242 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



can be obtained for a better structure. There 

 are stretches of 30 and 40 miles, in parts of the 

 west, where the soil is a deep rich vegetable 

 mould, and without stone or gravel of any de- 

 scription ; in such cases you must be content to 

 wade through the mud, or adopt the plank roads. 

 When the traffic or intercourse of a section of 

 country requires that good roads should be af- 

 forded for it, the adoption of plank or stone roads 

 should be governed simply by a comparison of 

 the first cost of each, in conjunction with the 

 probable annual expense of repairs ; and if this 

 comparison is based on the plank lasting twelve 

 years, (or some say ten years,) a safe conclusion 

 will be arrived at. In some cases in Canada, 

 the adoption of plank instead of stone would 

 have made such a saving as would have re- 

 planked the road every five years, if necessary. 

 There are many sections in the west, where 

 timber abounds, especially in Ohio, Indiana and 

 Kentucky, where such roads might be intro- 

 duced with great advantage. 



The article above is extracted from the last 

 of Commissioner Ellsworth's reports, and we 

 have inserted it under the impression that there 

 were many of the forests of Virginia that could 

 be traversed cheaper and better by such a road 

 than any other. We are much inclined to think, 

 indeed we have long thought, that where timber 

 was as plenty and convenient as it is to most of 

 the thoroughfares in this country, that, every 

 thing considered, the cheapest road that could be 

 made would be one constructed of wood. With 

 a locomotive engine and saw-mill made after the 

 most improved construction, to traverse the road 

 and cut the timber from point to point, we be- 

 lieve the expense in ten years would be less 

 than that of a M'Adamised road; whilst the 

 evenness of surface would render the facility of 

 transportation infinitely greater than the best 

 stone road could afford. We should like to see a 

 comparative estimate from some one acquainted 

 with the subject. 



APPLES AS FOOD FOR ANIMALS. 



Apples, when ripe, afford more or less nutri- 

 ment to animals. Sweet apples are generally 

 supposed to be most nutricious, though we are 

 not certain that this supposition is correct. Our 

 fathers and grandfathers held that sweet apples 

 would fatten hogs ; but in latter years, it has 

 been proved that hogs will fatten on apples that 

 are not sweet. 



A hog is naturally an epicure — (we don't say 

 an epicure is a hog) — and when left to himself 

 is a pretty good judge of what is best. Ob- 

 serve, then, what are his natural habits. Put 



him in an orchard where there are various kinds 

 of apples, and see how he will work, or rather 

 how he will eat. Fie will always select the 

 most 'palatable apples — he will not confine him- 

 self to one kind, nor to sweet apples alone ; 

 but will go over the orchard and pick out the 

 choicest fruit, always choosing that which is in 

 such a state of ripeness that its qualities are 

 nearest perfection. Like the boys, his regular 

 haunts are the " best trees" whether the apples 

 are sweet or pleasantly sour ; but he never eats 

 a real crabbed apple, or an unripe one, unless 

 forced by hunger. We should, therefore, infer 

 from the natural habits of the hog, that if we 

 wish to obtain the greatest thrift from him when 

 feeding on apples, it is best to feed him partly 

 with those which are sweet, and partly with 

 those which may be called sub-acid. 



When hogs or cattle are being fed principally 

 on grain, their appetite, health and thrift, will 

 be found much improved by a small allowance 

 of raw apples, occasionally. As a regular food 

 for hogs, the value of apples is undoubtedly 

 much improved by cooking, either by steaming 

 or boiling. If they are to be fed by themselves, 

 steaming is probably best. But it is believed 

 that the most judicious way is to boil or stew 

 them thoroughly, and mix with them while hot, 

 a portion of meal. This checks the laxative 

 nature of the apple, imparts additional value, 

 and causes the food to be retained in the stomach 

 and intestines a sufficient length of time for the 

 whole nutriment to be extracted. The meal 

 may be made from Indian corn, rye, barley, 

 buckwheat or oats and peas. We think we 

 have never seen hogs fatten faster, than when 

 fed on the following kinds and proportions of 

 food, viz : a bushel of potatoes and a bushel of 

 apples boiled together, and when sufficiently 

 soft, a peck of oat and pea meal stirred into 

 them, having the mixture when cold, about the 

 consistency of good stiff mush, or " hasty pud- 

 ding." The pork was solid, sweet and good. 

 Some experiments made several years since by 

 Payne Wingate, Esq. of Hallowell, Maine, a 

 very close and accurate observer, showed that 

 apples were worth more than potatoes for fatten- 

 ing hogs, especially when both were cooked 

 and mixed with an equal portion of meal. Ap- 

 ples are also excellent for cattle. We have re- 

 peatedly witnessed their effects in the thrift and 

 smoothness of the coats of cattle to which they 

 were fed at the rate of about a peck per day, 

 during the winter. Fed regularly, in this quan- 

 tity, they increase the quantity and richness of 

 the milk of cows, while the condition of the 

 animal is likewise improved. 



It is the opinion of some very judicious far- 

 mers, that a given quantity of ground will af- 

 ford more nutriment for any kind of stock, when 

 appropriated to apple trees, than when devoted 

 to any other crop. Our own experience inclines 



