1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
127 
How many Horses make :i Team ? 
—Two or more It is generally understood that a farm 
" team " means two horses, and if more is intended, it is 
flo stated, as a " three-horse team," etc. 
Colorado.— S. & T. write: "G. E. 8." can 
iearn about the soil, climate, etc., of Colorado by writing 
to A. K. Baker, Secretary Chicago Colorado Colony, 
Longniont, Col. The Colony lands are at the foot of 
*' Long Peak.'* 
Deep Cans for Creaming.—" P. S. IX," 
of Saratoga Co., N. Y., says that when their cheese fac- 
tory shut up for the winter, he procured some deep cans, 
and fixed up an old box so that it would hold water, and 
commenced a trial of the new system as described in our 
Ogden Farm Papers. After four months' trial in cold 
weather, his success has been "highly gratifying." He 
has had " less work, better butter and more of it." He 
asks: 1. How to keep the cans from rusting along the 
seams? 2. Must the cans be Covered? 3. Are the covers 
to be kept on at all seasons? 4. Should the animal heat 
be withdrawn before the covers are put on ? 5. Are cans 
eight inches in diameter better than those eleven inches 
in diameter?— To which we answer: 1. Have the seams 
well covered with solder. 2. The covers are an advantage 
as excluding dust, and lessening the drying of the surface 
of the cream. They have each a one-inch hole in the 
middle, which allows sufficient ventilation. 3. We use 
the covers at all seasons, as a protection against the 
Changing temperature of the air. 4. No; put the covers 
on at once, and set the cans in the cold water, which will 
soon withdraw the heat. 5. The colder the water, the 
larger the cans may be. No rule can be given : probably 
eight inches would be best for a temperature of from 5S° 
to 60°, and eleven inches would do as well at 52" or less. 
Grapes in Mteliig'an. — A. W. Iugraham, 
Lanront, writes: I have been testing several varieties of 
grapes. The Iona bids fair to prove a failure. The most 
of the fruit is attacked with black rot, and the three years 
that it has borne, it has ripened but once (in 1ST1). The 
Israella is of poor quality, the Adirondack nearly worth- 
less, the Creveling extra good and very early, the Eume- 
lan not yet fruited but a rapid grower, the Delaware un- 
exceptionable. 
Spring; Wheat. — We have received a great 
many inquiries as to the possibility of growing spring 
wheat in the Middle and Southern States, to all of which 
we reply that this crop can not be profitably grown in 
Pennsylvania or in the States south of it, nov in the 
southern part of Ohio and Illinois. It is suited to local- 
ities further north than those mentioned. 
Berksbircs.— Mr. F. H. Hull, of Aurora, 111., 
asks, '" Is a small white spot on the side of a Berkshire 
an indication of impurity ? " — Such a spot would suggest 
an impurity, but it would not prove it. It would be better 
not to breed from the animal, for although in a composite 
breed like the Berkshire the color of remote ancestors 
will sometimes crop out without any apparent cause, 
there is a so much simpler way for the spot to have been 
produced, that it is best to keep on the safe side. 
Spawn ©i" Trout and other Fish.— 
'•I. A S.,' Buena Vista, S. C. The spawn of trout and 
of aK theSalmonidsecan be sent to any part of the country, 
where there are express offices, without much danger of 
loss, if they have fair treatment. But it is of little use to 
attempt to raise them in the extreme Southern States, 
unless the supply of Bpring-water is copious. They would 
not thrive in the common brooks. The spawn of the 
black bass is not yet in the market, and probably never 
will be. The best way to stock ponds is. to introduce 
yearling fish. These can be sent by messenger to any 
part of the country. The Northern black bass {Orystes 
nigricans) does well in Pennsylvania and in all the north 
cm States, and probably would flourish in any part of 
the South, as it is a very hardy fish. We are not aware 
that it has gone south of Philadelphia. The Southern 
black bass (Grystes salmoides) is already distributed in 
the South and in the Mississippi Valley, There is much 
more demand for the Northern fish, and probably there is 
a foundation for this in its superior excellence. There 
are now some 250 trout-hatching establishments in the 
country, from whom spawn may be obtained. 
Corn Fod<ler.-We have a number of letters 
asking full directions for the preparation of the ground 
for this crop and for the planting, cultivation, harvesting, 
curing, and storing. To auswerall these questions would 
take a longer article than our readers would enjoy, and 
we propose to take up one point at a time, keeping in 
advance of the dates when the work need be done. To 
begin with, then, it is now late to begin the preparation of 
the soil. This had better have been done in the autumn, 
but if still to be undertaken, no time should be lost, aud 
no other work except the getting in of the oat crop 
should be allowed to interfere with it. All the prepara- 
tion needed nntl" :ist before planting time in May, is to 
be done with the manure-cart and dung-fork. The result, 
under any fair treatment, wHl be in proportion to the 
amount of manure that is used. Make the land rich, 
doubly rich, trebly rich, if you would succeed and would 
realize the real profit of growing corn-fodder. If you have 
enough manure to make an acre of land produce fifty 
bushels of shelled corn, put it on a half-acre, or even on 
less ; you can not make it too rich, and within reasonable 
limits, the richer you make it, the greater will be the 
profit realized. Of course, the land should be good, well 
drained (naturally or artificially), and in a good state of 
cultivation— what we know as " good corn land." If you 
have such a soil, especially if now in grass, so that the 
manure cau be applied to a good sod, you can ask nothing 
more— except more manure. 
Ashes Wanted. — A good example for 
farmers is shown by the Agricultural Association of 
Roanoke, N. Y., which buys guano and similar manures 
in large quantities for its members at a great reduction 
on retail prices. II. W. Young, the Secretary (address, 
Roanoke, N. Y.), now wants 40,000 bushels of ashes. 
Onion Sets — Correction. — In Mr. Hen- 
derson's article on page 143, it is stated that the seed 
should be covered with two inches of sand. It should 
be one inch. 
Xo Prevent Millc from Soaring;.— 
A " Subscriber," Saginaw City, Mich., wants to keep his 
milk sweet for twenty-four hours or more in some per- 
fectly harmless way. The most harmless way we know 
is to scald and wash perfectly clean all the pails and pans 
used in milking and setting milk, and to use tin ones. 
By doing this, milk may be kept sweet for twenty-four 
hours at any time in the year in any clean, cool cellar. 
Hollow-Horn.— " T G. C." Because tlie 
horns are cold it is not safe to conclude that hollow-horn 
is what's the matter with your cow. It is often the case 
that the circulation may become torpid temporarily, or 
otherwise deranged by constipation or bilious disturb- 
ance, and the horns will then be cold. If a warm bran 
mash, given for a few days, does not improve the cow, 
and her eyes are yellow, give half a pound of glaubcr- 
salts. The oil-cake you have been feeding has made her 
bilious probably. 
Packing; Hams in Ashes. — Tetzel, 
Greenwood, Miss., asks if it is safe to pack smoked hams 
in ashes during summer. If the ashes are kept perfectly 
dry it will be safe enough, but we would prefer clean 
wheat bran, which is just as good. 
Cirade Durhams as Milliters.— " J. 
C," Pine Grove, Ohio, purchased some grade Durham 
calves, which he fed well and allowed to come in at three 
years old, but he is disappointed in their milking quali- 
ties. Will they improve ?— It is most likely they will, 
with their second calf, but such a disappointment is not 
rare with this stock: they are eminently beef cattle, and 
not often excellent dairy stock. 
Grubs in Horses.— " G.," Granville Co., 
N. C, asks if, when warm from work, his horse turns his 
head to his side, it is a sign of grubs. "We suppose 
he means what are called bots. No ; it is a sign doubt- 
less that he feels some discomfort, probably colic. 
The remedy in this case is not to feed or water him when 
warm or exhausted with work. Give some ginger and 
powdered gentian root in his feed, and some wood-ashes 
occasionally to lick. 
Sal-Sotla.— C. J. List, Richland, O., asks what 
is the soda mentioned in the article on utilizing bones, 
page 437, 1871. Sal-soda is the common washing-soda, 
sold at every grocery store in the country. It is sold in 
coarse lumps, not in a powder. 
To Destroy Wild Onions.— J. W., 
Pickering, Norfolk Co., Va., says he has succeeded in 
destroying this pest by putting the field in a hoed crop, 
and about June, just before the onions go to seed, turn- 
ing in and pulling them aud destroying them. Thorough- 
ness in this process alone is effectual. 
Scab in Sheep. — G. Claxton, Andrew Co., 
Mo., has some sheep infected with scab and wants a 
remedy. Take one pound of plug tobacco, boil it in four 
gallons of water, and add to it four gallons of the clear 
water in which some lime has been slaked, and a pint of 
spirits of turpentine. With this wash the parts affected 
daily for a few days. Keep affected sheep by themselves. 
Rats and Mice. — A correspondent at An- 
napolis, Md., gives the following: I have tried, in vain, 
for weeks to catch some mice that were undermining the 
bricks in the hearth. The little fellows were shy of the 
trap, eating the bait up to the very door, but the most 
tempting morsel of roasted cheese could not tempt them 
to venture under the fatal spring. After revolving the 
matter over in my mind, I hit upon a plan which proved 
a perfect success. I took a wooden box about a foot and 
a half high, and two feet long (any size would do) 
and placed it over the trap, which could only catch one 
at a time, but in four days I had caught nine— all there 
were in the hole. The philosophy of the box is, that 
it gives the mice a feeling of security while they are tak- 
ing the bait. Rats will frequently enter a wire trap and 
eat up all the bait on the bottom without touching that 
on the hook. I have frequently outwitted them by put- 
ting, in addition to the bait on the hook, apiece of cheese 
on the bottom, and connecting it with the hook by a piece 
of black thread. Traps should frequently be shifted from 
one part of the house to the other, as seldom more than 
one or perhaps two rats are caught in the same place 
within a short time. 
Jersey Cow. — Mr. Hall, Aurora, 111., make? 
the following statement: "I have one full-blood Jersey 
cow and two high grades. In December we churned the 
cream from (37) thirty-seven (beer) quarts of the milk of 
these three cows, and had therefrom (S?£) eight and three 
quarter pounds of butter." This is less than 4% quarts 
of milk to the pound of butter. The statement is remar- 
kable, but by no means incredible, relating to Jersey 
cows in the winter season, and at a time when they were 
probably nearly dry— the milk being always much richer 
at, such time. 
The Breaking up of the Ice. 
While we are all glad to know that the ice is breaking" 
up and the winter is gone, yet there are some people to 
whom this gladness comes mingled with apprehension 1 " 
for the safety of their property. Such an occasion is re- 
presented \> i Jur artist on the first page of our present 
number. Here is represented the breaking np of the ice 
in the lumbering country, where all through the winter 
which has just passed, logs have been cut and drawn 
either on the ice or on the roads along the banks of the 
stream. Much waste necessarily accumulates in the shape 
of refuse logs and tops of trees, which, when the ice 
breaks up, comes down the stream with the fragments, 
and often forms "jams," winch cause the water to back 
up and sometimes overflow the bank, and wash away 
mills, logs, and lumber altogether. Such seems to be 
the fear of the men shown in the picture, who are striving 
with " pike-poles " to break the jam and allow the accu- 
mulated ice to float away, and bo save their mill. 
Special Notice. 
TIi£ Book of the Season— "Fawn- Gardening and Seed' 
Raising."— & few years ago we made a revolution in 
horticultural literature by bringing out " Gardening for 
Profit," by Peter Henderson. This practical book, by a 
practical man, stands as the authority in its department. 
We now announce a work which we predict will make 
quite as much stir among farmers as did Mr. Henderson's 
among gardeners. There are thousands of farms near 
cities where land is too valuable for the raising of grain 
and for grazing, which the owners wish to make the 
most of. They can only make cultivation pay by follow- 
ing farm-gardening, which is half-way between market- 
gardening and regular farming. It is that kind of farm- 
ing that will pay wherever manure can be bought, and 
such crops as potatoes, onions, carrots, etc, will sell*- 
Market-gardening proper deals with perishable articles, 
that must be rushed into market at once ; farm-gardening 
raises such crops as will bear transportation by the or- 
dinary channels. The work, the title of which is given 
above, is by Francis Brill, a practical cultivator oi Jong 
experience in raising such crops, and as a seed grower. 
In the present work he gives full directions for raising 
and caring for all kinds of seeds. It contains informa- 
tion to be found in no other work, and although the seed- 
growing is made a sub-title it is not the least important 
part of it. The work is of about 150 pages, and in order 
to put it within the reach of all, it is put at the low price 
of $1, post-paid. It is a book that every farmer will 
want. We feel no little pride in being able to present 
three standard works covering the whole field of farming 
and gardening— namely : Allen's American Farm -.Boole, 
Brill's Farm-Gardening and Seed-Raising, and Hender- 
son's Gardening for Profit. These form a library ia 
themselves for every cultivator of much or little Boil 
