212 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
Poiidrette.— J. Markbam, Mo. The name 
"poudrctte" is applied tonight soil, or the contents of 
privy vaults, when dried and rendered nearly inodorous, 
and used as a manure. This may be accomplished by the 
mixture of fine peat or dust-dry muck with the material, 
either daily as it accumulates, or by emptying the vaults 
and conveying the semifluid mass to hard ground or board 
floors, where it may become partially dry, and when of 
the proper state of dryness, be mixed with fine dry muck 
or other similar material ; good mellow soil will do, per- 
haps, equally well. This mixing must be very thorough, 
and the mass subsequently dried. There is very little 
danger in applying poudrette too liberally. As an article 
free from weed seeds, fine, and easily applied in drills and 
hills, to field crops and to garden vegetables, it is useful ; 
but as a market fertilizer its value is almost invariably 
overestimated. In the sun-drying of night soil it is^vell 
worth while to sprinkle over it. whenever Btirred, a good 
dusting of plaster, to arrest any evaporation of ammonia. 
Apple Pomace. — " A Subscriber" has 25 
or 30 loads of apple pomace, and wishes to use it as ma- 
nure. We have no doubt of its value, if properly com- 
posted with lime or ashes. It would, in our opinion, be 
worth more than chip manure or swamp muck, but we 
have never tried it, though probably others have. 
Clay a. Substitute for IVIiiclc. "I. 
K. C," Dover, Del. Clay is probably quite as good an 
absorbent as muck or peat, and there is no objection to 
a free use of it in your compost heaps. It does not con- 
tain so many elements of nutrition as muck. If your 
lands are sandy, it might prove more valuable than muck 
in the compost heap. The clay will be better, if kept 
under cover and beateu up fine before it is used. 
Surface Iflanuriug;. — "A. H. L.," of 
Stroudsbnrg, Pa. The tendency of the best practice 
among farmers now is to apply fertilizers on or near the 
surface. Top-dressing with compost always pays. Fresh 
stable manures are best applied on grass lands in the fall, 
and some think this the best time to manure for corn, to 
be planted the following spring. John Johnston says: 
" I have used manure only as a top-dressing for the last 
26 years, and I do think one load used in that way is 
worth far more than two, plowed under on our stiff land." 
Bone-Dust — How much to the Hill. 
— U A. K., Jr.,'' Rural Felicity, Md. Three hundred pounds 
to the acre is considered a good dressing, on pastures 
or mowing lands. If the land is poor, more will be need- 
ed for a good crop of corn, say five hundred pounds to 
the acre. Divide this by the number of hills in an acre, 
and you will have the quantity by weight for each hill. 
Put this in a small cup, and you can determine with 
sufficient accuracy by the eye, how much to put in each 
hill, to distribute the whole quantity evenly over the 
acre. It is safely and economically applied to the grow- 
ing crop. Better results would be realized the first season, 
if the bone-dust were mixed with some fertilizer, con- 
taining more ammonia, as Peruvian guano or fish guano. 
Wood-mold for Corn. — U A Young 
Farmer," Deckertown, wishes to know if the mold taken 
from the forest would be of any benefit to corn. The 
surface mold from the forest, made from the decayed 
leaves of hard-wood trees, contains all the elements found 
in the corn crop, and would unquestionably benefit it. 
We could not tell whether the carting would pay, without 
knowing the distance. Lime or ashes mixed with the 
mold would be a valuable addition. Please report the 
result of the experiment, if account is kept of expenses. 
Remember that you benefit one crop at the expense of 
another, if you take the mold away from growing timber. 
Plowing' Bar n -Yards. — "W. D.," Litch- 
field Co., Conn. This is of great advantage, if the yard 
is kept well stocked with muck or loam. The droppings 
of the cows is thus mixed intimately with the muck, and 
all loss is prevented. It is uot quite so pleasant for the 
milkers to walk on the freshly turned muck, but it im- 
proves the quality of the compost usually made in the 
barn-yard. The muck and the plowing are both likely to 
be undervalued, at this busy season of the year. 
Can a Man \ fiord to Borrow 
Capital to Drain Ills Farm ?— "W. B.,' 1 Berk- 
shire County, Mass. This is one of the best uses capital 
can be put to, on land that needs draining. And all land 
is of this character, where water stands within a foot of 
the surface during any part of the spring. Two crops 
are estimated by some, who have experience in this mat- 
ter, to pay for the whole expense of the operation. The 
land is more than doubled in value. The English Govern- 
ment now loans money to farmers who wish to drain, 
taking security on the consequently enhanced value of the 
crops. This is the best possible evidence of the safety 
of using capital for this improvement, for it is drawn 
from the experience of a whole people, for a great num- 
ber of years. Any one undertaking this work should 
buy and study "Braining for Profit and Health.' 1 
Hop-Growers 1 Journal. — J. S. Ran- 
dolph and others. The Hop-growers' Journal had a short 
existence and was discontinued several years ago. 
Xhe Xexas Farmer, — A new paper with 
this title is issued at Henderson, Texas, by W. K. Mar- 
shall & J. M. Dodson. The editors apologize for the 
mechanical appearance of their first issue, but they have 
no need to do so for its contents. Besides a number of 
judicious selections, there are spirited editorials, the tone 
of which we cannot but commend. The editors appear to 
be sensible persons, who think that improving the pres- 
ent hour is of more importance than lamenting over the 
past. It is good for Texas — or, indeed, any State — when 
her editors will give such advice as follows, and will be 
better still when the young men heed it: "Young men, 
go to work ! There is no time to idle now. You must 
carve out your own fortune. You have no inheritance on 
which to depend. You must reconstruct your own for- 
tunes by industry, and perseverance, and toil. Labor is 
honorable, and the ignoble are those who will not work. 
Get you a home ; " — and more of like purport. 
Price oT Farm Land** In Mass. — 
"We notice in an advertising sheet the following prices 
for farms, mostly in Worcester County, and near good 
markets. One of 146 acres for $3,500 ; one of 115 acres, 
$3,300 ; one of 75 acres for $2,000 ; one of 50 for $S00 : one 
of 140 for $4,500; one of 100 acres for $3,200; one of 140 
acres for $1,700; one of 115 acres for $3,200. These farms 
generally have houses and barns in tolerably good con- 
dition, and are within easy distance of schools, churches, 
and rail-road depots ; the buildings in some cases cost 
all that i s asked for the farms. All the cheap lands are not 
in the South and West, according to this advertisement. 
A Grade Alderney.— B. McFarland, Del- 
aware County, has a cow of this stock, that produced 
in ten months 546 *£ pounds of butter. The average yield 
of milk was 13 quarts daily. She has given milk steadily 
for three years. Can any one give a better record? 
Greasing Cart and Wagon Wheels. 
—Tallow is the best article we have ever tried for wooden 
axle-trees. The rule is a little, and often. But little can 
remain if a large quantity is put on, and the most of it 
is wasted. Castor oil s an excellent lubricator for iron 
and steel axles, and a damaged article can frequently 
be had at the apothecary's, at small cost. A teaspoonfnl 
is enough for each wheel, and it is folly to use more. 
Cheese Factories — English View. 
— John Bull objects to our American cheese factories, be- 
cause they will deprive his wife and daughter of an 
honorable and healthful employment, and by relieving 
them from labor, lead to idleness and extravagance. 
Could they not possibly work in the cheese factory, or 
do any thing else but make cheese in the old way ? 
Fowls with Scabby JLegs.— G. M. 
Burnett, of 111., writes: '"A sort of dry, scabby crust, 
fully one-fourth of an inch thick, covers the legs and toes 
of some of my chickens, making them stupid and lame." 
This is the disease known as "scabby leg. " We know 
of no cure. Soaking with warm water, and gentle rub- 
bing, will remove most of the incrustation. Be careful 
not to rub or pull off the scales so as to cause bleeding. 
It usually accompanies close confinement, and disappears 
if the birds have a free range and access to the soil. 
Xhe Prevention €>€ Diseases in 
Animals.— The Committee on Agriculture of the Mas- 
sachusetts Legislature recently invited Professor Gamgee 
to deliver an address in the Green Room of the State 
House. Boston, on the subject of the Diseases of Animals. 
The Professor alluded to the extensive prevalence of 
maladies which were destroying over a million dollars 
worth of stock per annum, and pointed out that contag- 
ious diseases, snch as pleuro-pneumonia in cattle, hog 
cholera, and scab in sheep, often threatened and effected 
the farmer's ruin. He alluded to the Spanish Fever, 
which has created such fear, wherever the trade in Texas 
cattle is carried on, and indicated that the laws governing 
the distribution of disease were not unknown. This 
understanding enabled us with the greatest certainty to 
prevent disease. He stated th.at, contrary to universal 
belief, the improvements in the herds of animals, pro- 
viding good shelter, feeding well — in short, high farming — 
tended to the extermination of important maladies. If 
so much can be done for ns by science, why do we not 
avail ourselves of it ? The Commissioner of Agriculture, 
General Capron, and the chairman of the Agricultural 
Committee of the House of Representatives are so 
thoroughly alive to the vast importance of this question, 
that some action will soon be urged upon Congress. The 
farmers of the country should use their influence that 
the subject be not shelved. It is one of vital, personal 
interest to every farmer. A subject of greater importance 
and urgency cannot engage the attention of our law-givers. 
The appalling statistics which General Capron can pre- 
sent, will, we are confident, rouse the people to demand 
immediate action. "We have not been trained to regard 
the Government as iu any degree responsible for the 
existence or prevalence of disease among animals. 
Nevertheless, when the true relations of the government 
to the governed are clearly understood, this responsibility 
will be placed where it belongs, and our people are fast 
waking up to a realization of the fact that their govern- 
ment is responsible for the dissemination ©f information 
concerning diseases of animals, and for the use of *its 
great powers in checking contagions and infections. 
Blens Fating 1 Feathers Again. — 
E. C. Newton has tried feeding meat as a cure, without 
success. We have tried it with success, as we supposed. 
J. H. Mabbett gave a few drops tincture of iron in the 
water, fed meat with other food, and removed the cock 
whose feathers were particularly attractive to the hens, 
turning him in with them only an hour both at even- 
ing and morning. Thus he apparently removed the dis- 
ease (or diseased appetite) from one of his yards. 
Refilling Sorghum. — The culture of sor- 
ghum for syrup has had to combat prejudices of long 
standing in favor of molasses from the Southern cane, 
and of sugar-house syrups, cheapness being the prime 
inducement to purchasers of sorghum syrup. This has 
had a good market in spite of a peculiar flavor, more 
or less disagreeable, which it was impossible to re- 
move. We have always felt that the one thing needed 
to establish sorghum as a northern staple crop, was a 
process of easy and perfect refining and deodorizing. 
We are inclined to believe that such a process has been 
discovered by Mr. Wm. Clough, and is now being intro- 
duced by a responsible company. Mr. Clough has exhib- 
ited his simple and inexpensive process to us, and aston- 
ished us by the complete and rapid removal of foreign 
and disagreeable flavors, odors, and solid dirt of all kinds 
from samples of sorghum syrup. This discovery ap- 
pears to warrant the expectation of such a revolution in 
sorghum syrup and sugar making as will essentially 
and prosperously affect our farming interests everywhere. 
Flat Culture for Corn. — "H. D.," 
Hampton, X. J. Hilling is discarded by the best culti- 
vators. The plants will do their own bracing, better 
than you can do it for them, if you will thoroughly work 
the soil and keep down the weeds. The rain is more 
equally distributed and better retained with flat culture. 
How Much Land to Support a 
Family?— "T. K. B., 1 ' Burlington, Tt. Muchness of 
land is a disease of the American mind. " Ten Acres 
Enough " is a stumbling block and foolishness. In 
England there are many farmers who support large fami- 
lies on six acres, and pay large rents into the bargain. 
In Germany a farmer calculates to support his family on 
two acres, and get rich on the other three of his five-acre 
farm. None but market gardeners, in this country, have 
formed any adequate conception of the productiveness 
of good land, when worked up to its full capacity. 
Cultivating Wheat.- " B. V.," Beth- 
lehem, Pa. This is done to a considerable extent in 
England, and is one reason of the large crops harvested 
there. If the wheat is sown in drills, it is not difficult to 
pass a cultivator, with the teeth set the same distance 
apart as the drills, between the rows. All cereal grains 
would be as much helped by cultivating as is corn. 
'•Wartiye Caitle." — "A. L," Dutchess Co. 
There is no distinct breed of this name. The first im- 
portations to this country were from England, Holland, 
Sweden, and Denmark, and at the South from France and 
Spain. These were taken of necessity rather than from 
choice. They had no common likeness, and have been 
bred without reference to forming a distinct breed. It 
takes a great many years of skillful breeding to form a 
distinct race that will perpetuate its own good qualities. 
We have such races, or breeds, in the Short-horns, the 
Devons, etc., and a man can find almost any thing he 
want* in an ox or cow in some one of these breeds. 
