THE GEKESEE FAR^IEK. 



213 



HORSES. 



The N. H. Journal of Agriculture says buying 

 hcl selling horses has beea lively ia that section 

 lie past two months, some at tall figures. Mr. 

 Iaton, the conductor, sold a pair in March, to go 

 3 New York, for $700. Mr. Taggart sold his 

 iSTat Baker" for $'i,0GO. Dr. Geo. A. Crosby 

 Did his roau for $350. S. L. Fogg sold Burgess' 

 air of black horses for $1,000. Frank W. Nichols 

 Did the Smith horse, that came from Cohoes, N. Y., 

 1 a gentleman in Providence for $900. These are 

 le high priced ones. 



Common horses remain quite cheap, but nice, 

 entlemen''s horses, good roadsters, speedy, stylish 

 nd of good size, bring large prices. Notwith- 

 ,anding the drain of liorses for the army, they are 

 a1! plenty. We saw 2,000 horses at Bull's Head, 

 tur weeks ago, for sale, and common horses can 

 e bought very chefip in New York. There is a 

 reat demand for family horses, intelligent, afraid 

 f nothing, that will stand without tying. A store 

 ^agon, baker's cart or something of that sort is a good 

 lace for training such a horse. The old-fashioned 

 ^ay of breaking a horse to a plow, and getting him 

 sed to having traces dangling at his heels, should 

 ot be dispensed with. If more vvere broken so 

 re should not have so many runaways— horses 

 rightened out of their wits when the rigging gives 

 ut. Horses are trained easily, taught to come and 

 ■o at your word, and to obey you. They are 

 Imost as tractable as a dog, and soon, under kind 

 lanagement, come to love to learn. 



ABOUT CLOVES AND ALLSPICE. 



Cloves are produced by a tree which is a native 

 f tha Mulucca Islands, and were like nutmegs a 

 Dngtime ago under the control of the Dutch Gov- 

 rnment, wlio for many years would not allow the 

 rees to grow upon any except the island of Am- 

 loyua, from which the highest priced cloves still 

 ome. The tree is from 15 to 30 feet high, with 

 irge aromatic leav*, and bunches of very fragrant 

 lowers. The spice is the unopened flower buds, 

 yhich are beaten off by means of rods, and then 

 iried. The little ball at the top of the clove is the 

 inexpanded petals ; by softening the clove in hot 

 vater, these can be carefully laid open by_ means 

 if a pin. The main portion of the clove is what 

 vould be the fruit were it allowed to go on and 

 ipen. Our word clove comes from the French, 

 low, a nail— that being the name by which the 

 ?rench call them on account of their resemblance 

 a little nail. They contain a good deal of vola- 

 .ile oil, upon which their value depends. This oil 

 8 sometimes extracted in part, and the cloves after- 

 vards sold. These can be told by their lighter 

 5olor, and by having the buttons or rounded portion 

 )roken off. Cloves readily absorb a considerable 

 imoimt of moisture, and it is the custom of large 



dealers to keep them in a rather damp place, in 

 order to make them weigh heavily, and look fresh 

 and plump. It is bad economy to buy cloves or 

 any other spice in the ground state, as, aside from 

 the risk of adulteration, the oil is absorbed by tha 

 paper in which they are put up. 



Allspice is from a tree, nearly related to the clovo 

 tree; it grows in the West Indies, where it is largely 

 cultivated for the spice, whiijh in this instance is the 

 fruit. The berries are gathered when green, for if 

 allowed to remain on the tree until ripe they have 

 an unpleasant flavor. It is also called Pimento, 

 and Jamaica pepper. The name allspice was given 

 because it was thought to have tlie flavor of cloves, 

 cinnamon and nutmegs combined. 



■WEATHER HINTS FOR FARMERS. 



The following extracts from an English work. 

 Admiral Fitzroy'^ Manual of Practical Meteor- 

 ology, may induce some of our weather-wisfc read- 

 ers to give us some hints on the same subject, ap- 

 plicable to this climate. 



Weather, clear or cloudy, a rosy sky at sunset 

 presages fine weather; a sickly-looking, greenish 

 hue, wind and rain ; a dark (or Indian) red, rain ; 

 a red sky in the morning, bad weather or much 

 wind, (perhaps rain ;) a gray sky in the morning, 

 fine weather; a high dawn, wind; a low dawn, 

 fair weather. Soft-looking or delicate clouds fore,: 

 tell fine weather, with moderate or light breezes; 

 hard edged, oily-looking clouds, wind. A dark, 

 gloomy, "blue sky is windy, but a bright, blue sky 

 indicates fine weather. Generally the softerclouda 

 look the less wind (but perhaps more rain) may be 

 expected ; and the harder, more " greasy," rolled, 

 tufted or ragged, the stronger the coming wind 

 will prove. Also, a bright yellow sky at sunset 

 presages wind ; a pale yellow, wet ; therefore, by 

 the prevalence and kind of red, yellow or other 

 tints, the coming weather may be foretold very 

 nearly ; indeed, if aided by instruments, almost ex- 

 actly. Small, inky-looking clouds foretell rain; 

 light scud-clouds, driving across heavy masses, 

 show wind and rain, but if alone, may indicate 

 wind only. High upper clouds crossing the sun, 

 moon or stars, in a direction difterent from that of 

 the lower clouds, or the wind then felt below, 

 foretell a change of wind toward their direction, 

 . After fine, clear weather, the first signs in the sky 

 of a coming change are usually light streaks, curls, 

 whisps or. mottled patches of white distant clouds, 

 which increase, and are followed by a murky vapor 

 that grows into cloudiness. This appearance, 

 more or less oily and watery, as wind or rain will 

 prevail, is an infallible sign. Usually, the higher 

 and more distant such clouds seem to be, the more 

 gradual, but general, the coming weather will 

 prove. Light, delicate, quiet tints or colors, with 

 soft undefined forms of clouds, indicate and accom- 

 pany fine weather ; but unusual or gaudy hues, 

 with hard, definitely outlined clouds, foretell rain, 

 and probably strong wind. Misty clouds forming, 

 or hanging on bights, show wind and rain coming, 

 if they remain, increase or descend. If they rise 

 or disperse, the weather will improve or become 

 line. 



