1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
371 
water adjoining the rear of the market, a 
space of an equal length, and 50 feet or more in 
width, is occupied by the dealers for their fish- 
“c<ars,” in which tlie flsli are kept alive. These 
cars are boxes, about 10 x 12 feet, and three 
feet in depth, with their bottoms and sides 
made of slats for the free admission of M'a- 
ter ; and are sunk by putting in stones until 
the. tops only remain above water. When re¬ 
quired for use, the fish are scooped out into bask¬ 
ets with dip nets constructed for the purpose, 
and hoisted by tackles into the rear of the 
market, whence they are taken for sale or 
“ trimming ” to the stands in front. This 
operation, which commences as early as 3 
o’clock in the morning, in order that the re¬ 
tail markets and shops ma}' receive their sup¬ 
plies in season, is mostly over by noon, and 
comparative quiet reigns where a short time 
since there was great bustle and confusion. 
Large quantities of fresh fish are sent daily far 
into the interior of the country, packed in close 
boxes between alternate layers of ice. In this 
way they are preserved in all their freshness, 
and appear as delicious upon the tables of 
our inland cities and towns, as at the seaboard. 
Fresh-water fish from the lakes and rivers are 
brought here to the market in the same manner, 
except in the winter, when ice is unnecessary. 
As a full account of sales is not kept by the 
leasers of the market, an accurate statement as 
to the number of pounds sold out from the 
wholesale market daily, or yearly, cannot be 
made. One of the superintendents of the market, 
having had long experience in the business, 
estimates the average daily sales at not less than 
50,000 lbs. The yearly cash receipts at the 
market, which q^-e more easily ascertained, he 
placed, after a careful computation, at $2,000,000; 
and the amount received by independent dealers 
outside of the market at probably about $500,- 
000 more. This total of $2,500,000 gives an 
average of $48,077 paid weekly in this city for 
fresli fish, not including shell fish. We can not 
now enter into a description of the diflferent 
varieties of fish, which, with the manner of 
taking them, their comparative value in mar¬ 
ket, etc., may form themes for future articles. 
^ 4 - Iii a a ^ 
Sowing Eye Late in the Season. 
Winter rye, though not properly j^biennial 
plant, nevertheless requires a portion of two 
seasons to come to perfection. To secure 
remunerative crops it is usually necessary to 
put in the seed early in autumn or very late, 
just before the ground freezes up. With this 
statement we think all who have much experi¬ 
ence will agree; as also, to the statement that 
the rye most apt to winter-kill is that which 
being sown in the intermediate time (October or 
Hoveinber,) makes only a small growth of either 
tops or roots before the ground freezes up. 
Even this sometimes does very well, especially 
if a heavy fall of snow blankets it during the 
Aviuter. However, when the seed is put in after 
the groAving season has past, so that it will not 
germinate until the spring, av inter-killing is en¬ 
tirely avoided of course, and at the same time 
that effect is produced, Avhatever it is, Avhich 
makes winter rye sown in autumn, produce a 
crop, Avhen the same soAvn in spring, and com¬ 
ing up at almost exactly the same time, would 
not. We haA^e practised raising Avinter rye in 
this manner Avith the most satisfactory results. 
PloAV the ground as late as possible in the sea¬ 
son before it freezes, harroAviug in a thin top¬ 
dressing of Avell-rotted barn)rard manure, and 
sow the seed broadcast or in drills. The ma¬ 
nure should be as Avell rotted, or composted for 
rye, as for a crop of Avheat. If the manure is 
rather coarse, better ploAV il under, as it Avill be 
more completely covered than if harrowed in, 
unless, indeed, you use a Share’s harrow and go 
over the field twice before sowing. Wherever 
the ground is very wet, it should be underdrain¬ 
ed, if practicable. OtherAvise let it be plowed, 
and the middle furrows cleaned out before seed¬ 
ing, as shown on page 342 (Hovember). One of 
the best crops of rye that the writer ever saw 
was raised by sowing the seed in December, only 
one day previous to the falling of a deep snow 
which remained on the ground until the next 
spring. Soon after the snow disappeared, the 
rj^e came up, having suffered no injury from 
the freezing and thawing of the soil. 
This mode of raising rye can be followed 
with better success on wet land, than if the seed 
is sowed early; still, better crops can be raised 
by seeding with spring rye, if good seed can be 
procured. White winter rye and Avhite spring 
rye can now be obtained in most of our large 
cities, at the seed stores. One and a half bush¬ 
els per acre is sufficient if distributed evenly, 
provided tire seed is good and kernels small. 
If the kernels are unusually large, seven pecks 
will be none too much for one acre. * 
-»-•---- 
Cutting up Corn Stalks for Fodder. 
The advantages and disadvantages of feed¬ 
ing corn stalks chaffed or whole to stock may 
be thus stated. When the stalks are cut 
into pieces which sheep and cattle are able to 
take into their mouths and masticate, they will 
eat much more of the stalks than Avhen not cut. 
Uncut stalks are in a very ineonvenient condi¬ 
tion for feeding animals of any kind. There is 
considerable nourishment in them after the 
leaves have been eaten off, whieh sheep and 
neat cattle lose, if they are not cut so that they 
can take, them readily between their grinders. 
It is not necessary to cut stalks as short as 
some persons have recommended, in order to 
have animals eat them with avidity. For four¬ 
teen years the writer has been aceustomed to 
cut all his corn stalks with a cutter driven by 
liorse-poAver, and for several years some were 
cut about half an inch long, though for the most 
part two inches was the usual length unless 
they were very large, and to be fed to sheep. 
Heat cattle and horses Avill eat them quite as 
well Avhen cut two inches as if half an ineh 
long. And it is much safer to cut them two 
inches long than half an inch, because when 
short, hard pieees are often crowded endAvise 
between the teeth of animals, and splinters of 
the hard coating, Avhich is almost like glass for 
hardness, Avill wound the gums, making the 
mouths so sore that animals will sometimes 
suffer with hunger before they will venture to 
eat cut stalks. Moreover, it is highly probable 
that these short, flinty chips with thin sharp 
edges, injure the intestines. 
Jack-Screws—Various Uses. 
All are more or less familiar with the use 
of Jaek-screws in raising buildings, and for 
other operations, where a strong lifting power 
is demanded. For ordinary farm use they 
are better used in pairs than singly, beeause they 
stand so much firmer and are so much more 
easily adapted to the various purposes for Avhich 
i they are needed. We figure a pair of Avooden 
ones of about the following dimensions: The 
extreme length is about 3 feet, the heads being 
8 inches long and of about the same thickness. 
The shafts are 4J- to 5 inches in diameter. The 
nut-block is of hard wood (maple or beach), 4 
feet long, 10 inches wide and 5 inches thick. 
The ends of the screws are round, that is hemi¬ 
spherical, and depressions about half an inch 
deep for them to turn in are made in the strong 2 i 
or 3-inch hardwood plank Avhich rests upon the 
ground. Such a pair of screws may be procured 
in most of our cities and large villages, at hard- 
Avare stores or machine shops, or made to order. 
Such a pair of screws are much more con- 
JACK SCREWS. 
venient for raising a corner, side, or middle of a 
building, than one or moi'e single screws could 
be, for, by placing them upon the ground, a strong- 
plank or timber of any desired length, even 20 
feet or more, may be set on the nut-block, and 
thus the part over head may be raised without 
using any blocking for the screws to rest upon. 
By a little contrivance these screws may be used 
for raising large trees for transplanting, having 
balls of frozen earth encasing their roots. They 
will be found equally convenient for lifting 
any rocks that a chain may be put around, or 
logs too heavy to be moved Avith common levers. 
During the past season we have had several 
inquiries for a cheap and efficient stump-puller. 
Where great expedition is not required, a good 
pair of Jack screws Avith a strong spar, a power¬ 
ful chain, and suitable blocking, are all that is 
necessary. The chain, which should be about 
10 to 12 feet long, may usually be obtained at 
hardware or farm-implement stores in our cities 
or large villages; or second-hand chains, almost 
as good as new, may often be found at seaports, 
and if provided with hooks, they will answer 
an excellent purpose. 
The manner of operating this stump-puller is, 
to dig under a large root of the stump, and 
fasten the chain beneath the root and over the 
middle of the timber, which should rest on the 
top of the stump. The stick may be 14 or more 
feet long, and 8 or 10 inches in diameter. Then 
set the screws under one end and work them 
until the nut is run up to the heads. Hext 
block up that end of the timber, and put the 
screws under the other. When a stump is firm¬ 
ly rooted, and starts hard, it may be necessary 
to dig around and cut off some of the large roots, 
below the surface of the ground. Sometimes 
a few smart blows with a heavy sledge against 
the sides of large roots will jar them loose, Avhen 
the stump will rise Avith comparative ease. A 
blow downwards Avill often break a strong chain. 
An iron Jack screw working in a socket or 
square block, may be used in place of a pair of 
AVOoden ones, by flattening a portion of the 
under side of the ends of the Umber. This 
stump-puller may be easily worked by one man, 
who will be able to take out more stumps in a 
day, in proportion to the force emplo 3 'ed, than 
could be extracted by a large machine requir¬ 
ing a team or two, and several men to Avork it. 
