4:52 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[ December, 
remains at Ogalalla much of the time, lias been the 
principal dealer or “ middle-man,” as the bulk of 
the trade has passed through his hands. The 
ranchmen have obtained from him any kind of cat¬ 
tle they have desired, and he in turn has purchased 
of the other dealers, so that the latter may be said 
to have done their business through him. Major 
Mabry has likewise done a good deal of business 
of this kind. There is another Texas drive, that to 
Fort Dodge on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa 
Fe R. R., several hundred miles south of here. Of 
course it would be a great saving of distance and 
expense if the proprietors could stop at Fort Dodge, 
rather than bring their cattle on up to Ogalalla. 
But they can not find so ready a market for them 
at Fort Dodge as at Ogalalla, which is easily accessi¬ 
ble to the owners of the great cattle ranches in 
Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, etc. It is computed 
that about seventy thousand cattle were driven to 
Fort Dodge the present year, and of this number, 
some twenty thousand remained unsold, and were 
brought on up to Ogalalla, where they found pur¬ 
chasers. Ogalalla, in addition to being the ter¬ 
minus of the Texas cattle drive, is likewise a ship¬ 
ping point for cattle going to Chicago. After the 
drive terminates (about th j first of September), the 
shipping business begins, and continues to the first 
of November. The average expense of getting cat¬ 
tle from Ogalalla to Chicago is §7.00 per head, which 
includes railroad charges, yardage, and commission. 
If the Chicago market is any way satisfactory, the 
ranchman is able to realize a very fair profit over 
and above the rice originally paid to the Texan 
proprietor, and the little expense of maintaining 
the cattle on his ranch for a year or more. There 
were about thirteen thousand head of cattle shipped 
from here to Chicago last year, and the shipments 
this year will reach eighteen thousand. Julesburg, 
about 35 miles further west, on the Union Pacific 
R. R., is anotherimportant shipping point. Twenty- 
two thousand head of cattle were forwarded from 
there last year. It is computed that the shipments 
this year will amount to between thirty and forty 
thousand head. The Uiff Estate, which has been 
run by contract since the death of Mr. Uiff, by the 
Snyder Bros., will alone ship over fourteen thousand 
from Julesburg this year. Some idea of the inagni 
tude of the Uiff shipments may be obtained from 
the fact that the estate forwards three train loads 
per week of twenty cars each, and fourteen weeks 
will be required to complete the shipments. There 
was a large shipment this year from Cheyenne, 
-about 13 miles west of Julesburg, which is also 
another important shipping point. The largest 
shippers this year from Cheyenue have been the 
Swan Bros., who own in the neighborhood of a 
-dozen different ranches, and who, it is thought, 
aim to succeed the late Mr. Uiff, as the Cattle 
."Kings of the North West. 
Hints for Work. 
\The Hints and Suggestions in these columns are 
never copied from previous years, but are freshly pre¬ 
pared for every month, from the latest experience and 
obseiwations, by practical men in each department .] 
There is more room for thought in the business of 
farming now, than ever before. There is more 
money employed in the business, more machinery 
is used, and a greater diversity, and a better quality 
of product is demanded by the consumer. 
Plans for management may be discussed in the 
family, and in gatherings of neighbors. By talking 
over such matters, and getting the ideas of people 
of experience, the best, most convenient, and 
most profitable methods are often found. 
Feeding Stock .—Economy and effectiveness, are 
the main points to observe. The best food, fed in 
the best way to the best stock, must be the most 
profitable, and to reach this conclusion is more a 
matter of care and skill, than of money. Money 
can procure food, stock, good buildings, and la¬ 
bor; but good management always depends on the 
intelligent application of known facts to practice. 
Making Manure is next in importance to feeding 
stock. This subject is worthy of careful study, and 
every farmer may look to Joseph Harris’ new book 
“Talks on Manures,” for many valuable ideas. 
| He will find gathered in it not only the author’s 
practical knowledge, but the pith of most that has 
been learned and printed on the subject. 
Saving Fodder .—There are many fields still dot¬ 
ted with shocks of corn fodder. This season it 
ripened very thoroughly, and needed but little dry¬ 
ing to cure it. It may be safely stacked or stored 
in barracks this year with less precaution than 
usual, but to prevent further waste, the stover 
should be takeu care of as soon as possible. 
Roots yet unharvested, should be taken up at 
once, before the frozen ground prevents. Pits not 
fully protected, should now be made safe by an ex¬ 
tra coating of straw' and earth. With a foot of 
straw, 3 inches of earth will be sufficient. 
Cabbages are coming into common use as fodder. 
They may be saved by pitting them in heaps of two 
or three wagon loads, with sheaves of straw inter¬ 
mingled, and covering with straw aud earth, as for 
roots; or by placing them, roots upturned, upon 
the ground, in a dry place, and throwing a few 
inches of earth over the heads. We find that cab¬ 
bages make excellent food for milking cows. 
Turnips may be fed to milking cows, without 
danger of flavoring the milk disagreeably, by giving 
them immediately after milking. A root cutter, or 
some other method of reducing the roots to thin 
slices or pulp, is worth the cost as a preventive of 
choking, if for nothing else. A few cut turnips 
or carrots occasionally are beneficial to horses. 
Live Stock require constant watchfulness. To 
keep them comfortable is as important as to feed 
them well. No animal will thrive and fatten, if un¬ 
clean and cold, hence uncomfortable and fretful. 
Warmth saves feed, helps fattening, and often 
prevents sickness, if not the total loss of an animal. 
To keep the Animals in good condition, or increas¬ 
ing in weight, should be the object of every farmer 
during the winter season. To permit a loss of 
weight after the summer’s feeding, is to waste the 
food both winter and summer. It costs more to 
get an animal fat, than to keep it fat. 
Young Animals require particular care; this is 
the making of the adult animal. To over feed is as 
unwise as to stint food. Costiveness is perhaps 
the most to be guarded against at this season ; lin¬ 
seed oil-cake meal is a good and cheap preventive. 
One pint to one quart daily may be given. 
Horses at regular work, should be kept in good 
condition. Two quarts of corn and oat meal, add¬ 
ed to a bushel of cut straw, will make it equal to so 
much hay. This will make a sufficient ration for 
an idle horse; for a working horse, add 3 quarts of 
this meal, or 3 quarts of oats at each feed. 
Working Oxen are often more useful than horses, 
and of late have been too much neglected. It 
should not be forgotten that oxen require more 
time to feed than horses, and ample opportunity 
for rumination should be given. During winter, 
oxen that work upon the road ought to be shod. 
The cost will be saved in the extra work done, and 
freedom from injury by slipping. 
Young Steers less than a year old, may be broken 
to the yoke by any patient boy. At first they 
should be yoked and tied up until they have be¬ 
come used to the yoke, when they may be led 
around and taught to drive. This is interesting 
play-work for a farmer’s boy in winter. 
Sheep .—A run on the stubbles is healthful exer¬ 
cise. A small plot of rape for green feed is always 
acceptable to the sheep, until the snow is too deep 
for them to reach it. See that they have plenty of 
pure fresh water, at least twice a day. 
Cows will begin to fail in milk as the weather be¬ 
comes cold, unless the food is of the best kind. 
Mangels or sugar beets, pulped and mixed with cut 
hay, corn stalks, or even straw, and left 24 hours to 
ferment, are productive of milk; and 2 quarts of 
corn meal, added to a bushel of this, will greatly 
help the yield of cream. Brewer’s grains in small 
quantities, are a good food for milk production. 
Fattening Animals should be pushed on ns rapidly 
as possible. No fresh food should be given until 
the refuse of the previous feeding is cleared from 
the troughs. When the appetite fails from any 
cause, a change of food will often restore it. 
Plowing of heavy soils may be done to advantage 
until the ground freezes. It is well to plow under 
stable manure on such land. Light soils are quite 
as well if plowed in spring. 
Wheat and Rye fields should be freed from sur¬ 
face water, and open drains cleared of leaves and 
rubbish. Top-dressing with fertilizers or manure, 
where necessary, should be done without delay. 
Sundry matters .—The ice house should be cleaned 
out and prepared for ice, and a stock of sawdust be 
procured for packing... .The clearing of swamps 
maybe done better a little later ; tussocks cut easier 
when frozen-Swamp muck for use as an absorb¬ 
ent may be dug now, and left to freeze dry ready 
for use in a few weeks.... Roots in cellars should be 
overhauled occasionally, and decayed ones removed. 
Cellar windows should be made secure against frost, 
either by a double sash, or outside protection of 
shutters... .Potatoes that are suspected of rot, may 
sometimes be saved by sprinkling dry slacked lime 
over them. Look for, and make all necessary re¬ 
pairs about the out-buildings. At the close of the 
year make an inventory, and if no accounts have 
been kept heretofore, it will pay to begin then. 
Notes for the Orchard and Garden. 
The careful cultivator will have so improved the 
past favorable autumn, that his work for this year 
is finished, and he is already looking beyond the 
slight barrier that separates him from the coming 
year, and his thoughts are mainly of the future. 
The Notes of the past few months include whatever 
of out-door work may be practicable the present 
month, and as much of what we might say has 
been anticipated, our Notes are of necessity brief. 
Orchard and. Nursery. 
Not for many years have apples been so abundant 
as in the present, and as the crop has been short in 
most parts of Europe, immense quantities have 
been shipped. But few orchardists can benefit by 
this foreign demand, as the varieties suited for 
shipping are limited in number, and those tender 
fleshed varieties like the Northern Spy, King of 
Tompkins Co., Yellow Bell-flower, etc., that are so 
fine for home use, are not in favor with shippers. 
Varieties for Europe .—Shippers place the Green 
Newtown Pippin at the very head of the list, and 
after that take such hard-fleshed long-keeping 
kinds as Spitzenberg, Baldwin, etc. It will be well 
for those who contemplate planting orchards with 
a view to shipping the fruit, to consider the merits 
of some of those southern varieties, which have in 
the Western States proved such great keepers, like 
the Nickajack, which, though not of high quality, 
has great beauty and will keep until March. 
Fruit in the Cellar .—The great abundance of ap¬ 
ples and consequent low prices at the time of har¬ 
vest, is very likely to lead to neglect in caring for 
them, and it would not be surprising to find good 
fruit scarce next spring. There has been, in some 
localities, premature ripening, and this indicates 
that the fruit will keep badly. This calls for unu¬ 
sual care in selecting that which is to be stored, and 
in its management during the winter. The main 
point to be looked after, is the temperature, which 
should be kept as low as possible and not freeze 
the fruit. One great advantage in having a detached 
fruit cellar, or one not under the dwelling, is that 
ventilation is not necessary. In the home cellar 
the carbonic acid given off by the fruit must be 
carried off, or the family will suffer. In the special 
cellar this may accumulate, and by excluding the 
air, greatly promote the keeping of the fruit. 
Cions, whether to be used during winter for 
root-grafting, or to be kept until spring for top¬ 
grafting, should be cut early. They are much more 
likely to succeed than those taken after exposure 
to severe winter weather. Saw-dust, damp as it 
comes from the mill, is the best packing material, 
as it leaves no grit to dull the knives. 
P'uning of large branches may be left until the 
