364 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



It is very important that cows of any age 

 be milked clean ; but more especially should 

 this be practiced with heifers. One of the 

 secrets of butter-making lie just here. I need 

 not tell those that are used to the care of cows 

 and dair_\ ing that the last drawn gill is nearly 

 all cream, and when one of these little meas- 

 ures of milk is left in tlie udders of several 

 cows, as a careless milker will often do, no 

 in>ignificant quantity of the richest milk is lost 

 every day. 



But this is not all or perhaps the greatest 

 loss. Leaving milk in the cow's bag has a 

 most deleterious eil'cct upon the cow. Un- 

 doubtedly many cases of garget might be 

 traced to this negle(;t. And the habit, if per- 

 sisted in any length of time, will cause a grad- 

 ual falling olF in the milk, and the cow will 

 be very unlikely to regain her full milking 

 powers again. This matter is worth more 

 than a casual thought. Heifers, the first year 

 of tlieir coming into the dairy, should be en- 

 trusted to no inexperienced or careless milk- 

 ers. A good milker will draw the milk in 

 silence and quickly. Never allow yourself to 

 leave a cow lialf milked, and then return and 

 finish, thinking to get the full complement that 

 the cow would give. This habit is nearly as 

 bad as the one spoken of above, and its prac- 

 tice brings about the same results. By such 

 means heifers often contract the habit of with- 

 holding their milk ; a most perplexing habit 

 and often not easily cured. A good milker 

 will attend to his work and draw the milk 

 clean as quickly as possible and establish the 

 habit of giving down freely — a valuable item 

 in a young cow. 



corn, and start off on a short hunt for some- 

 thing better, but always coming round in a 

 short time for a few more from the dish of 

 bran. There is little time during the whole 

 day but what one or more are standing by the 

 pan, and helping themselves. 



I am carefid to mix for them just as much 

 as they will consume during the day. At 

 night, just before they repair to the roost. I 

 usually throw them about a pint of shelled 

 corn, well scattered, so that each one can get 

 a few kernels. If your hens don't incline to 

 eat this feed at first, sprinkle a little Indian 

 meal on to it. I would like all who complain 

 of not getting eggs, to try my plan, and I 

 think they will never be sorry. 



HOW TO GET PLENTY OF FRESH EGGS. 



In a long communication to the Germantown 

 Tel('(/)riph, upon the subject of poultry, Mr. 

 E. Dwight, of Hudson, JMichigan, considers 

 the (jucstion, "How to get plenty of good lla- 

 vored fresh eggs with little trouble," and thinks 

 if there is any secret in it he has discovered it, 

 and makes the same public for the benefit of 

 all interested. He says : — 



"Once, thirty years ago, I was troubled just 

 as my neighbor now is. I fed my hens plenty 

 of corn and got but few eggs. I leasoned 

 upon the matter, and hat)[)ened to think that 

 the constituent parts of milk and the white of 

 eggs were much alike. Now, it has long been 

 known to milkmen that wheat middlings and 

 bran are about the best of any feed to make a 

 cow give milk ; why not then the best to make 

 the hens lay eggs ? I tried it, and since tlien 

 have liad no trouble. My mode of preparing 

 I the feed is to mix about five parts of bran with 

 one of middlings. In the morning I wet up 

 with water about four quarts of the mixture in 

 a large tin [)an, taking j)ains to have it rather 

 dry, though all damp. This I set in a warm, 

 sunny spot, south of their shed, and they walk 

 up, take a few dips, don't seem to fancy it like 



LINSEED TEA FOR SICK HORSES. 



Linseed tea is not only valuable as a restor- 

 ative for sick horses, but is exceedingly useful 

 in cases of inflammation of the membranes 

 peculiar to the organs of respiration and di- 

 gestion ; it shields and lubricates the same ; 

 tranijuilizes the irritable parts, and favors 

 healthy action. We have prescribed linseed 

 tea in large quantities, for horses laboring 

 under the prevailing infiuenza ; they seemed 

 to derive much benefit from it, and generally 

 drank it with avidity. Aside from the benefit 

 we derive from the action of mucilage and oil 

 which the seed contains, its nutritive elements 

 are of some account, especially when given to 

 animals laboring under soreness in the organs 

 of deglutition, which incapacitates from swal- 

 lowing more solid food. In the event of an 

 animal becoming prostrated by inability to 

 masticate or swallow more food, linseed tea 

 may be resorted to, and in case of irritable 

 cough, the addition of a little honey makes it 

 more useful. In the latter form it may be 

 given to animals laboring under acute or 

 chronic disease of the urinary apparatus, more 

 esj)ecially of the kidneys. To prepare linseed 

 tea, put a couple of handfuls of the seed into 

 a bucket, and pour a gallon and a half of boil- 

 ing water upon it. Cover it up a short time, 

 then add a couple of quarts of cold water, 

 when it will be fit for use. — American Vefer- 

 inary Surgeon. 



— Hatfield, Mass., farmers are trying a novel 

 mode of fertilizing tlieir crops. L. G. Curtis tried 

 sowing Indian meal on his tobacco land last year, 

 side by side with guano, and was so well pleased 

 with the results that this j'car he sowed ten tons 

 on his tobacco land, and J. S. Graves is trying cot- 

 ton seed meal for the same purpose. Fitch Broth- 

 ers arc making an experiment with barley meal. 

 Wheat bran is said by the "scientifics" to contain 

 most of the elements of the wheat which are found 

 in phosphates. If barley meal proves to be a good 

 fertilizer, buying the gi-ains from Ijiewcries, which 

 arc sold for eight or ten cents per liushel, would 

 certainly be a cheap mode of enriching the soil. 



