7A 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[FEBRUARY, 
Herding" Cut 1 le for Fun.—“ E. R. H.,” 
Huntington Co.. Pa. It is a great mistake to suppose 
that there is any fun in herding cattle on the Plains. On 
the contrary, it is one of the hardest and most dangerous 
of employments. Stockmen there do not want to hire 
inexperienced men, simply to give them opportunities 
for horse riding or sight seeing. To get employment on 
a cattle ranch, a man needs experience which has been 
gained through work and exposure that would kill a doz¬ 
en young men who have lived in a city, and fancy they 
would find pleasure in the occupation. If there is any 
pleasant share in the business, it is that of the owners 
who have invested large sums in it, and can afford to 
take things easy while their hired men do the work. 
©oo«l Eyes and Steady Serves are 
those of E. Eastman, of North Haverhill, N. H., who, in 
sending for the American Agriculturist, at the age of 75, 
does it in penmanship that is really beautiful. Besides 
this, he sends a specimen of what he can do if he tries. 
Within the space of >4 an inch long, and % wide, he 
writes the Lord’s Prayer, and without the aid of glasses ; 
though it can not easily be read without a magnifier. A 
wonderful performance at any age, but at 75, it is aston¬ 
ishing. Mr. E. attributes this extraordinary preservation 
of his faculties to abstinence, during a life passed in agri¬ 
cultural pursuits, from strong drinks and tobacco. 
“St. nicliolas,” an illustrated magazine 
for girls and boys. It. is edited by Mrs. Mary Mapes 
Hodge, and published monthly by Scribner & Co., N. Y., 
and when we say that there is not in the whole world 
anything of its kind that can touch it with a 10 (thousand) 
foot pole, it may be inferred that we think “Sr. Nicholas ” 
will do. Mrs. Dodge is to be congratulated on having 
such publishers, and the publishers should rejoice that 
they have such an editor. 
Subjects for Discussion at a Farm, 
erst Club.—The following list includes the subjects to 
be brought up for discussion at the meetings of the Con¬ 
cord (Mass.) Farmers’ Club, viz.: “What have we farm¬ 
ers learned the past year?... .History, Culture, and Uses 
of Indian Corn .. .Production and Application of Manure. 
_Can we Afford to Raise Our Stock?_Root Crops. 
_How Farming Pays Best_How Shall we best Util¬ 
ize our Hay?_Value of Experiment Stations_Cross 
Fertilization... .Systems of Cultivation and Production. 
... Insects Injurious to Vegetation_Are our Seasons 
becoming Dryer?_Supply and Demand_Healthy 
Houses_Exhaustion of the Soil — Poultry Breeding. 
_In and in Breeding... Opportunities for Young 
Farmers”_This list may be useful to other clubs, both 
in suggesting a choice of subjects, and as an example of 
some questions which can hardly be profitably discussed, 
being insolvable and only resulting in irreconcilable dif¬ 
ferences of opinion at. the best. 
Proposed. Amendment of I lie Pa¬ 
tent Caws.—A bill has been introduced into Congress 
for the protection of farmers against suits for the invol¬ 
untary infringement of patent rights, by the use of ma¬ 
chines, implements, or articles which are claimed to be 
illegally made or sold. It provides that no suit can be 
enforced against an innocent purchaser, nor unless it can 
be shown that the purchaser was aware of the infringe¬ 
ment at the time of the purchase. This is a very im¬ 
portant and much needed measure, in view of the in¬ 
numerable conflicting claims as to the patent rights on 
churns, gates, fences, barbed fences, lightning-rods, and 
the scores of other things which are peddled all over the 
country by seductive and irrepressible agents, who sell 
something only to be followed by amother sharper, claim¬ 
ing a fee for the use of what the first man sold. 
T8b<u Giirdeuer’s Monthly.’ 1 The 
■Variegated Grape.—With the December number, 
our able horticultural cotemporary closes its 19tli volume. 
In these 19 years it has seen a number of other journals 
retire from the field; notably "The Horticulturist,” 
founded by A. J. Downing, which fell into hands that so 
starved it that it was almost too weak from inanition 
to stand up and be swallowed by the “Gardener’s 
Monthly.” Then there was a Boston journal—we have 
quite forgotten its name—that started out, ignoring 
all things that were, or had been, in horticulture, and 
looked with contempt upon the slow-going “Gardener’s 
Monthly.” The most highly inflated balloon, if let 
alone, will, by a well known law of endosmosis, gradual¬ 
ly diffuse its gas, and collapse. This is what happened 
to the Boston journal. We are glad to sec that the 
Gardener’s Monthly ” closes its volume with many 
signs of prosperity, among which we count an excellent 
colored plate of the Variegated Grape. YUis heterophytta , 
which, under various names, including Vitis variegata, 
VUis humulifolia , Ampelopsis tricolor, Cissrus qvinquefolia 
variegata, and others, has been iu our nurseries for 
several years. It does not seem to have become so 
generally known as its merits deserve. Its handsomely 
lobed leaves are abundantly splashed and blotched with 
light green and white ; the stems of the young growth, 
leaf-stalks, and stalks of the fruit-clusters, are light crim¬ 
son, and the abundant berries, about the size of peas, 
take on in autumn the richest of blues. The plant is 
seen at its best iu a partially shaded place, as in full sun 
its variegations are less marked. It may bo used to 
cover a treliis, or if grown to a stake, it will form an ir¬ 
regular mass of great beauty, especially when in fruit. 
Frizc Essuyon BBiscases of’Swine. 
—The American Berkshire Association has issued in 
pamphlet form the §100 prize essay on diseases of swine. 
This essay, with 500 pages, containing 1,600 pedigrees of 
swine, are given in the second volume of the Berkshire 
Record. The price of this volume is $5. The essay by 
itself is sold for twenty-five cents. The Secretary of the 
Association is P. M. Springer, Springfield, Ill. 
To !>estroy Dcwbenics.— “Geo. G. 
P.” W. Sulphur Springs, W. Va. It is a difficult mat¬ 
ter to destroy the variety of creeping blackberry Known 
as dewberries. Every piece of root left in the ground 
will make a new plant. We once freed a field from this 
pest by deep plowing, so as to turn up all the roots and 
then thorough harrowing and cultivating to tear them 
out of the ground. The roots were then gathered and 
burned. The ground was planted to corn, cultivated 
flat, and sown to clover at the last working of the corn. 
No dewberries appeared after that. Lime and manure 
only affect them by encouraging the growth of the crop 
which smother them out. Sheep will consume them, 
when there is nothing else to eat. 
A Great Improvement iu JPlows.— 
If we could prevent the points of our plow-shares from 
wearing out, it would be a very great economy in preserv¬ 
ing the shares. The New York Plow Company has 
adapted a new device of a movable and reversible slip 
point for the shares of their adamant plows. This point, 
when worn on the under side, is taken out and reversed; 
and when worn out a new one is put in; thus the share 
will wear a very long time without needing to be replaced. 
The engraving here given shows the form of the slip- 
point and share. The point is keyed on with a piece of 
10-penny nail. The improvement, althougJi quite new, 
has already taken prizes at the New York State, and 
Queens Co., (N. Y.), and New Jersey State Fairs. 
A Flan to Find tint Seat of* In¬ 
flammation. —“ Farmer,” recommends persons who 
have horses that are suffering from inflammation in the 
joints or muscles, to apply cold water to the suspected 
parts; the seat of the trouble will be found where the 
moisture dries off the most quickly. 
EBnliiag Manure. — “H. T. R.,” Mont¬ 
gomery Co., Pa. We can not give you the present ad¬ 
dress of the patentee of the process for baling manure. 
We suppose, from the fact that, wo see no notices of this 
process made public, that the patentee has no desire to 
give any information respecting it. 
Size of* House foe Fifty Ileus.—“F. 
II. C.,” Freeport, Me. A house 10 feet wide, 15 feet long, 
and 8 feet high, is large enough.for fifty hens. 
Tine Slaortiioa-Bi Convention.—At 
the Shorthorn Convention, held at Lexington, Ky., 
Oct. 31st, the most noteworthy proceedings was a report 
by a vote of 30 to 9 to admit native bred animals having 
six crosses. Others that trace back to imported sires 
and dams are admissible with six crosses ; a resolution 
to the effect that color in this breed is immaterial, and 
that the popular desire for red animals is injurious to 
the Shorthorn interest; also, the recommendation that 
aniamls desired to be milkers should be bred early, 
while b ef cattle should be matured before being bred. 
An evident impression prevailed that the milking ca¬ 
pacity of Shorthorn cows should be encouraged. 
Grass for Wet Meatlow and Tim¬ 
ber land.— “A. B. T.,” Nora Springs, Iowa. Timothy 
and red top mixed at the rate of a peck of the first and a 
bushel of the latter per acre, would do well upon a 
moist drained meadow. Orchard grass and Kentucky 
blue grass, a bushel of each- per acre, would be the best 
for open timber land. 
How to Use lloues as a Fertilizer. 
— “L..R. S.,” Bridgewater, N. Y. The easiest manner 
of preparing bones for use, is to burn them with wood. 
The phosphate of lime is all in the ashes, but the nitro¬ 
gen is lost, as the animal matter is burned away. But 
an equivalent of ammonia could be purchased in the 
shape"of dried blood, meat., or fish guano, for less money 
than it would cost to reduce the bones to a fine powder 
in their raw condition. 100 pounds of dry bones contain 
45 pounds of gelatine, in which there are about 5 pounds 
of ammonia. This could be replaced by 20 pounds of 
sulphate of ammonia, at a cost of 5i cents per lb., or $1.10. 
As the sulphate is at. once available, while the ammonia 
of bones is only slowly produced, half or a fourth of the 
former would supply an equivalent of the bones. 
City Manure or Artificial Ferti¬ 
lizer. — “J. C. L.,” Philadelphia. We would rather 
use some good artificial fertilizer, such as Peruvian gu- 
ano, or any of the prepared special manures, than city 
manure at a dollar a cartload. 100 lbs. guano per acre iu 
autumn, would be very effective, and if repeated in 
the spring, would lie of more use, than the same value in 
city manure, were it of better quality, than it usually is. 
Renting Farms.— “Homestead,” Indiana. 
We certainly advocate the renting of farms by young 
men, who have not sufficient capital to purchase land. 
The ownership of land !s by no means necessary to suc¬ 
cess in farming; on the contrary, there are thousands of 
farmers who would he better' off ft they had some money 
in their possession to stock a rented farm, rather than 1 
own some land which they have not means to cultivate. ■ 
Money invested in land is well called real estate, because 
there is no possession surer-than a piece of land tiiat is 
paid fur. But as a compensation for perfect security, the 
interest derived from an investment should below. No 
farmer can, or should, afford to pay more than four per 
cent on the value of land, as rental. Interest has been, 
and is, too high for the farmer’s profit.. If farms can be 
rented for this rate, it would pay many now owning hind 
to rent instead. Money used in fluctuating business, 
such as the Cultivation of land, ought to pay from 10 to 
20 per cent. Every good farmer should be able to make 
that profit from his working capital; that is, live stock, 
tools, seed, and fertilizers. Therefore, one who rents his 
land, provided lie has a long and secure lease at a reason¬ 
able rate, should make more money in proportion to his 
capital, than lie who owns his land. Every farmer should, 
if he can, own his own farm, and have sufficient capital 
to work if; but as this is impossible, then let those who 
cannot do both, rent farms and use sufficient capital to 
work them thoroughly and profitably. 
Packing' Egg's in Salt. —“ D. H. 8.,” 
Landisbiu-g, Pa. Eggs can not be kept very long when 
packed in salt. The preserving process must, necessarily 
render the shells impervious to air, else the eggs gradu¬ 
ally decay. There is no better preservative than linseed 
oil smeared over the shells, or immersing them in milk 
of lime, which has been described so frequently. 
Biestlons akoul Eggs and Fowls. 
—“ A. G. O. M.,” Manitoba. We do not believe half the 
reports current about extraordinary production of eggs. 
Yet it may easily he true that a lien of tiie non-sitting 
breeds may lay an egg every day for a long period. The 
Black Spanish hens often do this, and we have personally 
known one to lay two eggs in one day, but there was none 
tlic next day. Hons can not well cover goose eggs and 
keep them warm, they are too large. If the bottom of the 
nest is made warm with down or feathers, a hen may 
possibly keep six of these eggs warm enough. A young 
bird needs no help to getout of the shell, unless it is very 
weak, in which case it. is about as well for it to remain 
there, as it would probably fail to thrive. If the chicks 
should need any help, this can he very easily given when 
an Incubator !s used. Light Brahma chicks, when newly 
hatched, are all white ; Dark Brahmas are black and 
brown; Plymouth Rocks arc black and yellow, and Black- 
red Games are black and yellow, or brownish. 
“Currants ” and Sultana Raisins. 
—Our common currants, got their name from some re¬ 
semblance to i lie fruit imported into England long ago 
