1873.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
327 
Enpnos in CUeese Factories. — " E. 
L. B.," Springfield, 0. No engine is required in a 
cheese factory. A boiler to produce steam to heat the 
Cnrd and cleanse the vats and apparatus is all that is re- 
quired, and any boiler that is steam-tight and will bear a 
few pouuds pressure per square inch will answer the 
purpose. 
Corn anU Feed Mill.-" W. II. G.," Finn 
Co., Iowa. The best mill for grinding feed or corn-meal 
ia a burr-stone mill mounted as described in the Agricul- 
turist of August, 1H72. To grind twenty bushels per 
hour, twenty horse-power will be needed. The nddress 
of the manufacturer mentioned is not known to us. Any 
of the dealers of agricultural implements mentioned in 
onr advertising columns can supply such a mill. 
Management of Manure.— tl P. W.," 
Toledo, Ohio. When horse manure has been allowed to 
mold, or become covered with a light white fungus, it 
ib in the condition known as firc-fanged, and has parted 
with its chiefly valuable quality and can not be restored. 
It is worth little more than dry straw. Fresh manure, 
if kept under cover, should be turned whenever it has 
become heated bo that steam arises from it. If outside, 
it should be laid up in a broad piie, with dishing top, so 
as to catch the rain that falls. If plenty of rain falls 
while the pile is heating, so that it be kept moist, it will 
not become flre-fanged ; if not, it should be turned once 
or twice. Sods may be rotted for potting purposes by 
piling them in a heap and leaving them during the sum- 
mer. Animal manure is not the best for lawns, on ac- 
count of the weed seeds contained in it. Guano or blood 
manure, at the rate of 250 pounds per acre, with a bushel 
of plaster each spring, is the best dressing; wood ashes 
also are an excellent fertilizer. 
Winter Feeding of Steers.— " H. L. 
S.," Lee Co., III., writes that eighty head of steers were 
fed in his county last winter in the open field, without 
the shelter of trees or a tight fence even, on whole corn 
in troughs and hay in racks, and came out well and the 
best fat steers in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, such 
management ia not to be commended. 
Compost for Corn.— U W. R. X.," My- 
ersville, Md., sends the following mixture for a compost 
for manurin"- corn— viz. : 5 bush, hen droppings. 2 bush, 
hone-dust. 10 ]>.->■ -<■ «"J ^ aL muck < « bush, salt, V/ 3 
bush, plaster, and 5 pails of chamber-lye. This will be 
found a very valuable fertiliser for late planted com, or 
for coru planted for fodder.— Although " "W. R. Y." com- 
plains in his letter of the tl vexingly indefinite" direc- 
tions sometimes given by others, he falls into the same 
error himself in neglecting to say how much of his mix- 
ture he uses in each hill of corn. In default of such 
direction, we suggest that one handful of the mix- 
ture Bhould be nsed in each hill, and mingled with the 
Boil so a§ not to come in contact with the seed. 
Cost of Iron and Lead Pipe.—" A. A. 
H." Half or three-quarter-inch iron pipe will answer to 
conduct a stream of water. The price of iron pipe is much 
less than lead pipe or tin-lined. Lead pipe, half-inch 
diameter, is about 12 cents a pound, and weighs 11 to 16 
pounds per rod, according to its strength. 
Steaming Food for Cattle.— " B. H. 
H. " Grantville, Mass. Steamed food will not sicken 
cattle if properly fed. Any food will sicken them if fed 
in excess. They should never be fed at any time more 
than they will eat up clean, and an occasional change of 
food is an agreeable variety which tends to maintain 
their appetite. A feed of long hay or straw is always 
advisable between meals of steamed food— at noon, for 
instance. 
'Indigestion in a Horse.—" Subscriber," 
Saratoga, N. T. When the grain fed to a horse passes 
from him undigested and he in consequence becomes thin 
and hide-bound and rough and staring coated, it would 
be advisable to give him a change of food. Carrots or 
boiled potatoes fed marly cold with a handful of salt 
sprinkled on them, scalded wheat-bran, scalded oats with 
a handful oHinsecd meal added, and cut hay or oat straw 
might be usefully given. Iu addition a teaspoonful of 
finely powdered copperas and another, heaped, of ground 
ginger may be given daily in the feed. 
Harvest Home.— The Farmers' Co-opera- 
tive Union, of Jamaica, L. L, at a recent meeting passed 
a resolution appointing a committee " to inquire into the 
probable success, the most desirable and accessible ren- 
dezvous, and the cost of such a picnic as would be accep- 
table to the farmers and their friends," to take the place of 
the old-fashioned harvest home which has been held year 
by year ou the other side of the Atlantic from time imme- 
morial until now. From the most ancient times, farmers 
have signalized the close of their season of labor and 
the safe gathering of their crop by a day of recreation 
and mutual congratulation. The present is an age when 
labor is more concentrated than ever; the head works 
with the hand, and becomes equally wearied when its 
labor is done; and as a rule fanners and their families 
have but few, if any, public gatherings for entertainment 
and recreation. The action of the Long Island farmers 
is to be commended, and may well be imitated elsewhere. 
Texas or Whcrc?-"L. A. B.," Natchez, 
Miss. There is a vast tract of most excellent land in 
Northern Texas and Southern Kansas ffhich would be in 
the locality yon desire. The method of reaching those 
lands would he to start from Topeka, where you can go 
"West or South or North. The railroads furnish tickets 
the cost of which is returned to purchasers of their lands. 
Burning Lime.-"E.O. N.," Grundy Co., 
Tenn., will find an article with illustrations and descrip- 
tions of kilns for burning lime in the Agih-'dtwist of 
September, 1S71. 
'A'hick or Xhin Sowing.- T. G," 
Granville Co., N. C. This is a question which will prob- 
ably remain undecided while men have different opinions 
of things. Facts arc not conclusive in regard to it and 
never can be because the conditions under which they 
occur are so variable. Each farmer should experiment 
for himself. No more general rule can be given than 
this: on rich land the seeding may be moderately thin, 
say l|a bushels wheal and 2^ of oats; on pocr land, on 
which grain will not tiller much, the seeding may be from 
2 to 2'i bushels wheat and 3 to 4 of oats. We have raised 
equally heavy crops with a seeding of 1 bushel and 3 
bushels of wheat per acre on good soil. 
Bi S Head.— "J. Q. G. ( " Gallatin Co., 111. 
This disease, which attacks the jaws of the horse and 
causes a large and hard swelling or tumor which often 
prevents the closing of the teeth, and which is generally 
known as " big bead, " andoeteo porosis or osteosarcoma 
by veterinary surgeons, is incurable without such an 
operation as would render the horse entirely unservicea- 
ble. The diseased jaw or parts of it must be cut away. 
It may be therefore accepted as practically incurable. 
Lime with Wheat.-'J. J. B." There 
is no better way to apply lime than with the seed iu the 
fall. It may then be harrowed in directly with the rye 
or wheat. 25 to 40 bushels per acre of finely slacked 
lime would be a good dressing. The finer it is the more 
effective it will be and the less quantity may be used. 
Worms in a Horse. — " Subscriber." The 
best medicine for a horse troubled with worms is tartar 
emetic. One dram given with half a dram of ginger 
made into a ball with linseed meal and hot water should 
be given each morning for a week, then a pint of linseed 
oil as a physic. After a week"s rest this may be repeated ; 
after which the horse should have a dram of sulphate of 
iron (copperas) powdered given daily in the feed. The 
most unmistakable symptom of worms next to their ap- 
pearance in the dungis the rubbingof the tail consequent 
upon irritation of the large bowel and anus, and the ap- 
pearance of dry scaly matter (dry mucus) beneath the 
tail. Au injection of one pint of linseed oil with 2 drams 
of spirits of turpentine will bring away the species of 
worm which lodges iu the rectum. It may be given in 
conjunction with the above medicine weekly. 
Hen Manure ona a Garden. — "W.J. 
S." Hen manure is almost exactly identical in quality 
and effect with guano, and may be used iu the same man- 
ner. Except on very rich soils it should not be used in 
larger quantities than 250 or 300 pounds per acre, as it 
would only stimulate a strong growth which could not be 
kept up in vigor. As a change of manure on rich garden 
soil which Is heavily cropped it may be used to advantage. 
The best way to preserve it is to keep it dry or mix it 
with earth. Its value if free from foreign matter and dry 
is $50 a ton. 
Purifying Mill*.-." J. H. MeHenry," Balti- 
more Co., Md. writes us that wood charcoal is an excellent 
absorbent of the disagreeable flavor -of garlic in milk. 
He uses it every spring by dropping a piece 3 or 4 inches 
long and 2 inches thick into each pan of milk or into 
the pitcher in which milk for table use may be kept. 
Liquid Manure.— Dr. " C. F. F." Liquid 
manures are most conveniently and effectively applied to 
grass, clover, com, or other cropsgrown for fodder. Af- 
ter the cutting,especially in dry weather,the application of 
a fertilizer in this shape causes a most abundant and 
rapid growth. Of such crops as much as 30 tons per acre 
have been cut in one season by the use of liquid manur- 
ing. All garden crops are also especially improved by it. 
But few field crops admit of the passage of the necessary 
vehicle over them. The time to apply the manure is from 
the commencement of the growing season until its close 
and in the afternoon or as near sundown as possible. 
Poultry Mailers.- 1 H. B., 1 ' Green Bay, 
Wis. The best hens for the fanner, taking everything into 
consideration, arc the light Brahmas. The nests arc bet- 
ter placed npon the ground, or upon a bench not more 
than a foot above it. The best food for hens is corn oc- 
casionally changed for wheat. 
Methods oi" Feeding; Meal.-" R. A. 
Fisher." The plan of cutting the fodder and mixing the 
meal fed to cows with it and feeding it moistened is pre- 
ferable in our opinion to any other method. By feeding 
meal dry or made into dough some portion of it will pass 
into the fourth stomach and escape only partially di- 
gested. The plan of mixing the meal with water and 
making a drink is preferable to feeding it dry or in a 
doughy Btate. The meal then passes, as it does when 
mixed with the feed, into the rumen or paunch whence 
it is passed, after undergoing rumination, into the reti- 
culum or second. stomach in a condition fitted for perfect 
digestion iu the third and fourth stomachs and the bowels. 
Weeds on Rich Soil. — " I find,' 1 writes 
a Penn. farmer, " that the richer I get my land the more 
trouble I have in keeping the weeds down." — Jnst so. 
Manure has the same effect on a weed plant as it has on 
a coin plant. It will make either of them grow more 
luxuriantly. But what of it ? We think it is much easier 
to Jctep rich land clean than poor land ; but you want it 
clean to start with. We do not like the phrase ki keeping 
the weeds down.'" Better cut them up, and kill them 
root and branch. It is a work of years to make a foul 
farm clean, but it can be done — and must be done before 
we can get full returns for our labor. 
Cure for Founder.—" R. C. F., 1 ' Loa An- 
gclos Co., Cal., sends us a cure for founder in horses, 
which, he says, he has never known to fail in many years 
of trial. It is as follows. As soon as the horse is 
found to be stiff swab the legs and feet with hot water so 
hot that the hand can not bear to touch it, hut it must 
not be so hot as to scald. After d short time the legs 
should be rubbed dry and the horse gently exercised. 
Agricultural Laborers 1 Union.— Mr. 
Joseph Arch, the president of the Agricultural Laborers' 
Union of England, an association which has grown to 
large proportions within a year, is expected to visit this 
country. His object, we are informed, is to examine the 
prospects presented for the successful emigration of 
farm laborers hither. Skilled farm laborers or competent 
tenants arc in great demand here : and Mr. Arch's miesion 
will be or ought to be looked upon very favorably by 
those agricultural associations whose members are in 
pressing need of reliable and steady farm help. 
Preservhig Manure with Eaiita. — 
"W. C. C," Clermont Co., Ohio. The manure from a 
hen-roost if kept dry will retain all its valuable properties. 
If moistened it will decompose ; and if when mixed with 
earth it is found to give off pungent vapors of ammonia 
it should be sprinkled with a solution of copperas or di- 
luted sulphuric acid. It should be kept as dry as possi- 
ble until wanted for use ; but if it should absorb moisture 
from the atmosphere sufficient to start the ammoniacal 
vapors they may be caught and fixed by the above men- 
tioned applications. 
Interested in I>uel*m.— " F. A. C," who 
is interested in ducks to the extent of asking twelve dis- 
tinct questions, with "just one more" added to make a 
baker's dozen, and who having purchased Rouen ducks, 
as he thought, has become a victim to ruined hopes, aod 
finds his ducks far from Rouen, Is informed that a Rouen 
duck if pure-bred should have no white feathers, and the 
drake should have none either except a white ring aronnd 
the neck not quite meeting at the back, and a fine white 
streak across the wings. The legs should be orange with 
a little brown but not black. The young drakes may be 
distinguished as soon as they are fully feathered. The 
general color of the duck is brownish with dark pencil- 
ings, and the drake has a claret-colored 1 rorist, is gray 
and green on the back, and has a broad ribbon of rich 
pur,de edged with white on the wings. If pure-bred 
ducks are an object it would be more satisfactory to pay 
$8 for a pair of pure ones, than pay less and have a pro- 
geny of all sorts and colors. Yonng ducks eat enormous- 
ly, and if well fed will grow rust, and the Bouens weigh 
at maturity 12 to 13 ponnd* the pair. 
