68 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



souri, Ohio and Texas. The beauty and mu- 

 sical qualities of the mule are only a small 

 part of his attractions. 



The mutton consumption of this country is 

 increasing, and also the quality of the meat. 

 First-class, well cooked mutton is worth more 

 than most other meats, and when dogs are 

 scarce it will be cheaper, as well as more profit- 

 able to farmers. 



After the sudden disappearance of a cow 

 at Florence, Ala., she was found two weeks 

 afterwards alive in a cotton shed, wedged b e 

 tween two bales of cotton, but was thin and 

 nearly blind. Perhaps with a refreshment of 

 water when wanted, she might have lasted 

 forty days as well as Tanner did. 



Illinois has an average of twenty horses to 

 each square mile of territory. In tiie number 

 of horses, cattle and hogs, Illinois leads all 

 the States. Tlie hog-population is fifty-three 

 per square mile, and one county (Stark) has 

 109, while Cook County, in which Chicago is 

 located, only has seventeen. 



The former of small means who desires to 

 improve his live stock should start with care, 

 after he has observed and read enough to 

 make a moderate investment safe. It is of 

 little use for an ignorant, bull-headed man to 

 attempt this kind of work. It is brain work 

 that tells in stock-breeding as well as in pro- 

 fessional life. 



Intelligent foreigners often express sur- 

 prise that with so much land as there is in the 

 United States well adapted to sheep breeding, 

 that we have so few sheep. This again raises 

 the dog question. Outlaw the dogs and put 

 a reward of $.5 on every one killed, not 

 licensed, registered and collared, and there 

 will soon be a " boom " in sheep breeding. 



The improvement of farm live stock does 

 not come simply from a mere investment of 

 money, but from care, thought, observation, 

 comparison and study of animal physiology, 

 and the laws of breeding. Money might pur- 

 chase a dozen first-class cows and a bull, Vmt 

 it takes something more than money to keep 

 the stock up to the standard at starting, or to 

 improve it. The benefit of improved stock 

 comes largely from the fact that it is an edu- 

 cating force in farm life. 



William C. Blackfan, of Solesbury, Pa., 

 kept twelve steers, averaging about 860 

 pounds each, through the past winter on cut 

 and soaked cornstalks, along with one ton of 

 wheat bran, 350 pounds conimeal, and 150 

 pounds oil meal cake, all well mixed, with no 

 hay whatever, and the animals are in better 

 condition than usual. The bran, meal and 

 oil cake cost less than .§100, and he was en- 

 abled to sell ten tons of hay lor $22 per ton. 

 Hence Mr. B. don't feel that a little study of 

 the nutritive qualities of cattle food did him 

 harm. His milk cows got four quarts of tliis 

 mixture twice a day, and never did better. 

 We should not suppose that such results 

 would make him hanker for ensilage. 



Wealthy stock breeders, who desire to 

 see improved stock becouje general in order 

 to do the country good as a whole, should not 

 aim to keep prices at fancy figures. We 

 notice that one writer in a stock journal ad- 

 vises to castrate all good bulls that cannot be 

 sold for $100 at least. A man who does that 



for such a reason might as well acknowledge 

 that his only purpose in breeding is to draw 

 exorbitant profits from a class which ought to 

 be benefited and yet cannot invest at fancy 

 prices. Ordinary farmers sell their products 

 for what they can get, and do not destroy it, 

 and the example is a good one for rich stock 

 breeders. If a .WOO bull will bring only $80 

 or S75. to "get mad" and castrate him and 

 then sell him to a butcher for $50 is rather 

 mean sort of enterprise. 



An Iowa farmer put up twenty-one year- 

 old hogs for fattening, and for the first twenty 

 days fed them on shelled corn, of which they 

 ate eighty-three bushels. During this period 

 they gained 837 pounds, or upward of ten 

 pounds to the bushel of corn. He then fed 

 the same hogs for fourteen days on dry corn 

 meal, during which time they consumed forty- 

 seven bushels, and gained 535 pounds, or Hi 

 pounds to the bushel. The same hogs, next 

 fed 14 days on corn meal and water mixed, 

 consumed 55^ bushels of corn, and gained 731 

 pounds, or 13i pounds of pork to the bushel. 

 He then fed them fourteen days on corn meal 

 conked, and after consuming 45 bushels of the 

 cooked meal the hogs gained 799 pounds, or 

 very nearly fifteen pounds of pork to the 

 bushel of meal. 



Considerable attention has been recently 

 given to the differencts between the rain of 

 the city and the country. The country rain is 

 neutral and is considered the best adapted for 

 human consumption of any found above the 

 earth, on the earth, or under the earth. The 

 rain that fixlls in cities, on the other hand, is 

 acid, corroding metals, stones and bricks and 

 mortar crumljle before it. Its evil effects are 

 visible on every side— in paint, in all decora- 

 tions, and, in fact, almost everything erected 

 by man. The purest rain is that collected at 

 the sea coast, more especially at considerable 

 heights; while organic matter in the air usual- 

 ly corresponds with the density of population. 

 The best way with all grapes, and espe- 

 cially with those not quite hardy, is to prune 

 in the autumn as soon as practicable after the 

 fall of the leaves. If the vines are pruned and 

 trained upon the renewal system it will be a 

 very small matter to lay tliem upon the ground 

 and give a covering of two or three inches of 

 earth upon the shortened canes, which cover- 

 ing should be left on until all danger of severe 

 freezing is passed in the spring. 



An inventor proposes to make machine gear 

 wheels of raw buffalo hide by cementing and 

 pressing together, as many layers as are re- 

 quired for the breadth of the wheel. The 

 blanks thus prepared are cut to form the 

 teeth in the usual maimer with suitable tools. 

 The advantages claimed are smooth and 

 noiseless action at very high si^)eed, and great- 

 er durability without lubrication. 



'^TilE most simple and best stain for niahog- 

 anizing cherry is ground burnt sienna, mixed 

 in benzine or turpentine. Apply with a brush 

 or sponge, let it stand for a short time 

 and clean off with a cloth. It will be better 

 to let it remain in this condition until the 

 following day before commencing to finish. 



HiCKORY-NUT Cookies.— Mix together two 

 cups of sugar, two-thirds of a cup of butter, 

 two eggs, six tablesi>of)nfuls of sweet milk 

 with half a teaspoonful soda dissolved in it 



and flour enough for a soft dough with a tea- 

 spoonful of cream of tartar sifted through it. 

 Add a cupful of the chopped meats; drop, in 

 spoonfuls on buttered tins, put into shape 

 and bake to a light brown. 



Corn cakes tliat are nice for breakfast are 

 made of one quart of flour, one pint of meal, 

 three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one tea- 

 spoonful, of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of 

 melted lard, sweet milk enough to make a 

 thin batter; add salt enough to suit your 

 taste. 



How TO Tell Good Butter. — When 

 butter is propei-ly churned, both as to time 

 and temperature, it becomes firm with very 

 little working, and it is tenacious ; but its 

 most desirable state is waxy, when it is 

 moulded into any shape, and may be drawn 

 out a consideraljle length without breaking. 

 It is then styled gilt-edged. It is only in this 

 state that butter possesses that rich, nutty 

 flavor and smell, and shows up a rich golden- 

 yellow color, which imparts so high a degree 

 of pleasure in eating it, and which increases 

 its value manifold. It is not always neces- 

 sary, when it smells sweet, to taste butter in 

 judging it. Tlie smooth unctuous feeling in 

 rubbing a little between the finger and thumb 

 express at once its rich quality ; the nutty 

 smell and rich aroma indicates a similar taste, 

 and the bright golden, glistening, cream- 

 colored surfiice shows its height of cleanli- 

 ness. It may be necessary at times to use 

 the trier, or even use it until you become an 

 expert in testing by taste, smell and rubbing. 



Winter Protection of Grapevines. — 

 The grape is a tender plant in almost every 

 sense, and must be treated accordingly. We 

 know how it is aftected by great cliauges o 

 temperature, extreme heat and humidity, 

 severe pinching back and overbearing in sum- 

 mer. In winter it is still worse ; millions of 

 vines are annually lost and more hurt, for the 

 want of a little attention in protecting them. 

 It is only necessary to lay them on the ground 

 at the beginning of the winter, and weight 

 them with something to keep them down. 

 The object is to avoid, not so much the cold, 

 as the draft of the wind, which, when the 

 vines are frozen, dries them, and thus perish 

 the smaller vines first, as they are soonest 

 dried. Near the ground this is avoided, 

 though where there is no obstruction at all to 

 the wind, and tlie winter is an open one, 

 leaving the vines exposed, harm will some- 

 times result. 



The Kansas Farmer says: The practice of 

 forcing a horse to stand on his legs, or walk 

 about, while laboring under an attack of colic, 

 is most inhuman. Tlie same remark is also 

 applicable to the plan of exercising a horse 

 during the time he is under the purgative 

 action of a dose of physic. He should be 

 moved gently about before the medicine com- 

 mences to operate, but never after. Do those 

 barbarians who knock the animal about while 

 enduring the pains of colic or when suffering 

 the purgative action of medicine, ever think 

 of what they are doingV If they were treated 

 themselves on the same plan under similar 

 circumstances, they would soon come to their 

 senses regarding the management of the un- 

 fortunate animal which is placed under their 

 charge. 



