AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
how-holes should be six inches apart on the top 
of the yoke, and about seven and a half on the 
under surface of the yoke, where it bears on the 
neck. The object is to give room between the 
neck and bows sufficient to protect it from being 
wrenched in unequal drawing on rough surfaces 
and otherwise. And this room is ever needed, let 
the surface and drawing be what they may. To 
make a yoke of this kind, you must have a stick 
of timber eight inches square, of sufficient length 
for your yoke. Choose which side you please for 
the top of the yoke, strike a line the whole length 
of the stick in the centre on the top surlace. This 
will be the range for the bow-holes. Strike aline 
across this seven inches from the end of the stick. 
Where this intersects the first line, the first bow- 
-iole will strike. Another line as before, eight 
;iiches from the last, will mark the second bow- 
hole ; then another line one foot from this for the 
staple ; and one foot from this for the third bow- 
bole ; and again eight inches from this for the 
fourth bow-hole. Bore from the top with a two- 
inch augur, making a run of one and a quarter 
inches right and left from a direct line across the 
stick ; after which, dress it off in the most taste¬ 
ful and durable manner, taking great care to make 
the hearing on the neck as above directed. Use two- 
inch bows, dressed perfectly round. You may 
work cattle in this kind of yoke all kinds of wea¬ 
ther, if you choose, without ever making their 
necks sore, and you may work them six days in 
each week for months, if you choose, without 
their getting broken down, and being compelled 
to turn them put, as is often the case. 
John D. Tefft. 
(TO-FE EDING PLANTS. 
A correspondent writes : 
.... I have found by experience that young 
fruit trees and some flowering shrubs were often 
injured by over-feeding. For many years I lost 
all my cherry trees. I planted them around my 
vards, and gave them the richest soil I could 
gather. They grew finely ; some bore good crops. 
In a few years they split from the branches to the 
roots, and in a few years more they died. 
I found in journals, that this splitting was sup¬ 
posed to be induced by the heat of the sun, for 
they generally occurred on the southwest side of 
the trunk, where the sun shone the hottest. I 
soon observed, however, that cherry trees never 
split when they grew on a poor soil; so when I 
discovered them to check, I at once removed all 
tlie soil for five or six feet around them, and sup¬ 
plied its place with loam or poor gravelly matter. 
Since then, not one has split, and I presume they 
never will. When cherry trees are large and 
old, they may be safely manured, for then their 
energies are spent in bearing fruit, and they grow 
but slowly. 
Pear trees are more easily surfeited than cherry 
trees, but it affects them differently. When over¬ 
manured, the leaves coming out of the new wood 
at the ends of the twigs, instead of being one inch 
or more apart, come out in a cluster or bundle, 
and the limb ceases growing at once. 
A few years ago I procured a fine young pear 
tiee, and wishing it to grow and bear as soon as 
possible, I planted it in the range of the lowest 
point of my barnyard, so as to receive the drain¬ 
ings of the manure. The new leaves all over it 
came out in thick bundles or whorls. I immedi¬ 
ately removed all the earth from over the roots 
and filled the space with yellow loam, and turned 
the drain from it. In two weeks the new wood 
shot out and put forth its leaves, nearly two inches 
apart, and made a fine growth. I once manured 
an apple orchard of seventy trees, and every twig 
threw out the same whorls—wood ceased grow¬ 
ing. The tips of all dried, and I lost one year's 
growth. So I find trees as well as men and other 
animals can be over-fed and surfeited. 
James Fountain. 
Jefferson Valley, N. Y., Jan. 25, 1857. 
SPAYED COWS. 
To the Editor oj the American Agriculturist: 
It is now nearly thirty years since a gentleman 
in New-Hampshire called the attention of the 
public to the subject of spaying coivs, for the pur¬ 
pose ol, having them produce an uninterrupted 
flow of milk during their lives. 
This gentleman's communication was based 
upon facts—communications made to him by a 
Mr. Wynn of Natchez, and his own observations 
while staying with Mr. Wynn, who had two cows 
then in milk, which had been operated upon about 
three years before, and he stated to this gentle¬ 
man that they had never varied in the quantity of 
milk during that time, except when such varia¬ 
tion was caused by a change of lood, and gave it 
as his opinion that they would continue that flow 
of milk as long as they lived. 
I have since that time seen it stated in some 
agricultural paper that the full flow of milk not 
only continued, but that the quality was much im¬ 
proved. 
If the foregoing statements are correct, how de¬ 
sirable it would be for families which are so situ¬ 
ated that they can keep but one cow, to have her 
in this situation. 
Mr. Wynn recommended that the proper time 
for performing this operation was about three 
weeks after producing their third calf, as they 
then, as a general rule, produced their greatest 
quantity of milk, which quantity might, be contin¬ 
ued, with proper food, as long as the cow contin¬ 
ued in good health. 
Mr. Wynn stated that he was induced lo make 
this experiment upon his cows by the perusal of 
English magazines which contained accounts of 
the plowing matches in the southern counties of 
England, where most of the prizes were awarded 
to plowmen who worked spayed heifers. 
Many of your readers may recollect the high 
encomiums that were published in agricultural 
and other papers a few years since, respecting a 
drove of young beef cattle taken to the Brighton 
market by George Shaffer of Scottsville, Monroe 
county, N. Y. They were pronounced the finest 
drove of young beef cattle ever driven to that 
market, and they were spayed heifers. 
N. Goousell. 
New-Haven, Feb. 17. 1857. 
We have ourselves no experience in spay¬ 
ing cows for milk, as described above; as it 
has not yet been adopted, so far as we know, 
to any extent in the large London and other 
dairys in Great Britain, we rather doubt its 
success in the long run. It would be econ¬ 
omy undoubtedly to all who only wish to keep 
cows for their milk, as the production of 
calves to such is attended by considerable 
trouble and loss. A friend of ours in Mas¬ 
sachusetts, is now making an experiment 
with spayed cows. We have written him 
to ascertain his success and hope to get an 
answer for publication. 
As to spaying heifer calves for growing up 
to fatten, this is quite common in Europe, as 
well as pigs and lambs. Spayed heifers for 
work are not so common, as they do not 
gro w so large as oxen and are therefore not 
capable of doing the rugged heavy work gen¬ 
erally demanded of cattle. 
59 
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE SEED-HOW TO 
ECONOMIZE IT. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
As you have taken some interest in distributing 
the seeds of the sugar-cane, and given the gen¬ 
eral direction to cultivate similar to Indian corn, 
I beg to add a word or two. 
I found from my own experience, and that 
of others, that where the plant has space and 
the ground is good and well manured and cul¬ 
tivated, it tillers out from the root, and each seed 
will produce from six to a dozen canes. By 
planting from one to three seeds in a hill, and 
thinning out to one plant, there is a great saving 
in seed ; and as seed is scarce and high, those 
who have an ounce will find they can plant 1,400 
hills by putting one seed in a hill; and as it will 
tiller out according to the strength of the ground, 
an ounce of seed, judiciously planted, and culti¬ 
vated with care, will produce from 5,000 to 15,000 
canes, that will average H pounds each, and pro¬ 
duce H to 3 or more ounces ol seed. 
The ground should be dug or plowed deeply , and 
the hills three feet apart each way. The plant 
requires light and air to perfect its saccharine jui 
ces. J. C. Thompson. 
Tomfkinsvills, Staten Island, Feb. 16, 1857. 
Remarks— We do not advise using the 
seed so sparingly. It is not certain to “tiller,” 
thougli we have seen several stalks from one 
seed. Four or five seeds, or more, should 
be pul in a hill. We have sent to every ap¬ 
plicant, (some 15,000 so far,) about 300 seeds. 
These will plant 60 hills, with five kernels 
in each, or a drill 60 feet long with five 
grains to the foot. It is scarcely worth 
while to economize the seed beyond this in 
small experiments, and for extended culture 
we advise to put 6 or 8 seeds in a hill, 
which will only require about 14 pounds to 
the acre. 
COOKING DRIED APPLES. 
To the Editor of American Agriculturist. 
You were kind enough to compliment my apple 
sauce and apple pies, and request me to send a 
note of the process of making them. The sauce 
was made by simply boiling the dried apples soft, 
and rubbing them through a common colander, 
which gives a nice pulpy mass, and separates all 
remnants of cores, skins, and “ hard spots.” The 
sauce is then seasoned to suit the taste. A little 
cider boiled down one half or more, in Autumn 
when new and sweet, adds to the good flavor ol 
any kind of dried apple sauce. 
The pies were made of the same sifted sauce, 
seasoned and put into raised crust. A very good 
crust, and one which is tar more digestible and 
nutritious than that literally full of fat (shorten¬ 
ing,) is made as follows : Dissolve half a tea¬ 
spoonful of soda in a tea-cup full of sweet milk. 
Take enough flour lo thicken the milk to a stiff 
dough, mix well with it a teaspoonful of cream 
of tartar, and a table-spoonful of butter or lard. 
Knead the whole well together, roll thin, put m 
the sauce and immediately bake in a quick oven. 
If you think the above particulars will be new to 
any of your lady readers, you are of course at lib¬ 
erty to print them. Harriet. 
Taste is as well displayed in placing the 
dishes on a pine table, as in arranging the 
folds of a damask curtain. 
Women dread a wit as they do a gun; they 
are always afraid lest it should go off and 
injure some one. 
