96 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ June, 1880. 



Breed for a Purpose. 



No horse is scarcer, or commands a better price, 

 than the large, ttylish coach or carriage horse. E?ery 

 day at our auction marts we see plaia-lookiug, un- 

 dersized animals selling for a mere song, notwith- 

 standing that they possess speed all the way from 

 2;50 to 2;30. One of our dealers tells us that he has 

 orders for a matched team that he ciinnot procure, 

 and one that he tried to buy in York State they 

 asked $.:,.500 for. A correspondent writing from 

 Nashville, Tenn., to a New York paper, says.- 



We hoped to find a pair of superior carriage horses 

 here, but not a coacher could we tind or hear of in this 

 vicinity. Now this speaks in stronger language than 

 we can use in favor of breeding the most prohtable 

 family of horses that can be bred — the carriage, 

 coach, or park horse. Breed for speed if you will, 

 but breed to size, so that in any event if no trotter 

 the salable carriage horse. We will be met with the 

 reply that "such heavy horses are not the animals 

 for use on our hard macadamized pike ;" very true. 

 Breed as sagaciously as you may there will always 

 be a sufficient number of under-sized horses lor 

 home use. In breeding don't mix uj) the diBerent 

 families. 



Breed for a purpose. Let the dam and sire be good 

 representatives of their class. Breed the draft mare 

 to the draft horse ; the highly-bred and finely-finished 

 large bay mare to the park stallion. No matter if he 

 is as grand a trotter as Blackwood, Jr. All the bet- 

 ter, as to his grand appearance and fine size he adds 

 remarkable speed , in fact breeding is condensed in 

 a few words. Breed for what you want, remember- 

 ing always that "like begets like." "Whatsoever a 

 man soweth that shall he also reap.'' — Afield and 

 Afloat. 



Seasonable Items of Importance to the 



Farmer. 

 The effect of dipping sheep is to free them from all 

 external parasites, as ticks, scab, etc., and skin 

 diseases, the causes of some of which are not fully 

 understood. A dip of I- lbs. of tobacco and 6 lbs. of 

 flour of sulphur, to 50 gallons of water, is one that 

 has been so generally used, that it can be recom- 

 mended. Some add to this a little concentrated lye, 

 a pound or so, and about the same quantity of 

 arsenic. If arsenic is used, propercaution should be 

 exercised, and the poisonous nature of the mi.'cture 

 kept in mind. The sheep are to be dipped while the 

 mixture is warm. Those who have had experience 

 claim that the dip of tobacco and sulphur will do all 

 that can be accomplished by the use of arsenic. It 

 may not be generally understood that sulphur does 

 not dissolve in the dip ; hence, in order that each 

 sheep may get its share, the mixture while in use 

 should be frequently "tirred up from the bottom, and 

 the sulphur thus thoroughly diflused. — American 



Agriculturist. 



^ 



Balky Horses. 



Among the suggestions said to be published by 

 some Anti-cruelty to Animals Society, are these : If 

 the horse when he balks can have his attention di- 

 verted there is usually no trouble in starting him. 

 This may be done in various ways, of which the fol- 

 lowing are a few that have been employed : Take 

 the horse out of the shafts and turn him around sev- 

 eral times rapidly. This will make him entirely dizzy 

 and lead him to forget that he does not wish to draw 

 the load. A stout twine twisted around the fore- 

 leg has been used as a remedy with good results. A 

 string tied around the ear has the same effect. We 

 have seen horses of the balkiest sort started in a 

 moment by putting a lump of earth into their 

 mouths. Even a piece of sugar or a handful of fresh 

 grass will so divert the attention of the balker that 

 he will often start off without trouble. Some mild 

 treatment like these, that sets the animal to think- 

 ing of something foreign to his work, is vastly bet- 

 ter than any amount of whipping, and is much easier 

 of application. 



How to Feed Shelled Corn. 



When corn cannot be ground without too much ex- 

 pense the next best way i> to mix the shelled corn 

 with cut-short corn stalks ; dampen the ma?s and 

 let it lie a few hours, when the cattle will eat corn 

 and stalks together, and masticate the corn much 

 better than when in the cob. They are obliged to 

 do this in masticating the corn fodder ; besides in 

 this case the corn will be raisi d with the cud and re- 

 masticated, thus giving it the benefit of a second 

 grinding, which it docs not have when corn is fed 

 alone. This is a matter of great importance in 

 feeding. 



Don't Pare Away the Frog. 



Some horeshoers seem lo take a delight in paring 

 away the frog of the horse's fool until there is hardly 

 any of it left. This should never be allowed. The 

 frog is placed there by nature to act as a cushion to 

 protect the foot of the animal when he plants it sud- 

 denly on any hard substance, and should never be 

 touched except to remove its ragged edges. 



A Successful Sheep-Raiser 



Informs the Rural -Vtw Yorker that he is careful in 

 sheltering his stock from all storms in the fall, 

 winter and spring. He feeds a daily ration of grain 

 until the grass is sufliiciently grown in the spring to 

 afi'ord ample pasture. He keeps the Cotswold and 

 Merino breeds, feeds daily to each animal not over a 

 half pint of corn, or corn and oats mixed, and finds 

 that this treatment makes them fatten and keeps 

 them in better health than animals receiving no 

 grain. 



Sheep Shearing. 



Washing sheep under the present system of buying 

 wool will, perhaps, be the prevailing practice. If 

 care is taken to keep the sheep so that the wool will 

 not be filled with dirt, it is better not to wash. 

 Fleeces should be done up with care, nicely rolled 

 and securely tied with light twine. When it is 

 known that a farmer puts up his wool in neat shape 

 without tags, etc., he will obtain the highest price. 

 Everywhere, but especially here, " honesty is the 

 best policy." 



Literary and Personal. 



We are in receipt of the National Temperance 

 .Soitcr.sff)-, by W. O. Moffitt, and published by S. L. 

 Marrow & Co., Indianapolis. 64 pages; price, 10 

 cents. It contains a collection of fresh, sparkling 

 and original songs set to familiar music. 



Thk Matrimonial Times. — Devoted to "love, 

 courtship and marriage." Farmersville, (Lancaster 

 county) June, 1S80. This is a four-paged quarto 

 (about the size of The Farmer,) No. l,"Vol. I., of 

 which is now before us, but by whom edited and 

 published, "deponent sayeth not." All matters 

 relating to the objects of the paper " strictly confi- 

 dential," and this, it appears, includes also the pub- 

 lishers' names. Not to know whom we are address- 

 ing, as a rnediuiii or a "go-between," upon such a 

 grave subject as marriage, involving interests re- 

 lating not only to our lives in this world, but also 

 throughout the invisible realms, may be in harmony 

 with the general confidential terms of the paper, and 

 may also be suitable to those who prefer to " go it 

 blind," but it can hardly be acceptable to those who 

 desire to act intelligently and legitimately. Still, 

 this is a spicy little sheet, neatly gotten up, and 

 contains some amusing flashes of wit, wisdom and 

 anecdote ; and if marriage is only a " funny thing," 

 there may be a " vacancy " for it in the community. 

 There may be a moral plane of society wherein such 

 a journal might be useful, or at least be permissible 

 as a necessity, but we should rather deplore such a 

 plane than recommend a resort to such an ambigu- 

 ous remedy against the domestic inconvenience of 

 celibacy. 



Premium List Abstract, Department 2. — 

 Twenty-seventh annual exhibition of the Pennsyl- 

 vania State Agricultural Society, to be held in the 

 vUin Centennial Building, Fairmount Park, Phila- 

 delphia, September 6th to 18th, 1880. List of pre- 

 miums under group 13, vegetables ; group 14, fruits ; 

 and group 15, flowers and ornamental plants. The 

 complete list of premiums under all the groups will 

 be published at an early day ; 12 pages royal octavo, 

 on tine timed paper. We noticed abstract No. 1, 

 including the premiums on stock, in our last num- 

 ber, and the present list is a liberal continuation of 

 the general subject. We rather approve this divi- 

 sion of the subjects into departments, as it seems 

 more convenient to specialists than the consultation 

 of a larger list, including matter in which they take 

 no interest. Of course, the State fair, under its 

 present auspices, will be a success ; indeed, it could 

 not well be otherwise, unless its conductors should 

 prove to be entirely incompetent, which from their 

 long experience in such matters does not seem at all 

 likely. Committees of co operation of the Pennsyl- 

 vania Horticultural Society and the Pennsylvania 

 Fruit-Growers' Society, have approved the lists of 

 groups of 14 and 15, and these groups will be under 

 the supervision of committees appointed by those 

 societies, which will be efficient auxiliaries in their 

 specialties. 



Report on the Cotton Insects, prepared 

 under the direction of the Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture, in pursuance of an act of Congress, approved 

 June 19th, 1878, by J. Henry Corastock, Entomolo- 

 gist of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C. Published by the Government. This is a well 

 executed royal octavo of 511 pages, very elaborately 

 illustrated and devoted almost exclusively to the his- 

 tory, habits and modes of circumventing the depre- 

 dations of the "Cotton-Worm," (Aletia argailacea,) 

 and the "Boll-Worm," (Heliotkis arniiyera,) two 

 lepidopterous insects that for many years have been 

 depredating upon the cotton fields of the Southein 

 States. If thorough observation, minutedetails and 

 implemental illustrations, together with natural and 

 artificial remedies, can be made available in the ex- 

 tinguishment of the cotton worms, then surely the 

 Department of Agriculture — through its entomolo- 

 gist — has done all that can be expected of it in the 



publication of this treatise. But the multiplication 

 of publications upon the subject will amount to but 

 little, unless the people read them and make an intel- 

 ligent application of the principles they illnstrate. 

 This work also contains a learned treatise on "Nec- 

 tar ; what it is, and some of its uses," by William 

 Trelease, with a plate of microscopic illustrations, 

 and two appendices, containing a very large number 

 of local observations, made in a multitude of places 

 within the great cotton region ; ending with a copious 

 index to the whole. Our obligations are due to Prof. 

 J. Henry Comstock, Entomologist of the Depart- 

 ment, for an advance copy of this very creditable 

 work. In conclusion we may say that the publica- 

 tions of the department, in quality and typography, 

 are far in advance of what they were some years ago. 



Dairy Farmimo — Being the theory, practice and 

 methods of dairy farming, by J. P. Sheldon, assisted 

 by leading authorities in various countries. Pub- 

 lished by Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. London, Paris 

 and New York, at 40 cents per part. We have re- 

 ceived parts 10 and 11 of this beautiful quarto, and 

 have no hesitancy in saying that it stands at the 

 head of dairy publications in this or any other coun- 

 try in the world. EacH part — consisting of 24 double 

 column pages — is illustrated with a full page colored 

 plate, and numerous finely executed wood cuts. The 

 paper and letter-press is of the very best, and the 

 literary contents are of the highest ability accessible 

 on the subjects to which it is devoted. Part 10 con- 

 tains colored illustrations of 13 species of "weed 

 grasses and parasites," giving both their scientific 

 and common names, so that the series will contain a 

 highly useful systeni of dairy botany. The article 

 on "Cheese-Making" in this number is exhaustive 

 and very minute in its details, embracing everything 

 relating to the subject, from the herbage in the field 

 to the manufacture in the market. The colored 

 plate in part 11 illustrates five varieties of long-horn 

 cattle, and the letter-press includes the continuation 

 of a chapter, commenced in No. 10, on "Cheddar 

 and Cheshire Cheese," with a portrait of .Mr. Joseph 

 Harding, a writer, lecturer on, and identified with 

 the Cheddar system, embellished with twenty excel- 

 lent wood-cut illustrations, and a full page ground- 

 plan of a Cheshire dairy premises. No. 11 also in- 

 cludes the greater part of an illustrated chapter on 

 Derbyshire, Gloucester, Stilton and other British 

 cheeses, with both primitive and improved methods, 

 presses, apparatus, &c., &c.; indeed there seems to 

 be nothing worth knowing and ef a practical charac- 

 ter about dairying and cheese-making that is n6t re- 

 fleeted from the pages of this journal, and hence that 

 it must necessarily be as essential to intelligent but- 

 ter and cheese-making as a dictionary is to a success- 

 ful editor and teacher. 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture — First 

 Quarterly Report for 1880. — The first quarterly 

 report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture is 

 a volume of 130 pages. The statistical matter con- 

 sists of valuable tables,giving, by counties, the value 

 per cajntaof products of the farm for 1879, real value 

 of assessed property jyer capita, 1879, tax on each 

 $100, of assessed valuation, number of school dis- 

 tricts, number of school houses, number of teachers, 

 average wages and value of school buildings and 

 grounds in each county ; the acreage of corn and 

 wheat to the square mile ranked by counties for 

 1879, and the area in square miles of each county; 

 also products of the farm and population, for 1879, 

 ranked by counties. The prospects for fruit, in each 

 county, are given also ; condition of winter wheat, 

 amount repoi-ted winter-killed, or injured from lack 

 of rain, that in the best condition, drilled or broad- 

 cast, and varieties sown. This information is given 

 by counties, preceded by a table showing number of 

 acres and value, together with increase and decrease 

 • ich year from 1874 to 1880. The condition of rye 

 crop is given by counties, reports as to the value of 

 spring wheat, barley, oats, flax, buckwheat, corn, 

 sorghum, castor beans, broom corn, millet and Hun- 

 ganan, cotton, hemp and- tobacco, together with 

 tabulated statements of increase and decreaee of 

 crop in acres and value from 1S74 to 1880, giving 

 varieties grown, price of seed March 1, 1800, and 

 other important general facts. Information upou 

 the potato crop is given by counties, varieties grown, 

 time of planting, methods adopted, and market price 

 of seed per bushel .March 1, 1880. The reports on 

 tame grasses are instructive as showing the counties 

 in which they are successfully grown, time and 

 method of sowingseed, etc. Recommended varieties 

 of fruit, vines, forest and ornamental trees are given ; 

 also, summary condition of farm animals and bees, 

 time of breaking prairie, etc. The meteorological 

 data is compiled for the months of January, Febru- 

 ary and March, for different stations reporting to the 

 Board. 



The special feature of this quarterly, is the ex- 

 tended manual on Swine Husbandry, giving the 

 practical experience of swine breeders for evei-y 

 county, and valuable facts concerning the treatment, 

 breeding and cost of raising pork for market, to- 

 gether with many and varied suggestions for the 

 profitable care and management of swine. The 

 quarterly report may be had by applying to the 

 Secretary of the Board, J. K. Hudson, Topeka, 

 Kansas. 



