1879.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
45 
mail, ou receipt of $2.50. It is as good for use as any 
$5 or $10 revolver of like calibre.] 2d.— A larger 5- 
sliooter Revolver, nickel-plated, calibre 32-100, weight 
11 ounces, will be presented for 7 subscribers, at $1.50 
each, or 12 at $1.25 each, delivered free, as above. [Or 
it will be forwarded free, as above, on receipt of $4.] 
A Convenient Horse-Power.— On the farm of 
Mr. Cooper, in Orange County, N. Y., we recently saw a 
home-made horse-power, such as many farmers might 
get up at little expense. All the running-gear, save the 
belt-wheel, came from an old Buckeye mowing-machine, 
that had been worn out by many year’s service in the 
harvest field. The axle, with the beveled cog-wheel, was 
set on end, and the latter geared to a corresponding 
wheel in the drive-wheel of the mower, which in turn 
was attached to a long shaft, as represented in the en¬ 
graving. This shaft was bedded in blocks of timber, and 
carried a belt-wheel ou its other extremity, as shown. A 
pole was fastened on top of the upright shaft, for the at¬ 
tachment of the horse. The whole apparatus is sunk in 
the ground beside the door of the thrashing floor, so that 
only the upper halves of the wheels appear above ground. 
Hound Copies of volume 37, and of every pre¬ 
vious volume back to Yol. XVI. (1857), neatly bound, with 
gilt backs, Index, etc., are supplied at $2 each (or $2.30 
if sent by mail). See Publishers’ Notes, 2d cover page. 
Annual Register of Rural Affairs for 1870, 
Luther Tucker & Sons. This is the 25th year that this 
little volume has made its appearance as regularly as the 
year comes around. The principle articles in this issue are 
on electricity, containing valuable practical suggestions; 
“ Pure water for Health,” talking about proper drainage, 
arrangement of outhouses, care of cisterns, wells, etc; 
construction of farm buildings ; and not the least inter¬ 
esting, a long chapter on “Improved Farm Machinery,” 
plainly enough by our friend Mr. J. J. Thomas, who ap¬ 
parently grows younger as he advances in years. Sent 
from this office at the publisher’s price, 30 cts., post-paid. 
Prickly Comfrey Once More.— In November 
last we gave a summary of our experience with, and the 
reports received on, Prickly Comfrey; in this it appeared 
that the greatest objection yet made to it as a fodder crop 
is, that animals must generally be taught to eat it. As all 
direct testimony concerning the plant is of value, we give 
the following from Geo. H. Rice, a market gardener at 
Worcester, Mass. Mr. R. says: “ I have used it two 
years, feeding this year largely to the cows, and to four 
horses occasionally, and my experience is that after once 
learning to like it, there is no food they relish better. I 
fed two cows on it for three weeks, and when they had 
comfrey, they cared little about going to the pasture at 
all, and would always come up when we went to cut the 
comfrey, and the horses would neigh and thrash about 
more when a load of comfrey was wheeled in than for any 
grain we could give them. After feeding the cows three 
weeks on comfrey, we changed to sweet corn fodder, and 
the result was a reduction in the yield of milk. I have 
made some inquiries, and am led to believe that those 
who have given it the best trial are the best satisfied, and 
that for soiling and milk-farming it will prove a very val¬ 
uable forage plant.” Mr. R. sends also some favorable 
answers received to inquiries made of some of his friends. 
It is claimed that the comfrey gives a supply of fodder in 
spring earlier than any other plant. If any of our friends 
can give us the date at which they make their earliest and 
latest cuttings, we hope they will furnish us the facts. 
Castile Soap, —“C. C.” wishes to know how this 
differs from other soap. The hard soaps made in this 
country are almost exclusively from animal fats ; in the 
south of Europe, where the olive grows abundantly, the 
poorer kinds of olive oil are used for soap-making. Com¬ 
mon soaps are soda and animal fat. Castile soap is soda 
and vegetable oil. In making Castile soap, great care is 
taken to avoid an excess of alkali (the soda), only just 
enough being used to neutralize the oil. On this account 
the sqap is much milder, and may be used on wounds 
and other surfaces where common soap would irritate 
- i - 
and give pain. The mottled appearance of Castile soap 
is due to a small quantity of solution of copperas (sul¬ 
phate of iron) that is stirred into it before it hardens; 
this leaves a bluish oxide of iron in the soap which, 
when exposed to the air, becomes changed to the red- 
oxide. White Castile soap is also sold, which is the same 
as the other, without the coloring. Though called Cas¬ 
tile, it is by no means exclusively made in Spain, the 
largest share coming from the south of France, and in¬ 
deed it is generally known in Europe as Marseilles soap. 
Hartshorn and Ammonia.— “ Mrs. H. S. J.” 
wishes to know what is the difference between Hartshorn 
and Ammonia. There is no difference. When animal 
matters are placed in a close vessel and heated, and the 
vapors which come off are condensed, the liquid will be 
found to contain a great deal of ammonia. This was one 
of the original methods of making ammonia; the freer 
from fat the animal matter, the purer would be the am¬ 
monia; the animal matter in horns being very pure, this 
was used, especially the horn of the deer or “Hart.” All 
distilled liquids were in olden times called spirits, and 
that obtained from the horn of the hart was called Spir¬ 
its of Hartshorn, though there was no spirit, or alcohol 
in it. Afterwards cheaper methods were discovered, and 
when the nature of the product was studied, it was found 
to be ammonia—which is a gas—dissolved in water. The 
proper name is Water of Ammonia, though the old name, 
Spirits of Hartshorn still clings to it. Ammonia is now 
largely produced in the manufacture of illuminating gas, 
and is separated from that as an impurity, but is saved 
to furnish the various compounds that were formerly 
made by the slow process of distilling deer’s horns. 
Farm Science in Georgia.— Commissioner 
Janes will not be at fault if Georgia farmers are not in¬ 
formed of all the modern ideas in agriculture, with pam¬ 
phlet after pamphlet from the State Board of Agricul¬ 
ture ; sensible phamphlets, too. The latest attempt in 
this direction is “ The Farmer’s Scientific Manual.” 
Though containing some things that are of little practi¬ 
cal use, it must, if carefully read, be of great value to the 
intelligent agriculturists of that State. . The chapters on 
plant growth, structure, etc., feeding, soil fertilization ; 
drainage, irrigation, present much of the valuable infor¬ 
mation contained in larger books pertaining especially 
to these subjects. We find that “Harris’ Talks on Ma¬ 
nures” is frequently copied from, and also Johnson’s 
“How Crops Grow,” and “How Crops Feed.” 
Cutting; Roots.— “A. B. C.,” Ulster Co., N. Y. 
For cutting only a few roots in a season a sharp spade 
may be used. A bushel of roots may be sliced in this 
way by an active man in from one to two minutes. 
ITIilk Setting in Cold Weather.— Dairymen 
are sometimes troubled in the fall and early spring, about 
their milk setting. At these seasons it is hardly warm 
enough to use ice, and too warm for open setting. We 
recently saw, on a well-known dairy farm, a simple ap¬ 
paratus that effectually overcomes this difficulty. It is a 
simple wooden chest, set in a cool place and partially 
filled with water, as shown in the engraving. The deep 
cans are placed in the water, where they remain until the 
cream rises, under comparatively similiar conditions to 
those obtained by the use of ice in summer. The water 
is occasionally renewed, or kept cool by a little ice. 
Virginia Hogs have considerable attention de¬ 
voted to them, by the Commisioner of Agriculture of 
that State, in a recent phamplet on “The Hog; varieties 
to raise, general management and diseases.” Such 
pamphlets, if generally distributed to, and studied by, 
the farmers throughout the State, ought to be productive 
of much good in conveying information concerning im¬ 
proved methods of practice in stock raising, grain grow¬ 
ing, and other branches of agriculture. 
The Whipple Guide.— Wagons and machines, 
drawn on wheels, are often impeded in their operation 
by stones and other irregularities in the road, and these 
obstructions are especially troublesome from the fact 
of the pole being violently thrown to one side or the 
other, according to which wheel meets the obstacle. 
This irregular motion causes undue wear and tear to 
horses, harness and wagon, and adds a large pereentage 
to the wrong side of the profit and loss account. To ob¬ 
viate this difficulty, the “Whipple Guide” has been de¬ 
vised, and is manufactured by the Semple & Birge Man¬ 
ufacturing Co., St Louis, Mo. The engraving shows the 
principle on which this “guide” works; when either 
wheel strikes an obstruction, and the axle is thrown 
askew, the chain on that side tightens, and shifts the 
draft accordingly, so that the pole is kept in position, 
and the obstacle more easily overcome, without iucon- 
venience to the team or undue strain to the wagon. 
©als and Rye for Fodder.— “J. B.,” Middle- 
boro, Mass. Oats are a very good fodder for cows, 
whether green or dried like hay. When mixed with peas 
the fodder is greatly improved. Rye is a good soiling 
crop, and although it has been said to reduce the milk, 
we have never known such a result. But it is a necessary 
crop for this purpose, because there is no other to take 
its place as the first green spring crop, unless it be wheat, 
which we think preferable to rye for use as fodder. 
Kind of Lime for a Compost.— “E. H. F.,” 
Easton, Conn. Lime that has been slaked by exposure 
tc the air, called either “air slaked ” or “ dry slaked,” is 
the form used in composts, and for spreading on the 
land. The other forms are unsuitable. 
American Wheat In Spain.— 1 The first cargo 
of American wheat was landed in Barcelona, Spain, about 
the middle of last November, and created quite a sensa¬ 
tion among the dealers. Previously most of the wheat 
handled at that market has been Black Sea and Hun¬ 
garian. but the American was judged to be equal to the 
best grades of those varieties, and this cargo has called 
for about 25 cargoes more. The amount of the shipment 
was 72,000 bushels, the price obtained $3.70 per 123 lbs., 
and the cost of the freight was $18,000. The only un¬ 
welcome feature of this item of news is that the grain 
was carried in a British steamer, and that the cargoes 
further bargained for are to be carried in British vessels. 
We have at present no direct steam communication with 
the ports of the Mediterranean. Not until American 
steamship lines are established to all prominent foreign 
markets can we hope for the best returns from the sale of 
the products of our farms, mines, and factories. 
Barley and. Wheat Soils.—“J. N L.,” Youngs¬ 
town, Ind. Barley does the best on a clay loam soil; the 
more dry the better, if it is thoroughly drained. Answers 
to your wheat questions will be found in the article on 
page 48. The new spring wheats “Defiance” and 
“Champlain,” which our publishers are offering as 
premiums, were grown very successfully in many localities 
last year. Barley was quite as profitable a crop last year 
as wheat, in many sections, and taken one year with 
another, ranks well up with that staple crop. Pop-corn 
pays very well so long as it is not a general crop, as the 
demand for it is necessarily limited. It needs a light loam 
“ corn soil.” The crop has to be kept on hand a year, so 
that it may become thoroughly dry before marketing. 
Berks Co. Poultry Exhibition.— We have 
received from the Secretary an interesting report of the 
annual exhibition of the Berks Co., Pa., Poultry and Pet 
Stock Association. It was a large and important exhi¬ 
bition, which, it is hoped will result in much good to the 
poultry breeders and farmers of that section. The ex¬ 
pectation is a just one, for the report indicates an intel¬ 
ligent, energetic spirit among the officers of the Society. 
