396 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
There is a great, loss sustained by farmers in giving, 
or allowing their tffoek to seek and drink water 
that is at the point of freezing. It not only chills 
the system, but requires a large amount of food to 
bring it to blood hpat. Spring water though cool, 
is not ice cold. Before the winter sets in, and the 
stock are all in their quarters, every one should see 
that his water supply' is what it should be for the 
sake of the comfort and health of his animals, and 
the profit which comes with such thoughtfulness. 
Repair tlte I'urni Ituildings. 
This is not so good a time as the month of May 
for the repair of the barns and the other out-build- 
ings, but it is better to do all the necessary “ fixing 
up ” before winter sets in. There are many things 
that only need to be done in the fail, such as making 
the division fences and gates xor the flocks of sheep, 
the young stock, etc.; in short, do all those things 
that may be called labors of preparation, for the 
incoming or housing of the stock before the day 
comes for them to go into their places for the win¬ 
ter. It is much easier to repair a floor or manger 
of the stable before the animals have come to their 
stalls. It may be that a shed will be needed and it 
should be built now. The same may be said of an 
ice house. Prepare early and prepare well for the 
severe months of the coming winter. 
Late Sown Kye for Spring Fodder. 
There are differences of opinion as to the value 
of late sown rye as a crop for early spring feed¬ 
ing. These differences are almost entirely due to 
the circumstances of soil and season. Should the 
soil be poor the rye crop, like any other, will be 
poor, and should the season close in with hard 
freezing soon after sowing, the plants will not have 
^rnade sufficient roots to save them from injury. 
If, on the other hand, the soil is rich and mellow, 
and the sowing is done so early that strong, well 
rooted plants may form, then a profitable crop 
may be expected. The writer has seen most satis¬ 
factory results obtained by plowing under a sod— 
previously well manured—in late autumn, and the 
ground sown to rye. In the spring this field yielded 
a heavy growth of fine green fodder, which was 
used to feed a flock of sheep and other small 
stock. After this pasturage was over the rye 
“stubble” was turned under with a heavy coat of I 
manure, and the field planted to corn. In this case 
the rye was what is termed a stolen crop, put in 
between the old meadow and the corn. Instead of 
the land lying idle from the time the grass was cut 
until plowed for corn, there had been an extra 
manuring, plowing, and a fodder crop. Some por¬ 
tion of the field was clay and the additional tillage 
had a good effect upon the mechanical conditions 
of the soil. The green crop thus produced came 
in at just that time in the spring when a supply 
of fodder of this kind is of special value—the pas¬ 
tures not having fully started and the dry stored 
food being limited in quantity and of high price. 
Kotos on Live Stock. 
The Horses of the farm should be called upon 
for hard work this month. Plowing and other 
field work is a steady pull upon horse-flesh through¬ 
out the month, and to get good work we must 
feed well. Many horses can not work on new 
grain (corn, oats or barley) unless it is thoroughly 
dried. It will get dry in time by ordinary expos¬ 
ure, but enough may be dried for daily use by 
artificial means, and often with the best results. 
Young stock and pigs may have nubbins and soft 
corn, but do not feed the work or road horses with 
such stuff. Take good care of old horses ; a horse 
sound at fifteen years is worth two colts, give him 
good feed and pasturage, and steady work on the 
farm. The younger horses may do on the road, but 
take care of the old servants for steady work. 
They will repay the care. Farm horses are not 
half groomed as a rule. There are no surer safe¬ 
guards against disease than regular feeding and 
watering, and thorough grooming. 
Cow r s.—There is an abundance of feed for milch 
cows this month on farms where roots form a 
prominent crop. The tops of beets, mangels, 
rutabagas and carrots, to say nothing of cabbages, 
are exceedingly well relished, and are excellent 
milk feed. This is one of the best months for 
cows to calve, because provision may be made for 
having so much good feed at little cost. Every 
where within a hundred miles of a large city, or 
within the proper “milk radius” of any town, 
milk is worth much more in winter than in sum¬ 
mer, and should be produced. 
Veals. —Fall calves rarely get the size that 
spring calves do, because they cannot have so 
much milk, but by using little milk, and that skim¬ 
med, after the second week, they will do very well 
on hay tea and boiled linseed-cake gruel, to which 
some milk is added. They must be gradually 
accustomed to this diet, but will thrive upon it 
and make excellent veal at six or eight weeks old. 
Sheep. —Ewes bred in October, “yean” in 
March—rather early, except upon farms which can 
make early lambs a specialty. Sheep make as good 
manure as any farm stock, and who ever has much 
wheat straw should consider what better use he 
can make of it than to buy up some cheap sheep 
if he can find them, and winter them chiefly on 
straw, with a very little hay, and corn enough to 
coat their ribs well before spring, when they can 
be turned off at “ cost and expenses,” with a line 
lot of manure for clear profit on the investment. 
Pigs for slaughter should be confined and not 
allowed to forage for a living. They will fatten 
rapidly on little food. Small potatoes boiled, with 
a little meal added, will push them forward so that 
advantage may be taken of the market m case 
prices advance, or so that they will be W'ell pro¬ 
tected by fat against cold snaps should they come 
suddenly. It is truly said that nubbins will go 
further in October than sound corn in November. 
Brood Sows should have the range of the or¬ 
chards, where the wind-falls and grubs will furnish 
a good part of their food, and warm snug shelters 
where they can lie together during storms .and 
keep one another warm. 
Poultry. —There is always a time early in No¬ 
vember, or before, when well fattened poultry will 
sell for much more than fowls of the same quality 
will at Christmas. In fact, if the weather during 
next month be raw and cold, pigs and poultry may 
be fed well and not only not gain at all in weight, 
but not sell for as much as they would bring now. 
After the holidays, prices begin to advance again. 
When poultry are once fat, to keep them so at 
little cost they must be kept warm, fed at least 
three times a day, and always have fresh water. 
Laying Fowls should have warm quarters, well 
lighted—supplied with dust boxes, by which the 
whole establishment may be made intolerably 
dusty in every corner—fed twice a day—soft feed 
with a little meat at 10 o’clock, and hard grain at 
dusk, with a good range, and plenty of pure water. 
Keeping' Grapes. 
In keeping grapes, the first essential is a grape 
that will keep. The varieties differ greatly in this 
respect, the one most cultivated, the Concord, being 
the poorest keeper. Catawba, Diana, Iona, and 
Isabella, are among the best keepers. These do 
not succeed everywhere, but in localities where 
they will do well, they are still among the most 
profitable. The generally popular Delaware keeps 
better than the Concord, but not soJong as those 
mentioned. To have grapes keep in the best con¬ 
dition, they must be carefully handled, as the 
broken skin of a single berry will cause decay to 
set in. The usual method is to pack the fruit in 
wooden boxes, bolding three or five pounds. 
These boxes are made at all the grape centers. 
While paste-board boxes will answer for grapes that 
are to be sold at once, wooden ones are required 
for those to be kept. To keep well, the fruit must 
be thoroughly ripe. An experienced eye will at 
once know by the manner in which the cluster 
hangs from the vine, if the fruit is ripe. The stalk 
by which the cluster is attached loses its stiffness, 
and the bunch hangs directly down. Handling 
the fruit removes the bloom, and injures its ap¬ 
pearance, hence the bunch should always be held 
by the stem. The implement stores have scissors 
which hold the cluster after it is cut, and all 
handling is avoided. The fruit as picked, is 
placed in shallow trays or boxes, these are 
conveyed to the fruit house, and stacked up in 
such a manner that the air will circulate among 
them. Large vineyards have special fruit houses, 
these are built like an ice-house, with double walls 
filled in with saw-dust, and a stove is provided to 
use in severe weather. In the absence of such a 
house, a roomiu the dwelling or in an out-building 
may be used. The object is to keep the tempera¬ 
ture uniform and as cool as may be, without freez¬ 
ing. There should be abundant ventilation, and 
the direct sunlight excluded. The grapes in these 
trays will “cure” in a few days, that is, the skin 
will become toughened and the stems less rigid. 
When cured, they may be packed in boxes, or they 
may be left in the trays until marketed. Some 
growers pack at once, as soon as the fruit is in 
proper condition, and keep it in the boxes until it 
is sent off. The boxes are opened at the bottom 
and the bunches laid in, taking care to select such 
clusters as will pack closely; they should be so full 
that some pressure will be required in nailing on 
the bottom. The label of the grower is placed upon 
the top of the box, either before or after packing. 
The care as to temperature already mentioned 
must be observed with the fruit after it is packed. 
Put up in this manner, many tons of grapes reach 
the markets just before the holidays. For grapes 
that are sold as soon as ripe, various kinds of 
paper or wooden packages are used, according to the 
preferences of the market to which they are sent. 
Treatment of ISuIbs. 
Spring bulbs should be planted as soon as they 
come from the dealers. The beds should be of a 
light, open, rich soil. The bulbs ought, as a general 
rule, to be put to a depth below the surface, equal 
to their own thickness. A good effect can be pro¬ 
duced, by purchasing assorted varieties, without 
regard to names, but fanciers will desire to have 
named sorts, and for these they must pay an addi¬ 
tional price. Bulbs of Crocuses and Snow : drop 
may be put here and there in clumps in the garden, 
and left without further attention. Old bulbs taken 
from the beds last summer, and those that flow.ered 
in pots, should be planted in the borders. Tender 
bulbs, Gladioluses, etc., must be taken up before 
the ground freezes, and stored in a cool place. 
Tuberoses that have not flowered, may be lifted 
and put in boxes or pots to be placed in a 
window or greenhouse, where they will bloom. 
A Protection from Frosts. 
A cold snap usually comes in early autumn, after 
which there are weeks of the finest days in the 
year. It therefore pays to take some pains to pro¬ 
tect the more tender plants during two or three 
frosty nights, that their bloom may be enjoyed 
afterwards. A light sheet, or even newspapers 
spread over beds of geraniums, coleus, etc.; will 
save them. A group of cannas may in this way be 
kept in its beauty, while, if left unprotected, the 
luxuriant growth is cut down by the frost, and soon 
becomes unsightly. Any one who has gone to all 
the care and toil of bringing a fine bed of tender 
plants to perfection, should certainly use every pre¬ 
caution to preserve the plants as long as possible. 
The Importance of lleelingnin. 
Heeling-in consists of burying the roots and 
parts of sfems of trees in the soil. It may be 
done in such a manner as to be an injury to the 
plants. If one is at a distance from the nursery, 
and intends to set an orchard in the spring, it is 
best to secure the trees in the fall, and heel them 
in, when they will be ready for setting so soon as 
the ground is ready in the spring. The nurserymen 
are less hurried in autumn, and will be more cer¬ 
tain to take the trees from the rows, and ship them 
in good shape, than during the rush of filling their 
orders in the spring. There will also be a larger 
