THE GE^TISEE FARMER. 



209 



A Great Cabbage Stort.— The California Farmer, of 

 April 11, says: "We kuow a case where a farmer having 

 a good lot of cabbage is now selling them at $7 to $8 the 

 hundred lbs. ; from this crop alone he will realize some 

 $12,000 to $15,000 for cabbages raised the past autumn." 



To Kill Lice on Stock of all Kinds. — A correspon- 

 dent of the Country Gentleman says: "Take one ounce 

 of ' cocculus indicus,' which should be bought of any 

 druggist at from ten to twelve cents per pound, and steep 

 it iu one gallon of water, and apply as is recommeded for 

 tobacco extract. It will be found quite as effectual, and 

 much more pleasant to use. I have used it with unvary- 

 ing success for killing lice on canary birds. Dip them in, 

 keeping the head out, and soak well. It is perfectly safe." 



Tanning Skins. — A correspondent of the New England 

 Fanner gives the following method of tanning fox and 

 coon skins : " If the skin is green from the body, scrape 

 all the flesh from it, then pulverize equal parts of salt- 

 petre and alum, and cover the flesh part of the skin with 

 it; put the flesh in in such a manner as to hold the brine 

 when dissolved, then lay it away in a cool place, — say the 

 cellar — and let it lay four or or six days; then cover the 

 flesh part with soft soap, and wash oil' clean with water. 

 Dry in the shade, roll and pull occasionally while dry- 

 ing; then roll and pnll until soft and pliable." 



Hungarian Grass. — It is some four or five years since 

 this grass was introduced, and each succeeding year a 

 larger breadth has been sowu. It is now, says the Prairie 

 Farmer, "one of the standard crops of the West." It is 

 a prolific grass, yielding considerably more per acre than 

 either the prairie or tame grasses, and is superior to the 

 common Millet, though not differing materially from it iu 

 its nature. Its seed is more oily, and consequently a 

 heavier feed thau Millet, is a somewhat more vigorous 

 grower, and hence a surer crop. Indeed, so deep-rooted 

 is it, *,hat severe drouth does uot affect it in the least, 

 and it may be sown upon the highest and dryest soils 

 without fear of failure. All kinds of stock, cattle, horses, 

 sheep and hogs are extremely fond of it, and when fed 

 judiciously, we have yet to hear of an instance where any 

 injurious effects have followed its use. Doubtless many 

 horses have been injured, perhaps killed outright by its 

 use, but these cases, to the best of our knowledge, are 

 where the seed has been given immoderately, just as 

 over-feeding of any heavy grain will produce disease in 

 animals. 



Magnitude of the Egg Trade. — Few have any idea of 

 the magnitude of the egg trade carried on between the 

 city of New York and the Western States. The New York 

 Tribune gives the following as one item in the business : 



" One wholesale produce commission house on Friday, 

 May 16th, received 320 barrels of eggs; 1G5 barrels were 

 consigned by one man in Peoria, Illinois, and all came 

 forward in one shipment. These were sold at buyer's 

 risk, at 8$ cents a dozen packers count— the best fresh 

 eggs counted out being worth, say, 10 cents a dozen. — 

 The same house had previously received two shipments 

 of 120 barrels each from the same man, and sold them at 

 10£ cents a dozen. On being advised of the last shipment, 

 the house telegraphed the shipper that eggs had declined 



to 9 cents or less, asking instructions. The shipper re- 

 plied, 'Go ahead; it is your business to sell eggs. I will 

 take care of my end of the line. Lots of hens iu Illinois ; 

 plenty of corn and eggs are cheap.' Decidedly they must 

 be, to pay cost, freight, commission, and a profit on 8§ 

 cents a dozen- Illinois is a great country. Great on eggs, 

 and New York is a mighty place for eating all that Illinois 

 can produce." 



Horsebacks. — The Maine Farmer says : " It is not a 

 little remarkable, that what with us are denominated 

 horsebacks, and which are found in considerable numbers 

 in our State, seem to be a peculiar characteristic of our 

 own soil, as they scarcely occur out of the State, and 

 nothing at all similar to them described out of New Eng- 

 land, unless it be the escars of Northern Europe. The 

 general features of these horsebacks, are a narrow ridge 

 of coase sand and gravel, attaining a height of from 

 thirty to forty feet, situated in a level country, with some- 

 times an undulating summii,the extreme ends being gen- 

 erally of the same elevation above the ocean." 



Relative Value of Food for Milch Cows. — The 

 Scottish Farmer observes : " Several French and German 

 chemists estimate the relative value of several descrip- 

 tions of food for milch cows as follows : That 100 pounds 

 of good hay are worth 200 pounds of potatoes ; 460 pounds 

 of beet root, with the leaves ; 350 pounds of Siberian 

 cabbage ; 250 pounds of beet root, without the leaves ; 

 250 pounds of carrots; 80 pounds of hay, clover, Spanish 

 trefoil, or vetches ; 50 pounds of oilcake or colza; 250 

 pounds of pea straw and vetches ; 300 pounds of barley 

 and oat straw; 400 pounds of rye or wheat straw; 25 

 pounds of peas, beans or vetch seed ; 50 pounds of oats ; 

 or 500 pounds of green trefoil, Spanish trefoil or vetches. 



Cheap Summer Feed for Hogs. — A correspondent of 

 the Homestead gives the following as an economical man- 

 ner of summer feeding hogs, practiced by one of his 

 neighbors. Simon Brown, of the N. E. Farmer, says he 

 has practiced this plan for many years, and finds it an ex- 

 cellent one : "A few rods of grass-plat convenient to the 

 pen is reserved for this purpose, and is manured by the 

 weekly suds from the wash-room. Commencing at one 

 side of the plat, a large basket of the thick, short grass is 

 mowed each morning while the dew is on, and a part 

 given to the swine at each feeding three times a day. By 

 the time the last portion of the grass is cut, the first is 

 ready to be cut again, and in this way the ground is 

 mowed over many times during the summer, while the 

 grass is kept short, thick, tender and sweet. It keeps the 

 hogs in a healthy growing condition — they are fed with 

 as much as they will eat every da}', and but little addi- 

 tional food is required besides the slops from the kfljehen." 



A Stort of a Chicken. — The Boston Journal vouches 

 for the truth of the following story: A friend who keeps 

 poultry had two hens who insisted upon setting on: one 

 nest. The result was not altogether favorable, although, 

 after awhile, the bipeds managed to divide the eggs. — 

 Only one chicken was hatched from the whole nestfull. 

 Both hens undertook the duties of mother to this chicken,, 

 and were quite motherly for a week, when both took it 

 into their heads to go to roost at night, utterly regardless 



