1876.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



95 



traps the liny is put down for tlie horses in tin* baHe- 

 imiit, ami tlic iiiiinurc is put tlirom;h traps into tlie 

 cellar, exeept the horse manure, whieli is uliiizeil hy 

 heini; useil Ibr Ijeildinu'' uniler one i-ow of cuttle bi-rorc 

 it is put helnw. The ttarn is (loul)le-l)oartle(l and 

 battened, and will be painted with niini'ral paint. 



It was bnilt to aeconiniodati' his herds of IShort- 

 ITonis, Avishires and .lersevs, and his tine horses. 

 lie ha.s'.t Sliort-lloins. Ill ,\yrshires (several of which 

 are imported) ami U) Jersi-ys. His hoi'ses are priix-i- 

 pally of noted trottinsr families, exeept in<r a few 

 Clydcs. lie alto keeps a few lierksliires, and some 

 sheep. 



How Plants Feed on Ammonia. 



The odorous clement in niamire, and which ^ives 

 manure its smell, is ammonia, the ehii-f component 

 of which is nitrfuren. It is ipiiti* certain that plants 

 re(|uirc nilroircu ainoni; the esocntial articles of food. 

 But for many years then' has lieen a discussion as to 

 wlu'ther tlic plants absorli nitroLren, or whether it is 

 only taken up by the roots. It is said that M. Mayer, 

 of Ileidclbcrir, has eon<-lndeil his experiments as to 

 the absorbtlon of" ammonia from the air by the leaves 

 of tin' plants ; theoretically, it is jHissible to do so, 

 but the air as a source of ammonia, is of little [irac- 

 ti<al importance. Hcsides.it is next to impoissilile to 

 nnikc plants live in an atmnsphere artitieially en- 

 rii'licti with ammonia ; the soil i.s the real source, and 

 the roots the real aijeiils, by means of which vegeta- 

 tion receives its Mipply of ammonia. 



It is by no means certain, however, that tlio roots 

 are the oidy medium throin^li which the plant re- 

 ceives its nitroj^en. If the curious statenu'nt. eon- 

 eerninjr carnivorous plants be true — if there are 

 jilauts which have the power of catehinf; insects by 

 their leavt's, and in a certain sense eatiiiijf tlu-in, it is 

 equivalent to sayinir that a plant can take in nitroaen 

 by its leaves, and thcR' is no reason why this power 

 may not be extended. Indeed, those who are known 

 as evolutionists, will probably contend that the power 

 to atisort) nitroi^en was possessed before insect eatin;; 

 eoninicneed, the latter process beinij hut a devclojied 

 power dependent on the lirst. Tlie proof, however, 

 that plauts do eat insects, is not yet regarded as ab- 

 solutely certain. They catch ihem. This is un- 

 doubted : but why or wherefore is by no means clear; 

 nor isit, indeed, made manifest that any good 

 ■whatever results to the plant, although thpre Is much 

 that favors the insectiverous views being developed. 

 — Wi-vkly Press. 



About Cheese. 



The Western Jiv nil haB been looking up the figures 

 in relation to the cheese interests of our country. 



The past live or six years have witnessed a perfect 

 revolution in the cheese trade of this country. Prior 

 to 1S70 our ex]X)rts of this staple were insignificant, 

 and for that year they amounted to only about 7,0110,- 

 000 [Kiunds. Since then cheese factories have sprung 

 up all over the country, and the manufacture has 

 been greatly increased and correspondiu^■ly improved. 

 New York has taken the lead in its production ; Ohio 

 comes next, closely followed by Michigan, Illinois 

 and Wisconsin. The production of cheese increased 

 so rapidly that it became a problem of niucli import- 

 ance whether they would find a market, but this 

 problem was quickly solved by the demand from 

 Europe, and in bST2 we exported li(i,0(IO,(IOO jxiunds. 

 Since then there has been a rapid increase in the pro- 

 duction, but the foreign, as well as the home de- 

 mand, has inercascil as rapidly, and in lS7-t the ex- 

 ports exceeded 100,0(10,000 pounds, while fi-om May 

 1, l'S7.5 to March 1, 187(5, only ten months, the ex- 

 jiorts amounted to 107,.').50,OOU pounds. The total 

 Iiroduetion of the United States last year is estimated 

 at about 1.50,000,000 pounds. 



We " beat the Dutch " in cheese, says a contempo- 

 rary, " for Holland, which was formerly the largest 

 jirodueing and exporting country in the world, now 

 falls far below the United .States in quality and 

 quantity. The average annual production of cheese 

 from one cow is ^^20 pound.s, and in a fine irrazing 

 country there is, perhaps, nothing which pays the 

 farmer better as as adjunct to farming operations. 

 Tkcre seems to be no ilan^er of ovi'rslocking the 

 markets, for Europe will take all we can make, and 

 J>ay a fair profit for it. 



Worms in Fowls. 

 Some years ago I had several low Is drooping about 

 with all the symptoms of choU'ra, except that they 

 liiC'cred for a longer period. After experimenting 

 with almost every known remedy, I at length ileter- 

 miucd to make a post mortem examination, and, if 

 possilile, determine the cause. Accordingly I pro- 

 ceeded carefully, that nothing should escape my no- 

 tice. Arriving at the intestines, I fiiund that the en- 

 tire lining was apparently removed, and they con- 

 tained no Ic.'iS than fifty worms, about two inches in 

 length and as thick as an ordin-iry knitting-needle, 

 both ends coming' to a point like a pin. Tlicy were 

 while in color and as tough as sinews. 1 Mien iravc 

 the rcniainimr fiiwls eliwe attention, and frciiuenily 

 saw that as soon as they i)asscd from one fowl 

 another would hastily swallow them, aud, 1 doubt 



not, would soon become all'ceted. At length 1 hit on 

 the lollowinir remedy : Al'ier they hail gone to roost 

 I made a strouLc tea of common worm seed, and /fuve 

 each one atiout three tablcHpo(»hfnls. 



Early next mornini.r, lu'forc they had left the 

 lierclies, I removed the droppin'.' from beneath tlicin, 

 and found it literally alive with worms. I again 

 dosed them on the foliowiiiir eveniin; ; this time they 

 did not expel solart'c a quantity. I thi-n licgan feed- 

 ing thi'in wheal shorts and bran, adilinir a little 

 stimulant, and carefully avoiding anything thai had 

 a tenilency toirritate the intestines. In the course of 

 a week they were sccminirly as lively as ever. Sinci' 

 then I have found, on several occasions, small, coni- 

 cal worms in turkeys in irrcat numlu'rs, and am of 

 the opinion that thousands die from this cau.se, while 

 it is attributed to elmlera. Tlie symptoms from wliieli 

 I detect it are from their slow, stilf, ( rampish nu)ve- 

 ments, and disorderly, sorrowful appearance. — AV. 



Good Thing About Rye. 



A writer in the Cliicau'o Times says: "live will 

 grow anil pnidncc line crops far nortli of the dei;rec 

 of latitude where wheat will fail. It is, indeed, one 

 of the most hardy crops that is cultivated. In re- 

 gions where fall-sown wheat is almost sure to be 

 killed, fall-sown rye is almost sure to survive and do 

 j well. Throinjhout the prairie reiiionsof Illinois very 

 little wheat went through last winter without injury, 

 but rye came out all riirlit and generally produced 

 good crops. In many places wliere wheat was 

 ploughed U|) last spring, rye yielded twenty-five or 

 thirty bushels to the acre. Kye will grow and iiro- 

 duce very fair crops on soils so poor that little else 

 will yield enough to pay for harvesting. It delights 

 in dry, sandy soils, and will yield a return for 

 the lalior and seed, on land that will produce little but 

 while beans. There are njany thousands of acres of 

 land in ditl'crent parts of the west, that yield hardly 

 anything, that wmdd produce paying crops of rye if 

 it was sowed. Southwest of this city rye is grown on 

 land that will produce no paying crops of any other 

 grains. Kye is oneof the best grains to sow where it 

 is desired to seed the land down to timothy, clover or 

 other grasses. It has little foliage as compared with 

 oats and wheat, and accordingly does not shaile the 

 ground so much. It allows sulficicnt sunshine to 

 reach the soil to cause the young grass to grow very 

 well. After the crop of rye is harvested the young 

 grass is not likely to be burned up, as is the ease 

 when wheat and oats are cut, and often the young 

 grass is entirely lost. 



Mulching Recently Planted Trees. 



To prevent recently planted trees from sulfering 

 for want of moisture, there is no cheaper or more ef- 

 fective method than mulching the soil above the 

 roots with some coarse, fibrous material, such as 

 hay, straw or coarse manure from the barnyard. 

 Tan-bark, saw-dust or leaves of any kind will answer 

 the purpose, and in regions where long droughts are 

 likely to occur in summer, the mulchiugshould never 

 be omitted, but considered a part of the operation of 

 transplanting the trees. If the ground for the space 

 of four or five feet above the stems of trees is covered 

 with a mulch as soon as they are set out, it willofti-n 

 prevent their dying, and insure a vigorous growth. 

 The soil uniler the mulch holds moisture much 

 longer than when exiiosed to the direct rays of the 

 sun, and it never becomes so hard that the most gen- 

 tle rains fail to penetrate it, or so hot as to rapidly 

 expel moisture. Those who have exiierieneed more 

 or less dilliculty in making evergreen or deciduous 

 trees live when transplanted would do well to try 

 mulching, and see if they do not have better luck. 

 We think it is far preferable to watering, which so 

 many persons practice in order to save their trees. 

 If water is applied it should be given in abuudanee 

 at certain staled periods, aud not a little at. a time, 

 which frequently does more harm than good by ren- 

 dering the surfai'e of the soil compact and hard, aud 

 preventing the admission of either heat or air. — Shu. 



The Peach Crop. 



Everybody is interested in the peach crop, and its 

 successor failure aficcts all lovers of this luscious 

 fruit, (ienerally at this time of the year we are 

 favored with a dissertation on the pids|iect, and so 

 forth, of its growth, and as a rule these rcpiu'ts are 

 of the most discouraging character, while it often 

 turns out that they are falsified by a prosperous crop. 

 Jt was so last year. In the early season it was pre- 

 dicted that the buds were blighied and there would 

 be no ix-aches. The yield, however, proved extraor- 

 dinarily large, and now we are told again that the 

 prospects are poor ; that because there was a large 

 yield last yi'ar, the trees were so full of fruit as to 

 break the boughs and bend the limbs out of all shape, 

 as well as to exhaust the strength of the trees. Thus 

 exhausted by last year's abundance the trees will 

 scarcely bear this year, anil so we are to have a peach 

 famine I his year. Peaches, it is said, will, thcrefori', 



be very dear this year, and this will in s measure 



ciimpensalc peach growers wllo;;lowled last year be- 

 cause the market was glutted with the fruit. Let us 

 have peaches. 



Be Sociable with Your Cattle. 



Said a farmer to me last sprini; : " When we were 

 drawing out manure I let the boys drive to the lot, 

 and I stayed in the yard, because I could put on Ix't- 

 ter loads. ,'\nd the cows commenced to give more 

 milk right off." Now, this nniii is an uitlve, Indus- 

 trious, Intel l|i.'ent, experienced farmer, and yet when 

 he is piling' manure in the yards his cows give percep- 

 tible IniTcasc in their milli. Why ? One of his hand- 

 Bomc grade short-horns, that he is so proud of, seeing 

 him around, irocs up to him and says as plain 

 as a cow can say, " (ilve me a lock of bay," and he 

 gives It to her. Another says, " Mr. Stevens, don't 

 yoiilhinklhat rack wants cleaninir out ? and on hxik- 

 iiu: he finds In Ids surprise that tlii're is u lot of dirt 

 and wet hay seed and rubbish at the liottom. He 

 scrapes it all out and rubs it cb'an with some straw, 

 and as soon as his load is tilled, and while he Is walt- 

 inu^ for the next wairoii, he g»ts a little feed and puts 

 it in the rack, and the cows eat It and feel grateful. 

 Bel ween the next loads lie takes the curryeoinb and 

 brush and u'ives one of the cows a giKx'l ch'aning. 

 The other cows come around him. lie is a gentleman, 

 and his presence has a soothing ellecl . They chew 

 the cud of contentnient and peace. As he goes past 

 the pump he asks the cows whether they want a little 

 fresh water. They had not thought "al«)Ut It, but 

 they drank a little to please him; and so he goes on 

 all day. No wonder the cows give more milk at night. 

 — .Itnericuii .\ij ricuUurist . 



Improvement of Grass Land. 



Much is beiiiir said in the papers just now about the 

 improvement of grass land. This is all right. Hay, 

 as an agricultural [iroduet, has not had near as much 

 attentiongivcn to it as other crops have, and as It 

 well deserves. On the other hand, inuch Is said 

 about the Improvement of grass lands nialer a mis- 

 apiiri'liensimi. Writers tell us that by a [iroper 

 treatment of grass laud il may be made to last for 

 many years without that continuous plowing upthat 

 is custonniry. A timothy or clover patch, we are 

 told, may be continued for a dozen years. 



This is all very well, but we dfi not always put 

 land in grass merely for the hay or pasture It pro- 

 duces. We arc looking toother crops as well, (lorn 

 and iiotatoce doever so much better in sod ground 

 than in ground that has been kept In clean crops. 

 Indeed, most things do well in a piece of broken sod, 

 better, perhaps, than in a [)ieee of clean i;rouiiii well 

 manured. There is, iiHlecd, no way to restore the 

 worn-out condition of land so well as to put it in sod, 

 and even where hay or grass is an inferior object, 

 people lay the land down to it as a prejiarer for other 

 things which to them may be of more imjiortance. 

 So we see it is not a question altogether of how long 

 we may keep a piece of grass in good heart by irooil 

 treatment, by good manuring, as it is by a prii|K'r 

 rotation of crops on the land, and the inllueuee one 

 crop may have on that which succeeds it. 



Ashes for Crops. 



Unleachcd ashes are more valuable than leached, 

 but both or either are valuable applied directly to the 

 soil from which any crop is to Ih' taken, whether 

 irrain, vegetables or fruits, whether on fallow or grass 

 lands, on strawberry plantations or in orchards. 

 Ashes contain essential eomi>oneuts of all crops. 

 They should not be mixed with eomiKisIs— that is, 

 there is no gain in mixiuir them — but applieil broad- 

 east directly to the soil, whether it is grass land or 

 land that is to be plowed. We never knew a farmer 

 who could get more ashes than it was pnjfilable to 

 apply to his land. One hundred bushels ix'r acre is 

 not too much to apply to old cultivated lands. Any 

 man who asserts that wood ashes applied toorchards 

 is death to 'trees, either does not know what he Is 

 talking about, or has a selfish i)ur|Kisc in lying. 

 Especiilly arc ashes excellent for orehanls. They 

 should not be heaped right about the bodies of trees, 

 but spread over the roots, which extend as far from 

 the bodies of the trees as the branches do. .\tlics 

 are especially valuable as lop dressin',: on old grass 

 lands, or on lands cro|ipeil with grain. For root 

 crops they are equally inqiortant ; indeed, as we say 

 above, there is no crop grown and no land culti- 

 vated that is not benefited in a greater <»r less degree 

 by the a|ipIiealion of leached or uuleaclied ashes — 

 the latter being the most valuable. 



The Feeding of Horses. 



The Michigan Farmer says : Almost of more Im- 

 portance than the form in which food is given. Is the 

 freipiency and regularity of meals. The horse's di- 

 gestive organs are not construeti'd for long fasts. 

 Lorn; intervals without food produce hunger, and 

 hunger begets voracity, food is lioltcd, and inilii;es 

 tion aud colic follow. This is doubly true and dan- 

 gerous with lior.scB doing hard work. They <ome to 

 their long-deferred meal not only hungry, but ex- 

 hausted ; not only i^ the loml boiled, but theslomaeli 

 is in such a slate as to be ineapalde of thoroughly 

 active ditrcstioii, and is overpowered by half the 

 amount of food it could othcrwim dlt^cst. The pre- 

 vention of waste is almost attained when we give a 



