1870." 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
139 
best range for them when they are youug. " 
Notes. — There are some thiugs about turkey 
raising, which it is worthwhile for a novice to 
know, not told by our correspondent. Turkeys 
if well trained become very domestic, and may 
easily be made to lay, in good-sized boxes placed 
in sheds or out-buildings, out of the reach of dogs 
and vermin. The eggs may be removed daily, 
and this is best if they are carefully handled, be- 
cause a turkey is often half a day upon her nest 
long before she becomes broody. If early broods 
are desired, leave a nest full of eggs (wooden 
oues) and the hen will soon stop laying and 
sit. Very tame turkeys are often such persist- 
ent sitters that they must be taken off at least 
every alternate day to feed. Turkey hens are 
very careful mothers ; they rarely or never tread 
upon a chick, and when the chicks are very 
young their extreme care is almost distressing. 
The}- may, therefore, be cooped; and this is 
best with all earl} - broods, for otherwise the 
young suffer for lack of brooding. "When tur- 
key hens are cooped with their broods the great- 
est care is necessary to prevent the coops be- 
coming foul. It is well to shift them daily, ot- 
to use an abundance of dry earth scattered sev- 
eral times a day over the floor of the coop. We 
prefer to feed all young birds animal food ; hard- 
boiled egg with curds, mashed together and 
mingled with bread soaked in milk, is our favor- 
ite diet for young turkeys, and they thrive upon 
it. Cracked wheat and corn follow, and with 
other grains these soon become the staple food. 
— - «»» t-m. 
The Cultivation of Barley. 
"We have received many letters asking in- 
formation about barley, and we conclude that, at- 
tracted by the comparatively high prices which 
have prevailed for a few years past, many 
who have hitherto paid no attention to this 
crop are intending to raise it. They had bet- 
ter do so on a small scale at first. Our cli- 
mate is not as favorable for barley as for oats 
and wheat. "We cannot obtain a good crop un- 
less the soil is dry, clean, and rich. It seldom 
does well on a recently inverted sod. Its best 
place in the rotation is after a highly manured 
and thoroughly cultivated corn crop. The best 
crops are obtained on a rather heavy calcareous 
loam, provided it has been thoroughly pulverized 
during the preceding summer and autumn. But 
as this is seldom the case, the soils that usually 
give the best medium crops are those of a light- 
er and warmer character — or sandy loams. 
Barley should either be sown very early, or 
rather late — say the moment the ground is lit 
to work in the spring, or not until after the 
heavy spring rains are over. "We have had the 
best success in sowing very early, say the first 
of April ; but good crops are frequently obtain- 
ed when sown as late as the middle of May. 
Much depends on the season. If we have heavy 
rains soon after the barley is sown, and then be- 
fore the plants cover the ground, dry weather 
sets in, the surface of the soil becomes baked, 
and the crop suffers. An early sown crop would 
suffer less, because it would have got a good 
start before the drouth set in. A crop sown 
immediately after the spring rains, as soon as 
the land is in condition to work, commences 
to grow rapidly at once, and often docs better 
than a crop sown two weeks earlier — but not as 
well as a crop sown a month earlier. If the soil 
is rich and has been plowed the fall previous, 
sow as early as it will work without clogging. 
When barley is grown to sell, the six-rowed, 
or what is usually called the/our-rowed (though 
there is no such thing as a four-rowed barley), 
is the most profitable — because it brings from 
ten to fifteen cents a bushel more than the two- 
rowed. But when barley is grown to feed out 
on the farm, the two-rowed is altogether the 
best, especially on strong, rich land. It weighs 
more per bushel, and if the soil is rich enough, 
it will yield more per acre. It has another ad- 
vantage, of being later than the four-rowed, 
which ripens at the same time as wheat, and 
we have wheat and barley harvest on us at once. 
With the two-rowed, we can get through 
with the wheat by the time the barley is ready. 
We usually sow from 2 to 2'|i bushels per 
acre. If the land is very rich and it is sown 
early and drilled in, less seed is required. Last 
year we had a better crop from l'| 4 bushels 
of seed per acre, than from 2'|a bushels — but 
the land was in better condition, and sown 
a week earlier. The yield varies more than 
that of almost any other crop, depending some- 
what on the season, but much more on the 
condition and previous culture of the soil. We 
have had over fifty bushels per acre, and in just 
as good a season, and on land naturally as good 
we have had only twelve bushels. We again 
advise our readers not to sow bailey unless 
the land is in good condition. 
Canada Thistles and Other Weeds. 
The fact has been often stated that thistles 
will succumb to dilligent pulling or cutting up 
below the surface. No plant will survive this 
treatment. Canada thistles may be easily seen 
soon after the new shoots break through the 
ground, and before they become self-supporting. 
These sprouts while yet dependent for their life 
upon the succulent fleshy roots and underground 
wandering stems of the parent stock from which 
Fig. 1. — THISTLE TONGS CLOSED. 
they start, are in the most vulnerable condition 
possible. A broad blade, like those attached 
to some horse-hoes, drawn through the ground 
some three inches below the surface, will, 
if used several times in the course of one sea- 
son, completely wipe out this pest, except where 
stones or otherobstacles interfere with thorough 
working. Plowing is not efficient, because it 
leaves too much root upon the shoots, and only 
disturbs and transplants them. The sprout of 
the Canada thistle is pretty tough, and if evenly 
held and pulled directly upward, will usually 
draw out, breaking off 
several inches below the 
surface. On page 219, 
of the Agriculturist for 
1868, we gave a descrip- 
tion of a pair of long- 
handled wooden tongs 
for pulling Canada this- 
tles. The accompanying 
engravings show a pair 
of iron-jawed pincers or tongs for the same pur- 
pose; the notched jaws should be about 8 inches 
long, narrow, and having a griping surface of 
about three-quarters of an inch. Any blacksmith 
can make them. The drawings are sent us by 
Mr. H. R. Denroche, Alleghany Co., N. Y. The 
iron pincers are superior to the wooden oues, 
because they may be pushed into the ground, 
and so get a better hold of a younger plant. 
Fig. 2. — TONGS OPEN. 
Corn Fodder as a Soiling Crop. 
We have made during the past season an ex- 
periment in relation to the soiling of cattle, 
which demonstrates the value of sowed corn 
for this purpose. We have a small herd of 
Jersey cattle, and a very poor farm from which 
to feed them. A piece of rye, sown last fall, 
gave them an early bite in May, and by the 
time that had grown too large to he used, the 
first sowing of oats was ready for the scythe. 
Early in June it became evident that most of the 
oats would be too large for profitable feeding 
before the corn was large enough to cut, and we 
paid $100 for two acres of clover, (with the 
privilege of cutting it twice). Commenced 
feeding from this clover on the 24th day of June. 
No clover could have beeu in finer condition 
than this was, nor have been eaten more greed- 
ily. It constituted about oue-half of the cows' 
forage until the 1st of August, being intermitted 
with oats and a little grass. During this whole 
time, the cattle were abundantly fed, and were 
in excellent condition. On the 25th of July we 
commenced feeding corn fodder, giving it at 
first but once a day. By the middle of August 
it was fed exclusively, and a part of the second 
cut of the purchased clover was re-sold for $20. 
The calves had all been weaned by the middle 
of June, and there was nothing in the condition 
of the herd to prevent a full product of butter 
at that time. The variations during the summer 
must, therefore, be ascribed entirely to the differ- 
ence of food. The following table of the week- 
ly product shows what these variations were : 
Week Food. Butter TTerf- Food. Butter 
eliding _ made, lbs. ending made. Ifa. 
', Corn 57 
5S'i 
56M 
,60v; 
.62 
.50 
.54 
.55 
Jane'5, Eye 32 Aug 
" 12, " 29 '■ 14, 
" 19, Oats 35^ " 21, 
•' 26, OatB & Clover. . .5054 " 28, 
July 3, " " ...4Sy. Sept. 4, 
" 10, " " ...54J4 " 11, 
" 17, '• - ...49 " In 
" 24, " ■' ...471/S " 25, 
" 31, Corn & Clover.. 52}il 
This table proves two things : — 1. Whereas 
cows kept on pasture, fall off materially from 
their June yield, as the season advances, they 
may not only be kept up to the full quantity by 
soiling, but by the supplying of a better food 
their yield may actually be increased. 2. Neither 
rye, oats, or clover, nor a mixture of these, is 
so effective in the production of butter as is corn 
fodder. It is to be borne in mind, that dining 
the latter part of the season, when the yield of 
butter was largely increased, the cows were 
much farther from their calving time, and as 
they were to come in from November to April, 
their milk should naturally have diminished. 
Our corn fodder was planted on very highly 
manured ground, with a common wheat, drill, 
from which all but three of the teeth had been 
removed, leaving the rows about three feet 
apart. The box was so arranged as to discharge 
about forty kernels to the foot in each row. Two 
kinds of corn were used — Southern white and 
Western mixed. The Southern white seemed to 
be very much the best, and although it has 
naturally an enormous stalk, the thick planting 
reduced it to a diameter of from 4 to 1 inch. 
The com grew to a bight of G feet, and occu- 
pied the ground as thickly as anything could; 
and the crop would, doubtless, have made (could 
it have been cured) fully 6 tons to the acre. 
How to Raise Parsnips. — Select a rather 
heavy loam, but clean and rich. Plow it deep 
and harrow it thoroughly as early as it can 
be worked ; mark off in rows 15 inches apart, 
and drill in the seed or sow by hand. Use plenty 
of seed, two or three to the inch, and be sure il 
