V01« XIII. so. 40 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



317 



Plaster or Paris. — At the distance of fifteen 

 miles fioni the city, on the banks of the Hudson, 

 gypsum answers a very good purpose on clover ; 

 and yet salt water ascends near a hundred and 

 fifty miles above this. On Long Island, it is sup- 

 posed not to succeed on account of the proximity 

 of salt vvater. 



Stones on Tillable Ground. — It is the 

 inactice of most farmers to pick the stones oft" 

 their fields after they are laid down to grass the 

 spring |)rior to mowing. Is it not better to carry 

 them oft" when ])utting iu the seed, and prior to 

 the last harrowing? By thus doing, grain and 

 grass will gr.ow in the places occupied by the 

 stones ; and these are often very considerable 

 portions of the surface. At this time there is no 

 <lifticulty in getting up the stones. Last fall, I 

 sowed five acres of stony ground with wheat and 

 xye, and picked oft" all the stones after the seed 

 was sown, and before the harrowing was finished. 

 The appearance of the field was very much im- 

 proved. 



Ground Feed for Stock. — In that portion 

 , of West Chester county bordering on the Hudson, 

 not one farmer in twenty feeds his horses and cat- 

 tle on whole grain. The grist-mills in the vicinity 

 are furnished with corn and cob crackers. The 

 farmers send oats and corn in the ear in the pro- 

 portion of about three of the former and one of 

 the latter. After the corn and cob are cracked, 

 the product is put with the oats, and passed 

 through a set of stones expressly for the purpose. 

 The miller takes about one-tenth as toll. The re- 

 mainder turns out not far from one-third more 

 liushels than there were in the unground state. 

 One peck of this meal put with cut straw will 

 make a full mess for tliree horses and a pair of 

 oxen. If the unground corn and oats that pro- 

 duced this peck were given to the same number 

 of liorses and oxen, it would scarcely make a 

 mouthful apiece, and would pass through them 

 not half digested. If the millers about the coun- 

 try would supply themselves with corn and cob 

 crackers, they would soon find business. With 

 one of Green's straw cutters, I cut up all the hay 

 I feed out to two horses, five cows and a pair of 

 oxen. The cut hay for the cows and oxen is now 

 merely wet with water ; and for horees a little 

 corn cob meal is added to the hay. The labor of 

 cutting is comparatively light — one man being 

 enabled to cut enough for the above stock in 10 or 

 12 minutes. Scarcely a straw is wasted. 



Rules for making Rail Fence. — Simple as 

 the business of making rail fence is considered, it 

 is pretty evitlent but few farmers have any system 

 or rules by which tliey govern themselves in this 

 indispensable part of farming. Although the 

 following rules may be well known to most well 

 bred farmers, yet they may be found useful to 

 others who have not been taught in all the arts 

 and mysteries of agriculture. 



1. How to know when you have drawn a suf- 

 ficient number of rails for a given distance of 

 fence. If the fence is to be seven rails high, 

 (which is sufficient if the rails are of good size,j 

 and the rails are twelve feet long, place them in 

 piles of ten each, the piles touahing each other in 

 a continuous line. 



2. Place, in range, stakes or poles sufiiciently 

 often to clearly designate the line. Prepare a pole 

 seven or eight feet long, well sharpened at one 



end, and, if much used, the end ought to be point- 

 ed with iron ; at about eighteen inches from the 

 pointed end, fasten a rod at right angles with the 

 pole, and extending thence from three feet, two, 

 four, or six inches, according as the fence is expo- 

 sed to winds. Three feet two inches make a 

 handsome fence. Stick down this pole in a 

 range with the poles designating the line, and the 

 end of the rod will show the place for a corner. 

 Place, then, for a foundation, a good sized flat 

 stone, and you are ready to commence operations. 



3. The bottom rail should be sound and straight. 

 Place the largest end forward on the stone, and 

 the other end crossing the preceding rail at the 

 end of the rod of the ranging pole, so that the 

 corners on each side be in exact line. 



4. Let the five following rails be placed the 

 smallest end forward, and notched, if necessary to 

 make them lie steadily. 



5. Let the top rail be heavy and well notched, 

 the lai'gest end placed forwaid, and your fence is 

 done. 



The object of having the largest end of the 

 bottom rail placed forward, is to have less space 

 between the rails for pigs and geese ; and having 

 the top rail the largest end forward, leaves the 

 fence level and of equal height throughout. 



There is no sight more pleasing to a Genesee 

 farmer, than a well made rail fence. — Genesee 

 Fanner. 



Water Fence. — ^^Generally, this is the most 

 diflicult fence to keep in repair. Winds, ice, or 

 tides, cause frequent damage. An aged farmer 

 recommends them to be made like a ladder, so that 

 they can betaken up in winter. The slats may, 

 if desirable, pass through the upper piece in the 

 following manner. A few stakes driven down 



each side, and fastened at the top, will keep tlie 

 fence in place. — J^ew York Farmer. 



Keeping Sheep. — Sowed three bushels of oats 

 to cure before they are quite ripe, for my sheep ; 

 this I have found to be the cheapest and best 

 method to winter sheep, of the many ways that I 

 have tried. The sheep will eat it all clean, straw 

 and all, and with it get grain enough (and that be- 

 ing green, I believe it far better than ripe,) to keep 

 them in good condition. I never had a distem- 

 pered sheep that was kept in this way. Two 

 good sheaves per day, will last twenty sheep 

 through the winter ; some days three sheaves 

 and some but one, viz. — When they get to the 

 ground ; I have tried it and do know. Now, say 

 five months, 150 days, 300 sheaves, that would 

 make twelve bushels to the hundred ; would be 

 thirtysix bushels oats", and the straw. If any of 

 your correspondents can do better, and with less 

 expense I sliould be glad to know it. — Genesee 

 Farmer. 



Pickled Oisters. — Make a pickle of salt 

 water strong enough to bear an egg. Make it 

 scalding hot, and pour it over your oysters, hav- 

 ing first strained them from their liquor. 



Then pour a small quantity of the pickle into 

 the oyster liquor, and boil it with mace, cloves, 

 alspice, and whole pepper to your taste, adding a 

 little of the best vinegar. 



Pour the mixture while hot, over your oysters, 

 and put them up in stone jars if intended for 

 kee|iing. Tie up the jars when the oysters are 

 cold. 



Indian batter Cakes. — A pint of rich milk 

 to be heated. 



A piece of butter about the size of a walnut. 



Eight large table-spoonfuls of sifted Indian 

 meal. 



Three large table-spoonfuls of sifted wheat 

 flour. 



Three eggs. 



A salt spoonful of salt. 



A pint of cold milk. 



Put the butter into the first pint of milk, and 

 warm it in a saucepan. When it is scalding hot, 

 have ready in a pan, the Indian meal and flour 

 (well mixed together,) and pour the milk upon 

 them. Stir it well, and then thin it with a pint 

 of cold milk. Beat it till perfectly smooth, and 

 free from lumps. Have ready three eggs beaten 

 till light, and stir them gradually into the batter, 

 adding the salt. 



A Dutch Rice Pudding. — Soak four ounces 

 of rice in warm water half an horn", draw the 

 water from it, and throw it into a stewpan, with 

 half a pint of milk, a stick of cinnamon, and 

 simmer it till tender. When cold add a teacup 

 full of cream, 3 ounces of sugar, a quarter of a 

 nutmeg, and some lemon peel. Put a light puff" 

 paste into a mould or dish, and bake it in a quick 

 oven. — Village Herald. 



Horses. — There are many hundreds of these 

 valuable animals killed every summer in the 

 United States, by giving them water when they 

 are heated. It is a most absurd and destructive 

 practice of stage drivers and others, giving their 

 horses water every five or six miles when travel- 

 ling. Farmers who work horses at a plough, har- 

 row, or cart, never give them water from the time 

 they go to work after breakfast, until they break 

 oft" work to go to dinner, a period not less than 

 foin- hours, and the satne in the afternoon until 

 they quit work at sun-down, and it seldom hap- 

 pens that horses are killed that are worked upon 

 farms. The same bad practice exists in England. 

 We were once riding in a stage coach from 

 Brighton to London on a very warm day, when 

 the driver stopped, watered his horses, and set out 

 again upon a fast trot ; in a few minutes all four 

 of them died upon the spot. They manage these 

 these things better in France. They never water 

 their horses only when they are fed. We recol- 

 lect on a very warm and dusty day, travelling in 

 a stage over the hills of Normandy, the horses 

 foaming with sweat and covered with dust. The 

 driver stopped at an inn, and when we expected 

 to see him with his bucket, giving water to each, 

 he brought from the house a Bottle, and pouring 

 out into his hand some of its contents, he washed 

 each horse's nose, and threw a little upon them. 

 On inquiring, we found that it was Vinegar ; and 

 although they had travelled a long stage, they 

 went oft" as fresh as at the first starting. — Cincin-' 

 nati D. Adv. 



New potatoes have already made their appear- 

 ance at Mobile. They must have been raised in a 

 snow bank. — fVTiig. 



There were twelve feet water in the channel of 

 the Ohio on the 30th ult, 



