300 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
the duty, is to be fined ten dollars, and any body 
is authorized to enter complaint to the Over¬ 
seers, who are required by law to prosecute the 
delinquents. It is not easy to overrate the im¬ 
portance of this law to every agricultural com¬ 
munity. And yet, how few pay any regard to it! 
---- 
The Great End in Farming. 
It is not the great end, to see how much hard 
work can be done, nor how much money can 
be earned in a given time. The aim should be, 
not only to better one’s condition, but to im¬ 
prove one’s self and liis family, and to make 
himself useful, virtuous and happy. Which is 
first, the man or his farm? The farm was 
made first, no doubt, so far as the earth and 
water and wood, are concerned; but in im¬ 
portance, the man stands first, and high above 
all, and he should always keep himself so. 
It is folly to make one’s self a slave to his land; 
bending his back, year in and out, in the hard¬ 
est drudgery, regardless of his own improve¬ 
ment, and of his high relations to society and 
to God. Whenever a farmer, (and we might as 
well say, mechanic, merchant, or professional 
man,) finds himself a slave to his work, wearing 
himself out prematurely in the mad pursuit of 
money, he had better pause and ask himself a 
few sober questions: What’s the use of all this 
work and worry ? What is it going to amount 
to in the end? Am I true to the dignity of my 
own nature, to my family, to my Maker? Am 
I preparing myself for a serene and healthy old 
age ? Am I not cutting short my days ? 
A little self-catechising of this sort is needful, 
especially in the hurry of haying and harvest¬ 
time ; but it will not come amiss at any season. 
Let this instruction be given and received, line 
upon line, here a little and there a little. 
Cleaning a Miller’s Bolt—Another Method. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Five years ago I cleaned a miller’s bolt that 
was pasted with flour, by applying alcohol with 
a brush, and then rubbing the bolting cloth with 
dry woolen cloths. I could not discover that 
the bolt was injured by the process. 
The best thing that I have used to clean the 
bolt from beards, that will work in and hang in 
the cloth, is to tack a piece of common cotton 
sheeting over the reel so that it will drag on the 
bolting cloth. It should Ire of the same length 
with the reel. I have used it for four or five 
years. It is not necessary t hat it should drag on 
the reel all the time; it should be tacked on so 
that it will hang down by the side of the reel 
when not wanted. Whenever it is needed, it 
can be thrown over the reel without stopping 
the mill, or the reel when in motion. It is much 
better than spending a day occasionally with a 
razor in shaving the beards from the bolt cloth, 
which is also liable to cut the cloth. My bolt 
doth has not been pasted with particles of 
flour since I have used the cotton cloth over the 
reel - II. N. Weed. 
Oswego Co. } N. Y. 
A Cheap and Durable Bar Post. 
On almost every farm may be found a collec¬ 
tion of old horse shoes, which can be turned to 
good account in making bar-posts. Select two 
middling sized sticks having a straight edge, 
(two heavy joists answer well,) lay them side by 
side and nail on the liorse-shoes so as to form 
the supports for the bars, and the work is done. 
In most cases it will be necessary to heat the 
horse-shoes and with a punch enlarge the nail 
holes sufficiently to receive the fence nails, which 
should be stronger and larger than horse-nails. 
Improved Bottom for Stacks. 
Stacking hay or grain is poor economy at best. 
Enough fodder is annually wasted by exposure 
in this way to pay a very handsome inter¬ 
est on the cost of buildings. Yet stacking 
must often be resorted to, as in newly cultivat¬ 
ed regions before time or means have permit¬ 
ted the erection of barns or sheds, and also when 
an extraordinary yield more than fills the 
buildings which are ordinarily sufficient. As 
stacks are too often built, there is much unnec¬ 
essary waste. A few rails laid upon the ground 
are not sufficient to keep the hay above from 
spoiling, and the bottom layer to the thickness 
of two feet or more is often spoiled for feeding, 
by absorbing water from below. The bottom of 
the stack also affords a fine shelter for rats and 
mice who usually take up their winter quarters 
there with impunity. The illustration above, 
which we have reengraved from an English 
paper, represents an arrangement for remedying 
these evils. Cast iron supports, having broad 
bases, and circular caps, are placed in a cir¬ 
cular form, and ribs which may either be of iron 
or wood are laid in notches left for their re¬ 
ception. Cross pieces may either be laid upon 
these, or morticed or pinned to them, forming a 
substantial support for the stack, raising it out 
of the reach of wet and vermin. We are not 
aware of their use in this country, but the iron 
stands could easily be made at any foundry, at 
no great cost, and they would last for genera¬ 
tions. They are portable, and thus readily car¬ 
ried where wanted. Wooden blocks, with tin 
rims or caps, would answer a similar purpose. 
Keep the Farm Stock Thriving. 
The change from a diet of roast beef and mut¬ 
ton chops with plenty of vegetables, to salt 
pork and hard crackers, such as was experienced 
and complained of by many volunteers in the 
war, is hardly less great than that to which ani¬ 
mals in northern latitudes are annually subject¬ 
ed. In a few weeks the fresh, juicy herbage so 
greatful to bovine palates, will have felt the 
frost’s sharp breath, and become withered and 
tasteless. Long before the cattle and sheep will 
cease to graze, if kept confined to the pasture, 
their food will be diminished in nutritive value. 
Just at this point in the year, without proper 
care, stock will receive a severe check in their 
growth. There is danger, in the first place, that 
commencing to feed with an allowance from 
the winter stores may be delayed too long. The 
object in feeding should be not merely to keep 
animals alive, but to keep them gaining in 
weight, and to do this, as the quality of fond 
gathered in the pasture decreases in value, 
amends must but be made from other sources. 
The value of root crops will now be appreciated. 
First, there will be a large quantity of the tops, 
which are highly relished by stock, ready to 
feed just when most needed. When these are 
exhausted, the roots themselves will be taken 
greedily along with the forkful of hay which 
the provident farmer will allow to cattle 
night and morning, as the grass begins to fail. 
If there be no roots raised, then supply the 
deficiency with a little corn or oats. The 
grain in this case will not be wasted, it will be 
found again in beef, mutton, or wool, and 
thus will only be taking a little longer route 
to market, while it will pay the farmer heavy 
toll by greatly increasing the value of the 
manure made. In this way the change from 
summer to winter feeding may be made so 
gradual, that the animals, with their appe¬ 
tites stimulated by the increasing sharpness ot 
the weather, will scarcely feel it; and by keep¬ 
ing up a variety of food, alternating with liaj’, 
cut straw, stalks, roots and grain, they may be 
kept in full vigor and growing during the 
whole Winter, and start off vigorously in Spring. 
---o. -—« <J> I. «-- 
How to Choose a Horse. 
To become a good judge of horse flesh re¬ 
quires years of observation and practical ac¬ 
quaintance with the animal. No mere descrip¬ 
tions are sufficient to qualify a man to go into 
the market to purchase a horse with safety, for 
in no other article is there so much deception 
practiced. The following directions from the 
Ohio Cultivator are valuable as suggestions indi¬ 
cating the principal points to be studied : 
First, notice the e 3 r es, which should be well 
examined. Clearness of the eye is a sure indi¬ 
cation of goodness; but this is not all—the eye¬ 
lids, eyebrows, and all other appendages must 
be also considered, for many horses, whose eyes 
appear clear and brilliant, go blind at an early 
age ; therefore be careful to observe whether the 
part between the eyelids and eyebrows are 
swollen, for this indicates that the eye will nat 
last. When the eyes are remarkably flat, sunk 
wjthin their orbits, it is a bad sign. The iris or 
circle that surrounds the sight of the eye, 
should be distinct, and of a pale, variegated, 
cinnamon color, for this is a sure sign of a good 
eye. The eyes of a horse are never too large. 
The head should be of good size, broad be¬ 
tween the eyes, large nostrils, red within, for 
large nostrils betoken good wind. 
The feet and legs should be regarded, for a 
horse with bad feet is like a house with a weak 
foundation, and will do little service. The feet 
should be of a middle size and smooth; the heels 
should be firm, and not spongy and rotten. 
The limbs should be free from blemishes of 
all kinds, the knees straight, the back sinews 
strong and well braced; the pastern joints should 
be clean and clear of swellings of all kinds, and 
come near the ground, for such never have the 
ring-bone. Fleshy legged horses are generally 
subject to the “grease” and other infirmities of 
that kind, and therefore should not be chosen. 
The body should be of good size, the back 
straight or nearly so, and have only a small 
sinking below the withers; the barrel round, 
and the ribs come close to the hip joints. 
Shoulders should run back but not too heavy, 
for a horse with heavy shoulders seldom moves 
well; chest and arms large. 
A horse weighing from 1,300 to 1,400 is large 
enough for a cart horse ; from 1,100 to 1,200 is 
large enough for a farmer’s horse; from 1,000 to 
1,100 is heavy enough for a carriage horse. 
