1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
47 
the grave-yard, and another to himself on the 
site of the old house, the first done in marble, 
and the other in Granite. This granite house is 
a good notion, and I wonder people who have 
the means, do not oftener use it for building. 
It is a classic material, and suits the esthetic 
taste. It is very durable if properly put up, and 
will last a thousand years as well as wood will 
a hundred. We are having now, in the older 
parts of the country, the third generation of 
houses, and the most of those now upon the 
stage will not long survive their hundred years. 
Is it not about time that we began to have some 
permanent houses in this country ? The material 
is abundant in most parts of the land, either gran- 
ite or limestone, and is easily wrought. In some 
localities stone would be the cheapest, and when 
once erected, it is a monument to the builder for 
a thousand years at least. Some are troubled 
to find traces of their ancestors who have died 
only two hundred years back. The grave stones 
have crumbled, and no one can tell what was 
carved upon them. But granite will not crum- 
ble so readily. It makes a very warm house in 
Winter, and is much cooler than wood in Sum- 
mer. Bullion admires his house quite as much 
as his farm, though it was the farm more par- 
ticularly that I was invited to visit. 
" This is the best house in the county," said 
Bullion, after he was seated. "It cost me the 
sum of eleven thousand one hundred and twen- 
ty three dollars thirteen cents, all complete. It 
has thirty rooms in it, and I can entertain all my 
friends that are disposed to visit me. The car- 
pets cost me five hundred dollars, and the mir- 
rors nearly as much more." The house did not 
need the self complacent owner's eulogy, for it 
was very richly furnished, though the furniture 
was not very tastefully arranged, or selected so 
as to match. The pictures were tolerable, 
though the gilt frames cost more than the paint- 
ings. They did not hang in a good light ; but 
they were upon the parlor walls, and were the 
evidences of Mrs. Bullion's social position, 
which was the main thing she cared for. I do 
not suppose she ever looked at them five min- 
utes in her life. She had a good deal of sense 
but not much sentiment. 
Richard Bullion Esq., was proud of his farm- 
ing — and it was this I was particularly expected 
to admire. " I have raised this year," said he, 
"200 tons of hay, 1000 bushels of corn, made 
three tons of pork, five tons of cheese, and 
have taken premiums on the best swine, and 
the best cows in the county. The sales from 
my farm foot up about $3,300, besides all that 
has been consumed on the farm." 
" Well," said I, " let us look a little at this 
premium farming. How much corn did you 
get off of your best acre?" 
"Just ninety bushels and three pecks, for I 
measured it because 1 entered it for a premium." 
"And how much did the corn cost you?" 
" Well I can tell pretty near," said Bullion, " I 
put on plump fifty cords of manure for I meant 
to get the premium an}' way, and I dropped about 
ten dollars' worth of superphosphate in the hill. 
The manure, I suppose, was worth two dollars 
on the field. I calculate that the corn fodder 
was just about a fair offset for the labor of plow- 
ing and tilling, and gathering. Well, the corn 
must have cost about $1.35 a bushel." 
"And what can you buy good corn for in the 
market ?" I asked. 
" Corn ranged from 60 to 80 cents last year." 
" And do you call that good farming, to raise 
corn at a cost of forty cents a bushel above what 
m it would bring at the extreme market price ?" 
That was manifestly putting the matter in a 
new light, and Bullion scratched his head. I 
saw abundant evidence in my further conversa- 
tion with him, that every thing was managed 
upon the principle of great crops at whatever 
cost. Now Bullion will unquestionably make a 
grand farm out of the old homestead, but it will 
not be done economically. Land in good heart 
can be so managed as to pay for its own im- 
provement. A farm is a machine for making 
money, that does not wear out if it be skillfully 
worked. Corn ought to be produced at the 
market price, pay the raiser a profit, and at the 
same time leave the soil in better condition. It 
is not good husbandry to lay out four thousand 
dollars to secure crops that will sell for only 
thirty-five hundred. Farmers, in many instances, 
want more capital, but they want more skill 
quite as much. Money without skill can raise 
big crops, build ' big barns, and fine houses, 
but money alone does not make good farmers. 
Seeds— How Long will they keep Good. 
There is no general answer to the question, as 
seeds of different kinds, collected and preserved 
with equal care, will vary in the length of time 
they retain their powers of germination. Some 
seem to be good after an indefinite period, 
while others are not to be depended upon after 
they are a year old. The seeds of some trees 
will not germinate at all if once allowed to dry, 
and others will only appear the second year 
after planting. Works upon horticulture are 
generally deficient in information upon the rais- 
ing of seeds and the length of time they may 
be safely kept. While it is safest to keep them 
at a uniform temperature just above freezing, 
there are many which will bear great extremes 
of heat and cold. Plants have been raised from 
seeds taken from raspberry jam which must 
have been exposed to a heat of 220 degrees. 
When buried in the earth, below the reach of 
those influences which induce germination, 
there seems to be no limit to the vitality of some 
seeds. — Among plants commonly cultivated, the 
seeds of carrots, onions, parsneps, and salsafy, 
are not to be relied upon when over a year old. 
Beets, spinach, lettuce, celery and parsley, will 
keep 2 or 3 years. Radishes, cabbages and tur- 
nips, 4 or 5 years. Melons and cucumbers may 
be kept for 10 or more years; oldseeds of these 
are preferred by some gardeners, as the vines 
are said to be more prolific and less luxuriant 
than those from fresh ones. Good seeds being 
heavier than water will generally sink in it, but 
this is not applicable to those with a hairy or 
spongy seed-coat ; such seeds will float even 
when sound. The only sure test is to try to 
sprout them in boxes or pots of earth. If they 
do not germinate there, they should be rejected. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Good Winter Butter from Roots. 
Every person who has an acre of good land, 
and good cows, may have butter in January and 
February, equal, or even superior, to that which 
is made in September. Though not a- fanner, 
the writer subscribed for the Agriculturist in 
1860. An article was published, recommend- 
ing rutabaga or Swedish turnips as food for 
cows. In the Spring of 1861, seed was ob- 
tained, and planted in rows 3 feet apart, and 5 
inches distant in the rows. The ground was 
not the best for roots, yet I obtained from 4 
rows, each 100 feet long, roots enough to feed 
two cows, once a day, five weeks. The cows 
had commenced to decrease in the quantity and 
quality of the milk, after having been taken from 
the grass, and before feeding the roots, but in a 
few days there was a marked increase in both 
respects. The butter was equal in quality to 
what was made in June, and in quantity to that 
made in October. It was worth 3 or 4 cents per 
pound more than the white, oily substitute, gene- 
rally found on farmers' tables at this season of 
the year, in places where neither roots nor 
grain are used. Those who have even small 
plots, would do well to raise roots next year. 
Begin in time ; select good soil, manure during 
the Winter, and have the ground ready by plant- 
ing time. The profit on the few bushels raised 
this year, far exceeds the cost of the paper 
which led me to make the experiment. K. 
Union Cheeses. 
A " Union Cheese House " has been for some 
time in successful operation at Oriskany, Oneida 
Co., E". Y. The milk from a large neighbor- 
hood is collected and converted into cheese by 
the aid of the best machinery and appliances. 
The manufacture on an extensive scale by those 
who make it their sole business is done much 
more cheaply, and a more uniform product ob- 
tained than is possible in the small way. Be- 
lieving that a similar enterprise would be suc- 
cessful in other localities, we quote an account 
of this one from the Utica Morning Herald : 
"The main building is one hundred and seventy- 
six feet long by about forty feet wide, and two sto- 
ries high. This is used principally as the drying 
room, and is furnished with framed tables running 
the entire length of the building. Upon these ta- 
bles the cheeses are placed when taken from the 
"hoop," and are turned daily, as in ordinary dairies. 
Besides this, there is a press room, and vat room, 
some twenty feet square, each. There are six vats, 
each holding about 500 gallons, in which the curd 
is prepared for the hoops. There are nine "pres- 
sure hoops " for 300 lb. cheeses ; one for cheeses 
of 700 to 800 lbs. each ; and one for 1,000 pound- 
ers. The concern receives and manufactures the 
milk of nine hundred cows, the most distant being 
four miles from the factory. As the milk is brought 
in it is carefully weighed and the owner credited 
with the number of pounds received. — One cent per 
pound is charged each customer for his cheese 
making. In addition to this, the parties furnishing 
the milk, pay a ratable proportion of the expense of 
salt, cloth for bandages, and for boxes. The whey 
is an important consideration. This belongs to the 
company; it fattens two hundred hogs. Shoats 
are purchased by the company, when weighing, 
say one hundred lbs. each, and put iuto the yards 
attached to the establishment, in the Spring. They 
are turned off in early November, weighing three 
hundred pounds and over. 
Hogs are " boarded " (fed) for 12^ cts. per week 
each, for those who do not desire to have them 
"live with the family." The swine have a large 
field in which to take their morning and evening 
walks, and pursue their amusement of " rooting." 
Everything is conducted in the neatest manner, 
and it does one good to witness the difference be- 
tween the order and cleanliness of this model insti- 
tution, and the suspicious and slatternly surround- 
ings of some home dairies. We counted seven 
cheeses upon the table that weighed ten hundred 
and forty pounds each! and ten, that weighed seven 
hundred and thirty pounds each. The average, 
weight of the cheeses is two hundred and seventy- 
five pounds each. — The whole product of the man- 
ufactory was sold in November, and brought four- 
teen cents per pound, except the seven large ones 
which brought seventeen cents per pound, realizing 
the sum of forty thousand dollars or over. This 
sum paid a very handsome dividend to those whq 
patronized the establishment. 
