1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
4,37 
Abdominal Tumor in. a Horse. — Dr. 
G. TV. Booth, of Harrison Co., Ind., unites: "If you will 
allow me a space in your paper, I will relate a very sin- 
gular case which, will probably interest farmers and horse- 
men generally. It is that of a horse of Mr. J. C. 
Lopp, of this place. This spring, while plowing forcorn, 
Mr. Lopp noticed that his horse began to lose his appe- 
tite, and grow thin, and soon noticed that he passed his 
urine with difficulty. After trying the various diuretics 
usually resorted to, ho called in several of the horse-wise 
men of the neighborhood, and had their opinions as to 
the nature of the disease, and its treatment. The horse 
gradually grew worse, and in two or three weeks died. At 
the post mortem, upon cutting him open, we found a 
tumor lying in tho right side, to which were attached 
the right kidney and liver. The tumor would have filled 
a half bushel measure, and was composed of lobules from 
the size of a walnut up to the size of a man's double fist, 
attached by a pedicle to each other. When cut into, the 
lobules presented the shining appearance of kidney struc- 
ture, but were of a grayish color." 
Cows Holding Up TJicir Milh:.— 
C. E. Pond, Kansas. It seems as if there must be some 
way of influencing a cow to give down her milk, but we 
know of no specific remedy. The usual causes are, we 
think, jealousy for her calf, and nervousness. A cow al- 
ways used to kind treatment should not be jealous of her 
milker. One which does not suckle her own calf at all 
will not be jealous on its account. One of a nervous tem- 
perament maybe quieted if fed or "messed" in a stall or 
loose bos at the time of milking. A nervous cow 
ought to be handled by a quiet, gentle person. Boister- 
ousness in the yard or stable, and rough usage, will get 
cows into all sorts of bad habits. 
Ventilation of the Soil.— "S. B.," of 
Long Island. The suggestion made is not new. Experi- 
ments in artificial aeration of the soil have been made, 
and by means of pipes, and the advantages, if not imper- 
ceptible, found to be mi remunerative. The passage of 
wind over the surface, and the property of infinite diffu- 
sion which air and its constituents, in common with all 
gaseous bodies, possess, is equivalent to thorough ven- 
tilation, as far down into the soil as good drainage exists. 
Watering - Troughs on IHigh- 
ways.— A common thing in New England — less fre- 
quently found in the Middle States, and very rare at the 
"West or (as the new phrase is) " Interior." Why is this ? 
Asphaltnm Floors for ^tables. — 
These may be made without fear of injury from frost, 
if not laid in very cold weather. 
Chess.— A. W. B., West Mericlen. The Ger- 
man told you an old tradition. This, and all other ways 
of converting wheat into chess, was tried by a committee 
of the New York State Society, several years ago. Cut- 
ting off the roots of wheat is about as likely to convert 
it into chess as cutting a horse's tail is to make a 
donkey of him. 
Salt and liime. — Wc hold it as settled that 
for most, if not all, manurial purposes, lime slaked with 
a strong brine is decidedly superior to simply slaked 
lime, with or without a separate application of salt. 
Sorgrlmni and its Products. — An 
account of recent investigations concerning the value 
of Sorghum in sugar production, etc., by F. L. Stewart, 
210 pages, 12mo., J. B. Lippincott, Phila. "We consider 
it a valuable contribution to our literature on this sub- 
ject. Price $1.50. 
Facts about Peat. — As an article of fuel, 
etc., by T. II. Leavitt, 3d Edition, 316 pages, l*2ino., 
published by Lee & Shepard, Boston. A neat work, ex- 
hibiting commendable research, and of general interest. 
Mr. Leavitt is practically familiar with his subject, and 
the inventor of a condensing mill. For sale at tho 
American Agriculturist Office. Price, $1.50. 
A. Soldering? Iron, a bar of solder, and a 
little pulverized rosin, will be found a good investment 
for farmers. Many leaks can be stopped, much time 
saved, and also many dimes. The art of soldering is an 
easy one to acquire. 
Farm If oiler and Sloamer. — li J. II. 
D.," Hampden Co., Mass, The apparatus, invented by 
D K. Prindle, of East Bethany, N. Y., Is a neat and 
effective apparatus for cooking food, steaming roots or 
coarse fodder, boiling water in vats or tubs, for scalding 
hogs, steaming timber, and many other purposes for 
which, cither a caldron set on a furnace or on an arch, or 
a low pressure steam boiler is employed. It has been 
used, and has the approval of many of our best farmers. 
Cost of Keeping Sheep at the 
South. — In Union County, S. C, it is estimated at 2SJ4 
cents a head to winter a flock, and the profits at two dol- 
lars a head per year. 
Feeding- Cabbages, Stumps and 
All.— " J. L.," Westchester Co., N. T., says: "In feed- 
ing cabbages, I have found the stumps cut in small pieces 
nearly down to the roots and slightly steamed and mixed 
with bran, very much relished and eaten clean.' 1 
Plowing with. One Line and with 
tef t-liand. Plows.— Our pictures in the July num- 
ber have been the subjects of so many and so differing 
criticisms, that we are forced to think they are pretty near 
right. Still the common usage, which is a very safe guide, 
differs a little from our representations. Instead of attach- 
ing the line from the head of the off horse to the head of 
the nigh one, it is usually attached to the girth. J. D. 
Smalley, of Stark Co., O., says the single rein should be 
buckled into a ring in the bridle rein, and recommends 
passing the rein through a ring attached by a short strap 
to the crupper, in order to hold it up better. 
Clotty milk in One Teat.— U F. C. C," 
Wisconsin, has a cow which gave clotty milk from one 
teat at a time, different teats being affected. This is a 
mild stage of garget, and the cow would probably be 
cured by a dose of 1 lb. of epsom salts, and \» oz. of 
ginger mised with molasses. If the cow manifests fc- 
verishncss, add half an ounce of saltpeter, and be very 
thorough about milking. If more than one teat is affected, 
or if the bag is sore, milk several times a day, and wash- 
ing it with warm water, knead it gently each time. Warm 
grease is often applied with advantage after the wash- 
ing. The farmers' remedy is Garget-root, or Poke-root, of 
which a few ounces are given, shaved up with the feed. It 
is laxative, and usually efficacious, but not always at hand. 
"J.B.J.' 1 says: "Take a handful of Poke-root, chop it 
fine, boil till tender, and give it to the cow in feed or 
slops." lie his never known it to fail. 
Oysters and Salmon at Salt BLiake- 
■ — M. M. Oysters reach their perfection only in tide-wa- 
ter streams and bays where they have a constant alter- 
nation of salt and fresh water. We are not aware that 
they will thrive under any other conditions. There is no 
chance for them at Great Salt Lake. Salmon must have 
access to the varied fare of the ocean in order to do their 
best. They frequently add threefold to their weight on 
their first visit to the sea. It is not at all probable that 
they would do well in the streams of tho Great Basin. 
But the artificial propagation of fish that do not require 
these conditions can be carried on to any extent in those 
waters. The hatching of fish eggs is represented by ex- 
perts in the business to be much more snrc than the 
hatching of the eggs of the domestic fowls. They are 
easily transported. There is no conceivable limit to their 
multiplication but the want of rivers, and food for them. 
We were told that the whole expense of putting fifty mil- 
lions of shad into the Connecticut River did not exceed 
fifty dollars. Black bass, salmon, trout, pike, pickerel, 
and white fish, arc desirable sorts to propagate in fresh- 
water streams and lakes. Dr. Garlick's little work on fish 
culture is the best that has fallen under our notice, but 
this work is out of print. A new edition, with the latest 
information, should be immediately issued. 
Cheap Homos, — " J. "W." Under the Home- 
stead Law, one hundred and sixty acres of land can be 
obtained in Missouri for $1S. Improved farms can be 
bought at from $."> to $10 per acre. Churches, schools, and 
good society are not guaranteed. 
The Early Goodrich Potato.— "R. 
P." We have good reports of this seedling from all quar- 
ters. It is very productive, not liable to rot, and of good 
quality. It is a good time to lay in your seed now. 
The Wheat Crop of the United 
States i* estimated :it 825,000,000 ofbushels, tho largest 
ever raised, and of good quality. There will be little 
sproutod or musty grain in market. 
The Crops in Europe. — There is a short 
crop of wheat in France, Belgium, Spain, and Poland. A 
good deal of wheat, flour, and com is already pent out 
from tbisconntry. and breadstuff's will be one of our large 
items of export for the year. 
The Farmer's Home Journal is one 
of the host of tho young agricultural papers of the West. 
It is published at Lexington. Ky.. by our friend. .T. .T. 
Miller, Esq. We wish him the largest success iu his labor* 
Journal of the Farm. — The first num- 
ber of a journal of 16 pages, with the above title, has 
reached us. It is published by Baugh & Sons, Philadel- 
phia, who say, " the proprietors wish it distinctly under- 
stood that it is published for the express purpose of mak- 
ing more generally known, and thereby increasing the 
sale of Bough's Haw Bone Phosphate, of which they are 
sole manufacturers." Now, there is no misunderstanding 
this, and it is much more open and fair than those sheets 
published in the interest of some particular establishment, 
and which make believe all the time that they are not. 
We are not informed how often the journal is to be is- 
sued. If there is any virtue in Phosphate, the first issuo 
contains enough of it to make its circulation grow rapid- 
ly, but besides its "phosphatic diathesis, 1 ' as the doctors 
say, it presents much well-considered reading matter. 
Cotton Culture and Manure. — A. 
B. This crop has been very generally cultivated without 
manure, and the product has been from one-third of a 
bale to one bale per acre, according to the quality of the 
soil. A subscriber expresses his surprise that we should 
recommend so much as a ton offish guano to the acre for 
this crop, costing perhaps fifty dollars delivered. Dr. N. 
B. Cloud, of Alabama, demonstrated twenty years ago 
that two and three bales even per acre could be raised 
more economically than the same quantity on five or six 
acres. It is mainly a question of manure and thorough, 
cultivation. Wc are aware that two hundred pounds to 
the acre is used, with a crop of oue-half to three-fouths of 
a bale. It is much better husbandry to use more manure, 
and get more cotton. 
500 Loads of Well Weathered 
Muck:.— A. Halctt, of Portage Co., Ohio, has 500 loads 
of well weathered muck, and proposes to send to New 
York for superphosphate of lime, at $G0 per ton, to com- 
post with it. Don't do it. Spend your money for some- 
thing nearer home. Perhaps you can buy stable manure ; 
with one load of this, and three of the muck, you may 
make fully three loads of manure, worth as much as good 
yard manure next spring. Perhaps you can get bone dust, 
or burnt bones, cheaply, if you can add 50 pounds to the 
load of compost. The woolen waste of factories, the 
wastes of soap boilers, of paper makers, horn turners, etc., 
are all valuable, and may often be used without a basis of 
animal manure with the muck. Pen your hogs on the 
muck, (under cover, if possible,) and throw out the con- 
tents of the pen upon a compost heap, as often as it is 
well worked over. Jlingle muck with the manure in the 
barn-yard, so that it shall thoroughly pervade the whole. 
Throw it under the horses and cattle in the stables, tak- 
ing it out clean at least once a week. Any way to im- 
pregnate it with the fermenting principle of annual ma- 
nure, urine, or barn-yard lcachings will make good manure 
of it. The compost will be all the better if bones, wood- 
ashes, and other inorganic substances of manurial value 
are added and thoroughly intermingled with it. 
Selecting Seed Corn. — G. F. Choose 
cars from the stalks that bear two or three, taking the 
best. Ilang them up to dry in a room that has the full 
benefit of the sun or a fire. If once thoroughly dried, it 
is easily kept. Much labor is saved by having well cured 
seed corn. 
IVIoYring; Machines and John Bull. 
— They cut grass well, John admits, but they also cut off 
the heads of sitting pheasants and partridges. What can . 
John do without his game? What is an estate worth if 
it does not afford shooting for the aristocracy ? Mowers 
and reapers are democratic institutions. 
Tinejjnr from Sorglmm Juice. — 
It can be made in a few weeks, treated as cider, without 
evaporation. But it is better to boil it, so as to bring tho 
impurities to the surface, and skim. The more it Is 
exposed to the air the sooner it will become good vinegar. 
The Harison Potato. —The reports 
from this variety are wonderfully favorable. It has with- 
stood both drouth and wet better than any other potato. 
It has everywhere given good crops. Cut to single eyes 
and planted singly, it has yielded fully 100 for one, and in 
somo cases, no doubt, 200 for one. J. T. Mapes, of 
Orange Co., reports an increase of ISO good market- 
able potatoes, besides some small ones, for one planted. 
Farm ins: in Colorado is said to be 
making rapid progress, considering the obstacles they 
have to contend with. In Puobla County, even- spot that 
COD be watered ia plowed and cultivated. They bftVO al- 
ready spent a hundred thousand dollars for dams and 
ditches. About 600,000 acres are under cultivation in tho 
whole territory. Not a vary attractive country, where 
every foot of land has to be irrigated to produco a crop. 
