THE GENESEE FAKMER. 



281 



SPnUT OF THE AGKICULTUKAL PRESS. 



4.PPI.TING Manors in the Aotumn.— The last number 

 ►f the Country Gentleman contains a valuable article on 

 'Fine Pulverization of Manure." The importance of in- 

 onoratine the manure vfith the soil is insisted upon, 

 i' After the manure is spread upon the soil, and before 

 •iowingin, great benefit is derived by thorough harrow- 

 iig with the top soil, thus breaking finely both the ma- 

 ure and the soil, and mixing them well together. 



"Anoth«r way for the perfect diffusion of the manure 

 mong theparticles of earth, fs to spread the manure in 

 utumn, so \hat all the rains of this season may dissolve 

 he soluble portions and carry them down among the par- 

 icles, where \hey are absorbed and retained for the grow- 

 2g crop, 



" In experiments which we have witnessed, where the 

 lanure for the porn was thus applied in autumn, it has 

 fforded a yield 9f about seventy bushels per acre, when 

 iesame amount applied in spring gave only fifty bush- 

 Is. A thin coating of manure applied to winter wheat 

 t the time of sowing, and well harrowed in, has increas- 

 d the crop from seven to ten bushels per acre — and in 

 ddttion to this, by the stronger growth it has caused, as 

 rell as by the protection it has afforded to the surface, it 

 as not unfrequently saved the crop from partial or total 

 rinter-killing. 



" In cases when it is necessary to apply coarse manure 

 t once, much may be done in lessening the evils of 

 oarseness by artificially grinding it into the soil. The 

 astrument called the drag-roller — which is like the com- 

 lon roller set stiff, so as not to revolve — has been used 

 ■) great advantage for this purpose, by passing it over 

 be surface in connection with the harrow. We have 

 aowQ this treatment to effect a thorough intermixture, 

 ud to more than double the crop obtained by common 

 lanagemeut with coarse manure." 



Hon't sknd Poor Sheep to Market. — The New York 

 rrihune, in a recent report of the sheep market, says: 



Mutton in good condition sells at 7 to S cents per 

 ound. The prospect of prices ruling low from this time 

 n are almost certain, as pelts, although all the time in- 

 reasing in value, do not increase in price. A large pro- 

 ortion of the sheep in market of late are too thin for 

 rofit to the producer or consumer, and it is upon this 

 lass that all the serious losses to drovers have occurred. 

 Vill they bear this in mind : that good mutton sheep 

 Iways sell readily at a fair price in this market, and that 

 t is sometimes even difficult to get rid of poor old sheep 

 ,t any rate short of ruinous to owners. Farmers some- 

 iaies buy such stock, but we have not seen one in market 

 or a month at least." 



Time foe Cuttino Timber. — "We have often urged our 

 eaders," says the Gounh^ GeTUleTnan, " the importance 

 if cutting rail and other timber in the summer. Experi- 

 uents of our own, and frequent observation, have satis- 

 ied us that soft wood, cut when the bark peels from it 

 reely, and when it will rapidly season, lasts at least 

 wice as long as winter or spring cut timber. The latter 

 leasons slowly and becomes partially sap-rotten ; the for- 

 mer dries tboroughly and hardens like horn." 



The Price of Wool. — Walter Brown's Monthly Wooi 

 Circular says : " We have to report a dull market in do- 

 mestic fleece during the past month, caused by the ex- 

 treme figures at which farmers have held their wools in 

 the country, and the unwillingness of manufacturers to 

 pay such prices, even in this market, while there exists 

 so much doubt as to what goods will bring when made. 

 In such a state of affairs we can not expect much ac- 

 tivity, and should this dullness continue, growers may 

 have to accept considerably less for their wool than they 

 could have obtained in the early part of the season ; still, 

 while everything is so unsettled, and so many and vari- 

 ous causes are operating upon the interests of the trade, 

 it is almost impossible for any one to predict with any 

 degree of certainty the state of the market in the future, 

 and those best acquainted with the business confess them- 

 selves at fault. We are of opinion, however, that ex- 

 treme prices will not prevail this year, on account of the 

 large stock of foreign wools now in market which are 

 being brought considerably more into use than ever be- 

 fore, thus lessening, in a corresponding degree, the de- 

 mand for domestic wools. But little of the new clip has 

 come to market; what has been bought in the West has 

 been chiefly for manufacturers, and they now wish that 

 their purchases had been smaller. The market for pulled 

 wool has also been dull, and although the stock is light 

 prices have declined." 



" Will it Pat TO PSE Plaster?"— This is a question 

 frequently asked. Levi Bartlett, in the Covntry G^n- 

 flenian, closes an article on the subject with the following 

 paragraph, which contains much truth : 



" That plaster is a cheap and valuable manure on many 

 farms, has been thousands of times proven beyond all 

 cavil ; and it is equally true that on other farms its »p- 

 plicixtionwill Twt pay. Experiments alone can practically 

 settle the question for each and every farmer, how far the 

 purchase and use of it will be for or against his pecu- 

 niary interest; and he should be governed in this matter 

 accordingly." 



In this section, on our uplands, plaster almost invari- 

 ably is a profitable application to clover. 



Lice on Cattle. — A correspondent of the Boston Culti- 

 vator says : " No one ever saw an animal in good condi- 

 tion lousy, and no one ever saw a poor one, that was so 

 for any length of time, that was not. This I consider 

 proof enough; but if any one doubts, let him try the 

 remedy of good feed, and he will soon see how much su- 

 perior it is to all the washes so highly recommended. 

 The decay of the skin, consequent on the change from 

 fat to lean, produces lice, and the way to cure a disease is 

 to remove the cause." This remedy is not new, bnt it ia 

 entirely safe and generally quite effectual. 



Cotton in Illinois. — The Illinois Farmer says : " One- 

 half acre of cotton was so nearly ruined by the cut-worm 

 that we had it plowed up and planted to late sweet corn. 

 In all parts of the State we hear the same complaint iu 

 regard to this crop, and it is highly probable that some 

 means will be devised to stop this depredator on this crop, 

 or we shall not be able to grow it." 



A Wonderful Ewe. — The Annandale herald states 

 that James Boyes, of Middlebie, has a Cheviot ewa 

 seventeen years old, that has given birth to forty Iambs, 

 and seems likely to hold out for several years to come i 



