36 



THE Lancaster farmer. 



[March, 



when corn is fed to hogs exclusively. Build 

 the frame first, and lay on the fat afterward. 



At a recent sale of fine poultry in England, 

 218 birds were sold, and the best prices made 

 were : For dark Brahma cockerel, .«!25 ; part- 

 ridge Cochin cockerel, $25 ; ditio pullet, $15.- 

 75 ; bull Cochin cockerel, $26. 



Young chicks that are subject to weakness 

 in the legs should recieve a small allowance 

 of fine bone-meal in the food. Weak legs 

 come from forced growth, high feeding and 

 close confinement, but it is not necessarily 



The beef of Hereford cattle is peculiarly 

 tender and fine grained. For quantity as 

 well as quality of meat they are not excelled. 

 The capability of the breed as quick feeders 

 and economical producers of me^t is unques- 

 tionable. 



The greatest enemy to bees in winter is 

 man himself. After bees have once clustered 

 for their winter hibernation it is almost sure 

 death to disturb them. It sometimes pays 

 to bank hives with snow, being careful not to 

 disturb them. 



The earlier in the season that land plaster 

 or gypsum is sown on clover the more certain 

 it is to produce good results. Some experi- 

 enced farmers sow it on the last snow and in- 

 sist that to do most good it should be applied 

 before spring rains have passed. 



Dairymen near Lockport, N. Y., use near- 

 ly all the milk in cheese making, as the butter- 

 milk, when returned to the skimmed milk, 

 makes an improvement in the quality of 

 skimmed milk cheese. This is nearly identi- 

 cal with the Vermont system. 



The London Dairy show two or three years 

 ago made tests of the several breeds of cows 

 to learn what per cent, of the milk of each 

 was butter, with the following results : Ayr- 

 shire, 5.57; Jersey, 4.74; Guernsey, 4.80; 

 Kerry, 3.73 ; Britano, 4.19 ; Holstein, 2.27. 



The question as to how many bees can be 

 kept in one place is not readily determined. 

 In some parts of Germany several thousand 

 colonies are frequently found in a single com- 

 pact neighborhood, while in this country a 

 much smaller limit is sometimes given. 



HYACINTH.S IN GLASSES.— The following 

 maxims are for the use of those who grow 

 hyacinths in glasses. Look for weight as wel; 

 as size in bulbs ; use the single kinds only, as 

 they are earlier and hardier; set the bulb in 

 the glass so that the lower end is nearly, but 

 not quite, in contact with the water ; use 

 rain water ; do not change the water, but 

 keep a lump of charcoal in the glass ; fill up 

 the glass as fast as the water evaporates ; 

 keep them in the dark for at least six weeks, 

 then remove by degrees to full light and air; 

 the more light and air after that time the short- 

 er the leaves and spike and the brighter the 

 colors of the flowers. 



Stocking Supporters.— When buying 

 elastic ribbon for children's stocking sup- 

 porters, procure a fine webbed brand ; one 

 pair of these will outwear several of the 

 cheaper ones. Do not put button-holes in the 

 elastic, but hem the ends and sew on loops of 

 narrow white tape. Make the supporters 

 long enough for the shortest stockings, and 

 add a couple of loops of tape two inches apart 



on the upper end for use with longer hose. If 

 at any time it is necessary to allow the sup- 

 porter to encircle the leg, procure the ribbon 

 with fluted edges, as that is much more 

 elastic than any other kind, and will offer 

 less hindrarce to circulation.— Comitri/ Gen- 

 tleman. 



Novelties in articles for the writing table 

 are always in demand. Here is one that will 

 be new to many. The case is of leather or 

 silk, and on it is pasted a sheet of writing 

 paper, the right-hand corner of the front page 

 being turned back, just to show that it is 

 double, and to avoid the stiff look that is 

 ruinous to decorative work. Across the 

 paper, but rather to the left, an envelope is 

 thrown carelessly, face downward. This al- 

 lows the seal to be visible ; the postmark is 

 imitated with pen and ink. On the paper 

 there is some writing, and on the top left- 

 hand corner there is a bird and some foliage. 

 Altogether it is a clever idea which is worth 

 knowing, for it could be carried out in many 

 ways without the meaning of the decoration 

 being lost sight ot — American Queen. 



At the Toronto Fat Stock show the Short- 

 horn Champion, weight 2350 pounds and 

 1,342 days old, won the special prize, a cup 

 valued at 1100, as best of any age. 



Hens will lay as well when not in company 

 of the male as when they are kept together. 

 If eggs are not desired for hatching it is an 

 advantage to keep them separate. 



The want of pure and fresh water accounts 

 in many instances for the lack of eggs during 

 the winter season. Fowls require a constant 

 supply of water, and without it will not lay. 



In California considerable fruit is canned 

 in the orchard where it grows, the canned 

 product bearing transportation better than 

 the fruit which has to be shipped even a short 

 distance from the factory. 



It has been noticed by members of the 

 Kansas State Horticultural Society that in- 

 sects injurious to fruits are more numerous 

 about the railroad stations. The average loss 

 in that State by the depredations of insects 

 was 24 per cent. 



A frost-proof vegetable house is described 

 as made with walls flfteeen inches thick, 

 double boarded, the space between the boards 

 being filled with sawdust. The ceiling is also 

 boarded, with about ten inches of sawdust 

 between the boards. 



Next to Australia we are now producing 

 more clothing wool than any other country 

 on the face of the earth. In 1S76 our wool 

 product was 115,000,000 pounds, while the 

 present year it will not be far from 350,000,- 

 000 pounds. 



According to Professor Sheldon, of Eng- 

 land, cheese factories have not made them- 

 selves a howling success over there. A few 

 creameries have made out to struggle along, 

 but it is evident the English farmer does not 

 take kindly to them. 



According to Professor Stockbridge, the 

 moisture constantly being given off by the 

 soil is condensed at night by the cooler air, 

 and so forms dew. This is contrary to the 

 old idea that dew falls from the air, or is the 

 moisture of the air condensed by the cold, 

 damp earth. 



Tn-E American Cultivator says that if barley 

 has not germinated the fact of its having been 

 slightly stained by wet is no actual detriment 

 whatsoever. The grain is not really injured 

 and ought to bring to the farmer just as much 

 as the bright samples of equal plumpness. 



The eggs for hatching at this season should 

 be collected often. Extreme cold is very in- 

 jurious to them, and many a failure to hatch 

 may be traced to neglect in this respect. 

 When the broods are off the nests the hens 

 should have warm locations, if possible, in 

 the sunlight. 



Now is a good time to cut down trees 

 planted so close to the house that they shut 

 out fresh air and sunlight. 



To clip or not to clip, is the question. Sup- 

 pose you do clip the covering from your 

 horse's body, why clip it from his legs I The 

 legs are not blanketed. 



Prof. Stockbridge says: "It is not 

 good practice to water stock immediately be- 

 fore, or after feeding." When would the 

 professor water stock ? 



Mr. J. S. Woodward contributes "A 

 Study of Feeding Stuffs," to the New York 

 Tribune advising farmers to feed more liber- 

 ally of linseed meal, and thus make much 

 more and richer manure and keep their stock 

 continually thriving. This means more acres 

 and better yields and larger profits in farming. 



A novel but permanent label for trees 

 may be had by cutting the required letters in 

 a smooth place in the bark. It is not neces- 

 sary to cut out a strip of bark as we used to 

 do in idle days when we were boys, but sim- 

 ply draw the cutting point of the knife 

 through the bark in such lines as to represent 

 the letter wished. 



It is nice to have new potatoes from the 

 garden a little ahead of time and of the 

 neighbors. Two or three weeks can be gained 

 by starting them in a box under the kitchen 

 table. Bury a peck or half bushel in moist 

 earth and let them sprout ; plant out as soon 

 as the ground is fit. Use the seed end of the 

 potato as it is a little earlier in ripening. 



A GREAT many people will be fooled, we 

 think, who have subscribed for a certain bogus 

 household journal published in New York 

 City which is floated by means of a lottery. 

 Set any paper down as a fraud that goes into 

 the lottery business. Subscribers will be sure 

 to draw blanks and the paper will prove worse 

 than worthless— vicious. 



A scientific contemporary says that "an 

 improved form of stock barn has been pat- 

 ented," &c. In this matter of "agricultural 

 patents" the line should be drawn somewhere, 

 and we suggest that it be drawn at "stock 

 barns." Only one step more and we'll have 

 a patent clapped on the stock itself. 



Seeds when stored should always be care- 

 fully labeled, the variety, when obtained, and 

 in what year grown, plainly noted on the 

 label. Look over your old seed. It may be 

 good as new and it may be worthless. Onion 

 seed is not good for much when two years 

 old ; parsnip seed also will seldom germinate 

 after the first year. Pea seed retains its 

 vitality two years ; the same is true of pepper 

 seed and carrots ditto. Celery is good for 

 five years but we would a great deal rather 



