176 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ November, 



The selection of the breeding ram, where mutton is 

 produced, must be from the long- wools, or the Downs. 

 If we make choice from tlie former, we must be care- 

 ful to have an animal of stout and robust constitution. 

 These sheep have been so efcnerally forced with arti- 

 ficial food, 60 that many of them lack the hardiness 

 required foi'the farmer's purposes. What we must 

 have, is a straight, round barrel, on short legs, with 

 short, stout neck, and vigorous, masculine appear- 

 ance about the head. The body should be well cov- 

 ered with a long and lustrous staple, of unilbrm 

 quality. If the selection be of the Southdown breed, 

 we should have the same general form as here de 

 scribed, but we ought to have a more compact and 

 snug carcass, with a good deal more weight for bulk 

 than in the long-wool breeds. 



Portable Pig-Pen. 



The writer has used the following plan for a cheap 

 and portable pig-pen lor store-pigs, and finds it very 

 convenient. It consists of two portions — the sleep- 

 ing box and the yard, both portable, but not fastened 

 together. Two men can lift each part separately and 

 carry it into fresh grouncl when the yard needs clean- 

 ing out, and weccls, rubbish and potato tops can 

 readily he thrown into the yard from a cart. 



The yard is made of inch spruce fencing strips, 

 four inches wide, ten or twelve feet long, nailed to 

 three by four-inch posts, placed at the corners and in 

 middle of each side. As tlie posts do not cuter the 

 ground, two men can easily lift the yard and carry it 

 to fresh ground. Five strips are used on each side, 

 with three inch spaces between the strips. On one 

 side of the yard two of the strips reach only half 

 way, leaving an opening from the yard to t)ie sleep- 

 ing box. A trough of I'iineh spruce, .5 inches wide, 

 nailed together at right angles, is used for feeding in 

 the yard. 



The sleeping box is matched boards, four feet by 

 six feet on the tloor, thirty inches high in the rear, 

 and forty-two inclics high in front, which is partly 

 open, and stands against the opening in the yard. 

 The roof slopes from I'ront to rear like a lean-to shed, 

 and there are two handles at each end, by which two 

 men can lift it for removal. This box stands on legs, 

 which raise the floor eight inches above the ground, 

 keeping it dry in wet weather. By littering it weli 

 the pigs will thrive in quite cold weather. But this 

 arrangement is intended chiefly for summer use, when 

 we generally carry a larger stock than can be accom- 

 modated in the more comfortable winter quarters. 

 Eight or ten pigs just weaned are put in one yard, 

 but as they grow larger a smaller number only should 

 be allowed. The yards will need removal and clean- 

 ing but once in two or three weeks. This plan could 

 be used perhaps by those farmers who feed their pigs 

 on growing clover, removing the pens daily, mucli 

 on the same principle as the English farmers feed 

 their turnips and other crops to sheep in the so-called 

 "hurdles." Yard and box together will need about 

 350 feet of spruce lumber, and can be made in half a 

 day by an ordinary man who can handle tools. — W. 

 Philbrick. 



Dairy vs. Creamery. 



A correspondent of the ,Southcrn Agricnltmrist 

 writes that, in his opinion, dairy butter should be 

 better than creamery. He says ; 



With good cows, good pasture, good water, good 

 milk room, good utensils, good milkmen, or milk- 

 maids, and good attention, I believe the advantage 

 is with the farm. Why not ? Will some one please 

 tell me wherein the factory has one single advantage 

 over the farm dairy? The trouble lies at home with 

 each one. If cows are pastured in low, wet localities, 

 where coarse swamp grasses prevail, where the 

 water is full of organic life, putrid and foul, good 

 butter is impossible. If the cows are old, run down, 

 ill used, badly milked by dirty, slovenly hands, good 

 butter cannot be made. If tlie utensils used are not 

 of the right material, are not kept clean, and the 

 milk room is full of bad odors, the same result is 

 certain. And finally, if the milk is not churned at 

 the right time good butter is out of the question. 

 There is no stopping place from beginning to end 

 where a lazy, shiftless person can throw off responsi- 

 bility. 



Absolute cleanliness, purity of food and the strict- 

 est attention are essential. Knowing this, is it any 

 wonder we have so much poor butter ? Wherever 

 natural facilities combine with proper effort, there is 

 no trouble. And energy of determination will often 

 overcome natural obstacles ; but when slovenly 

 habits and ignorance combine with natural disadvan- 

 tages, poor butter always results.. Let farmers and 

 their wives think of these things. Serious thought 

 begets action. 



I would urge all farmers who make a really superior 

 quality of butter, to hunt a market for it. A market 

 can easily be found. Tliere are hundreds of compar- 

 atively wealthy men in all our larger country towns, 

 who will be glad to pay a fair price for a good quality 

 of butter. Hunt them up and supply them regularly 

 every week. Besides making money by it, the 

 knowledge that you get an extra price will haye 

 more influence upon your neighbors than all the 

 wordy arguments that could be presented. 



Fall or Spring Planting. 



Novices are sometimes puzzled as to the compara- 

 tive merits of fall or spring planting of trees and 

 vines. Possibly the locality and soil may sometimes 

 make a difference, but generally, if the work is well 

 done and soil is in proper order, I think there are 

 several advantages in fall planting. One is that 

 there is not so much hurrying work — the planting 

 season extending from the fall of the leaves until the 

 earth freezes or the weather becomes too cold to 

 work with bare hands. In 1866 I planted 340 pear 

 trees early in December with most excellent success. 



A second advantage is, that the fall planted trees 

 get an earlier start in the spring than those planted 

 in the spring and, of course, have a longer season for 

 growth. Some contend that fall-planted trees arc 

 apt to be displaced by high winds and the settling of 

 the soil about them, but no such result need be appre- 

 hended if the work is done right. Every root should 

 be placed as nearly in its natural position as possible 

 and fine earth carefully packed about it with the fin- 

 gers ; no two roots of any size should be left to touch 

 each other, and when all are covered the upper earth 

 should be trodden down carefully, and then not much 

 future settling need be apprehended. 



With these precautions, including the proper pru- 

 ning of the tops to correspond with the amount of 

 roots, planting at either season is safe enough . It is 

 specially important that this proportion between 

 roots and tops should be maintained, because, by 

 leaving too much top, the amount of leaves, which 

 are the lungs of a tree, make a draught on the roots 

 which they may be unable to supply. In that ease, 

 a feeble and stunted growth will be the result, and 

 in some cases an early death even after a full show 

 of foliage. It is always safe to cut back pretty tho- 

 roughly at the time of transplanting; the tree will 

 be more certain to live and do well and will tlie better 

 maintain an erect position until the roots are well 

 established. 



How to Manage Cuttings. * 



In reply to a correspondent, the Floral Cabinet 

 gives the following directions in regard to the making 

 and managing of plant cuttings : 



In selecting a cutting, a great deal depends upon a 

 judicious choice; iftheslipis too young and full of 

 fresh sap, it will fade away from too much evapora- 

 tion; if it is too old — hard and woody — it will take a 

 great wliile to strike root. 



You must take a cutting that is perfectly ripened 

 and is from a vigorous shoot, yet a little hardened at 

 the base. 



It is also essential to have a bud or joint at or near 

 the end of tlie cutting, as all roots strike from it; and 

 the nearer it is to the base, the greater your chance 

 of success. 



Plant your cuttings in common red pots, filled half 

 full of rich loam and two inches of sand on top (scour- 

 ing sand will do, but not sea sand); wet this thor- 

 oughly, and put on the cuttings around the edge of 

 the pot, for if the bud or joint comes in contact witli 

 the pot, it seems to strike root more quickly. Pull 

 off the lower leaves before you plant the cutting. 

 Press the wet sand tightly about the tiny stem, for a 

 great deal of your success in raising the cutting de- 

 pends upon the close contact of the sand witli the 

 stem. When the cuttings are firmly planted, cover 

 them witli a glass shade if possible, as it will greatly 

 promote growth of the plant. 



Moisture, liglit and heat are the tliree essentials to 

 plant life — without them no cutting will start. 



Shade for two or three days from the sunlight, but 

 don't let the sand become dry; then give all the sun 

 you can obtain, keep up a good supply of moisture, 

 and you can hardly fail to root most of your cuttings. 



Treatment of an Unmanageable Horse. 



A beautiful and high-spirited horse would never 

 allow a shoe to be put on his feet, or any per- 

 son to handle his feet. In an attempt to shoe such a 

 horse recently he resisted all efforts, kicked aside 

 everything but an anvil, and came near killing him- 

 self against that, and finally was brought back to his 

 stable unshod. This defect was just on the eve of 

 consigning him to the plough, where he might work 

 barefoot, when an officer in our service, lately re- 

 turned from Mexico, took a cord about the size of a 

 common bed-cord, put it in fthe mouth of the horse 

 like a bit, and tied it tightly on the animal's head, 

 passing his left ear under the string, not painfully 

 tight, but tight enough to keep the ear down and the 

 cord in its place. This done, he patted the horse 

 gently on the side of the head, and commanded him 

 to follow ; and instantly the horse obeyed, perfectly 

 subdued, and as gentle as a well-trained dog, suffer- 

 ing his feet to be lifted with impunity, acting in all 

 respects like an old stager. The gentleman who 

 thus furnished this exceedingly simple means of sub- 

 duing a very dangerous propensity, intimated that it 

 is practiced in Mexico and South America in the 

 management of wild horses. — iV. Y. Commercial 

 Advertiser. 



There is a vast difference in the flavor of eggs. 

 Hens fed on clear, sound grain, and kept on a clean 

 grass run, give much finer flavored eggs than hens 

 that have access to stables and manure beads, and 



eat all kinds of filthy food. Hens feeding on fish and 

 onions flavor their eggs accordingly, tiie same as 

 cows eating onions or cabbage, or drinking offensive 

 water, imparts a bad taste to the milk or butter. 



Hens that Don't Set. 



The non-setting varieties of fowls comprise the dif- 

 ferent kinds of Hamburgs, Spanish, Leghorns, and 

 Polands, and also some of the French fowls, yet we 

 often meet with individuals of the foregoing breeds 

 which are medium setters. Non-setters, if well bred, 

 will not give one confirmed case of setting among fifty 

 birds, though they sometimes set for a few hours or a 

 week. These correspond to the setting fever of the 

 incubating breeds. The instances of fowls setting 

 steadily, although belonging to a breed of pure non- 

 setters, show reversion to the primitive type when in- 

 cubation was universal. A cross between the differ- 

 ent breeds of non-setters will produce a race that will 

 set as regularly and persistently as any fowls. Some 

 crosses between breeds are very desirable, but non- 

 setters should be kept pure, or the trait which con- 

 stitutes their principal value will be lost. Where 

 many fowls are kept, it is better to have the larger 

 part consist of some non-setting breed. A great sav- 

 ing may be made in a setting breed to produce a few 

 good mothers. The rest, say three-quartars of the 

 whole of your stock, should be of some breed of non- 

 setters. It is as easy to take care of 200 non-setting 

 liens during the warm season as 100 of a setting 

 variety. — J'oultry M'orld. 



Ducks. 



The Poultry World lately contained some excellent 

 directions for raising ducks. Of the four kinds, to 

 wit: Aylesbury, Rouen, Cayuga, and Pekiu, all good 

 kinds, the writer values them in the order they here 

 stand. A pond is not necessary for successfully rais- 

 ing ducks, yet they will not thrive in confinement, 

 but should have the range of pasture or meadow. 

 Only from two to four ducks are allowed to each 

 drake. They should be fed only once a day, in the 

 evening, and there will be no trouble in their coming 

 in. In hatching the eggs they should always be 

 placed under hens, and several broods should be put 

 together. Ducklings should never be allowed the 

 free use of ponds or streams before they are six weeks 

 old, but kept in a dry yard with good shelter. Feed 

 corn and oats ground together and wheat bran in 

 equal proportions mixed and scalded. Raw meal is 

 to be avoided; earth worms are beneficial, and should 

 be supplied them daily; alsobeef liver and other cheap 

 meat may be cooked and chopped for them, and fed 

 stewed in the broth while it is boiling, but no whole 

 or uncooked grain should be fed to ducklings 

 until they are well-fledged. After that, cracked corn, 

 or whole and other grain may be alternated with the 

 soft food, which must be continued. 



Rye for Winter Pasture. 



Experience proves that no kind of pasture pays as 

 well as rye sown for early spring feeding. It comes 

 in before any other herbage, and is a real treat to 

 cows and other stock, after having been kept on dry 

 fodder and such like food all winter, as is too common 

 with most farmers who fail to supply themselves 

 with root crops. One who has for many years been 

 in the habit of sowing rye for the purpose indicated 

 with the very best results says that, if sown in 

 August, or even in September, will produce abundant 

 yield of delicious herbage for all kinds of stock in 

 early spring or in some quarters late in the winter. 

 It is especially valuable for the calves and colts and 

 lambs and milch cows, and indeed for all kind of 

 stock. All you have to do is to plow the ground and 

 sow the seed ; they will pluck it. You need not har- 

 vest it for them. The green rye keeps the bowels- 

 open, the blood in good condition, and the animals 

 growing with great rapidity. If the cornfield is so 

 that it can be pastured, nothing will pay better than 

 to sow it in rye. Put a man on horse with a seed bag 

 and let him sow the rye. If a heavy rain soon falls, 

 or moist weather soon follows, the rye will come up 

 without running through the cultivator, but in case 

 of dry weather the cultivator must be used to cover 

 the seed. 



Farming Without Stable Manure or Stock. 



We have previously referred to the successful 

 farming of Mr. Prout, an English farmer, says the 

 American Agriculturist : 



His system is to grow continuous crops of grain, 

 roots and clover, entirely by the use of artificial ferti- 

 lizers. He keeps no stock except the work horses, 

 and the crops are sold upon the fields when ready 

 for harvest, the purchaser harvesting and carrying 

 them away. This exceptional manner of farming is 

 made profitable by Mr. Prout, and some of the crops 

 sold this season are the eleventh in succession upon 

 the same fields. Although the season has been re- 

 markably unfavorable, the j'ield and prices of the 

 crops were satisfactory. Barley was sold at an aver- 

 age price of f-10 per acre, the purchaser to cut and 

 carry it away. The wheat crop bought from $i2 to 

 over ?.5i per acre. Oats realized $32 for a crop dam- 

 aged by wet weather, up to $48 per acre for those in 

 better condition. For 11 acres of mangels $11, per 



