500 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[December, 
Keeping One Horse—Prizes Offered. 
There are vastly more persons who own and keep a 
Single horse than there are those who have a larger num¬ 
ber. When there is Dut one horse, it is most frequently 
kept and cared for by the owner. The horse may be 
merely for the use of the family; it may be for the cul¬ 
tivation of a garden or small farm; it may be the means 
by which a physician visits his patients, or that by which 
the grocer or other tradesman serves his customers—in 
all these and a great number of other cases, the animal 
is more likely than not to be in the care of one who has 
had no previous experience with a horse—indeed, knows 
nothing about the matter, beyond the fact that the ani¬ 
mal must eat, but when it “gets oft' its feed,” or any of 
the troubles to which horse-flesh is subject come to his 
animal is utterly at loss as to what should be done. 
In view of the fact that plain and practical directions 
for the proper treatment of the horse would be useful, 
the publishers of the American Agriculturist offer 
Prizes for Essays on Keeping 1 One Horse. 
The Essay need not treat upon the kinds of horses, or 
the buying of a horse, but assuming that the animal is 
already in possession, it should cover the whole matter 
of keeping. This includes proper stabling; food, its 
kinds, how to buy, store and feed; grooming, and what¬ 
ever relates to the care of the exterior of the horse, in¬ 
cluding shoeing. The Essay should also recognize and 
show how to avoid, as well as how to treat, the commoner 
ailments of the horse, such as coughs, worms, colic, etc. 
Also, the more frequent external troubles, such as grease 
or soratches, galls of saddle or collar; the hoof difficulties 
from bad shoeing—in fact,whatever may be properly treat¬ 
ed by the owner, without calling in a veterinary surgeon. 
The scope and object of the Essay may be indicated 
thus: Given a young and healthy horse in the hands of a 
fairly intelligent owner, how is that owner to so keep 
and treat the horse, in order that it may continue to give 
him the longest term of useful service at the least ex¬ 
pense. The Essays are to be legibly written on one 
side of the paper only, in black or dark ink (not in red 
or very pale blue ink, or in pencil), and 6hould not ex¬ 
ceed 6,000 words, which is equal to about two pages of 
the American Agriculturist in this type). Sketches for 
engravings may be sent, if it is desirable to illustrate 
the stable, or any other points in the Essay. 
Cash Prizes. 
For the Best Essay.$50 00 
For the Second Best Essay. 25 00 
For the Third Best Essay. 15 00 
The Essays to be sent to the Editors of the American 
Agriculturist on or before February 1,1881, in a sealed 
envelope (not a roll), with a motto or assumed name, and 
an accompanying envelope addressed with the motto or 
assumed name, and containing the real name and address 
of the writer. The prizes will be awarded by a com¬ 
mittee of competent and impartial judges. All Essays 
submitted for these prizes to become the property of the 
American Agriculturist. 
The Norwegian “Ski,” or Snow-Shoe. 
to fit the foot. It is fastened to the edge of the shoe 
at each side with screws; it is better to have a piece 
of tin, with holes punched for the screws, to go over 
the ends of the strap, as this will prevent the leather 
from tearing away from the screws. To make the 
bend at the toe shown in figure 1, scores are cut 
with a sharp-pointed knife, as shown at c, figure 2. 
In order to make the shoe run straight, a groove is 
made the whole length of the shoe upon the under 
side, as shown in section at figure 3. 
V/////// MM When the shoe is ready to bend, it is 
pjg g smeared with grease on both sides of 
the part to he bent, and held to the 
fire, and made very hot; they are then brought to 
the proper shape by bending upon a log of the 
proper size, and bound or otherwise fastened in 
that position for 24 hours. Our correspondent says 
that in old times these shoes were worn in his 
country even by the soldiers, who had the right one 
made about two feet shorter than the left, to allow 
of making short, quick turns. He says that while 
beginners may meet with falls, a little practice will 
make it easy to use them, and that they will be 
found greatly superior to the Indian snow-shoes, 
and thinks that the boys will find great fun in slid¬ 
ing down hill, and over snow-drifts, in a manner 
that would not be possible with the others. The 
Norwegian name for these is “ Ski,” and we agree 
with him that to distinguish them from other 
snow-shoes, the same name would be best here. 
Clean Grass Land. 
The great majority of meadows, in the older 
States, are more or less foul with “plants out of 
place,” yarrow, white-weed, thistles, John’s-wort, 
dock, and other unclean herbage. Next after clean 
tillage, the remedy for these unclean fields is pure 
grass seed. Designed adulterations in grass seed 
are probably rare, yet most of the seed sold in our 
large markets is not entirely clean. Some of it is 
very foul, and inflicts great damage upon the far¬ 
mers who purchase it. It adds to the cost of every 
crop cultivated upon the ground where it is sown 
for many years afterward. We are glad to notice, 
in our visits among farmers this present season, that 
they are taking the remedy for this nuisance into 
their own hands, and are growing their own seed. 
However ready a man may be to send foul seed to 
market, he is not likely to cheat himself, in grow¬ 
ing it for his own use. It is not a very difficult 
thing to clean the half-acre patch, or less, reserved 
for seed, of all foreign plants, so that the farmer 
may know that he has pure timothy, red top, or clo¬ 
ver seed for his own use. He also has the satisfac¬ 
tion of knowing that the seed is of the previous 
year’s growth, and is very sure to spring up under 
favorable conditions. The complaint of foul seed 
One of our subscribers, “M. O. E.,” a Norwegian 
by birth, now living at Norwegian Grove, Minn., 
sends sketches and a description of the snow-shoes 
in use in Norway, which are quite unlike those 
Di 
Fig. 1.— SIDE VIEW OF THE NORWEGIAN SNOW-SHOE. 
made by our northern Indians, and copied by the 
Canadians and others. They are made of straight¬ 
grained Ash, or Oak, about 1 of an inch thick un¬ 
der the foot, and taper to I of an inch behind, and 
I of an inch at front. The shoe is given in side 
view in figure 1, and figure 2 shows the shoe as 
is very general, and the proofs of its use, in past 
years, are abundant on the great majority of farms. 
It is a rare exception to find a farmer who is thor¬ 
oughly conscientious in keeping a clean farm, and 
in raising clean seed for 
market. Wholesale deal¬ 
ers have the means of de¬ 
tecting foul seed, and of 
keeping them out of the 
Cb 
l 
Fig. 2.— THE SNOW-SHOE AS SEEN FROM ABOVE. 
looked at from above. The length is 9 feet, and 
the width is 2s inches at the heel, and enlarged to 
31 inches at the point, where the toe turns up. A 
small block, a, in both engravings, an inch wide 
and half an inch high, is fastened to the shoe by 
two screws. This is for the heel to rest against, 
and to keep the foot from slipping back. At 6 is a 
strap of strong leather, to hold the foot, and should 
be of a proper length and distance from the block 
market, but there is a lack of conscience in trade, 
as well as upon the farm, and much hay seed, 
mixed with the seeds of weeds, is sold every year. 
In the present state of the market it is altogether 
safest, and cheapest, for the farmer to raise his 
own grass seed. He is sure then to begin right in 
stocking his grass land. 
C If he will take a little 
-time, every season, to pull 
every scattering weed that 
he may find in his mea¬ 
dows, before, and after 
mowing, he will he sure to have absolutely clean 
grass land, which is as profitable as it is beautiful. 
To Wasla Flannels without Shrinking. 
—First have soft water for the whole process, made 
so artificially if necessary, and next have good 
soap, or that which does not contain rosin. Our 
best soaps are safe for this purpose. You may 
wash and rinse entirely in cold water if you 
choose, but if you wash in warm water you must 
not rinse in cold. It is decidedly best to use 
only warm water all through, the rinsing water 
warmer than the suds, if there is any difference. 
It is best to make a good, strong, clean suds (that 
is, don’t wash the nice white flannels in a dirty 
suds with other clothes that are to be boiled), and 
put the flannels in it, instead of rubbing soap into 
the cloth. Hand rubbing tends to full and shrink 
flannel, as it mats and interlaces the delicate fibres. 
A Simple Portable Fence. 
There are many places on the farm, and especial¬ 
ly about the barns, where a few lengths of portable 
Fig. 1.— FORM OF SINGLE HURDLE. 
fence are a great convenience. It may be that an 
inclosure is needed for some sheep, or a pen is re¬ 
quired for a calf, etc. In such cases a hurdle fence 
of some kind, one that may be cheaply and easily 
made, and that, when not in use, can be packed 
away in small compass, is an important part of the 
outfit of a farm. 
The accompanying 
engravings show a 
simple fence of 
this kind. Figure 
1 gives the form of 
a single hurdle, or 
length, made of 
four strips of iach 
board, twelve feet 
long,and of a width 
depending upon 
the purpose for which it is to be employed; a fence 
for small stock will need wider boards than for 
turning large animals. The perpendicular pieces 
are three in number, the outer ones set far enough 
back from the ends to allow the supporting posts, 
fig. 2, to take the position shown in figure 3. 
The next to the upper strip rests in the crotch of 
Fig. 3.— THE FENCE COMPLETE. 
the posts, while the bottom strip fits into a notch 
in the cross-piece, near the feet of the posts, thus 
making the fence firm and secure. The hurdles 
and supports, with the manner of setting up the 
fence, can be understood from the engravings. 
“ Eurotas’ ” Wonderful Butter Hecord, 
We have no authoritative system of testing the 
butter or milk yield of cows. If a horse is vaunted 
as trotting in less than “ 2:20 ” the claim is disre¬ 
garded unless it has been done “in public.” He 
has no record unless a public one. We may be¬ 
lieve the statement or not, according to our know¬ 
ledge of “ the man who held a watch on him.” 
With cows it is different. They have, and at pre¬ 
sent can have, no public record. The two butter 
cows which are above all others famous in this 
country really live public lives—everybody inter¬ 
ested knows or may know almost everything about 
them. As trials go along they are reported in the 
papers, the butter is shown and seen, and the cows 
have numerous visitors. Prying and inquisitive 
