240 



CoKN FODDER. — Mr. Alexander Heed, of Lockhaven, Cliuton County 

 Pennsylvania, reports that bis practice is to cut up his corn as late as 

 be can, and avoid frost. After husking, the stacks are bound and care- 

 fully shocked till cured, then stowed in barn. They are prepared for 

 feed as follows: Each morning and evening the quantity needed for one 

 feeding is cut with a " power-cutter," put in a tight box with a mixture 

 of meal and bran sprinkled in; boiling water is then poured on, and the 

 box closed with a, tight lid, so as to shut in both heat and steam. That 

 steamed at night is warm when fed in the morning, and that in the 

 morning when fed in the afternoon. Mr. Reed states that, prepared 

 in this way, tlie cows eat all the butts, and a ton will produce more and 

 much better milk for butt«r than a ton of the best hay prepared in the 

 same way. 



Breeds df farm animals for hilly regions. — Mr. W. S. Hand, 

 of Lewis County, Kentucky, gives the results of his experience in rais- 

 ing cattle and sheep in different localities. In 1800 he removed from 

 Masen County, Avhich is comparatively level and of a limestone soil, to 

 Lewis County, which is mountainous and its soil a sandy loqiUi. In the 

 latter he found the poorer grazing compensated for, in part, by the ben- 

 eficial effects of pure, soft, running water, as contrasted with the deleteri 

 ous effects of the hard and still vrater of the former. Finding in the 

 county no other than small native stock, he procured a large short- 

 horn bnll, of pure blood. The result was that nearly all the native 

 cows put to him needed assistance in calving, and in many cases both 

 cow and calf perished. Moreover, the bull proved to be too heavy and 

 clumsy for grazing on a mountainous region, and.fiually died in conse- 

 quence of falls and sprains. A large, short-horn cow met with a simi- 

 lar fate. Mr. IJand observed that the light Alderneys, and especially 

 the light and nimble Devons, requiring less food and less trav^eling, as 

 well as having less weight to carry about, would satisfy their wauts by 

 feeding a few hours, and then lie down and ruminate as long. 

 Alternating in this way through tlie day, at its close they would be 

 plump and unwearied, whereas the heavier cattle, having to toil and 

 climb all day in ineffectual endeavors to satisfy their larger wants, 

 would look gaunt and wearied out. His conclusion is, that the smaller 

 and nimbler si)ecies, particularly the red Devons, are the most profita- 

 ble for mountainous grazing, while the short-horns and kindred species 

 are more desirable for fertile plains. He had a somewhat similar ex- 

 perience with sheep. With a view to improve the mutton and wool-bear- 

 ing and fattening qualities of the very small but hardy, fleet native 

 sheep in the county, he crossed them with South Downs vrith very satis- 

 factory results. But an attempt to cross this improved grade with Cots- 

 wolds resulted in the same difficulty that occurred in crossing large with 

 small cattle. The lamb, at the time of birth, was so large that in 

 many cases both it and its dam perished. He claims, however, to have 

 succeeded in breeding a flock of mixed blood, in which the best quali- 

 ties of the South Downs, the Cotswolds, and the natives are united. 



Tea-growing in India. — The experiment of growing tea in India is 

 proving quite successful. In 18G2 the crop was estimated at 1,00U,000 

 pounds; in 187 L at something over 20,000,01)0. It is claimed that India 

 can now compete with China in producing teas of the best quality. 



American plants in England. — The director of the royal gardens 

 at Kew, England, reports as received from this country in 1871, 

 353 packages of seeds, 103 green-house and 52 herbaceous plants, and 19 

 trees and shrubs. 



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