PRACTICAL FARMER. 



115 



The scarcity of bread-stuff, and of forage, &c., 

 lias learned our farmers the value of a[)ples as an 

 article of food for man and beast. Very little ci- 

 der is now made in this neighborhood, but the 

 apples are given to swine and to the cattle, and 

 used on the table. — and indeed we find frouj ac- 

 tual experiment, that baked sweet ap|)!es and milk 

 is far more palatable and nutritious t® an Editor, 

 than " saw dust pudding." — Maine Far. 



Brief Hints for Winter Cattle and all do- 

 mestic animals sliouhl commence the winter in 

 good condition. 



Do not undertake to winter more cattle than 

 you have abundant means of providing for. 



Let every farmer aim to have next spring, in- 

 stead of thin, bony, slab-sided, shaggy cattle, fine, 

 smooth, round and healthy one.s, and to this end 

 let him spare no pains ; and 



1st, let the cattle be ivellfed. 



2d, let them be fed regularly. 



3d, let them be properly sheltered from the pelt- 

 ing storm. 



Pro|ier food and regularity of feeding will save 

 the flesh on the animal's back, and shelter will 

 save the fodder. 



All domestic anima's in considerable numbers 

 should be divided into parcels and separated from 

 each other in order that tl'3 weaker may not suf- 

 fer from the domination of the stronger, nor the 

 diseases from the vigorous;. 



Farmers who have raised root crojis, (and all 

 good farmers have doubtless done so,) should cut 

 them up and mix them with drier food, as meal, 

 chopped hay, straw or cornstalks, and feed them 

 to cattle and sheep. 



Cow-houses and catsle stables, should be kept 

 very clean and well littered. To allow animals 

 to lie down in the filth which is sometimes suf- 

 fered to collect in stables, is perfectly insuffera- 

 ble. By using plenty of straw or litter, the con- 

 sequent increase in the quantity of manure, will 

 much more than repay the supjjosed waste of 

 straw. 



All stables should be properly ventilated. 



Mixing food is generally belter than feeding 

 cattle on one substance alone. 



Cattle will generally eat straw with as much 

 readiness as hay if it is salted copiously, which 

 may be done by sprinkling brine over it. 



A great saving is made by cutting not only 

 straw and cornstalks, but hay also. 



Sheep, as well as all other domestic animals, 

 should have a constant suj)ply of good water dur- 

 ing winter. They should also be properly shel- 

 tered from the storm, for the great point in the se- 

 cret of keeping them in good condition, is to keep 

 them comfortable. — Genesee Far. 



Arsenic — Danger of cleaning bottles with shot. 

 The following important caution has been pub- 

 lished by Dr Murray, in a Leeds paper: — The 

 case of poisoning by arsenic in Jersey, on the 21st 

 of August last, owes its source to a most unwar- 

 rantable i)ractice, and one that cannot be too much 

 reprehended. It appears that the bottle of perry 

 was fatal to one individual, and that three others 

 suffered severely. This practice of cleansing bot- 

 tles with shot is a most dangerous one ; they are 

 apt to adhere to the bottom. Shot is a compound 

 of lead and arsenic — and both are eminently sus- 

 ceptible of chemical attack from the malic and ni- 

 tric ac ds obtained in perry and cider. They will 

 thus have in solution, highly poisonous salts of 

 lead and arsenic. I had myself nearly fallen a 

 victim to a glass of perry, and by analysis discov- 

 ered the cause. The antidote must be two-fold. 

 A weak solution of sulphate of magnesia or Ep- 

 som salts, would neutralize the lead, by forming an 

 insoluble sulphate. Peroxyde of iron, I can also 

 state, is an effectual specific for arsenic. 



Coffee improved. — Cut chestnut meats into 

 pieces about the size of coffee grains, roast and 

 grind them with the coffee in equal proportions, 

 and the drink will altogether is better than ordi- 

 nary coffee. A black [)owder in now sold in Pa- 

 ris, under the name of " Coflee Flowers, impor- 

 ted from America," a pinch of which imparts to 

 the coffee a very agreeable flavor. This is found 

 to be sugar almost entirely charred. Caromel 

 produces the same effects. 



Carrot Pies. — Perhaps it is not known to all 

 your readers, that carrots are so excellent sub- 

 stitutes for pumpkins or squash in making pies. 

 As the latter articles are rather scarce this season, 

 I have used the former, which I find answers very 

 well. The carrots should be stewed (or boiled) 

 and prepared in every respect as squash is, and 

 the pies will be equally as good, and many think 

 preferable. — Bangor Far. 



Huge Puivipkins. — A single Pumpkin Vine, 

 raised on the farm of Mr VVetheril, near Frank- 

 fort, Pa., produced pumpkins to the amount of 

 seven hundred pounds ! One of them measured 

 seven feet four inches in circumference and weigh- 

 ed upwards of two hundred pounds ! It will puz- 

 zle our Yankee farmers to beat this. 



Frkezi.ng. — A young man in this town froze 

 his foot, which was perfectly cured in less than 

 24 hours, by the application of a poultice made of 

 yeast and Indian meal -^ it is equally beneficial 

 when applied to a burn. 



