3^6 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
Clipping Sheep into Shape. — The 
proverb says that there are tricks in all trades. This is 
probably true, for we regret to say that farmers, who are 
by the very nature of their employment removed beyond 
the temptation to practice "ways that arc dark," do 
sometimes allow themselves to fall into temptation. And 
here we relate a case in point. At an agricultural exhibi- 
tion we were examining soaio loog-wooled sheep, and it 
was whispered in our ear that the exhibitor of a prize ram 
had at the previous shearing made up the fleece by leav- 
ing the wool on the shoulders and breast and the rump, 
bo as to give a squareness to the body of the animal which 
was fictitious. As our informant who thus let us into the 
secret of making up sheep for exhibition, was the son of 
the owner, and had a hand in it, and represented it as 
commonly done, and that the best hand at it was sure to 
have the best-looking sheep, we had faith in the truth of 
it and accept it as a fact. We find further that this same 
trick is practiced at English exhibitions, and has led to 
some sheep thus "gotten up " being set aside and not 
allowed to compete for the prizes. We doubt not that 
this practice is already in vogue in the United States, for 
we are apt t» learn, and invent, and it is said sheep thus 
clipped were exhibited at the last New York State Fair 
(the instance we refer to occurred -in Canada), and judges 
at fairs should take notice of it, and not allow any 
sheep to get ahead of its proper position by the praotice 
of such an easily discovered trick. 
I.-est any pei'non shoul<l suppose 
that the issuing of the Weekly Hearth and Home 
will lead the Publishers to any less attention to 
the American Agriculturist^ it is proper to say, that 
this is not the case in aaay way. The two 
papers are entirely distinct from each other in matter, 
engraving, etc., as much so as if published a thousand 
miles apart. But the enlarged field and the increased fa- 
cilities brought in by the Weekly, add to the resources 
and facilities for keeping up the old American Agricultur- 
ist to all its former excellence, and increasing its value. 
Grass in Summer Fallows*— An in- 
quirer has a summer fallow now bad with Quack and 
June grass, and asks about sowing timothy on it. This 
fallow can not have been properly managed, or there 
would be no grass in it. The purpose of a summer fal- 
low is to destroy all vegetation by plowing it down or 
harrowing it out as soon as it appeans, and thus keeping 
the ground quite clean. We would not put seed on such 
foul ground; we would rather sow oats or buckwheat 
next season, and seed down then. We have seeded 
timothy and clover successfully with a crop of buckwheat 
sown on the 12th of July; also with oats sown thin (2 
bushels per acre) in April. 
Sowing Timothy on StuhhSe.— I. 
McC. asks if timothy could be sown on wheat stubb-le 
without harrowing, this fall. It would be a risky experi- 
ment, unless the soil is in good heart, or it can be top- 
dressed with a little fine manure, or the faH rains should be 
copious enough to give the seeds some covering of soil. 
The seed should be sown liberally, say 10 quarts per acre, 
as much of it would fail to catch from want of covering. 
Musty Cellar,— Fred. K. Gates, Cazcnovia, 
N. Y., has a musty cellar which spoils (he milk and other 
things in a few hours, and he wants a cure. This cel- 
lar wants ventilation. If ordinary ventilation by a win- 
dow is not sufficient, open a communication with the 
chimney if possible, or pnt a wooden spout, eight or ten 
feet high, against the back or side of the house, and 
make the bottom of it open into the top of the cellar. 
Fix another tube from the outside, near the ground, 
which shall open at the bottom of tho cellar. Thus a cir- 
culation of air will take place from the bottom to the top. 
Wash the cellar walls and ceiling with lime whitewash 
in which a little carbolic acid has been mixed; this will 
destroy the mold on the walls, and the ventilation will 
prevent its future formation. 
Ssawuusf , Bone-Meal, and Ashes. — 
A. E. Phillips, Spotsylvania Court-Houso, Va., asks 
about the value of sawdust as a manure j also as to the 
propriety of mixing bone-meal, ashes and lime.— Saw- 
dust is not of itself considered valuable, but we do not 
indorse much that is 6aid of its worthlcssncss. We 
once saw very promising potatoes growing on a patch of 
old sawdust, mostly pine, but it was well rotted. It will 
soon rot if in a heap, and wet ; but we would not advise 
it to be plowed in fresh. Better to use it for bedding for 
horBes or cattle and allow it to ferment, which it will 
readily do, and then makes excellent manure, especially 
if of hard wood. Bone-meal should not be mixed with 
lime and water. They would set free the ammonia, 
which is one special virtue of bone-meal. Ashes may 
be mixed with bone-meal without loss, used dry, and im- 
mediately ; any ammonia set free would be appropriated 
by the soil. Lime should not be mixed with manure. 
Fattening Hog's. — Hogs that are intend- 
ed for pork this year should now commence fattening. 
They should be put by themselves in a grain or clover 
stubble, where they will have exercise sufficient to keep 
them healthy and in good appetite, and be fed so as to 
keep them gaining rapidly. They will make a healthy 
growth during August and September, and, put up in 
November, will be ready for the butcher on oue half the 
feed they would require if delayed one month later. In 
cold weather, a great portion of the feed is used up to 
maintain the animal heat, all of which is saved by com- 
mencing so as to forestall the cold, stormy weather of 
December. Plenty of fresh drinking water, and a trough 
in which to roll and bathe, will be needed and should be 
supplied. Pork, at the best, is not the most wholesome 
food, and the filthy manner in which some is fatted, is 
far from making it less disagreeable. A proper attention 
to cleanliness, to which a hog naturally isnot disinclined, 
will not only improve the quality of the pork, but will 
prevent absolutely poisonous conditions of the meat. 
To Prevent Sows Sating their 
Youug,- u S. L. P." has tried the following plan and 
found it effective: "Take an old, coarse boot, and cut 
off the top above the instep ; then cut a slit in the back, 
commencing at the top of the boot leg, so as to leave the 
bottom one or two inches below her snout. Thrust in 
the snout, and then take a rope and run through the 
finger straps and tie it back of the ears. This will pre- 
vent her from biting her pigs, while allowing her an op- 
portunity to drink her food." 
Value of Annie Pomace for Ma- 
nure.—" W. H. C." "We think it is worth a L" .tie more 
per ton than ordinary barn-yard manure. /_iow it to 
thoroughly ferment and decompose before applying it. 
It would be better to compost it with manure. 
Shade as a Fertilizer.— A gentleman 
in Maryland, who has recently become a farmer, asks our 
opinion of an experiment he proposes to make. He has 
afield of limestone land, naturally good, but "run down.'" 
He has great faith in " shade" as a fertilizer. The field 
is now in oats— sown more for the benefit of shading the 
land than for any other object. As soon as the crop is 
off he proposes " to cover the field over with straw, and 
then sow a bushel of plaster per acre on the same, for 
the purpose of holding what little ammonia maybe in 
this poor soil, and also to hasten the early decay of the 
straw." We have no personal experience on this point, but 
think that where a farmer has more straw than he knows 
what to do with, the plan proposed is well worth trying. 
Shade, or, more properly, mulching the ground, checks 
evaporation and keeps the land moist, and thus during 
hot weather favors the fermentation or decomposition of 
the organic matter in the soil, and probably leads to the 
formation of nitrates, which have great fertilizing value. 
A growing crop, though it shades the land, docs not have 
the same effect, as the growing plants pump up moisture 
and make the soil drier than it would be if kept clean 
and free from vegetation by summer-fallowing. 
Will it Pay to Use Lime for Ma- 
nure at 25 cents per Bushel ?— C. A. Baker, of 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y., writes us that he has a farm of 
230 acres, 100 of which is bottom land, subject to over- 
flow. The balance is upland, originaWy timbered with 
pine and oak, with some hemlock knolls near the bot- 
tom land. The latter he has drained to some extent with 
hemlock boards. "And now," he writes, "the question 
is whether it will pay to use lime upon the upland at 25 
cents per bushel. I have 40 acres that I want to break 
up and summer-fallow next year for wheat, as there are 
some white daisies on it. It is a pasture now, and will 
be used for that purpose as soon as seeded down again. 
Will it pay to dress it with lime? I keep 50 cows and 
make butter, also some young stock, and seven horses, 
and have 2S acres in Diehl wheat." This is a sensible 
letter, as it gives us all the facts. We think Mr. B. is 
adopting the right course. Drain the rich bottom land 
and summer-fallow the upland. We should expect lime 
to have a good influence on such land, not merely for the 
wheat but also on the grass for many years. If lime 
could be had for 15 or 20 cents per bushel, we think few 
things would pay better than an application of one hun- 
dred bushels per acre, and lime for manure ought to be 
afforded at this price. 
What is tlie Rest Variety of White 
"Winter "Wheat ?— We know of no better variety for 
good, rich, dryland, than the Diehl. It has short, stiff 
straw, and plump, well-filled cars. It is an agreeably 
deceptive variety, as, on good land, it turns out better on 
thrashing than it looks at harvest-time. The great 
trouble about it is that it varies a good deal in quality 
even when pure ; and furthermore, it is almost impossi- 
ble to find seed unmixed with other varieties. 
Cultivating Corn.— II. I. Rosenberger, 
Clover Dale Farm, Va. The two articles in the June 
Agriculturist 'on cultivating corn are not contradictory, 
as our correspondent seems to think ; they are in " Hints 
about Work." The deep cultivation there recommended 
will be seen to apply only to the exceptional case of sod 
land plowed early, which was not in good condition, 
being full of hard spots, needing deep cultivation to 
break them up. Further, this deep culture was recom- 
mended to be confined to the middle of the rows where 
there-would be, at that early season, no roots to disturb. 
To Kill B>ew -Kerry Bushes.— "I. G. 
B.," Woodland, Pa. The best plan you can adopt will 
be to plow the field infested with these bushes, twice in 
this month, harrow thoroughly after each plowing! and 
pick up and burn the roots. 
To Prevent Kh tellers' antl other 
Blocks from Splitting.— Geo. W. Walker, Low- 
ell, Mass., has discovered that the round blocks used by 
butchers, glove and shoe cutters, and other tradesmen, 
can be prevented from splitting by boring a two-inch 
augur-hole in one side, and nearly through the block, 
half way between top and bottom. The hole is kept 
filled with water; a pine plug is driven in when the hole 
is filled, and taken out and replaced as may be necessary. 
Potatoes on Sod.— "W. C. W.," Cana- 
seraga, N. Y., has a piece of gravelly loam that has been 
five years in pasture, which he wishes to plant with po- 
tatoes next spring; and wants to know the best method 
of preparing the ground and manuring it. Sod ground 
is excellent for potatoes, and gravelly loam is a congenial 
soil. We would plow it this fall early enough to have the 
sod rotted before the ground freezes np. What manure is 
to be applied we would prepare during the winter by 
piling it as it comes from the stables, letting it heat, and 
turning it over twice or thrice; giving it occasionally a 
dose of plaster, say a bushel or two, spread over it when 
it steams. Worked in this way it will be pretty well 
rotted by the time the snow is disappearing. Then, while 
there is sufficient sledding, draw it out and spread at 
once from the sled. When the ground is sufficiently dry, 
we would turn the manure under and harrow it well just 
before planting. 
Docks and Kluers. — A correspondent 
who gives no name or address, asks how to kill docks, 
elders, and plantains (also, other questions which wc 
can not answer for want of name and address). Docks 
and ciders must be grubbed out by the roots. Plow the 
fence rows where they grow, during this month, and 
gather the roots and burn them, and use the ashes in the 
orchard or garden. Plantains may be dug up with a 
stout knife ; if they arc in a lawn or grass-plat, manure 
it and encourage the growth of grass, which will smoth- 
er them out in time. 
A Kansas Farm that seems to he 
Worn out.— "Cocklebur, " of Leavenworth Co., Kan., 
has a farm that has been in cultivation 13 years, growing 
corn and wheat, soil a sandy loam, and it now seems to 
be worn out. This is the text that has been preached over 
and over again, and now one might say, " Wc told you 
so," and the old croak would not be devoid of truth. But 
"Cocklebur" is not past redemption — he has 2,000! 
large loads of manure in bis feeding pens. Then let him 
forthwith get It out of bis pens and pnt it where it ought 
to have been years ago. on his land. It will give 30 loads 
to the acre on his 70 acres of hardly used land, which wiH 
fit it to bear a crop of wheat and take to grass and clover ; 
this plowed in, after two or three years will bring a 
crop of oorn, which ought to be fed to some of those 
Texan steers he writes about, and a quantity of manure 
made and saved which will put the land through another 
course ; ami so proceed. 
A Fly-proof Sinolce-Honse. — E. B. 
Steers, Bull Creel*, W. Va., wants a plan of a smoke- 
house that will keep meat clear of flies. It is necessary, 
to seenre this, to build the house of brick, or of boards 
battened tightly together and lathed and plastered inside. 
The roof should be of tin, and the cornice should be 
tightly fitted together. The door should not bo more 
than five feet high, and just above it a screen of fine wire 
gauze fitted on a frame huug on hinges and fitting close- 
ly to the sides of tho house, so as to divide the upper 
part of the house, where the meat is hung, from the lower 
part, where the fire is made. This screen should not be 
removed or opened while the outer door is open, and 
flies should be carefully excluded during this time. A 
window fitted with a fine wire screen may be set in the 
house, both for light and ventilation, when required. For 
greater convenience in opening, the cross screen may 
be mado in two parts, but care must be taken that no 
spaces be left where a fly or insect coirid erawl through. 
