1884.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



185 



mer use, especially in the warmer States. 

 They may be purcliased for about forty cents 

 per yard, though the so-called seamless mat- 

 ting retails for seventy cents. When on the 

 apjiroach of winter the matting is somewhiJt 

 worn, and it is desired to put down a carpet, 

 the matting may be left on the floor, forming 

 as It does, a very good lining for the rarpot. 

 For this purpose felting is too thin and is now 

 no longer used. A good lining, however, is 

 made of a layer of cotton-batting stitched be- 

 tween sheets of manilla paper, protecting the 

 carpet and deadening ihe noise. It costs in 

 the neighborhood of ten cents a yard. Among 

 carpets proper the Moquette is the best for the 

 money. Its colors are richer and more lasting. 

 It is soft and durable, and usually attractive 

 in design. These carpets may be purchased 

 for SI. i-") or SI. 50 per yard, and are c(iual to 

 anythiug in this line which comes cheaper 

 than $5. One of the most serviceable cheap 

 carpets is a body Brussels. It will outlast the 

 best ingiain, besides always appearing richer 

 and more elegant. The prices range from 

 nine to twelve shillings, and the border, which 

 always adds greatly to the effects, sells at the 

 same figure. A small pattern, floral or geo- 

 metrical, in subdued colors, on white, gold or 

 gr;iy ground, will be found most desirable. In 

 buying an ingrain there is nothing gained by 

 paying four shillings more per yard in order 

 to obtain a three-ply, When it has been found 

 by experience that a two-ply will wear equally 

 long and well. Ingrains with a half cotton 

 warp sell as low as thirty cents a yard. A 

 class of goods called terry, an ingrain without 

 figjires, is a very popular carperting just now. 

 It comes in pretty greens, browns, red or cop- 

 per shades, and sells at seventy cents. As the 

 ground for a few bright mats, the effect is 

 charming. — Popular Manthhj. 



SORGHUM AS A PROFITABLE CROP. 



Sorghum growing should receive the atten- 

 tion of every farmer who grows corn. Al- 

 though a source from which sugar may be 

 obtained, sorghum is also profitable for its 

 fodder and seed alone, and when the farmers 

 begin to realize the value of the ground seed 

 as food for stock it will be a regular crop 

 wherever it can be produced. Dr. Collier, 

 late Chemist of the Agricultural Departmert, 

 states that sorghum can be grown in any 

 climate, or on any soil that produces seed and 

 fodder, sorghum produces seed, fodder and 

 syrup. The system of cultivation is the same 

 for both corn and sorghum, though at the 

 time of putting in the seed sorghum demands 

 less labor. The quality of sorghum seed is 

 nearly the same as that of corn, but is valu- 

 able in a dietary point of view, while a mix- 

 ture of ground corn and sorghum seed is su- 

 perior to either when fed alone to stock. The 

 yield of seed per acre is about the same as 

 that of corn, and is as easily harvested; but a 

 little more labor is required in order to sepa- 

 rate the seed in the barn. The fodder is 

 sweeter than that of corn, possessing, there- 

 fore, a greater proportion of nutriment, and 

 will keep in a green or succulent condition 

 much longer than corn fodder, which is a 

 very important item. 



It is not necessary to strip the stalks early, 

 nor is there a loss of saccharine matter by al- 

 lowing the fodder to mature, as the most 



available syrup is obtained after the seeds are 

 thoroughly ripe. When the stalks, are st.rii)- 

 ped of the leaves and the fodder bundled and 

 cured under the system known as " blading " 

 it makes the cleanest and best provender 

 known, and even after the stalks are ground 

 and pressed they may be utilized for feeding 

 purposes, as it is impossible to completely de- 

 prive them of their saccharine matter. In 

 making syrup the common method now pur- 

 sued is for farmers to combine and procure 

 the necessary machinery, or for a farmer to 

 procure such for himself, and charge a com- 

 mission to his neighbors for grinding the cane 

 and extracting the syrup ; or, as it is done 

 with thrashing machines, there are those who 

 make a business of extracting the syrup, the 

 cost of making the syrup varying from 12 to 

 25 cents per gallon. Each gallon of syrup 

 yieldsjabout six pounds of sugar, but as the 

 experiments are annually cheapenmg the cost 

 of manufacture, in a short time the expenses 

 will be but very little. 



We do not, however, value sorghum for its 

 sugar aloue, but also for its syrup. In the 

 South during the war sorghum syrup was a 

 common article, and proved an excellent sub- 

 stitute for molasses. There was no difficulty 

 in its manufacture, for on every farm was a 

 rude mill which pressed the juice from the 

 cane, and this was in a few hours boiled down 

 to the consistency of syrup. No sugar was 

 made, however, as the method of crystallizing 

 the saccharine matter from sorghum was then 

 unknown. With the improved methods and 

 machinery of the present day there is no 

 reason why every farmer should not grow his 

 own syrup, and at a small expense. 



With the advantages in favor of sorghum 

 of being a valuable seed producer, and the 

 excellence of the leaves for feeding purposes, 

 with the conversion of the stalks into sugar, 

 it should share with corn a portion of the 

 space on every^farm, especially as it stands 

 the droughts better and germinates sooner 

 when planted, as well as being quicker in 

 growth and less liable to injury from frosts 

 than corn. 



MILK AS AN ABSORBENT. 



The following synopsis by the Sanilarwn, 

 of a paper by Dr. Dougall, of Glasgow, de- 

 tailing experiments conducted with a view of 

 discovering the absorptive power of milk in 

 various volatile substances, will be of interest : 



Dr. Dougall inclosed in a jar a portion of 

 certain substances giving ^otl' amations, to- 

 gether with a uniform quantity of milk, for a 

 period of eight hoiu-s. At the end of that 

 time a sample of milk was drawn by means of 

 a pipette from the lower stratum of the ves- 

 sel exposed in the jar ; and we find that the 

 following wore results of his experiments : 



Smell in Milk. 



1. Coal Gas distinct. 



2. Varaffine Oil strong. 



o. Turpentine yery stroni;. 



4. Onions very strong. 



.5. Tobacco smoke very strong. 



6. Ammonia moderate." 



7. Musk faint. 



8. Asafietida distinct. : 



9. Stale urine faint. , 



10. Creosote faint. ! 



11. Cheese (stale) distinct. 



12- Cliloroform moderate. 



13. Putrid fish very bad. 



14. Camphor moderate. 



15. Decayed cabbage distinct. 



It thus became obvious that the milk had 



absorbed the emanations of all the substances 

 to which it had been exposed, and it further 

 transpired that all the .si)ocimens examined 

 retained their distnictive odors for as long as 

 fourteen hours after their removal from the 

 glass jar in which they had teen exposed. 



Cream, according to Dr. Dougall, may be 

 regarded as acting in much the same manner 

 as milk ; indeed, although it contains less 

 water than milk, yet it lias special qualities 

 of its own' which may perhaps make it even 

 more liable to retain offensive and dangerous 

 emanations than the parent fluid itself. Abun- 

 dant evidence hiis, however, been given to 

 show that far more care is needed in conuec- 

 tion witii the storage of milk than has here- 

 tofore been regarded as necessary, and this 

 especially where milk or cream is kept in 

 apartments or wards occupied by sick persons. 

 If the emanations to which the milk is ex- 

 posed are of a diseased and dangerous quality. 

 it is all but impossible that the sample can re- 

 main free from offensive and dangerous pro- 

 perties ; and it should become an invariable 

 rule to keep as little milk as possible in sick 

 rooms, and never to allow a supply which has 

 been thus exposed to unwholesome emana- 

 tions to be used for food. 



Under these circumstances it has l)een late- 

 ly held desirable to boil all milk which is open 

 to suspicion before using it. In the courae of 

 several epidemics in which milk hius acted as 

 the vehicle of infection, it has been noticed 

 that persons who had only consumed it after 

 it had been Iwiled escaped all ill results, 

 whereas our members of the same family or 

 community, who had not taken that precau- 

 tion, had been attacked with disease. 



CELLARS. 



The housekeeper cannot be grateful enough 

 for a good, dry cellar, but she can best show 

 her gratitude by keeping it sweet and clean, 

 and allowing no decayed vegetables or other 

 rubbish to taint the air, ofleud the nostrils and 

 lay the foundations of disease. It would 

 .seem its though no person of good judgment 

 would either build or hire a house without 

 giving the cellar due consideration, for if it is 

 not or cannot be kept dry and sweet, the 

 faimily is certani to sutler. No matter if you 

 are poor, and the price of the rent has to be 

 considered ; doctor's bill cost more than sani- 

 tary measures for preserving the health. The 

 cellar should extend under the entire house, 

 if possible, and be not le-ss than seven and a 

 half deep, with an entrance leading to the 

 kitchen as well as one from the outside. It is 

 about as unfortunate for a housekeeper to 

 have all the vegetables and meat brought iu 

 through the house for winter storage as to be 

 obliged to reach the cellar from an outside 

 door. 



If one is about building a cellar it is wise 

 to arrange one of the chimneys so that a flue 

 may be used for ventilating purposes. If win- 

 dows aloue be depeuded upon tliey should be 

 perfectly weather-tight to exclude the cold 

 draughts in winter which keep the house at 

 freezing point in spite of fierce fires. In sum- 

 mer they should be covered with wire netting 

 so as to admit the air and keep the place clean, 

 cool and .safe. The drains should be carefully 

 attended to and covered in the same way, and 

 care should be particularly taken that rata 



