2879. J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
7 
no surety oi only healthy animals being shipped. A few 
diseased animals shipped will endanger the interests of 
-the export trade and reflect alike on shippers and breeders. 
Horse-Slioe Nails Abroad.— An observing 
traveller finds much to interest him in the minor econo¬ 
mies of a strange people, and in noticing how different¬ 
ly they do things from the methods he has been accus¬ 
tomed to at home. A friend has presented us with a 
couple of horse-shoe nails, made in Greece, of the kinds 
in general use in that country; they are made by hand, 
and while of the rudest shape, are from the very best 
Sweedish iron. They were sent to this country to ascer¬ 
tain if some of our nail-making machines could be 
adapted to turn out a similar product. The left-hand 
and middle engraving show these Grecian nails, while 
that at the right hand represents a nail which the writer 
brought home many years ago from Mexico, and which, 
until the Grecian product came to hand, he supposed 
was as rude as it was possible for a nail to be. In the 
Mexican shoe there is a square hole with sides beveled, 
into which the lower part of the head of the nail fits 
snugly, and a horse shod in their manner is protected 
against slipping on the smooth rocks which in many por¬ 
tions of that country he is often obliged to travel upon. 
Nameless Letters.— “ G. W. W.,” writes from 
Washington, D. C., as follows: “Knowing that you re¬ 
ceive many important letters without name of town, 
county, or State, or without signature of the writer, I 
send statement of this kind of blunders by postmasters, 
compiled from books of the Post-Office Department. For 
fiscal year ending June 30,1878,the number of postmaster’s 
requisitions for postage stamps, etc., returned for signa¬ 
ture, 2,704. The number returned for correction, or not 
stating what was wanted, 1,532. Number of headless re¬ 
quisitions returned ( i . e.), requisitions without name of 
office, county, or State, 276. The labor of finding where 
the headless requisitions originated, and returning to the 
postmaster signing the same, can not be calculated; but 
more time was spent in finding where one of the careless 
postmasters lived, than would properly fill all requisitions 
of this class. This information is given to show the large 
number of people who do not write their office, county, or 
State, at top of letters; or, if headed properly, fail to sign 
their name ."—Similar letters await identification here. 
The Best Feed-Cutter.— Several letters from va¬ 
rious sections of the country asking us to name the “ best 
feed-cutter,” and the “ best root-cutter.” The true and 
shortest answer would be—There is no best. In the ad¬ 
vertising columns of this journal are found mentioned 
various styles of feed and root-cutters and other imple¬ 
ments, each of which is good. Some one may excel in 
speed, another in quality of work done, another in ease of 
running, etc., but on the whole, they are about equal to 
each other. We aim to admit advertisements of only 
those implements which will give satisfaction to 
purchasers, and we believe that readers may order of any 
advertiser in these columns, and in the great majority of 
cases, they will be fully satisfied with the result. 
The Dinner Year Book, by Marion Harland, 
is just issued by Charles Scribner’s Sons. The author’s 
earlier “Common Sense in the Household,” was so true 
to its title, that we are favorably disposed, at the outset, 
towards any book she may present us with. The present 
is a somewhat more ambitious work than the former, and 
takes her more into the refinements of providing and 
ccokery. Her plan is, to give a series of bills of fare for 
seven days of four weeks in each month, leaving the 
housekeeper who follows the work literally, to her own 
resources for the odd days not provided for, which will 
probably lead to “picked-up dinners.” It is impossible 
to know the real value of a work like this, unless one fol¬ 
lows its teachings for some time, and we can only say 
that we are most favorably impressed with what we have 
seen of it, and have no doubt that it will sustain the 
author’s well-deserved reputation in this useful depart¬ 
ment of literature. “ Common Sense” is not lost sight 
of, even if the work is illustrated by colored plates of the 
showy dishes. The Orange Judd Co.have arranged to send 
it from this office, post-paid,at the publisher’s price,$2.25. 
Beware of Bee-Wares, — Wc have had inquir¬ 
ies about, and complaints of, one “Mrs. Cotton,” of 
Maine, who advertises that if bees are managed on her 
plan, they will “pay a profit of Fifty Dollars ” on every 
hive. While we were making inquiries about “ Queen 
Cotton,” the “Gleanings in Bee Culture,” a useful jour¬ 
nal, edited by A. I. Root, Medina, Ohio, for Nov., came 
to hand. The gleanings are grouped under headings, and 
under “Humbugs and Swindles pertaining to Bee Cul¬ 
ture,” the “ Queen ” has a prominent place—indeed, she 
well nigh monopolizes this department, “ Fifty Dollars ” 
a hive is a rather handsome return—but then it can only 
be had by following her “ New Principles in Bee-Keep¬ 
ing.” We don’t like to say that Mrs. C. is a humbug, for 
it isn’t a pleasant thing to say about any.woman,anda re¬ 
cent letter relieves us, for one has come to hand from a 
prominent citizen in the very town where Mrs. Cotton 
spins her yarn, stating that it is Mr. Cotton, after all, who 
is using his wife’s name, “ because ho thinks it better 
than to use his own.” From all we can learn, these Maine 
bee-ists are not the best kind of people to “ Cottou-to.” 
Spain’s Barrel Churns.- Churns are not quite 
so numerous as washing machines, but there are so 
many of them as to admit of division into several classes. 
Probably next as to numbers, after the upright dasher 
churns, come the barrel churns, in which a barrel-shaped 
receptacle holds the cream which is acted upon by revolv¬ 
ing dashers. Among churns of this style, Spain’s, adver¬ 
tised elsewhere by Clement & Dunbar, takes a deservedly 
high rank, as the closest attention is paid to every detail; 
the material of the churn is selected white cedar, put to¬ 
gether with galvanized hoops. The dasher, of peculiar 
construction, can be easily removed and the whole can be 
thoroughly cleaned. The churn is supported on a con¬ 
venient stand. Many premiums awarded to this churn 
show the esteem in which it is held by good judges. 
Management of Swine.- “C.,” Republic Co., 
Kansas. The good management of a large herd of swine 
—100, fir instance—requires that, to prevent sickness by 
contagion, they should be kept from running water that 
might be infected from above, and from contact other¬ 
wise with infected herds ; to facililate fattening they 
should be kept in pens, with warm, dry sleeping places; 
to preserve health they should have fresh pure water 
from wells; to prevent piling up and smothering they 
should not be herded in large numbers, and for the most 
profitable breeding the old sows should be kept over, as 
they are more prolific and better mothers than young 
sows. It is a fact that the vast destruction of swine by 
disease in the West could be prevented almost wholly by 
observing proper sanitary rules. The fatal “hog cholera,” 
so called, is comparatively unknown in the Eastern 
States, even in the herds numbering several hundreds. 
Light in the Stable. —It is a dangerous matter 
at best to have a light in the stable at night, and any 
contrivance to lessen the risk of fire is welcome to the 
thoughtful farmer. The engraving represents a simple 
arrangement that has been in use for many years, with¬ 
out accident, in the stable where this sketch was made. 
A wire is stretched behind the horse-stalls from post to 
post, clear of the walls, and out of reach of the heads of 
horses or men. The lantern is hung to a hook suspend¬ 
ed from this wire, on which it may be moved along to 
light up any stall ns desired. When the proprietor goes 
away of an evening with a horse, he does not require the 
men to await his return, but before retiring to bed, they 
hang a lantern with the light turned low, on this wire. 
Then when he comes to put up his horse, the stable is 
ready lighted for him, all is safe and convenient, and the 
men’s tempers are kept unruffled, by having their even¬ 
ings to themselves and going to bed when they please. 
An Italian Fence. — The engraving represents a 
style of fence appropriate to the garden or street front, 
which is very neat and even quite artistic. The sketch was 
given us by Mrs. “ L. n. V.,” of New York, who, we be¬ 
lieve, saw the fence in some far away Italian town, though 
a similar style is not uncommon in parts of this country. 
The foundation of the fence may be the ordinary post- 
and-rail frame-work. In each opening between the slats 
is inserted a secondary slat, quite filling the space from 
side to side, and extending about a foot below tte rail, 
and half the distance from the rail to the top of the slat 
above. A “band” lengthwise of the slats opposite the 
upper rail, and a base-board complete the fence. It costs 
but little if any more to make a fence—where a fence 
must be built—that will be an ornament to the grounds, 
and always pleasing in its effect both upon the owner 
and the passer-by, than an ill-shapen affair, that pleases no 
one and is likely to be torn down at any time to give 
place to something that will be more attractive. 
Basket Items continued on page 33. 
International Dairy Fair. 
The “ International Dairy Fair” held in New York the 
first week in December, was a success as an exhibition 
of dairy products and financially; in dairy apparatus 
and machinery and dairy stock, it was only fair. We 
might offer sundry criticisms, and report some dissen- 
tions, some charges of under-band operations, and fa¬ 
voritism in the awarding of the prizes, etc. But this be¬ 
ing the first attempt at an exhibition of this kind on a 
large scale, in the East, we are disposed to pass by de¬ 
fects, trusting that they will bo overcome at the next 
show. Taken as a whole, it was a grand display, a novel 
one to many citizens, more of whom ought to have seen 
it. for their own gratification and instruction. Doubtless 
the attendance would have been much larger both from 
city and country, if the managers had had more previous 
experience with printer's ink — and advertised more free¬ 
ly, instead of leaving the people to learn of what was to 
be seen by the generosity of the Daily press. All this 
will be improved another year we trust. Those chiefly 
in charge of the organization and management did very 
well. Dairymen would have have been pleased if more 
of their own number had had a share in the manage¬ 
ment. A good show of butter and cheese was assured, 
by the dealers offering to sell at good prices all that was 
brought to the exhibition. Of the visitors the larger ] 
number were city people attracted by curiosity ; and 
many of them here gained their first knowledge of how 
their butter and cheese is manufactured. As this exhibi¬ 
tion was the outgrowth of several Western Dairy Fairs, 
the preponderance of Western butter and cheese was not 
surprising. Very few of the celebrated fancy-butter 
dairymen took part in the exhibition, perhaps thinking 
that the advertising would do them no good, though they 
might have been generous enough to show other people 
something of their methods and products. It is hoped 
that this exhibition will lead to a still better one, and a 
larger attendance of farmers and dairymen next year. 
The “miscellaneous” list of exhibits comprised gener¬ 
al farm implements, fertilizers, and notions, that prop¬ 
erly have no place in a “ dairy fair,” but they helped to 
occupy the surplus room and amuse the rural people. 
The Fair was hardly “ International,” as the “ foreign” 
