90 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Look after the Little l*igs.— Thou- 
sands of little pigs are frozen to death every spring. 
"Where the pens are not suitable, it would be better not 
to have them conic until the weather is warmer ; but still, 
much can be done to make an ordinary pen comfortable 
for the occasion. Batten the Bides, or pile a quantity of 
straw or litter on the outside. Anything that will keep 
out the cold air will answer. Place some rails or 
boards across the sleeping apartment three or four feet 
from the bottom of the pen, and cover them with straw 
packed in tight. If the pen or sleeping apartment Is 
large, we have found it a great advantage during a cold 
night to hang, after the sow has made her bed, a couple of 
horse blankets from the top of the pen around the sow, 
somewhat after the fashion of curtains on an old-fashion- 
ed tent-bedstead. In this way we have saved a litter of 
pigs in the coldest weather. A few hags of steamed chaff 
placed around the bed inside the curtains, would be a 
great help, or, in the absence of these, a pailful of boiling 
hot water will raise the temperature of the pen several 
degrees. In a few days, and often iu a few hours, if the 
pigs are strong, the danger is over. 
Little Pigrs losing their Tails.— "W. 
O. J. "—We think this is caused by a kind of fungus 
which grows around the tail and " girdles " it. When the 
tail is girdled all around, there is probably no remedy. 
But if taken in time, the tails may he saved. Try a little 
crude petroleum. It may prevent, if not cure, the trouble. 
Tien Lice on Morses and Cattle, — 
Hen lice never stay long upon a human being, hence it 
Is no wonder that people argue that they do not long an- 
noy horses or cattle, i f by any means they get upon them. 
Thi3 is a mistake. Cattle, horses, and hogs, kept near 
chicken roosts which are infested with the little wander- 
ing louse, are often greatly annoyed. Dr. Liautard as- 
sures us that he has known a horse to bo infested with 
them for one or two months, and that they were present 
in such numbers that he felt at the time that they must 
be breeding. He compared them under the microscope 
with lice from hens, and proved them identical. Hogs 
will scratch and rub themselves almost raw, if similarly 
annoyed, but cattle do not seem to mind it much. We 
think any kind of soap-suds will remove them from other 
animals, and carbolic soap banishes them for weeks from 
both the hens and their roosts. 
finish Chopping; Machine.-" D. L. 
H.," Ohioville, N. Y. Tim Bunker is not in the habit of 
drawing upon his imagination for facta. Parties manu- 
facturing these machines to go by horse or steam power, 
should put them before the public by advertising. They 
have a good thing and should let the world know it. 
Best Oil Tor Carriage Wheels.— 
"F. S. C.,' 1 Cambridgeport, Mass.— -We have used castor 
oil, and think it better than any other oil for smooth-run- 
ning axles. For wagons and carts, tallow is equally good. 
Carriage Tops and Curtains kept 
soft with neats-foot oil, will not crack. Patent leather, 
should never be used about carriage tops or harnesses iu 
places where it has to be bent. 
ISlaclc Bass- "B. IT. E.," Pine Plains. The 
best months to stock ponds with black bass, are October 
and April, but it can be done at apy time when the fish 
can be caught. They hybernate in holes, and do not 
take the hook iu winter. In hot weather it is difficult 
to remove them, but wiLh ice and care it can be done. 
Oil Barrels for Cider.-" E. R ," Rush- 
ville, O., wishes to know if barrels which have contained 
carbon oil, cau be rendered proper to use for elder. 
Comparative Value of Raw and 
Cooked Food,— A correspondent in Illinois, asks for 
a table showing the comparative value of raw and cooked 
food. Wc know of no such table that takes a sufficient 
account of attending circumstances, to be reliable. So 
much depends on the condition of the auimal itself, — 
on the conditions under which it is kept, — and the quality 
of the food before cooking, that it is very difficult to de- 
termine to a nicety, just how much benefit is ascribable 
to the cooking. At the same time, — in the opinion of all 
practical men whojiavc tested the matter in their own 
operations, — thorough cooking is held to save from one- 
quarter to one-third of the food. Grouvcn,— a German 
farmer,— steams food for SO head of cattle. He gives the 
food at about the temperature of the blood. His brother, 
Dr. Grouvcn, says: "Had it been served cold it would 
take the cattle from half an hour to an hour to raise their 
food to the temperature of that which was steamed. The 
food is thus rendered not only easier, but quicker of diges- 
. tion. Scalding, allows cattle to swallow food quickly, but 
dtfeariot make it more digestible. Steamed food is al- 
ready half digested, therefore, rapid swallowing is not 
injurious.'" Boiling food, lies between the two methods ; 
it has the disadvantages of the one, without the advan- 
tages of the other. 
Remedies for WSiite 4*rnhs.— A cor- 
respondent writes : "A good coat of unrotted manure, 
plowed in six or eight inches deep, is almost a specific 
against white grubs iu corn or potatoes." We suppose 
the grubs work in the manure and leave the corn plants 
alone. Plowing under clover, immediately before plant- 
ing, often has the same effect. The same writer also 
says : " I once had a piece of meadow that had been de- 
stroyed by grubs. I turned some pigs into the field and 
they devoured the grubs with a will, and left the meadow 
in good condition to re-seed. 11 
What to do with Gas Lime. — 1st. 
Haul it upon the land and spread it, breaking the lumps, 
at any time, when it can lie exposed 6 or S weeks. 2d. 
Compost it in a big flat heap with sods, muck, leaves, or 
wood monld, where it can be occasionally stirred or 
worked over with a plow. 3d. Lay it in heaps and shovel 
it over now and then for two or three months before using 
it upon or near growing plants. 
Stamps upon Notes.— "Many Farmers." 
The provisions of the law are as follows : Bank Checks, 
Drafts, or orders on Bankers, or other parties, payable at 
sight or on demand,/t?r any amou?if, require a 2c. stamp ; 
Bills of Exchange, Drafts, and orders for the payment of 
money otherwise than at sight, all promissory notes, 
checks, receipts, memorandums, printed or written, show- 
ing evidence of an amount of money to be paid on de- 
mand, or at a time designated, for one hundred dollars 
or less, require a 5c. stamp, and for every additional hun- 
dred dollars or fractional part thereof, another 5c. stamp. 
" Market Gardener," Rockford, III., 
in growing market and seed crops, has much of his land 
unoccupied from August 1st until June, and wishes to 
know what he can sow to plow under as a green crop. 
Buckwheat would answer, as would peas and oats, sowed 
together, to be turned under in the fall. Rye would do best 
for those parts which are to be plowed under in spring. 
Sledjje-nammering; Bones. — This is 
easy to write, but, work at it an hour, and see what a 
small heap of broken bones you will have for the labor. 
Bones will decay somewhat in a good hot compost heap, 
and in overhauling the heap, may be pitched out, and, 
when dry, will crumble under the sledge. On the same 
principle they may be put into half a molasses hogshead, 
covered with hard-wood ashes and pretty well moisten- 
ed. Those which do not soften after two months, so as 
to be easily mashed, may be sledged. 
ffjimo and Salt JVIixtnre. — "A C," 
who has mixed 100 busheJs of oyster-shell lime with 12 
bushels of refuse salt, wants to know how long before 
the mixture will be fit to use, and what to do with it. 
— The true lime and salt mixture is made by using a 
Btrong brine to slake lime, in which, parts of each under- 
go chemical changes. In such a mixture as our friend has 
made, the ingredients remain unchanged, and it is but lit- 
tle, if any, less in value than if made as above. It may be 
used at once, and applied directly to the soil after plow- 
ing, or mingled with muck or other vegetable compost. 
Questions Al>ont Ashes, — "Subscrib- 
er 11 asks, 1. "Are strong unlcached ashes good to put in 
the hill with potatoes ?"— No. Put them on the hill 
when the plants begin to break the ground, 2. "Are 
they good to put in the hill witli corn ?" — Yes. 3. "Are 
they good manure for cabbages?"— Excellent. 4. "Are 
they good for sweet potatoes?" — Doubtless. 5. "Are 
they good to compost with animal manures ?" — No ; ex- 
cept in small quantities, when plenty of dry muck or soil 
is employed. From strong nitrogenous manures ashes 
liberate ammonia. It is a good plan always to mix soil 
with ashes before using them in contact with seed. 
Hen-honse Mannre is best preserved by 
being mixed with dry soil and worked over as often as it 
heats, until it is fine. It must be used with caution, even 
if mixed with four times its bulk of earth. 
Cost of Keeping- Sheep. — Thi3 depends 
on the kind of sheep and how they are kept. We recently 
heard a farmer remark that his sheep last summer cost 
him nothing. They lived on the summer-fallow, and this, 
he said, produced more feed than his pastures— which is 
saying little for his system of fallowing. When pasture 
costs little or nothing, and when sheep are wintered 
principally on straw, with say a bushel of grain a day for 
100 sheep, most farmers would not estimate the cost of 
keeping a sheep at over $3.00 a year. But whe'u sheep 
are pastured on grass, that could be cut with a machine, 
and a good crop of hay obtained at slight expense, the 
cost of pasturing a sheep is very considerable. The 
English farmers estimate that good pasture will keep 5 
Long-wooled sheep per acre, which would be equal to 
about 8 ordinary Merinos. In the winter, a sheep will 
eat about 3 lbs. of hay per day for each 100 lbs. of live- 
weight. This would keep them in a fair store condition. 
If fattening, they will require one lb. of grain or oil-cake 
per day in addition. On farms where straw is abundant, 
comparatively little hay is fed, and the cost of wiutcring 
is much less. Charles W. Taylor, in an essay, written 
for the Report of the Department of Agriculture, for 
18G4, states that he bought 100 grade Southdown and na- 
tive Cotswold sheep, in November, for $5.00 each. They 
averaged 100 lbs. each. He fed them for 12 weeks. They 
then weighed 125 lbs. cach,and he sold them to the butcher 
for $12.50 each. He gives the cost of feeding as follows : 
17 tons of hav, @. $10 per ton $170.00 
138 bushels of Indian corn @ $1 138.00 
1,050 bushels Swedes and Mangels © 10c. . 105.00 
Three months labor and attendance 45.00 
$458.00 
This is over 38 cents per week for each sheep. In Mr. 
Julian Winne's experiment in fattening sheep in winter, 
the food of the Leicesters cost 44 cents a head per week ; 
that of the Merinos 30 cents— he has fattened sheep for 
many years and has found it very profitable. 
Barley on Mttchy I^and.— il L. H. K," 
Mich., asks if barley will do well on mucky land with a 
clayey subsoil.-— No. It is the worst crop that could bo 
sown on such land. Oats or corn will do far better. 
" What is the Cheapest Way of 
Cutting* Hill-side IHtchcs ?"— We really cannot 
answer this question. It is precisely what we would like 
to find out. We know of no better way than to get the 
most skillful man that can be found, mark out one of the 
ditches, commencing at the outlet or main ditch in the 
lowest land, and running at right angles up the slope. 
Let him dig one ditch, you being with him to see that he 
works faithfully and energetically. In this way yon can 
ascertain how much it is worth a rod to dig the ditches, 
and can make a bargain with this man and with others 
for the performance of the work by tho rod. This is al- 
most always cheaper than having it done by day work. 
Let thcra do all the work except laying the tiles. This 
you had better do yourself, or have it done by a careful 
man by the day. But let the men who dig the ditches 
understand that they must make the ditch ready for the 
tilee. If they do not do the work right, let the man who 
lays the tiles make the bottom of the ditch smooth and 
level, and deduct the cost from the pay of the ditchers. 
Let them understand this, and they will soon learn to 
make the ditch deep enough, and ready for the tiles. 
Unless the land is very stony, you ought to get a three-foot 
ditch cut and filled in for 25 cents a rod. But very much 
depends on the character of the soil. In the spring, 
when the ground is saturated with water, it is much 
easier digging than when the ground is diy and hard. 
Water Filters.— Samuel Pitehforth, Utah. 
—No filter will remove sulphate of lime from water im- 
pregnated with it. A filter made by putting layers of 
gravel, sand and gravel in a tight keg with a faucet in the 
bottom, will remove any "muddincss'" and almost any 
turbidity. It is well to employ a layer or two of charcoal, 
not smaller than wheat, on each side of the sand layer, 
so that the filter will be gravel, coal, sand, coal, gravel. 
This removes organic impurities to a great' extent. 
Hay or^traw Baskets for Start- 
ing Plants.— Numerous devices have been suggested 
to hold earth in which to start vegetable and flower seeds 
in window boxes or in hot-beds. These arc designed l.o 
contain a portion of earth in which the plant grows until 
it can be removed to the open ground where it is placed 
without disturbing its roots. Wc have pnblished a num- 
ber of these; boxes with loose partitions, paper boxes, 
Bhells of turkey's eggs, birch-bark boxes, and hollowed 
tnrnips are among those that recur to ns now, — not for- 
getting small squares of sod, tho simplest of all for hot- 
bed use. "Sheet-Anchor,"' a retired sea captain who is 
an enthusiast in horticultural matters, sends us the fol- 
lowing: " Take a tin quart can, prick a small hole in the 
bottom and fill with rich earth. Lay three wisps of salt 
hay, straw, or similar material upon the earth so that 
they will cross one another, bend the ends of the hay 
down around the sides of the can, and bind it there with 
twine or straw. Turn the whole bottom upwards and 
cut the ends of the hay even, withdraw the can and you 
have a neat little basket of earth. These baskets are to 
be placed in a box close together, and when the time for 
transplanting comes, knock ofl* a side of the box and 
slide them out." We should think a smaller can than 
a quart one would answer. The can mu.st have straight 
