354 r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[September, 
CarryiMS ilse 'B'ail So ©sae Side.— 
“Subscriber,” Juniata Co., Pa. To remedy the fault in 
a horse which carries the tail to one side, a simple opera¬ 
tion may be resorted to, which is neither painful nor in¬ 
jurious. It is to cut through the skin on the side of the 
tail to which it is desirous to draw it over, a few scores 
close together, removing the skin between two or three 
of the scores. Or the skin may be fired with a sharp- 
edged instrument, and a few scores made close together 
upon the side required. Then a thick pad is placed upon 
the crupper, so as to force the tail into the proper posi¬ 
tion, and keep it there until theskin on the side opposite 
to the pad is healed. After that the tail will keep its 
proper position. 
Trani'ising’ Egfjjs Ubnai'Iesg’ EbschIkb - 
fion.—Vaniz, Mississippi. It would be little trouble 
to pass the hand over the eggs in an incubator, and turn 
them occasionally, if thought necessary. It can do no 
harm, and may do good. Dipping the eggs in tepid water 
two or three times during the process is advisable, and 
in doing this they will be turned and the bad ones de¬ 
tected. 
To IPrcYOJ&ft 'Wsaslaisag- oFIEallsisles. 
—“J. A. C.,” Villanow, Ga. There arc objetions to 
making hillside ditches, or terracing the sloping surface 
to prevent washing. Washing may be prevented by 
plowing in a diagonal direction down the slope; first 
throwing two furrows together, so as to make ridges 
every 20 feet apart, and then plowing the spaces between 
these in lands, with open furrows between them. The 
rain will then gather slowly from 10 feet upon each side, 
into the open furrows, along which it will flow gently, 
not having much fall, until it reaches the bottom ; where 
it will spread all over the surface without injury to it. If 
in addition to this the land be subsoiled once every four 
or five years, most of the rain would be absorbed, and 
the surface would not wash and gully. 
S>rai?aiJ3K - Hay "WelSs .—“ W. W.,” Fulton 
Co., Ill. In draining by wells, the wells must be dug 
down to a gravel or sandy subsoil, or at least one that 
will absorb the water. The drains should be of the usual 
depth, 4 feet. A fall of six inches in 100 feet, would bo 
sufficient for the drains. In case sediment should collect 
in the wells to interfere with their working, which is 
very improbable, it would be easy to clear them out every 
20 years or so. Where there is a deep heavy clay soil, 
and no gravel, this method would not be effective. 
Molal-Bgalal.—“ W. W. P.,” Oakwood, D. T. 
Kohl-Rabi, or turnip-rooted cabbage, is considered as a 
valuable food for stock, especially milk cows, sheep, and 
pigs. It has rarely been grown in this country, except 
in gardens, but in England and parts of Europe it is 
largely grown as a field crop for stock feeding. 
IProlittsilale Crops iai tlio fSoiajla.— 
“T. G..” Kittrells. N. C. Neither flax nor hops at pres¬ 
ent promise to be profitable in the Southern States. Flax 
is only profitable where there is a near-by market for the 
seed or fiber, and hops depend very much upon a peculiar 
climate and soil for quality, and of course price. The 
idea that these special crops are highly profitable is 
delusive to a very great extent, on the whole they are not 
inviting to any farmers, but those who understand the 
“ ins and outs ” of the business. Cot ton and tobacco can 
not be made profitable in the long run, unless used as n 
part of a rotation in which they take their regular place 
alternating with other crops, as corn, wheat, peas, pota¬ 
toes, clover, etc., which can be used as feed for stock, 
and made the basis of a supply of manure to enrich the 
soil and gradually increase its fertility. It is no easy 
matter to manage a farm skillfully, and yet it is necessary 
for success to manage it so that, while the crops grown 
may be profitable, the profit may not be made at the ex¬ 
pense of the soil, which is the capital. Without know¬ 
ing the previous mode of your management, we can only 
make these general suggestions. 
Wiaitei* Oats.—“ W. C. M.,” Wicomico 
Co , Md. We believe Messrs. Landreth & Sons, of Phila¬ 
delphia. have fall oats for sale, if not, they would proba¬ 
bly procure them for you. 
CJi-ass Tor Paslmre ,-“ B. B.,” Denison, 
Iowa. If a temporary pasture only is required, rye sown 
in September, or even later, would furnish excellent feed 
early in spring, and clover sown in the spring would sup¬ 
ply fall pasture. It is difficult to procure a sufficient 
growth of the ordinary field grasses, as timothy, orchard 
grass, or blue grass, to make a pasture the first year. Two 
season’s growth at least are required to make a pasture 
of these grasses. Oats or Hungarian grass would make 
a good crop to be cut and fed green, but to pasture either 
would be to waste the most of it. If a peck of timothy 
and one bushel of orchard grass per acre were sown alone 
early in September on well prepared ground, the crop 
might be pastured next summer, unless a very dry season 
should occur. If two-thirds of the seed were sown, and 
six quarts of clover per acre were added in the spring, 
the pasture might last three or four years. 
Plsmts Named.—“M. L. H.,” Hutton, Ill. 
The low, branching pink-flowered plant is Sabbatia an- 
gularis, the “ American Centaury,” and in some localities 
called “Star-flower,” and “Litter-bloom.” It belongs 
to the Gentian Family, and, like the gentians, is very 
bitter; it is sometimes used as a tonic medicine_“A. 
II. F.,” Ipswich, Mass. The Variegated Spurge, Euphor¬ 
bia marginata, a native of Kansas and Nebraska. It is a 
quick-growing, much-branched annual, the bracts or 
floral leaves of which are margined with white. It is 
often cultivated in gardens, where it produces a pleasing 
effect in contrast with dark-colored plants. 
Bla.rt.yMia. B®icls5es.—Several Inquirers. 
The fruit must be gathered when about hqlf grown or 
less ; it must be very tender, so that it will break short, 
without any fibre. A little practice will show the proper 
size. Gather every two or three days, as they soon get 
hard, and put at once into hrine strong enough to float 
an egg. They are to remain in brine about 10 days. If 
desired to keep them longer before pickling, change the 
brine for fresh. When ready to pickle, take the mar- 
tynias from the brine, wash, put into a jar, and cover 
them with vinegar; let them soak for a day or two. 
Make a pickle with two pounds sugar to one gallon vine¬ 
gar, and such spices, and as many, as are fancied ; we 
use cloves, allspice, and mace; any others may be added. 
Tie the spices in a muslin bag, put this with the sugar in¬ 
to the vinegar, and bring to a boil: when hot, pour over 
the martynias, which have been removed from the vine¬ 
gar in which they are soaked, and placed in a jar or keg. 
Place the bag of spices in with the martynias, where it 
may remain until the strength is exhausted. As with 
other pickles, it is well to heat up the vinegar at inter¬ 
vals of two or three days, and pour back over the niar- 
tynias, doing this two or three times. Those who have 
once tried martynia pickles, will be sure to provide for a 
supply every year. 
SsalSesl CaacniiMlfoers.—Questions as to 
these come every year. We do not know of any market 
for them in New York. All pickling establishments that 
we know anything about, purchase the cucumbers in the 
fresh state, and treat them in their own way. During the 
late war there was a demand for pickles in any form, but 
at present salted cucumbers, whatever may be the case 
elsewhere, are not wanted in the New York market. 
CSaoppcel IPIelcHc.—This is easily prepared 
and generally liked. We every year put up a large jar of 
it, though we have no rule for making it. Green toma¬ 
toes, cabbage, encumbers, peppers, and a few onions, are 
all chopped small, well salted, and allowed to stand over 
night. Tlie next day they arc all drained on a colander, 
and a boiling vinegar, to which 2 lbs. sugar for each 
gallon, and spice ad-libilum has been added, is poured 
over the mixture. In a few days drain off the vinegar, 
boil, and return it. 
Ayirslais-e BIcb-bI ISoolss.—“ W. J. E.”— 
If the editors of a herd book have made certain rules 
guiding them in recording entries, they will naturally and 
consistently adhere to them. But as regards this breed, 
there need be no trouble, as there are three Ayrshire 
Herd books, and the one referred to is not the one in 
which this stock in question was previously entered, as 
it is only in its first volume so far. Probably the Herd 
Book you should have selected is that edited by Mr. 
J. D. W. French, North Andover, Mass. 
Tlie Caw-*© «>f Sbsbm.4 Sbi Coraa.—“F. 
II. D.,” Lowell, Mass. The immediate “ cause of smut ” 
is tlie presence of the spores (or seeds) of Ustilagomaydis. 
The swellings and distortions seen on various parts of 
the plant, especially upon the young grain, are due to the 
presence of a minute fungus (to which the above name 
has been given) that lives and grows within the tissues 
of the plant; the black substance, which, when ripe, 
becomes a black powder, is the reproductive portion, or 
spores, wliich answer the same purpose that seeds do in 
plants of a higher grade. These spores arc individually 
so exceedingly minute that, when magnified 250 diame¬ 
ters, they appear only as large as the head of an ordinary 
pin, and may easily escape detection if attached to the 
seed corn when sown. These spores may he brought by 
the wind, or carried to the field with the manure, and 
smut appear in a field even if the precaution has been 
taken to pickle the seed before sowing. 
ISeal Amts.—-We have this past summer re¬ 
ceived numerous letters about the small red ants that so 
often give the housekeeper so much trouble. These let¬ 
ters among them enumerated about all the remedies we 
had ever heard suggested, stating that they had been 
tried in vain. At length, after the letters, came the ants 
themselves, invading and rendering useless a pantry. We 
procured some fresh “ Persian Insect Powder,” and 
sprinkled it over the shelves; the next morning myriads 
of dead ants were swept up. Two or three applications, 
and not an ant was to be seen. This “ Insect Powder” 
(Pyretlirum) is now sold by the pound in bulk by the lead¬ 
ing druggists. It should he fresh and strong smelling, 
and be kept in a well closed bottle or jar. 
"Wllaiite BSsiclileltci-ries,—“ P. W. T.” 
sends, specimens collected in Mansfield, Mass., and 
wishes information about them. Huckleberries are apt 
to vary in the color of their fruit, several species pro¬ 
ducing both blue and black berries; occasionally the 
fruit is red, and more rarely white. We have had speci¬ 
mens from most of the New England States, but never 
heard of their occurrence in any considerable quantities. 
Should it ever happen that the wild fruit gets sufficient¬ 
ly scarce, to make the cultivation of the huckleberry 
profitable, the white variety will no doubt be much prized. 
Very {Elite si Swindle—IBe careful 
WHAT you Sign.—Much trouble comes to farmers, 
from the bogus lightning-rod men, and other swindlers, 
through carelessly signing documents they do not road 
carefully and see what they really amount, to. A neighbor 
signed an agreement (as he supposed) to pay $15 for a 
lightning-rod. When the “ principal ” disappeared his 
“successor” presented, the other day, the matured 
agreement, which was, in fact, $128. less $15, or $113 1 !— 
For some time past an “Agricultural Manufactory” in 
New Hampshire has had an agent or agents traveling, es¬ 
tablishing “agencies” in New England, for the sale of 
farm implements. The local agent appointed, usually a 
farmer, gives an order for a lot of sample implements 
that he thinks ho can use or dispose of readily ; they are 
“hilled” to him at a good discount, and he (foolishly) 
gives a note for them at once, payable a year ahead, or 
when they are sold, perhaps. His note, duly executed, is 
carried away by the traveling agent, is turned over to 
other parties, but the maker of the note whistles in vain 
for the implements. To quiet him, various excuses, 
“ fire,” “ strike of hands,” etc., are given for not prompt¬ 
ly forwarding the implements. Since our humbug article 
was in type, we have received a list of 23 persons, in as 
many towns in Connecticut, who have given their notes 
thus, and we hear that there are a multitude of others in 
like condition, some of whom gave their notes, six, eight, 
and ten months ago for $100 and upwards, and some of 
whom have not yet been able to get a single one of the 
things ordered and immediate delivery promised. A 
meeting of these men is soon to be held in Hartford, 
when further facts will come out. Let all mark well the 
heading to this item, and heed it. 
GJsitlaei’iiag; €Il<t>ver Seeal.—“D. A. Mc- 
A.,” Jackson, Tenn. Two crops of clover seed cannot 
be gathered in one season from the same field. To save 
a crop of seed, the clover is cut early, or when in full 
blossom, for hay, and is then left to grow until it blos¬ 
soms a second time, when it matures its seed in Septem¬ 
ber. The seed may be gathered by cutting it with a 
mowing machine, to the cutter-bar of which a piece of 
sheet iron is fixed by two or three small bolts. The 
sheet-iron apron drags behind the cutter-bar. The holes 
for the bolts may be drilled through the cutter-bar by any 
blacksmith, and when done with, the sheet iron apron 
may be removed. The cutter-bar may be raised to cut as 
high as possible, and a machine having an adjustable bar 
would be most suitable for this work. The clover beads 
gathered upon the apron may he raked oft - from time to 
time in heaps, which may be left to be rained upon and 
dried until cured. When finally dried, the heads are 
stored until cold weather, and the seed should be hulled 
upon a dry, frosty day. 
’3'icits obi B-iJbbbbIbs.—“ J. L. M.,” Washing¬ 
ton Co., Pa. Every person who keeps sheep ought to 
have a good hand-book to which lie may refer for advice 
and directions as to their management. The small cost 
of such a hook would he repaid many times in a year to 
one who keeps a flock. Refer to Stewart’s Shepherd’s 
Manual, for a method of destroying ticks on iambs. 
ff’ceiliiig - Oats to a Colt.—“E. D.,” 
Westfield, N. J. There is no truth in the idea that to 
feed whole oats to a colt will “cause a distension of the 
veins of the lower jaw, and attract the blood and humors 
down into the eye, and cause blindness.” But it is bet¬ 
ter to have oats crushed for a young colt, or even for 
horses, as they are more digestible when so treated than 
when fed whole. A colt, of two months should not. have 
many oats. A handful daily is sufficient to begin with. 
