THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[January, 



it a favorite, it being possible to raise a good 

 crop after the farmer sees that tlie other crops 

 on which lie depended for hay or fodder will 

 be a failure. , . , , . . ■, i. 



Peas and oats, or oats by itself is raised at 

 many places for the purpose of making hay. 

 I do not think that either will be ever very 

 popular in this section on account of the un- 

 certainty of the oats reaching any respectable 

 heio-ht. North of us where oats is a pretty 

 Sute crop, peas and oats are no doubt in much 

 favor, for the pea vines make a great bulk of 

 fodder equal in value to clover hay. 



Bye has been tried to some extent, but does 

 tiot seem to grow in favor, for unless taken 

 very young the fodder will be hard and wiry 

 and not relished by stock. 



Corn is the stand-by as a fodder crop over a 

 larger extent of couiUry thuu pniliably all the 

 others combined, and its nutiu loiis oood quali- 

 ties give it rlghttothis iii-ominoucc. It seems 

 to have only one ftuilt of any prominence, and 

 that is the difficulty of curing it, unless the 

 weather is favorable. It is some satisfaction 

 to know that in no country have they more 

 favorable weather to harvest all crops than in 

 this country. 



All the above crops are also useful for soiling, 

 cutting and feeding green in stalls, but rye 

 is the least so, on account of its becoming 

 hard so soon, and, in fact, the only good claim 

 rye has is its earliness, being generally fit to 

 cut two weeks or more before any of the other 

 crops used for soiling come in. 



Of the new candidates for favor we have 

 two : 



Prickly comfrey was disseminated a tew 

 years ago witli a great tiourish of trumpets. 

 "It was not claimed as a real fodder plant, but 

 for the purpose of soiling was said to be un- 

 equaled, producing as much as one hundred 

 tons of green feed to the acre on rich soil, and 

 that it was greatly relished by cattle, pigs, 

 sheep and horses, and that it put them in a 

 thriving condition. 

 Now for the reports. 



Its great yield is generally acknowledged, 

 and I think in one case ninety tons reported, 

 which comes near enough for a new plant for 

 which so much was claimed. One man re- 

 ports that his cattle will not touch it ; and 

 that, thouch it may be eaten by some poor 

 foreign cattle, he does not think an intelligent 

 American cow could be made to do so unless 

 driven thereto by starvation. Others report 

 that tlieir cattle would not eat it at first, but 

 were educated to it by throwing cornmeal on 

 it. One man, probab'ly a Yankee, whose cat- 

 tle somewhat tabooed the new introduction, 

 liit upon the novel plan of throwing it upon 

 some kind of scaffolding, where the cows 

 could hardly reach it, and then they went for 

 it with a whim ; these cows probably had in 

 them considerable hum;in nature, that is of 

 the contrary kind. One man reported that 

 his cattle liked it both green and dry. 



There is no doubt but that in very rich soil 

 it is unsurpassed for soiling, but it will take 

 time to determine its real claims to quality 

 and usefulness in this respect. It requires 

 good culture and plenty of manure to bring it 

 to perfection. 



That parties not acquainted with it may 

 have some knowledge as to what kind of a 

 plant it is I will state that it is a near relative 

 to the common comfrey (swartz wurzel) of the 

 garden, the botanical degree of relation being 

 closer than that of rye to wheat. 



Pead miUct, also called Egvptian milTfet, is 

 a newer caudidato than the "last mentioned, 

 this lieing the lirst year that there were any 

 extended trials made in the North, and I 

 have this far seen but two of the reports, 

 both being found in the American Agricultur- 

 ist, and which I condense for these columns : 

 Mr. Peter Henderson, near New York city, 

 prepared a piece of good .strong loamy soil, 

 as if for beet or turnip, applying ten tons ma- 

 nure to the acre and plowing ten inches deep. 

 The millet was sown oh May l.'ith, in drills 18 

 inches apart, at the rate of 8 quarts to the 

 acre. Twelve days afterwards it was culti- 

 vated, after that cultivation being unneces- 



sary, as the rapid growth smothered all weeds 

 that came up. First cutting, July 1st, being 

 seven feet high, weighed, green, at the rate of 

 :iO tons per acre, U tons, dried, as hay. Sec- 

 ond cutting, August 15th, height feet, weight 

 55 tons green; 8 tons dried. Tliird crop 

 started as rapidly as the second, but the cool 

 nights in September lessened the growth, but 

 when cut, on October 1st, weighed 10 tons 

 green ; U tons dried. Total, 05 tons green 

 fodder, or 16 tons when dried to hay. lle- 

 sembles cornfodder, and supposes it equally 

 nutritious. Ilor.ses and cattle ate it greedily, 

 whether green or dry. If sown broadcast 

 about 1(5 quarts seed should be used. 



A. Coindet, of Montreal, sowed a paper on 

 May 20th, in his yard, soil not manured, and 

 had the sun only about two hours each day. Cut 

 July 15 when five feet high ; again September 

 15 when six feet high ; last time, October 1st, 

 when the stalks were nine feet high. Both 

 his horses and cows were very fond of the 

 millet, green or dry. 



When reports from such widely distant 

 points coincide as these two do, there must be 

 some merit in the millet. I have no doubt 

 but what it will to some extent displace corn 

 as a soiling and fodder crop, because it can be 

 cut oftener for soiling and more weight of 

 fodder raised. The heavy manuring given by 

 Mr. Henderson will be apt to strike some far- 

 mers with dismay, the amount being more 

 than the average quantity applied to that 

 manure-devourer, tobacco. But then consider 

 sixteen tons of hay from one acre ! With a 

 few acres of this what a number of cattle 

 could be kept, and I am afraid the, farmer 

 would get frightened at the size of his manure 



Suppose that clover would be a failure, and 

 the farmer had only the timothy to cut which 

 gives no aftermath'. As soon as the hay was 

 off the field he might sow it to this millet, 

 and forty-five or fifty days afterward cut a 

 mass of stufE that would make eight tons of 

 hay, as was done in the second cutting as re- 

 ported by Mr. Henderson, who can be relied 

 on as saying just what he knows. 

 Tea Raising. 

 In December number of The Farmer 

 J. B. G. thinks that the article in October 

 number under the above heading " might 

 lead some people to infer or suppose this plant 

 can be cultivated anywhere." I did not in- 

 tend that my remarks should lead to any 

 such impression, and think that the second 

 sentence wherein it is stated that the Agri- 

 cultural Department was sending out plants 

 " to such places as seemed suitable for the 

 growing," would put people on their guard. 

 Further, our florists arc ii(i\v-a-days so liberal 

 with their lists and < :ital<.-urs tliat few could 

 help but know that VA. w , ( h inose Tea Plant,) 

 was classed in the ./'■" -i-//<-»n, collections. 



The plant is probably not quite as tender 

 as the remarks of Mr. G. would seem to imply, 

 for it is cultivated in Japan as far north as 

 the northern boundary of Nortli Carolina, 

 but it is probable that there are varieties that 

 are more hardy than others, just as in some of 

 our fruit trees. 



I am in the habit of putting off writing 

 articles intended for publication to the last 

 minute, and then have not time to prepare 

 them as they should be. I hope Mr. G. will 

 n-ive me a " rowing up " on all such occasions, 

 and I will then as now thank him for it. 

 Laying Down to Grass. 

 I have often seen it recommended that this 

 or that grass should be more used in seeding 

 to grass. I will give the price it would cost 

 per acre, as the seed was sold one year ago by 

 one of our most reliable seedsmen : 



Red Top, (Agrostis imlrjaris,) S2.25 ; Mea- 

 dow Foxtail, (Alnpnnrnts pamtcnsis,) flo.W ; 

 Rescue Grass, (l!,;.nu,s ,rln:nlcri,) |24.00; 

 Meadow Fescue, (F,shir,i pnamsis,) S512.00; 

 Italian Rye Grass, (/.'./;'((-/ Ihillrum,) $10.50. 

 Red Top is the only kind that is at all 

 reasonable in price, and this is not much 

 raised in Lancaster county. All the others 

 are entirely too high in price, unless it could 



be shown that they are much superior to the 

 varieties now in vogue, and even then the 

 laying down must be more permanent than is 

 usually the case with us. The Rescue Grass 

 is in great favor with English farmers, they 

 being able to remove from four to five green 

 crops each year. I suppose this is accomplished 

 by means of irrigation. 



Meadow Foxtail and Red Top do well m 

 this country ; of the others I have no knowl- 

 edge. — A. B. K. 



For Tbe Lancastee Fap.meu. 

 PRACTIC.A.L HINTS FOR YOUNG 

 FARMERS. 

 Another year has passed and a new one has 

 begun. But had we not the stores of the year 

 that is past we could not live. All is frozen 

 and dead, and we depend for months upon 

 our treasures of the past, until mother earth 

 gives life and vigor again to the vegetable 

 kingdom. 



At this season of the year not much is to 

 be done on the farm, except the feeding of 

 the stock, which should be well cared for, and 

 not wholely trusted to tlie boys. When boys 

 feed stock watch them closely, or some animals 

 may not get enough to eat and others get 

 more than they can eat and become "stalled ;" 

 and the stable doors and shutters may remain 

 open in cold, stormy weather and be closed 

 when the weather is mild and warm. 



Horses.— When hay is plenty horses can 

 bo kept in in good condition with very little 

 else than good hay, during the winter season, 

 or while tliev have no worl; to do. Give them 

 daily one or two quarts of oats, corncob meal 

 and bran mixed together. Mix a little chafE 

 with it and moisten it with pure water. Give 

 them enough of good hay ; curry them daily ; 

 water them twice every day ; remove their 

 shoes and let them walk or stand shoeless ; 

 but at tlie same time have one or two shod 

 sharply, to drive to market and to mill, and 

 to do other work necessary to be done ; but 

 those should have a little more grain than 

 those that are standing idle. As spring ap- 

 proaches, and when they begin to change 

 their coals, increase their food a little, gradu- 

 allv, so that tliey will get strong enough to 

 endure labor when spring opens to work. 

 Keep their stables comfortably warm ; stop 

 all holes where the cold air comes in ; open 

 the south side doors or windows while the 

 sun shines warm, but close them again before 

 the stall gets cold. On mild days open both 

 sides, that the air may pass through, and 

 clean the stables once, twice or thrice a week, 

 but never less than once. . 



Cows.— Attend well to the cows ; have then- 

 stables warm ; shut up all the holes in cold 

 weather; let no manure freeze behind the 

 cows ; open on the south side during midday 

 when the sun is shining, but close again as 

 early as three or four o'clock in the afternoon. 

 Feed well three times a day— say at 5 o'clock 

 in the morning, at 11 in the forenoon, and at 

 C o'clock in the evening. Mix corncob meal 

 and bran in equal parts together, and feed to 

 each cow two quarts or more every meal. 

 Mix it with cut cornfodder or chaff, and 

 moisten it with clean water. Cut cornfodder 

 is the best, but hav flowers can also be mixed 

 with the feed. After that give them as much 

 hay as they will eat up clean ; water them at 

 midday, once a dav. On warm days turn 

 tliem out of the stables into the barnyard 

 for an hour or two, but when it is cold put 

 them into the stable as soon as they are done 

 drinking. Bed them with straw, but let 

 neither straw, hay nor fodder go to waste, 

 even if you don't need it. It may transpire 

 that the next year's crop may be short or a , 

 failure, and tlien it will be needed and come j 



Calves.— To wean calves at first give them j 

 the milk from the cow, until they get accus- 

 tomed to drinking out of a bucket. Then mix 

 a little skimmed milk and a little bran and 

 hot water. Increase the quantity of skimmed i 

 milk gradually until you have no sweet milk 

 amongst it any more. In addition to this 

 give them young clover hay. Of coiuse the | 



