74 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



Some recommend the plan of dividing the 

 book into departments, as we see in works on 

 cookery — fish by itself— soup by itself, &c. ; 

 but as I said before, I think that all such divi- 

 sions interfere with the simplicity of arrange- 

 ment, which is the surest means of encourage- 

 ment in what might otherwise become a dis- 

 tasteful task. In preparing a work on cookery 

 for the press, of course it is absolutely neces- 

 sary that everything should be classified, and 

 as in that case the whole is completed at once, 

 it becomes comparatively easy. But in a pri- 

 vate book — added to during the most part of a 

 lifetime — it is very different, and there is no 

 better plan than just to jot down recipes as 

 they turn ui), trusting to the index and the 

 numbering of the pages to find what is wanted 

 at a glance. Above and beyond my private 

 recipe book, I compiled (as I once mentioned 

 before in the Ayricidtural Gazette of May 22d, 

 1875) what I called a housemaid's book, which 

 I have founil quite as useful as the other, and 

 therefore I hope I may be pardoned for alluding 

 to it again. 



In the first place, I lay down general direc- 

 tions on matters connected with housemaid's 

 work — little matters that a half-trained ser- 

 vant scarcely thinks worth attending to if di- 

 rected by word of mouth, but which in black 

 and-white assume an unthought-of imiiort- 

 ance. Next, the work is laid out for every day 

 m the week, so that a portion of the house is 

 specially overhauled each day. Besides other 

 items, unnecessary to recapitulate, all the 

 house cleaning recipes are entered in this book, 

 and the person who is to use them has only to 

 ask for an order on the shop when she wants a 

 fresh supply of material. 



With the cook I proceed on another plan. I 

 induce her to set up a book of her own, and 

 when a new dish is introduced I show her, per- 

 haps once, how to concoct it ; I then pencil it 

 on a scrap of paper for her, and she enters it 

 in her book in her own handwriting — plain to 

 herself, if to no one else — and in time she be- 

 comes possessed of all the household recipes, 

 and her mistress will be amply compensated 

 for her trouble by the present comfort of a 

 thing being properly done, and the prospective 

 assurance of the woman going a better servant 

 than she came. 



I fear I have rather wandered from the head- 

 ing of this paper, but as people cannot always 

 remain young, I may, perhaps, be excused for 

 leading up to matters pertaining to riper years, 

 though if young people would take the trouble 

 of trying to impart what knowledge is pos- 

 sessed, it would be found that the very act of 

 teacliing would confirm the understanding and 

 expand the intellect, for it is not always the 

 scholar who reaps the sole benefit. " Willing 

 to communicate," "Apt to teach," are pre- 

 cepts much inculcated in that Book of Books, 

 whose rules of life commend themselves both 

 to faith and reason. — ..1. L. 0. S., London 

 Agl. Gazette. 



^ 



"HOLSTEIN " CATTLE. 



Confusion seems to be getting worse con- 

 founded in the minds of some breeders, and of 

 many purchasers of the large black and white 

 Dutch cattle, which for reasons set forth in 

 the herd book, edited by Mr. Cheney, are 

 styled Hohtein. 



Col. Waring, the accomplishsd editor of the 

 American Jersey Cattle Club Begister, who is 

 as well posted in the matter as any stock 

 breeder, in his I'ecent charming volume, "A 

 Farmer's Vacation," wherein is set forth, 

 among many other tlelightful themes, the as- 

 pects of " Dutch farming," as seen with his 

 own keen eyes, puts the matter in a nutshell 

 in this wise : 



After describing a farm in the old North 

 Holland polder, called the beemster, on which 

 were twenty-five immense Dutch cows, black 

 and white, giving an average of sixteen to 

 twenty-four quarts of milk per day, he says : 

 "The bull w.as a fine specimen of the breed, 

 quite as good as the best of those of his race 

 in this country, where, on the lurus a nnn 

 tece»)do principle, and with our curious facilitj' 

 for calling foreign animals by their wrong 



names — as they do not come from Holstein, 

 and as their equals have never existed there — 

 they are known as ' Ilolsteins ;' just as Jersey 

 cattle are called ' Aldenieys. ' " 



It is conceded on all hands that the Hol- 

 stein cattle are a smaller and different colored 

 race from these big black and white Dutch 

 cattle, and that the importation into this 

 country by Mr. Cheney, on which the Holstein 

 Herd book is founded, were of this latter class, 

 and that the herd huok is confined to these alone, 

 the proprietors and editor excluding cattle not 

 of the large black owl vMte kind, even if they 

 come direct from Holland, or even Holstein — 

 if there are any tliere. No one lias any right 

 to find fault with a herd book devoted to any 

 ])artieular class of stock, and it is only with 

 the name that any dissatisfaction arises, and 

 importers, breeders and purchasers of Dutch 

 stock, or Holstein stock, who have assumed 

 that "Holstein " was used as a generic term 

 to embrace all pure-blooded cattle from tlie 

 "low countries," will feel disappointed on 

 finding that only the "large black and white 

 North Holland Dutch cattle" are admitted to 

 the Holstein Herd Book. But so it is, and 

 the I'equirements are S(j plainly set forth in 

 tlie prefaces of Mr. Cheney to the two volumes 

 of the Holstein Herd Book already published, 

 that no one can err in the matter, and if the 

 brown or red spotted cow, though a fresh im- 

 portation from Holland or Holstein, is re- 

 fused admittance to to tlie herd book, it is so 

 because she is not lilack and white. Cannot 

 this be understood, and our pedigree commit- 

 tees and agricultural correspondents not get 

 more confused on the subject. — R. Country 

 Gentleman. 



VETERINARY NOTES. 



Intbkfehing Horse : I am inclined to 

 believe your liorse the subject of a gross habit, 

 which shows itself at the fetlock, and which 

 has suffered abrasion from striking or inter- 

 fering. I know of quite a large number of 

 boots, but all are more or less liable to cliafe 

 and irritate the joint. I think the verj' best 

 thing you can do is to bathe daily with oak 

 bark one-fourth pound, and water five pints ; 

 boil two or three minutes, and when cool add 

 one pint of acetic acid ; this will keep down 

 fever and brace and strengthen the joint. The 

 best appliance for your case is a stock made of 

 fine kip ; let it be the shape of the shank bone 

 and fetlock joint ; round the edges, punch 

 holes half an inch apart, and lace with a shoe 

 lace. Put this on when at work, and take it 

 off when not at work. Clean and replace 

 when you go to work again. I had a mare 

 wliich wore a pair of these socks so long 

 that my friends named her " leatlier stock- 

 ings." Eventually she got strength in the 

 joint, and I removed the socks. 



Angular Tumor on Jaw : Most surely 

 the enlargement you speak of is a stickfast. 

 The causes are injury from any accident, 

 bruise, etc., chiefly from hereditary predisiw- 

 sition. I think j'ou may venture to veal the 

 calf, as the tumor is inactive, and of so recent 

 a date. You will fail in attempting a cure. 

 If the animal was my own, no matter what its 

 claim to superiority, I should never think for 

 a moment of raising it. 



Swelling on Neck of Horse : Paint 

 constantly with a small brush dipped in 

 strong tincture of iodine. Should this fail af- 

 ter a few weeks' trial, apply instead biniodide 

 ointment. Keep from being chafed or irri- 

 tated, or it will terminate in fistula most 

 surely. 



Sprained Stifle : Absolute rest and a 

 deep, clean bed are needed. Watch him 

 closely in his first attempt to get up. Lift him 

 l)y the tail, so as to iirevent a fall or serious 

 struggle. Feed no grain for awhile ; keep his 

 bowels ojien, and keep the tender jiarts mois- 

 tened Willi oak bark, 1 pound ; water, six 

 quarts ; boiled two or three minutes ; when 

 cool add one quart of acetic acid. 



QuiTTOR : Have the hoof pared thin on the 

 side affected. Open at the bottom, so as to 

 give free vent to the pus, etc. Inject care- 



fully half a teaspoonful of butyr of antimony, 

 or if the opening is large enough, soak a piece 

 of tow or cotton batting in the butyr, and 

 crowd to the bottom. When tlie virus is de- 

 stroyed, which will be after two or three dress- 

 ings, heal by injecting a compound tincture of 

 myrrh and aloes, daily. 



AVeak Ankles in Colt : If the ankles are 

 very weak, and incline to bend back so as to 

 bring the fetlock close to the ground, you will 

 have to rive out some ash or oak splints ; 

 liack the uneven parts with cotton batting ; 

 starch a long cotton bandage, (8 to 1'2 feet 

 long) and evenly apply the splints, and then 

 evenly wind the bandage. Remove every 

 third day until no longer needed. If an ordi- 

 nary weakness, the oak bark astringent lotion, 

 already twice recommended, will be all you 

 will require. — Wm. Home, V. S., in Country 

 Gentleinan. 



THE HAMBURGS AS LAYERS. 



J. G. McKean, of South Ackworth, N. H., 

 writes to the Boston Cultivator that in his ex- 

 perience no variety of fowls equals the Ham- 

 burgs as layers. They are hardy, small eaters, 

 and wonderfully prolific ; but on account of 

 their small size, are not recommended for their 

 flesh. Nothing shows the breeder's skill bet- 

 ter than a well-marked Golden or Silver-Span- 

 gled Hamburg in good condition. It requires 

 much skill to breed them correct in marking, 

 more than any other breed. The great objec- 

 tion to Leghorns is that their combs and wat- 

 tles freeze badly, unless they have very warm 

 quarters. Of course, the Asiatics will endure 

 cold weather the best — but Hamburgs are 

 reasonably hardy in this respect. All remem- 

 ber the old Bolton Grays ; they were about 

 tlie same as the Silver-penciled Hamburgs, 

 only not bred to such perfection of marking. 

 Most farmers will tell you they never had sucli 

 layers as the Bolton Grays. It is not unusual 

 for hens of this breed to lay 2U0 eggs in a 

 year. The eggs are rather small, pure white, 

 and usually very fertile. The hens are good 

 layers till they are three years old, while most 

 breeds are best the first year. Of course, the 

 Hamburgs are not the best for all purposes, 

 but for eggs they stand at the head. They are 

 foragers and somewhat inclined to ramble, 

 but on a farm where there is room, this is no 

 objection. Many tarmers have a horror of 

 the old " settin' hen," and do not want to 

 raise many chickens; this breed is just the 

 thing for such men. I think fancy runs too 

 much now to the large breeds. 



Two Bee Questions Answered. 



A couple of vexed questions about beeS were re - 

 cently answered by Professor C. V. Riley, at a bee- 

 keepers' council in St. Louis. The first query was : 

 ■' Do bees make, or gather honey?" Tlie Professor 

 says they make it. Thus does Science proclaim that 

 the venerable Dr. Watts was wrong when he asserted 

 that the busy bee " g:athers honey all the day from 

 every opening flower." The nectar lying in flowers 

 never would become honey, says Professor Riley, no 

 matter how manipulated by the hands and minds of 

 men ; but it is taken up by the bees and passed 

 through a state of semi-digestion and excretion, re- 

 sulting in the manufacture of what is called honey, 

 yet still retaining in part the flavor or perfume of the 

 flowers, by which we determine one kind of honey 

 from another. Professor Riley's views were corrobo- 

 rated by a paper read by a botanist and chemist of 

 Louisiana, describing the process of change under- 

 gone by nectar in the stomach of the bee, in order to 

 become honey. 



The second question is an interesting one to fruit 

 raisers, as it involves the mooted point of "whether 

 Bees do or do not injure fruit." Professor Riley, on 

 being appealed to, produced an illustration of the or- 

 der of hymenoptera, stating that the mouth of the bee 

 is the most complicated structure in insect anatomy. 

 Its construction, however, is the same as that of the 

 wasp, and no one denies that the wasp is capable of 

 destroying fruit. The Professor thought bee-keepers 

 were prejudiced aganst the idea of such power in the 

 possession of a bee, but it is true. Still, while being 

 capable of injuring fruit, the bees rarely do so except 

 in seasons of severe drought and when urged hy ne- 

 cessity. This fact is no derogation to the usefulness 

 of the insect, for the exercise of its power asapoUen- 

 izer is of undoubted value to the orcliardist, even with 

 all its depredations upon fruit. 



