AMERICAN AG-PJCULTURIST. 
[September, 
348 
it is placed in the evaporator, where the process 
of evaporation and skimming would take place. 
Picking Fruit. 
I was in one of the principal seed stores in New 
York a few days ago, when a buyer came in to in¬ 
quire about fruit pickers and baskets. He want¬ 
ed, particularly, 
baskets to take 
into the trees to 
pick apples. I 
asked if he did 
not pick into 
bags, and found 
neither he nor 
the seedsman 
had ever heard 
of such a thing. 
I think it would 
be quite worth 
while for you to 
illustrate the 
method of pick¬ 
ing by a cut sim¬ 
ilar to the one in 
Thomas’s “ Fruit 
Culturist.”—[We 
reproduce in fig¬ 
ure 6 the cut re¬ 
ferred to by the 
writer — Eds.]— 
We tie a small 
apple into one 
corner of a grain 
bag, selecting a rather large-mouthed bag ; then 
tie this corner to one edge of its mouth, by means 
of the bag string, taking in so much of the bag 
that the cord will not cut the shoulder when one’s 
head is put through, and the bag hung from one 
shoulder, mouth in front. With this, the picker 
has both hands free, and can climb about in the 
tree as much as he pleases. When he has picked 
half a bushel or so, he will begin to find the load 
burdensome. He empties the bag into the barrel 
without bruising the fruit by lowering the bag into 
the barrel, and then gently drawing up on one side, 
letting the apples roll out, as shown in figure 7. 
Fig. 6.—PICKING WITH A BAG. 
How Rid the Groundof Wild Mustard. 
—The Wild Mustard, Charlock, Brassica (formerly 
Sinapis) arvensis, is one of the weeds imported from 
Europe, and is troublesome in the grain fields of 
some parts of this country. The seeds retain their 
vitality for so long a time, and are produced in 
such abundance, that when once in the ground it 
is a hard matter to eradicate this pest. As the 
Mustard plant is an annual, and must come from 
the seed each year, it is evident that if the plants 
are not allowed to go to seed, the eradication must 
be effected in 
time. The cere¬ 
als are the crops 
that offer the best 
opportunity for 
the development 
of the Mustard, 
and when tne 
ground is badly 
infested, to pull 
out the plants is 
a great deal of 
work. In such 
case, it would be 
best to grow 
some crop that 
will allow the 
ground to be fre¬ 
quently cultivat¬ 
ed. Instead of 
sowing barley, 
plant the ground 
to corn, even if 
it was in corn the year before, and thorough¬ 
ly till the ground in the season as late as pos¬ 
sible. This will allow the Mustard seed to ger¬ 
minate, but not give the plants time to produce 
seed. After the corn is harvested, the ground 
should be plowed again, and left until spring, 
Fig. 7.— EMPTYING THE BAG, 
when a crop of roots, beans, or potatoes should be 
put in. The beans and early potatoes will be off in 
time for winter wheat, and the ground is then 
seeded down to grass. With this method of thor¬ 
ough culture for two or three years, the weed can 
be thoroughly removed from the ground. Seed- 
grain brought from some other locality, should 
be examined for Mustard or any other foul seed. 
Dome-shaped, Concrete Spring-house. 
-O- 
We were so much struck with the practical char¬ 
acter of a novel plan for a spring milk-house, which 
a friend proposes to erect, that we requested him 
to furnish the sketches of the same here given. 
Figure 1 is a view of the building. The inside 
diameter is 10 feet. It is 8 feet high. The walls 
Fig. 1.— FRONT VIEW OF SPRING HOUSE. 
are 18 inches thick at the base, and a foot at the 
top, and to be made of concrete; that is, cement- 
mortar— one-third cement, two-thirds sand—in 
which as many stone chips from a quarry are placed 
as can be completely bedded in, submerged , so to 
speak, in the mortar. This should be handled 
when fresh-mixed, and as liquid as possible, and 
and yet set solid. There will be a complete dome, 
built of hemlock boards ; the concrete will be laid 
upon that, and it is proposed to have it quite 
rough on the outside, 60 that vines will cling to 
and cover it. The door will be a very strong and 
tight one, horizontally and diagonally boarded, of 
matched pine, fastened throughout with clinch- 
nails. Ventilating doors, opening outwards, are 
shown in the front, and this opening will be pro¬ 
tected on the inside with wire cloth. The building 
is lighted by a circular plate of rough glass, such 
as is used in floors under sky-lights, fully half an 
inch thick, and two feet in diameter. Possibly a 
less diameter will answer for this purpose. 
Figure 2 is the ground plan. In this, B is the 
door, entering at which we come upon the cement 
floor, F, which is half surrounded by the pool 
against the wall opposite the door, which opens 
towards the north. The pool is designated by W 
in the plan, figure 2. The spring is supposed to 
rise through its pebbly bed at S, and there is a par¬ 
tition at A, over which the water flows, and which 
consequently separates the pool into fresh water, 
and that less directly from the fountain head, with 
probably a difference of one degree in the temper¬ 
ature. The temperature of the spring is about 50° 
in winter, rising several degrees in the hottest 
weather, in its present unprotected condition. It 
is hoped that when the spring-house is built, a 
temperature of 52°, at the highest, will be secured. 
The pool will have a raised rim six inches wide, 
and three or four inches high, to prevent water 
splashing out upon the floor, at about the level of 
which the water is intended to stand. In this pool 
the milk will be placed in “ coolers ” in the coldest 
part. Jars and stone pots of butter may be placed 
in the pool nearer the outlet. The temperature 
of the room will probably not fall below 45° in 
winter, nor rise above 60° in summer. During the 
summer, therefore, the cream will ripen for churn¬ 
ing in the spring house, but in cold weather it will 
have to be brought to the house before churning. 
Figure 3 is a section on the line A ... B, which is 
through the doorway. This shows the depth of the 
pool; the foundations, also laid in cement, so as to 
exclude surface water entirely; the window in the 
top, the form of the entrance, etc. The outflow of 
water takes place at the part of the pool farthest from 
the spring. At this place, outside of the building, 
a cement trough is planned, so that animals may 
drink, and where the rinsing and washing of some 
of the utensils may be done. A channel will sur¬ 
round the floor, for conducting away any water 
that may be spilled upon it. The ventilation in the 
door, coming, as it does, very near to the highest 
part of the dome, which is 7 feet high inside, is 
supposed to be abundant. The light may be too 
great on sunny days, in which case a screen on the 
outside will keep out both light and heat. Light 
is, however, no disadvantage in a dairy if unaccom¬ 
panied by heat and flies. As to warmth—in case it 
should seem best to use such a spring-house in 
winter to work the butter in, it would be necessary 
to heat it. This could easily he done by using a 
Fig. 3. — SECTION AD VIEW OF SPRING HOUSE. 
charcoal stove from which no odor would come. 
The pipe should lead directly up and out through 
a 21-inch hole. A 2-inch pipe would undoubtedly 
draw well, and take off all the gases of combustion, 
which, from their being odorless, are dangerous if 
not carried away. Sufficient warmth to make the 
room comfortable would not affect the temperature 
of the pool perceptibly, unless very long contin¬ 
ued. Should the size strike any one as needlessly 
large and expensive, it may be reduced, say, eight 
feet inside diameter and six feet high, or six in di¬ 
ameter, and of proportionate hight—the pool 
being in this case a good deal contracted in 
size, and the floor lowered to secure head-room. 
Milking TTtiree Times a Day.—This matter 
has been discussed in our columns in former years, 
though but little has been said on the subject of 
late. The following, from one of the Cow Essays 
which will appear in the book, comprising the Prize 
Essays and others, gives the views of “ Spencer” on 
the propriety of milking three times a day:— 
“ During the heat of summer, the cow should be 
milked three times a day, at regular intervals— 
about five o’clock in the morning, one in the after¬ 
noon, and nine in the evening. The quantity of 
milk and butter is considerably increased, and the 
quality improved, by this practice. The milk is 
injured by remaining in the udder through the heat 
of the day, and the cow is made uncomfortable, 
which, of necessity, diminishes her usefulness. 
When cows are milked but twice a day in hot 
weather, the udder becomes too much heated and 
feverish, and the milk is in a similar condition— 
the cream seems to be melted, the milk soon be¬ 
comes sour, the cream does not rise well, and the 
butter is soft and oily. These difficulties, almost 
