308 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
AMERICAN FARM SCENES- SUMMER- From an 
(.Engraved for the American Agriculturist.) 
hire to cause partial fermentation and conse¬ 
quent heating of the mass. The injury result¬ 
ing from this process, will of course depend upon 
the extent of the fermentation. If violent, the 
whole substance is disorganized, and rendered 
entirely worthless for any purpose but manure. 
If there be hut slight chemical change, enough 
decay may follow to fill the mow with dust from 
the rotted particles and the mold engendered, 
and such hay will be prejudicial to the health 
of stock. Its effects are particularly noticed 
on horses, and when it must be used, careful 
feeders will see that it is first cut and wet, and 
if practicable mixed with ground stuff. A plan 
to remedy the difficulty, partially, at least, is sug¬ 
gested by a correspondent of the American 
Agriculturist , at Mount Union, Pa., as follows: 
First—Take three pieces of board, three inch¬ 
es broad, and in length the liiglit of the mow; 
nail them together as if for a square box, making 
the fourth side with slats about two feet apart,and 
set these ducts upright at one side of the mow, 
at intervals of six or eight feet. Second—Take 
two pieces of board three inches broad, and use 
shits as above on two sides, making a square 
tube with two sides open; the length to be the 
width of the mow. Connect these horizontal 
ducts with the upright ories, by means of a loop 
of hoop iron, so that the horizontal ducts may 
he raised or lowered at will. When the mow is 
empty, these last ducts may all be raised to the 
top of the bay-way, and when filling at harvest, 
they can be laid in at any distance required; 
about six to eight feet apart seems best. This 
will secure a circulation of air through the mow, 
tdi'.d carrv off much of the remaining moisture 
U - 
The Harvest Time. 
The scene represented above, will be enacted 
on thousands of farms during this harvest month 
of July. The seed sown in hope, watered with 
the sweat of the husbandman, kindly cared for 
by the Hand that spread the snow covering, 
sent the early rain, and withheld not the quick¬ 
ening sunshine,now yields its precious increase— 
some thirty, some sixty, some an hundred fold. 
A wonderful history is written on every field of 
waving grain. Here are raised millions of struc¬ 
tures such as no art can equal, stored with the 
elements of life for man. The root, the leaf, the 
stalk, the bending ears, each is a marvel—the 
result of processes which chemistry can only 
guess at, and never imitate. Had one of these 
processes failed, who can measure the disaster 
that must follow— Famine. Only those, who 
like the suffering thousands of Kansas have seen 
its gaunt form by their firesides, can know the 
fearful significance of the word. No wonder 
the husbandman enters the harvest field with 
a light step, a thankful heart, and a song of 
triumph. 
It adds greatly to the joy of harvest time to feel 
that much of its treasure is due to the skill and 
labor of the cultivator. Though rain and dew 
and sunshine have been distributed by an im¬ 
partial hand upon the fields of the careful and 
the thriftless, yet nowhere is the truth more 
plainly written, “ God helps those who helps 
themselves.” The clustering stacks which 
adorn the well ordered farm, are monuments to 
the skill, industry, and perseverance of the own¬ 
er ; and not less do the meager harvest fields 
Original Sketch by F. O. C. Darley. 
reproach the ignorant and the slothful; each 
weed seems to point a finger of scorn, and every 
thistle is like a stinging rebuke. He who can 
show his barns filled with plenty, may rightly 
enjoy an honest pride, equally with him who 
returns from battle, flushed with the glory and 
the spoils of victory. By arduous and self-deny¬ 
ing labor he has triumphed over stubborn soil 
and perverse storms, and his conquests bring 
more satisfying joy than those of the warrior; 
for he has left behind him no desolated districts, 
ljor bereaved households to sadden recollection. 
The picture before us needs amending to 
bring it up to the times. The cradle is already 
becoming antiquated, and will soon repose with 
the sickle, driven from the field hy the victorious 
reaper. Most of our readers also will exclaim 
against the introduction of females in the labors 
of the harvest field. That is not an American 
institution—though Darley, in a moment of in¬ 
spiration may have had a presentiment of what 
may be necessary, should the present war be 
prolonged, and many more of our country’s sons 
feel impelled to leave the peaceful field of agri¬ 
cultural labors for the field of conflict. No 
doubt American women have strength and pa¬ 
triotism enough, if the times of ’76 return, to 
emulate their grandmothers, and care for the 
homestead, while their partners are defending 
their country. 
We again take occasion to commend this beau¬ 
tiful series of lithographs to the notice of our 
readers, as well worthy a place in their dwel¬ 
lings. They are of large size, 15x19 inches 
finely executed, and sold for $5 the set of four 
We can procure them for any who may wish it 
