4=32 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Decembek, 
health — but this is hardly probable, for it has 
long been the practice of bee-keepers to save 
empty or partly filled combs with scrupulous 
care, and give them to the bees. And no bad 
results have ever been noticed. 
»-< — ■»■ p— 
Cottoa Culture— Costs and Risks. 
BY H. HIHttLET, 
EUTAW, OltEENE CO., ALABAMA. 
" Timothy Bunker, Esq.," (p. 316, Sept.) has 
gone into big figures in his estimate for a cotton 
place, and his figures may be considerably re- 
duced. His estimate of yield takes for granted 
a crop is certain. But cotton is one of the most 
precarious crops grown, and has numerous ene- 
mies. A man in Sumter, ten miles from here, 
who planted COO acres cotton, will make one bale 
to 50 acres ; cause of failure, rust and worms. 
His loss will be over $20,000. This is but one 
case in many tliis year. I planted 300 acres, 
e.xpectiug to make 100 bales cotton. Rain, rust, 
boll worm, and caterpillar, will cut the yield off 
so I shall be glad to get 20 bales. Othei's are 
better or worse, as the case may be. Tim Bunk- 
er puts down GO hands for a 500 acre place. 
Forty hands are plenty, and 30 is all I want. 
I cultivate this year 300 acres corn, and 300 
cotton, with 18 hands ; will make 6 or 8 bush- 
els corn, and had it not been for causes above 
mentioned, would have made 100 bales cotton. 
I have 16 mules, run eight double plows, part 
time, and part time six. I worked corn and 
cotton with Sulkey cultivators. Wages $10 
per monlb, and doctor's bills. Rations 34 lbs. 
bacon and one peck meal per week. Three 
thousand bushels corn do the plantation one 
year. Mr. Bunker only enumerates wages for 
10 months ; it takes the whole 12 on a cotton 
place, and sometimes 13 could be used up. There 
is no rest or intermission in work for cotton. 
Land is scare that yields one bale to the acre; 
the majority of cotton land yields only half a 
bale — much land one bale to three acres ; a bale 
is 500 lbs. Land can be rented at less than $10 
per acre — for all except the very best. Five 
hundred acres land worked in cotton, could be 
stocked and worked for $15,000 per annum for 
first year, by any white man with brains, very 
easilj-, after first year; cost of stock and imple- 
ments to be deducted, and seed also. — Half a 
bale to the acre would yield 250 bales of 500 
lbs., at 30c. per lb., worth $37,500.00 
Deduct $30 per bale for rope, bagging, 
hauling, wharfage, insurance, tax, 
commission, etc., etc $7,500.00 
Leaves $30,000.00 
Less expenses of plantation 15,000.00 
Leaving a profit of $15,000 for first year, pro- 
vided nothing happened to injure the crop, etc. 
White men who improve their own land, 
work improved machinery, and work better 
than negroes, may do better even. 
There is no need of rushing at the thing so 
largely. Why not be satisfied with one or two 
hundred acres ? The cotton fever is likelj' to 
kill some, some never recover, and some are 
not injured by it. This year it will kill a good 
many. A New York General has thrown up a 
large plantation in disgust, and gone back to 
New York ; others are weathering the storm. 
The Slaughter of Animals for Food. 
There are certain facts concerning the killing 
of the animals which form so large a portion of 
our food, that should be known by every meat 
buyer, if not meat eater, because they effect the 
condition of the me at, its healthfulness and keep- 
ing qualities. Our own attention has been par- 
ticularly directed to the subject by the opening 
of an immense slaughter-house near the City of 
New York, by capitalists and butchers of 
Chicago. The new Abattoir is in fact a regular 
Chicago slaughter-house for all kinds of animals, 
on a larger scale than anything existing there. 
The old fiishioned way of killing beeves, was 
to knock them in the head with a pole-ax, then 
cut their throats, and while bleeding commence 
skinning and slinging them up by the hind legs. 
Our butchers were slow to learn of the Jews, 
who practice throwing ajid slinging the animal 
and then cutting its throat, and in this way 
securing the most perfect possible bleeding, and 
following the Mosaic command, "the blood 
thereof, which is the life thereof, shalt thou not 
eat." Our butchers are now following a very 
similar practice, modifying it by hitting the 
beasts a merciful rap now and then on the head 
to destroy consciousness. lu this way the beef 
bleeds better, as all the blood of the hind quar- 
ters at least tends to the throat. 
There is a serious objection to knocking 
beeves in the head. The shock to the nervous 
system is such as to cause tremor and great 
rigidity in the muscles, although it is the part 
of humanity to put the poor beasts as soon as 
possible in a condition of unconsciousness. But 
this is a serious hinderance to free bleeding. 
European butchers have long practiced what is 
termed " pricking down," and this has also been 
to some extent done, or rather tried in this 
country. It consists ia driving a narrow knife 
blade by an instantaJieous motion in between 
the head and the first vertebra, piercing the 
spinal marrow. This destroys all sense, and 
paralizes all the muscles of the bod}', leaving 
them soft and flexible. When an animal is in 
this condition, it must be slung up by the hind 
legs and bled at once, when the blood will flow 
quite as freely, as if the animal were conscious. 
This method therefore combines the excellence 
of the Hebrew waj', and the httmanity of the 
old knocking down process. 
When an animal is killed during, or soon after 
a fright or great heat and exhaustion, it rarely 
bleeds well, but the meat is left bloody and 
feverish, it soon spoils, and is besides unhealthy. 
Whether the paroxysm of fear, which occurs 
when the animal is suddenly in full conscious- 
ness slung up by one or both hind legs, and 
which lasts until it dies, has any bad effect on the 
meat, physicians must determine. The supe- 
riority of the pricking down process is so evident, 
that we think it ought always to be followed. — 
It was not practised at the new Abattoir — 
though the killing there was done very ex- 
peditiously and the beef looked exceedingly well. 
Horse-breaking and Horse-sense. 
■ 
A horse's sense is good common sense. Many 
a man does not know half so much about some 
things as a horse, and there is a great difference 
in horses. The horse is not naturally suspicious, 
but he is timid when young. He learns very 
soon what his weapons are — teeth and heels — 
and in what his security lies— flight. His bold- 
ness and " the glory of his nostrils " come when 
"he rcjoiceth in his strength." With his age 
comes the knowledge of his powers, and if he 
has never been mastered — never made to yield 
to any will but his own — if he is to be made 
useful, the struggle must come sooner or later, 
and man's-will or horse-will must triumph. We 
think it is best to begin quite young with colts 
to controll them. So advise to halter a colt 
while it runs with the mare, and to do it after 
feeding it carrots and sugar, until it thinks it 
will get only caressing from mankind, and has 
no fear of any man. The colt submits easily, 
because it is the easiest and pleasantest thing he 
can do, provided he is not frightened, and would 
as lief be led as to run loose if the curtailment of 
his freedom is made up by sweets or carrots. 
The sense of smell in horses is very acute, and 
if they are suspicious of anything, they always 
approach it cautiously and smell of it. They 
should be indulged in this, and harness, saddle, 
etc., should all be investigated by the nose as 
well as by the eye, before a more intimate ac- 
quaintance is forced upon the horse. A horse- 
ring of 40 to 50 feet diameter is one of the 
greatest aids a horse trainer can have. In this 
a horse too restive and spirited to take a lesson 
may be tired out, so as to be veiy docile, and a 
tired horse is much more susceptible to both 
favors and instruction, than one full of vim, and 
fire and play. There are a few very simple 
common sense rules which, if followed, will 
commend themselves to the horse as well as to 
the trainer, viz. : 
1st. — Always feel kindly toward a horse, no 
matter what he does to you, and consequently 
never show "temper." Remember the horse 
knows instinctively how you feel. 
2d. — Never go near a horse if you are afraid 
of him, the horse will know it and take advan- 
tage of it, before you acknowledge it yourself. 
3d. — Never undertake anything with a horse 
that you do not know you can carry out. 
4th. — " Make haste slowlt/" teaching the ani- 
mal what you want of him, as a child learns its 
A-B-C-s, one letter at a time, being sure that he 
kuows each simple thing before you attempt to 
teach another ; and repeat lessons often. 
5th. — Reward each effort to do as you wish, 
whether he means it or does it accidentally. 
6th. — Be sure that it is your will and not his 
that conquers every time. 
Following these rules, you may make a horse 
do almost any thing, if he has not been 
spoiled before 3'ou get him. 
■ I »»» •-»- .^ — - 
Good Farming at the "West. 
[Another Western boy, of Lasalle Co., 111., 
who selects the rather trite nom de plume of 
" Sucker," takes an evening in harvest time to 
tell the readers of the Agriculturist how a New 
England farmer has adhered to New England 
notions about manure, etc., and the success 
which has followed. There is no reason why 
Western farmers should not maintain the pristine 
excellence of their wonderfully fertile soil, and 
may even improve it for certain crops. — Eds.J 
" My father is a native Yankee, but I suppose 
by this time considers himself a full-blooded 
" Sucker." But his having been in Illinois thir- 
ty-five years, can not get hira out of the notion 
of good farming and high njanuring. 
" We consider that ordinary barnyard ma- 
nure, without composting, or anything of the 
kind, will pay on an average one dollar per ton 
on the first crop,--to sa}' nothing of the benefit 
to crops afterwards. We have cultivated our 
form for twenty-eight years, and it is as good as 
new land. While (whatever " Western Boys " 
may tell you) in this section, newly broken prai- 
rie always rents much better than old, and pro- 
duces larger and earlier crops, except the old 
laud has been manured. 
" We expect to haul from 500 to 1000 loads of 
what our neighbors consider their valueless 
