

THE GENESEE FAKMEE. 



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be ascertained by measurement. The mode is, 

 measure with a tape-line from tlic top of tlie 

 shoulder a to the tail-head c, and mark this for 

 length ; then measure round the body at _/; im- 

 mediately behind the shoulder, and mark tliis for 

 the girtJb ; and on consulting the tables calculated 

 for the purpose of atfordiog the results, the 

 weight of beef will be found. Upon what prin- 

 ciple this rule for measurement is founded I can 

 not s.ay, and suspect that it is entirely empirical. 

 The rules by which the tables are calculated seem 

 to be these two, namely : multiply the square of 

 the girth in inches by the length in inches, and 

 divide the product by 7344, and the quotient is 

 the weight in imperial stones [14 lbs.] Or, 

 square the girth in feet and multiply it by the 

 length in feet, and multiply again by the decimal 

 .238, and the sum is the weight in imperial stones. 

 For Example : Suppose the girth is 7 feet^ or 84 

 inches, and the length 5 feet, or 60 inches ; the 

 weight of beef in imperial stones, according to 

 Strachan's Tables, which are the most recent, is 

 57 sts. 10 lbs. by the former rule, and by the lat- 

 ter it is 56 sts. 4 lb.s. These results show that 

 there is no fixed principle upon which either rule 

 is founded. 



" This seems a very simple process, and so it 

 would always be, were the form of the ox always 

 perfect, which is very seldom the case, the fore 

 and hind-quarters, instead of being equal, being 

 more frequently otherwise ; and were the condi- 

 tion always the same. Therefore, the judgment 

 is called into exercise to make allowance for those 

 diiferenecs. When the fore-quarter seems the 

 heavier of the two, the line should be stretched 

 nearer the head than a, the exact top of the 

 shoulder; and so in like manner, when the hind- 

 quarter seems heavier than the fore, the line 

 should be stretched beyond c. In regard to the 

 girth, it is no uncommon fault in an ox to have 

 the carcass gripped small behind the shoulder, so 

 that the exact girth of such a t-houlder would be 

 below the truth. It is very rare to find the girth 

 too much filled out. You thus see that judgment 

 is required to apply the tape-line to an ox; and 

 as an illustration of the practical effects of mis- 

 applying the tape-line, I may state that one inch 

 only added to the girth and length given in the 

 above example, makes a difference in the above 

 weight of upwards of 2 sts. The addition of one 

 inch in the length is a mistake which may easily 

 be made by the ox merely standing with his head 

 down and back up ; and a similar position may 

 as easily cause an error in the girth. Experience 

 alone can make you proficient in measuring. I 

 knew a steward in Berwickshire who had so 

 much practice in measuring and so frequent op- 

 portunities of verifying his measurements, that 

 ho measured any ordinary sized ox, whether fat 

 or half lean, from one stone to half a stone of its 

 true weight. 



"To an ox from 40 to 70 stones the rule of 

 measurement applies pretty near, if it is applied 

 with judgment, and it is but fair to the principle 

 that it should l)e so applied ; but in weights both 

 below and above these figures the rule is usually 

 at fault." 



Turnips.— I am rather a green farmer at best, and want 

 to know many things which most meu, I presume, are well 

 informed about. 1 wish to know more about the turnip 

 crop and its relation to wlicat growing. I have thought 

 some on the subject, read all I could get, and eaperimented 

 a little, but still I find I have advanced but little in that 

 practical knowledge I need. I had thought of preparing a 

 small piece of ground, and early, say first of May, sowing it 

 to turnips, and then turn them under. Now will' you please 

 give me your opinion on this course. If it is all moonshine 

 say so, and tell me how you would manage. Wm. P. Cusu- 

 MAy.—Jiic/iJi'eld, OMq. 



We like the ideas contained in this letter. When 

 we see farmers wishing to understand the position 

 one crop bears to another in a system of rotation, 

 we feel encouraged to hope a brighter day is 

 dawning on our national agriculture. The posi- 

 tion of the turnip crop, in agriculture, is a subject 

 too extended and too important to be investigated 

 in this place, and we shall recur to the matter 

 elsewhere in the couree of this volume. 



Turnips, when plowed in aa a green crop, are 

 an admirable manure for wheat; but we doubt 

 the economy of so disposing of them. Better feed 

 them to cattle and convey the manure made by 

 the animals eating them back to the soil. The 

 manure thus made will do nearly as much good 

 as if the turnips were plowed under. 



May is rather too early, in this climate, to sow 

 turnips. There would be danger of them running 

 to seed. The first week in June is the proper 

 time to sow ruta baga. The common turnip 

 should not be sown till July, and often does well 

 after wheat — sown in August. 



Please give us the experiments you speak of. 

 They would no doubt be interesting to ns and our 

 readers. 



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Oilcake and LrNSEED. — As linseed oil cake is so very 

 valuable in fattening various animals, would not the seed 

 itself do better? And if so, how could it be best prepared 

 from the unground seed ? It is fur p;\sier for me to grow 

 the seed, than to get either oilcake or the f\eed ground into 

 meal. A Subscriber. — Ftdler^s Point, III. 



Linseed is not more valuable for fattening ani- 

 mals than oilcake ; it is, however, a most valua- 

 ble and nutritious food. For rearing calves, lin- 

 seed boiled into a "tea" or "soup" is second only 

 to nature's food — the milk of the mother. In 

 England, "linseed tea" is used to a great extent 

 in conjunction with skimmed milk, as ft food for 

 rearing calves. It is also made into a jelly, 

 mixed with bran, cut hay, <te., and fed to cattle, 

 forming a most nutritious food. The method of 

 preparing this "jelly," is to soak the seed in cold 

 water for 48 hours ; place it in a cauldron witli 

 about seven quarts of cold water to one quart of 

 seed ; boil the whole gently for two hours, stir- 

 ring it to prevent burning at the bottom. Two 

 quarts of the jelly is the usual quantity given to 

 fattening cattle. 



If it is so easy for you to grow liusced, would 



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