[May, 
138 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
retail price, we believe, is five dollars. Mr. 
Guyer states that it was tested to some extent 
last season by extensive onion growers in Con¬ 
necticut, several of whom have adopted it. 
Clean Cellars. 
One of the first duties of every householder, 
at this season of the year, is to clean his cellar. 
Decaying apples, cabbages and roots of various 
sorts, old beef and pork barrels, rotten boards 
and whatever else is subject to decomposition, 
should be gathered up and carried into the open 
air, or be put in a condition to produce no un¬ 
pleasant effluvia. To sweep, dust, and bedeck 
the parlors above, is not enough. If there is cor¬ 
ruption in the cellar, it will find its way among 
the carpets and rose-wood of gilded mirrors in all 
the upper rooms, making the air offensive and un¬ 
wholesome. The occupants of a house are not 
so likely to notice these smells as their visitors. 
Now, to avoid all this, begin the month of May 
by a thorough purification. Throw open the 
doors and windows of the cellar, and clear out all 
decaying matters. Sweep the floor and walls. 
Give the walls a good coat of whitewash ; this 
will extirpate vermin, sweeten the air, and give 
the cellar a neat and tidy look, making it rival 
the parlor in its way. If provisions, or other sub¬ 
stances liable to decay, have to be kept in the 
cellar during the Summer, chloride of lime should 
occasionally be sprinkled over the floor. Keep 
the windows open for a free circulation of air, 
guarding them if necessary, by a wire netting. 
Deep or Shallow Vessels for Milk. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist• 
Many suppose that the quantity of butter ob¬ 
tained from milk depends greatly upon the treat¬ 
ment before churning, particularly upon the kind 
of vessels it is kept in. Thus some prefer deep 
pans, and some will use none but shallow; some 
add saleratus to the milk to keep it sweet longer 
to give the cream more time to rise. Experi¬ 
ence has convinced me that the amount of bufler 
depends on the quality of the milk, rather than 
on its management. All the butter contained in 
the milk can be obtained, and no more. I re¬ 
member fifty years ago that my father, who had 
thirty or more cows, tried several experiments to 
ascertain this point. He first procured large flat 
“ keelers,” ‘wooden tubs about four inches deep,’ 
but the labor required to keep them sweet was so 
great that a number of twelve-quart tin pans 
were also used. There was no difference in the 
amount of butter obtained from each. Alter this 
he was persuaded to have smooth oak tubs made, 
each holding about four gallons, having been told 
that the milk would remain sweet much longer 
in them and the cream would be increased, but 
there was no improvement in the quantity. I 
have for years used twelve-quart tin-pails for 
convenience in handling, and find by keeping the 
temperature right to allow a moderate cooling 
and a gradual rising of the cream, I get. all the 
butter there is in the milk, which is the best any 
plan can do. A. B. C. 
Chemung Co., N. Y. 
Dangerous Cattle Disease in Massachusetts. 
An intcetious, and in most cases, fatal form of 
pieuro-pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs), 
lias been for some time prevalent in Massachu¬ 
setts, near Boston. It first made its appearance 
among an importation from Holland, which ar- 
rved at Boston in May oflast year. There were 
but four cows imported, and all were in an en¬ 
feebled state when they arrived. Three of them 
have since died, while the fourth did not take the 
disease. The owner of them, Mr. Chenery, of 
Belmont, not thinking the disease infectious, 
used no special pains to prevent its spreading 
among his other stock, which took the disease 
from time to time, until he has lost 27 head. 
Mr. C. sold some calves, which were taken to 
North Brookfield upon the farm of Mr. I,. Stoddard. 
The disease soon sho.wed itself there, and up to 
March 20th, Mr. S. had lost 11 head, and hacf 8 
more on the sick list. From these cases the dis¬ 
order spread among neighboring herds, and ex¬ 
tended into one or two adjoining towns. For in¬ 
stance, a pair of working cattle, which had only 
a slight cough, were put into a barn with other 
stock, and communicated the disease to them. 
Some have escaped when apparently exposed to 
the infection. 
In view of the immense loss likely to result 
from this disease, the Legislature of Mass, has 
passed an act appointing commissioners to visit 
those places where it prevails, estimate the value 
of animals which have been exposed to it, kill 
and bury them, and cleanse the premises. Such 
stock are to be paid for out of the public treasury. 
The act has already gone into effect, and is to 
continue one year. 
Deep Plowing and Good Corn. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
In the Spring of 1859 I bought 80 acres of land 
for $25 per acre, on which the former owner 
could not make his living—he never plowed more 
than three or four inches deep. I will give you 
the result of deep plowing and well tending fifteen 
acres of corn : 
Dr. 
Breaking up ground 8 days—$1.50 per day .$12 00 
Marking out to plant. 2 25 
Planting, 1 day, 2 men ami team. 2 25 
Seed, 2 bushels, at 75 cents. \ 50 
Plowing three times, SI 15 per acre. 17 25 
Replanting, I day and 1 bushel of seed. 1 50 
Gathering 600 bushels corn at 3 cts. 24 00 
Feeding 60 bushels to hogs .. 1 go 
Interest $3, taxes $37.50 . ..' 40 50 
Total cost. .$Iu3”l)5 
Cr. 
800 bushels corn at 37 cts. per bushel.$596 00 
1,900 lbs. pork at $5 per cwt. 95 00—391 00 
Leaving as profit.$2b7 95 
So much for the Agriculturist's teachings on 
deep plowing and worn out farms. It will be seen 
by the above figures that corn can be raised very 
cheap in Illinois—about 10 cents per bushel. 
SUCKER. 
Hancock Co., lit. 
Potatoes with Sea Weed and “ American 
Guano.” 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist : 
Having seen it stated that seaweed would pre¬ 
vent potatoes from rotting when placed in the 
hill, I resolved to try the experiment. The soil 
was loam inclined to clay, with a hard pan sub¬ 
soil. The ground was plowed flat with no ma¬ 
nure, and marked out two feet nine inches each 
way. Each row contained 40 hills. I also tried 
experiments with American Guano at the same 
time. The guano was mixed with about its own 
bulk of Plaster of Paris, and applied in the hill. 
Rows No. 1 and 2 received guano at the rate of 
about 250 lbs. to the acre. Nos. 3 and 4 nothing. 
Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, first guano, then a large handful of 
sea weed dropped on it, and then the potato on 
that. Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12, with American Guano, 
the same as Nos. 1 and 2. Nos. 13 and 14, received 
sea weed but no guano. Nos. 15 and 1G had the 
guano under the potato and sea weed on the pota¬ 
to. I planted the Mercer variety and they rotted 
very badly. At digging time I could see no dif¬ 
ference between any of the rows. 
Fairfield Co., Conn. D. l-I. SlIKRVVOOD 
^-4 
Orchard Grass. 
This species, sometimes called rough cocksfoot, 
and known botanically as Dactylis glomcrala, isby 
many considered a very valuable grass,but has not 
become as popular among cultivators as Timothy. 
It has in its favor its rapidity 
of growth, ability to endure 
''WjS.v drouth, large yield of fodder, 
fm. and permanence; to which 
may be added that it bears 
shade well and is thus adapt¬ 
ed for orchards, its name be¬ 
ing derived from this charac¬ 
teristic. On the other hand, 
it is coarser and more harsh 
than Timothy, is less nourish¬ 
ing, and is apt to grow in 
tussocks or clumps instead of 
covering the ground evenly. Conflicting ac¬ 
counts are given of the relish with which it 
is eaten by stock, some declaring that sheep, 
especially, prefer it to all other sorts; others 
say that it is neglected when other kinds are 
at hand. All agree that it should he kept crop¬ 
ped short. When intended for mowing it is 
advisable to sow it with clover. It blossoms at 
about the same time with red clover, and. is 
thus fit to cut before becoming too rank. One 
bushel of seed to the acre with clover, or two 
bushels when alone, is the quantity usually sown. 
It may be put in during September, or sown with 
Spring grain. A very light bushing to cover it, 
is sufficient, experiment having proved that the 
greatest number of seeds germinate at a depth of 
from one fourth of an inch to no covering at all, 
but merely lying on the surface. It is well known 
that the quality of grass depends much upon the 
location, character and management of soils, etc., 
and to this fact undoubtedly is due the difference 
of opinion respecting its value. Experiment has 
shown that in many sections it is inferior to Tim¬ 
othy particularly for meadow, still, under other 
circumstances, it may be preferable. 
That Dwarf Broom Corn. 
In our last, page 104, we referred to a Dwarf 
Broom Corn, of which we have specimens from 
Mr. Good, of Pennsylvania. Before us is a let¬ 
ter from a subscriber, L. J. T, of Lambert- 
ville, N. .1., in which he states that it has been 
grown to some extent in that region, and lie does 
not appear to esteem it very highly. His descrip¬ 
tion of its form and growth corresponds, to 
that of Mr. Good. He says “ it grows short and 
stocky ; the brush stalk is enclosed in the leaf 
sheath, which also covers about half of the brush 
and prevents its bending down, and therefore no 
bending down of the heads is required. The 
brush is finer and longer than the common kind.” 
He objects to it, that it is nearly all the way of a 
thickness and renders the broom too limber. We 
are not certain that this is a defect. 'The most 
serious objection offered by Mr. T., is the difficulty 
of harvesting and cleaning the brush. He says : 
“The stalk is close jointed, the space between 
the joints being about six inches, and the leaf 
springing from each joint extends .over and cov¬ 
ers the next, making it difficult to see where to 
cut off the brush stem. The cutting must bo 
made near the upper joint, to preserve length 
enough, and if the cutting chance to be below the 
joint, it is troublesome and wearing to the linger* 
