THE GENi:SEE FAEMER. 



77 



SPIBIT OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 



Why Barley so often Fails in New Yoek. — 

 A correspondent of the Country Gentleman^ writ- 

 ing from Madison county, N", Y., after adverting to 

 the benefits derived from the teachings of Jonx 

 JorixsTON, on tlie subject of improving soils by 

 underdraining, etc, says: "The amount of ignor- 

 ance as to true farming is extraordinary. The 

 early settlers found the soil fertile, and they prac- 

 ticed a system of constant cropping, which their 

 children have followed after them till they found 

 that the crops failed, and then they began to look 

 around for the cause. Barley has ceased to be 

 grown in this county, because the land wont grow 

 it ; but many farmers do not know the cause (or 

 wont). They ascribe its failure to unpropitious 

 seasons, insects, defects in seed, etc. One of my 

 neighbors sowed one field to oats seventeen years 

 in succession! and when he wanted to sell his farm, 

 he cited this fact to prove the richness of the soil. 



Sparred Floors for Cattle Stalls. — A Cana- 

 dian correspondent of the Country Gentleman 

 strongly recommends the adoption of Mr. Mechi's 

 plan of having the floors of cattle pens constructed 

 of spars placed If inches apart, so as to allow of 

 the droppings passing througli into a cellar below. 

 He has tried this method both with cattle stalls and 

 hog pens, and says he finds it just the "thing." 

 He found ti>e droppings did not freeze, that the 

 manure was better and more concentrated, that the 

 animals kept very clean and dry, and appeared to be 

 equally as warm as if bedded in straw. For the 

 pig pen the slats are placed closer together. 



HcNGARiAN Grass Injurious to Horses. — An 

 Illinois correspondent of the American AgricvUtu- 

 rist states that last winter several horses became 

 seriously afflicted with stiffness of the joints. They 

 had been kept in good condition on Hungarian 

 grass, and from the fact of other horses tliat had 

 been fed on hay, being exempt from the disease, the 

 general belief is that eating Hungarian igrass was the 

 cause of it — not perhaps the hay itself^ but the 

 seed. He thinks it •c'ught to be cut for hay while 

 iu full bloom. 



Steeping Barley before Sowing. — A writer in 

 the Homestead recommends that seed barley should 

 be steeped before sowing in a solution of copperas or 

 blue vitriol, the same as is often done for wheat, and 

 then rolled in plaster enough to dry it. He says 

 Mt has the effect of giving it a rapid start, and make 

 it come up strong and dark colored. He thinks 

 the benefit ©(^aal to ten. extra loads of manure per 

 acre. 



How MUCH Hay will Keep a Horse. — A cor- 

 respondent of the Wisconsin Farmer states that he 

 has found by twenty years experience trhat 15 lbs 

 of hay and 12 quarts of oat-meal per day will keep 

 a good sized horse of 1150 lbs, weight, in fine con- 

 dition for farm or road work, and that by using a 

 cutting box, one third of the hay can be saved, and 

 replaced by an equal weight of good straw or 

 cornstalks. The usual estimate among farmers is 

 that a horse will generally consume 2000 lbs. per 

 quarter, of 13 weeks, or 22 lbs, per day. This 

 shows how much can be saved by a judicious 

 method of feeding, as a horse will eat considerably 

 more than is necessary for his well being. 



Why Young Men Leave the Farm. — Acer, in 

 the Country Gentleman justly says : " The reason 

 why so many young men at school acquire an 

 aversion to labor, is, because the practical applica- 

 tion of knowledge is not taught In the schools. 

 They learn only abstractions." He instances a 

 neighbor's son who had learned at the Academy 

 all about surveying — only he did not know prac- 

 tically how to measure a ten acre lot, but could 

 do it on paper. 



Unhealthiness of Artificial Manures. — A 

 correspondent of the Marh Lane Express thinks 

 the prevalence of disease among turnips last season, 

 in England, is due to the overdoses of guano and- 

 other artificial manures, given to the soil in order 

 to stimulate it to increased production. Its also 

 cities the expressed opinion of several pra«e{aGal far- 

 mers of the injurious effects of such roots upon 

 sheep and cattle when fed on them. 



How to Prevent Stock from BEtNo, Unruly. — 

 A correspondent of the Ohio Farmer gives it as 

 his opinion, that the common practice of making 

 farm animals jump over the lower rails of fences 

 and bars tends to make them unruly, and says that 

 if the top bar is left up, so that they arc compelled 

 to go under it, they will never learn to jump. 



Large Cow. — The Boston Transcript says that 

 Mr. Ciienery, of Belmont, Mass.. has imported 

 some Dutch cows. Recently several of them died 

 from penumonia. One of these was the largest, 

 animal in the United States, and weighed "3,2 Oft 

 lbs. The skeleton of this animal has been pre^ 

 sented to Prof. Agassiz for his new museum^ 



One Applicatio^j of Guano Suefiqi^nt, — ©^ea.^ 

 Cadwalladee, of Md., who uses some $4,00&-w<>rth 

 of guano per annum, reeomipends s^ §Kkgte appli-. 

 cation of it to worn Qijt larjda naturally fertile, that 

 here its us© should stop ; it has served its purpose, 

 and no second dressing should ever be applied 



