as close to the rows as is desu'ed, without endan- gering the roots of plants— for it cannot cut under. Weeders of this character are sometimes made with the knife before the wheel. Any- body can make the wood- work of this weeder who has the tools. Ordinary plow handles that can be pur- chased for twenty-five cents vnll answer. The knife, the bi-aces to the handles, and the tire of the wheel, is all the iron aboiTt it. We have devoted this much space to its description and commen- dation because there are many farmers who are turn- ing their attention to root culture and to the culture of small fruits, and there are many others who woiild de- vote more acres to these crops were labor available. Those who grow carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, the sugar beet, or even straw- benies, will find, for money invested in one of these im- plements, a sure return. There is no patent on it that we know of, and any man with gumption can make one. T ]i o m a s ' No-Pat eitt Scraper. — Our illustration represents a practical and very useful implement for use on public or private roads, and as there is no patent upon it, it can be easily made by any one as follows: Take a hard wood plank, say three by fourteen inches, seven feet long. Bevel the back side, rivet on an old mill saw for the edge. Put in a mortise wide enough to receive the tenon of the pole on an angle — a common ash wagon pole with a tenon say two by four inches, and five feet of medium size cable chain fastened on each side of the pole two and a half feet from FARM IMPLEMENTS. 251 the tenon. Fasten to the plank, on a line below the mortise, one grub hook two and a half feet from the mortise, on each side of said mortise, to hitch to the chains on the pole. Unhook the chains, and your scraper is in two pieces, handy to pack aAvay under cover. Estimated cost: Pole, 25c.; plank, 25c.; old saw, $1.00; making woodwork, 50c.; chains and iron work, $1.50. Total, 13.50. Set your scraper at the right angle'to carry the gravel or earth toward the center of the road, and drive on at a good brisk walk, the driver to ride or place on weights when necessary. If the road is very rutty or uneven, it is better to change the angle and drive back on same side, as the scraper would cross its (3Avn angle going back, and still carry the earth toward the center of the road. A Clod Cruslier — We illustrate a very cheap, sim- ple, but efficient implement — first made and used, we believe, in E n g 1 a n d — for breaking lumps of earth on plowed fields and leaving thomas' no-patent scraper. the surface smooth and finely pulverized. It is a very good substitute for the roller to smooth the surface of the field and cover grass seed sown after spring rains. It is made in this wise: Lay two oak scantUngs, 3x3 inches square and three and one half feet long, parallel on ihe shop floor, three feet apart. Then spike a strip 2x2 and five feet long across two ends of the scant- ling; then four two-inch planks eight inches wide and five feet long, spikmg them on like clap-boarding, and finish with a plank fourteen inches wide for the front. Turn your crusher over, affix a stool for the driver and the chains to the cross- pieces for the team to draw by, and the implement is completed. Ixuprovement of Roads— A Good Scrapev._We would Hke to call the attention of all lovers of good roads, and especially of those who are overseers, to the importance of some system in constwicting and repairing public highways. In the first place, all roads should be made and kept rounding. The ditches at the side should be deep, and of such a grade that the water may quickly run off. A road constructed in this manner may be kept rounding for a number of years by the frequent use of the large A scraper, drawn by four horses abreast. Perhaps this important road implement in some dis- OLOD CRUSHER. 252 THE FARM. tricts is an unheard-of contrivance. Judging from the looks of many roads, we think it must be so, and for the benefit of overseers in such districts, we give a drawing on this page of the best large scraper we have ever seen. The scraper here represented is constructed of oak plank 11 feet long, 14 inches wide, and 2 %-2 inches thick, set up edgeways, in shape of the letter A, with the top cut off. The rear cross-piece is near the end, and also near the top edge of the plank. The next is distant from the other 1 1-2 feet, and 2 inches lower, for the purpose of allowing the guide-pole to pass over the rear one, and the end under the other, giving the other end the right length to take hold of. The front cross- piece is also near the end, and is the center of the plank. The rear end should be one foot tbroati the front any desired width. To the inside of the plank, at the lower edge, are bolted plates of cast iron 5 inches wide and 1 1-2 inches thick, the holes through the same being slots longest up and down, that the iron may be low- ered as it wears away. The cut of the scraper may be altered by moving the draw-clevis in the chain to one side of the center, causing one side to do the whole work, as is many times necessary. The great advantage of this scraper over others is that it continually draws the dirt toward the center, and leaves the road perfectly smooth and rounding. A Sno-w Plow.- upou the forward A GOOD ROAD SCEAPER. -The snow plow here illustrated is built so as to be fixed part of a double sled. The frame is made of 4x4 oak scantling, and is similar in form to a double mold-board plow. One runner is fixed to the forward part, at such a distance below the edge of the plow as to raise it to clear obstacles such as stones or frozen mud which may be in its way. Four inches would probably in general be a safe distance. SNOW FLOW The hinder part of the plow rests upon the sled as shown in the engraving, and is bolted to i*.. A long tongue is fixed into the place of the ordinary one, and is fastened to the front of the plow by an iron strap, which is bolted to the frame. The hinder portion of the plow may be ccrvered over with boards, and a seat fi:xed firmly upon it. When it is used, it is best to load it as much as possible. The sides of the FARM IMPLEMENTS. 253 plow are made of half-inch oak or basswood strips, steamed and bent into 8hape. The outer surface of these strips should be dressed smoothly, which will make the draft easier. Bag Holders. — Farmers who raise crops of cereals for market are well aware of the trouble and labor involved in the one operation of bag filling. It oftentimes happens that one person is required to hold open and fill the bag atthe same time; this, how- ever, is a slow and tedious process, and to expedite this important operation, at the same time render it less laborious, the bag holders shown in our illus- tration were invented. A proper size of the one de- lineated in Fig. 1 is platform K, 24x14x2 inches, either pine or oak; standard B, 4x3x36 inches; hopper P, 16x16 inches at the top, beveled to admit of the hooking thereon of the bag D, as shown. It is obvious that, by having the upper portion of the hopper of larger dimensions than the top or mouth of the bag, the operation of filling can be performed much quicker, and with less liability to spill the grain; the bag holder also dispenses with one hand. Fig. 2 illustrates a simple arrangement for the purpose. The hopper is of the si^e of that in Fig. 1. It is supported by three short straps or chains, R B B, attached to as many of its several sides, which in turn are attached at the point M. This bag holder is cheap, simple, portable, and durable. It can be at- tached to the granary wall, or any portion of the bam above the floor. By pro- viding the main chain M with a hook, it can be raised or lowered to ac- commodate bags of various lengths. HAND PLOW. Hand PIo^v. — Most vegetables are greatly benefitted by having the ground stirred frequently around them. Hoeing is a tedious operation both for time and patience. We give a drawing of a small shovel plow with a wheel set in the tram, which can be pushed like a wheelbarrow. When loosening the soil is the object, it is a very expeditious machine. The tram is made by screwing to- BAG HOLDEB8. 264 THE FARM. gether pieces of hard wood boards. The wheel should have a ** broad tread " to prevent cutting in. A large cultivator tooth does tolerably well for a shovel. It works well for boy-power, by tying a drag rope to the end of the tram. With this a garden can be gone over in less than a fourth of the time required to hoe it, the same time may be given on different days with so much greater result, as the plowing is nearly as good as hoeing each time. Keep the Farm Tools Sharp— Too often these things are not thought of until the articles are wanted, when much valuable time is lost in putting in order what might as well have been done during the dull winter days. It has been computed that the same man can do as much in two days with a sharp scythe as in three days with one comparatively dull, and the same expenditure in force. And it is just the same in regard to all other tools or implements, whether operated by hand, steam, or horse power. The en- gineer continually oils the machinery, and a good saw or file is oil to hand implements. We know one who has a great deal of hand hoeing to do by hired labor, and he believes the continued lase of the file on the hoes makes a difiierence of nearly one-half in the labor. His calculation is that every ten-cent file he buys saves him ten dollars in his laborers' bills. Look after the spades, scythes, hoes, chisels, saws, etc. A good grindstone and a set of files are among the best of farm investments. The best of all forehanded- ness is that which prepares ia advance a full set of good and well-repaired tools to work with. AROUND THE FARM. Making and Keeping Ice. — The method of making and keepmg ice we here illustrate and describe will be of practical use oaly to those who are fortunate enough to have a spring or stream of running water upon their place; but the same result might be obtained by pumping in the water, though it would involve much more labor and trouble. The icehouse should be built firmly of rough boards, as shown in our illustration. Put high up on the outside of the house a penstock, with which connect, by means of a hollow plug, a tin pipe about two mches in diameter, on the inside, making a hole through the sidiQg for the purpose. This tm pipe may pass through the center of the icehouse, or it may be fastened to the side walls, passing partly or entirely around. If passing through the center, conical tubes similar to the muzzle of an oil can, about an inch in altitude, should be soldered on either side of the tin pipe so as to discharge jets at an angle of about 30 degrees to a perpendicular. If passing around the sides, cones should be so soldered on that the jets shall be thrown inward. The aperture through the apex of these cones should be very fine, about the size of a small pin. At the dis- charge end of this pipe, passing through or around the icehouse, should be fastened a rubber pipe of trom four to six feet in length. By raising the movable end of this rubber pipe we give whatever head we desire to the jets; in severe cold weather the greater head, and as the weather moderates less. Should it be thawing or too mild to freeze, then lower the rubber pipe so that the water will flow through the pipe without being discharged from the cones. For this purpose the pipe should have a gradual descent toward the discharge end. Should this not effectually prevent any water flowing on the ice, then bore a hole in the penstock below the pipe passing through the icehouse, and let the water discharge from this hole during mild weather. The jets may be within two feet of each other. Better re- sults attend a large number of fine jets than a less number discharging the same amount of water. In starting, the bottom of the icehouse should be covered with sawdust. The ice will form very slowly at first, but after the bottom is covered it will congeal more rapidly. After a sufficient quantity of ice has been formed, the sawdust may be put on, covering thickly around MAKING AND KEEPING ICE. 266 THE FA EM. the edges, so that as the ice melts the dust will fall down and protect it. Ice formed in this way will keep better than if sawed and packed in the usual way. We consider this mode of saving ice worth a practical test by all who have running water and sufficient fall. Wliitewasli for "Biiildiiigs and Fences. — If people knew how easily whitewash is made, and how valuable it is when properly applied, it would be in more general requisition. It not only prevents the decay of wood, but conduces greatly to the healthfuluess of all buildings, whether of wood or stone. Out-buildings and fences when not painted, should be suppUed once or twice a year with a good coat of whitewash, which should be prepared in the following way: Take a clean, water-tight barrel, or other suitable cask, and put into it a half-bushel of Hme. Slake it by pouring water over it boiling hot, and in sufficient quantity to cover it five inches deep, and stir it briskly till thor- oughly slaked. When the slaking has been thorough- ly effected, dissolve it in water and add two pounds of sulphate of zinc and one of common salt; these will cause the wash to harden and prevent its cracking, which gives an unseemly appearance to the work. If desirable, a beautiful cream color may be com- municated to the above wash by adding three pounds of yelloAV ochre; or a good pearl of lead color by the addition of lamp, vine, or ivory black. For fawn color, add four pounds of umber, Turkish or American— the latter is the cheaper— one pound of Indian red, one pound of common lamp-black. For common stone color, add four pounds of raw umber and two pounds of lamp-black. Smoke Houses._Our first illustration. Fig. 1, represents a smoke house built of brick, 6x7 feet square, and suitable for a large farm. The bottom is excavated the size of the building, two feet deep, filled in with small stones, and on this a brick floor, well cemented, is laid. This insures dryness. The walls are of brick, eight inches thick and seven feet high, with a small door on one side, lined on the inside with sheet-iron or zinc. Hooks should be firmly attached to the joists, on which to hang the hams and shoulders. This style of smoke house is not very expensive, is safe from'fire, and when SMOKE HOUSE.- -FIG. 1. ARO UND THE FA R M. 257 SMOKE HOUSE. — FIG. 2. not in use for smoking meat, is an excellent receptacle for ashes, which ought never to be kept in contact with wood, on ac- count of the danger from spontaneous combustion. Our next illustration, Fig. 2, represents one of the best arranged smoke houses that we have ever seen. It was large and built of brick, with an iron door which is generally kept locked. In the gable end there is a tire- place with a door. "A" shows the fireplace with door, for making the smoke, a chimney leading up on the inside of the wall letting the smoke into the room. The advantage of this arrange- ment is that the fire for smoking is built without en- tering the building, and sim- ply by opening the door of the fireplace. The smoke passing up the chimney on the interior side of the wall is cooled, and thus the meat does not come in con- tact with heat from fire. In the ordinary smoke-house, as is well known, the pieces of meat often break loose from their fastenings and fall into the fire or ashes underneath, and are in- jured or destroyed. In this plan the ash room may bo" partitioned off and the meat kept in a room by itself, and the door being always kept locked, except at such times as the meat is de- sired for the table, there is no chance of loss from thieves or flies. One can keep meat in this house in perfect condition from one end of the year to the other, and no losses can accrue from any soiirce. For those who want a cheap, easily made smoke house, our illustration, Fig. 3, will meet the requirement. It is made in a flight rise of ground, by an archway of brick, at the lower end of which the ^^E^«^ SMOKE HOUSE. — FIG. 258 THE FA EM, fire is made, while at the upper end is placed a barrel or box containing the hams and other meat to be cured. The lower end is closed after the fire is well started, to prevent a too rapid burning of the corn cobs or other ma- terial used in smoking the meat, and also to direct the smoke to the upper orifice for escape. Ensilage.— This Avord, which is only a"few years old, grows out of the discovery made by a Frenchman, Auguste Goffart, that green crops, when stored in water-tight pits called silos, under a heavy pressure, do not rot, but are preserved fresh and sweet, and retain all their nutritive juices for a year or more; and that, when ofiered to cattle in this condition, in the win- ter, are preferred to any dry food. It is not surprising that the discovery made a sensation among farmers and cattle feeders in this country, and that there is exhibited a keen desire to know all about it; for, not only can a great deal more in weight, of green food than dry, be raised on an acre, but ensi- lage possesses the advantage of supplying cattle with succulent summer feed in the winter — an advantage of great value to milch cattle. Any green crop that stock are fond of when in a growing state is good material for ensi- lage—grass, clover, i-ye, young com, sorghum and vegetables; but corn, clover and the grasses are most generally used, because when growing they are full of juice, which is lost in curing into hay or fodder, but preserved in the silo. Several kinds of green crops may be packed in the same silo, and the ensilage is said to be improved by the variety. Corn, either drilled or cultivated or sown broadcast, and cut in its most juicy condition, is the basis of most ensilage experiments in this country; it may be packed in the same silo with clover or grass of any kind cut green, and successive crops of corn may be planted for mixture with different kinds of grasses in their season. As it is estimated that ten to twenty tons weight of green crops may be cut from an acre of good soil — five to ten times as much as the weight of a dry crop of grain or hay — it is easy to see how much more profitable it is to save green crops in the form of ensilage than to allow them to mature and dry. Col. J. "W. Wolcott, of Boston, who owns a farm near that city, raised 460 tons of ensilage on thirty-four acres — being fourteen tons to the acre — one year. By raising two crops on the same soil ho has gathered as much as twenty-one tons per acre. On one piece of ground he gathered thirty-one tons per acre, but " that com was fourteen feet high," he says. He adds: " I am satisfied that an acre of ground will keep a cow twenty-four months." When the silo is opened in winter the contents are found in a sort of cheesy condition, and require to be sliced off with a sharp axe. They have undergone a slow and slight fermentation which does not impair theii" merits as feed and is not offensive to cattle. Indeed, the first smell of ensilage 'is said to *' set cattle wild for it," and they prefer it to any other kind of feed. Silos are variously constructed. The usual plan is to dig pits ten feet wide, fifteen feet deep, and as long as may be desired, on sloping ground, and make them water-tight with cement. Mr. C. W. Mills, of Pompton, New Jersey, prefers to build a strong frame, boarded up tight and close with thick lumber, entirely above the ground, something in the fashion of an ice house. The gi-een crops may be packed into them, either whole or cut up with a cutter; each plan has its advocates, though the weight of -opinion is in favor of cutting, as it allows of closer packing. As the crops are thrown in they are tread down as closely near the edges as possible, and when the silo is full it is covered and weighted Avith heavy rocks or earth, and then shedded over to protect it from the weather, In a few weeks the ensilage is AHOUN^D THE FARM. 259 ' ' ripe " aud ready for use. One end of the silo, if built along the ground, may be opened and the ensilage cut out and fed as it is wanted. Its quaUty will depend on the crops of which it is made and the care with which they are packed away. Nearly all Miimals will eat it; cattle hke it and thrive on it, and for milch cows it is particularly valuable, as it increases their flow of milk and keeps them in cheerful, healthy condition. "What Goes witli a Farm.— When a farm is bought or sold, questions often arise as to what goes with it, and disputes may often be avoided if farmers know just what their farm deeds inckide. In brief, says Mr. Haigh, of the Detroit bar, m the American Agrioulturist, where no reservations are made in the deed, the conveyanae includes the land, the buildmgs upon it, and all such chattels or articles as have become so attached or fixed to the soil or to the buildings, as to become what is known in law as " fixtures." What constitutes a fixture depends largely on the intention of the owner in putting it there, and also upon the manner in which it is affixed. Anything so affixed to the roll or the buildings that it cannot be removed without in- jury nearly always goes with the farm, and anything of a permanent nature, fitted for permanent use, and annexed thereto by the owner with that inten- tion, generally goes with the land, though it might be severed without any injury, as the following examples will illustrate: All fences on the farm go without, but not fencing materials, as rails, etc.; if bought elsewhere and piled upon the farm, and not yet built into a fence, they have never yet been " annexed." But rails built from timber standing on the farm and piled up for future use go with it; their original annexation is not severed by being •hanged from standing trees to rails. If, however, they were cut with the intention of using them elsewhere than on the farm, they would then hd per- sonal property and would not pass. The bare intention in the mind of the owner in this instance makes the difference between real estate and personal property. Hop poles, if they have once been used upon the farm, are re- garded as a part of it, though at the time of sale they are stored away for future use. Loose scaffold poles, however, laid across the beams of a bam, have been held not to be a part of the realty. Standing trees, of coui-se, are a part of the farm; so are trees cut or blown down, if left where they fall, but not if corded up for sale; the wood has then become personal property. To Tan Hides. — We think that many farmers would tan sheep and other skins, with the hair and wool on, if they were told how. They are very con- venient for sleighs, wagons, house rugs, and many other purposes. We give the followmg from a reliable source, remarking that it is essentially the same that we found in use by the trappers and hunters in the wilderness: All fatty and fleshy matter should first be removed from the skin, and with sheep skins the wool should be washed clean with soft soap and water, and the suds be thoroughly rinsed out. For each skin take four ounces of salt, four ounces of alum, and half an ounce of borax; dissolve these in one quart of hot water, and when cool enough for the hand to bear, stir in sufficient rye meal to make a thick paste. This paste is to be spread thoroughly over every part of the flesh side of the skin, which is then to be folded together lengthwise, and left for two weeks in an airy place. Then remove the paste, wash and dry the skin, "When nearly dry, it must be worked and pulled, and scraped with a blunt knife made for the purpose, shaped like a chopping knife, or with a piece of hard wood worked to a sharp edge. The more the skin is worked and scraped as it dries, the more pliable it will be. Other furs can be tanned with the fur on. 'AGO THE FABM TUAP FI'^ Weasel, Rat, and Vermin Traps. — The comm5u steel rat-trap is fre- quently used with good success in destroying these vermin, but we givei herewith an engravmg of a trap in this connection (Fig. 1), which we think will be found more effectual, and it is so simple^ju its construction that any one can make it. The trap consists of an oblong box, the end of which draws out, and is provided with a looking-glass in the internal side, which attracts the vermin on looking in. The entrance of the trap is formed of two spring doors made of wire, which allow the vermin to enter with least pressure. These doors have sharp points where they meet, which, although not felt by the vermin when entering, will prevent it fi'om with- drawing after having once introduced its head. Near to the looking glass a bait is suspended, and a cage is also fixed with a chicken to serve as a decoy. These traps are self-setting, simple, inexpensive, fit for all sizes of vermin, and safe for the house, farm-yard, or game preserve. We also give an illustration of another trap (Fig. 2), which can be easily made by any person conversant with the use of a saw, hammer and nails. The top and bottom of the trap are made of oak board one inch thick and twenty inches square. It is divided into two parts, making really two distinct traps. The corners are of wire about one-quarter of an inch in diameter, and the sides and partitions of No. 7 wire. Holes are bored both top and bottom, and the wires inserted. The corner wires are riveted, holding the trap firmly together; the doors are of oak, three quarters of an inch thick, and are kept in place by a cross wire on the top board of the trap, and by two small staples near the bottom edge of the door, which slide on the upright wires on each side. The treadle X is also oak, working on the upright pin 0, as a fulcrum, and being held in place by the wire hook V working on a pivot at P, and on the lower end of which the bait is placed. One side of the trap is represented as set, the other as sprung. Trapping the Minlt, Skunk, TRAP— FIG. 2. Etc.— Next to the weasel, the mink is most dreaded among poultry. In localities near salt marshes, swamps, ponds, and sluggish streams they most abound. The ravages of the mink are easily told from those of the weasel or any other animal. He almost always carries off a portion of his prey and tries to secrete it. If you find a half-grown chicken or old fowl dead and dragged wholly or partly into a stone wall or under some building, you may be certain it is the work of a mink; and if you go to work right, you will be just as certain to trap him. One peculiarity of the animal makes his capture easy — he always returns to a spot where he has hidden his quarry, or where he has made a raid; and AROUND THE FARM. 261 if he misses it, will go searching around for it. A knowledge of this fact led to the invention some years since of the trap we now illustrate. It is un- patented and our readers our free to make and use it. The trap should be three feet long, one foot wide, and one foot high, out- side measurement, and may be made of ordinary faced pine boards. Nis the on\j solid part of the top, to Avhich is hinged the lids L and D, and also in which the standard S is mortised. The lid L is held up by the rod A, in which are one or more notches to elevate it the desired height, catching or hooking over the pin B, and projecting a few inches beyond. Under A, and hinged into the standard by the pin P, is the lever T, also pro- jecting an inch or more beyond. C is a treadle board, hinged at Y to the bottom of the trap, and connecting by the Aviro W to the lever T, elevating it about two inches when set. H is the hail box, separated from the main trap by a wire screen, XX. O is a window, of which there should be one on each side about three or four inches square, also covered with wire or wire cloth, and D is the Ud of the bait box, fastened down by the pin E. If you have a chicken or fowl that has been killed by the mink a night or two preceding put that into the bait box and close the lid, placing the trap as near the spot where the dead fowl was found as you can. If a Uve fowl is put in, no harm can be done to it, the screen effectually protecting it. The mink enters the trap, and as soon as his weight gets well up on the treadle it pulls down the lever T, the projecting end of which dislodges the rod A, and drops the hd L. It is best to have a weiglii upon L, or else a catch to hold it down when sprung, as we have known an old mink to pry up the lid and get out. We have never known this trap to raiss when set immediately succeeding the depredations of one of those varminls. Next to the mink, the skunk is the most destructive to poultry. The best way to trap him is with eggs, of which they are passionately fond. They are not particular about the qnolily, as they seem to favor a rotten one, or one with a dead chicken in it. Tie the egg in a piece of netting, and fasten it to the treadle of a steel trap, or to a common box trap. Find their burrow, and set your trap near the mouth. It is nearly useless to set a trap where a theft has been committed. The animal may not go back there for months. He might possibly be caught in a night or two. But the chances are against it. Crows and hawks are to be classed among the enemies of poultry. The former prey only on young chickens and eggs. Catch one and hang it in your poultry yard; no other crow will come near it. The quickest and surest trap for crows is to place a steel trap in the shallow water of a pond, so that the jaws when open, are just under water. On the treadle place a small tuft of grass or moss, making a miniature island." Then cut a small stick with three bi:anches, forking in such a manner as to support an egg on them; stick this about six or eight inches from the trap; lay a little moss, grass, or leaves over it, and place the egg on the forks, so it will appear as if floating on the water; cover the remainder of the trap hghtly with grass, so as to hide it from sight, for Mr. Crow is very observant. To obtain the egg the A MINK TRAP. 262 THE FARM. crow will light oti the " island," and find too late be is caught. When hawks are troublesome the only remedy is to shoot them. You will soon notice that he visits your yard about a certain time every day, and by Avatching for him you can soon rid yourself of the troublesome visitor— of course provided you are a good shot. Trapping Ground 3Ioles. — We give an illustration upon this page of a very good and simple trap that may be successfully used in catching that troublesome little pest, the ground mole. It is made of two ash boards, a full inch in thickness, seven inches in width, and two feet six inches long, attached to one end by a broad butt hinge. The form given to the bottom board is shown in the cut, the central slit being made to admit the free play of the trigger, which is represented by itself in the right-hand corner of the sketch. It is of iron, ten inches long; the lower pai't shaped like a paddle, five inches long, one and one-eighth inches wide, and the left-hand end, notched as shown, and three-quarters of an inch wide perpendicularly. The post, sixteen inches high, is curved to the circular sweep of the rop board on its hinge. The teeth, six in number, on each side, are riveted seven-eighths of an inch apart, in a plate five and one- fourth inches long and one inch wide, contain- ing four screw holes, placed zigzag, and thiw is found much firmer and more secure than if the teeth were in- serted directly in the upper plank. The trap is set, as shown in the cut, across a mole track, first digging a hole eight inches square and six inches deep, and returning the soil, taking care to exclude all stones and large pebbles. Press the earth down pretty firmly, and set the trap so that the trigger touches the surface oi the ground exactly over the line of the track. When the mole goes along his accustomed road, and finds it obstructed, his move- ments in reopening the track inevitably heaves up the surface, so as to set off the trigger, and the teeth on one side or the other will catch him. Weight the trap with a heavy flat stone. Ridding tlie Land of Stumps.— We have frequently noticed persons when dealing land make a brush pile over a green stump, with the expecta- tion, apparently, that they were pursuing the right course to effectually rid the land of its presence immediately, while in fact no better means could be resorted to in order to insure its indefinite preservation. It has been the experience of the writer that a stump should never be fired until it has be- come sufiiciently " seasoned " to insure its entire consumption, else the charred remnant becomes impervious to the action of the elements, and it will remain a troublesome customer to deal with for long years after. These thoughts are suggested from a quite recent experience in dealing with some very " old settlers," which the hands on the farm wished to fire A GOOD MOLE TRAP. AROUND THE FARM. 268 several years back, and were only prevented from doing so by a positive command to the contrary. By a little patient Avaiting we are gratified with seeing " the places which once knew them, know them no more forever." This is one plan of treatment. Martin Boxes. — The box-house does very well if made of any small box about fifteen inches square (which can be had of any grocer), w*th a division put in it so that two families can inhabit it. A square hole should be sawed out at the bottom edge opposite each division, and the bottom nailed on. Place the box on a pole from twelve to fifteen feet high, or on the gable end of a roof, or even in a tree, and your house is finished. It can be painted or not, or even made in fancy designs, which are quite attractive to the eye. The illustration given on this page will convey the idea. A hop, or other rapid-growing climber, if planted at the bottom of the pole, will chmb up it and cause it too look quite orna- mental and picturesque. We have seen them built two stories high, made like a diminutive gothic cottage, which is quite pretty. The house should be made before the martins come, aa they are genei-ally in a hurry to locate and go to " housekeeping." By all means give them some kind of a home. Cisterns. — Many who have cisterns and depend upon them for their sup- ply of water for family use, hardly realize the importance of keeping them sweet and clean. Eain water as it comes down from the clouds is prob- ably as pure as any water can be, but after it has washed over a roof and down the conductors into the cisteni, carr3dng with it dust, leaves, and other rubbish that may have gathered on the roof or in the gutters, it is not strange that the cistern should need to be maktin box. cleaned out every year or two. If the cistern is not much used the water is quite Ukely to become bad. It may look all right, and not taste very bad either, and yet not be healthful. Of course all cistern water should be filtered, and a soft brick filter is perhaps the best; but even then it will be- come necessary to clean the cistern as often as every two years, and better every year. To Purify Cisterns — -Throw in two ounces powdered alum and two ounces borax to a twenty barrel cistern of rain water that is blackened or oily, and in a few hours the sediment will settle, and the water will be clari- fied and fit for washing Sfi't THE FARM. sjilos and Ensilage— The new system of preserving and feeding ensi- lage, says an intelligent writer, is one of such simplicity that doubting minds are incredulous as to possible results. If the building of a silo and the sub- : sequent process of filhng with ensilage were some wonderful secret, or per- haps a new discovery protected by a series of patents— if the use of the sys- tem were nermitted only under the payment of heavy royalties — there is a • class of skeptical minds who fatten on uncertain quahties, and who have but little faith in any practice which is within the reach of persons of ordinary intelligence and common sense. It is difldcult for many minds to realize the facts claimtid for ensilage or to explain to themselves why such results should be secured by processes so simple and by apportions so economical. Yet proof, absolute demonstration, is within the reach of every inquiring mind, or of every enterprising farmer who is willing to spend fifty dollars for commencing experiments upon his own farm. It is a most singular fact that the doubting minds are those who have had no practical experience on the subject, but whose conservatism is on the parade. It is eqxially surprising that no intelligent, practical attempt at silo building or ensilage feeding has resulted in failure, although men of all classes and attainments have experimented Avith the new system. It would be reasonable to expect many failures among so many beginners of varying capacities, were there anything intricate or uncertain in the process and its auxiliaries. No authority in this country is competent to pronounce posi- tively upon the future success or failure of this new system; it is for the in- terest of no one to urge or induce the adoption of the system by any unwill- ing farmer, and no one is to be enriched by the multiplication of silos, except, perhaps, the individual owners. Many a conservative farmer will await the report of his more enterprising neighbor, who has built a silo, yet it is certain that before many years every one will have an opportunity to judge the merits and drawbacks of the system of ensilage. Ne^v "Way with a Silo. — A Massachusetts fanner records his experi- ence as follows: We had always raised more or less Indian com, using the stalks for wintering our hmited number of cattle. After increasing our herd we planted fodder corn to help out our stock of corn stalks. However, the hard labor attendmg the cutting, binding, shocking, and curing the fodder made us willing investigators of the new and highly recommended system of ensilage feeding. From all who had constructed silos and tested ensilage we heard uniformly favorable reports. We could not learn of a failure, hence v^-q determined to test ensilage for ourselves, only hesitating on ac- count of the probable labor and expense attending the erection and weight- ing of a stone silo. Learning that wooden silos found favor with some farmers who pro- nounced them equally as good, so long as they lasted, as the more costly , stone affairs, we determined upon constructing our silo of wood. Our barn 1 is a two-story building, measuring 40x80 feet. It contains several large- bays, the dimensions of which are 20x24 feet. We sealed up one of these bays with 1 1-4 inch matched spruce boards covered with tarred paper. We cemented the bottom of the silo, also the walls under the sills of the bam. We coated the inside of the silo with coal oil to prevent the effects of mois- ture upon the boards. We stored about 125 tons of corn fodder in the silo, treading it down by men, instead of horses, by reason of the small size of the silo. We were about three weeks storing the whole of our fodder on account of the lack of ABO UNI) THE FA B M. 265 EUSTIC SEAT. — FIG. 1. help. For covering the silo we used hemlock boards and tarred paper, no other weighting being applied nntil some three or four weeks later, when we stored a quantity of dry corn stalks upon the top of the silo. Upon opening the silo we found the fodder in a perfect state of pre- sei'vation, the ensilage showing no mold, except a little on top, just under the cover. In preparing the fodder, wo employed a two-horse power to run our cutter, the latter being provided with a carrier for delivering the fodder in the silo. liHSf ic Seats for tlie La^vii. — The garden and lawn are incompletely furnished if they are not sup- plied with some kind of seats whereon one may reoline at ease. Fortunately these seats need not be costly; it would, indeed, show bad tis^te to have them so. Something easy, graceful, fan- tastic, rustic — something that the sunshine or the wind will not harm, or have its beauty destroyed by the rain. The materials for such seals are nearly always at hand — at least on every farmer's prem- ises. All that is required is a little skill and patience to construct them. The branches of the trees may be bent and shaped into tasteful chairs, and any desired form given to them. The branches of the red cedar tree and wild grape vine furnish the best of material for this style of rustic seat. Our illus- tration. Fig. 1, shows a very pretty chair made in this manner. A few pine boards cut out and nailed together, represented in the engraving. Fig. 2, will form a cheap and convenient rustic seat, which will be admired for its very simplicity and quaintness. A favorite shade tree on the lawn may be surrounded with seats so at- tached that one in sitting may lean against the trunk Our illustration, Fig. 3, will give a good idea of how seats of this kind may be constructed. Of materials there are plenty around almost every homestead- tasteful labor only is wanting to make appropriate rustic seats. The position of such seats is worthy of consideration. As they are mainly intended for use in warm weather, they should be amply shaded. A PUSTIO ISEAT,— Fia, 3, BUSTIO SEAT. — ^FIG 266 THE FARM, position should be chosen that commands a good prospect — if not a distant landscape, then of the beauties of the lawn and the flower garden. Some, at least, should be screened from observation by shrubbery — fragrant if pos- sible — where one may read or work. It is during the warmer months that the garden and lawn offer their greatest attractions, and everything that tends to make them more enjoyable should be provided. How to Pre:^ei-^e Cider. — A pure, sweet cider is only obtainable from clean, sound fruit, and the fruit should, therefore, be carefully examined and wiped before grinding. In the press use hair cloth or gunny in place of straw. As the cider runs from the press let it pass through a hair sieve into a large open vessel, that will hold as much juice as can be expressed in one day. In one day, or sometimes less, the pomace will rise to the top, and iu a short time grow very thick. When little white bubbles break through it draw off the hquid through a very small spigot placed about three inches from the bottom, so that the lees may be left behind. The cider must be drawn off into very clean, sweet casks, preferably fresh liquor casks, and closely watched. The moment the white bubbles before mentioned are perceived lising at the buughole, rack it again. It is tisually necessary to repeat this three times. Then fill up the cask with cider iu every respect like that originally contained in it, add a tumbler of warm sweet oil and bung up tight. For very fine cider it is customary to add at this stage of this process about half a pound of glucose (starch sugar), or a smaller portion of white sugar. The cask should then be allowed to remain in a cool place until the cider has acquired the desired flavor. In the meantime, clean barrels for its reception should be prepared, as follows: Some clean strips of rags are dipped in melted sulphiir, lighted and burned in the bunghole and the bung laid loosely on the end of the rag so as to retain the sulphur vapor within the barrel. Then tie up half a pound of mustard seed in a coarse muslin bag and put it in the barrel, fill the bar- rel with cider, and add about a quarter of a pound of ismglass or fine gela- tine dissolved in hot water. This is the old fashioned way, and will keep cider in the same condition as when it went into the barrel, if kept in a cool place, for a year. Professional cider makers are now tising calcium sulphite (sulphite of lime) instead of mustard and sulphur vapor. It is much more convenient and effectual. To use it, it is simply reqiiisite to add one-eighth to one- quarter of an ounce of the sulphite to each gallon of cider iu the cask, first mixing the powder in about a quart of the cider, and giving the latter a thorough shaking or rolling. After standing bunged several days to allow the sulphite to exert its full action it may be bottled oft'. The sulphite of lime (which should not be mistaken for the sulphate of lime) is a commer- cial article, costing about forty cents a pound by the barrel. It will preserve the sweetness of the cider perfectly; but iinless care is taken not to add too much of it, it will impart a slight sulphurous taste to the cider. The bottles and corks used should be '^perfectly clean, and the corks wired down. A Little cinnamon, wintergreen or sassafras, etc., is often added to sweet cider m the bottle, together with a dram or so of bi-carbonate of soda at the moment of driving the stopper. This helps to neutralize free acids, and renders the liquid effervescent Avhen unstopped; but if used to excess, it may prejudicially affect the taste. AROUND THE FA EM. 267 WTiat Birds Accomplisli — The swallow, swift, and hawk are the guardians of the atmosphere. They check the increase of insects that other- Avise would overload it. Woodpeckers, creepers, and chickadees are the guardians of the trunks of trees. Warblers and flycatchers protect the foli- age. Blackbirds, crows, thrushes, and larks protect the surface of the soil. Suipe and woodcock protect the soil under the surface. Each tribe has its respective duties to perform in the economy of nature, and it is an undoubted fact that if the birds were all swept off the face of the earth man Qould not live upon it, vegetation would wither and die; insects would become so numerous that no living being could withstand their attacks. The whole- sale destruction occasioned by grasshoppers Avhich have devastated the West is to a great extent, perhaps, caused by the thinning out of the birds, such as grouse, prairie hens, etc., which feed upon them. The great and in- estimable service done to the farmer, gardener, and florist by the birds is only becoming known by sad experience. Spare the birds and save the fruit; the little corn and fruit taken by them is more than compensated by the quantities of noxious insects they destroy. The long-persecuted crow has been found by actual experience to do more good by the vast quantities of grubs and insects he devoiirs than the harm he does in the grains of corn he pulls up. He is, after all, rather a friend than an enemy to the farmer. Recipe for Curing Meat. — To one gallon of water take one and one- half pounds of salt, one-half pound sugar, one-half ounce saltpetre, one- half ounce potash. In this ratio the pickle can be increased to any quantity desired. Let these be boiled together until all the dirt from the sugar rises to the top and is skimmed off. Then throw it into a tub to cool, and when cold pour it over your beef or pork. The meat must be well covered with pickle, and should not be put down for at least two days after killing, dur- ing which time it should be slightly sprinkled with powdered saltpetre, which removes all the surface blood, etc., leaving the meat fresh and clean. Somd omit boiling the pickle, and find it to answer well, though the opera- tion of boiling purified the pickle by throwing off the dirt always to be found in salt and sugar. If this recipe is strictly followed, it will require only a single trial to prove its superiority over the common way, or most Avays of putting down meat, and Avill not soon be abandoned for any other. The meat is Unsurpassed for sweetness, delicacy, and freshness of color. Value of Drainage. — As a matter of fact there is very little land in our country that would not be improved by drainage. Many light soils are springy, and the crops are injured in them by stagnant water. Heavy land can never do its best until drained. Vast areas of low-lying but rich land are practically valueless for Avant of drains to carry off the redundant mois- ture which forbids the growth of any but aquatic plants. Many who admit the importance of this improvement are puzzled about the ways and means of effecting it. The Drainage Journal mentions the folloAvdng plan, which is well worthy of serious consideration: " Some enterprising tile manufacturers select careful farmers who own flat lands, and make them something like the following proposition: That the farmer make a careful estimate of his average crops, and the tile manufacturer proposes to furnish the tile neces- sary to drain thoroughly the lands designated in the agreement, the farmer to furnish the labor of putting in the drains at a stipulated price, to be paid out of the excess of crops grown on the land over and above the average yield before agreed upon, and the tile manufacturer agreeing to take the THE FARM. balance of the increase in four or five crops (as agreed) to cover the cost of the tile. On level lauds, where the average crop runs low and the laud by nature is rich, it is a safe proposition for the tile manufacturer, if the farmer honestly performs his part of the contract. On rich level lands that need drainage, and need it badly, it will pay twenty-five per cent, annually on the investment, and in some instances more." Rustic Garden Hoiise._No accessories to the garden add more to its beauty and comfort than pleasant, comfortable seats and resting places. They may be composed of a few sticks, forming a simple seat under the shade of some tree, or may be made in the form of rustic houses. Simpli- city, however, must not be lost sight of, and no foolish attempt should be made to eclipse the simple beauty of nature by any expensive display of art. In our. travels on the Hudson we once stopped at the beautiful garden of A. J. Downing, and after admiring the fine specimen trees it contained, and surveying the finely-kept lawn, we found ourselves reclining in a pretty rua- ^'^^% tic house, a view of which is given in the engraving on this page, and we now present it as a model for this kind of work. A lit- tle patience and taste and a very few tools vdW enable one with ordinary mechanical skill to erect such a house at leisure times, almost without cost. How to Make Sorgo Vinegar. — A corre- spondent writing from Loutre Island, Mo., in the Rural World, tells how he made 1,000 gallons of No. 1 vinegar mostly from sorgo skimmings. He says: "Of course the first skimmings arc not used. I had two 160-gallon tubs. Into these I put about 70 gallons of apple pomace (cider and all), 25 to 30 gallons of skimmings, according to thickness, then filled up with rain water. I let it remain for two or three days, then drew it off and put in a large 1,000-gallon cask, which I finished filling by the latter part of October. Next spring I drew it off in 40-gallon barrels, put them in a warm j^lace where the sun shone on them part of the day, and I soon had the very best of vinegar. The above casks were in an o it-house where it was as cold as out of doors. Of course it had no time to sour that fall, as Avintcr set in early in November; consequently freezing did not hurt it, though it should not freeze after once becoming sour. Pressed or dry po- mace is just as good, only add skimmings and water for the cider taken. Vinegar made this way is better, I think, than when made of sorgo alone. It can hardly be detected from pure cider vinegar, and is just as good. Bear in mind that only enough water should be added to reduce the strength of the skimmings to about that of cider. You need saccharine to make good vinegar. You can't make vinegar from a few apple peelings and a barrel of rain water." RUSTIC GARDEN HOUSE. AROUND THE FARM. Blasting Stumps. — The foUowiug is the modus operandi of blasting stumps with dynamite: Make a hole an inch in diameter near the stumj), inclining at an angle of about forty-five degrees, so as to reach underneath the body of the stump. This hole may be made with a crowbar through the soil, but if there be a large deep tap-root it will be necessary to continiie the hole into the body of the tap-root by means of a long auger. A cartridge containing three or four ounces of dynamite is then inserted to the bottom of the hole, and a slow match having a peculiar percussion cap on the end is inserted in the cartridge. The hole is then tampered with earth, and when all is ready the outer end of the match is lighted, and the operator retires to a safe distance. The explosion usually not only extracts the stump from the ground, but tears it into pieces small enough to handle easily. The dynamite costs about forty cents per jjound, so that a three or four ounce charge, with its fuse, would cost about ten cents— making the cost of blow- ing up a stump about ten cents, besides the labor. How to Thatcli Roofs. — Rye straw threshed with a flail and kept straight, with the short or broken straws raked out, is the best material. The roof is made ready for thatching by nailing strips of boards, say one by two inches, across the rafters, putting them a foot apart. The pitch should be steep, to in- sure a waterproof and durable roof. The straw should be cut to a uni- foi-m length, and care taken to have it straight and all right. The sketch shows how the roof is prepared for the straw, and the manner the courses are laid. Tie the straw in bundles that will average six inches in thickness. The band should be close to the upper end, the one which is fastened to the cross strip. The courses should overlap, so as to make the roof the thickness of three bundles. Fish Culture for the Farm. — No farm should be without a fish pond, well stocked, any more than it should be without poultry. This may be a startling announcement to farmers who have to go one hundred feet to water, but it is none the less practical, as much as to keep stock on such a farm. Water must be produced in either instance. On most farms the drainage is favorable to ponds by throwing a dam across some sag or ravine and retaining the water that would naturally run off. The pond would serve the purpose of both stock and fish. Where this plan is not practicable, a pump worked by a wind-mill will ansAver as well if kept running; the sur- plus water drained into an artificial pond would supply the water. The pond should be at least eight feet deep in the center. This would give the fish an opportunity to place themselves beyond the reach of ice. A pond of fifty feet in diameter would accommodate a reasonable supply of fish for an ^^^ ''M4MJs/MW4i4 ^x m i! 1 '31 7, T i| 1 Ill HOW TO THATCH BOOFS. 270 THE FARM, ordinary family if the fish are properly fed. Perhaps there is no fish so well calculated for tliis character of farming as the carp. It feeds on vegetables, and in its habits has about the relation to an ordinary game fish that the farm yard fowl has to the game fowl. A Snggestioii for Drainage— A Missouri farmer relates an experience which offers suggestions, which, while they may not be exactly new, may have for many, great practical value. There were upon his farm several depressions which in wet seasons held ponds of water. To drain these by ordinary means would have been very expensive, because no gravel could be got near the farm, and there was no tile factory in that vicinity. Open ditches were out of the question. The services of an expert well-borer were secured. He sank several test shafts in various parts of the farm, and found that the underlying ground was a tenacious blue clay, fourteen to sixteen feet thick, and almost perfectly impervious. Beneath this was found a strata of white sand. The well-borer and his machine were placed in a wagon, which by means of a long rope was hauled to the deepest parts of a pond about an acre in extent. Here he bored a well down to the sand, completing the operation before sunset of the day when the work began. In thirty-six hours the water had disappeared and the pond was dry. To make this short perpendicular drain permanent he had it cleared of sediment, sunk the shaft about two feet into the bed of sand, and filled to the top -with clean, coarse gravel from a creek bed. The gravel was heaped about a foot high above the shaft to strain the water properly that the shaft might not become choked. They are thousands of places in the West where, year after year, farmers have plowed around such wet spots, giving them up to the possession of rushes and frogs. Yet they could be drained easily by a few houi-s' work. In Western Michigan a large swamp lay for years on the southern edge of a village, a noisome barrier to progress and a bone of contention in village and township pohtics. To drain it a large ditch a mile or two long would have been required; but some one, fortunately, discovered that a thin sheet of clay was all that kept the water from going down into a deep strata of gravel, boulders and sand. The wells were sunk and the swamp thoroughly drained at an almost nominal cost, leaving rich black soil, which is the most produc- tive and valuable in all that district. There may be thousands of similar swamps, where two or three days spent in sinking test shafts would show a ready means for converting sloughs or swamps into fields of wonderful fertility. Important Use of Coal Oil — A Southern farmer says: " I once read an article enumerating some of the practical uses to which coal oil can be suc- cessfully put, in which the writer suggested that it would be an effective remedy against the apparently indestructible bott or grub in horses. I had a horse which had always been sohopelessly infected with bo;h grubs and the small intestinal worm, that he could never be kept in a better condition than that of a skeleton, and with a ravenous appetite, and the best of treat- ment Aviththe use of all known remedies, appeared to be nothing more or less than an improved type of a successful worm manufactory. Out of pa- tience and disgusted with my patient, and not knowing how much kerosene a horse could take without injury, yet determined to " kill or cure " — not caring much which— I commenced to drench with a gill of oil, intending to double the dose every day till a " cure " or a " kill " was effected. On the AROUND THE FARM. 271 first day I gave a gill, on the next a half a pint, and on the third a pint, and it was very soon apparent that that was enough both for the worms and the horse. Large quantities of both kinds passed, and the horse appeared to be on the point of passing too, but he didn't; and soon after all the usual symp- toms of worms had disappeared, and the horse commenced to improve rap- idly in flesh and general condition, and is now in better condition thaa I have ever seen him, and still imprcving. " I also experimented with kerosene on cut nails to make them take the place of wrought nails in a cart body I was building. I brought the nails to a red heat, dropped them into the oil and let them stand until cool, when they could be clinched, bent and twisted into any desirable shape almost with as much case and safety as a piece of wire, of the same size. My cart body required 100 nails, for which any blacksmith would have charged me one dollar. Two pounds of ten penny nails cost ten cents, leaving a balance of ninety cents in favor of the kerosene. This is a small item, but the farmer can save many such during the year, and it is the little things that pay." Draining AVet Liand. — The objects of draining are: 1. To carry off surface water, by open drains. 2. To lower the water line. 3. To prevent waste of the surface-applied manure, by washing off the soluble elements before they become incorporated in the soil. 4. To put the soil in a condition to be benefitted by the use of lime, ashea and alkaline substances. There is no use in manuring or liming land that lies under water half the year. 5. To make the land a better absorbent of ammoniacal. nitrogenous and carbonic acid gases — so necessary for the growth of all crops. 6. To make the soil more porous, so that rains and melted snow shall descend through the soil, leaving their fertilizing elements in the earth that has acted as a filter, instead of flooding the surface and carrying all their rich freights off of the land. The infinitely wise Father has provided a vast reservoir of the richest agricultural elements which He pours upon the earth, in the rain and snow, for us to utilize. The science of agriculture is teaching the wise how to se- cure and utilize these elements. One way to do it is, to render the soil porous and friable, ready to receive and hold the nitrogen and carbonic acid gas that is precipitated upon it in showers and snow. The nitrogen thus precipitated by rains goes down to the alkaline elements constantly being liberated in the soil and unites with the potash, soda and hme, forming the nitrates of lime and soda and potash, thus making the soil one vast labora- tory, on nature's grand scale, for the production of a fertilizer that will never deplete but constantly enrich the lands of the intelligent agriculturist. 7. To enable the farmer to start his plow from ten days to three weeks earlier in the spring, and to keep it going when lands undrained are unfit to work. The time lost on undrained lands in the spi'ing and fall and after lieavy rains, which can be improved on well drained lands, will be sufficient in from one to three years to satisfactorily drain most farms. 8. To make the land earlier and later. Well drained land is much warmer and advances the growth of plants faster than land satvirated with water. As we can start our plows from ten days to three weeks earlier on drained fields than on undrained, there is more than a corresponding differ- ence in maturing of the crops in consequence of a warmer and quicker soil. And as the plow can run later in the season when the fall rains are made to 272 THE FABM. percolate through the soil into drains, so the season is not only earlier in the spring but correspondingly prolonged in the fall, enabling one team to accomplish during the season much more -work. Every farmer knows what a rush and hurry there is, when ground is undrained, to push things when soil is tempered just right for work. Well drained land is always tempered right. Steady work, which accomplishes the most, and not hurry, becomes the order of the day, while there is always time to do everything well. 9. Another object of draining is to deepen the soil. Where the water line has been six inches from the surface, that is the depth of the man's farm for all practical purposes. Neither cereals nor root crops will go down below the water line. Trees do badly. Apples, pears and quinces blight when the top roots go below the water line. Lowering the water line twelve inches gives the tiller of the soil a new farm more valuable than the first. The potash, soda, phosphoric acid and lime of the first six inches has sunk down into the strata below. As these substances, so necessary to the growth of plants, sink down into the earth w^hen wet, so they rise in the form of nitrate when the ground is dry. So that underdraining gives the farmer control by clovering and root cropping, of more valuable elements and greater quantities of them, than he can afford to buy. 10. The last object of draining we Avill mention is, to render the farm and neighborhood more healthy. This is no unimportant consideration. We know of districts of country many miles square which twelve years ago were greatly subject to chills and fevers, biit wluch, by only partially draining and liming, have become almost entirely free fi-om these mafadies. It is just what any thinking person would suppose. Where the land is low and the water li^es either on the surface or within an inch or two of it, the surface vegetation is decomposed by the action of the moisture as soon as the warm rays of the sun fall iipon it. Malarial marsh gas is eliminated; bilious and intermittent fever, stomach and bowel afflictions, that carry off numbers of children, follow as a natural and necessary consequence. Where there is only a small pond hole, that dries up in summer, near the house, doctors are sure to be in demand. Wo hardly know where to stop writing on this important subject. Many other reasons for draining will readily suggest themselves, and farmers should study the various methods of draining wet land. How to Cure Hams. — This receipt is fifty years old, and it is the best. To each twenty pounds of fresh meat make a mixture of one-fourth of a pound of brown sugar and a dessertspoonful of ground saltpetre; rub this well by hand into the meat; then with coarse salt cover the bottom of a bar- rel, say to half an inch; put in hams, and cover with half an inch of salt, and so on until the barrel is full; hams should remain in a cool'place four weeks; Avhen salted, wipe and dry them, and get some whole black pepper, which you must grind yourself, and pepper thoroughly, especially about the hock and bone; let the ham lie for two days; then smoke for eight weeks. Axle-Grease. — A first-rate axle-grease is made as follows: Dissolve half a pound of common soda in one gallon of water; add three pounds of tallow and six pounds of palm oil, or ten pounds of palm oil only. Heat them to- gether to 200 or 210 degrees Fahr.; mix, and keep the mixture constantly stirred until the composition is cooled down to 60 or 70 degrees. A thinner composition is made with half a pound of soda, one gallon of water, one gal- lon of I ape oil, and a quarter of a pound of tallow, or palm oil. , AROUND THE FARM. 273 Driving Nails Into Hard Wood — The editor of an agricultural peri- odical wituessed an experiment of driving nails into hard seasoned timber, fairlj^ dried. He says that the first two nails, after passing through a pine board, entered about one inch, and then doubled down undei» the hammer: but on dipping the points of the other six or eight nails into lard, every one was driven home without the least difficulty. Carpenters Avho are engaged in repairing old buildings sometimes carry a small lump of lard or tallow for this purpose on one of their boots or shoes.. Good Well Ciirtoing.—The best timber for curbing a well is hemlock, which is very durable when under water, and gives no flavor to the water. Of the woods some mention, all would rot very quickly except pine and tamarack, but pine is objectionable on account of its strong flavor. If hem- lock cannot be procured, tamarack would be the best. The timber should be cut in two or three inch planks, and put together by halving the timbers at the end, and holding the halved parts dovetailed or cornered together, so that the sides cannot be forced in by the pressure of the earth, the upper half of one piece fitting upon the lower half of the other piece. To Repair Leaky Roofe. — One of the very best preparations for repair- ing roofs that leak is to procure coal tar at the gas-works, and mix finely- sifted coal ashes or road dust with it till about as thick as mortar. Plaster with this carefully around leaky-roofed valleys or gutters, or about chimney flushings. It will soon set as hard as stone, and apparently as indestructi- ble. This preparation is very cheap, and would probably answer equally well spread all over a rcof previously laid with felt or roofing paper. Once put on properly, it would seem to be there for all time. A Cheap Rain Gange. — To make a rain gauge for farmers' use, just as good as if it cost three dollars, take a quart fruit can free from dents, hold the top in the fire until the solder is melted, then knock it off; place the can on a post, with brackets nailed around to keep it in place. Make a rule six inches long, divided into tenths of inches — one made out of a strip of slate is best. Measure the rain every morning after falling. An inch of rain is a good rainfall, if it comes gently. This in weight will *be 226,875 pounds, or 113 tons 875 pounds to the acre. Burning Stumps. — Tree stumps are said to be easily removed by boring a two-inch hole eighteen inches deep into the stump. Do this in the fall, and fill with a concentrated solution of saltpetre, and plug up to keep out water. By spring it wall have permeated every part. Then fill the hole with kerosene, set on fire, and the whole stump, it is said, will be consumed, even to the roots. It would seem to be feasible, and it is certainly an easy way to get rid of stumps. The ashes Avill remain to fertilize the soil. How to Get Rid of Rats. — The English Standard says: " Several corre- spondents write to announce the complete extirpation of rats and mice from their cow-stalls and piggeries since the adoption of this simple plan: A mix- ture of two parts well-bruised common squills and three parts finely-chopped bacon is made into a stiff mass, with as much meal as may be required, and then baked into small cakes, which are put down for the rats to eat." Wliitewasli Tliat Will Stick. — To make whitewash that will not wash off by the rain, one peck of lime should be slaked m five gallons of water, in which one pound of rice has been boiled iintil it is all dissolved. The rice 274 THE FARM. water should be need hot, and the mixture covered up closely until the lime is slaked. Then add a pound of salt, and the wash heated to boiling when used. It is not an expensive preparation. It can be prepared by any person wishing to use a goqd wash, and is highly satisfactory. Brother farmers, try it. Signs of a Prosperous Parme'r. — When lights are seen burning in his house before the break of day, in winter especially, it shows that the day will never break on the breaking in of the winter of adversity. When you see him drive his work instead of his work driving him, it shows that he will never be driven from good resolutions, and that he will certainly work his way to prosperity. When he has a house sepai-ate from the main building purposely for ashes, and an iron or tin vessel to transport them, it shows that he never built his dwelUng for a funeral pyre for his family, and perhaps himself. W'^hen his hog-pen is boarded outside and in, it shows that he is " going the whole hog or none," in keeping plenty inside his house and poverty out. When his sled is safely housed in summer, and his farming implements covered both winter and summer, it plainly shows that he will have a good house over his head in the summer of early life and the winter of old age. When his cattle are properly shielded and fed in winter it evinces that he is acting according to Scripture, which says that " a merciful man is merciful to his beast." When he is seen subscribing for a newspaper and paying for it in advance, it shows that he is speaking like a book respecting the latest movements in agriculture, and that he will never get his walking papers to the land of poverty. To Clean an Old Roof— Those wishing to know the best means of re- moving moss and earth accumulations from an old shingle roof, are advised to sprinkle lime freely along the comb of the roof, and let the rains dissolve and carry it over the shingles. Every particle of dirt and moss will be re- moved by it. If kept clean, shingles will last much longer. This method is as good and cheaper than any direct application to the shingles. Paint for Farmers — Farmers will find the following profitable for* house or fence pamt: Skim milk, two quarts; fresh slaked lime, eight ounces; linseed oil, six ounces; white burgundy pitch, two ounces; Spanish white, three pounds. The Hme is to be slaked in water, exposed to the air and then mixed with about one-fourth of the milk; the oil in which the pitch is dissolved to be added a Uttle at a time, then the rest of the milk, and after- ward the Spanish white. This is sufficient for twenty-seven yards, two coats. This is for white paint. If desirable, any other color may be produced; thus, if cream color is desired, in place of the part of Spanish white use the other alone. To Prevent a Carriage from Spotting — A newly-varnished carriage is liable to spot. To prevent this some wash the carriage two or three times in clean cold Avater applied with a sponge instead of using a hose; this will help harden the surface, and prevent it to some extent from being injured by the mud or water getting splashed on the job. Never let mud dry on the surface, and then wash off expecting to see no spots on the varnish. You will certainly be disappointed, and the only way to remedy this evil will be to have it revamished. Soft watetia better than hard water for the washing AROUND THE FARM. 275 of carriages, as the lime which is in the hard water is rery liable to injure the varnish. Removing Carbonic Acid Gas or Foul Air from Wells. A corre- spondent gives an account of an extemporized apparatus for removing car- bonic acid gas from wells. It was simply an opened out umbrella let down and rapidly hauled up a number of times in succession. The effect was to re- move the gas in a few minutes from a well so foul as to instantly extinguish a candle previous to the use of the umbrella. Whenever there is an escape of gas in an apartment, the adoption of this plan will be found useful. To Render AVood Uninflammatole—Professor Kedzie, of the Agri- cultural College of Michigan, an expert chemist, says that a paint or wash made of skim milk, thoroughly skimmed, and water brine, will render wood uninflammable, and he proved it by experiment. He said this paint, or white- wash, is durable, very cheap, impervious to water, of agreeable color, and, as it will prevent wood from taking fire, urged its use, particularly on roofs, outbuildings, barns, etc. Remedy for Burdoclcs. — It is said that a certain and speedy remedy for burdocks has been found in kerosene oil. A small quantity poured into the heart of a plant, directly after cutting, leaves no trace of their existence save a small hole in the earth where they stood, Eefined or crude oil will accomphsh the purpose just as well. Paint for One Cent a Pound. — To one gallon of soft, hot water, add four pounds sulphate of zinc (crude). Let it dissolve perfectly, and a sedi- ment will settle at the bottom. Turn the clear solution into another vessel. To one gallon of paint (lead and oil), mix one gallon of the compound. Stir it into the paint slowly for ten or fifteen minutes, and the compound and paint will perfectly combine. If too thick thin it with turpentine. A Good Word for Toads. — Toads, according to Prof. Miles, live almost entirely upon slugs, caterpillars, beetles and other insects, making their rounds at night, when the farmer is asleep— and the birds, too— and the in- sects are supposed to be having their own way. French farmers understand these' facts so well that they purchase toads, at so much a dozen, and turn them loose. Protect tile S-wallow. — Among insectivorous birds the swallow ia worthy of great encouragement. An examination of the stomachs of eight- een swallows killed at different seasons of the year showed that they con- tained an average of 406 undigested insects each, and not a single grain of corn (of any kind), or the least particle of fruit or a trace of any vegetable. Plan for Keeping Hams. — A very good way of keeping hams is to wrap them in strong brown paper so that the ashes cannot come in contact with them. Then pack them in clean, hard wood ashes, in dry boxes or barrels. This will keep well cured hams qiiite sweet, as the ashes serve as a protec- tion against insects. The boxes should be set in a cool, dry place. Improving Lawns. — ^For ridding lawns of unsightly weeds, such as plantain and dandelions, the following plan is recommended by an experi- enced gardener: To the end of a Ught wooden rod attach a small sponge, or better, wind a few thicknesses of cloth around it, dip the sponge in oil of 276 THE FARM. vitriol, and with it touch the heart of the weed. The oil of viti'ol may be car- ried in a wide-mouthed bottle at the end of another rod. Mold ill Cellars. — To get rid of mold in cellars, put some roll brimstone into a pan and set fire to it; close the doors, making the cellar as nearly air- tight as possible, when the fungi will be destroyed and the mold dried up. Repeat this simple and inexpensive operation every two or three months for tAvo or three hours at a time. Thawing Frozen Apples._It is stated by those who have had the ad- vantage of experience, that if apples which have been frozen are thawed in the dark they are uninjured; but if in the light, they very soon become unfit for use. We should suppose the same result woiild most likely appear if the experiment were tried with potatoes. "Wasliing Harness—It is bad policy to wash harness with soap, as the potash injures the leather. If the harness becomes rusty rub off the dirt as well as possible with a soft brush, and apply a dressing of grain black, fol- lowed with oil or tallow, which will fasten the color and make the leather soft and pliable. A Good Suggestion About Harness. — Add a little glycerine to the grease applied to harness, and it will be kept in a soft and pUable state, in spite of the ammoniacal exhalations of the stable, vfhich tend to make it brittle. Gas Tar for "Wagon Wlieels. — A fanner who has tried it speaks in the ■ highest praise of gas tar for painting wagon wheels, stating that it tightens tires and spokes better than anything that can be tried. Mice in tlie Grain Cliest. — If you are troubled about the grain chest with mice, watch for their holes and scatter a little copperas in them. A few grains will drive them away. Rats and 3Iice. — Rats and mice will go into a trap much more readily if a piece of looking-glass is put in any part of the trap where they can see themselves. They are social little creatures, and where they can see any of their tribe, there they will go. This book 13 a complete ready reference library for farmers and housekeepers, being filled with useful fa''.t3, hints and suggestions upon all subjects pertain- ing to rural and domestic afftiirs, embracing the re- sults of experiment and re-tearch by scientific and practical men and women In all civilized countries. It contains the cream or substance of more than a dozen ordinary agricultural an I household books, and is the only first-class work of the kind ever sold at less than six dollars. It is a b )ok to be consulted every day in any emergency, and to be read at all times with Interest and profit. It is Buch a book as every farmer and housekeeper needs and ought to have, supplying the universal want of a re- liable counsellor upon every topic relating to the farm and household, and will save its small cost every week in the year. The work is profusely illustrated, and is divided Into two general headings, viz. : The Farm and The 'Household, each of which occupies half the book. These are again sub-divided into a number of departments, as follows : Rural Architecfure — Fences and Gates —Field Crops — Feriilizers — The Garden — Orchard and Vineyard -Small Fruits — Live Stock— The Poultry Yard — The Dairy — The Apiary — Farm Implements— Around the Farm — Cooking Receipts — Ladies' Fancy Work- Floriculture — The Home Physician —The Toilet -The Laundry — Hints and Helps. All of the above subjects are fully and ably treated in this valuable book. It is a vast storehouse of useful facts, hints and suggestions of the utmost Value to farmers and housekeepers, and no man who has a home and an acre or more of land can afford to be without it. The publishers know full well that farmers are a class who have no money to waste vtpon luxuries, and are equally well aware that the purchase of this book will be to them the most profitable of Investments. While other books of this character are sold for $6 and $10, for all practical purposes they are no better than this. The book meets a universal want, and should find its way into every rural home. The Farm and household CYCL,OP.a;DiA is a large and handsome book of 544 pages, 12mo, printed upon fine paper, and elegantly bound in cloth, embel- lished with artistic designs In black and gold. It contains Two Hundred and Forfy-nine Ilhistrations, the original cost of which was nearly $5,0C0. The book will be sent by mail, post paid, upon receipt of price, only One Dollar. It is as large and as handsomely gotten up as books usually sold at $1..50 and $2, and its contents are worth the weight of the book in gold to every farmer and housekeeper. Address all orders : THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO., Springfield, Mass. N.B.— Every purchaser of this book will receive Fabm and Home for one year. A BOOS THAT EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN SHOULD POSSESS I THE POPDLAR HISTORY of i CIVIL ffAB! We suppose that almost any intelligent American of the present day, if he were limited to the possession of tfuee books, would select as tollows: 1. The Bible; 2. A Dictionarj': 3. A Histoiy of the Civil War. The great Civil War between the North and Soutli, in the years 1861 to 1865 inclusive, was, next to the American Revolution, the most stupendous event in the history oi our great country. During tliose memorable four years, when our lair land was bathed in the blood of its gallant eons, the whole world looked on with breathless in- terest. It is but natural that an event of such paramount importance in our national history should have engaged the attention of every promi- nent American historian. Al- most a multitude of books di- rectly bearing upon the Rebel- lion have been published. Yet it is our firm belief that the War Histories heretofore pub- lished are but meagerly adapt- ed to the wants of the masses of American citizens to-day; first, because they are too ex- pensive, involving an outlay greater than the majority of people can afford to make ; and, second, because they are too lengthy, going so minutely into particulars and details that they become dry and uninter- esting. This work is most aptly and appropriately entitled ' The Popi"l.ar History of the OiviL War," because it meets the popwta/- demand foran aulhentichislory of the Rebellion, written in the most entertaining manner and published at a price within the reach of all. Thebookiaa thorough, complete and authentic history, not only of every imi ortant battle and naval engagement that occurred during the war. but if likewise very complete in its treatmentof the political conditions, sectional differences and other causes which brought on the great conflict. Itis.justsucli a war history as every American citizen should possess, and will prove of the utmost interest and value, not only to those who well remember, and soineof whom participated in the war for tlie Union, but especially to that large class who liave grown to manhood and womanhood long since the war closed, none of whom, not having read and carefully studied the history of the greatest contest of the Nineteenth Century, can claim to be well-informed and intelligent American citizens. The new edition of this book, now offered, is greatly enlarged, both as to size of page and number of page.s, and contains, in addition to the history proper, asketch of The Orand. Army of the Repahllc, bya prominent oHicerof the organization, likewise an appendix devoted to Anecdotes of the JRebelllon, containing a large collection of humorous, pathetic and thrilling nanatives of actual experiences during the war, embracing reminiscences of bivouac and battle-field, camp life and picket duty, thrilling adventures of scouts and spies, narratives of remarkable heroism, stories of prison life, stories of the great Generals, stories of Mr. Lincoln, etc., etc. This additional matter will be found quite as interesting as the History itself, and renders this unquestionably one of the best and most complete War Books ever published. " The Popdlar History of the Civil War " is a large book of 544 pages, 12mo, hand- somely printed in lai^e type upon fine paper, and elegantlv bound in cloth, embellislied with designs in black and gold. It is profusely and elegantly illustrated, the engravings representing scenes of the prominent battle-fields and naval engagements, camp life and picket duty, likewi.se portraits of the great Generals, both Union and Confederate, and other prominent men upon both sides who were identified with the struggle. It is a most magnificent volume, as attractive in appearance as its contents are instructive and enter- taining, and would richly grace any man's library or parlor table. The book will be sent by mail, post paid, upon receipt of price, only Onie Dollar. No other first-class hLstory o£ the Rebellion can be obtained for less than five times that sum, and the majority of books upon this subject cost not less than $10.00. Address all orders : THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO., SpriniTfleld, Mass. N.B.— Every purchaser of this book will receive Fabm and Home for one year. A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE IN EVERY AMERICAN HOME This is unquestionably one of the most interest- ing, entertaining and in- structive books ever pub- Jisbed. It is a universal educator for every member of the family circle, filled ■with useful information from beginning to end, and this Infermation is given in. such an attractive and pleasing way that the book, is quite as entertaining as it is Instructive. It treats of hundreds of subjects of which no man, woman or child who seeks to be weU. informed can afford to be ignorant, yet of which the masses of people are en- tirely unlearned. It con- tains the cream or substance of a dozen ordinary vol- umes, and is one of the most valuable and useful books a family can have in the house. No living man is 80 well informed that he may not learn from it. It is a book for the masses, for old and young, rich and poor, and will be read with pleasure and profit by all. It will likewise be found of great value as a work of reference The book Is profusely and elegantly illus- trated, and is conveniently divided into departments, as follows : Biography.— History.— Natural History.— Travels, Manners and Customs, etc.— The World Illustrated.- Useful Arts and Manufactures.— Trees, Plants, Fruits, etc. — Great In- ventions. — Mining. — Wonders of the Sea. — Familiar Science.— Law for the Masses. —Statistical and Miscellaneous. AH the above subjects are fully and ably treated in this valuable book. It is a vast storehouse of useful and entertaining knowledge— unquestionably one of the best and most valuable books ever published In any land or language. No cyclopaedia ever heretofore published at twice the cost is to be compared with this book in point of artistic make-up, beauty and excellence of illustration, and quality of contents. As a holiday or birthday present for any one nothing more appropriate or acceptable could possibly be selected. The family Cyclopedia of Useful Knowledge is a large and handsome book of 544 pages, 12mo, printed upon fine paper and elegantly bound In cloth, embellished with artistic designs in black and gold. It contains Two Hun- dred and Seventy-three Beautiful Illustrations, the original cost of which was over $.5,000. The book will be sent by mail, post paid, upon receipt of price, only One Dollar. It is as large and as handsomely gotten up as books usually sold at $1.50 and $2, and in the quality of its contents Is worth a dozen ordinary volumes. Address all orders: THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO., Sprin^eld, Mass» N.B.— Every purchaser of this book will receive Fabm and Home for one year. A FAMOUS BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL WORK. LIVES OF OTJE PRESIDENTS! There is no class of men the events of whose lives are so in- teresting to American citizens as tliose who have been elevated to the highest office in the cift of the people. This book contains the hie of every man who has occu- pied the Presidential chair, from George Washington to the present incumbent. The biographies are not brief sketches or outlines, but are full, complete and exhaustive, narrating every prominent event in the life of eacii President, from the incidents of his boyhood down to his death, or to the present pe- riod, together with extracts from his most important speeches and l)ublic documents. Incidental to the biographies, wehaA^e almosta complete history of our country, Irom the time of the struggle for Independence to the present day, for no class ol men have been more closely identified with our 1 ational growth than have our cliosen rulers, and each Adminis- itionhas formed a distinctera in American history. Thus, in tlie life of Washington we have a full account of the military ope- rations during the Revolutionary War, while in the lives of John Adams and Thomas Jefl'erson we are made fully acquainted with the diplomatic and legislative details of that great struggle. In the livesof JamesMadisonand Andrew Jackson we find a history of the War of 1812, in that of Har- rison the exciting incidents of the Wars with the Indians, while in thcee of Taylor and Pierce a full history of the Mexican War is given. Coming down to the late struggle for the Union, we find in the life of Abraham Lincoln a complete "narrative of the political features of the contest, and in that of General Grant an account of the more important military operations. Thus are historj; and biography blended in this book, and the result is a work of the most interesting and instructive character. No person who would be familiar with thehistory of his country and the lives of its chosen rulers (and no American citizen can claim to be well informed witliout such knowledce), can afl'oid to be without this book, and every father should buy it for the instruction of his children. It is written in such an en- tertaining manner that young people will read it as readily as a novel, from which no useful information isgained. The lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln contained in this volume are alone worth the price of the bookr Th new edition of tliis book, now offered, is greatly enlarged, both as to size of page and number of pages, and contains, in addition to the lives of all the Presidents, over one hundred pages devoted to the Early History of America, from the discovery by Columbus to the period of the Revolutionary War. The graphic narrative here given of the early struggles of the Colonists will be found exceedingly interesting, and this additional matter, embracing as it does a complete history of the country during the period preceding the time of Washington, renders the book complete as a history of the United States, as well as one of the most interesting and valuable biographical works ever published. "Lives OF OUR Presidents" Is a large book of 544 pages, 12mo, handsomely printed from large type upon fine paper, and elegantly bound in cloth, embellished with artistic designs in gold and black. It contains a full page portrait, reproduced from a steel plate, of each of the Presidents, with a fac-simile of his autograph, together with many other beautiful and interesting illustrations, such as the birthplaces and early homes of the Presidents, historical scenes and incidents, public buildings, etc. It is a book which would grace any library or parlor table; it is a book which will be read with both pleasure and profit, and may be handed down in a household from generation togeneration, for itis a nar- rative of facts and not of fiction, and will be ,iust as interesting and instructive to your children's children as it is to yourself. "Lives of our Presidents" will be sent by mail, Tiost-paid, to any addres.s, upon receipt of price, only One Dollar. It is the cheapest book of the kind ever issued, no work of its scope and character ever having been published heretofore for twice that sum. Address all orders : THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO., Springfleld, Mass. N.B.— Every purchaser of this book will receive Fabm AND Home for one year. A BOOir THAT EVERY LADY NEEDS, THE LADIES' GUIDE TO FAMTCY WOHK. How to make the Home Beautiful at small cost is asubject now uppermost in the mind of every lady of good taste. This book is a complete practical instructor in every description of Ladies' Fancy Work, and the only first-class work of the kind ever publislied at a low price. It contains nearly 300 Illnstratlons, and the instruc- tions given are so plain and simple tliat by their aid even a child may make the many beautiful things which the book describes. It gives plain and practical instructions in Drawing, Oil Paint ing and making Wax Flowers ; likewise all kinds of Fancy Needle Work, Artistic Embroidery, Lace Work, Knitting, Tatting, Crochet and Net Work. It contains designs for Monograms, Initials, Cross Stitch Patterns, Knit Edgings, Embroidered Bor- ders and Corners, Macrame Work, Applique Em- broidery, Berlin Work, Java Canvas Work, Tricot and Burlaps, Antique Lace, Beaded Lace, Darned Net Work, Tidies, Lambrequins, Ottomans, Counterpanes, Rugs, Carriage Robes, Brackets, Wall Pockets, Waste Paper Baskets, Work Boxes, Work Baskets, Work Bags, Pen Wipers, Hanging Baskets, Catchalls, Pin Cushions, Foot- stools, Handkerchief Boxes, Glo%'e Boxes, Card Baskets, Sofa Pillow's, Table Covers, Table Scarfs, Screens, Scrap Bags, Hand Bags, Table Mats, Toilet Mats, Lamp Mats, Lamp Shades, Pillow Shams, Pillow Sham Holders, Curtains, Toilet Stands, Picture Frames, Slipper Cases, Letter Cases, Toilet Sets, Clothes Brush Holders, Cigar Boxes, Hassock* Sachets, Fancy Purses, Slippers, Dressing Gowns, Music Portfolios, Knife Cases, Fans, Flower Baskets, Plant Stands, Flower Pot Covers, Shawls, Dress Trimmings, Window Shades, Feather Work, Spatter Work, Leaf Photographs, and many other things. It is Shook that should be in every American household. With it as a guide you may make hundreds of beautiful things for the adornment of your home and for presents to your friends at the most trifling expense, and no employment for ladies is more fascinating and useful. The book will repay its smal 1 cost many times over in a very short time. Every lady will be delighted with it. It is a large book of 64 large 3- column pages, with handsome cover, is finely printed, and, as above stated, contains nearly 300 illustraitions. It will be sent by mail, postpaid, upon receipt of price, only Tiventy-fiTe Cents . Address all orders: THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO., Spriiigrfleld, Mass. Books, Three Cents Each! The followinpr books are published in neat pamphlet form, many of them handsomely illustrated, and all are printed from good tyf>e ujjon good paper. They treat of a ijreat variety of subjects, and we think no one can examine the list without finding therein piany that he or she would like to possess. In cloth-bound form these books would cost $1.0i) each. Each book is complete in itself. 1. The Widoic Bedott Papers. This is the book over which your grand mothers laugh- ed till they cried, and it is just as funny to- day as it ever was. 2. Fancji Work for Home Adornment, an entirely "new work upon this subject, con- taining easy and practical instructions for making fancy baskets, wall pockets, brack- ets, needle work, embroidery, etc., etc., pro- fusely and elegantly illustrated. 3. Grimm's E, a book which tells how to perform hundreds of amusing tricks in magic and instructive experiments with simple agents. 10. The Home Cook Book and Family Phg- /tirian, containing hundreds of excellent cooking receipts and hints to housekeepers, also telling how to cure all common ailments by simple home r dies. 11. ilannem n, Cu.itoms in Far Atray Lands, a very int. -estlng and instructive book of travels, describing the peculiar life, habits, manners and customs of the people of for<»ign countries; illustrated. 12. Sixteen Complete Stories by Popular Authors, embracing love, humorous and «letective stories, stories of society life, of adventure, of railway life, etc., all very in- teresting. la. The Bwlgel of Wit, ITumor and Fun, a large collection of the best funny stories, sketches, anecdotes, poems and jokes that have been written for some years; illus- U. Uoeful Knowledge for the Million, a hundybbok of useful information for all, upon many and various subjects; illustrat- ed. 15. Called Bark. A Novel. By Hugh Conway, author of '• Dark Days," etc. 16. At the World's Mercy. A Novel. By Florence Warden, author of "The House on the Marsh," etc. 17. Mildred Treeanion. A Novel. By "THE DUCHK8S," author of " Molly Bawn." etc. 18. Dark Days. A Novel. By HUGH CON- WAY, author of "Called Back," etc. 19. The Mystery of the Holly Tree. A Novel. By the author of " Dora Thome." 20. Shadows on the Snow. A Novel. By B. L. Farjeon, author of "Bread-and-Cheese and Kisses," etc. 21. The Grey Woman. A Novel. By Mrs. Gaskell, author of " Mary Barton," etc. 22. The Frozen Deep. A Novel. By WILKIK Collins, author of "The Woman in White," etc. Zi. Red (T,)urt Farm. A Novel. By Mrs. Henry Wood, author of " East Lynne," etc. 24. In Cinrid's Net. A Novel. By the author of "Dora Thome." 25. Bark to the Old Home. A Novel. By Mary Cecil Hay, author of " Hidden Perils," etc. 26. John Bowerlmnk's Wife. A Novel. By Miss Mulock, author of "John Halifax, Gen- tleman, "etc. 27. Lady Gwendoline's Dream. A Novel. By the author of " Dora Thome." 28. Jasper Dane's Secret. A Novel. Bf Miss M. E. Braddon, author of "Aurora Floyd," etc. 29. Leoline. A Novel. By Mary CECIL HaT, author of "Brenda Yorke,"etc. 30. GahrieVs Marriage. A Novel. ByWiLKIK Collins, author of " No Name," etc. 31. Darid Hunt. A Novel. By Mrs. ANN S. Stephens, autlior of " Fashion and Famine," 32. Reaping the Whirlwind. A Novel. By Mary Cecil Hay, author of " Old Middleton's Money," etc. 33. Dwlley Carleon. A Novel. By Miss M. E. Braddon, author of "Lady Audley's Secret." etc. 34. Essica- or. The Mystery of the Head- lands. A Novel. By Etta W. Pikrce, author of "The Birth Mark," etc. 35. A Golden Daicn. A Novel. By the author of " Dora Thome." 36. Valerie's Fate. A Novel. By Mrs. ALEX- ANDER, author of "The Wooing O't," etc. 37. Sister Rose. A Novel. By Wilkie Col- LIN.S, author of "The Woman in White," etc. .38. Anne. A Novel. By Mrs. Henry Wood, author of "East Lvnne," etc. 39. The Laurel Bush. A Novel. By Miss MuLOCK. author of "John Halifax, Gentle- man," etc. 40. Amos Barton. A Novel. By Georoe Eliot, author of "Adam Bede," "The Mill on the Floss," etc. 89- Any /our of the above books will be sent by mail, post-paid, upon receipt of 19 Cents; any ten for Ita Cents; any twenty forSO Cents; the entire list (40 books) for 91.00. Address all orders : THE PHELPS PUBLISH 1X6 CO, V >i fi CI ^ Sprliigrfleld, Masis. 8 95 i ?> ^ \f ^^^ - ^ ' i:^^^ N^^. '"oo^ :( ^^^' '^-- .^^ ,\^' ^.^ 1 -