1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
485 
the immigrants landing at New York were 
240,000, and by the end of the year it is 
thought the number will reach 450,000. For 
the year ending July 30, it is estimated that 
nearly 700,000 immigrants came to the United 
States, taking all the ports together. The im¬ 
migration of Germans, since the Franco-Prus- 
sian war, has been very large, and is likely 
to be large for years to come. Why then 
should not our dairymen provide these people 
with the variety of cheese they like. Surely 
our home consumption could be thus pro¬ 
moted and our exports lessened. In some few 
localities Swiss cheese and Limberger have 
been imitated with great success, but the 
quantity made is comparatively small, and 
below the consumptive demand. 
Home Consumption. 
Our population is now fifty millions, and 
we ought to consume the entire cheese prod¬ 
uct of the country. It amounts annually to 
400,000,000 pounds, and of this about 125,000,- 
000 pounds are exported. England has a pop¬ 
ulation of about 25,000,000, and her annual 
cheeseconsumption is over 500,000,000 pounds, 
or 20 pounds per capita. If we consumed an¬ 
nually our whole product, it would be only at 
t he rate of 8 pounds per capita, but as we use 
no more than 275,000,000 pounds, the actual 
consumption is 51 pounds per capita. If we 
used cheese as freely here as in England, our 
annual consumption would require one thou¬ 
sand million pounds. There is not the proper 
effort made to promote home consumption. 
The bulk of our finest cheese goes abroad, the 
poorer sorts are left for home use, and the 
influence of all poor, ill-flavored cheese, is to 
check the rate of consumption. Outside the 
chief cities it is seldom more than one variety 
is offered in market, and that is a second or 
third class Cheddar. There is pressing de¬ 
mand for fine, small cheeses, of 6 to 10 pounds 
weight, but our dairymen seem to make but 
1 ittle effort to get out of the regular exporta¬ 
tion size and style—and so long as they have 
an annual surplus of 150,000,000 pounds of 
this kind, they must expect to have prices on 
our whole product regulated by a foreign 
market. Prices fluctuate from week to week, 
and from season to season, according to for¬ 
eign demand and Cable quotations from 
Liverpool and London. In 1879 the finest 
cheese made in this country sold on the inte¬ 
rior markets at 6 cents per pound. Because 
cheese sells high this season is no certainty 
that it will sell equally well next year. The 
recent developing of cheese dairying in Rus¬ 
sia and other parts of Northern Europe, in 
Australia and New Zealand, will, in a few 
years, have more or less influence on our ex¬ 
port trade. Our dairy interest ought to be 
independent of foreign shipments. Our pop¬ 
ulation is rapidly increasing, and the entire 
cheese product of the country ought to be 
consumed at home, but to effect this desir¬ 
able result, a change must be made in our 
running all goods into Cheddars. We must 
have more varieties and different styles to 
suit home wants. When this shall be fairly 
inaugurated, we may look forward to less 
fluctuation in our dairy markets, and to a 
very steady demand at remunerative prices. 
Aest Kgs «<)«rds.—A correspondent 
in Penna. sends a sample of what he calls 
“Japanese Nest Egg Gourds.” We are not 
so sure of the accuracy of the “Japanese” 
part of the name, as we are of the ‘ • Nest Egg ” 
portion. The specimens were upon our table 
for some days, and not one of the many who 
saw them suspected that they were not real 
eggs. These little gourds in size, shape, and 
color, resemble eggs in a most striking man¬ 
ner. One of the burlesque writers of a few 
years ago spoke of eggs, as “ Hen-fruit; ” as 
applied to these gourds, the name is hardly a 
misnomer. Without any further 
knowledge than that afforded by 
the specimens, we suspect that this 
is the true Cucurbita ovifera, from 
which most of the ornamental or 
“ fancy” gourds are derived. We 
wrote Mr. Samuel Wilson, who 
sent them, to inquire what propor¬ 
tion of the fruit was so perfectly 
egg-shaped as those sent. He re¬ 
plied that in a field of some acres 
he could not find a dozen that were 
not as perfect as these. He pro¬ 
poses to offer the seed for sale, so 
that every poultry keeper can have 
his nest eggs raised instead of laid. 
Aside from their ability to deceive 
an ordinary hen, these little gourds, 
or squashes, have many advantages 
over glass, porcelain, and other 
styles of nest eggs. Their being poor conduc¬ 
tors of heat will be an important point; hav¬ 
ing a smooth surface they are easily cleaned, 
and though they are squashes, they are not 
so hard that there is danger that they will 
“squash” the real eggs in the nest. 
A Rolling Hitch. 
“W. Z. M.,” Saratoga Co., N. Y., noticed 
in the May number the “clove hitch” for 
tying horses to a post, and having been a 
seaman for ten years 
sends a sample of a 
“ rolling hitch ” employ¬ 
ed by sailors. ‘ • The 
method of making is to 
take the halter, rope, or 
strap in the left hand, 
and with the right pass 
the end around the post 
or tree from right to 
left under the standing 
part, and crossing its 
own part, pass it around 
again over the other 
turn, but under the 
standing part, then bring the end under 
its own part (as in the ‘ clove hitch ’) and 
haul it taut, when it is done. This hitch 
will hold when and where the ‘ clove hitch 
will not.’ It will never slip if made right.” 
^ g* - 
A £>iove-vvo®«l Blotk-Holdcr.—It 
is very wearing upon the boot, and also 
a dangerous operation, to hold the blocks of 
stove-wood with the foot while splitting 
them. Mr. Frank Runnels, Kennebec Co., 
Maine,sends a descrip¬ 
tion of a block-holder 
which is made as fol¬ 
lows : “ Saw from a 
suitable log, which is 
about 10 inches in 
diameter, 2 cuts, 21 
feet long ; bore holes 
into these short logs, 6 inches from each end, 
and fasten them together with stout, hard¬ 
wood pins.” The construction of the holder is 
made plain by the accompanying engraving, 
as is also the manner of placing the block 
of wood that is to be held for splitting. 
A Double Gate. 
Mi\ R. Howell, Orange Co., N. Y., has a 
double gate which he sketches and describes 
for the benefit of our readers. The stone pil¬ 
lar is round, 3 feet across, and 4'/ 2 feet high. 
A post is placed in the center, upon the end 
of which the bar rests, bearing the two gates. 
DOUBLE UINGELESS GATE. 
The pillar is set in the line of a lane fence, 
and at the corner of the field. With the 
fence arranged in a curve as shown in the 
accompanying engraving, only one passage¬ 
way can be open at the same time. Mr. H. 
claims that this double gate, after long ser¬ 
vice, is still in good working order, and is 
one that he would not like to replace by 
any other kind of gate he ever saw in use. 
A Grindstone Tool Holder. 
Mr. J. A. Thatcher, Wyandotte Co., Ohio, 
has a handy contrivance to assist him in 
grinding his tools. It consists of a piece of 
plank about three feet long—depending some¬ 
what upon the size of the stone—fitted into 
THE TIE. 
WOOD HOLDER, 
A GRINDSTONE TOOL HOLDER. 
one end of the frame of the grindstone. The 
upper end is cut to receive and hold the 
“handle ”—a piece of scantling shaved round, 
and of the desired size to handle well. A 
board 5 inches long and the width of the 
“ handle” is bolted upon the lower end of the 
“ handle ” to serve as a clamp for holding the 
tools. A curved and notched iron rod is 
fastened, as shown in the engraving, passing 
through a hole in the upper end of the 
“handle,” which is held at any desired place 
by means of a spring fitting into the notches. 
1 ‘ Iroquois ” iigiiin Victorious.— 
In September we gave an illustration of “ Iro¬ 
quois,” the winner of the “ Derby” race for 
1881, and now the celebrated three-year-old 
colt adds the laurels of “St. Leger” to its 
fame. To win both the “Derby” and the 
“ St. Leger ” in the same year is an achieve¬ 
ment that has been accorded to only a few 
