1865. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
77 
the Ailautlnis Silk-worm can not be successfully 
pursued in this country. I have tried the ex- 
periment for three or four consecutive years, 
and, to my chagrin, discovered that the worm 
degenerates; that multitudes perish without 
any assignable cause, — that they do not copulate 
freely, and thus thousands of unimpregnated 
eggs are laid. I do not know why it is, con- 
sidering that our climate and that of China are 
so similar, but I have abandoned the work in 
dispair, and, indeed, I believe that the whole 
race is e.xtinct in this country. Guerin de 
Men^ville's experience in France is precisely the 
same. I have a letter from him stating that, 
whilst for the first few years, the worm thrived 
in Paris, and a great deal of Frenchy fuss was 
made about it, companies established, and whole 
plantations of Ailanthus laid out, yet that the 
whole affair is " a failure," and he could not 
sii|iply even a few eggs and cocoons. And yet, 
I should like to see some one else undertake it, 
and probably, by proper application at the 
Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, a few cocoons 
might be procured. As for myself, I have en- 
tirely given it up, and think that a good, sub- 
stantial, though not as glossy and fine a silk, 
can, without any trouble, be raised from two of 
our native moths, viz., Attacus Cecropia and A. 
Polyphemus. 
" I J e ■ K-» 
Milk.-Labor.-Beef.. . . .III. 
The profits of raising neat cattle depend upon 
their many different products, which alike influ- 
ence the modes of farming, and are reciprocally 
influenced by them, as well as by soil, climate, 
market, etc. Tlie title of these articles does not, 
by any means, express all the sources of profit, 
but only imperfectly classifies them. Under 
milk are included all dairy products, even 
whey-fed pork and chickens ; and under beef, 
of course, veal and hides, tallow, etc., etc., which 
all beef cattle, sooner or later, come to. In con- 
nection with all stall-fed or stabled animals, 
another product not included in our enumera- 
tion, ought to be considered, viz., manure— that 
product without which, in many parts of this 
countiy, and still more in Europe, it is impos- 
sible to realize any profit from keeping cattle. 
This most important problem is therefore pre- 
sented to the farmer, in connection with what- 
ever object he feeds cattle for : — to secure the 
largest quantity of manure, and of the best 
quality, consistent with the amount of labor 
he can afford to lay out for this purpose. 
In Some parts of South America, and per- 
haps still in California, cattle are herded and 
cared for, for the sake of their hides alone, or for 
their hides and tallow. In Texas, their beef 
has value also, and so throughout the prairie 
States, at present, cattle are raised for beef^in 
some districts, tlie chief business of most of the 
farmers being to raise young cattle, which are 
sold to others, who fatten them for market. 
Here it is that some of the steers must bear 
the yoke, and cattle are worked two or three 
years, or until their sale is likely to be too much 
affected, when they are put off to the feeder. 
As we approach the longer settled States, or 
come into the neighborhood of large cities, the 
demand for milk, and the improved modes of 
farming, which render it possible to make butter 
and cheese with profit, lead farmers to value 
the daily qualities of cows in proportion, while 
the feeding and fattening qualities of the differ- 
ent breeds are not less prized than elsewhere, 
nor is the fitness of the males for the yoke 
overlooked even la such districts. 
There are two classes of working oxen, 
namely, those required and adapted to draw 
heavy loads, at a slow pace, and those of an 
active, sanguine nature, quick walkers, and 
fitted to draw moderate loads, at a brisk pace, 
and to throw themselves with great vigor into 
their work. Between the two extremes there is 
every variety of course. As a type of tlie 
slow, powerful ox-team, we have the short- 
horns, or rather grade short-horns,— cattle of 
magnificent proportions, getting their full 
growth and perfection at about 5 to 6 years 
old, weighing from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds per 
pair in good working order, and being ser- 
viceable 5 years longer, but if worked much 
more than this, liable to be laid up a good part 
of the time from some ailment coming to one or 
other of a pair. The longer they are worked, 
the poorer beef they make; for though they 
fatten readily enough, yet the beef is tallowy, 
and will not bring so good a price as tliat of 
younger animals. There is, indeed, a great dif- 
ference in oxen, j'et it is especially true of the 
short-horns, and their grades, that the period of 
making flesh and fat together passes away at a 
comparatively early age, leaving a capacity to 
fatten, but not to make marbled beef. 
Among the mongrels which go by the name 
of "Natives," we not unfrequently find light 
pairs of cattle, which for spring, quickness, and 
nerve, can hardly be excelled, but nevertheless, 
the Devons, as a breed, are decidedly-superior 
to all others in this respect, and very handsome. 
They are usually put to light work at 3 years 
old, but do not get their full growth and 
strength before they are 7 or 8. They remain 
serviceable for many years — if well treated, may 
be worked till 10 to 20 years old, though this is 
seldom done, because with age come infirmities 
and inaptness to fatten readily and uniformly. 
For ordinary farm work, especially if they are 
to be used much on the road, a pair of red cat- 
tle three-fourths or seven-eighths Devon, and 
weighing together 2,200 to 2,600 pounds, is about 
as pleasant a team as a man can have or desire. 
The white-faced Herefords, and their grades, 
make powerful oxen, not so lazy nor so tender 
as the short-horns, nor possessed of anything 
like the snap and vivacity of the Devons, but 
excellent for common farm work. For cattle to 
sell, large pairs of short-horns, 4 or 5 years old, 
well matched, with as much red as possible, and 
weighing above 1,.500 pounds apiece, are per- 
haps most profitable, at any rate, they bring 
the highest prices ; but the smallest Devon cat- 
tle, of bright but dark mahogany red color, with 
long white horns, well matched in looks and 
weight, and turning the scale with something 
over a ton to the pair, are the farmers' favorites, 
especially in the hilly sections of the country. 
Bad Management in Cultivating Oats. 
■ 
The sytem of management which is adopted 
very extensively in many parts of the United 
Slates, is decidedly bad, not only for the imme- 
diate pecuniary interest of farmers, but for the 
productiveness of their farms, and for the coun- 
try. It is bad for farmers, because they receive 
only a light crop, when their soil is capable of 
yielding, in many instances, twice as much as it 
has formerly produced, with the same amount 
of cultivation. It is bad for the soil, because it 
is kept in a very foul condition, which, of course, 
renders it less productive. And it is bad for the 
country, because field agriculture is the great 
motive power of the nation, and anything that 
tends to diminish the quantity of grain will 
tend to cripple the resources of government. 
We refer, particularly, to the practice of 
growing oats for many years in succession on 
the same soil, by plowing it only once, and 
seldom returning anything, in the form of fer- 
tilizers, to compensate for the crops that have 
been removed. Thousands of acres of excel- 
lent land for agricultural purposes are cultivated 
in this way, until Canada thistles, wild mustard 
horse dock, and many other noxious weeds have 
taken almost entire possession of the soil ; and 
one of the worst features in this system of man- 
agement with the oat crop is, all the weeds 
mature their seed before the oats are ripe enough 
to cut, and enough is shelled out, when the oats 
are harvested, to seed the soil for seven years 
to come, and the Canada thistle seed is blown 
all over the country. In all such localities, 
if farmers will discontinue oats, and raise a 
crop of Indian corn one year, and a crop of 
buckwheat the next season, and apply all the 
manure they are able to make, they will soon 
find that it will be for better, and more profit- 
able, to adopt some short rotation system, even 
where oats hove been considered the most profit- 
able crop to raise, for several years in succession. 
It is quite impracticable for a farmer to avail 
himself of the great benefits arising from clean 
cultivation of the soil, when it is plowed only 
once each year, and then in the spring. 
Root Cutter.— "We advised the use of a 
spade to cut roots in our last issue, 
not because it is the best thing, but 
because it is one of the handiest. 
Here is a very simple contriv- 
ance for cutting roots which can 
be made by any good blacksmith. 
It consists of a knife in the shape 
of a letter S, {A, and B, in the figure), 
a handle being inserted as shown 
in the accompanying cut. At 0, 
is shown a form of double knife 
preferred by some, and no doubt 
capable of doing more rapid work. 
These knives are much in use in 
Germany, and the engraving is from 
a sketch made there some years ago. 
Where many roots are fed, it will 
pay to procure some one of the machines, made 
specially for this purpose, which cut beets, tur- 
nips, or carrots in thin pieces, and very rapidly. 
They cost all the way from $15 to $50, or more. 
Eemoving Fence Posts. 
When posts have been a long time in the 
ground, it is a difficult matter to remove them in 
the usual way, by working with the crowbar and 
spade, especially if they are 
largest at the lower end. 
Mr. R. S. Hubbard, of Mid- 
dlesex Co., Conn., suggests 
a plan for removing them 
very easily with the aid of a , 
yoke of oxen and chain. 
The chain is hitched to the 
post close to the ground, 
and passed over a post or 
stout plank three feet long, - 
which leans toward the : 
post to be drawn. A pull ' 
of the cattle upon the other end of the chain 
will easily lift the post. The drawing will show 
the manner of arranging the chain. 
" i ■»■ — I » 
Most men will have a living if they die for it. 
