524 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



Boil as much best cider vinegar as will cover 

 the cucumbers ; wash out the jars, and put 

 the cuiiiiubers into them : turn the vinoj^^ar 

 on boiliny hot ; cover them with cabbaj^e 

 leave?; ami eover them tij^ht. In forty-eight 

 hours they will bo fit for use. 



No. 2. Fiek cueumbers each morning, let 

 them stand in weak brine three or four days, 



{)utting in mustard pods and horse raddish 

 eaves to keep them green. Then take out 

 and drain, covering with vinegar for a week ; 

 at whieli time take out and drain again, putting 

 in new vinegar, adding nmstard seed, ginger 

 root, cloves, pepper and red pepper pods, of 

 each about one or two ounces, to suit different 

 tastes, for each barrel. 



The vinegar nnist be changed once, as the 

 large amount of water in the cucumbers re- 

 duces the vinegar so much that this change is 

 absolutely necessary, and if they should seem 

 to lose their sharp taste again, just add a little 

 molasses or spirit and all will be right. — Re- 

 ceipt Book. 



Alum will harden cucumbers. To a gallon 

 of vinegar, add one ounce of powdered alum. 

 If the vinegar is put into bottles tightly cork- 

 ed, and set in a kettle of cold water, with hay 

 or straw between them to keep the bottles 

 from knocking together, and allowed to re- 

 main over the fire until the water boils, then 

 removed, and kejjt in the kettle until nearly 

 cool, the vinegar will keep perfectly clear 

 when used for pickles, but it should be added 

 to them cold. Shreds of horse raddish root 

 will prevent all piekles from moulding. — S. 0. 

 J., in Country Gentleman. 



THE FROG IN" THE HORSE'S FOOT. 



The frog in the horse's foot is evidently 

 designed for very important uses. If we 

 carefully observe the form and size of the 

 frog in the foot of the colt, from four years 

 old at ilrst shoeing, and then note the changes 

 which it undergoes, as the shoeing is repeated, 

 we shall soon be convinced that a visible de- 

 parture from a state of health and nature is 

 taking ])lace. At first it will be found large 

 and full, with considerable elasticity, oval in 

 form, at the heels fully developed, plump and 

 rounded. I3y degrees the fulness and elas- 

 ticity will be observed to have diminished, its 

 oval form will disappear and it will dwindle 

 into a narrow crack, presenting only the mis- 

 erable remauis of a frog. The question is. 

 Why is this so ? I believe that m(3st of the 

 mischief is the unnecessary evil of paring. 

 The smitli, in paring the foot, comes to the 

 frog and takes a slice from eaeh side of it, for 

 it presents an even, smooth, clean-looking sur- 

 face when cut throu^fli, that to resist the temp- 

 tation is more than tails to the share of most 

 smiths. 



The reasons for not paring the frog are, 

 first, the frog has naturally less power of y)ro- 

 duciug horn than any other part of the foot, 



it immediately checks the growth of the frog 

 and prevents the expansion of the hoof, ex- 

 ])o.-ing the membrane whiili secretes the horn 

 to undue pressure. The layer of horn that 

 covers the frog is thinner in substance and 

 more delicate than that of any other part of 

 the foot ; and when once destroyed is very im- 

 perfectly and sparingly reproduced. As a 

 general rule I would say, let the frog alone. 



Perliajjs about one in a thousand may form 

 an exception, where a large, loose-textured 

 frog may recpiire a little paring once or twice 

 a year. The frog is provided within itself 

 with two very efficient modes of throwing off 

 any sujjerlluous horn it may be troubled with. 



The first and most connnon is the separation 

 from its surface of small, bran-like scales, 

 which, becoming dry, fall off. The other is 

 upon a Uirger scale, called easting the frog. 

 A thick layer of frog separates itself in a body 

 and comes off to the usual depfh of paring. 



But it is wortlij' of remark that there is a 

 very important difference between the two 

 operations. Nature never removes the cov- 

 ering until she has provided another beneath, 

 and there still remains a perfect frog covered 

 with horn, and in every way fitted to sustain 

 exposure ; while the knife, on the contrary, 

 removes the horny covering, but is unable to 

 substitute any other in its stead. My advice 

 would be to let the frog alone. — Western 

 Rural. 



The Wcjol Market. — Tedious as has been 

 the time of waiting for a vindication of the wis- 

 dom of the wool tariff of 1867, our revenge has 

 come at last ; and while we do not desire to 

 add shame to the confusion which has over- 

 taken our revilers, we take this occasion to ask 

 them, one and -all, how they like it as far as 

 they have gone ? With California ileece at 35 

 to 40 conts, XX Ohio at 55 to GO cents, and 

 picklock at Go cents, and* even the "nasty, 

 greasy Merinos " of New York and Vermont 

 State at 50 cents, and with gold at $1.10 1-2 

 to $1.11, we feel that the tariff is fully vindi- 

 cated as a measure of fair protection to the 

 American wool grower, and j)ut this opinion 

 on record, on behalf of the gt^nllemen whose 

 patriotic labors contril)uted to l)iing this state 

 of things to pass, of whom the^writer, hav- 

 ing shared fully in the calunmy, desires to 

 share in the glory of success. — Cnl. JHan'is, 

 in Rural New Yorker. 



Danger in Soap Making. — The Delphos 

 JJer aid i ells of a lady meeting with a serious 

 mishap while making soap at Sandusky City, 

 recently. While the soa]) was bailing at a 

 lively rate, she turned into the kettle a ([uan- 

 tity of cold lye, when the contcJits exploded 

 with great force, scalding the persons present 

 in a shocking manner. The explosion was in- 

 stantaneous and so powerful as to leave the 

 kettle entirely empty. 



