290 
AMERICAN' AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
and 6 lbs. of cotton-seed meal. The change 
was made in order to prepare the animals 
for a ration of hay and meal. The weights, 
taken on the 22d, show, when compared 
with those of the two preceding weeks, that 
the change had, in the 7 days, injuriously 
affected all the animals except No. 2. This 
animal made a gain of 15 lbs., hut No. 1, 
gained only 5 lbs., No. 3, 10 lbs., No. 4, 7 lbs., 
and Nos. 5 and 6, each 20 lbs. From March 
22d to April 13th, each animal received daily 
25 lbs. of hay and 6 lbs. of cotton-seed meal. 
The weights of the animals, on March 22d, 
were as follows: No. 1, 1,290 lbs., No. 2, 
1,262 lbs., No. 3, 1.150 lbs., No. 4, 917 lbs., 
No. 5, 920 lbs., No. 6, 845 lbs. The same 
animals, on April 13th, weighed respectively, 
1,280 lbs., 1,237 lbs., 1,155 lbs., 947 lbs., 940 
lbs., and 835 lbs. It appears, therefore, that 
in the 19 days, No. 1 lost 10 lbs., No. 2, 25 
lbs., and No. 6, 10 lbs., and that No. 4 gained 
30 lbs., and No. 5, 20 lbs., and No. 3, 5 lbs. 
Compared with the rapid gains of the pre¬ 
ceding periods, these figures are significant. 
The results of these several experiments, 
carefully conducted and long continued, and 
agreeing so closely with those of last year, 
are very favorable to ensilage, and show that 
when mixed with nitrogenous matter, two 
pounds of it are fully equal in feeding value 
to one pound of hay. I should perhaps state 
here that samples of this ensilage, tested in 
our laboratory by Prof. Brown, gave 78.81°/o 
of water. Ensilage should not be condemned 
on purely theoretical grounds, for these ex¬ 
periments, while they do not support the 
extravagant claims of those who hold that 
the process is one that bids fair to revolu¬ 
tionize the agricultural world, and that its 
product is an all-sufficient and perfect food, 
certainly show that it is one well deserving 
of many further trials by practical farmers. 
Silk Manufacture in the United States. 
Silk culture in this country was almost 
strangled in its infancy, by the wild and un¬ 
warranted speculation in a variety of the 
Mulberry. Just now there is an awakening 
interest in the subject in some places—though 
the efforts are as yet confined to a small 
number of persons. There is no doubt that 
we have the proper soils and climates in some 
parts of our wide territory, which embraces 
almost every variety. As with Tea-culture, 
the question will very much depend upon the 
price of labor. In Italy and France, where a 
large portion of the raw material for silk— 
the cocoon—is produced, the wages paid to 
agricultural laborers range as follows:— 
Daily Wages in France. in Italy. 
Men without board and lodging.52% cts. 58% cts. 
Men with board and lodging.22% “ 30 
Women without board and lodging..18% “ 26 “ 
Women with board and lodging. 10% “ 
In 1874 we saw, in Naples, many women 
carrying earth in baskets from a cellar being 
excavated for a large hotel, whose daily 
wages, without board or lodging, were from 
90 centimes to 1 lire a day in paper money, 
or 15 to 17 cents a day. But Italy is now 
advancing rapidly in prosperity, and the 
wages of all classes are increasing. 
It will surprise most people who have not 
looked into the subject, to learn how greatly 
the manufacture of silk has increased in this 
country within a very few years. In 1850 
the total manufactures of silk in the United 
States amounted to less than two million 
dollars ($1,809,476); in 1860 they rose to only 
$6.607,771; in 1870, to a little over twelve 
millions ; while the census of 1880 reports over 
thirty-four million dollars ($34,519,723), with 
31,000 workers, who received over $9,000,000 
in wages. This amounted to over 40 per 
cent of the $85,000,000 worth of the 
home-produced and imported silk con¬ 
sumed in this country. Paterson, N. J., 
alone stands credited with $13,306,672 of silk 
manufactures, and employed 12,599 persons 
in this industry, who received $4,066,990 in 
wages. It is reported that about 15,000 per¬ 
sons are now thus employed there. 
To produce the thirty-four and a half 
million dollars worth of manufactured silk, 
we imported a little over twelve million dol¬ 
lars worth of raw silk, all of which, it is 
claimed by the enthusiastic promoters of silk 
culture, may soon be grown here, despite the 
difference in wages. This is the present most 
interesting practical question in production. 
What Articles of Silk are made in this 
country is given in the following table of the 
values of each variety of fabric, etc., in 1880. 
Ribbons.$6,023,100 
Machine Twist. 6,007,775 
Dress Goods. 4,950,275 
Handkerchiefs. 3,881,590 
Cord, tassels, passementerie (gimp, etc.), and mil¬ 
linery trimmings. 1,866.575 
Upholstery and military trimmings. 1,392,355 
Satins... 1,101,875 
Braids and Bindings. 999,685 
Millinery Silks. 891,955 
Sewing Silk. 776,120 
Broad Goods not named above. 627,595 
Tie Silk9 and scarfs. 606,675 
Mixed Goods and silk values therein. 510,763 
Silk Laces. 437,000 
Floss Silk. 225,025 
Undertakers, Hatters, and fur trimmings. 59,805 
Coach Laces and carriage trimmings. 37,510 
$31,510,843 
Wooden Stable Floor. 
BT L. D. SNOOK. TATES CO., N. T. 
It is not my purpose to discuss the advan¬ 
tage or disadvantage of a wooden floor for a 
horse stable, but to give a few hints on con¬ 
structing the same. Elm makes an excellent. 
and durable stable floor; the fiber of the wood 
is tough and yielding. The planks should 
be secured in position by wooden pins, as 
they are constantly liable to waip. Any of 
the soft oaks makes a good floor; the hard, 
tough varieties are unyielding, and until they 
Fig. 1.—MANNER OF LAYING A STABLE FLOOR. 
have been in use several months, horses are 
liable to slip and injure themselves in getting 
up. Both pine and hemlock make good floors, 
being soft and yielding, but they are not as 
durable as many other woods. Planks for a 
stable floor should be two and a half inches 
in thickness, and not laid until quite thor¬ 
oughly seasoned, and then always put down 
lengthwise of the stall, and upon another 
floor laid crosswise, as shown at b, b, b, fig. 1. 
The planks of this floor, or cross floor, should 
be laid one inch apart, that they may the 
Fig. 2.—A SLATTED STABLE FLOOR. 
more readily dry off, and offer a better ven¬ 
tilation to the floor above. Unless the upper 
floor is of material liable to warp, it should 
not be nailed or pinned, but made as close- 
fitting as possible. It is not profitable or 
necessary to have the stall planks more than 
11 1 'a feet in length, or extend farther back 
than the stall partition, as shown at e, e. 
Fig. 3.—A CLEANER FOR SLATTED FLOOR. 
This plan leaves a wide smooth walk behind 
the stalls at k, so necessary for ease and ra¬ 
pidity in cleaning the manure from the stable. 
Some horse-keepers prefer a slatted floor, 
similar to that shown in fig. 2. Material of 
the proper length, 4 inches wide and 2 inches 
thick, is set upon edge, as at h, with a strip a / 4 
inch thick and l‘/ 2 inch wide placed between 
the slats, the whole made to fit the stall as 
closely as possible. By this method it is quite 
impossible for horses to become so dirty as 
when lying upon a common plank floor, as 
the space between the slats forms a most 
admirable channel for carrying off the urine. 
A few days’ constant use somewhat clogs 
the passages, but they are readily opened by 
using a home-made cleaner, like that shown 
in fig. 3. Stable floors should have at least 
one inch descent in ten feet, and many make 
the descent three and even four inches in 
the same distance, but this is unnecessary. 
All stabled animals should stand upon floors as 
nearly level as is consistent with cleanliness. 
Jersey Cattle.— For family cows, and 
butter makers, the Jerseys stand high among 
intelligent dairymen. They are working their 
way into the rural districts, and Jersey grades 
are now quite common in all the older States, 
and the more numerous in the better dairy 
regions. The true policy in every butter 
making district is to propagate the stock from 
a registered bull of good butter pedigree. 
An investment of one to three hundred dol¬ 
lars, is not beyond the means of any thrifty 
farmer, or of a farmer’s club, in any com¬ 
munity. The fifty or more calves that such 
a bull would sire in a season, would soon 
affect the butter production, and the prices, 
and in many ways stimulate agricultural im¬ 
provement. Half and three-quarter Jersey 
grades, often give a rich milk, and in larger 
quantity, than the registered animals. If 
after “ gilt-edged” butter, or a good family 
cow,a Jersey is pretty sure to give satisfaction. 
