1884 .] 
AMEEICAN' AGRIOULTUEIST. 
539 
, method of repairing a washed-out bank is shown 
in figure 2. Here piles are driven in a slanting 
direction, as at a; these are supported by others, 
driven in the opposite direction (6), and the two 
rendered firm by short pieces {c), nailed across be¬ 
tween the two. Planks are laid close together on 
this frame-work, and securely nailed. Earth is 
filled in behind and firmly packed. I’he banks 
Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
Care of the Banks of Streams. 
While it is very desirable to have a stream of 
water upon some part of the farm, the advantages 
attending it are sometimes more than offset by the 
damage resulting from a freshet. A farmer of our 
acquaintance had a small stream or brook cross¬ 
ing a portion of his farm in a rather tortuous 
course. As this was 
visible from the road, 
the irregular ways of 
the stream were not 
in accordance with his 
ideas of neatness and 
regularity, and he at 
considerable expense 
had the course of the 
stream straightened, 
and the water was 
made to flow between 
straight banks, like a 
ditch. The stream, 
though it had occa¬ 
sionally overflowed, 
had given no particu¬ 
lar trouble, but after 
its course was altered, 
during freshets, and at 
every time of high 
water, the bank was 
worn away in places, 
and repairs were often 
required. This be¬ 
came of such frequent 
occurrence, that the 
farmer after a while 
abandoned the at¬ 
tempt to make the 
water flow in a straight 
course, and being left 
to itself, the stieam 
resumed almost its 
original crookedness. 
The washing of the 
banks of a stream de¬ 
pends in part upon 
the nature of the soil, 
and in part upon ob¬ 
structions in the stream, which direct the water 
against a particular portion of the bank, and soon 
wear it away. Stones, stumps, and all other ob¬ 
stacles to the free and even flow of the water 
should be removed. Places in the banks, that have 
a tendency to wash, may be strengthened by plant¬ 
ing willows, the fine roots of which permeate the 
soil for a great distance, and aid in preventing 
washing. The White, or the Golden Willow, will 
answer to plant; they should not be allowed to 
grow up as trees, but be cut annually like osiers. 
When the bank of a stream has been broken away, 
the damage should be repaired as soon as the water 
subsides. The method of doing this will depend 
upon the materials at hand. One plan is, to drive 
a row of piles or stout posts, about nine inches 
apart along the break, and two to three feet into 
the soil. These are strengthened by nailing a string- 
Fig. 1.— EEPATKING BIVER BANK WITH STONE. 
piece to the posts near their tops, and another be¬ 
low. Brush is laid in behind the piles, earth is 
placed on the brush, and well trodden down, and 
the surface of the bank sodded. If stones are 
abundant, they may be used in repairing the 
injured bank. Figure 1 shows the manner in 
which they are laid, and the method of strengthen¬ 
ing the wall by means of piles and timbe:-. Another 
should be turfed, as this serves as a protection when 
the water rises, and also improves their appearance. 
Litter Swine Lightly. 
There is but little danger of horses, cattle, and 
sheep being given too much litter; but where 
swine have a shelter that wards off winds and 
rain, and where the hogs are allowed to herd 
together, they require very little litter. Giving 
them too much is a common error, and is the 
source of nearly all the bronchial and pulmonary 
diseases which affect hogs in the late winter and 
early spring. The body of the hog is of such a 
nature, and these animals lie so close together, that 
if they have for litter a poor conductor of heat, 
they become overheated in the shelter and chilled 
when they come outside. But the liquid excrement 
of swine is too valuable to be lost, and they should 
be supplied with dry earth. This affords a con¬ 
venient means of saving both solid and liquid ex¬ 
crement, and does not lead to disease. When hogs 
rapidly foul their bed, the litter should be re¬ 
moved each morning and a new quantity supplied. 
To be profitable, the litter must be properly 
composted. Build a four-square pen of poles in 
any convenient situation, and place a roof over it 
that will effectually ward off the rain. Into this 
pen throw the litter and manure, being careful to 
keep the mass level or lowest in the middle. 
There is no drainage from the pen, as there is a 
roof over it. Use enough litter to hold all the 
urine ; it rots well, rarely requiring forking-over 
before using. It is, however, easy to build another 
pen at one side, and throw the compost from one 
to the other. Frequently fork over the surface, ' 
going as deep as possible, scatter shelled corn 
over it and turn in the hogs, being careful to turn 
them out as soon as they have done rooting. If 
the hogs do not go deep enough, make holes with 
a sharpened stick, and fill them with shelled corn. 
An enterprising hog will go to the bottom. J.M.S. 
Does it Pay to Grind and Cook Grain ? 
No general answer can be given to this ques¬ 
tion. For man it undoubtedly pays. Most of us 
tbink we have more 
brains than stomach. 
We find, or think we 
find, bread more di¬ 
gestible than raw 
wheat, and conse¬ 
quently more nutri¬ 
tious. For young ani¬ 
mals, we believe it 
frequently pays to 
grind or cook grain. 
We want something 
that will in part take 
the place of milk. It 
is not an easy thing 
to find a substitute for 
milk. Oat-meal gruel, 
or corn-meal gruel, 
with a little fat in it, 
we have found excel¬ 
lent for young pigs. 
Milk would be better, 
but we are often short 
of milk. For sheep 
it seldom, if ever, pays 
to grind grain. Beets 
and cabbages it does 
not pay to cook ; 
cows, sheep and pigs 
will eat all you can 
spare them, raw. We 
have known turnips 
cooked for pigs and 
mixed with meal; it 
is doubtful if it pays 
to thus prepare tur¬ 
nips. Potatoes, con¬ 
tain much starch, 
and can be cooked 
to great advantage. 
When grain is very high in price, it pays far bet¬ 
ter to grind and cook it, than when it is low in 
price. When sixty pounds of good, white winter 
wheat will only buy sixty pounds of so-called corn- 
meal, it does not pay to draw the wheat to 
the miller, and bring back the corn-meal to 
feed to pigs, cattle, and horses. If a farmer at¬ 
tends to the feeding himself, he can give whole 
corn, oats, rye, barley, and wheat to his pigs, cows, 
sheep, and horses, in such a way that little will be 
voided whole, or undigested. Grinding and mixing 
the meal with cut or chaffed hay, straw, or corn- 
fodder, may be more economical in the hands of 
the average farmer than feeding whole grain. But 
then, meal cooked or uncooked, can be fed in 
such a careless way, that a large percentage of it 
will pass through the animal in an undigested form. 
With proper conveniences,' we believe soaking 
grain for twelve, twenty-four, or thirty-six hours, 
in cold or warm water until it is soft—but not 
sour—always pays well, even for feeding sheep. 
To say the least, opinions differ as to the im¬ 
portance of cooking fodder for the live stock. 
