18G9. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



423 



in a large number of ca.-^es. the best crops have 

 been from the poorest natural soils, and from ' 

 those most exhausted by frequent cropping. | 

 It is an almost universal fact that wherever 

 the wheat grew mo-t luxuiimtly th(^re the 

 failure has been complete ; wnil^t those crops , 

 that in the early part of the season were the 

 least promising, as a rule, turned out bv fir the 

 be-t sample and the heaviest 3 ield. This very 

 remark ible circumstance, attested by hundreds ' 

 of witnesses, is thus accounted for: Luxuri- , 

 ance in vegetation, like excessive fat in ani- 1 

 mals, is not idt-ntical with vigor. Plants for ed 

 into al)normal luxuri mce are more susceptible 

 of climatic chai:gf"s than thos.e whi<;h are lough [ 

 and hardy. The more juicy and succulent the 

 plant, the more predisposed is it to the inroads 

 of the rust. The pons of the leaf being un- 

 usally open, the minute spores of para-itical 

 fungi can moe readily enter. Then again, 

 the more dense and heavy the crop, the less 

 possible is it for the wind to ciri-ulafe, and the 

 saturated leaves to dry. On the other hand, 

 in a thin, light crop, the leaf pores being less 

 open to the entrance of the rust seed, the dis- 

 ease is not so f<eely propigated, whilst the 

 whole crop is far better situated to enjoy the 

 dr\ing inrtuences of the wind, which retard 

 the development of the parasite. The poor 

 crop has thus the advantage over the thick and 

 luxuriant crop in a season favorable for th-^ 

 development of rust. Hence, so far as red 

 rust is concerned, rich soils, and what is 

 termed "high farming" instead of shutting 

 out the disease or mitigating its severity, op- 

 erate in the contrary direction, al^vays suppos- 

 ing that the climiic cumlitions lavorablc to the 

 devtlupmcnt of rust are present. 



Ttie modus operandi of the disease is two- 

 fold. Ihe rust spares, obtaining entrance 

 through the open sromaia. or breathing pores 

 of the plant are very (juickly d>veioped. and. 

 pushing f jrward roo lets (mi/celia,) gradually 

 work their way along the sap ves-els of the 

 leaf — in all piobabiiity injuiing, by their mul 

 tijjlica ion and progress, its internal m.'chani- 

 cal structure. But the chief damage — or, a' 

 all events, that which can with oiosf certainty 

 be traced — is caused by tht^ absorption of the 

 ■wheat sap by the parasite that h is entered its 

 channels. The juiies ttiat should have gone 

 to nourish the wh^at ear are uitercepted in 

 their progress by the rust fungus, which 

 starves the grain by living on its proper n^mr- 

 ishm'^nt. This is not only deduced from mi- 

 croscopic observations, but is cleai ly demon- 

 strae t by chemical anal) sis. Healthy grains 

 of wheat contain certain definite proportions 

 of ino'ganic ash — thi' a-h, in its turn, contain- 

 ing definite pri>pjrtions of pho-phoiic acid, 

 potash and soda, and magneia. It has been 

 demonstrated that rusted wheat is very defi- 

 cient in that a-h, having someiimes less than 

 on«-'hird its prop' r quantiiy. On the other 

 band, the rust spores, gathered from the rusty 

 ■wheat, yield, on analysis, an extraordmary 



quantity of ash, which is found to contain a , 

 large amount of the constituents present in the 

 ash of healthy wheat, but wanting in the avh 

 of rusty wheat. The commissioners say that 

 crops from seed brought from a distance were 

 affected with lUst equally with that grown in 

 the siime sections; and that the use of gocd 

 plump seed is no protection from the disease, 

 but that in many cases shrivelled an;l inferior 

 seeds have yielded healthier and heavier crors 

 than those raised from first class seed. Still 

 they recommend that the seed be pi kled. for 

 the ptirp ise not only of kiding the fpores of 

 black rust or smut, but also to destroy spores 

 of the red rust whi -h may happen to attack 

 to it. 



CHBESE MAKING IN" A SMALI. "WAY 



Sometimes the farmer who keeps only a f-sv 

 cows to supply his fimily with milk and buiter, 

 would like also to make a few cheeses for fam- 

 ily use He does not care to make cheese to 

 sell and thertf^re hardly feels able to pur- 

 cha-^e cheese apparatus and fit up a dairy 

 house af er the most approved models. 



Let us see how cheaply we can arrange 

 fjr a primitive dairy. If nothing better is at 

 hand a common washtub, clean and sweet, 

 will answer the purpo e for setting the milk 

 and working the curds. 



A hoop mast be had from the cooper. Let 

 It be ten inches in diameter top and bottom 

 by twelve inch's h'gh and fitted wiih a fol- 

 lower. A very good press may be made in a 

 few hours from a twelve foot plank and some 

 pieces of scantliifg. About a foof. from each 

 end of the plank set up two shoit pieces of 

 scantling four and one-half imhes apart. 

 Fasten them firmly to the plank wirh ho^ts or 

 pins. The lever may be a joist four by four, 

 or four by six, and fourteen feet long. One 

 end is to be secured by a pin passing through 

 the uprights at one end of the plank cxnd it is 

 to move freely up and down between he up- 

 ights at the other end. A weight hung at 

 the end of the lever and you have a press that 

 will do good service. 



The hoop is placed near the stationary end 

 of the press- beam and blocks put ufjon the 

 follower and the press beam let down upon 

 ihi m, and in this way the cheese is pressed. 



A long, thin, wo iden knife will do for cut- 

 ting the curds. Now a gallon of good milk 

 (wine measure) will make nearly a pound of 

 cheese. 



Your milk having been placed in the tub 

 and the number of gallons known, a portion 

 may be taken out and heated in pans over a 

 common stove. The pan holding the milk 

 sbould be set in another pan holding w.iter, or 

 over a kettle with water in it, so as not scorch 

 or liurn the milk in the pan. lleat the milk 

 and pour into the tub until the mass indicates 

 a temperature by the thermometer of 85*^. 

 Then add a quantity of rennet (wh ch has 



