California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



fyxxt^mulnm. 



Experience of a Lady Canvasser- 

 Some Hints for Lady Readers. 



Eds. Aoricttltukist. — I have some more 

 subscribers for your monthly, I write to send 

 their names. Such funny times as one has 

 canvassing! I have many an inward chuckle 

 at the excuses people make for refusing to 

 subscribe, half tempted by the showy chromo. 

 To some I set forth in glowing colors the 

 sound temperance views of the editors which 

 forbid the acceptance of liquor advertise- 

 ments, while to others I explained the bene- 

 fits of temperance in diet, and the important 

 hints derived from the Hygienic department, 

 and the valuable information gained on hor- 

 ticulture and agriculture for those cultivating 

 the soil. " Wal now," said one communi- 

 cative old lady, " there's Susan Ann, she sets 

 a store by pictors. Her bedrum is a sight ter 

 behold, with the curiousest scenes out o' the 

 Harper's- Wcek'iei/ and the New York Graphic, 

 is that what they call it? I know pretty well 

 she'd like ter patronize yer. How much do 

 you say for the hull four of them pieters 

 without the paper, which, I dare say, there 

 ain't a soul in the house would ever look at. 

 Not sell the chromos without subscribing 'for 

 the paper? Well I never! There's no use 

 talking, Susan Arm has just enough money 

 laid by to get her a smart hat for the Thanks- 

 giving time, and I don't know about her 

 lajan' it out for readin' matter. I guess, on 

 the whole, you'd better call agin when the 

 gal is to hum, and then we'll give you an 

 answer. ' ' 



Several families had more books and 

 papers subscribed for than they found time 

 to read. One young mother, with three 

 babies todilliug around her, said she could 

 not see her way clear to sit down from morn- 

 ing till night except to tend to baby. "Is 

 there another baby?" I asked. "Yes in- 

 deed!" and she led the way into a back room 

 where lay, stretching itself, a tiny creature, 

 fat and good uatured. The cooking, wash- 

 ing and ironing, and caring for these four, 

 besides the family mending, and meals to be 

 regularly served when father comes home, 

 devolved upon this one young creature, 

 scarcely twenty-five years of age. At night, 

 when all the "bairns" were tucked up in their 

 little beds, I can well imagine the state of 

 mental exhaustion she must be in, and a 

 swift walk in the fresh air would be far 

 more conducive to health than sitting at 

 home reading. 



One whose name I send told me she hoped 

 each paper contained something in the do- 

 mestic line, for really we all need new ideas 

 on the proper way of doing things which 

 cannot be learned from school books. 



Everywhere I go I find women struggling 

 for a better way to get through with life's 

 disagreeable duties. A young wife, fresh 

 from boarding school life, tells me she wishes 

 she could have spent a little time before her 

 marriage in watching a good housekeeper 

 manage her work, for, tht)Ugh her husband 

 provided a Chinee boy to do the cooking, she 

 found it very humiliating to confess even to 

 herself her incapacity to tell him how to con- 

 coct some favorite dish her husband's mother 

 made to perfection. It is well perhajis for 

 the health of the coming generation that our 

 young women are so delicieut in the old sys- 

 tem of cooking which has sent so many to 

 their graves or left them utter wrecks upon 

 society — living illustrations of the efl'ects of 

 intemperance in cooking. If we could but 

 have the new system of simple diet intro- 

 duced and presented in a favorable light. 



these young mothers would spend less anx- 

 ious time nursing their babies through teeth- 

 ing and the little ailments of cliildhood; 

 the wet compress to soothe to sleep when 

 bowels are irritated; the hot bottles for the 

 feet when cold — and many other simple 

 remedies so grateful to the Uttle, fretful suf- 

 ferers. " 



Come all ye successful mothers of strong, 

 healthy children, send in your experience to 

 help other mothers to save theii- little ones 

 from the destroying angel, and nU the good 

 thoughts which come to us in our homes 

 which have a tendency to assist others in the 

 holiest work given to woman, the rearing of 

 the young, let us not keep to ourselves, but 

 share with all who read the columns of the 

 Califoknia AaiiicoLTUKisT. Nell Van. 



NiooLAns, Sutter Co., Cal. I 

 December 8th, 1874. ) 



Eds. Aoeicultpkist : — Please find enclosed 

 $1 75 as per your statement of my account 

 due you. 



I like the Ac ■icultukist as a good friend 

 to the farmer and to all classes of mankind. 

 The cause of my discontinuing to be a sub- 

 scriber is unavoidable, having lost by death, 

 in July last, my wife, daiighter and son — I 

 am therefore left a wanderer on the earth, no 

 permanent home or address. With good 

 wishes for the success of the AomcnLTUKisT, 

 I am, Eespectfully, 



J AS. O. Haeeis. 



We extend our heartfelt sympathy to our 

 friend in affliction, and wish him consolation 

 of spirit above the reach of ill. 



Live Stock and Population. 



Professor Thorold llogers, of Oxford Uni- 

 versity, England, has made up a curious re- 

 turn of the proportion of domesticated live 

 stock to the population in the most pi-ominent 

 countries in the world. It shows the follow- 

 ing results : 



Great Britain has one cow to ever twelve 

 persons, a sheep for ever3'body, and one pig 

 for every six. 



France has a like proportion of sheep, a 

 double share, comparatively, of cows, but 

 only one pig to six persons. 



The Swedes have a cow between three and 

 one-half of them, a sheep between two and 

 three-quarters, and a pig to a baker's dozen. 



There are as many sheep as there are Nor- 

 wegians in Norway, when they are all at 

 home, and two and one-half of them — the 

 Norwegians — are entitled to a cow. They 

 can have one and one-eighteenth of a pig 

 each. 



Denmark has a cow for three persons, as 

 many sheeiJ as persous, and a pig for four and 

 three-quarter persons. 



Prussia, with her usual uniformity, has an 

 equal number of cows and pigs, one to every 

 five inhabitants, besides a sheep apiece all 

 round. 



Wurtemberg has a quarter as many cows as 

 people, a sheep to two and three-quarters and 

 a pig to seven. 



Bavaria rates the same as Wurtemberg, as 

 to cows and sheep, and is as much better off 

 for pigs as one-lifth is better than one-sev- 

 enth. 



Saxony has a sheep and a pig for ever)' 

 eight persons, and a cow for every six. 



Holland has a cow to four, a sheep to four, 

 and a pig to twelve persons. 



Belgium has a cow to every six persons, a 

 sheep to nine, and a pig to eight (which is an 

 Hibernicism). 



Austria has a cow to six, and a sheep and a 

 pig to every five persons. 



Switzerliuid runs up to the Swodish stand- 

 ard on cows, one to three and oue-half per- 

 sons, and has a sheep for five and a pig for 

 seven and oue-half persous. 



We Americans close the list with a cow for 

 every four of us, a sheep apiece, and one pig 

 to every one and one-half. 



Meeting of the National Grange in 

 Charleston. 



The National Grange, Patrons of Husband- 

 ry, of the United States will commence its 

 annual session in Charleston, on the first 

 Wednesday in February, 1875. It will be a 

 great occasion for this city, for the State of 

 South Carolina, and for the South generally 

 — indeed, we may say, for the whole eountn-, 

 since it will promote, as nothing else could, 

 the true unity of the Kipublic and fraternal 

 feeling and kindliness among the people of all 

 parts of our land. It will bring here repre- 

 sentative men from every State and Territory 

 of the Union, and the British Provinces, all 

 working together for the common good and 

 all bound to each other by the most sacred 

 obligations and the closest brotherly ties, 

 The spectacle will be impressive and its sig- 

 nificance of the gravest import. The repre- 

 sentatives of the Granges come here for work, 

 and that work will be of the most serious and 

 important character. We trust it will be wisely 

 performed. But we believe in recreation as 

 well as in work, and the Patrons of Charles- 

 ton anu of the State intend to provide such 

 means of recreation as will make the visit of 

 our brc 'hers and sisters from abroad as xileas- 

 ant as we have no dcnibt it will be profitable. 

 Next mouth we hope to Vie able to give our 

 lirogramme of reception and entertainment in 

 full. In the meantime, brothers and sisters 

 of the North, the South, the East and the 

 West, be assured that a warm, hearty, frater- 

 nal welcome awaits you in this famous old 

 historic "City by the Sea." We open the 

 doors of our homes and our hearts with true 

 Southern hospitality to all who come with the 

 Pass- words and Signs of the "Noble Order of 

 Patrons." — Rural Carolinian for iJecembtr. 



Roots for Stocl< Feeding. 



In Brittany, the parsnip is becoming the 

 favorite root for stock feed, and its culture is 

 exteuchng. In the Channel Islands this root 

 forms a large portion of the fodder to the 

 Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney cows, and 

 much of their value as rich milkers is un- 

 doubtedly due to the use of this root for a 

 long series of years. It is well known to 

 physiologists, says the New York Tribune, 

 how great an effect upon the condition of a 

 breed of animals is caused by a long period 

 of careful feeding, and this is a conspicuous 

 instance of it. This root in many parts of 

 France is substituted for oats as feed for 

 horses, sixteen pounds a day being given with 

 the best effect. For pigs it is also largely 

 used, nine pounds of cooked roots being fed 

 four times a day. One great advantage of 

 this root is its hardiness; the supply for 

 Sjiring may be left in the ground all Winter, 

 and is in the best conchtion to harvest at any 

 time when needed. 



Orange Culture in Upper California. 



The San Francisco Chronical tells of a clus- 

 ter of sixteen oranges on a limb two feet 

 long that grew at Camp Seco, in the orchard 

 of J. J. Mackay. It says: 



The fruit is larger than the Los Angeles 

 oranges and is sweet and juey. The tree 

 upon which it grew is .about twelve years old, 

 but the fruit was gi-afted upon it a few years 

 ago. Jlr. Mackay has been very successful 

 in demonstrating the fitness of that section 

 for the culture of the orange. The trees 

 bear prolifically. One branch in his orchard 

 last season had a cluster of twenty-six 

 oranges upon it. Mr. Mackay has found a 

 ready market for the fruit. In a few years 

 many of the hills of that section, now com- 

 paratively unproductive, will be waving with 

 orange groves ami returning a handsome re- 

 ward to husbandmen. 



Those who taught us to talk omitted to 

 teach us when to hold our tongues. 



