1871. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
457 
ing the pounds by 2. This is not exactly cor- 
rect, for a quart of milk weighs somewhat over 
'2 lbs. The standard gallon in the United States 
is the old English wine gallon, which contains 
231 cubic inches. This quantity of distilled 
water, at its maximum density (barometer at 
30") weighs 8 s 
lbs. Cream has a specific 
gravity (or a weight as compared with water) of 
l'Viooo; skimmed milk, of 1" .', 
and " good " 
milk of l'V'iooo. Even cream is a trifle heavier 
than water, but the difference between cream 
and skimmed milk is enough to make the weight 
of whole milk vary considerably in proportion 
to the amount of cream it contains. If no water 
lias been added to the milk, then the lighter it 
is, the better its quality as to cream. Taking 
the normal weight of new milk at l sl /iooo, as 
compared with water, and the weight of a gallon 
of water at 8""/ioooo lbs., wo have 8 597 7 „,„,>„ lbs. 
as the weight of a gallon of milk, and 2" M /ioooo 
lbs. as the weight of a quart— say 2 15 / 10 o lbs. 
Winter Care of Sheep. 
■ ■ — £ 
Sheep are looking up. The lido has turned. 
But unless sheep are to be taken up as a per- 
manent part of the farm stock and proper 
care and attention given to them, it would be 
better for the farmer to let them alone. Sheep 
properly cared for, are the most profitable and 
least troublesome farm stock; but if neglected 
and improperly managed, none so soon become 
out of condition and become diseased and die. 
Winter is the most trying time for them. 
"Coddling" is the most hurtful thing. "With 
good feed a flock of sheep would do better to 
lie out of doors in the snow the whole winter, 
than to be kept in a close, warm stable. Run- 
ning at the nose and lung disease will surely 
follow too close penning up. Unless the weather 
is storm}', or the ewes with lamb are near their 
time, they should be turned into a field every 
day. They should have fresh water (access to 
a spring is best) at least once every day. It is 
a mistake to suppose that sheep will thrive with 
snow for drink, and yet many flocks are per- 
mitted thus to quench their thirst every day 
through the winter. Clover hay is the best 
standard feed, with half a pint of oats, rye, or 
buckwheat daily. Sheep do better with a little 
change in their feed occasionally. Salt, in 
which a fourth part of sulphur is mingled, 
should be placed where they can always have 
access to it. Corn-stalks may do as a coarse 
feed to pick amongst, but as a standard feed it 
does not seem palatable enough for them. They 
will live on it but do not thrive. Separate the 
flock into at least two portions. The lambs, 
and in-lamb ewes which ma}' be weakly, should, 
at all events, bo taken from the strong, hearty 
ewes, wethers, and bucks, and extra care given 
to them. It is still better to keep the wethers 
and bucks by themselves, aud thus make three 
divisions. Guard against dogs, which, at tins 
season, are more than ever mischievous. If a 
dog is kept on the farm, let him bo well ac- 
quainted with the flock aud they with him. 
Above all things, be patient, quiet, attentive, 
and exactly regular in feeding and watering, 
not overfeeding nor stinting the flesh, but, hav- 
ing found the right^way, persevere therein, and 
do not swerve one way or the other from it. 
One can not neglect his sheep one day and 
make up by extra care the next. 
Oii.tno Axles.— Much is lost for want of 
atteni ion to wagon axles. They should be ex- 
amined at least once a week, if in constant use, 
aud properly oiled. Lard is not suitable, for it 
penetrates through the hub aud loosens the 
spoke3. "We know of nothing better than castor 
oil, and a rancid article, which can be had at 
cheap rates at the apothecary's, is just as good 
for this purpose as the best. A small quantity, 
applied upcrn the bearings of the axle, is just as 
good as to oil the whole surface. If the oiling is 
neglected, there is much friction, which has to be 
overcome by the increased exertion of the team. 
The boxes and axles both wear away more 
rapidly, aud there is soon need of a new wheel 
and axle. A good wheel-jack will greatly facil- 
itate the oiling process. With this implement 
one man can oil the wheels of an ox-wagon as 
rapidly as two without it. 
Method of Utilizing Bones. 
The utility of raw bones is much circum- 
scribed by the difficulty of bringing them into a 
fit state for use. A rough method of cracking 
them, or reducing them to large fragments by 
means of a heavy pounder or sledge, may be 
employed where they are intended for use in an 
orchard or vineyard, where they may be buried 
at the roots of a permanently established fruit- 
tree. But to become useful to annual crops 
they must bo brought to a more practicable 
shape. When coarsely broken they may he 
reduced by caustic lye more slowly but with 
much less inconvenience than by sulphuric acid. 
To accomplish this, a rough but tight box, not 
over eighteen inches deep, is needed. Procure 
sound, unleached wood-ashes, mix a peck of 
slaked lime and a peck of sal-soda to every 
barrel of dry ashes. Pack the ashes, etc., 
with the bones in layers (ashes first) until the 
box is filled. Saturate the mass with water, 
and add from time to time more water to pre- 
serve a constant state of moisture. In four or 
six weeks the bones will have become so much 
softened that they will crumble to powder with 
a slight blow. The mass may then be mixed 
up and beaten fine with a shovel, and an equal 
quantity of fine soil added and thoroughly in- 
termingled. This compost is too strong for 
direct application to the seed, and in using it 
for corn some earth needs to be mixed with it 
previously. If the quantity of ashes is increased 
the process is proportionately hastened. 
Case op Implements. — There is probably 
no text on which more preaching is done by 
the agricultural press than that which heads this 
article. Aud yet farmers are either forgetful of 
the lesson, or are too careless of their own in- 
terests to act upon it. We were especially re- 
minded of this by seeing, in the course of a ride 
of ninety miles through an average agricultural 
district, the following tools lying out exposed to 
the weather — viz.: Forty-four plows, twenty- 
three harrows, seven mowers, one reaper with 
beater and platform as last used, wagons too 
numerous to count, and, in one instance, a set 
of harness hanging on a fence. The plows 
were mostly sticking in the furrow where they 
had been last used. Now, it is natural to sup- 
pose that the owners of all these tools aud im- 
plements never see an agricultural paper, or 
they could not resist the reiterated advice to 
take better care of their property of such a 
perishable nature. It is safe to say that these 
tools, kept under cover when not in use, will 
last more than twice as long as they will when 
exposed to rain and sun. The loss is thus a 
serious one, and we regret when we think that we 
can not reach such farmers by a word of advice. 
Plowing and Cultivating by Steam. 
e 
The day will probably come, when a large 
share of the cultivation of the land will be 
done by steam-power. The steam-plow lias for 
some years been in successful use in England, 
but in this country, where we have so much 
land especially favorable for its operation, the 
attempts at steam cultivation have been so few 
as to amount to little in demonstrating its value, 
as compared with ordinary methods. The Eng- 
lish machines are ponderous, cumbersome, and 
expensive, and it is this, coupled with the 
fact that the steam-plow implies a more 
thorough system of agriculture than we have 
yet adopted, that has retarded their introduc- 
tion. In the most successful English implements 
the plows arc drawn backwards and forwards 
across the field by means of two engines, one 
stationed fit each Gild of the furrows!. There 
have been several inventions made in this coun- 
try, in which the engine is a locomotive which 
traverses the field and drags the plows after it. 
Some of these machines have made more or less 
successful trials, but there arc still many obsta- 
cles to overcome before such a locomotive engine 
for plowing can be made a complete success. 
To illustrate the appearance of the English 
plows and their manner of working, we give on 
the next page an engraving, taken by our artist 
while upon a trip through the Gulf States. There 
are several of these plows at work upon sugar 
plantations in Louisiana. The cane crop is a 
very exhausting one, and deep plowing is neces- 
sary. One of the most enterprising planters, 
finding it impracticable to obtain the required 
depth of soil by ordinary plowing, imported 
a set of steam machinery. The results attained 
by this were so satisfactory, that the first impor- 
tation was followed by others, and in Louisiana 
at least, steam-plowing may be considered an 
established fact. Aside from the thorough work- 
ing of the soil, one great point in favor of the 
steam-plow upon plantations is that the most 
favorable season for plowing is autumn, and 
this is just the time when the teams and hands 
are busy in cutting cane and carrying it to the 
mill. The steam-plows usually require only 
two or three hands to work them, though in 
cane fields, where there is much "trash," more 
help is required, to keep the plows from being 
clogged. The plows are carried upon a frame, 
and are from two to five in number. The frame 
carries two sets of plows, and is so arranged 
that it can be tilted when it reaches the end of 
the field, and the direction is to be reversed, 
thus lifting one set of plows out of the soil 
and bringing the other set into proper position 
for work. The plows are moved by means of a 
wire rope, which is wound upon a drum below 
the engine, as shown in the engraving. When 
the plows have reached one side of the field and 
are placed in proper position, the man at the 
opposite engine is signaled and the plows drawn 
back, and they thus go back and forth as fast 
as a mau can walk, plowing from two to five 
furrows, two feet deep, at the rate of six to 
twelve acres a day, according to the nature of 
the land. The cultivation between the rows of 
cane is also done by these engines, cultivators 
being substituted for plows. Sir. Lawrence, 
who imported the first plows, estimates that, by 
reason of the deep tillage ho can give, two 
feet instead of six inches, the production of 
sugar per acre has been considerably more than 
doubled. Upon the bottom lauds of the Con- 
necticut and other rivers, and upon the West- 
ern prairies, the steam-plow will yet be found 
the cheapest means of tilling the soil. 
