•2 GO 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
every year by over-drying. The greener it is 
got into the barn, so as not to mold, the bet¬ 
ter it will retain its flavor and tenderness. 
Out in the morning after the dew has dried, 
grass may be exposed to one day’s sun, and if 
dry enough, get it in before dark. If not dry 
enough, it should be cocked before the dew 
falls, the cocks opened for an hour or two the 
next forenoon, and then hauled in. This is 
common, and approved among all good farmers, 
but, nevertheless, many make the mistake of 
getting down more grass at one time than they 
can well manage. The loss of hay annually in 
this way is- immense. The preferable way, as 
stated in June number, is briefly as follows: 1st 
day, cut (with a machine) after dew is off; put 
in cocks before 4 o’clock (N. B.: little or no 
stirring or turning); 2d day, open cocks after 
the ground is hot (no thin spreading or turning); 
afternoon throw together in loose heaps, and 
cock up before 6 P. M., making large cocks; 
3d and subsequent days, let it stand in the cock, 
till it has sweat, and until it is convenient to get 
it in, then open and air the heap a little before 
carting in and salt in the mows, but not extrav¬ 
agantly, as is often necessary when hay is got 
in the same day it is cut. 
How to Hobble a Horse or Mule. 
Persons traveling on horseback, especially in 
new countries, have often occasion to let thejr 
horses graze. The horse is unsaddled, the 
bridle removed, and he is either tethered or 
hobbled and left to feed for the night or the 
“nooning.” A horse accustomed to it will sel¬ 
dom do himself injury if picketed by a 25 or 30 
foot rope—one end being made fast about his 
neck, or fastened in his halter, and the other 
end tied to a pin or stake. The cavalryman of 
the U. S. Army is provided with a 30 foot “ la¬ 
riat” of best hemp 14 in., 4-strand rope, with 
an eye spliced in one end, and weighing 2 lbs. 
6 oz. Horses picketed with this or any rope are 
apt to get the rope caught under the fetlock of a 
hind-foot, and then, if being near the end of their 
tether, they happen to turn toward the stake, 
the chances are that they will be pulled back, 
and either be cast or strained, or the rope will 
chafe the skin or rub it off the pastern under 
the fetlock. This causes a very ugly sore, hard 
to heal, and apt to run into grease or scratches. 
Hobbled, by fastening the halter to fore-foot, 
the animal often gets the other foot over the 
strap and is then in trouble. If one fore-foot be 
tied to one bind-foot, there is a possibility that 
the other hind-foot may get entangled and the 
horse cast; and hobbled in either way, a horse 
that is used to it will make very good time, if 
any body wants to catch him in a hurry. 
The best way of hobbling we have ever used 
is the one figured. It is perfectly safe on al¬ 
most any ground; the horse can not get hurt 
even if the cord catches in a stub, unless he is 
frisky, and entirely unused to it. It may be 
made loose to permit ease in going, or so short 
as almost to prevent locomotion. A mule may 
be thus tied so as to be perfectly under control. 
With an ordinary hobble, and even with this, 
if tied 12 inches long, a mule will travel faster 
than a man can run, and dodge about astonish¬ 
ingly. But shortened down so that his longest 
step can be but about 1 foot long, he remains 
very truly your faithful and obedient servant. 
A simple cord a yard long, or a thong cut from 
a green hide, is all that is needed. The cord is 
passed once about the fore-leg above the fetlock 
and half tied, leaving the ends even; these are 
twisted together for a foot or less and half tied 
again; then they are passed around the other 
leg and tied fast in a square knot. If the horse 
is to be hobbled often, it is well to have two 
pieces of leather, 6 inches long, and 2 J inches 
wide, and cut transverse slits to pass the cord 
through half an inch from the ends. These may 
*be put under the cord on the outside of each 
leg to prevent chafing, which they effectually do. 
Work the Lazy Bulls. 
Why should not these well fed lazy beasts 
earn their own living in the yoke ? They are 
strong, the labor does them good, they are more 
easily handled, and if they be not overworked, 
are surer stock getters, in every way better, but 
not so handsome. The sleek look of the stabled 
and pampered lord of the herd, whose form is 
well rounded out, whose eyes stand out with 
fatness, may be lost in a measure, but firmer 
muscles and a better constitution, and habits of 
prompt obedience learned in the yoke, will 
more than make good the loss. Besides, the 
good looks of a really finely formed animal will 
not be essentially impaired. Work the bull with 
a head yoke as figured on page 80 (March), in a 
horse cart, or before a pair of oxen. In these 
days of high wages and scarce labor we should 
make the most of all the muscle on the farm. 
A subscriber in Wayne Co., thus wrote of a 
neighbor, some months since: “ He has a three- 
year-old bull which he broke to work more than 
a year ago. He works him in yoke or harness, 
with lines and bits, or without, single before a 
wagon, or beside a horse, and at all kinds of 
work, and says ‘he would as lief drive him 
before a $200 carriage as any way.’ ” 
Sight, Hearing, and Smell of Horses. 
A horse gains the knowledge of objects to 
which he is not in immediate proximity not 
alone by what he sees. This seems to be 
often altogether overlooked by those who cover 
up his eyes at least so as to prevent his seeing 
any thing behind or on either side of him. 
When a horse hears a strange sound he is bound 
to look at the object making it if he can. If he 
can not, it makes him nervous, restless and scary, 
while if he can satisfy his sight, even though he 
be somewhat alarmed, he will almost always 
submit to guidance, or will stand while it passes 
him. Strange smells sometimes affect a horse 
similarly to sounds, and because we can not smell 
any thing, or do not think of it as a cause of un¬ 
easiness, the conduct of the horse is inexplica¬ 
ble to us. When horses make the acquaintance 
of new and strange objects, their attention be- 
ing attracted by sound, next they wish to see 
them, and when they have sufficiently and cau¬ 
tiously reconnoitred them, they ~ invariably , if 
they can, approach and satisfy their sense of 
smell. When next the reader is driving a horse 
and approaches some object by which' he is 
startled, let him observe the inflated nostril, and 
its quick motions, the rapid snuffs and deep in¬ 
spirations of the animal. Thus the horse as ev¬ 
idently seeks information about the object of his 
fears through the nostril, as by his hearing or 
sight. Those who blind their horses, that is, 
cover their eyes, by “blinds” or “blinkers,” if 
their object be to prevent the animals being 
alarmed, essentially fail; for until this semi¬ 
blindness becomes second nature, they are anx¬ 
ious, and listening to every strange sound, snuf¬ 
fing every breeze,—in fact, trying to makegood 
their loss of sight by caution, hearing, and scent. 
The horse ought for his owner’s safety, and his 
own comfort, to have the free use of all his 
faculties. We would never break a horse to be 
driven with blinders, nor use any horse thus 
blinded, unless early education had made it nec¬ 
essary. The custom of our best horsemen is 
to supply the place of the old blindered head 
stall by a light strong bridle. The horses look 
better, travel more securely, as they see better 
how to pick their way over slippery pavements 
and rough roads, and as far as our own obser¬ 
vation goes they are freer and easier on the 
road, more trusty and less liable to shy. All 
lovers of the horse will hail with pleasure his 
freedom from this imposition. 
Winter Wheat. 
Wherever in temperate regions of the world 
we find good farming, Wheat is a staple pro¬ 
duct. For continued success the crop needs 
very discriminating and intelligent culture. It 
has many enemies, requires excellent soil, well 
drained and enriched, a careful selection and 
preparation of seed, and care in harvesting to 
ensure success. On new land or in a new coun¬ 
try, most of the conditions for success are 
found in the soil, and in the absence of insect 
enemies, but if, when the country grows older 
wheat gives place to coarser grains, the evidence 
is incontestible that the farmers lack intelli¬ 
gence in regard to their own business. This de¬ 
plorable state of things exists in many parts of 
our country, but happily in some extensive re¬ 
gions, intelligence, and with it the culture of 
wheat, are rapidly increasing. This is true of 
some parts of New-England and of Hew York, 
and both spring and winter wheat are now 
raised where the culture was suspended a few 
years ago. Thorough drainage, the use of clo¬ 
ver as a green manure, and a less exhausting 
system of cropping with cereals and grasses, 
the extensive introduction of root crops, and 
more liberal and intelligent system of manur¬ 
ing have contributed to this effect. 
The earlier wheat is sown after the middle of 
August, the better on the whole. Early sown 
wheat heads earlier in the spring and is less sub¬ 
ject to injury from the midge (Cecidomya tritici ), 
which attacks the heads. Late sown, on the 
contrary, is more likely to escape the Hessian 
fly, a closely allied species {Cecidomya destructor), 
which lays its eggs on the leaves in September, 
and also in May. Feeding off the early sown 
wheat about the first of October, with calves or 
