1884.] 
AMEEIOA]Nr AGEIOULTUEIST. 
28T 
Jarmer I know. 1 was not surprised to learn that 
ihe American Agriculturist was never in more pros¬ 
perous circumstances than at the present time. It 
is certainly a noble paper for everybody. 
Fine Action and Good Gaits in Horses. 
Good gaits and fine showy action in a horse add 
greatly to his value.. They are not altogether 
brought about by training, though this does a great 
deal. Many a well formed man, especially if he 
grew fast when a boy, and was iaughed at and felt 
awkward, goes through life with the style of a shy, 
shambling, bashful lad. Very likely he never stands 
erect, carries one shoulder higher than the other, 
his head on one side and even walks half sideways 
and does not know it. It is just so with horses. 
If a farmer’s team comes into the city trainer’s 
hands at four to six years old, even if dull, stupid, 
.and logy, they will wake up to business, and in 
two months even their breeder will not know them. 
They will hold their heads high, pick up their feet 
with life and put them down as if they were not 
afraid. Altogether there will be the style of life 
and training, as if they knew they were well trained 
.and were proud of the show. At seven or eight 
years old it is too late, they will be a plow' team to 
the end. This sort of style is all but essential for 
carriage and road horses, but another sort is 
needed for the particularly useful gaits of horses 
of all work, namely, the walk and the trot, both 
in carrryiug heavy loads and with very light ones. 
Ail the training in the world will not give a horse 
good legs, and with this wanting, the spirit and 
the sort of style which is developed by training 
and oats, counts in real work and service for very 
little. A horse needs both, and then there is some 
liope for him. With a good set of legs the trainer 
has the right foundation to build upon. It is quite 
a “point,” as they say “ on the street” to know 
good legs when you see them. It does not take 
an expert to tell if a set of legs look all right from 
the side, when the horse is either still or in action, 
but the real points of views to judge critically are 
directly in front or behind. We give three st 5 ’les 
of legs by which all may be classified, as they vary 
from the perfect form towards either extreme. 
No. 1 in each set represents the perfect pair of 
legs. The feet point directly forward, are round, 
well up at the heels, large, solid, and free from 
either grooves and ridges running up and down, or 
from irregularity in tlie lines of growth, which al¬ 
ways form tine parailei striae in a healthy hoof. It 
is a suspicious circumstance if these are filed oH 
and the hoof made smooth. The fact is, nothing 
is a surer index of previous good health than the 
looL If a horse has a fit of sickness the hoofs 
NSl NSS. N'3. 
Fig. 1.— GOOD AHD BAD FOEE-I.EGS. 
■cease growing, and when they begin again ■with, 
returning health they all show a ridge, so if from 
■any cause one foot is effected by fever, or a wound, 
it alone will show it almost certainly by increased 
or decreased growth, as the case may be. The 
joints are large, hard, bony, and free from meat or 
puffs. Below the hocks and knees the bone of the 
leg is flat, and of good size for the weight of the an¬ 
imal ; the cords are hard as bone, free from muscle, 
and the skin free from scars and drawn tightly over 
the whole. Avoid slender pasterns. The pastern 
T)ones and those forming the pedal joint should 
Tiave all the breadth and solidity possible. The 
muscular portion of the legs—^the fore arms and 
the thighs—should be large and even, and the 
muscles should stand out individually distinct and 
hard. The whole leg should be almost perfectly 
straight, that is perpendicular, as indicated by the 
lines drawn through No. 1 in each set. 
When the hoofs point out, the knees and liocks 
tend inward, as shown in No. 2 of each set, and 
when the hoofs point in the knees and hocks are 
thrown outward in a less obvious, but yet in an 
awkward way. This is shown in No. 3. With the 
idea clearly in his mind and a little observation, 
one will soon be able to recognize a good and also 
a bad set of legs on almost any style of horse. 
Fill up the Vacancies. 
Hills are sometimes missing in the corn-field, 
from poor seed, crows, cut-worms and other causes. 
It does not pay to leave these places vacant. If 
replanted, they may produce good fodder, even 
when too late for ears to form. Idle land will pro¬ 
duce a crop of weeds, w'hich, by going to seed, bring 
trouble for many succeeding years. It is well to 
replant with a smaller and quicker growing variety, 
that will yet have time to mature. The two sorts 
will not mix badly, because the periods for crossing 
come at different times. The appearance of acorn 
field is much improved by filling np the vacant 
hills. We have kn'own of replanting being done as 
late as July, and tbe labor rewarded with a fair 
crop of soft corn for the pigs, besides a heavy 
growth of excellent fodder. A considerable area 
where corn or some other crop has failed may 
sometimes be profitably sown to buckwheat. 
Feeding the Silk-worm. 
M. J. G. HAMMACK. 
There are three kinds of silk-worms: Annuals, 
Bivoltines, and Trivoltines. The Annuals produce 
but one brood a year, Bivoltines two broods, and 
Trivoltines three. After considerable experience 
we are satisfied, that tbe last two breeds cannot be 
raised as profitably as the pure Annuals. Annuals’ 
eggs will not hatch prematurely, but the hatching 
cannot be deferred for any length of time, after 
the trees are in leaf, except by using ice, in 
which case the vitality of the eggs is more or less 
injured. It is necessary, in any climate, to watch 
the advance of the mulberry tree in the spring. 
The following are some of the terms used in silk 
culture: grain is silk-worm eggs; the cocoonery 
is a house where the worms are raised ; moulting 
is the time at which the worms change their skins. 
Chrysalis is the form assumed by the worm inside 
the cocoon. Floss silk is loose silk that envelops 
the cocoon, and is carded and spun like cotton. 
The cocoon is the silken covering with which the 
worm surrounds itself before passing into the 
chrysalis state. Kaw silk is silk that is reeled 
from cocoons. The ages are periods between two 
moults; green-cocoons is a name frequently ap¬ 
plied to fresh or unehoked cocoons. Pierced co¬ 
coons are those that the moth is allowed to perfo¬ 
rate, and are sold for waste silk. Choked cocoons 
are those stifled, or have the chrysalis killed, by 
steam or in the hot sun. Litter is the accumulation 
where the worms lay, of dried and partly con¬ 
sumed leaves, and offal of the worms themselves. 
Gathering the Leaves. —If the trees are de¬ 
sired for standards, at two years old, they may be 
stripped of their leaves. The leaves must not be 
gathered before sunrise or after sunset, when dew 
or fog makes them damp. They should be gathered 
before nine o’clock in the morning for tlie day’s 
feed, and before seven o’clock in the evening for 
the morning’s feed. If leaves are dusty, they 
should be wiped with a dry cloth. In case of 
threatened rain, leaves may be gathered two days 
ahead, and kept in a cool place. If it should be¬ 
come a necessity to gather leaves in the rain, spread 
them out on the floor in the shade in an airy place, 
or dry them by sliaking in a sheet. Give to the 
young worms the best, tender leaves, after the sec¬ 
ond moult. After the last moult, give to tlie worms 
the thickest and best leaves the trees produce. 
Silk-worms should be fed during the day and 
night, from the hatching to the spinning time. 
Give them all they can eat, at regular hours. Worms 
matured in twenty-five or thirty days will produce 
more silk, and of a finer quality, than those fed 
forty days, and the short-lived worms are less liable 
to disease. Worms will never leave the feeding 
shelves if properly fed. The worms should receive 
light meals, first, at six iu the morning ; second, at 
eight; third, at ten; noon, two o’clock, four, six, 
eight, and ten. In very warm weather, an extra 
feed should be given at midnight. On cool days 
the worms will consume less food than in warm 
ones. The young silk-worms should have one 
single layer of chopped leaves for their meals, and 
if these become dry, feed again in half an hour. 
Raising Seeds. 
We are asked why we do not encourage people 
to raise their own seeds, instead of buying them 
every year. Seed-raising is an art, and requires 
more care than the average farmer can afford to 
give to it. Seedsmen have their seeds raised by 
men who make a business of it, who grow but one 
variety of a kind, and avoid all chance of “ mixing” 
or crossing. One who has a garden can hardly be 
persuaded to select ids first ripened tomatoes or 
Lima beaus for seed ; he wishes these for tlie table. 
Unless a vegetable can be kept up to its best condi¬ 
tion it will deteriorate. Take tomatoes for exam¬ 
ple ; the plants should be raised expressly for seed. 
As soon as they come into bearing, every plant that 
does not have fruit quite up to the best of its kind 
in form and productiveness, is to be pulled up, and 
all malformed fruits on those that are left, are cut 
away. Then only the earliest clusters are allowed 
to ripen, those which set late are cut off, and the 
whole strength of the plant directed to ripening the 
first fruit that is set. Take squashes for another 
example, and it is the same with melons, cucum¬ 
bers, and all of the family. Few who have gardens 
content themselves with a single variety of squash. 
There are few plants so likely to mix, through the 
agency of bees. We know of a case in which the 
Hubbard Squash had been grown in the same gar¬ 
den with other squashes for several years, and the 
seed was yearly saved and planted. At tlie time 
we saw the squashes, they were mostly yellow, 
and instead of the pointed end, so characteristic of 
the Hubbard, many of them had the broad, flat, 
blossom end belonging to other kinds ; indeed 
there was not a typical Hubbard in the lot. If 
seeds are to be raised, that should be tlie leading 
object for -which the plants are grown. It is poor 
economy to sow seeds of doubtful purity, in order 
to avoid a small outlay for those of good quality. 
Green-House and Window Plants. 
All repairs, painting, etc., should be done to the 
green-house in good season. If plants are kept in 
the green-house, give all needed shade and water¬ 
ing.Plants outside, whether from the green¬ 
house or the window-garden, should have proper 
care, shade the pots from the hot sun by placing- 
boards against tliem ; give water freely, repot, if an 
inspection of the ball of earth shows that they need 
it; turn the pots occasionally to break off any roots 
that have run through the hole in the bottom of 
the pot.Insects often do much mischief to 
plants in pots, and must be removed.Make cut¬ 
tings of plants of which a fresh stock is required. 
