480 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Fertilizing Value of Lime. — “A. L. H.,” 
Athens, Ga. Lime is regularly used by farmers in dis¬ 
tricts where it costs 15 cents a bushel. It is impossible 
to fix any stated value for lime as a fertilizer, because its 
action depends upon many contingencies, and it is chiefly 
indirect in its effect upon the soil. Until it has been 
tested, no one can say positively whether he will derive 
benefit from it on a given field, oi not. 
Management of Fall Calves.— As the winter 
weather is not favorable to the growth of young animals, 
extra care must be taken in rearing fall calves. A good 
start is a great point, and this may be made by leaving 
the calf with the dam for two or three days, after which 
a warm, sheltered pen should be provided for it, adjoin¬ 
ing a box-stall, in which the dam may be kept so long as 
may be convenient. Here it may be fed upon skimmed 
milk, warmed to a temperature of 80 or 90 degrees, after 
a week’s feeding upon the fre9h, warm milk just drawn 
from the cow. For the dairy, no oil-meal is necessary; 
but for other purposes, an ounce of linseed oil-meal will 
be useful, added to the milk; first, however, boiling the 
meal, and reducing it to a thin mucilage. When two 
mouths old, the calf will eat a small quantity of hay, but 
we have found it better to cut the hay, and add the allow¬ 
ance of meal to it. A young calf is not able to digest a 
large quantity of solid food, and a pint of cut hay, with 
one ounce of meal, will be ample as a beginning. By 
gradually increasing the allowance, the calf will gain reg¬ 
ularly, and may go out to grass in the spring. 
Stable Manure at S3 per Ton.-" H.” Many 
market-gardeners pay more than $3 a ton for manure, and 
find it profitable. When such a price is paid, the highest 
culture should be practised, and those crops grown which 
bring a good price in the market. It is a matter chiefly 
of management and skill whether or not a gardener can 
afford to pay three dollars per ton for mannre. 
Raising: Calves. —It is a question if a spring calf 
or a fall calf is the better to raise. This depends alto¬ 
gether upon the manner in which the calf is cared for. 
For the dairy, under equal conditions, a fall calf is better 
than a spring calf, for it can be brought through the win¬ 
ter in good order, and put at once upon pasture in the 
spring, when a little bran or ground feed will help it to 
thrive quickly, and arrive at a condition for breeding in 
time to come in, in the spring, at the age of 2S months; 
or, if desired for a winter cow, at the age of two years. 
A spring calf must either be less than two years, or con¬ 
siderably more, when she comes in, under similar cir¬ 
cumstances. This is one important consideration. An¬ 
other scarcely less so, is that a spring calf can derive very 
little or no advantage from the summer pasture, and thus 
requires feeding through two winters before it comes 
Into profit. Again, winter dairying is far more profitable 
than summer, and to have fresh cows in Oct. or Nov. 
makes them available for this more profitable business; 
so that, on the whole, fall calves may be considered 
more profitable in every way than those of the spring. 
Machines for Making Large Tiles.—“P 
A. D.,” Tooele City, Utah. Machines are made which 
manufacture large tiles, with no more difficulty than small 
ones, even up to these of 12 inches in diameter. The 
name of a maker of snch a machine is sent you by mail. 
Plowing when Land is Dry.— “O. II. S.,” 
Susq. Co., Pa. If the ground turns over well, it makes no 
difference whether it is dry or not, so that it is not so 
wet that the pressure of the plow packs and plasters the 
surface and causes it to dry in lumps. Plowing wet soil 
is injurious, but dry soil may be safely plowed. 
Farming in Iowa.- “P. H. B.,” Sharon, Mass. 
Spring wheat is grown in Iowa. There is less inferior 
land in Iowa than in any other State, and one can hardly 
go astray, so far as the quality of land is concerned, in 
selecting a locality. In other respects there is here, as 
elsewhere, considerable room for a choice of farming laud. 
Peeling Bark. — Fanners who own limber land 
should understand the value of the bark upon it. The 
barks used in tanning are Hemlock, Oak of different 
kinds, Birch, and Spruce. The bark of second growth, 
and small timber, is worth more than that of large trees, 
and a corresponding value should be put upon it. Tan¬ 
ners are now making contracts for bark, and as they are 
thoroughly well informed as to the details of their busi¬ 
ness, and naturally use this knowledge for their own ad¬ 
vantage, farmers who arc ignorant of it suffer seriously 
In the conflict of bargaining. The value of bark must 
gradually increase as the stock of it becomes less, and 
the demand for it grows larger. In Europe, tanners’ bark 
is worth from $25 to $40 per ton. Here it varies from $0 
per ton (or cord, which is equivalent to a ton of 2,240 
lbs.,) down to $3. or what the tanner may wish to give. 
An acre of small Hemlock has been known to return $100 
for the bark on it, leaving nearly as much in addition 
for the wood. This was in the neighborhood of a tannery 
where dry Hemlock wood was used as fuel, and under 
favorable circumstances. But it shows the value of a tim¬ 
ber lot, which isoften considered as an incubus on a farm. 
Wheat In Nebraska.- “ W. I). II.,’’ Clay Co., 
Neb., states that the yield of wheat with three of his 
neighbors was 6j£, 9, and 10 bushels to the acre respec¬ 
tively. He wishes to double that yield. “ Man proposes, 
but ”—accident disposes in many cases, and weather and 
season may destroy all hopes. Land that is now plowed 
for wheat may remain until spring, when it. would be 
well to cross plow it before sowing spring wheat. 
Plymouth Rocks.- “J. H.,” Hood River, Oregon. 
Plymouth Rocks should'have no feathers on their legs or 
feet. Some P. R. hens lay white eggs and some lay 
brown ones. This is an evidence that they are not yet 
a fully distinct breed, and some further improvement must 
yet be made in them by care in selecting and breeding. 
Preservation of Wood. —Some recent experi¬ 
ments in treating wood with creosote, or “ dead oil,” as it 
is technically termed, prove that timber so prepared has 
very little power to absorb water. Hard Pine creosoted 
under pressure, after having been dried, was found to 
have absorbed not a particle of water, after two days 
soaking. Spruce absorbed only .02 per cent of its weight, 
while ordinary dry Spruce absorbed .33, or 10 times as 
much. The California Redwood absorbed nothing after 
treatment, while previously it absorbed nearly .5 per 
cent. As decay is proportionate to the power of absorb¬ 
ing moisture, some woods treated with creosote are 
practically indestructible. 
Disease In Poultry. —“ J. O.” Inflammation and 
congestion of the lungs sometimes happen among fowls. 
The symptoms are a weakness of the legs, the fowl sitting 
on its rump and moping; the feathers are ruffled, and the 
bird frequently gasps and opens its mouth. Rupture 
often occurs, and the bird bleeds at the mouth. The 
remedy is to give castor oil, rub turpentine on the sides, 
under the wings, and give half a teaspoonful by the mouth 
Caponiztng.— u A. B.,” Sumner Co., Ks. Young 
cockerels should be made into capons at the age of two 
to four months; the earlier the better, as there is less 
danger of bleeding excessively in a younger fowl, and 
the rib bones are more elastic than in one of six months. 
Incubators.— “J. S. C.,” Omaha, Neb. In the 
American Agriculturist for July, 1S7G, is an illustrated 
article on incubators and hatching chickens artificially. 
After this lapse of time there is nothing to add to or to 
take from the statements or opinions there given. 
Tarring a Roof.- “H. R.,” Kaskaskia, HI. A 
gallon of tar may bo made to cover 100 square feet of roof 
if laid on hot, but it would be better to cover the shingles 
rather more thickly with the tar when cement is used. 
We would use a gallon to about 60 square feet, so that 9 
gallons would be needed for a roof 30x18 feet. A bushel 
of cement may be spread over a roof of this size, as the 
thicker the tar is laid on, tho more cement should be nsed 
to absorb it. The cement should be sown evenly oyer the 
tar, as it is laid on the roof in strips, beginning at the 
ridge and working downwards. Sufficient cement should 
be used to leave the surface of the tar quite dry—that is, 
an excess of the cement should be applied. 
The Value of the Oyster, —The dull, nnmoving 
oyster is the cause of a very active business. The Balti¬ 
more oyster business alone has 80 firms engaged in it, 
with a gross capital of $7,500,000 ; 2,427 vessels, with 
10,313 men, scoop up the bivalves from their watery beds 
for the reward of nearly two million dollars in the sea¬ 
son ; 13,500 men open the shells for a recompense of §2,- 
700,000 in the season, and 1,500 can-makers earn $750,- 
000 in a year In providing means for packing the oysters; 
850 clerks, etc., do the office work, receiving $500,000 a 
year for their services. And the oyster is planted and 
sown and cultivated, and the crop is reaped, by a system 
of culture which is not very far removed from agriculture. 
Surface Draining. — “ W. L.,” Benton, Ohio. 
Where the ground is wet down to the subsoil, deep drains 
should be made. Where the subsoil is dry the surface 
water may be taken off by surface drains as an expedient 
only. The only satisfactory way of ridding the soil of wa¬ 
ter, either from the surfaco or below it, is by deep drains. 
The Value of an Employer’s Time.- It is 
related of Clare Sewell Read, a Member of the British 
Parliament, and one of the Commissioners who are now- 
in this country investigating the condition of our agri¬ 
culture, that when a boy on his father’s farm, he was in¬ 
dustriously helping the men forking hay, when his father 
came along and said, “What are you doing?. If your 
time is not worth more than 60 cents a day, you are fit 
only for a laborer. Be off, and look after the men hoeing 
turnips, and see that they earn their wages.”—It is a rule 
in railroad and other engineering works, that it pays to 
have a “ boss ” over any 10 men, and that the extra work 
done by reason of the oversight more than pays the 
wages of the “ boss.” This rule may well be applied to 
farm work, and the common plan of an employer working 
with and leading his men may well be abandoned for a 
more effective and profitable supervision. But it requires 
tact and experience to supervise workmen, and the6e 
every farmer ought to acquire if he does not possess them. 
Dutch Farmers. —Holland should be the agricul¬ 
tural Utopia, it reports we read are to be relied upon, 
which, considering the simple and plain but thorough 
character of the Dutch people, seem reasonable enough. 
The farmers of Holland, although possessing great wealth, 
do not forsake their plows, and their sons are prepared 
for farm work by an education at a University. The pub¬ 
lic affairs are in the control of farmers who compose the 
majority of the smaller legislative bodies and the Supreme 
States General. Industry with intelligence, and n true 
public spirit,make these happy and successful Dutch farm¬ 
ers models for the imitation of others in every country. 
Wild Rabbits. —There seems to be, with many 
persons, a prejudice against the common wild rabbit—or 
properly hare—as an article of food, and large numbers 
trapped or killed, on account of the injury they do to 
young trees, are allowed to go to waste. On the other 
hand, in the months of November and December, when 
they aic at their best, large numbers of rabbits are bought 
by city people, who find them both very cheap, and a 
most acceptable variety to the ordinary butcher's meat. 
Let those who have never eaten a young and fat rabbit at 
this season try it, roasted, potted, or made into a pic— 
and we are quite sure that they will not let snch delicious, 
easily obtainable food be wasted, as it now- is. 
The Weights of Mangels.— “ Subscriber,” N. 
Y. Long Red Mangels have been grown weighing 70 lbs.; 
Yellow Globes have reached a weight of 45 lbs., or it has 
been so stated, on as good authority as most facts of this 
character rest upon, which is the word of the grower. 
The writer hab grown Long Red Mangels weighing 28 
lbs., and has seen them grown by a well known farmer 
on Long Island weighing 43 lbs. 
Apples for Cows.—“D. B.,” N. Y. A bushel of 
apples is too much to give a cow in one day, and over¬ 
feeding of any kind would lessen the flow of milk. A 
peck of sweet apples might not be injurious, although 
many dairymen think they lessen the yield of milk. If a 
cow is well fed she will milk very regularly (if a good 
milker) until brought into calf again; after which the 
milk will usually fall off in quantity. It is not at all un¬ 
common for a good cow to be milking more than a year 
before she comes in again. 
White Specks ill Butter.—“M. Q. A," Gra- 
hamville, S. C., states that the white specks often ap¬ 
pearing in butter are pieces of curd taken up with the 
cream when it is skimmed from curdled milk, and they 
may be prevented by skimming the cream before the milk 
is thick. We differ from our correspondent in his view, 
because we have frequently taken cream from thick milk 
and have had no specks in the butter, and have bad 
specks when sweet cream was churned. The cause is in 
the cow, and some cow’s milk is never free front this 
fault. In testing the milk of such a cow with litmus 
paper, we have found it acid when drawn, and this is 
probably the frequent if not the only cause of it. The 
fault was removed by giving the cow one ounce of Car¬ 
bonate of Soda in her feed once a day for two weeks, 
after which the milk was no longer acid. 
The Longest Wool Producer. —“J. K.,” 
Lonaconing, Md. The Lincoln bears the longest wool 
of any sheep. The wool is sometimes 14 to 16 inches 
long, but more frequently 8 to 12. The Cotswold bears 
wool from 7 to 10 inches. The Lincoln also produces a 
heavier fleece than the Cotswold, being a larger sheep; 
bnt the heaviest fleeces have been sheared from Merinos. 
A ram of this breed in Vermont last year produced a 
fleece weighing 33 lbs., and one in California a few years 
ago had a fleece which weighed 52 pounds, which last is 
probably the heaviest fleece on record. 
Three Horses Abreast to a Wagon.—“G. 
M.,” Winnebago, Wis. The only way in which 3 horses 
can be conveniently hitched to a wagon abreast is to put 
one between shafts, or a pair of poles, and another on 
each side of this one. The whiffle trees may be the same 
as those used for plowing with 3 horses. 
Rubber for Mops.— “ Mrs. A. B.,” Gnelplq Ks. 
Sheet rubber, that can be procured atnny store that keeps 
rubber belting, is the kind to use for mops ; or a strip ot 
rubber belting may be used in place of the sheet robber, 
three-ply belting will be the best for the purpose. 
