THE GENESEE FARMER. 



259 



A Middlesex Farmer, who says he makes several hun- 

 red acres of hay every year for the London market, 

 rites the Mark Lane Express that he has tried fire mow- 

 ig machines, and they were all failures. The grass is 

 eavy, and} " laid all ways and close to the ground." It 

 lakes about two tons of hay per acre. He pays $1.50 to 

 1.75 per acre for mowing the grass, without beer, and it 

 Dsts $1.00 per acre for beer for making, carting and 

 lacking. He " pays hay-makers 62| cents, and carters 

 ad rick-men 75 cents per day, with beer." 



Inquiries and Answers. 



Grass for Name.— (JJ Cuppage, of Orillia, O. W.) The 

 rass you send is the Elymvs mllosus, or wild rye. 



Work on Botany.— (T. C.) You cannot get a better 

 r ork than Wood's Class Book of Botany. You will find 

 , at any bookstore- 



Potatoes.— (J. N.) Pull out the weeds by hand. Do 

 ot let one go to seed. But after the vines are in bloom 

 o not disturb the ground. 



Sowing Timothy and Clover in the Fall.— ( S. W.) 

 Hover is seldom sown in the autumn. The plants are 

 able to winter-kill. For dry, warm soil, however, it fre- 

 uently succeeds quite as well sown in the fall as in the 

 priug. Timothy may be sown with the wheat in the fall, 

 u fact, it frequently succeeds best in this way when sown 

 arly enough, say the first or second week in September. 

 Vhen sown alone, the fall is generally preferred. 



Plaster for Wheat.— (A Canadian.) Plaster or Gyp 

 um is frequently sown on fall wheat in this section. It 

 lay be sown before the last plowing or cultivating, or 

 ?ith the seed, or after the wheat is up, according to con- 

 venience. In regard to its effects on the wheat there is 

 ome diversity of opinion. As a rule, it does not benefit 

 he wheat materially, but it has almost invariably a good 

 fleet on the clover to be sown next spring. It is thought 

 >y some to be better to sow it in the fall on the wheat> 

 imply for its effect on the clover, rather than to sow 

 t on the clover itself. Sow from one to two bushels per 

 icre. 



Best Practical Work on Farming for Canada West. 

 -{R. M. M.) We know ot no work that will exactly 

 inswer your purpose. Allen's American Farm Book is 

 me of the best publications of the kind we have. A good 

 vork on practical agriculture is much needed. We would 



modestly) hint that the back volumes of the Genesee 

 Farmer for the last six years contain more useful, practi- 

 cal information on agriculture and horticulture than can 

 le found in auy book yet published. We can send you 

 he six numbers, handsomely bound, for $5. 



Estimating the Weight of Hay by Admeasurement. 

 —Will you or some of your correspondents give me a 

 -ule for ascertaining the weight of hay in bulk. I have 

 been told that eight feet each way makes a ton. I should 

 be glad to know the truth of the matter.— R. H. Embry. 



We should be glad if some of our experienced corre- 

 spondents would answer the above. Many rules are given, 

 but they vary remarkably. Oue writer in this State says 

 "ten solid yards [270 cubic feet] of timothy will make a 

 ton. Clover will take from 11 to 12 yards to a ton." 

 Another says " timothy and blue grass will take 17 cubic 



yards [459 cubic feet ] to make a ton; and for clover 512 

 cubic feet, or eight feet square." One from Vermont 

 says "From 360 to 500 cubic feet will make a ton, accord- 

 ing to how much the hay is settled." Another authority 

 in New Jersey says " from 700 to 800 cubic feet are re- 

 quired to make a ton of 2,000 lbs ! "j 



The weight of hay, of course varies considerably ac- 

 cording to its character and conditions, the length of time 

 it has been in the stack, or mown, &c. But it cannot vary 

 as much as the above estimates. We think your estimate of 

 512 cubic feet is not far out of the way for ordinary clover 

 hay, but much too high for timothy. We think 400 cubic 

 feet would be nearer the mark for a well settled mow of 

 good timothy hay. Ascertain the length, breadth and 

 height of the mow ; multiply them into each other and 

 divide the product by 400. This would give the weight 

 in tons. For instance, a mow 20 feet long, 20 feet wide 

 and 20 feet high, would contain 8,000 feet. This divided 

 by 400 gives 20 tons as the weight of the hay. 



TnE Points of a Good Pig.— (B. S.) Stevens, in his 

 Book of the Farm, gives the accompanying cut of a good 

 Pig: 



"The head a is small, the face tapering to the snout i, 

 which is short and fine; the ears are set on the crown of 

 the head, being broad, thin, long, and so mobile as to 

 indicate quickness of perception: The value of the head, 

 as an article of food, is indicated by the enlargement of 

 the muscle upou the cheek h: The neck from a to b is 

 full ; the back from b to c, broad ; the rump from c to d 

 full and rounp, and the roundness descends to the hams ; 

 the ribs / are round ; the space behind the shoulder at a 

 filled up ; and so is the flank e ; the shanks k are small 

 and short, and finely tapered. " 



Covering Strawberry Plants in the Faml, &c. &c. — 

 Will tan bark answer to cover strawberry plants in the 

 fall, or what is the best for that purpose. Should any of 

 the leaves be removed with the runners ? (a.) 



What is the best time to cut rail timber? (b.) 



What is the best and cheapest oil for boots, shoes and 

 harness? (c.) 



Should lime be plowed or harrowed in shallow ? (d.) 

 J. W- B., Penn. 



(a.) Manure is better than tan bark for this purpose 

 We would not remove the leaves. 



(b.) The rails will last longer if cut in the summer 

 rather than in the winter. 



(c.) Neats-foot oil is best for harness. Wash and clean 

 the harness thoroughly before applying the oil. 



(d.) It makes very little difference. If anything, we 

 should prefer to plow it in shallow. 



Slug on the Pear. — What causes the pear UujTd? 

 I find upon the leaves of my pear trees a sort of slug or 

 snail, of a greenish color, slimy, three-fourths of an iuch 

 in length, and in shape resembling a pollywog— only it 

 does not taper quite so pointedly. These creatures devour 

 the life and color of the leaf, giving the tree the appear- 

 ance of having been scorched by fire. Is this the blight ? 



