1874.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
379 
for a stable window is in front of the horses 
and much higher than their heads. An officer 
bad bought a perfectly sound mare from a gen- 
tleman whose stable was lighted by windows 
at the rear of the stalls. The animal was 
sound and perfectly satisfactory. After three 
months she became suddenly " ground-shy" ; 
on examining her eyes they were found directed 
upward, and this was explained by the fact 
that the windows of tho officer's stable were 
situated above the head of the stalls, the eyes 
being generally drawn in that direction. She 
was removed to another stable, where the light 
was admitted from all shies, and in three 
months time the difficulty had disappeared. 
Another officer reports that during the cam- 
paign of 1S70, in France, he rode a horse that 
was a capital jumper. On his return from the 
war, he placed this animal in bis stable, the 
windows of which were above the front of the 
stalls, and in a Ehort time the horse became so 
shy of the ground that he had to sell it. Ho 
had had a similar experience with other saddle- 
horses, all of which became ground-shy in his 
stail. One animal in particular, a thorough- 
bred marc, renowned for her jumping qualities, 
refused in a short time to cross the smallest ob- 
stacle, and when forced to cross a foot wide 
gully, made a leap that would have cleared a 
ditch fourteen feet wide. Owners of horses 
who find that their animals shy at objects on 
the ground, or at their side, would do well 
to look to the windows of their stables for 
an explanation of the evil. 
nests are seen at a, a, the water-fountain is 
shewn at b, and the roosts at e. Similar 
portable houses have been found very useful in 
A Portable Poultry House. 
» — 
A correspondent sends us a plan for a por- 
table poultry house, which can be readity 
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Fig. 3. — PLAN OF INTERIOR OF HOUSE. 
many places, where a removal to fresh grouDd 
is necessary for the comfort of the fowls. 
Prize Farming in Ireland. 
Fig. 1. — ELEVATION OF HOUSE. 
moved from place to place. It is shown in 
figure 1. The size of the building is immate- 
rial, so that it is not made too heavy to be 
moved by one or two horses. The building is 
raised upon sills, which are make to answer 
the purpose of 
runners, and 
upon which it 
will easily slide 
over the ground. 
A window is 
placed in the 
roof, and a ven- 
tilator is ar- 
ranged in the 
peak. The en- 
trance for the 
fowls is at the 
side, and a door 
is made at one 
end. Figure 2 
shows the end 
of the building 
in which the 
Fig. 3.— END OV HOU3E. ,-, . , , 
door is placed, 
also the method of putting the building to- 
gether. Figure 3 gives the ground plan. Th3 
The offer of prizes of small pecuniary value 
for excellency in the management of farms, has 
been found to have a remarkably good effect in 
Ireland. Whether or not something of the 
same kind might have a similar result with us, 
were our agricultural societies to offer premi- 
ums for the best cultivated and improved farms 
within their jurisdiction, it is of course difficult 
to say. Doubtless, as a means of greatly bene- 
fiting agriculture proper, a portion of the funds 
of State or County Associations might well be 
diverted from the fostering of the fast horse 
interest, and appropriated to this purpose. But 
whatever might be the result, if it be attempted 
in this country, it will be instructive to note 
what has been done in this way to improve the 
condition of agriculture in Ireland, It is only 
since the year 1870 that the principles of agri- 
culture have been taught in the public schools 
of Ireland, and school-farms or gardens have 
been cultivated in connection with these 
schools, as practical illustrations of the les- 
sons taught. These have been very 
successful, and have greatly aided in 
improving the condition of the small 
Irish farmers, most of whom, or 
317,457 out of 608,864, occupy farms 
of less annual rental than $40. As 
an additional encouragement to im- 
proved cultivation and homestead 
arrangements, the Irish government 
has given, through the Commissioner 
of National Education, twenty-four 
prizes, three for each of eight 
districts, in which there are school-farms, 
of the value of $17.50, $12.50, and $7.50 
respectively, to be distributed annually, for 
the next five years. The conditions are 
simply that the farms shall be of not more 
than $40 annual rent, and that the successful 
competing farms shall be adjudged to excel 
in neatness and cleanliness of the house ; in the 
amount and quality of the produce of the land ; 
in the character and condition of the stock, 
which includes all live stock kept for profit, 
from horses down to bees ; and in any other 
circumstances that may attract favorable no- 
tice. A successful competitor can take no 
more than three prizes in five years, and prizes 
arc not given, unless the farms are sufficiently 
meritorious, and deserve them. The examina- 
tions for tho award for the present year have 
recently been made, and the judges' reports 
published. From them sufficient can be gath- 
ered, to show that the expenditure has been 
productive of a vast public benefit. On all the 
farms which competed, the improvements were 
very remarkable. The educational results were 
conspicuously shown by the greater money 
profit derived from the farms, in consequence 
of their improved management ; so that, should 
the prizes be withdrawn at once, the benefit 
would be a permanent one. The homesteads 
have been fenced in from the public road, and 
eurrounded with gar- 
dens ; gates have been 
hung; calve:; and pigs 
of improved blood have 
been raised ; manure 
has been collected, and 
composting has in- 
creased its quantity 
and quality, and in 
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the process cleanliness of yards and stables 
has been inaugurated. In several cases the 
increased income of the farms in two years 
has enabled their owners to make deposits 
in the savings banks, and thrift and econo- 
my have generally superseded carelessness 
and poverty.- In one case a woman, who 
farms 15 acres of land, has won a prize ; she 
was the daughter of a farmer who had died, 
leaving a dependent family, and had been a 
pupil at one of the schools where agriculture 
is taught. Another successful competitor had 
never before had a field of clover or turnips, 
but now has adopted a rotation, in which these 
ameliorating crops occur, and exhibited fields 
of each in excellent condition. His farm 13 
said to be a model of clean cultivation and pro- 
ductive crops. lie has made money by these 
improvements, and will never abandon them. 
Another competitor's farm, which last year was 
very foul with weeds, was found entirely free 
from them this year. The competition has 
brought many of these small farmers into 
popular distinction, and made them men of 
mark. Some of the farms are visited by 
other farmers from far and near, much en- 
thusiasm has been awakened, and the spirit of 
improvement is active and general. While ap- 
preciating the difference which exists between 
farming and farmers in Ireland and in the 
United States, there is yet am pla opportunity 
here for improvement, similar to that here relat- 
ed, which might be started by a similar agency. 
Egg Inspection. — The Butter and Cheese 
Exchange of New York, recently adopted a 
system of inspecting eggs sent to that market. 
It has been in operation a sufficient length of 
time for the results to be ascertained, although 
it has not yet reached a point where it works 
with perfection. The chief inspector reports 
that the system has so far met with the appro- 
val of both shippers and dealers. The system 
adopted is as follows. Each shipment of eggs 
is sampled on its arrival, by taking five or ten 
barreis and examining the contents ; the aver- 
age condition is held to represent that of the 
entire lot. When an unurually bad barrel is 
discovered it is thrown out, so that it may not 
unduly reduce the average of the shipment. 
The discarded barrels are received on their 
exact merits. The cost of inspection is 75 cts. 
a barrel, and the advantages are so obvious, 
that shippers have so far willingly submitted 
to the cost. One good result is that shippers 
have already taken greater care in preparing 
their packages for market, and it will be much 
to their profit, if every one would judiciously 
select and carefully pack all the eggs they may 
ship for sale. Now that one innovation is 
tolerated in the egg trade, we may hope that 
the long needed improvement of selling eggs 
by weight may be considered. Nothing is more 
absurd than selling eggs by count, as some are 
twice as heavy and are vv-orth twice as much av 
others. Weighing the eggs would be more just. 
