lS-5.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



i91 



mere and otliers ehoiilil propnro to prnfit by tin's iiro- 

 niiKiiifrdeniiiiKl. An cxtrn iimnlnToriu'ns sliould he 

 lii'pt, anil extra attiiilioii sluiulil lie }rivcii tlirni 

 tlinmirli till" winter. Tlie eowssliouUl also be warmly 

 honsed ;\nd lilierally fed. 



In the matter ol' attendiner eows, wc tliiuk a mis- 

 take is made by the neirleet they often have to en- 

 dure. One eow well fed anil attended to, will make 

 more butter than three that reeeive siieh neirleet as 

 we frefiiu'iitly see euws suderinir under. A eow that 

 has to piek most of her feed from the eorn stalks 

 thrown on the nuiinire pile, and is left to shiverin the 

 eold and wet, or before the rude blasts of winter, is 

 not (xoini^ to produee any butter worth speakini; of. 

 Let <rood stock be obtained, and careful treatment be 

 given, and the result will be satisfactory. 



Centennial National Cook Book. 



The Women's Centennial Kxeeudve Cotnmittee in- 

 tend issuiui;- a luUioinil cook book. It is dcsiyned to 

 make the book purely .\nicricati and as far as possi- 

 ble, receipts common to all nations will be excluded. 

 It is believed that a vabnible book can thus be com- 

 piled. For the furtherance of this object they ask 

 the aid of the women of America. No receipt will 

 be too homely if eharaclerislic of the country. Dishes 

 peculiar to rich and ]K)orare desired. If economical, 

 and at the same time iiOod,so much the better, t-'oups, 

 fish, shell-tish, meats, frame, eakes, i)astnes, [nid- 

 dinirs, sauces, and venetalilesirivemdiniilcd resources. 

 Of bcveraires they hope to obtain a choice collection. 

 The executive committee are anxious to lie-in on this 

 book at once, therefore contributions are requested 

 without delay. Send them to .Mrs. E. U. Gillespie, 

 {)0:> Walnut street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 



How to Wash Woolen Clothing. 



Prof, .\rlus, who has devoted himself to the dis- 

 covery of the reason why woolen cjothin;;- when wash- 

 ed with soap and water, will insist upon shriukinjr 

 and beeomiiifr thick, and aec|uirini,' that peculiar odor 

 and feeliiiii: that so annoys liousc-keejx'i-s, says these 

 evil effects are due to the decomposition ofsoa]>by 

 the acids jircsent in the perspiration and other waste 

 of the skin whieli the clothim,' absorbs. The fat of 

 the soap is then precipitated upon the wool. These 

 effects may be prevented liy steej)ins): the articles in a 

 warm solution of wasbiui;- soda for several hours, 

 then addimf some warm water and a few drops of 

 atumonia. The woolens are then to be washed out 

 and rimel iu luke-warm water. 



Imperfect Potato Tests. 



Mr. J. L. Perkins, of IlarrLson county, Iowa — who 

 thinks his locality has " the greatest soil in the world 

 for potatoes, when the season is justrif;ht,as this has 

 been in all respects "^sends a statement of the yield 

 of several varieties from one pound of seed of each. 

 The tubers were cut into sinirle eyes, and planted 

 three feet apart each way, in rich, loamy land, eon- 

 taininsr a lar^e proportion of deeayed vegetable nuit- 

 ter. No manure was used either before or after 

 lilantiug. 

 Variety. Yield, Us. | Variety. Yield, ll.s. 



Eur ekh s,-,ll , E I rly Eclirse 315 



Suowflake saij Geucrol Grant :1I2 



Nor'eeucli T30 I*eerle88 305 



Conrpti'U'B Surprise 728 Early Rose .'J(tO 



Early Ohio 525 1 Excelsior -iHl 



Berlin Seedling 4*i(> I Car] euter'e Seedling 2S() 



Early Veirnout 41C|Strawberr-y 254 



Late KoBe 415 1 Prince Allrert Wll 



Brown's Seedling 413,(nim:ix 218 



Early Favorite 4|lllnircl<cye 214 



Morning Glory 3W 1 Whil e Peacbhlow 2IJ0 



Brownell's Beauty 33a'.Ier'8ey Peachblow isl 



Ice Cream 320,0 irni'tjell's Late Rose 1.50 



Interesting as such experiments are to determine 

 the relative produetiveiress of a snrall ipiantity of 

 seed, they are of little |iractieal consci|Uciice to the 

 potato grower. In such cases, were the number of 

 hills of each kind stated, the value of the tests would 

 be inueli enlianeed. The Kureka, for instance which 

 gave .\Ir. Perkins tire largest yield, is a |K>tato with 

 too many eyes, and of it thei'e were no doubt nrore 

 hills planted tlranof .Snowllake, Browirell's l^eauty, 

 and other kinds with but few eyes. The iprantityof 

 seed irsed irr planting is really of little imjrortance to 

 the farmer, as a bushel or two nrore seed jht acre 

 does not conre into consideratioir when thereby the 

 crop is itrereased twenty or thirty brrsliels. What the 

 farmer wairts to know is, of what variety of potato — 

 quality and price beirrg irearly eriinil — he can raise 

 the lai'gest crop per acre, and orr this the knowledge 

 of how many potatoes carr be grown fronr oire pound 

 of seed throws but little light. 



The New York Trifniiif says Mr. Perkins corrsiders 

 the Snowllake as the best potato he has ever grown. 

 With hinr it is a spleirdid cropper, very uuiforirr in 

 Bixe, perfectly smooth, peels without waste, cooks 

 through eveirly, is very white and lloui-y, and, iu 

 short, has no defect » hatever. Many eories|)oirderrts, 

 from different states, are forwarding similar reports 

 as to the value of this new variety. 



Protect Domestic Animals from Cold. 



Outhouses, kept in suflielent nuirrber and In good 

 repair, will as certainly pay as well-eultivaled fields. 

 Much sickness and death of live stuck may fre pre- 

 vented by Judicious feeding, shelter and liyirienieeirre. 

 M'liaf is so often ascribed to bad luck ought irr truth 

 to be ascribed to the slothfu] habits and ignorance of 

 fai'mers. Nature eoniniits the dorncstie animals to 

 mair as a part of his stock-irr-trade ; but the laws of 

 animal life and health are not suspetrded, and the 

 farmer wliosc iiroceilure violates these laws must pay 

 for his igniirarree or carelessness in money or its 

 ei|uivalent. IJnt doinestie aniurals arc srtbject to the 

 sairre diseases as nrair — pneumonia, tyi'hoid fever, 

 inllammation of the bowels, iV;c. These diseases are 

 prodrteed by sinritar or the sanre causes as iir man. 

 No nratter how borrrrtifrri irr r{uarrtity or good iir ipial- 

 ity the food for stock may be, if they have not srtlli- 

 cient pi'otectiorr or shelter fronr the sevcrv wiirler 

 w iirds ami i old raiirs, the loss, if not of life, will 

 necessarily be very considerable. If a nran will bitt 

 observe the cll'ccts of eold raiirs on hogs, cattle and 

 Imi-ses, he will certainly observe the necessity of 

 shielding 1 hem from it. It is impossible that the iror-- 

 mal irrocesses of digestion and assimilation of food 

 eatr proceed regrrlarly when the arrimal is exposed to 

 all the sever-ities of the weather. No doubt this is 

 one reasoir why domestic breeds so rapidly degener- 

 ate when pirl tVom rrirder the care of nran. It is iro 

 uncomrrron thing to see fanners' stock horrses wretch- 

 edly orrt of repair — the svinds whistlirrg throngh them 

 aird the I'ains driving iirto them, making them damp, 

 iriereing cold. Thetr it is ofterr the ease that hogs 

 have rro slrellei' other than they cair tind themselves. 

 The ipralilies ofairinrals thusexposed inir.sl iirevitably 

 degerrerate, so that loss is sustained, although it may 

 escape the observation of the stupid farmer, who sui>- 

 poses that mart alone rreeds proteetioir fronr the weath- 

 er. Fi-onr this orre cause nrairy a farmer loses Iruu- 

 dreds of dollars every year. 



Mingling the Manure of Horses and Cattle. 



The aeeumulations of the hoi'se stables, and also 

 of the stables of eows and other neat cattle, should 

 always be mingled together in the yar-d or compost 

 heap. Ilerrcc stables should opeir into yards over 

 which the litter from the horses and eows should be 

 regularly sprcrrd evei-y day. By this nreans alotre 

 will a good resrrlt be obtained. The respective merits 

 of boxes and foldyards for fattetring cattle in a great 

 measui'e deperrd rrporr the qirality of dtrng they turn 

 out. The box is eeoirourieal irr tlie matter of straw, 

 and will be esteenred for this ivasoii in sidiur'bair dis- 

 tricts. It is also favorable for the niarrufactui-e of 

 good marrure, as being irnder cover, the liquor is 

 wetted by the droppings of the animals only. The 

 Iryre, savs The Agi'k-t/lfHfid (iazcttc, is still more 

 eeoironrical of straw, but is not favor-able to the manu- 

 facture of good manure, owiirg to the aniiuals being 

 tied up. Litter fronr byres ought to be thr-owir out 

 iirto courts and trodden down with yorrrrg stock. 

 Foldyards reqrrire much litter, as they are always 

 nrore or less opeir, and are I'ur this reason jrrelerrcd 

 irr rural districts, where the valrte of straw is not yet 

 felt. Excellent manure may be nranufaetured in 

 small troughed folds, with a eoirsiderable propor- 

 tion of shedditrg. Cattle will do well in airy of these 

 forms of accommodation, but if tied uii iir byres it 

 will be humane, as well as protitahle, to have them 

 brushed arrd curry eombed daily. It must be remem- 

 l)ei-od that animals thus confined cannot lick or rub 

 themselves, and that they ar-e deprived of the cooling 

 elfeets of air and rain. 'The skin rrnder theseeircum- 

 stanees becomes irritable, and especially where, as is 

 often the ease in byirs, dirt adheres to the animal, 

 brushing and cleansing the skin and attention to the 

 state of the feet eaunot be too strongly enforced. 



Using Raw Material to the Utmost. 



One of the greatest discoveries ever ehronieled, is 

 that of petroleurrr. Its imiMrrtanee is even yet but 

 half comiireherrded. Natui-e's economy, in all of her 

 prodrretions, is in no instance more strikingly illus- 

 trated than the varied merchant a hie commodities that 

 are wroirght from crude oils that are so hounlifully 

 deposited in some sections of our country: and the 

 great waste that attended its treatment would do for 

 an excellent text for a telling sermon on the startling 

 igirorance of man and its rapid disappearance under 

 the incisive ap|ilieation of his inlelleet. Ul>on the 

 first discovery ol'the oil in the Pennsxlvania districts, 

 ol'eourse iinmcnsc quantities were lost while yet in a 

 crude state, owing to the inadequate means and eon- 

 trivances for preserving it; then irr treating the pro- 

 duet the residue in the stills of the reliner was re- 

 garded as fit only for luel. This was. however, soon 

 found to bean error, and the tar was taken from the 

 oil retinery, submitted to anotlier treatment, and 

 paratine oil is the result; again a residum was found, 

 aird this iu its turn is now pressed and relined, ami 

 enters largely into tlie manufacture of candles; sub- 

 initterl to a still further treatiueut, the wax becomes 

 a transparent and tasteless mass, in which condition 

 it is converted into chewing gum. .\fter undergoing 

 all these various treatments, there still remains a 

 hard crisp cinder, which still contains sullicicnt live 



matter to render it combustible and fully equal to the 

 best coal in its heating qualities, and this, nofwlth- 

 staiidiiig the fact that In itslalter treatment the mass 

 is submitted to a white heat, which we would natu- 

 rally suppose would so thoroughly ilisintegrate the 

 matter and render auy residue unfit for any puriiose, 

 much less a fuel. 



Bran and Cornmeal for Cows. 



The I'nietiail Fartmr says It Is well settled in tlio 

 opinion of all oirr best dairymen that bran great ly 

 jiroiiiotes the milk secret ions in cows, and II is led al- 

 most universally. About equally nilxeil with corn- 

 meal is the usual proportion. This mixture seems to 

 |iiomote both quantity and quality of milk. From 

 several sources we hear that buckwheat bran Is a 

 great producer of milk, and II is being used consider- 

 ably among our Chester county dairymen in alM>ut 

 the same pro|nirti(m as the other. Thomas Gawthrop, 

 near West drove, Chester county, also, by repeated 

 trials with his own cows, has fully sat Islled himself 

 that they do as well with corn and cob meal and 

 bran, as with pure corn and meal and bran. 



The amount of nutriment In eorn cob Is bo very 

 small that the result will have to be explained on the 

 suptiositinii I if I he ground cob acting to promote diges- 

 tiorr by distending the stomach. The presence of 

 bulky material being necessary to distension and 

 fill up the stomach of ruminating animals, before di- 

 gestiorr can be accomplished, is frequently lost sight 

 of. Ilungar-ian grass is also found for milch cows to 

 be rather superior to the onlinary run of hay. The 

 last year or two Hungarian grass has loomed up won- 

 derfully in the estimation of our dairy farmers, and a 

 very large sco[ie of land was soweil with it this sea- 

 son. It matures for cutting in about sixty days, ami 

 luoduees two to four tons per acre — the latter of 

 course on good soil. Three iiecke to the acre is the 

 usual allowance of seed. 



How to Feed Corn Stalks Properly. 



The rearing and feeding of animals air receiving, as 

 they should, from farmers and herdsmen in all parts 

 of the country, greater attention every year; and es- 

 peeially is this true of dairymen, whose only hope of 

 gain rests in their success in olilaining paying yields 

 from their cows. Corn stalks enter largely into the 

 fall feed of daii-y cows, and how to feed them is the 

 important question. The conimon practice is to feed 

 them in the bundle, as but few farmers feel able or 

 w illing to use a cutting iiiaebirre. This fivding in a 

 bundle, without any preparation, I am fully satislied, 

 is very wasteful, as not only are the butts left, but 

 f jequently nearly the whole stal k . The Ires' invest inent 

 a farmer can make in this ease is to buy a good fodder 

 cutter. A eorres|ionilent says : 



" I have learniil by ex|H'rience that a little brine 

 sprinkled \i\xm stalks oirce every day, just before 

 feeding, is of material advantage iu many re8|K'ets. 

 The weak brine will cause the cows to consume 

 nearly all, even when fed whole; the How of milk 

 increases, the eorrdiliouot Ihecows iiiipmve, andthey 

 show greater eoiitcntmcnt. Esiiceially is the last 

 remark true on cold, windy and rainy days. I find 

 it much better,as a general rule, when it can be done, 

 to feeil salt on the fuod, inslead of leeding it alone. 

 In no case should more that one day be [KTinitted to 

 pass without it. (lows should have ru-eess to plenty 

 of water. The brine fool will cause them to drink 

 more, and thus increase the How of milk. Let my 

 brothers try it, andthey will hcreaflerplace a greater 

 value upon eorn stalks." 



Nevada's Petrified Forest. 



The Winncmueea (Nevada) 7oi/iM(if, describes a 

 wonderful natural curiosity in the form of a petriHed 

 forest. Wiimemueca is a [Kist village of alrout :!(I0 

 population, in llumbolt coun'y, Nevada, on the Hum- 

 bolt river and the Central PaeiKe railroad, Wi miles 

 last of San Francisco. .Mr. David Kiileouf,of that 

 irlace, Iras been inve.>^ti!;atiuT this wonderful forest, 

 and has seeured a siiecimeii for the Cen:ennial Expo- 

 sition. He says stumps tran.-formed into solid riK-k, 

 stand in an upright iio.-.ition with tlieirroois imbedded 

 iir the soil, as when growing, measuring from fifteen 

 to tweirlv-six feet in circumtercnce; the ground in 

 the vicinity is sirewii with Hie trunks and limbs, 

 which retain their natural sliaiM' and size. .Mr. Hide- 

 out determined to .secure a section of one of these 

 trees for the Centennial cxhibirion, and with 

 two other men s|ienl Iwclvi' days in ciiiting it from 

 the stump. This was aeeomplished by drilling all 

 round the tree and separating it with wedges. The 

 specimeir is three feet high and eighteen feet in eir- 

 eumierciiee, and its cstimaled weight is three tons. 

 It stands on the stump from which it was severed, 

 ready to be hraded on a wacbn. Mr. liideout does 

 not feel able to incur the expense of bringing it by 

 team to the railroad, Ihougli he had once made ar- 

 rangements to do so. lie is anxious to call the atten- 

 tion of the Centennial Coininissioiierb to the matter, 

 and see if thev will not furnish the means to gel It 

 to the railroad. The country in which it is situated 

 is an inviting Held for geologists. 



