THE GENESEE FARMER, 



21 



lowed close upon your heels in eveiy furrow you have 

 turned; and when you have retired for rest and re- 

 freshment, still pushes its unremitting laboi"s, crossing 

 and re-crossing in every direction the newly turned 

 furrows — all to clear the soil of those sure harbingers 

 of fate to your crop, the wornis. Such conduct 

 would be better designated by any other appellation 

 than one that denoted good economy, sagacity, or 

 self-inter&st" 



"In selecting steel's for the yoke, judgment and 

 skill are necessary; in temper, motion, build and size, 

 they shoidd be alike; docility, mild temper, rather 

 quick motion, a tight and heavy build, and large sizei, 

 are the desirable qualities of a work-ox. If the op- 

 posite of any of these quahties are found in a steer 

 selected for the yoke, dismiss him at once, and sub- 

 stitute another." 



Another writer says, " the best remedy for the Hes- 

 sian fly is to sow between the 15th and 20th of Sep- 

 tember, giving time for a frost before the wheat is up 

 enough for the inject If the insect should get in 

 the wheat, the best method is to turn on sheep, and 

 feed it short in the fall." 



" If proper selections were made from native cat- 

 tle, and the same care and feed afforded iu rearing 

 such selectioas as are given to the Durhams, I think a 

 stock of cattle might be produced that would com- 

 pare favorably with blooded stock." 



In speaking of potatoes, the following anecdote is 

 related: " A lumberman in St. Lawrence county, New 

 York, economised in this way: potatoes were scarce 

 and dear; he wished to eat and plant out of his small 

 stock; he took his knife and carefully cut each eye 

 out, not much larger than a dime, and saved the resi- 

 due for eating. In planting, he found he had not 

 seed enough to cover his ground. Another resort 

 was had to the knife; each eye was carefully divided 

 into four parts; four pieces only were put in a hill. 

 He harvested a good crop, as good from the latter as 

 from the former cuttings." 



The following, in answer to a circular from the 

 Patent Otfice, written by a farmer of Michigan, de- 

 serves to be extensively copied: 



" Millions of the United States revenue are expen- 

 ded in protecting our commerce. All right. The 

 ai'my and navy, and West Point to boot, are never 

 overlooked, but come in for all the glory and full 

 pay. All light again. But how stands the case ■nith 

 the great mass? Five millions of farm laborers, who 

 have caused civiUzation and science to tread close 

 upon the retreating heel of the ' red man' — who have 

 made the wilderness to ' bud and blossom as the rose' 

 — have made the ' solitary places become vocal ' — 

 who have performed the Herculean task of clearing 

 up the vast expanse of forest from Maine to Texas, 

 and fi-om Florida to the great northern Lakes — who 

 have covered the domain with fertile fields and thrifty 

 hamlets — who have checkered it with roads and 

 thoroughfares — have dotted its surface with school 

 houses and churches — who have done more than all 

 other classes united, to make this 'the land of the 

 free and the home of the brave,' — what has Congress 

 done for them? Why, they have indirectly taxed 

 them for more than two-thirds of the revenues, and 

 given them — what? The Patent Office Report; a 

 work of real worth and utility, a treasure indeed to 



the farmer who is fortunate enough to get a copy. 

 If the supply were equal to the demand, it would 

 give greater satisfaction." 



" The Halls of Congress are fiUed with legal ana 

 commercial men, but few farmers find a seat there; 

 which, in some measure, accounts for their interests 

 being overlooked." 



" As a cliiss, however, we are willing to forget the 

 past if we can but have the assurance that the pros- 

 pects of the future shall not be dimmed by neglect.'' 



" We feel like swinging om- caps, and giving nine 

 of our loudest cheers to the few choice spirits who 

 a.ssembled at Washington last summer, and formed a 

 National Agricultural Society. Their names are a 

 guarantee that something ■will be done. It is hoped 

 that they will cany the ' war into Africa' with Con- 

 gress, and press the subject home upon that body so 

 strenuously, that our uiterests will be duly considered.'' 



" The farmers and jilanters are unable to establish 

 experimental schools, that would have the desired ef- 

 fect. An institution of this kind should have an 

 ' odor of nationality about it' In conclusion I would 

 suggest to the National Agricultural Society at 

 Washington to sound the reveille in earnest, and the 

 yeomanry of every State and Territory in this broad 

 Repubhc will muster and stand ready to wheel into 

 line at the tap of the di-um. The farmers are ripe 

 for action ; all that is necessary is to ' go ahead.' " 



" The growing and fattening of mules is now con- 

 sidered the most profitable business of the farmer in 

 Kentuckj'. So many persons are engaged in it that 

 it has increased the demand for young mules so much, 

 that large numbers have been brought from Indiana, 

 Illinois and Missouri, to be prepared for market in 

 this region of Kentucky. They are generally sold 

 again at two or three years old, and the price is from 

 $75 to ^150, according to quality. Some very infe- 

 rior ones are sold lower, and superior ones higher. 

 A feeder of mules told me to day that the cost of 

 feeding was about %2 a month the first year, from the 

 time of weaning, and $3 a month the second year. 

 The weaning is generally at five or six months old." 



A letter from the territory of Oregon will furnish 

 some idea of its agi-iculture. " The average product 

 wheat per acre is about thirty bushels. The prices 

 of wheat, at this time, cannot be considered as a gen- 

 eral tiling. It is now worth at our barns $3 per 

 bushel, and our best markets are paying $5 per bushel. 

 The average yearly product of butter per cow is 75 

 pounds; average price per pound, fifty cents. The 

 cost of rearing neat cattle till three years old, is noth- 

 ing more than a little salt, and a little time to looli 

 after them. At that age they are worth for beef from 

 eight to twelve cents per pound. Milch cows are 

 worth from $60 to $85." 



How TO Keep Smoked Hams. — A wi'iter m the 

 Farmer's Companion, published at Detroit, states that 

 he has for many years preserved his hams, through 

 the summer, in the most perfect condition, by pack- 

 ing them in barrels, with layers of corn-cobs between 

 them, so that the hams would not come in contact 

 with each other. They should be taken out and rub- 

 bed dry once during the summer. The cask should 

 be placed on a bench or trussel, in a cool, dry cellar. 



