1879.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
133 
this question an important one. Power is needed for 
many purposes; shall we raise grain and feed it to 
horses and thus get power, or shall vve sell grain and 
buy coal and feed that to an engine ? The decision must 
depend upon individual needs arid surroundings. One 
farm will need a stationary engine, while another must 
have a portable one, and the choice between the two 
must be carefully made. One of the oldest Arms engaged 
in the manufacture of Agricultural Steam Engines, both 
Portable and Stationary, is Wood, Taber & Morse, of 
Eaton, N. Y., who offer a great variety. Not content with 
former achievements, they offer for the machines sent out 
this year, several improvements which will greatly add 
to their efficiency, including an Improved Governor. 
Full descriptions of their various engines are given in 
their catalogues, which may be had on application. 
Plowing with 3 Horses Abreast.—” C. S.,” 
Hart Co., Ky. In plowing witli 3 horses abreast, one 
must walk on the plowed ground, unless some contriv¬ 
ance is used to throw the draft clevis on to tiie land side 
sufficiently to put the oft'horse in the furrow. This, how¬ 
ever, has the disadvantage of throwing the draft out of 
line and causing considerable side draft. 
Sod vs. Stubble for Corn.— A subscriber, in 
Fellow Co., Ind., planted 18 acres of corn last year; half 
on a clover sod, the other half on “the best side of the 
field, in corn the year previous ; ’’ all planted the same 
day and having the same treatment throughout. The re¬ 
sult was 13 hush, per acre on the corn-stubble, and 50 bu. 
on the sod land. Although the stubble had some manure, 
it is very evident that the clover added vastly more fer¬ 
tility to the soil and was the cause of the larger crop. It 
is a common experience that a clover sod is one of the 
best of manures for any kind of grain crop, and it is 
highly valued by most wheat-growers in all sections. 
Red Ants are often a great pest in a house, and it is 
difficult to get rid of them. A friend says that they may 
be readily trapped thus: Ants are fond of fresh lard, and 
if a plate be greased with that they will leave almost ev¬ 
erything else and go for it; in their greediness they get 
caught in the lard and can not get away. The plate is to 
be occasionally warmed and wiped and then re-greased 
and set again. It is well to place some small sticks 
against the edge of the plate to serve the ants as bridges 
and ladders by which to reach the lard. 
Watering Horses.— "I. S. M.” Horses should 
drink after, rather than before eating, as a rule, though 
there are exceptions. A very thirsty horse may have a lit¬ 
tle water, though not all he desires, especially if heated. 
Whole Grain for Horses,— A correspondent 
takes exception to a recent item in the “Basket” on 
“Crushed Grain for Horses,” and says: “All the horses 
I have ever had do not relish oats so well as corn on the 
ear. Indeed, my blooded mare thrives finely the year 
round on unshelled corn. I give as a meal, 4 ears and a 
small handful of hay, on light work. At steady work, 6 
ears and hay. Oats do not digest so well as com. I feed 
old corn on the ear only.” 
lawn Mowers- 1 The Philadelphia.— There 
are several machines, each in its way so near perfection 
that choice between them is difficult. For example—if 
asked whicli of the leading sewing-machines was best, 
we could not answer. Each is best to the one who uses 
it. So with Lawn Mowers; several do almost perfect 
work, and we are puzzled when asked which is best. 
The makers of the “Philadelphia,” Messrs. Graham, 
Emlen & Passmore, come forward in advance of all 
others, with the announcement of their machines for 1879 
—in which they inform us that they took the First Prize 
at Paris last year. We have seen no one accustomed to 
the “Philadelphia” who would exchange it for any other. 
A Grade Jersey Cow.—We have often given it 
as our opinion that for all purposes save breeding, grade 
Jerseys were frequently more valuable than herd-book 
animals. Mr. Sami. J. Griswold, Guilford, Conn., sup¬ 
ports this view by the following statements. He writes, 
March 1st ult.; “ I own a grade Jersey cow, % Jersey, !4 
Ayrshire, bred by Col. Thomas Fitch, of New London, 
Conn.; she dropped her calf Sept. 28, 1878; in the month 
of December she made 51}^ lbs. of splendid butter, inde¬ 
pendent of the milk used in my family, which I estimate 
at more than 3 pints per day ; her feed was dry hay and 
5 quarts of provender, and 4 quarts of carrots or beets 
each day. Let any one excel this who can.” 
Seed Drill and Cultivator Combined.— 
The “Planet, Jr.,” by S. L. Allen & Co., Pljila., Pa., has 
long been before the public, and has proved itself a most 
excellent implement. It ean be readily adjusted to sow 
seeds of different sizes, whether ordinary garden seeds, 
or those for farm root crops. After serving as a seed- 
eower, it is readily converted into a cultivator,, wheel- 
hoe, or wheel-plow for keeping the plants free of weeds. 
Several forms of the implement are made-seed sower 
alone, wheel hoe and cultivator alone, and an implement 
in which these are combined, as explained in the cata¬ 
logue to be obtained of the makers. 
To Prevent a Cow Leaking Milk.—“ J. B.” 
To use an elastic band around a leaky teat, will be injuri¬ 
ous. The compression will soon cause mischief. Any 
other mechanical contrivance will doubtless have the 
same effect. A safe practice is to procure some collodion 
at the druggists, and so soon as the milking is over, to 
cover the end of the teat with a film of it. This dries in¬ 
stantly, and shrinks in drying, thus closing the orifice so 
gently as not to be hurtful,and will break away in milking. 
A Reliable Churn.—No doubt that the majority 
of the butter is made in large dairies, but the majority of 
butter makers have but from one to four or five cows. 
In the case of the writer, his cows are never less than 
one, nor more than three He manages to make but¬ 
ter summer and winter, and has for the past 7 or 8 
years used no other churn than the “ Blanchard.” The 
cows, being high grade Jerseys, are milked up to within 
a few weeks of their time. In all these years there has 
been no case of “frothing” or any other difficulty in 
making butter, save on two or three occasions, and then 
it was found that the proper temperature for the cream 
had not been observed. With the cream at 60° to 63°, 
the butter comes as a matter of course, and we have but 
one fault to find with the churn, which is, that in sum¬ 
mer the butler comes too soon. For working and wash¬ 
ing the butter in the churn, and for ease of keeping 
clean, nothing more is to be desired. 
A Good Farm.—A request comes from “F. n.,” 
for one of the Editors to define “ a good farm.” If F. H. 
will state for what purpose the farm is wanted, and in 
what part of the world, and give his full name and 
address, we will endeavor to meet his wishes. 
Many Catalogues of Seedsmen, Nurserymen, 
Florists, dealers in implements, animals, fertilizers, etc., 
etc., are received by the Editors. A brief reference to a 
large number of these, all we have space for. is given on 
page 156—our readers can hardly fail to find some one 
among them to supply almost any want. Fuller details 
of a few of them will he found in the advertising columns. 
The American Pomological Society.— 
At the last meeting, at Baltimore, Nashville, Tenn., was 
fixed upon ns the place of meeting for this year. The 
Southern members themselves proposed to change the 
place to some more northern locality. Just as we go to 
press we learn, and can only make the hare announce¬ 
ment that, at the invitation of the New York Horticul¬ 
tural Society, the American Pomological Society will 
hold its 17th Biennial Session in New York City. We 
expect to give the precise date and other particulars in 
our next issue. 
Lost Cud.—“P. F. B..”Elizabeth, N. J. Suspended 
rumination commonly called lost cud, is the effect of indi¬ 
gestion. This is frequently removed by giving the cow 
one pint of raw linseed oil, or melted lard. A very popu¬ 
lar remedy is to cause the cow to swallow a salt mackerel; 
this is often effective, and operates doubtless by the ac¬ 
tion of the salt and the oil in the mackerel. 
How to Make Boats.—“ H. W. W.,” Enon, Pa. 
Instructions for building boats were given in the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist for October, 1872. 
“Grub in the Head.”—“B. F. A., Macon Co., 
Ala. The hot-fly which lays its eggs on the sheeps’ noses, 
may he driven off by covering the noses with tar. If the 
time to do this cannot he spared otherwise, make a long 
trough of a Y shape, agd scatter a very little salt at the 
bottom, then take a brush and smear tar on both sides of 
the trough inside, so that when the sheep lick the salt, 
they will rub their noses on the tar. To blow puffs of 
smoke into the nostrils, until the sheep are giddy and fall 
down, often causes the removal of the worms. 
Boots for Cows. —“ S. H.,” Waukesha Co., Wis. 
Sugar-beets (Lane’s Imperial) are better for milk cows 
than mangels ; they have more sugar and less water in 
them. A variety of mangel, called the Yellow Globe Kin- 
ver, is excellent for cows. 
Stock fora Cheese Factory.— “L. S. T.” To 
run a moderate sized cheese factory the milk of 600 cows, 
at least, would be required. The building and furniture 
could be procured for about $2,000. 
Flowing in Green Crops.—“P. W.,” Talbot 
Co., Md. When the land is too poor to grow a crop of 
rye or oats, it is too poor to grow anything of value for 
turning under, Green manuring is a good method of 
keeping land in good condition, but is useless for im' 
proving poor land, because poor land cannot produce a 
crop to turn under. Something may be done by sowing 
buckwheat as early as is safe, and turning the crop un¬ 
der when in blossom; then sowing again to buckwheat, 
and turning that under; rye may be sown on the last 
plowing and harrowed in. A dressing of 20 or 30 bush¬ 
els of lime per acre would be useful spread on the last 
plowing and harrowed in with the rye. It is probable 
the soil will then produce a crop of clover. 
Turnips for Milk.— “ O. S. C.,” Belvidere, HI. 
Turnips are useful as food for sheep and beef cattle; hut 
they are far surpassed in this respect by mangels, “ blood” 
beets, and sugar-beets. 30 to 40 tons of the latter can be 
produced per acre with the same culture that will produce 
20 tons of turnips, and red or blood-beets come as early 
into use as turnips. The great objection to turnips is 
that they will flavor the milk and butter in spite of near¬ 
ly all precautions. 
Pearl Millet.— “ S. II.,” Milwaukee, Wis. Last 
season we saw a bunch of Pearl Millet, one plant only 
which would furnish as much fodder as 12 Hills of corn of 
moderate size, such as is grown for fodder. If it would 
have grown so well in close rows is doubtful, and it is 
hardly safe as yet to say if it will be better than corn. 
That is to be tested. It is enough to say at present that 
the plant is worth trying in a small way. It will grow 
where sorghum will, and to get the best results must 
have rich soil. 
Tanning Sheeps Felts for Bugs.— “A. D.,” 
Republic Co., Kansas. Sheeps pelts can be tawed and 
not tanned. Tawing is done by scraping the flesh side 
of the pelt clean from all flesh or fat, then sprinkling it 
with a mixture of finely powdered alum and salt in equal 
parts. Two skins are then laid with the flesh sides to¬ 
gether, or a single one doubled lengthwise, and rolled 
up for a week or 10 days, then opened, scraped, and 
washed, and rubbed dry with a piece of chalk, and 
worked and pulled until the skin is soft. 
Turnips for a Horse.-“ Old Subscriber,” New 
York. Turnips arc healthful for horses. They should 
he cut into thin slices, or what is better, pulped finely 
and mixed with a little meal and some salt. Ruta-bagas 
are better than white turnips. One quart of oil-cake 
meal daily will be useful, especially in the spring when 
the coat is shedding. This may be given with some corn- 
meal or other ground feed. 
Strength of Concrete.— “ F. C.,” St. Cloud, 
Mich. Well made concrete is much stronger than stone 
and lime mortar; it increases in strength daily for more 
than a year. After that time good concrete will resist a 
greater pressure than common sandstone. 
Bnrnlng Charcoal in Kilns.—“ W. A.,” West- 
port, Ohio. Charcoal is burned in kilns, by piling the 
wood as closely as possible until tlie kiln is full. Fire ways 
are made from air holes left in the brick work in the bot¬ 
tom, and the pit is kindled; when it is on fire sufficiently, 
these’ holes are stopped as may be required ; if this is 
done without caution, and by inexperienced pit burners, 
thegasesgiven out sometimes explode and burst the kilns. 
A kiln burns down sooner than a pit: 10 days are suffi¬ 
cient, and a 25 cord 1000 bushel kiln, may be filled, burn¬ 
ed, and emptied twice in a month. There are more brands 
made in a kiln, than in a pit, but these are useful in 
starting the fire in a newly filled kiln. No one should try 
to burn a kiln, until he has learned the business of coal¬ 
ing in pits. It is well to build a small bee-hive shaped 
kiln first and try that; this kind is the safest. 
Wound In tlie Fork of the Hind Legs.— 
“X. Y. Z.,” Maries Co., Mo. A wound between the 
legs where the skin of both thighs comes in contact, is 
difficult to heal. The best course is to dress the wound 
with a simple cerate upon a pad of soft cotton, held in 
place by a bandage, passing between the legs and fas¬ 
tened to a strap or surcingle around the body. A little 
powdered “bine stone” (sulphate of copper) may he 
sprinkled upon the cerate.—Simple cerate is white wax, 
melted with twice its weight of sweet lard, with gentle 
heat, and then stirred until cool. 
Wheat and Chess.— “ B. M.” If the owner of 
the specimen that is “part wheat and part chess,” will 
send it to us, we will cheerfully examine it, but we shall 
not pay the sum named or any other for the privilege. 
Sheep Pulling Wool. —“ G. H. M.,” Colorado 
Springs, Col. Sheep pull each others wool when they 
are suffering from indigestion and a depraved appetite. 
When this is noticed, it would be well to give a strong 
dose of salt which will act as a purgative, or one ounce 
of an equal mixture of salt and Epsom salts may be given 
to each sheep separately, lest some get top much. 
