208 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
suffer the loss, and it is only when he has become known 
and has made a reputation that he can hope to get full 
value for his hay. It is strange that even now there are 
men who suppose purchasers in cities will pay two cents 
a pound for sticks, and therefore they ornament their 
hay hales with stout ones at each corner, which arc 
worse than useless, because they are a standing reproach 
against the honesty of the farmers who make the bales. 
The guilty packers do not suffer alone, but cause inno- 
cent parties to lose as much as they tlo. If they only 
knew that these tricks are unavailing, and that they only 
cheat themselves, they might act on the principle that 
honesty is the best policy. 
As to Merino Sheep.— "Ohio." The 
difference between the several varieties of merino sheep 
consists in the quality of the fleece, and to 6ome extent 
in the weight of carcass. Some varieties have finer wool 
than others, and some longer wool; there arc also differ- 
ences in the amount of yolk or grease contained in the 
fleece. The improved American merino claims to com- 
bine the excellences of all the foreign varieties, but al- 
though this may not be justified by the facts yet it is a good 
enough sheep for all our purposes when carefully bred. 
Chicken Claolera. — "E. D.," Clinton, 
Kansas, says after losing 100 chickens by cholera he 
found that a table-spoonful of soda mixed with a quart 
of milk and given with the food was a cure. 
Ayrshires for Beef.— "G. S. A.," Lin- 
coln, Neb. The Ayrshire ox is an excellent worker and 
a good beef animal. The Ayrshire cow, upon good feed, 
is as good beef as the Devon cow, while she is much 
superior as a milker. Where beef and milk are both 
wanted, the Ayrshire or perhaps the Dutch cattle would 
be the best upon your prairies where the feed is good 
and nutritious. 
Selecting- Esrgs for Pallets* — 
" J. R. K.," Mendocino Co., Cal. During many years we 
have made many experiments in selecting eggs for 
hatching with the purpose of observing whether one 
kind or another would produce pullets or otherwise. 
We found that eggs produced one or the other sex of 
chickens irrespective of their size or shape, and that the 
ehape of the egg depended upon the hen that laid it, and 
not upon what it contained. Out of a flock of 300 hens 
wc soon learned to distinguish the eggs of a large num- 
ber, each one of which laid eggs of a peculiar and uni- 
form shape, size, and color, and a Betting of eggs of ex- 
actly the same character in every way so far as it could 
be discerned produced the usual proportion of male and 
female chicks. 
The Best Sheep.— "S. B. B.," Dover, 
N. II. A selection of sheep should be made altogether 
in reference to the locality and the character of the farm 
upon which they are to be kept. Upon hilly, poor land 
the Merino sheep or its grades would be the best; upon 
hilly but rich pastures the South-Down, the Cotswold, or 
the Shropshire sheep would be suitable; low, flat lauds 
are unsuitable for sheep of any kind. 
metallic Ear-9Iark. — "L. M. K.," 
Adams Co., Iowa. The best metallic ear-mark we know 
of is Dana's, described in May Agriculturist. 
Shipping- Eggs. — "California." If ship- 
ping eggs for market is meant, there is no better way 
than to pack in barrels with cut straw or chaff. A flour 
barrel will hold sixty to seventy dozen, and if plenty of 
packing is used and the head tightly pressed down the 
eggs will stand much rough usage safely. i£ggs for 
hatching should be packed in dry wheat bran in a light 
box, which should be again packed in a larger box with 
plenty of dry straw between the two boxes. 
Feeding Meal Wet or I>ry.— "J. H. 
D. f " Stouts, Ohio. The most economical way of feeding 
mcai is to mix it with a little cut hay, straw, or. roots. 
Feeding it dry and alone is a wasteful practice, because 
Bonie of the meal is not digested, and is therefore lost. 
Roof for Root Cellar.—" E. M. S.," 
Worcester Co., Mass. The most perfect roof for a root 
cellar is an arch of brick laid in cement and covered with 
a coat of asphalt or gas-tar. 
Patent Bntter Firkin. -"G. B.," 
Oneida Co., N. Y. We can not say whether there is any 
patent upon a butter package which is narrower at the 
bottom than at the top, or not. There are too many 
patents for any person to keep the whole of them at his 
fingers 1 ends. But if there should be it is infringed 
every day of the year, and has been for many years 
back, and by thousands of people, for such butter pack- 
ages are more commonly used than any other. The 
Orange Co. butter pail is just such a package, and there 
is nothing to prevent any person using such a one. 
The Mole Plow.— "J. N. S.," Pendleton, 
S. C. A good lifting subsoil plow would probably be of 
better service than a mole plow in any other soil than a 
clay. The subsoil plow will break up the hardpan, and 
if the ground beneath is not very retentive of moisture, 
that is often sufficient to dry the surface without drain- 
ing. Draining is not always and everywhere required, 
and is sometimes an unnecessary expense. The mole 
plow acts best upon clay soils, and there its effects are 
visible sometimes for three or four seasons, after which 
it needs to he used again. 
Steamer for Feed.- "G. L.W.,' 1 Shreve- 
port, La. In another column of this number of the 
Agriculturist there is described a steamer or boiler with 
which we have been acquainted for several years, and 
which perfectly answers the purpose of steaming feed. 
For twenty cows the interest on the cost of a boiler and 
small engine for cutting the feed could be saved many 
times over each year. In the Agriculturist of January, 
1873, will be found a description, with engravings, of a 
good form of steam chest. 
Horse Power.- 'J. N. S.," Pendleton, 
S. C. The Harder railway horse power is considered a 
good one and with a pair of good-sized mules will be able 
to run a thresher and cleaner or a cotton gin. A hull of 
good size would run such a horse power for doing light 
work. We never found the cast-iron endless chain upon 
railway powers any trouble. With each machine some 
spare links should be sent, and if one is broken it can be 
replaced. The broken one may be used as a pattern 
whereby to cast others. It is strange that you do not see 
advertisements of these horse powers: they appear in 
our column s almost every month, and the makers of each 
kind are trustworthy and responsible parties. 
The Soot eli Plow.— "W. H. S. G.,"Cha- 
tauqua Co., N. T. The plow figured in the engraving on 
the first page of our April number was made by Gray & 
Co., Scotland, and was imported by Mr. Wm. Crozier, of 
Beacon Farm, Northport, Long Island, for his own use. 
We have no doubt that Mr. Crozier, who is extremely 
obliging to his brother farmers, would willingly order one 
for any of our readers who deBire it and will communicate 
with him. 
Fumigation of a Meat-House.— "G. 
M.," McMinnville, Tenn. When a meat-house is infested 
with the meat-bugs or weevils, a good fumigation for a 
whole day with sulphur would probably destroy the ver- 
min. The meat should be removed during the operation, 
for although it would not be injured, yet it would acquire 
an undesirable flavor. 
Tnree-Horse Clevis.— " T. J. L.," Indi- 
ana. The clevis of which you send a sketch is a patented 
one, and any person using it is liable to pay the patentee 
a royalty for its use or be called upon to defend a suit. 
As to the justice of the patent we of course can not give 
an opinion, but we know that the same contrivance has 
been in use in Great Britain for many years, and we be- 
lieve it has also been in use in this country long before 
the patent was issued. This is not the only patent upon 
which farmers are called to pay for rights to use devices 
which have been in use for years before some person was 
granted a monopoly of them by the patent office. 
Iron or Woodeu Axles.— "B." The 
advantages of the iron axle over the old-fashioned wooden 
ones are chiefly its greater strength and durability, and 
the less risk of losing the linch pin and parting with the 
wheel. An iron axle runs somewhat easier in a wooden 
box than in an iron box. There isno practical difference 
Id the draft whether the axle is small or large. 
Feed Barrow.-'D. P.," Otsego Co., N. 
T. The axle of the feed barrow shown upon page 16 of 
the Agriculturist of January, 1874, is formed of two small 
flanged gudgeons which are bolted to the sides of the 
barrel. The handle of the harrow is made to fork, and at 
the end of each fork a hole is punched, through which 
the gudgeon passes before it is put into the hub of the 
wheel and pinned to keep the wheel on. The pin is a 
common spring linchpin. Or the axle maybe a hoop 
which encircles the barrel at the middle. 
Getting; Rid of Stones.— "Evergreen 
Farm,'" Ct. It would be a good plan to dig drains in a 
wet meadow forty feet apart, three feet deep, and eighteen 
inches wide at the top, and twelve inches at the bottom. 
The drains may then be filled with stones, selecting the 
largest for the bottom of the drain, and placing them so 
that one large flat one is laid upon two smaller ones, 
thus leaving an arched or covered channel. The smaller 
stones are to be laid upon these up to a foot from the 
surface, which will prevent them from being ever dis- 
turbed by the plow. If the ground is very wet and 
springy it would be better to dig the drains four feet deep 
or thirty feet apart. Although tiles are better than stones 
for making drains, yet when the stones arc at hand and 
must be got rid of they may profitably be disposed of in 
this way. If carefully placed in clay soil the stone drains 
will last many years. 
Breast Strap or Collar.— "E. A. B.," 
Newark, X. J. A horse can draw better in the ordinary 
collar than with the breast strap. The collar has a bear- 
ing upon the shoulders as well as upon the breast, and if 
it fits well there is no pressure upon the throat. The 
breast strap having much less bearing is more apt to 
bruise or press upon the throat when the draft is heavy. 
As to "Wells.— " A. J. D " Ottumwa, Iowa. 
There is no need to go to the expense of making a well so 
large as is usually done. If water is within 20 feet of the 
surface the drive may be used with a tenth part of the 
cost of the ordinary wclL But for stock wells and where 
a larger welt is wanted, or where rock has to be passed 
through, the Jilz auger well may be put down with a bore 
of from 6 up to 20 inches at a cost of about a dollar a foot 
with tubing, etc., complete. If such a welt with a wind 
pump attached were to be put down at the corner where 
four farms or fields join, at the joint expense, much money 
might be saved. But farmers, for some reason or other, 
do not avail themselves of this plan of co-operation as 
much as people who live in towns or villages do, or as 
much as they might very usefully do. 
Straw-Preserving Tlireslier.— " A 
Subscriber," Clinton Co., N. Y. The machine you re- 
quire is the improved straw-preserving thresher, made 
by the Wheeler & Melick Company, Albany, N. Y. There 
are no spikes in the concave or cylinder to break the 
straw, and the straw is delivered sidewiae along a travel- 
ing bed on to a horse where it may be bound in even 
bundles like hand-threshed straw. 
Baling* Hay.— "A Farmer," Augusta Co., 
Va. There is no necessity for making hay bales so large 
as 300 pounds. One hundred ponnds is a more conven- 
ient size, and the hay maybe pressed just as close in such 
bales as in large ones, and lighter ties will answer. P. 
K. Dederick & Co., Albany, N. Y., manufacture an im- 
proved press in which bales of any size from 100 pounds 
up may be made, either of long hay or of cut hay. 
Tar Paper Tor Poultry Houses. — 
11 G. P. A.," West Haven, Ct., writes that he built a poul- 
try house three years ago and lined it as well as the nests 
with the common tarred roof paper, wrapping the ends 
of the roost also with the paper where they were fixed to 
the wall. As he has not yet seen any lice upon the fowls 
he believes the tarred paper to be a preventive. 
Butchers 9 Offal.— u D. B.," Champaign, 
111. The readiest mode of utilizing butchers' offal is by 
spreading it upon the ground and plowing it under. After 
a time a cross-plowing will mix it pretty thoroughly with 
the Boil. 
Frost-Proof Fruit House. — "Stew- 
Rrtsville,' 1 Ind. A double-walled frame buildiDg with a 
space of a foot filled with chaff between the walls would 
not he warm enough to keep fruit from freezing in very 
cold weather. An earth-protected house such as is 
shown in the Agriculturist of October, 1873, would be 
frost-proof if properly constructed. There should be at 
least two feet of earth over it and an air space between 
the outer wall and the lining. 
Old Hay.— "Farmer," Danielsonville, Ct. It 
will be no injury to good hay to keep it until the second 
year. Many people believe that hay is better feed when 
over a year old than new hay, at least for horses. 
Xlie New Timber Act. — By the provis- 
ions of the new act relative to timber culture in the prai- 
rie states, a person who homesteads SO or 160 acres, and 
has filed his claim, is not prevented thereby from acquir- 
ing 160 acres under this act. Any person who is the head 
of a family, or is twenty-one years of age or over, may 
take up a quarter section of land for timber planting. 
There arc still many tracts of government land open to 
settlement in Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota, but they 
are distant from railroads ; and on the whole for a person 
who has the necessary money it will be found greatly 
more profitable to pay five dollars or sir dollars an acre 
for land near a town and railroad depot than to take laud 
for nothing ten or twenty miles away from it. 
