THE GENESEE FARMER. 



17T 



Morgan Horse for England. — The Lewiston (Me.) 

 Journal states that a Morgan mare has been purchased in 

 that neighborhood for a gentleman in Liverpool, England. 

 The price paid was $800. She has trotted her mile in 

 2:50. 



Varnishing Cheese. — A writer in the Dairy Farmer 

 states that it is the practice of some dairymeu to coat 

 each cheese thin ly with a varnish made from shellac dis- 

 solved in alcohol, when about to be shipped for market. 

 It is said to improve the appearance of the cheese and to 

 keep it from losing weight and gathering mold. 



Rat-Killing Association. — We have before alluded to 

 the fact that a rat-killiug association had been formed in 

 Pickaway county, Ohio. It appears from the Circleville 

 Watchman that last season the association, consisting of 

 forty-two persons, killed 17,370 rats, or an average of 413 

 to each man engaged in the hunt ! The Watchman esti- 

 mates that these rats would have eaten 35,000 bushels of 

 grain. 



Big Calves, Lambs, Pigs, etc. — Correspondents of the 

 Maine Farmer are telling big stories of wonderful calves, 

 Iambs, pigs, etc. One had a calf that weighed, as soon as 

 it was dropped, 109 lbs. ; another had one that weighed 

 120 lbs. ; another had a cow that dropped four calves this 

 spring, and the year previous three calves. Another had 

 a lamb which weighed 11 1 lbs. at birth, and 29| lbs. when 

 31 days old. It was half Cotswold. 



A Hen Covered up all Winter. — The Keene Sentinel 

 says a hen was discovered under a girt in a barn in that 

 town, on the 28th of March last, where she had been ac- 

 cidentally covered up with clover hay about the 10th of 

 July — having lain there nearly nine months without any- 

 thing to moisten her throat but the snow that fell near 

 crevices of the barn in whiter. The hen was found alive, 

 but much emaciated, and she " still lives." 



Scours in Lambs. — A correspondent of the London 

 Mark Lane Fxpress says he has lost for the last two years 

 one-fifth of his flock of lambs from scours, and after due 

 reflection he has come to the conclusion that one great 

 cause of the disease is pasturing the lambs in a field that 

 lias been heavily stocked with sheep the previous season. 

 The remedy he suggests is, as soon as the tiymptoms ap- 

 pear, to give them grain and oilcake, well salted, and 

 change their pastures frequently — as often as once a day, 

 if possible. 



Oats should be Sown Thick.— J. D. G. Nelson, of In- 

 diana, writes to the Country Gentleman that he formerly 

 sowed two bushels of seed oats per acre, and was glad to 

 get a return of thirty or forty bushels. Now he sows 

 never less than three and generally four bushels per acre, 

 and if the land is very rich, moist and abounding in veg- 

 etable mould, he sows even more. He now gets fifty to 

 seventy bushels per acre, and is never troubled with 

 weeds. When he sowed thin, the oats frequently lodged, 

 and were full of weeds. 



A Trot on the Ice.— W. W. Moore, of Crowu Point, 

 N. T., writes the N. E. Farmer as follows : " A trot came 

 off on the 14th of April, on the ice, between the black 

 mare Fanny Barret, of this town, and bay mare Green 

 Mountain Queen, of Bridgeport, Vermont. The town of 



Crown Point is situated on Lake Champlain, on the New 

 York side, and Bridgeport ou the Vermont side. The trot 

 was on Lake Champlain between the two places. There 

 was a large number of people on the ice to witness this 

 trot, attracted there not so much to witness the speed of 

 these two beautiful ' nags ' — but the idea of a trot upon 

 the ice on the 14th day of April excited the curiosity, and 

 for that reason much interest was taken. The .mares 

 made a good race, but the result become a disputed point, 

 and was finally left unsettled. Years will roll away be- 

 fore the people in this vicinity will again witness a scene 

 so novel and rare, as a horse trot upon the ice on Lake 

 Champlain on the 14th of April." 



Hogs in Chicago.— The Report of the Board of Trado 

 ot Chicago shows that the number of live and dressed 

 hogs received in that city during 1861 was 675,902. This 

 is 135,516 more than in any former year. 



To Make Sows Own their Young. — A correspondent 

 of the Boston Cultivator says that he had a sow which 

 would not own her pigs, and that after trying various 

 things without effect, he gave her a pint of rum, which 

 had the desired result. The rum was put into the swill, 

 and, he says, " she drank it like any old toper, and was 

 perfectly quiet for three or four hours afterward." The 

 Maine Farmer says [the same prescription will prevent 

 sows from eating their young. We suppose the rum 

 makes them feel comfortable. 



Cold Water for Burns. — Mr.. Seth Hunt, of North- 

 ampton, gives, in an exchange, the following statement 

 of the success of treating with cold water a severe burn 

 and scald in his family: "Cold water was applied by 

 immersion, till the pain ceased; the water being changed 

 as often as it became warm. The part was then kept 

 swathed with wet bandages, a dry woolen one enveloping 

 them, until the injury was healed. The healing was 

 rapid, and effected without leaving a scar. The instant 

 relief which the cold water gave from the excruciating 

 pain, was highly gratifying." 



How to Prove the Vitality of Eggs. — De Berri, Rye, 

 N. Y., writes to the American Agriculturist : " It is em- 

 phatically 'Love's labor lost' to set a hen on eggs lacking 

 vitality. For some years I have generally been success- 

 ul in 'counting my chickens before they were hatched.' 

 About the second week in March I selected fresh eggs of 

 medium size, and set as many hens as possible at the 

 same time. After three days, examine the eggs at night 

 with a light, those having the embiyo chick will appear 

 dark, while those lacking vitality will look as clear as 

 ever. Remove them, as they will not hatch, but are still 

 fit for family use. Transfer the good eggs from one nest 

 to another to make up deficiencies, and give the robbed 

 hens fresh eggs." 



Red and White Clover for Bees. — The Fee Journal 

 (now discontinued) says: "When it happens that bees 

 can not gather honey from other sources, while the red 

 clover is in blossom, they will occasionally resort to this 

 plant for supplies. But they find it difficult to accomplish 

 their object, because the tube of the blossom is so long 

 and narrow, that they can not reach the nectaries in the 

 usual manner. They can only gain access to them 



