1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
395 
Will it Pay to Steam Fodder? 
Taking the word fodder in its broadest sense, 
as any kind of food for graminivorous animals, 
we may say that it will always pay to steam 
or cook feed for swine, and often for cows in sta¬ 
bles containing 25 head or more, while for sheep 
and horses it will be of doubtful expediency, and 
usually not advisable under any circumstances. 
The cooking of feed for fattening swine is so im¬ 
portant as a matter of economy, that it will pay, 
even though done with little regard to the saving 
of labor and fuel. On the other hand, to cook the 
feed for neat cattle with profit, not only should 
there be animals enough to make it pay, but the ra¬ 
tions should be so carefully planned, that by min¬ 
gling of palatable, with less relished and coarse 
fodder, a saving may be effected in that way. Be¬ 
sides the object for which the cattle are kept, is an 
important factor to be considered in the feeding. 
The flow of milk is increased by steaming the fod¬ 
der—the color of the butter is, however, injured. 
The same ration will prove more fattening, while, 
at the same time, there will be little or no waste, 
if the steaming is well managed. It is best to have 
the steamed ration composed of a variety of feed, 
6uch as corn-fodder, roots, hay or oat straw, with 
bran and corn-meal, or cotton-seed, or linseed-cake, 
or meal. The substitution of one kind of fodder 
or meal for another, gives variety and relish. The 
coarse fodder is cooked soft, and the flavor of the 
roots and of the meal pervades the mass. It is not 
likely that any of the small agricultural steamers 
can be made to economically cook the food for as 
many as 25 or 30 head of cattle. When a boiler of 
several horse-power is employed to do other work, 
as pumping, thrashing, sawing wood, grinding, 
cutting hay and corn fodder, etc., steam may be 
economically used for cooking fodder. Of this 
there can be little doubt. The steam-box in which 
the fodder is placed for cooking, if it is big enough, 
need not be Ailed oftener than twice a week, and 
if, as already intimated, every pains is taken in 
the operation to save in the items of labor and fuel, 
steaming fodder for cattle will be found profitable. 
A Bln lor Potatoes. 
Potatoes do not keep well upon a cellar floor, 
where there is more or less dampness, and an im¬ 
perfect ventilation. It is much better to store 
them in bins like the one shown in the engraving. 
This is made of strips, both for the bottom and 
sides, with spaces between them, and being raised 
upon legs, thorough ventilation is secured. Cross¬ 
boards may be put in to separate varieties. Such a 
bin is easily, cheaply, and quickly made, and will pay 
for itself in a single season, in preserving the pota¬ 
toes. When there is a large quantity of potatoes 
to be stored, three or four of these bins may be 
placed one above the other, the lower ones not 
being full, in order to secure the desired ventilation. 
Slol»l»erinj;- Morses. 
Some horses will slobber nearly all they eat; 
others when they eat certain plants, usually in early 
summer, and others are never known to do so. 
Horses thus affected, will, when their diet is much 
restricted, sometimes cease the habit. Clean 
timothy, and red-top hay, and clean oats fed 
in the straw (clean meaning free from weeds 
or other plants,) will usually cause a confirmed 
case of slobbering to stop temporarily. A little 
clover, clover-hay, rag-weed in the oats, and 
many other weeds, are liable to start it again, in 
fact, will be quite sure to do so. Thus it is clear 
that the tendency is constitutional in the animal, 
that a cause that would excite slobbering in one 
animal, will not affect another, and that it is excited 
by different plants which the horse uses for food, 
either in the green or dry state. Besides, the habit 
is said to come from partial paralysis of the 
nerves of the face, or of one side of the face. Us¬ 
ually, however, it comes from some article of food, 
and it is more often caused by the second growth 
clover, than anything else. Veterinarians have rec¬ 
ommended astringents to be employed in solution, 
the mouth being washed with a decoction of Oak- 
bark, Witchhazel, Alum, etc., but no permanent 
benefit comes from these applications. Partial re¬ 
lief has been experienced, by confining the horse to 
a diet of clover, as this excites the salivary secre¬ 
tion most violently. After a few days a return is 
made to different food, with the hope that this 
sudden change would stop the excessive secretion 
of saliva, which it almost always does for a while. 
When to Apply Manure. 
The common practice is to cart the manure 
from the barn-yard once a year, usually in the 
spring. In this way the hauling is done when 
other work is pressing, and while the ground is 
soft. It is better to draw out the manure exposed 
in open yards, as it accumulates, and drop it in 
heaps in the fields where it is to be used. With the 
best facilities for keeping the manure—that is, with 
a barn-cellar—there is less loss in keeping it under 
cover, and when well rotted, apply it to the ground 
just at the time when it will be of the most benefit 
to the crop. Manure is considered as so much 
capital used in growing the crop, and bears inter¬ 
est only as it is used by the plants. If beets or 
turnips need the most manure in midsummer, it is 
economy to apply it then, provided there is the 
proper facility for making, storing, and turning out 
this valuable fertilizer every month in the year. 
Grass lands can make use of manure at nearly all 
times, and upon these it may be spread in win¬ 
ter with economy of labor and excellent results. 
Notes on Corn and Fodder Corn. 
Corn, over a large part of the country, is late in 
ripening, and though we should take no risk of 
its being touched by frost -before cutting up, yet 
many will take it. Simply cutting, however, be¬ 
fore the frost will save the fodder, eveu though it 
be cut after sun down of the night of a heavy 
frost. The full moon in September ought to see 
the corn all cut and stooked, over a large part of 
the country. 
Husking. —There is no farm work in the doing 
of which there is so much difference in men as in 
this. One man will husk two bushels while an¬ 
other is husking one. Employ good buskers, and 
pay them by the bushel, if possible. See person¬ 
ally that the bundles of stalks are well bound and 
stooked, if they are to be left in the field. 
Seed Corn should be saved while husking, if 
not before. .Take one perfect ear from stalks 
bearing two or more, throwing it to one side with 
the husk attached. A perfect ear has all rows 
perfect, a small butt end, the cob well tipped out 
with grain and covered with husks, the kernel 
uniform and well ripened. 
Corn Cribs. —It is best, of course, to have rat- 
proof cribs, but “ rail pen ” cribs are just as good 
for the corn, if well covered with boards or a 
straw roof. Chickens and turkeys will steal a lit¬ 
tle, and rats and squirrels have a fine chance at it, 
but what the poultry take is not lost, and the ver¬ 
min can be kept down by cats and terriers. 
The price of corn is likely to rule high, and it 
is certainly worth while to prevent all loss of 
this valuable food by unusual care. 
Fodder Corn. —Though ensiloing may take 
place at any time before frost, the successful cur' 
ing of corn fodder can only be done after the 
nights are cool, if not cold. It should stand until 
about the time of the first frosts before cutting,, 
and, after partly curing, should be put in bundles' 
and large stooks, to remain until the ground 
freezes. 
Wagon Box for Corn. 
We have published a number of plans of wagon 
boxes, arranged for shovelling corn. One has an at¬ 
tachment which is fastened to the sides of the wagon 
box by hooks, as shown in the engraving. When 
attached to the loaded wagon, the tail-board may 
be removed, and a space is provided for using the 
scoop or shovel. Such an attachment may serve 
for any number of wagons, is easily made, and, 
when not in use, may be removed and put away. 
A Frost Proof Cellar. 
A good cellar for storing roots, etc., that is frost 
proof in winter, and cool in summer, may be con¬ 
structed as follows: The ground should be exca¬ 
vated for four feet, and walls of stone built, with an 
arching of brick to cover the whole. An air space 
is left between the bricks and the earth above 
them. This is made by laying scantling lengthwise 
of the roof, and covering them with boards or plank 
well battened. This secures a non-conducting air 
space, which prevents the passage of moisture 
from the outside. A ventilator in each gable end 
of the cellar, provides for a circulation of air, and 
the escape of any moisture that might otherwise 
collect on the surface of the boards. There should 
be a sash or trap door in the ventilator shaft, that 
may be opened or closed by means of a cord and 
weight, which hang down in the cellar. In hot 
summer iveather it may be necessary to provide 
some shade over the ventilators. A cross section 
of such a cellar is shown in the engraving. 
Wood Water for tlie Stock, 
Pure water and an abundance of it is one of the 
essentials of every good farm. This water should 
be at or near the barn or barns. During the sum¬ 
mer months when the farm stock is in the pastures 
with green fodder, the water supply does not seem 
to be of so great importance. A good stream may 
be all that is necessary, even if it is situated a half 
mile from the farm buildings ; but in winter a sup¬ 
ply close at hand is of great value. Barn-yard 
wells are convenient but are seldom receptacles of 
pure water. The water too frequently would serve 
a better purpose if used as a fertilizer upon the 
land than given to the animals. Far superior to the 
well water is that of some spring which is brought 
to various places in and around the farm buildings 
from a neighboring hill side. There are very many 
places where pipes can be laid and the very best of 
water brought in to supply the wants of the stock 
