514 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December. 
avoid one. Maintaining general vigor by nourish¬ 
ing, well digested food, gives one power to resist 
an attack. When to be especially exposed, a little 
tonic, as a grain or two of quinine, taken in advance, 
may be useful. Stimulants, like alcoholic liquors, 
are but a temporary aid ; the reaction after the first 
stimulating effects, leaves one more subject to 
take cold than if the stimulant had been omitted 
Simple remedies will usually remove a cold, if 
taken promptly, before the congestion has pro¬ 
duced serious disorganization. When struck with 
a sense of chilliness, 15 to 30 drops of Aromatic Spir¬ 
its of Ammonia, in half a tumbler of water, will often 
start a uniform circulation ail through the body, 
as this quickly enters the whole blood and is 
stimulating. Soaking the feet in warm water, 
gradually adding warmer water as long as it can be 
borne, draws off the blood from ail the rest of the 
body, and often relieves congestion in any local 
part. Smart friction upon any part or the whole of 
the skin surface, or a uniform surface sweating, 
produces like results. But in these cases, special 
care must be taken to preveut after-chilling of the 
feet, or any other part. After the feet heating, 
wipe dry quickly and cover them warmly. 
The best remedy we have found for a recent 
cold is a moderate movement of the bowels with 
castor oil, or calcined magnesia, or other mild ca¬ 
thartic. This produces a flow of fluid, drawn from 
the blood to the alimentary canal, and thus reduces 
the pressure upon any one congested point, just as 
drawing off part of the water from a flooded pond 
relieves pressure upon a weakened dam or em¬ 
bankment. This is to be followed by keeping the 
body warm and comfortable, and toning it up with 
good food, or a simple tonic like quinine. “ Feed¬ 
ing a cold,” prior to taking a cathartic, is the 
worst possible treatment. It is only addiug ma¬ 
terial to increase the congestion. 
Coughing is an effort of Nature to eject noxious 
matter from congestion of the lungs or bronchial 
tubes, to be best relieved by general remedies 
which affect the blood. Sore throat and pains in 
the limbs or joints are usually relieved by the 
external use of hot or irritating appliances. One 
of the best is a mixture of one part of aqua ammo¬ 
nia (liquid hartshorn), and three parts of sweet oil, 
well shaken. This is called “Volatile Liniment.” 
Gum Arabic dissolved, gum candy, simple syrups, 
etc., upon an irritated throat surface, exclude the 
air, and mitigate the irritation. 
Acute (simple) rheumatism more frequently re¬ 
sults from an acid in the periosteum,or white fibrous 
covering surrounding the bones, than from a cold, i 
as is usually supposed, and it is relieved by taking 
small doses now and then of alkali, as common 
cooking soda, until the acid is neutralized. 
“Deep Plowing Dangerous”*—Crop3 
Saved—Noteworthy Experience. 
BT AN IOWA FARMER. 
When on an Eastern farm, some twenty years 
ago, nearly all my neighbors, like myself, fully be¬ 
lieved it dangerous to the crop to run the plow 
deeper than four or five inches. But an editorial in 
the American Agriculturist led several to try the ex¬ 
periment of going down 2 to 4 inches more into 
the hard-pan. The result was disastrous. The 
crops were decreased more than half, as compared 
with portions of the same fields plowed in the old 
way. Several subscribers dropped the paper as a 
very unsafe adviser. I wrote the Editor rather a 
sharp letter about our experience. His letter in 
reply I have kept. After showing clearly that we 
had only half read the article, and had neglebted 
its plain precautions, he went on to say : 
Soil Poison, 
“ Nearly all soils contain iron ; it is this that gives 
them their reddish color. But iron has two oxides. 
One of them, containing the least amount of oxy¬ 
gen, is soluble in soil water, and is therefore readily 
taken into the roots of plants. Copperas, or green 
vitriol, is composed of this low or protoxide of 
iron and sulphuric acid. On exposure to air for a 
time, this low oxide takes in more oxygen, forming 
what is called sesqui-oxide of iroD, which is insolu¬ 
ble in water. The subsoil which has never been 
stirred to admit the atmosphere freely, contains 
the low oxide, and when first turned up, if sown or 
| planted soon, the roots of the crops take in this 
poisonous soluble compound of iron, and are much 
injured, if not killed outright. Turn up a little of 
such sub-soils at a time, an inch or so each year ; 
let it, be exposed to air and frost for a few months, 
and it will become innocuous. The new elements 
of plant-food in this new soil, will even act as a 
useful fertilizer.... ” 
We accepted the explanation, acted upon it, and 
those old farms, deepened a little, year by year, 
have improved in productiveness. When visiting 
the old homestead two years ago, I found the aver¬ 
age depth of the plowed land thereabouts was per¬ 
haps 9 inches, frequently 12 inches or more, and it 
yields double what it used to do, under the same 
culture except as to depth. 
When coming on to the deep, rich, black prairie 
soil of this State, with no hard-pan, I aud others 
fell into the “ custom of the country ”—shallow 
plowing, burning the straw as a nuisance, and 
laughing at the idea of manuring such laud. But I 
was greatly impressed with an item which appeared 
in the September American Agriculturist, 1880, in 
the Editor’s “Notes by the Way,” in Illinois, de¬ 
scribing the great success of a “ Yorkshire Man on 
a Prairie Farm.” That account ought to be printed 
iu letters of gold, and be framed and hung up in 
the home of every prairie farmer in America. It 
has given me, and some of my neighbors who read 
it, a good crop this year when almost all others 
around us have lost half their expected yield by 
reason of the drouth. Please reprint the following 
extracts, and let me ask every prairie farmer to 
read, inwardly digest, and put in practice. 
“He (Mr. Marwood) ridicules the common prac¬ 
tice of burning straw-From the first he saved 
“ and worked into the soil every forkful of straw 
“ not eaten by the stock... .Though his land is as 
“ fertile as the average new prairie, he finds it pays 
“ to put in all the manure he can make and get. His 
'• large crops of corn, oats aud grass prove he is cor- 
“ reet, as does the constant improvement in yield, 
“ instead of the usual depreciation after a few years 
“ of culture. Two tons per acre of good Timothy, 
“ 70 bushels of oats, 60 to 70 bushels of sound corn, 
“are other evidences.”... .And now comes the 
even more important point: 
“Another Secret of Success, 
“ is his belief that he owns all the soil under him, aud 
“ that some of it can be turned to account. After 
“ the first thin breaking and rotting of the tough 
“ sod, he puts the plow right down from 12 to 18 
“ inches deep, and brings up the buried stores of 
“ fertility. H e. plows the manure cloum to the bottom, 
“ thus tempting the roots of crops to go down there, 
“ where they find not only food, but moisture and 
“ COOLNESS, EVEN IN THE DRYEST SEASON.” 
That, Mr. Editor, “ strikes the nail right on the 
head.” I wowdo not wouderat Mr. Marwood’s suc¬ 
cess. That one item has given me at least $500 
worth extra of corn and wheat this year of 1881. 
Last spring a few of us plowed all the land we 
could 8 to 12 inches deep, and buried all the rotted 
straw and manure we had of our own, aud “bor¬ 
rowed ” more of our neighbors. Wherever this 
was done, our deep-rooted wheat and corn, aud 
other crops, laughed at the drouth. Their pumps 
(roots) were all the while drawing up water aud 
moisture faster than the scorching sun could steal 
it away. Ou these fields w r e have had even better 
crops than iu average years. The sun only made 
them grow all the better, as there was little or no 
lack of moisture.—On the fields in which we could 
not apply this deep culture the present year, the 
crops were as sunburnt and poor as those of our 
neighbors. What I learned from that single num¬ 
ber of the American Agriculturist —aud from a single 
column—has repaid in money the cost of hundreds 
of years of subscription. 
Sole and Turbot.—These two choice salt¬ 
water fishes of Europe, being unknown to American 
waters, Prof. Baird, U. S. Fish Commissioner, pro¬ 
poses to attempt their introduction and naturaliza¬ 
tion. In October last 70 soles aud 35 turbots were 
shipped upon a steamer, in tanks made for the 
purpose. Notwithstanding all the care that was 
given, only three soles aud six turbots reached New 
York alive. The survivors were set free in the 
ocean near Coney Island, and it is hoped that they 
may survive and increase. Not discouraged by this 
unfavorable result, the experiment of introducing 
these fishes will be repeated until success is at¬ 
tained, or the scheme is found to be impracticable. 
Farm House Plans Wanted. 
PRIZES OFFERED. 
Every one of our fifty millions of people require 
shelter, and seven or eight million houses are 
needed. More Farm Houses are wanted than of 
any other kind. While this is a country of farms, 
it is not one of farm houses. In fact we have no 
American style of farm architecture. Cities gen¬ 
erally, and most villages, have had the benefit of 
skilled architects. Our farm houses are mainly 
thrown together materials, and, as a whole, consti¬ 
tute the most heterogenous structures, of all con¬ 
ceivable forms and shapes, comely and uncomely, 
sometimes comfortable and convenient and labor- 
saving to the workers within, oftener quite the 
contrary. 
One effort of the American Agriculturist the com¬ 
ing year will be to aid in improving the present 
farm homes, and in the construction of new dwel¬ 
lings. As a beginning, we offer prizes for the best 
Plans for three classes of Farm Houses, viz. : 
Class 1.- — A house to cost from $ 400 to $1,000. 
Class 2.—A house to cost from $1,000 to $2,000. 
Class 3. — A house to c6st from $2,000 to $4,000. 
Nine Prizes. 
Class 1. Class 2. Class'A. 
First Prize. $50 $5® $50 
Second Prize. $25 $25 $25 
Third Prize. $15 $15 $15 
The drawings should give the elevation and floor 
plans of rooms, including cellar, chimneys, etc., 
all so plain as to be easily understood, and when 
necessary have measurements given in figures. 
Elegance in drawing will have but little weight in 
awarding the prizes. Detailed specifications of the 
quantities of lumber and other materials, days 
work, etc., required, and the cost of each at cur¬ 
rent rates in the locality where the competitor re¬ 
sides, will add to the value of any plan submitted. 
Every plan is to be forwarded by mail or otherwise, 
to arrive prior to January 1, 1882, to be marked 
with the class it is for, and with a motto or fictitious 
name, and with it a sealed envelope, having the 
same motto or name on the outside, and the real 
name and address inside, to be opened after the 
prizes are awarded. 
The plans submitted are to be the property of the 
American Agriculturist, and the editors are to have 
the right to publish any of the plans submitted 
which they may desire. 
SUGGESTIONS. 
Note that plaus for farm houses are wanted. The 
$400 house for the new settler at the west, is just 
as important as the most costly one.—Convenience, 
comfort, heating, drainage, facilitating work and 
saving steps, ample cellar, closets, verandas, fair 
outward appearance, economy of construction, etc., 
are all important points, and worthy of being taken 
into consideration, in any plan. Except for the 
lowest priced houses, plumbing, bathing rooms, 
etc., may well be looked after. 
Bake tfae Squaslies. —A Hubbard Squash 
baked in an oven an hour or so, until done through, 
and seasoned with a little salt and butter, is as de¬ 
licious as well roasted chestnuts, with some similar¬ 
ity in taste. This method is far superior to boiling. 
Nearly the same may be said of all kinds of 
squashes, which are poor stuff, if boiled soft and 
mushy in an excess of water, which is not easily re¬ 
moved, as they are usually cooked. 
