132 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
day. That is walking to a purpose, while supplying all 
the leg exercise that one desires—usually a little more. 
If a betting man, we should lay our wager on one of our 
farmer boys, or men, accustomed to plowing and harrow¬ 
ing, if pitted against any of the tens ot thousands of 
youngsters now measuring steps around the limited 
tracks of multitudinous city and village hall floors.—We 
have yet to learn the utility there is—if there is any—in 
putting any human being to the terrible strain of going 
500 miles or more on foot in less than six days. Rail¬ 
roads and telegraphs have done away with the necessity 
of swift couriers of enduring strength.—The most import¬ 
ant lesson we can gather from the recent contest is this: 
Rowell, the champion, took no alcoholic or other stimu¬ 
lants from the beginning to the end, except a single glass 
cf weak champagne; he ate freely of beef and other 
flourishing food, drinking with it only very little water. 
More would have diluted the gastric juice of the stomach, 
and retarded digestion. The thirst induced by the violent 
effort he slaked by frequently sucking the juice of an 
orange, using 15 to 20 of them a day. Weak and dyspep¬ 
tic persons may well note this... .The other contestants 
in the match, or their trainers, did not understand it in 
time, and we may thank our English visitors, Rowell’s 
trainers, for this practical lesson. ...We give the follow¬ 
ing figures, which show what men can endure, with the 
remark that to go a mile requires 17(10 steps of a yard 
each, or 880,000 such steps to go a distance of 500 miles. 
Total. Time. 
Rested. 
Walked. 
Av. time per in. 
Itowell, 500m. 
139h. 56m. 35s. 
37h. 41m. 20s. 
102h. 15m. 15s. 
12 min. 16 sec. 
Ennis, 475 m. 
141li. 0m. 57s. 
351i. 26m. 3ns. 
I051i. 31m. 27s. 
13 min. 20 sec. 
Harriman450iii 
13911. 4Gin. 40s. 
31h. 32m. 41s. 
10211. 13m. 59s. 
13 min. 32 sec. 
Tire Champion Reapers and Mowers.— 
We have before called attention to the peculiar features 
which distinguish these Mowers and Reapers, and have 
given a detailed illustration of the movement upon 
which their distinctive character is founded. The mak¬ 
ers set forth other claims of their machines in the ad¬ 
vertising columns. One of these, the Dynamometer 
test, that is, the amount of draft power required,' is 
worthy of consideration by all interested in farm ma¬ 
chinery, or about to purchase a Mower or a Reaper. 
To Feed a Cow upon One Acre.—" C. B. J.,” 
Providence, R. I. One acre will not pasture a cow; but 
it will easily produce green fodder sufficient by growing 
the right crops. Proceed as follows : Dress three-quar¬ 
ters of an acre early in the spring with 150 lbs. of Peru¬ 
vian guano, and 150 lbs. of plaster. As soon as the grass 
starts, the cow is to be tethered on this piece and fed by 
advancing the tethering-piu as shown in the annexed fig- 
.. . ure. Each point 
/' \ is supposod to be 
/ \ \ \ \ 20 feet from the 
# X \ \ v 
i i \ i \ other, the dotted 
• * j ; ' lines show the 
\ i / / / piece fed off eacli 
V, day. The remain¬ 
ing quarter of 
an acre may be plowed and sown with oats and 
peas in plots at intervals of ten days apart. This 
will give feed for 40 days, allowing one square rod 
per day. Then a portion of the piece pastured down may 
be plowed as soon as ready, and planted with sweet corn 
in drills, to be cut for fodder, and the cow pastured upon 
more ground, or the grass may be cut and fed to her, 
which will be better. Then more com should be sown, 
until half an acre is planted. As soon as the oats are 
ready, they should be used, taking them off in strips 
which can then be plowed and early cabbages be set out, or 
Hungarian grass be sown. As each crop is cut, another 
should be put in, using the cow’s manure for fertilizer, 
or any other that can be procured; but the ground must be 
rich. In June, plant mangels for fall feeding, and in 
August, some turnips ; oats may be sowed in July for 
late cutting. By this system, a cow may be fed all sum¬ 
mer, and enough fodder saved and cured to keep her 
through the winter. A quarter acre is to be kept in grass. 
The experience of one or two years is necessary to carry 
through such a course of feeding successfully. 
Satin Polish Shoe Dressing.— We supposed 
that the French excelled the world in all that relates to 
Blacking and Leather Dressing, yet it appears that the 
“Batin Polish,” a Yankee affair, received the highest 
award at the Exposition, and one of our associates, who 
has long used it, approves of the award. 
A NEW PREMIUM—And a Pocket Re¬ 
volver, Cheap. —So many write ns for good, low- 
priced revolvers, that we have arranged to supply those 
who want them, thus; 1st—A first-rate steel-bar¬ 
rel and lock, nickel plated, 7-shooter Revolver, Cali 
bre 22-100. Made at the celebrated Remington Arms 
Works, weight 7 ounces. It is as good as any made for 
anything like the money, and good enough for anybody 
who wants such an implement. We have fired one 
100 times, and found it work perfectly. It will be sent 
free to any part of the United States, post-paid, by mail, 
to any one sending only 5 subscribers to the American 
Agriculturist, at $1.50 a year, or 10 subscribers at the 4- 
club rate of $1.25 a year. [Or it will be forwarded free by 
mail, on receipt of $2.50. It is as good for use as any 
$5 or $10 revolver of like calibre.] 2d.— A larger 5- 
shooter 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 ] 
White Leghorn Eggs. —“B. W. S.,” Providence, 
R. 1. Your not distant neighbor, Eugene B. Pendleton, 
Westerly R. I., can furnish you eggs of excellent strains, 
His birds have taken prizes at fairs, and he is one of those 
dealers, who give attention to the character of his stock. 
Clubs can at any time be increased by remitting for 
each addition, the price paid by the original members; 
or a small club may be made a larger one at reduced rates, 
thus: One having sent 6 subscribers and $7, may after¬ 
wards send 4 names more and $3, making 10 subscribers 
for $10.00; and so for the various other club rates. 
Round Copies of volume 37, and of every pre¬ 
vious volume back to Vol. XVI. (1857), neatly bound, with 
gilt backs, Index, etc., are supplied at $2 each (or $2.30 
ifto be sent by mail). See Publishers’Notes,2dcoverpage. 
The German Edition.— All the principal arti¬ 
cles and engravings that appear in the American Agricul¬ 
turist are reproduced in the German edition. Besides 
these, there is a special department, edited by an eminent 
German cultivator. Our friends can do us a good service 
by calling the attention of their German neighbors and 
friends to the fact that they can have the paper in their 
own language, and those who employ Germans will 
find this Journal a most useful and acceptable present. 
Borax for Preserving Rutter.— An Italian 
paper reports that experiments have been conducted at 
the Experiment Station at Florence for testing the pre¬ 
servative properties of borax on butter, with remarkable 
results. Samples of fresh butter were taken and manipu¬ 
lated with about 1% ounce of pure borax to each pound 
of butter, and after three months’ time it was found to 
have retained the natural flavor without any change 
whatever, nor had the borax imparted the slightest taste 
to the butter. The borax used for this purpose must he 
perfectly pure, and reduced to a fine powder, then mixed 
thoroughly with the whole mass of the butter. It may 
be well to try this in a small way, but we can not recom¬ 
mend it as a general practice until it lias been thoroughly 
tested by careful experimenters in this country. 
Potato Rug Polson-London Purple.— 
Paris green has thus far been the accepted poison for the 
Colorado Potato Beetle. Paris green was known as a 
pigment long before the Potato Beetle was heard of. 
In the course of certain manufactures a compound of 
arsenic is produced to which the makers have given the 
name of “London Purple.” It is not offered as a secret 
remedy, but as a highly poisonous compound of arsenic, 
having all the desirable and deleterious qualities of Paris 
green, and the chief superiority claimed for it over that 
is, the much lower price at which it can be afforded. 
Uliilled Plows.— One of the greatest of recent im¬ 
provements in plow making, is in the hardening of the 
metal by means of the chilling process, which has vastly 
increased the durability of this implement. Prominent 
among the makers of plows of this kind, is the “ Syracuse 
Chilled Plow Co.” It gives some idea of their business, 
when they say that they expect that 40.000 of their plows 
will be a-field this season. As to the excellence of their 
plows, they offer the highest testimonials. 
Asbestos Liquid. Paints,— These paints, made 
by the H. W. Johns’ Mfg. Co., have in a remarkably short 
time attained a position that could not have been pos¬ 
sible without real merit. When the Company received 
the contract to supply paint to cover the entire structure 
of the Metropolitan Elevated Railroad, the extent of the 
order was a matter of remark. Since then, the Company 
have made a contract for all the white paint to be used, 
inside and out. upon that immense pile, the United 
States Capitol at Washington, and, if we mistake not, 
the other Government buildings. The magnitude of this 
order should not be a source of so much satisfaction to 
the H. W. Johns’ Mfg. Co. as the fact that it was made 
at all. Those who know the thorough investigation that 
is made by the engineers in charge of the public build¬ 
ings appreciate that this is indeed a high endorsement 
of the paint. The Asbestos paint is used upon another 
structure, which, though not so extended as the Elevated 
Railroad, or so prominent as the United States Capitol, 
is to the writer of far more importance than either—his 
own barn. It takes precedence of either of those in the 
fact that it was painted first. When the paint was ap¬ 
plied, it was a comparative novelty. We noted then the 
ease of application and its covering qualities. Now, at 
at the end of two years, we find the surface remarkably 
hard and glossy, and it shows every indication of wear¬ 
ing in a most satisfactory manner. The fact that it is 
furnished in a great variety of pleasing tints, and in a 
condition ready to be applied at once, will lead those in¬ 
tending to paint to look into its merits. 
A Handy Shingling Stage. —Among the many 
sketches and descriptions of ingenious devices for use 
on the farm that our subscribers are now sending us, is 
one from “F. L. P.,” 
Greenville, lnd., for a 
stage to be used in 
shingling roofs. The 
apparatus consists of an 
iron hook, made of 
strap iron, lii by 3 /i« 
inches and Sy, feet long, 
and shaped as indicated 
in fig. 1. The heel-board 
or seat is made of 2 by 4 
scantling of any length 
tosuit; triangular blocks are nailed to the scantling, three 
feet apart, to support the outer edge of a six-inch floor¬ 
ing plank, as shown in the engraving. Our correspon¬ 
dent has found these hooks “ perfectly safe on the steep¬ 
est roofs. Lying close to the roof they offer no obstruc¬ 
tion to the snapping of chalk-lines. They furnish a 
Fig. 2.—ROOF STAGE IN OPERATION. 
comfortable seat to the workman, allowing him to walk 
back and forth with ease and safety. They can be readily 
moved up and down the roof as the work progresses, 
thus avoiding the driving of a single nail in the finished 
work.” He is now using eight books which cost only $1. 
Tlie Montgomery Rockaway Grain Fan. 
The makers of this fan sent one of them to our farm, last 
year. In the press of other matters we have omitted to 
state that the Fan was found most satisfactory in use, the 
report indicating that it substantiates the claim of the 
makers—Messrs. Dorsey, Moore & Co., Baltimore, Md. 
It is not a new invention, but lias been before the farm¬ 
ing public for many years, being constantly improved, 
until now the makers think that they have a Fan that 
meets all requirements of the grain-grower, in separating 
foreign seeds. It is poor economy to buy a poor Jau. 
Life Insurance—Redaction in Rates.— 
With the general fall in prices, lower rates for life insur¬ 
ance have been looked for. To this it has been replied 
that tlie rates were originally made upon a 4 per cent in¬ 
terest basis; also, that it is better for Mutual Companies 
to maintain tlie old standard, and return any surplus ac¬ 
cumulations. This last agreement would be a good one, 
but for the fact that those who most need life insur¬ 
ance have not the ready means to advance any more 
money titan is absolutely required. It is also claimed 
that tlie business should be carried on now at less ex¬ 
pense for salaries, etc. The experiment is to be tried, 
and it is well that it is to be done by one of the largest 
and strongest companies in the world, the Mutual Life 
Insurance Company of New York, which lias assets 
amounting to over eighty-four millions of dollars, and a 
surplus of over four million dollars, or over eleven mil¬ 
lions at the N. Y. Standard of 4% percent. This company 
now issues polices at a reduction of 15 per cent, as noted 
on page 151. Any one can obtain particulars, statements, 
rates, etc., by simply addressing tlie company for them. 
Russian Fair. —The “Third Baltic Agricultural 
Exhibition, an I International Live Stock and Machinery 
Competition." is to be held at Riga, Russia, June 27. to 
July 12th, next. The programme is a comprehensive 
one. and offers special attractions to American manufac¬ 
turers, for the introduction of their goods into a country 
where agricultural implements are greatly in demand. For 
particulars, address O. W. Maddans, agent, Riga, Russia. 
Agricultural Steam Engines.— Mostofuscan 
recollect when the employment of an elephant upon the 
farm seemed quite as probable as the use of a steam en¬ 
gine. It was not long ago that their use at all was dis¬ 
cussed. Now the question is—“Which engine shall we 
use?”—and it need not be a very large farm to make 
Fig. 1.—THE IRON HOOK. 
