288 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
A Lame Colt.— "M. T.," Parma, Mich. A 
sprain of tlic shoulder nearly always results in a contrac- 
tion of Ihe muscles. The depression thus caused, is 
called by some people " sweeny." It is, however, simply 
the result of the sprain. If it has been severe, and in- 
flammation of the deeper muscles has occurred, the injury 
should be attended to at once, by a competent veterinary 
surgeon. If only superficial, a brisk application of some 
exciting liniment, with rest, and food of a cooling char- 
acter, such as bran mashes or carrots, might remove 
the lameness. 
Vitality of E-grs.— " T. P. L.," Esses Co., 
N.J. The vitality of eggs is effected by evaporation, 
more than by moderate cold or heat. If kept in a dry, 
warm place, the moisture rapidly escapes through the 
porous shell, and the c^g is spoiled. They may be kept 
for batching for a month without injury in a cool cellar, 
if they are occasionally turned. It is always safer, how- 
ever, to set only fresh eggs. 
Learning: to Farm.— "J. W. P.," Pitts- 
burg, Pa. One cannot learn much about farming iu less 
time than a year. The routine of the work on a farm is 
not complete in less than a year's time. Whether one 
year or more would be necessary, depends on the aptitude 
and industry of the student. It would be best for those 
who want an opportunity of learning the business, to 
seek a good farmer and pay him for his trouble. It is 
not of much nse to study books until you know what 
you want to learn. A little experience on a farm wih 
teach that, and then it is an easy matter to-get the books 
which may be needed. 
Emigration to Virginia.— " W. A. 
M.," Windsor, Nova Scotia. There are many favorable 
points in the Piedmont region 01 Virginia, for profitable 
farming. The neighborhood ot Charlottsville. has the 
advantage of good soil and climate, and markets, and the 
vicinity of a University. It would be well to visit the 
country before making a determination to move. 
Stable Floors.—" A Subscriber since 1845." 
A stable floor made of cobble stones, cement, and tar, is 
described in the Agriculturist of November, 1873. The 
size of the etones Is immaterial, small ones will make as 
good a floor as large ones, if the foundation is solid, and 
they are well rammed down. The ditch behind the cows 
should not be so deep as 8 or 9 inches; 4 inches is 
enough and G should be the extreme depth. If no 
cement is used, and only coal tar, the spaces between the 
stones should be filled with sand, and as much hot tar 
poured in as the sand will absorb. Then sand should be 
thrown upon the floor, and rammed down or beaten until 
it is no longer soft or sticky. 
Ground Bones.— "L. E. B., M Toledo, O. 
Ground bones retail in England, at $30 to $-15 a ton in 
gold. The price in New York and other centers of the 
trade, is about the same in currency. 
A Oiboing- Horse.— " J. W. G.," South 
Middleboro, Mass. The only satisfactory method of pre- 
venting a horse from cribbing, is to make him wear a 
muzzle, or remove every thing from the stable that he 
can lay hold of with his teeth. A muzzle for a cribber 
was described in the Agriculturist for October, 1S72, and 
a movable manger which turns outside of the stall, in 
November, 1S72. 
The l>est Breed of Sheep.— " A. N. 
T.," Norwalk, Ct. For a good, stony pasture in New 
England, the Cotswolds would probably be the best sheep 
for wool and mutton. The grades of this breed grow to 
a good size, make large early lambs, yield a good carcass 
of mutton, and have a heavy fleece of a fair quality of 
combing wool. We consider the grades more profitable 
to keep than the purebred sheep. 
_____ 
Books on Sheep and Horses. — "A. 
N. T.," Norwalk, Ct. The best book on sheep for general 
use, is " Morrell's American Shepherd," price $1.75, al- 
though it is old and somewhat out of date. The best 
horse-book is probably " Stonehenge on the Horse," price 
$2.50, (or $3.50, English edition). Both may be had of 
the Orange Judd Company. 
Value of a Merino Ram.— "J. T. F.," 
Lincoln, Neb. Whether or not it will pay you to expend 
$25 for a pure Merino ram, depends on the quality of the 
ram and how it is used. If the ram is a good specimen 
of the breed and over two years old, and is well fed, he 
will be able to serve at least 50 ewes annually for 5 years. 
If the produce is such that the fleece is improved in 
value 10 cents a pound, and in weight but one pound by 
the first croBS. which is probable, the cost of the ram 
will be more than repaid by one year's service. The 
second cross will add more still to the value of the fleece. 
The value of any pure-bred animal should be calculated 
in a similar way, and it will be generally found that there 
is a large margin of profit in the first year's use, without 
counting the future returns. 
A Furnace for Wood.— 11 W. W.," Clin- 
ton Co., Pa. For warming houses in country places, 
where wood is the only available fuel, the Gothic wood 
furnace, made by A. M. Lesley, 224 West St., New York, 
will probably be found the most convenient. It takes 
wood four feet long, and is of the simplest construction. 
It may be fixed in the cellar, and obviates the necessity 
of having stoves throughout the house. 
Lands in Eastern Virginia.— " C. 
F. S.," Guernsey Co., Ohio. By writing to General Im- 
boden, the State Commissioner of Immigration, Rich- 
mono, Va., you can get information as to lands for sale, 
or for colonizing purposes. Considering the large quan- 
tities oflanrt lor sale, and the number of persons always 
wanting to purchase, it would be well that those seeking 
purchasers should do so through our columns. 
Devon Herd-Book. — Another volume of 
the Devon Herd-Book is in course of preparation. Pedi- 
grees tor insertion are now being received by the editor, 
LT. M. Sessions, of Wilbraham, Mass. 
Gypsum in Virginia. — " G. C.," 
Swoope's Depot, Va. It would not pay to procure gyp- 
sum from New York so well as from your own State. 
There are large beds of the purest varieties at Wytheville 
in Southern Virginia, owned and worked by a Mr. Mat- 
thews, of lhat place, from whom a supply could probably 
be procured at very low rates. 
Stone Drains.—" G. W. W.," Bedford Co., 
Pa. In the Ogden Farm Papers for July the subject of 
stone drains is clearly treated. If stones are plentiful 
and handy, and tiles can not be procured, there are cases 
which may be exceptions to the general rule, laid down 
in the article referred to. A stone drain may be laid so 
as to be permanently useful, but it very rarely is. 
-Parrots. — A correspondent in Indiana wishes 
to know something about the treatment of parrots. If 
any one knows what to do with " Polly, , ' 1 except to give 
the often repeated ''cracker, 11 which she is supposed 
continually to " want," let him speak. 
The R. I. Society Tor the Encour- 
agement of Domestic Industry sends us its' 
Transactions for the year 1S73. We would especially call 
attention to a feature, which other societies may profit- 
ably adopt— its obituary notices of deceased members. 
These are remarkably full and accurate, and will in time 
be of historical value. The Society this year unites with 
the New England Agricultural Society in a Fair, which 
will be held at Narragansett Park, near Providence, on 
the 2d to 4th of Sept. next. This is one of the best fair 
grounds in the country, and the two societies should pre- 
sent an exhibition, which will draw as many visitors as 
the abundant means of communication with Providence 
can cany. The Rhode Island Society is a very old as- 
sociation, but the infusion of young blood has awakened 
it to renewed usefulness, and it has only to take pity on 
those who have occasion to write or print its title, and 
adopt a name that bears some relation to the size of the 
State to insure its prosperity. **The Rhode Island In- 
dustrial Society" would express everything that the pres- 
ent name does, and not exhaust the resources of the 
printing-office every time it was set up. 
The Carpenter's and ISuilder's 
Guide, by Peter W. Plummer, is a hand-book for work- 
men, but is equally useful to any person who, desiring to 
to build, would first sit down and count the cost. It con- 
tains forms of builders 1 contracts, a variety of tables of 
timber measure and other useful matter. Supplied by 
the Orange Judd Company, for $1.00. 
Irish. Farming*. — "An Introduction to 
Irish Farming," by Thomas Baldwin, Superintendent of 
the Agricultural Department of National Education in 
Ireland, has recently been published by Macmiliau <ftCo., 
New York. It is a useful little hand-book of agriculture, 
which, although intended to relate more particularly to 
fanning in the moist climate of Ireland, is yet full of 
information as to the management of soils, manures, 
crops, and stock, which may be useful to a young farmer 
anywhere. It is sold for 75 cts., and is worth more money. 
Fruits and Vegetables.— " D. R. S. S," 
Ohio, revives the question, " are tomatoes fruits or vege- 
tables ? " We have said our say on this in previous , 
years. Botanically speaking, they are fruit. In the 
seedsman and gardener's view they arc vegetables. There 
is no satisfactory definition of the terms fruit and vege- 
table as popularly used. 
Ilovr Books Sow Seeds. —We have 
frequent evidence of the wide-spread influence of good 
books on agricultural subjects. Often a single volume, 
going into a remote neighborhood, carries with it. an 
idea that becomes of more value than would suffice to 
pay author, printer, and binder, for a whole edition. An 
instance of this has just come to our notice. A cor- 
respondent in Poiut Pleasant, Mason Co., West Virginia 
says: "We have a tile-factory here, on this side of the 
river, owned by Mr. I. W. Smith, and as it may interest 
you, I will tell you that he got from you a copy of Waring's 
'Draining for Profit and Draining for Health.' and tried 
a field that was very swampy and wet, to see what tile- 
draining would do for it. He followed the advice given 
in the book for laying out the drains, etc. It was such a 
great success, that he went into the business of making 
tiles for himself and for his neighbors. He has now 
more orders than he can fill."— Who shall estimate the 
benefit done to that neighborhood by this single book, 
costing a dollar and a half ? It has increased the value 
of that region for all coming time. 
Effect or Clover.—" G. R. W." There is 
nothing in clover pasture that could prevent a mare from 
becoming in foal. If she fails to breed, there is some 
other reason than the nature of the pasture. 
Onion Grub.— "O. C. H.," Conn. The 
small white grab you find at the 2d or 3d weeding is the 
larva of the onion fly— a serious pest when it is abund- 
ant, and one for which no satisfactory remedy has been 
found. The use of the manure you mention has prob- 
ably nothing to do with the occurrence of the grub, as it 
results from an egg deposited by a fly, about half the size 
of the common house-fly, upon the stem of the plant 
above, though near the surface of the soil. 
A I>oii»tfiul Case.— "Enquirer," Marl- 
boro, Mass. We should hesitate to advise a man with 
a young family, and possessing but $S00, to buy a fcwm 
in the East, which is most likely badly run down, for 
$3,000, in the expectation of making a living and paying 
for the farm out of the crops. There are some men who 
might succeed, but these are very few, and the probabili- 
ties are very much against a success. We should also 
hesitate very much to advise such a person to go West, 
if he can make a living where he is .at a mechanical 
. trade. Although a soldier's homestead can be procured 
for nothing, yet the care of a young family would be a 
serious burden in a new unsettled country to a man with 
such scanty capital. The far West is for enterprising 
young men without families, or older men with plenty of 
help, or for persons with money sufficient to carry them 
over the unproductive period. A worn-out farm in the 
East requires money and skill to restore it, and skill is a 
greater necessity and a rarer possession than money. 
Sevastopol Geese.- " R. M. C," Green- 
ville, Tenn. We do not know the address of a breeder 
of Sebastopol geese. Probably inquiries addressed to 
some of the poultry breeders, whose names are found in 
our advertising columns, would elicit the information. 
Rye for Winter Pasture. — An in- 
stance of the value of rye for early spring pasture comes 
to us from Kansas. Mr. W. B. Akers, of Douglass Co., 
needing some early feed for his large stock of marcs and 
colts, sowed 120 acres of rye last fall. In the spring, feed 
was very scarce, and hay was worth the extreme price for 
Kansas of $10 a ton, and corn 75 cents a bushel. The 
pasture thus fortunately provided saved an otherwise 
necessary outlay of $2,500. 
Farm Students.— U M. B. W.," Chautau- 
qua Co., N. Y. A farmer who is competent to instruct 
pupils thoroughly in the art of farming, is not likely to 
take a young man who desires to learn the business, and 
pay him good wages. A farmer of our acquaintance, who 
has always one or two students, and who refuses many 
applications for more, receives $300 a year, and the 
services of his pupils. The pupils are bound also to obey 
all his orders, and do any farm work, when and where he 
may require it, just the same as a hired man. This is ab- 
solutely necessary, for a farmer, before he can know how 
to command men, must know how to work himself. In 
return for the above payment, and their constant and in- 
dustrious labor, the students receive their board and in- 
struction. It is in fact an apprenticeship for whatever 
term may be desired, not less than a year. 
See Page 313 for other Basket Items. 
