1876.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



47 



Sweet M.vcaroni. — Break up a quarter of a pound 

 of the best macaroni intosniall leni,'llis, lunl lioil it in 

 two quarts of water wiDi a larije pineli of salt, uiilil 

 perfectly tender ; drain away Mie water, adil to llie 

 macaroni into the stewpan a cupful of milk and a 

 quarter of a pound of sifted luiup suL'ar. anil keep 

 shaking over the tire until the milk is ahsorhed ; add 

 any tlavoriuir. Stewed fruit may he served with the 

 macaroni. 



Hei) PEPi'EK is said to have a very beneficial elfeet 

 on domestic fowls and cape birds. The article sold 

 in the drug stores is not always fresh, but every one 

 can cultivate the plant easily. The variety eommoidy 

 known by the name of " liird's [leppi-r" is the liest , 

 and the plant itself is so pretty that it is an ornament 

 for a flower stand. Tlie seeds possess a stimulatini; 

 and reviving property. One seed given daily to canary 

 birds, if they eeem drooping, will have an excellent 

 effect . 



A (■ni.EHK.\TEi) Oerinan writer — Dr. Eisner — states 

 that the water in which jiarcd potatoes have been 

 boih'd is admirable for cleaning silver, no matter liow 

 much it lias becotne blackened and tarnished; and 

 especially spoons and forks that have been turned by 

 u.se in eating eggs, may all be polished and made 

 bright by washing them in this water, and afterward 

 rnl)iiing"witli a soft rag without any other applica- 

 tion. The recipe is such a very simple one that every 

 one of our readers may try it for liimself. 



Stewed Appi.es and Hke. — Peel good baking 

 apples, take out the cores with a seooji so as not to 

 injure the shape of the apides : put them in a dce]i 

 bilking-dish and pour over them a syrup made by 

 boiling sugar in the proportion of one pound to a ])int 

 of water; put a little piece of shred lemon inside of 

 each apple and let them hake very slowly until done, 

 but not in the least broken. If the syruji is thin, boil 

 it until it is thick enough ; take out the lemon peel 

 and put alittle jam inside of each apple, and between 

 them little heaps of well-boiled rice. This dish may 

 be served citlier hot or cold. 



Rice Muffins. — Half a pint of riee boiled and 

 mashed very smooth. Soften this paste by slowly 

 adding one cupful of milk, three eggs beaten sepa- 

 rately, and as much Hour as will make it the same 

 consistence as pound-cake batter. Add salt, of course, 

 and bake quickly in rings or small tins. When rice 

 is properly cooked it makes a very nice addition to 

 certain kinds of meats. The grains should be pre- 

 served whole, and not, as is nearly always done, 

 cooked until they become an unsightly mass ; after 

 washing and picking over the grains, put them in a 

 large tin dish or shallow pan, where they will not lie 

 too closely, and, pouring on a little water, cover, and 

 place on the stove or in the oven, wIutc they will 

 cook very slowly ; the steam, being kejit in the dish, 

 causes the grains to swell, and cooks them without 

 destroying the shape. 



Wine made of the Wild (Jrape: Many a house- 

 keeper feels the inconvenieneeof a protracted abseuce 

 from home in summer, when she views her shortened 

 allowance of stores in the way of preserves, pickles, 

 and home-made wines. Yet even late in the fall she 

 may find room for activity. The small wild grape, 

 known to boys as the " bird grape," never attains its 

 full sweetness until after the fall of frost, and makes 

 an exeelleut wine for culinary purposes. Mash the 

 grapes in a large bowl or tub with a mallet, and keep 

 them in a warm place until there is some sign of fer- 

 mentation setting in. Then strain the juice bv drip- 

 ping through a flannel bag or strong yet slightly por- 

 ous cotton cloth. To three quarts of juice add one 

 quart of water and three poundsof light brown sugar. 

 If you put it away in a demijohn, select a warm, dry 

 closet, and tie up the moutii closely with a piece of 

 thin muslin. Do not cork up tight until the whole 

 process is complete. It will be all the better if fer- 

 mentation ensues speedily, but if the jilace of deposit 

 is not warm enough, never mind; as soon as the first 

 warm days of spring come, it will go ou to ferment 

 as though there had been no interruption to the pro- 

 cess, and be none the w orsc for the delay. After all, 

 it will make wine much sooner than if you waited 

 even for blackberry season. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 



The Agricultural Horse. 

 Being at a meeting recently held at Ottawa, 111., 

 by a number of breeders of horses, says a correspon- 

 dent,! was more .strongly impressed than ever with the 

 necessity of a diflTerenl classificati(m of horses at our 

 fairs. It became very evident to my mind that there 

 is a very great demand for one particular class of 

 horses, which, in the present arrangement, has no 

 show for a prize. And, strange to say, too, this class 

 was. at our last Slate Fair, represented in the greatest 

 numbers. We want three distinct classes, or in other 

 words, we want the roadster, the draft, and the agri- 

 cultural horse. This will cover the whole ground, 

 except as to the dilferent lireeds of the respective 

 classes. There are the same reasons for a ring for 

 the ditferent britcds of horses that there are in classes 

 Of cattle, swine, sheep, poultry, etc. In the showing 

 at the fairs, if the comnuttec happened to be com- 

 posed of men prejudiced in favor of either of the 



many breeds, that breed undoubtedly gets the prize — 

 not because he is the best animal, but because he 

 hap[)cns to he of a breed in favor of which they are 

 prejudiced. That we need the roadster liorse all must 

 admit, for light driving and saddle use. .And it is 

 ctpially as admissilde that this is all the practical use 

 we have lor him. That there is a great amtiunt of 

 labor that can only be performed etfectively with tin* 

 heavy draft horse, is also a fixed fact. No one will 

 contenil that either can perform the labor of the 

 other to any advantage. While these are facts that 

 are not ami lannot be disputed, it is equally as evi- 

 dent that there is a class of work that nuist be per- 

 formed by the horse that caiuiot t)e th»ne to any ad- 

 vantage with either the good roaiister or the heavy 

 draft horse. This is very suitably named, in the 

 meeting referred to, the iiffricHllural /un-ff. This class 

 is of more practii'al utility to the masses than all 

 others comliincd ; and in my judgment, instead of 

 receiving the cold shoulder, should, if any partiality 

 l)e shown, have the iircference. This is the horse 

 upon which all are dependent, and might fitly l)e 

 compared to the laboring or producing class of men. 

 The (jncstion often arises as to what constitutes 

 the agricultural horse. It is a question easily an- 

 swered, liut a horse is hard to descrilic, owing cUiefly 

 to the diiVereiiee of opinion as to what will fill the bill. 

 I would say that a lK)rse for agricidtural purposes 

 should be selected solely for that pnr|H)hc, without re- 

 gard to light harness or heavy draft, further than per- 

 tains to agriculture. That some farmers do use tlieir 

 farm horses for buggy and saddle, and all more or less 

 lor heavy draft, is true. The agricultural horse can 

 be used in all these capacities incases of emergency, 

 but selilom profitably. Consequently most farmers 

 keep a cheap, light team to do light work. I shall not 

 attcmiit to describe an agricultural horse in this arti- 

 cle furtherthan to say that about seventy of thceighly 

 imported horses, and all of the grade Norman and 

 Clydesdale, that were exhibited at our last State Fair, 

 should come under that head, weighing, as they did, 

 in high showing condition, from fourteen liundrcd to 

 seventeen hundred pounds — but, reduced to working 

 condition, would have weighed from twelve tosixteen 

 hundred. That a large horse is most iirofitable for 

 agricultural purposes is evident to every farmer. Suc- 

 cessful farmers are scarce that would discard a horse 

 weighing from fourteen hundred to sixteen hundred 

 pounds, and select instead one of the same formation 

 and at the same price that would only weigh from 

 eleven hundred to thirteen hundred pounds. 



Applying Manures. 



Bv a series of experiments made some years ago in 

 England, it was shown that barnyard manure benllt- 

 ed crops most the first season, when covered about 

 two inches deep with soil. This result appears rea- 

 sonable, but the question is, how can farmers place 

 their manure in the ground at this depth ? It is not 

 practicable in any case, but they can approximate 

 to it in some cases. When manure is ploughed under 

 in the ordinary way, some of it is covered too deep 

 to benefit the crop the same season, and it is made 

 available if the land is ploughed the second year; 

 some farmers plough their land, then spread on their 

 manure and harrow it in, but much of it is left upon 

 the surfane, and is partially lost, and the ammonia 

 that goes otT in the atmosphere is the virtue of the 

 manure itself. 



It is strange that we should find intelligent far- 

 mers, at this late day in agricultural progress, who 

 deny that barnyard manure can be injured by expo- 

 sure to the air and sun; yet they do exist ! A few- 

 years agoa farmerin Central New York wroteseveral 

 articles for publication, in which he attemi)ted to 

 prove that when manure lies upon the surface of the 

 land and dries up, its fertility is still in It, concentra- 

 ted in the small crusts that remain ! 



Fanners, let me caution you against the folly of 

 carting your manure upon your fields, and spreading 

 them for a week or longer, before you plough them 

 under. If this be done in the spring, with a warm 

 sun, and high, drying winds, a large portion of them, 

 or rather of the fertility, will pass olT in the atmos- 

 phere. Don't be deceived in this manner while your 

 olfactory nerves bear a pungent evidence of the truth 

 of what I say. Y'ou cannot afford to work your farms 

 on this wasting principle. Manure is money, and if 

 one should see you scattering " greenbacks " over 

 the field, on some windy day, the evidence of your 

 insanity would be but a little more tangible than 

 when you spread your manure, and leave them to 

 evaporate in the sun and by the winds. 



Small Fruit on the Farms. 



To advise a farmer to grow small fruits for mar- 

 ket, and at the same time carry on his farming ojk'- 

 rations, is something we do not do. But there are 

 hundreds and thousands of farmers who have a 

 natural taste for fruit-growing, and to whom farm- 

 ing has become a drudgery— especially that class 

 who are not strong to whom a change is desirable 

 and necessary. To these we would say, if you arc 

 living within three or four miles of a good home 

 market, and cities not far away by rail or steamboat, 

 a change to fruit growing will be both profitable and 



pleasant. The first thing to do is to rent out most of 

 your lanil or let out on sfuires, reserving your home, 

 and say ten or twenty acres of land for your fruit 

 grow iiig operations, ancl if you have a love for the 

 business, and go at It systematically and energetically, 

 yon will make more money from ten acres of land 

 than you have ever made from your farm, and that, 

 too, Willi less real hard work. 



I'lant only of lea<liiig, well-tried sorts, that are 

 tuirdy and productive, give them gornl cultivation and 

 |ilcnty of mulch, and you will reap a large rewanl: 

 and, too, this kind of work makes less hard work for 

 tlie wonii'ii folks, and, besides, supplies the table 

 with fndt dally throughout the year. 



There are farmers who have no liking for growing 

 fruit; but as a rule, these have sons who do not like 

 farming. These are very anxious to keep their Bonn 

 on a farm, away from the city. To such we say, let 

 such a son have the use of a few acres to grftw snuill 

 fruits; and the longer he is engaged in it, the more he 

 will like it, and consequently his altaebmeiits for 

 home stri'ngthens, and. t<M>, by this the table Is sup- 

 plied with luxtirics yf>u would not ilIs|H'nse with after 

 one season's experic-nee. There are so many Inland 

 towns not supplied with fruit and vegetables that we 

 advise the readers of this paper to take advantage of 

 such o|)euiiigs. 



Points of a Jersey. 



Jersey cattU' are steadily grf>wlng in favor at the 

 west. Their especial value for milk and butler pur- 

 I>oses are generally understfMxl. The Koyal Jersey 

 .\gricultural and llortliiiltural S<K-Iety gives a valu- 

 able scab' of iHiints, w hich are everywhere recognlzeil 

 as the standard for Jersey cows and heifers. This 

 breed Is generally admitted to be Ihi- best cream and 

 butler producing breed of cows In the world, and 

 though there Is still some discussion as to the proper 

 color for Jerseys, that of itself Is not a |K)Int of mate- 

 rial imimrtance. In England, just now, the fashiona- 

 ble color is a dundeer color, but it seems harder to 

 determine which is and whiyh Is not the proper color. 

 As will be observed, color Is not included in the 

 scale of Points given below: 



1. Head — Small, fine and ta|)ering. 



2. Cheek — small. 

 ■i. Throat— clean. 



4. Muzzle — fine, and encircled by light color. 

 a. Nostrils — high anil open. 



6. Horns— smooth, crumpled; not too thick at bace, 

 and tapering. 



7. Ears — small and thin. 



8. Ears — of a deep orange color within, 

 it. Eye — full and placid. 



10. Neck— straight, fine, and place<l lightly on 

 shoulders. 



11. Chest — broad and deep. 



I'i. Barrel — hooped, broad and deep. 

 Ki. Well rilibed home, having but little space l)e- 

 tween the last rib and hip. 



14. Back— straight from withers to the top of the 

 hip. 



1.5. Back- straight from the top of the hip to the 

 setting of the tail. 

 IK. Tail— fine. 

 17. Tail— hanging down to the hocks. 



15. Hide— Thin and movable, but not too loose. 

 I'.l. Hide — covered with fine, soft hair. 



211. Hide — of good color. 



31. Foreleg.s — short, straight and fine. 



22. Forearm — swelling, and full above the knee. 

 21. Hindquarters— from the hock to the point of 

 the rump, long and well filled up. 



24. Hind legs— short and straight (below the hocks) 

 and bones rather fine. 



2.5. Hind legs— squarely placed; not too close to- 

 gether when viewed from behind. 

 2fi. Hind legs— not too loose in walking. 

 27. Hoofs — small. 



25. rdder— full in form; i. c. well In line with 

 the belly. 



29. I'dder — well up behind. 



SO. Teats— largely and squarely placed, behind 

 well ajiart. 

 :tl. Milk veins— very prominent. 



32. Growth. 



:i:!. (ieneral appearance. 



:U. Condition. 



Perfection, thirty-four points. 



The Bee-Keeping Industry. 



While it is very easy to write of the pleasures and 

 profits of bee-keeping, amateurs csia'clally must not 

 expect to acquire great and immeiiiale wealth from 

 this source without a corresiiondingoutlay of capital, 

 and above all, ex(H'rienec. That " there's nullions In 

 it," Is perfectly true, but It requires care, untiring in- 

 dustry and close study to be able to secure these mil- 

 lions. 



There are probably 70.0(X) jM-rsons In this country 

 who keep more or less bees, biU If all the lime and 

 money expended were closely aeeounteil for, we doubt 

 If more than three-fourths of the number would find 

 they realized a net profit often i>er cent, on their in- 

 vestment . There are some notable exceptions to this, 

 it Is true, but the men who secure the enormous pro- 



