328 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September 
Tanning: Buckskins. — " T. S. S.," 
Coopcrstown, Pa., sends the following directions for tan- 
ning buckskin with brains, as practiced by the North 
American Indians: The skins are soaked in water, and 
the hair is removed from them with an old knife, then 
placed along with the brains of the deer or a calf in an 
earthen pot. The contents arc then heated to about 95°, 
or blood-heat, which converts the moistened brains to a 
kind of lather, and makes the skins clean and pliable. 
They are then wrung out, and stretched in every direc- 
tion, by means of thongs, over a frame composed of 
upright stakes and cross-pieces ; and while drying they arc 
constantly rubbed with a smooth stone or hard piece of 
wood, so as to expel tho water and fat. The skins are 
then smoked. For this purpose a fire is lighted in the 
bottom of a small pit, and rotten wood thrown in as fuel. 
Sticks are erected in a pyramidal form around the pit, 
and the skins hung thereon one above the other, their 
nosition being occasionally changed. The smoking is 
kept up for an honr or more. They are then rubbed with 
chalk or powdered gypsum, and scraped andbeaten. [We 
shall be glad to hear further from U T. S. S."] 
Drilling Wheat.— 3. K. Cook, Sevasto- 
pol, Ind., asks our opinion of sowing -wheat with the 
drill We have found it to be a saving in time and in 
seed sufficient to pay for the use of the drill, and are 
fiatisfied that tho crop stands the winter better when 
drilled in than when sown broadcast. Grass-seed can 
also be sown at tho same operation, which is another 
saving. Tho ground needs to be well harrowed before 
the drilling; no after harrowing is needed. Where it is 
not convenient to purchase the drill (which costs $90 or 
thereabouts) one may be hired from those who have 
them for 50 cents per acre. One bushel of seed drilled, 
is equal to one and a half broadcast. 
Pure Peruvian Guano.-" J. B.," Ber- 
wick, Pa., asks where pure Peruvian gnano for drilling 
in with wheat can be purchased.— Any respectable dealer 
in agricultural implements and seeds will sell or procure 
it. Some take pains to guarantee the purity of what 
they sell, and these should bo preferred. Those whoso 
names appear in our advertising columns are reputable. 
Wheat from Hfehraslta.— » W. H.," 
CharaberHn, Jefferson Co., Neb., sends us two heads of 
bearded spring wheat, which he says yields one third 
more than any other variety, but the millers can not make 
good flour of it on account of its dry and flinty character. 
- — If this is the only trouble, it may be remedied in a 
measure by wetting tho grain immediately before grind- 
ing, but the sample sent seems to have a very dark color, 
and is very similar to the Egyptian wheat, which makes 
dark floor. We do not know the name of this variety. 
Cotton-Picker. — Mr. W. II. Irving, of 
Philadelphia, but formerly for some years a cotton-planter 
in Texas, has exhibited to us a model of a machine for 
picking cotton, which he has invented, and which he 
pays has been tried successfully in the field. We have a 
favorable opinion of it, and have no doubt that if it does 
not do all that is claimed for it, it can be so improved or 
modified as to be a success. Mr. Irving claims that it 
will pick twelve acres per day with the help of two men 
and a boy and a pair of mnles, and put the cotton in bags 
ready to be carried to the gin-house. This work would 
Seep 52 hands employed under the present system. 
Wheat after Oats. — In reply to several 
inquiries as to this difficult problem, we would refer to 
the article "Hints about Wheat,'* in the present number 
of the Agriculturist. It is certainly in a manner an un- 
desirable rotation, but can hardly be avoided, and the 
trouble must he met and vanquished by better culture of 
the oat stnbhle. 
Cost oF Manure. — "Reader," Newark, 
N. J., asks what it would cost to ship manure from Phil- 
adelphia to Cumberland Co., N. J., and if it would pay. — 
It does pay farmers in the adjoining county of Glouces- 
ter to bring manuro from that city, and to pay six dollars 
a load for it at the landing; and if it can be shipped at 
corresponding prices to Cumberland Co., it would pay 
there. Possibly some of our readers in that locality can 
give information a3 to the cost of manure there. 
€J rinding Tools.— Cyrus Wade, Christian 
Co., Ky., asks which side of a hoe or a scythe should be 
ground to a bevel; he has noticed that when he buys 
these tools the bevel is on the side which is under when 
in use.— This is the proper side, as the cutting in a hoe 
or a scythe should be in an upward direction, and this is 
gained by putting the bevel on the lower side. If it were 
otherwise, the tools would tend to cut into the ground. 
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonooooooo 
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Large Offer. 
ONLY FOR 
SEPTEMBER. 
Every New 
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American 
Agriculturis 
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For 1873 
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Coining in 
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EXPLANATION. 
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What is a Shingle?— "Oswego" ask* 
what is a standard shingle. — A Bhingle ie four inches it* 
width nt the lower edge, and a quarter of an inch thick. 
The beet quality are square at the butts, of even thick- 
ness, with parallel sides, and shaved or sawn of an even 
taper from butt to top, and quite free from knots. A 
thousand shingles is contained in a bunch, the band of 
which is of just so many inches in length aB multiplied 
by the number of courses counted on both sides of the 
bunch will make a thousand times four inches. Thus, 
50 courses (on each side) with a band forty inches long 
will make a thousand shingles. 
Millc-Mirror.— *' E. E. TV." writes: Please 
explain what the milk-mirror is, and whether it indicates 
any other than good milking qualities.— The milk-mirror 
consists of a growth of hair on the inside of the animal** 
thighs and the back of the ndder, and upwards towards 
the rump, which is inverted or points npwardB ; and in 
proportion as this is well marked and extensive it is held 
to indicate good milking stock. It is considered a trust- 
worthy test, although good milkers are sometimes without 
a good mirror (or escutcheon, as it is called in the male 
animal), yet no poor milkers have been found bearing one. 
Catarrh or Roup. — "Orion" wants a 
remedy for his fowls, which are troubled with a wheezing 
in their throat and a difficulty of breathing, caused by 
accumulated matter in the throat and nostrils.— This is 
probably catarrh, which is preliminary to the more 
serious disorder roup. The fowls should have their heads 
and throats washed with warm vinegar. Their feed 
should be boiled potatoes and meal, in which some cay- 
enne pepper, with small quantities of sulphate of iron 
(copperas) and sulphur has been mixed, and they should 
be kept in a warm clean house until recovered. 
Disease in Cattle— "T. W. H.," Martin 
Co., Minn., has several out of a herd of 115 head of eattla 
sick ; the symptoms are dull and heavy look, stiffness in 
the limbs, staggering gait, coldness of the limbs, dis- 
charge of bloody matter from the nose, and deatti in 24 
hours after being taken.— These symptoms point to what 
is called murrain or putrid fever, or sometimes pleuro- 
pneumonia. It is very rarely that medicine is of any 
use, but careful treatment, with warm gruel in which an 
ounce of ground ginger is stirred, and a quarter of a 
pound of Epsom salts, given twice a day for two or three 
days, has sometimes resulted in a cure. It is caused by 
poor feed and water or wet pastures, and is generally fatal. 
Wild Grass, or Ximothy ?— "E. E. 
W.. 1 * Lincoln, Iowa, asks "how arc we, who plow corn 
until July 10th, and then go right into our wheat harvest, 
to grow timothy for hay, altogether, and cnt it before it 
is ripe. Is it not a mistake to exterminate all onr wild 
grasses ? "—The fact that timothy is very much superior in 
nutritious qualities to the wild grasses, is a sufficient in- 
ducement for farmers to. grow it for hay, especially for 
horses. Bnt clover should be raised for cows and sheep, 
and that comes in at a time when other crops are not in 
the way. The difficulty pointed ont is one to be overcome 
by good management, and with the help of a mowing 
machine there should be no necessity to abandon timothy 
as the chief hay crop. Its extra value should amply pay 
for the help needed to cut and save it. 
Perohcrou Horses. — Wc have many let- 
ters of inquiry concerning the Percheron breed of horses. 
Those wishing to purchase stock of this kind will do 
well to note that Mr. Wm. T. Walters will sell from 15 to 
20 head at Baltimore, Md., on Friday, October 11th. Mr. 
Walters is favorably known as an importer and breeder 
of Percherons, and the stock he offers for sale is, we are 
assured, thorough-bred. The sale takes place on the 
last day of the Maryland State Agricultural Fair. Cata- 
logues may be had of Mr. Walters, or of the editors of 
tho American Farmer, Baltimore. 
Spaying* Heifers.— " E. E. W." asks if 
there is so much advantage gained from the spaying of 
heifers, as to make it worth while to risk the operation, 
and should tke operation be performed while they are 
calves ?— We do not think the gain would balance the 
trouble and risk. If it is done at all, it should he at a 
year old, or after. The process can not he explained by 
book, or in any way, except by a practical lesson by one 
who is an adept. 
Yield of Crops,— "E. E. W M " Polk Co., 
Iowa, asks, what should be the average yield per acre, of 
corn, wheat, and oats, on well-drained and manured and 
well-cultivated sandy loam prairie soil, three feet deep. — 
Such land ought to yield 50 bushels corn, 20 of wheat^and 
40 of oats at any rate, and occasionally, with good/sea- 
sons, the corn and oats might be heavier : but very heavy 
crops of wheat are not to be looked for on sandy loame. 
