74: 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
feet and legs, or sprain of the shoulder. To remedy the 
defect, the cause must be discovered and removed. It 
would be well to examine the horse very carefully, pres¬ 
sing every part of the legs and shoulder in turn, to find 
a tender spot, or the presence of heat and inflammation. 
When this is found it will indicate the seat of the 
trouble, and remedies may be applied. Rest will only 
increase the defect, and the animal should be exercised 
regularly, although it be lame. 
KiTect of Early Laying - Early 
Hatching.— “ G. K. S.,” Paterson, N. J. The laying 
of eggs now will have no tendeney to “ weaken the eggs” 
that are laid later. The effect of early laying is, that the 
liens become broody earlier than they otherwise would, 
and then stop laying. By having a stove in an airy 
room, chickens can be raised in February. The floor 
should be well sanded, and there should be a sunny win¬ 
dow in the room if possible. 
A Barren Cow. —“H.” A barren cow 
should be fattened for the butcher; if she has failed to 
breed for two years, it is not worth while to keep her 
longer. A cow will consume her own value in feed if 
kept for one year and make no returns. 
To Use Corn Stalks.— 1 “ J. H. C., Jr.,” 
Cincinnati. If corn stalks are cut up in a fodder cutter 
with rollers that bruise them, and are then wetted and 
sprinkled with meal, they will be eaten by either cows 
or horses. That is, if the stalks were well saved and are 
in good condition. Feed at morning and night, and give 
no hay with them. The hay should be given by itself at 
noon. When thus treated, we have never found any dif¬ 
ficulty in successfully using com stalks. 
The Use of Lime.-“A Subscriber,” 
Chambersburg, Pa. The idea that heavy applications of 
lime to the soil 'are wasteful, is a correct one. A few 
years ago, we applied 60 bushels per acre to a 13 acre 
field near the house, and before long the water in the 
well, which was previously soft, became very hard. The 
lime was evidently dissolved in great part, and carried 
into the subsoil and lost to the crop. Many intelligent 
farmers use now 10 to 15 bushels per acre in place of 50 
bushels, as previously used. When a field has been 
largely limed, much of the lime will be turned up in the 
bottom of the furrow at the next few plowings, showing 
that a large portion sinks into the soil. This is wasted to 
agreat extent, and if five dressings, of 10 bushels per acre 
each, are applied in ten or fifteen years, or every two or 
three years, to the wheat and corn crop, instead of 50 
bushels once in five years, as is usual, it would to our 
mind be just as beneficial as the large dressing, and much 
more economical. No exact rule can he laid down, be¬ 
cause heavy soils will take more lime than light ones, 
not that they need it perhaps, but they hold it if given; 
hut 10 bushels per acre could harm no soil. 
A Dairy Journal.— 1 “S. I.,” Montgomery 
Co., Ohio. There is no journal published in the interest 
of the dairy especially, and there probably will not be, 
as special journals of such a character as a rule, cannot 
be made profitable to the publishers. The American 
Agriculturist contains as much relating to the dairy as 
any special journal probably could afford to give, besides 
all its other valuable contents. 
Ventilation of a Smoke House.— 
“J. D. L.,” Barton Co., Ga. But little ventilation is 
needed for a smoke-house ; a smouldering fire that will 
make a dense cool smoke is what is wanted. If there 
are any openings needed for the admitting of air, to sus¬ 
tain the necessarily slow combustion, they must be very 
small, and may be at the bottom instead of at the top, 
where smoke only is wanted. Flies must be kept out by 
all means, and if any ventilating openings are made, 
cover them with fine wire gauze, and provide something 
to close them with when the fire is not used. To pro¬ 
tect the meat, the house must be quite close and dark. 
Toulouse Geese.— “D. L. C.,” James¬ 
town, Pa. W. H. Todd, of Vermillion, Ohio, makes a 
specialty of raising all sorts of water fowl. The geese 
he exhibited at the Centennial were very fine indeed. 
To Pack Eggs Safely.—“ F. W. R.,” 
Cuckoo, Va. To pack eggs safely for transportation, place 
them in layers in a box or barrel, with at least one inch 
of oats or finely cut straw or chaff between them. If 
sent in small quantities for hatching, have a flat box 
made and divided by partitions of thin stuff or pasteboard 
into separate cells; pack one egg in each cell, first wrap¬ 
ping in dry moss, cotton, or oat straw, in such a way that 
the wrapping cannot be displaced. A layer of the pack¬ 
ing should be placed over the cells beneath the lid, so as 
to keep the eggs flrtnly in their places. We have known 
eggs to hatch perfectly well after 1,500 miles of travel, 
that were packed in a barrel with oats. Most of the 
failures to hatch are not due to the transportation so 
much as to infertility of the eggs from keeping the fowls 
shut up, from close breeding, or other causes. 
Guernseys or Jerseys.—“ J. T. A.,” 
Tauuton, Mass. If we were to keep but one cow for 
family use, we would choose pure bred or a good grade 
Jersey, raised by some breeder who makes it specialty 
of breeding such cows. Mr. Thomas Fitch, of New Lou¬ 
don, Conn., makes the breeding of family cows a busi¬ 
ness, and breeds both pure Herd book stock and grades 
of Jersey cows. A good Guernsey is as good for butter as 
a Jersey, but the breed is not so popular for family cows. 
Extension Ladders.-" G. H. G.,” Roch¬ 
ester, Mass. The extension ladders as long as 30 ft. 
that we have seen, have three sections, the upper two 
raised by a cord and windlass arrangement upon the 
lower one. These are patented, and so are those used 
hy or intended for firemen. 
How to Feed Young Figs.—“A. G. 
D.,” Delaware Co., Pa. When milk is not to be pro¬ 
cured for feeding young pigs, some care is to be exer¬ 
cised lest they be overfed with grain. A mixture of 
wheat bran, or coarse wheat middlings, with some 
crushed oats made into a thick slop or thin mush, would 
be greatly preferable to corn-meal. Linseed oil cake-, 
meal at $40 a ton is too costly to feed pigs upon. A 
little of it as a change might be given with benefit. 
How to Feed Old Sheep.-" M. G.,” 
Lehigh Co., Pa. Examine the mouth of old sheep that 
will not fatten ; perhaps the teeth are so worn down that 
the food cannot be perfectly masticated. When sheep 
become very old, it is sometimes impossible to put fat 
upon them, and then it becomes a question if the feed 
eaten does not cost more than the sheep are worth. If 
so, the proper course is obvious. Linseed oil cake-meal 
is good for fattening sheep, along with some clover hay. 
Profit of Sheep Keeping.- 11 W. S.,” 
Meriden, Conn. The profit from a flock of sheep, count¬ 
ing the increase, should be about 75 per cent. A skill¬ 
ful manager may make more than this. In the Western 
States, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and elsewhere, the 
wool should pay the expetfses, leaving the lambs as clear 
profit. The increase of lambs depends upon the manage¬ 
ment, but 75 lambs to 100 ewes are generally raised. 
House for 1,000 Fowls.— “A. McE.,” 
Eau Claire, Wis. No person experienced in poultry 
raising would build a house for 1,000 fowls. When 
crowded together in such numbers, fowls would inevi¬ 
tably die from disesase. This number could be kept 
in six separate houses, such as are described in a little 
book entitled, “ An Egg Farm,” published by the Orange 
Judd Co., for 75 cents. If plans and specifications for 
these houses were needed they could be procured for a 
moderate sum from any builder. 
Sowing Clover Seed on (he Snow.— 
“ F. S.,” Meramec, Mo. If the ground is in proper con¬ 
dition, it will answer well enough to sow clover seed 
upon the last snow. But if it is not perfectly prepared, 
it will be better to wait and harrow the ground as soon 
as the surface is dry, and then sow the seed while the 
marks of the harrow-teeth remain. The seed will be 
covered by the earth settling down into the little furrows. 
The “Florida Fever.”— A correspon¬ 
dent in New England writes that his neighbors have the 
“Florida Fever” very generally, and wishes to know if 
we think he “ could succeed in raising vegetables in 
Florida.”—We receive numerous letters asking advice 
about moving, not to Florida only, but to various local¬ 
ities, but that seems to be uppermost at present. We 
would like to see Florida fill up with industrious culti¬ 
vators, and we would be glad if every one of these cor¬ 
respondents could better his condition, but we must 
positively decline to give advice which shall induce any 
one to leave his present home and occupation, and go 
into a business about which he knows nothing, in a local¬ 
ity unlike, in almost every respect, the one to which he 
is accustomed. Those who recollect the California ex¬ 
citement know how easy it is to get up an emigration 
fever. This state of mind, in which everything favor¬ 
able as to the project is magnified, and all that is un¬ 
favorable is overlooked, is not the proper one in which 
to decide on so important a move. We have not the 
least doubt that our friend can “ succeed in raising vege¬ 
tables” in Florida, but that is an unimportant point com¬ 
pared with what will he do with them when he has raised 
them. If he goes to a place where there is no regular 
and quick transportation to northern markets, he might 
as well open an ice-cream saloon in Greenland, for all 
the money he would make. There are many who can 
better themselves by going to Florida, but in going there 
or elsewhere, they should first visit their proposed new 
home, or let a company of neighbors send the clearest 
headed, most common-sensible of their number to visit 
it and report. Do not decide while the “ fever ” is on. 
Recollect that going to Florida will not change the man: 
the ‘-ne’er do well ” will be the same there as at home". 
In Florida, as at home, it is patient, well-directed labor 
that will tell. The best interests of that State do not call 
for people with the fever on them—they need people who, 
when they come, come to stay. 
“ The Tanning- Plant Again.”— 
“ C -W. G.,” Grama, Pa. The so-called “ Tanning Plant,” 
of Nebraska, Iowa, and other Western States, is Polyg¬ 
onum amphibium. To your question “ would it not pay 
to get the seeds and try if it can not be profitably grown 
in the East?” we have already replied, by stating it 
grows in every Northern State, from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. One form of it is truly aquatic, and found in 
ponds, while another flourishes in wet soil. We have no 
idea that it would in any case pay to cultivate it, but it is 
possible that in localities where it grows naturally in 
abundance, it might pay to gather it, and use it in the 
absence of other tanning materials. There are several 
plants vastly richer in tannin, that it would be preferable 
to try, if it would pay to cultivate any. 
Wliat “ Sport ” Costs in England. 
—Not long ago the “ Mark Lane Express” gave the hunt¬ 
ing statistics for one Couhty only, that of Lancashire. 
It is estimated that there are in that County 20,000 
hounds, harriers, and dogs of various kinds; 1,000 hunts¬ 
men ; some 3,500 men employed in the stables and ken¬ 
nels, and that the annual expense to the masters is 
£350,000, or in round numbers $1,750,000. No account is 
here taken of the damage to farmers, or other incidentals. 
Giving Credit for Plants.— As we do 
not know the rules under which the Royal Horticultural 
Society (Eng.) gives certificates for the introduction of 
new and meritorious plants, we can not complain of their 
action, but their rules must be wrong. Thus, among the 
certificated plants in 1876, we find Eulalia Japonicavarie- 
gata, for which a certificate is given to Messrs. Yeitch & 
Sons. If the certificate merely indicates who first intro¬ 
duced the plant into England, it is all right, but if the 
one who first brought it into cultivation , it is all wrong. 
We figured this Eulalia in Hearth and Home in 1871. It 
was introduced from Japan, some years before, by Mr. 
Thomas Hogg. It seems to us quite the reverse of fair, 
that other persons, who accidentally acquired the plant 
by purchase from some one to whom Mr. Hogg had sup¬ 
plied it, should stand on the records as having received 
a certificate for it. If the certificate only shows the 
plant was exhibited by the person who receives it, then 
the one who introduced it should be honored in some 
way. Mr. Thomas Hogg has added a great many 
fine plants to our collections, and has distributed many 
of them among plant lovers with a liberality most un¬ 
usual. While others with his opportunities would 
have received a handsome sum for the plants, he has 
worked, like the true horticulturist that he is, without 
looking constantly through gold-bowed glasses, and we 
insist that, if he has not made money, he shall at least 
have proper credit every time that it is due. 
Petroleum lit Tobacco Culture.— 
It is a common custom to cover the tobacco seed-beds 
with brush, and burn it off, to kill the weed-seeds before 
sowing. According to the “ Titusville Herald,” petro¬ 
leum is used for this purpose. It is applied evenly to 
the bed by means of a watering pot, at the rate of one 
gallon to 100 square yards, and then set on fire. 
The Florida State Fair.— Florida is 
far in advance of other States with her fair, which will be 
held at Jacksonville on the 22th inst. This announce¬ 
ment is suggestive of the wonderful variety of climate 
our country presents. While the farmers in one part are 
enjoying their fire-side comforts, in another they are 
showing their best bananas, oranges, and pine-apples, 
and the products of the kitchen and flower-gardens. 
Seeds aud Sea-Water.— Experiments 
have been made in Europe upon the germinating power 
of seeds after an immersion of 13 months in sea-water. 
Out of 251 species tested, only three came up. These 
were Endive, Black Medic or Nonsuch, and an Apium, 
whether Celery or some other species is not stated. 
How to l»c a “ Professor.”— One of 
the most eminent men we ever knew, a professor in one 
of our first colleges, and a M.D., also, did not like to 
have his friends address him as “ Professor” ; upon in¬ 
quiry why he disliked the title, we learned that everyday 
he passed a barber shop, where the barber’s sign stated 
that he was a “ Professor of the Tonsorial art.” Indeed, 
