400 
AMERICAN AG-RECUL'L’QRIST. 
[October, 
Tliresliiug Day— Or threshing week, not many 
years ago, was looked forward to with a sort of mingled 
anxiety and dread. Everything from the house to the 
melon patch and peach orchard was taken by storm by 
the “ threshers,” and all was hurry, flurry, and waste. 
We are glad that the vast improvements in the machines 
has been followed by more system and civility on the 
part of those who separate the wheat from the chaff, and 
threshing day is quiet, or more quiet in senses greater 
than one, than it used to be. 
Chestnuts.— As the time arrives for the gathering 
of this esteemed nut, it is well to remember that it could 
be greatly improved by careful selection and culture. On 
the Island of Corsica, on the south of France, the chest¬ 
nut forms one of the principal articles of food, and the 
yearly production is over 14,000,000 pounds. The nuts 
are much larger than our wild ones, single in the bur, 
and large and round. By long cultivation, they have pro¬ 
duced several distinct varieties. Individual wild trees 
are known here with nuts nearly equal to the Euro¬ 
pean chestnuts in size, and vastly better in quality. 
What is a Weed ?—Professor Asa Gray has a val¬ 
uable paper in the “ American Journal of Science and 
Arts,” for September, upon : “The Pertinacity and Pre¬ 
dominance of Weeds,” and at the outset he considers 
briefly some of the various definitions of a weed. We 
give a few: “Any useless or troublesome plant,” “Every 
plant which grows in a field other than that of which the 
seed has been intentionally sown by the husbandman,” 
“Any plant which obtrusively occupies cultivated or 
dressed ground to the exclusion or injury of some par¬ 
ticular crop intended to be grown. Thus even the most 
useful plants may become weeds if they appear out of 
their proper place. The term is sometimes applied to 
any insignificant-looking or unprofitable plants which 
grow profusely in a state of nature; also to auy noxious 
or useless plauts.” Years ago, we were taught to view a 
weed in the light of this short definition : “A weed is a 
plant out of place,” and it seems to cover the matter. 
Agricultural Investigation.— Mr. Albert Pell 
and Mr. Clare Sewell Read, members of the British Par¬ 
liament, are commissioned to inquire as to the cost of 
production and sources of American live stock and meat 
exports. They will spend some time with us. England 
is awake to the position of her depressed agriculture. 
To Clear an Obstructed Pipe. —“Mrs. P.,” 
Armstrong Co., Pa. When a leaden pipe becomes ob¬ 
structed by sediment, it may be cleared by inserting a 
roll of fence wire that has been straightened out, unless 
the length be too great. For 200 or 300 feet, this method 
would be practicable. Unroll the wire, and straighten 
the kinks or bends with a hammer, on a piece of plank. 
Then carefully push the wire down , not up the pipe, 
pouring in some water. When the wire meets the ob¬ 
struction, work it up and down gently ; this will mix the 
sediment with the water, and make mud of it. So pro¬ 
ceed until through the obstruction; then pour in water 
freely, and work the mud to the outlet. In laying pipe, 
bends and hollows should be avoided, as sediment will 
surely collect in them and sometimes cause trouble. 
A Heavy Fleece of Wool.— A sheep-owner in 
Kansas reports shearing a fleece from a Merino ram 
which weighed 40 lbs. The fibre was 4% inches in 
length, and the estimated washed weight of the fleece 
was 27 pounds. Judging from the usual loss of weight 
in heavy Merino ram fleeces, we should suppose this 
estimate too high by one-half. We should rather hear 
of its actual than its estimated weight. 
Diversified Crops—Questioms to Itiimie- 
sota Farmers and. ©tilers 44 ©ut West.”— 
Mr. 1?. T. Duebert, Editor of the “ Owalonna (Minn.) 
Journal,” with whom we spent a pleasant hour in his of¬ 
fice, recently, puts several practical questions to his farmer 
readers, which may apply to other regions. Among the 
dozen queries are these: “ Because wheat has been the 
great staple of the State, is it now the most profitable 
crop in South Central Minnesota? Taking the uncer¬ 
tainty of the wheat crop, is not corn more profitable on 
the average ? Will not live stock and root crops pay bet¬ 
ter than wheat? Is it right to increase one’s burdens of 
mortgages to add acre after acre to his wheat farm ? Can 
there ever be an entire failure of crops in diversified farm¬ 
ing? Will not 160 acres, well tilled, growing a variety of 
crops, yield on the average a better and surer return than 
a wheat farm of 320 acres? Is not such diversified farm¬ 
ing, enabling one to employ reliable help all through the 
year, better than to submit to the exactions of worthless 
tramps at wheat harves 1 ? Have not the farms in Steele 
County (and in many other farming wheat sections) be¬ 
come too valuable to compete with the cheap wheatlands 
of the newly settled West ? "—Eastern people are apt to 
think Central Minnesota pretty well “ out West.” A good 
ways beyond Owatonna, we heard people talking about 
going “out West” to settle, and saw others “moving” 
in that direction. At Sioux City, we talked with some 
farmers on a Missouri River steamboat who had imple¬ 
ments, etc., on board for their western farms, to reach 
which, as the Captain informed us, the steamer required 
about six iveeks time! 
Sawdust Fitter.— “S. B.,” Camden, S. C. Pine 
sawdust makes excellent litter and a good absorbent for 
manure, but it is of no value as a fertilizer. Nevertheless 
it will do no harm, excepting upon light soil, which it 
makes too dry and open. Upon low or heavy clay soils 
it is useful to loosen their texture and make them dry. 
Hard-wood sawdust decays more easily than pine, and is 
free from the above objection_“ G. F. A.,” Talladega, 
Ala. If pine sawdust is burned slowly in heaps until 
reduced to ashes, the ashes will be useful. Tan bark is 
equally inert as sawdust, but the ashes are more 
abundant, richer, and consequently more useful. 
Treatment of a Worn Outffieadow.-'‘S.” 
writes: “Last fall a few acres of poor moss-grown meadow 
was well worked over with a disk harrow and thoroughly 
cut up. What good sod existed was cut into fragments 
and spread loosely over the surface. A sufficient quan¬ 
tity of Timothy and Clover seed was sown over the 
ground, and several loads of fine scrapings of the barn¬ 
yard were spread. The surface was then rolled both 
ways. This year the meadow has given two cuttings of 
hay, and might be cut again if desired.”—When it is not 
convenient to plow the ground, as is sometimes the 
case, this method of restoring poor grass land has the 
advantage of being quick in operation and effective. 
Draining a Swamp.— ^ “H. E. J. N.,” Auburn, 
Me. A piece of swamp underlaid with hard-pan can be 
drained very easily. The drains should be cut down to 
the solid bottom and the tiles laid upon that; if quick¬ 
sand is met with in places, the tiles may be laid upon 
and covered with tan bark. The distance from drain to 
drain will depend upon the quantity of water; if the 
water is plentiful 40 feet between the drains will be 
about right; if the ground is not wet, GO feet will do. 
Seeding for a Meadow. —“E. S. M.,” Albe¬ 
marle Co., Va. Timothy alone will not make a good 
meadow. Upon rich ground and mixed with Red Clover 
it furnishes good hay, but for a pasture it is inferior to 
a mixture of grasses, and Timothy does not succeed well 
with other grasses. The best mixture for a pasture is 
Orchard-Grass and Kentucky Blue-Grass, one bushel 
each, Ted Top aud Creeping Bent half a bushel each. 
These grasses come into full growth at different times, 
and furnish successive and constant pasture. For both 
hay and pasture, Orchard-Grass and Kentucky Blue- 
Grass one bushel each, and Red Clover G lbs., would 
make a good mixture. The best preparation for seeding 
is, to plow shallow, turning a flat furrow, to roll, and 
then harrow ; after this, seed with wheat or rye in the 
fall, or alone without any grain crop, if in the spring. 
Plowing Up Grass lands,-There is no 
doubt that many good meadows are spoiled by plowing 
up. Land tlmt is naturally moist, that is level and bears 
a fair crop of grass, but which has been permitted to be¬ 
come thin for want of manuring, can be restored better 
by other methods than by plowing, which is, of course, 
total destruction for the time. Such land is filled with 
grass roots which need only food to throw up abundant 
grass. A liberal top-dressing of fine manure, spread 
with the harrow, and a light dressing (100 lbs. per acre) 
of Nitrate of Soda, will cause a new growth of herbage, 
thick at the bottom and fine at the top, to produce which 
would require several years if the land were plowed. A 
close, thick sod is only produced by many years growth. 
liingbosie.—“ W. B. II.” An old standing ring¬ 
bone is incurable because the bony deposit has become 
hard and permanent. In its early stage, when beginning 
to form, blistering may both cure the disease and cause 
the deposit, which is soft and immature, to disappear. 
A New Peaeli—TJie ” Parnell.” — We re¬ 
ceived from Mr. John II. Parnell, West Point, Ga., speci¬ 
mens of a peach which is remarkable for both size and 
quality. According to Mr. Parnell,this is a seedling of Ihe 
Large White Cling, and differs chiefly from its parent 
in being much earlier. The specimens received by us, 
averaged 10X inches in circumference, were white, with 
a little red on the sunny side, and of a fineness of flesh 
and richness of flavor rarely equalled. This is a va¬ 
riety which peach-growers will do well to look after. 
A Horse ulth SSad Feet.—“E. E.,” Mason 
Co., W. T. Ahorse that has small, thin feet needs to 
bo shod with the greatest care, or it may easily be 
ruined. The frog should not be cut away, or the heels 
pared and let down, nor should the crust be burned or 
rasped away. Everything should be done to encourage 
the growth of horn so as to lift the sole from the ground. 
The shoe should be thinned to the inner edge and thick¬ 
ened on the other edge, and should be fitted to the foot 
with the greatest care, and not the foot fitted to the shoe. 
The growth of horn will increase by keeping the fobt 
moist; a mixture of one part of Glycerine and three parts 
of Water will be found .useful for this purpose. The 
hoof should never be rasped. A bar shoe may be found 
useful for a time, until lameness disappears. 
Mixed Foods. —A mixture of feeding substances is 
always conducive to the health of animals. It operates as 
a change of food, and it is more convenient to mix several 
substances and use them together than.to feed them sep¬ 
arately. For horses, the basis of the grain feed should be 
oats or barley. It might be remarked here, that barley is 
too much neglected as a feeding substance ; it is nu¬ 
tritious and healthful even as a single food, while mixed 
with corn, it» reduces the heating character of the latter. 
Equal parts of oats, barley, corn; wheat or rye bran, and 
linseed, ground together, form a perfect food for horses, 
containing no element of nutrition in excess, and having 
the laxative effect of the oily linseed to keep the diges¬ 
tive organs in perfect order, the skin loose, and the coat 
smooth and glossy. For cows, the linseed may be chang¬ 
ed for cotton-seed meal, which has an excellent influence 
upon the milk and the character of the butter. 
Cracked Heels. — Exposure to wet and mud, 
scarcely avoidable in autumn, will almost certainly pro¬ 
duce cracked heels in horses, unless precautions are 
used. When the cracks are once formed, they are diffi¬ 
cult. to heal, because at every motion of the foot, they are 
opened, and the granulations are disturbed. Prevention 
consists in frequent cleansing of the feet by washing 
with ciear water, and wiping dry at once with a cloth or 
towel kept for the purpose. The drying of water upon 
the skin is injurious, and should be carefully avoided. A 
little of the Veterinary Cosmoline, or even crude.petro- 
leum, which is the basis of the Cosmoline, applied in the 
morning, before the horses are taken out, will prevent 
mischief, and the same remedy, with regular cleansing 
with soap and water, will cure cracks very rapidly. If the 
cracks are severe, from neglect or otherwise, the pastern 
should be protected by wrapping a bandage around it. 
An Inquiry tlsat Cannot l>e Answered. 
“ Strawberry,” Pa. Your query is of a kind that should 
be answered by private note, which we should be glad to 
do ; but having thought proper to give only a fictitious 
name—for what purpose it is impossible to imagine— 
we cannot reach you by mail. When will some people 
learn to write to the editor of a journal as they would to 
any other person? 
Use of Turnip and Keet ILeaves.—If fed in 
moderation, and when free from surface water or frost, 
the leaves of turnips aud beets may be safely and use¬ 
fully fed to cows, cattle, or sheep. They are too fre¬ 
quently left on the field and wasted, when they might 
be saved by putting them in heaps, and covering them 
with straw and some earth, or even keeping them in 
heaps On the barn floor. A heaped bushel basket for a 
cow twice a day will not be too much if the leaves are in 
good condition; otherwise do not feed them at all. We 
have used leaves of mangels cut up with hay in a fodder 
cutter, and sprinkled with a quart or two of cotton-seed 
meal, with benefit, and we are fully convinced it has 
no ill effects upon the flavor of the milk. 
Felted Wool. —When sheep are out of condition, 
through insufficient feeding, or ill-health, the yolk is not 
secreted in sufficient quantity to lubricate the wool. In 
this dry hard condition of the wool, it is easily matted or 
felted together, upon exposure to rain. This condition of 
the wool, sometimes called “cotting,” seriously injures 
the fleece and reduces its value. When it has occurred, 
the mischief is done, and there is no remedy. It is there¬ 
fore wise to prevent it by attention to the feeding and 
condition of the sheep. If the sheep are already in poor 
condition, protection from rains will prevent the dam¬ 
age to the fleece, and good feeding will soon restore the 
yolk. Oil-cake meal is an excellent restorative feed for 
sheep in such cases. A little yellow ochre rubbed in 
the fleece will help to prevent the matting of the wool. 
Cleansing the Feet.— Horses that are kept stand¬ 
ing upon foul litter, are apt to have the feet injured by the 
acrid effects of the manure. The horn of the sole is dried 
and shrunken, the frog is hardened, or its tissue is partly 
destroyed, and the most important portion of the foot is 
seriously injured. The shrinking of the frog induces con¬ 
traction of the walls of the hoof and the pressure upon 
the sensitive laminre under it, soon causes inflammation, 
or, at least, hardness, which shows itself by lameness, 
and is rendered worse by neglect. This trouble may be 
avoided by keeping the stable floor clean, and by occa¬ 
sional washing of the feet. There is no more effective 
prevention of trouble with the feet, than cleanliness. 
