130 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aran., 
Mow to nallli:.—Jobn K. Busteed, a milker 
of 25 years’experience, says he always milks his cows 
in the same order, and that is Ihe order of their calving, 
so that each cow knows her turn. He wipes the teats off 
with dry hands, and taking hold X-fasluon, milks two 
teats dry; then takes the others—always keeps his hands 
dry, and never has any trouble about the cows holding up 
their milk. lie tliinks the practice of changing from one 
cow to another (or from one pair of teats to the other), 
gets both milker and cows in bad habits.E. Doble 
practises very much in the same way, never changing 
liis hands to the other teats before the first two are 
milked dry, except in stripping-Tiie philosophy of this 
practice seems to be tliatas the cow gets no relief or but 
little before the second pair of teals is partly milked, 
until that time at least, she will not withhold her milk. 
Feealing^ yoiassg Calves is attended with 
some difficulty, because they will knock over the pail 
unless it is held. Mr. M. Hester, Huron Co., Ohio, has 
pieces of hollow logs, cut one foot long, into which he sets 
the pails firmly about half way.—A good idea. 
lj®sagf Css.1; 5’eedl Isetter t&asi SIa®srt. 
A correspondent reasons as follows : When a boy, we 
were taught to cut straw and hay for iiorses as short as 
possible, and the reason assigned was, that horses would 
eat it sooner, and with greater avidity. In after life, we 
observed that it was not so good for the horses. Straw 
and hay cut one inch long, for animals that do not chew 
the cud, is far better than if cut to one-fourth inch. 
When straw is cut very short, much of it goes into the 
stomach without being crushed. For this reason, a great 
deal of it does not digest, though the juices of the 
stomach would have di..:solved it, had it been properly 
masticated. When a horse begins to eat, the salivary 
glands send a stream of saliva into tlie animal’s mouth, to 
moisten and soften the feed and to prepare it for more 
easy digestion. Therefore it is imponant that every piece 
of straw or hay should be cruslied and macerated between 
the teeth, and the saliva thoroughly mingled with what¬ 
ever is eaten before it is swallowed. As saliva is a pow¬ 
erful solvent, the organic structure of all fe8d should be 
broken up by the teeth, and tlie saliva and all the small 
fragments _brought in contact with the liquid. 
Feed Sheep Megiilarly.—“ Sheppard,” 
writing from Berlin Heights, Ohio, truly says : “ We 
who have the care of domestic- animals, cannot be too 
particular with them, especially in regard to .set times of 
feeding.” He adds; “ Let any one who has had no regu¬ 
lar time for feeding sheep, now commence, and see if 
there will not be at once an improvement in the disposi¬ 
tion and condition of the flock. Regularity of feeding 
sheep is an essential point in keeping them in a thriving 
condition, but one which is overlooked or unlieeded by 
many. Sheep fed at irregular times know not when to 
expect their food , tliey tlierefore wander about and are 
uneasy, not quiet and peaceable as they should be and 
will be if treated in the right way, and fed morning and 
evening a perfectly regular hour. 
Mow Crows Still lLianil»s,—Mr. L. P. 
Maynard, an old. farmer, says • He was living on Fisher’s 
Island (in Long Island Sound otf New London) some 25 
years since, and often found young lambs dead, all of 
them with tiieir eyes out, and could not accouitt for it, 
but supposed the eyes were picked by the crows after the 
lamb had died. One day, however, he saw a sheep witii 
a lamb just dropped by her side, when a crow marched 
up, and before he could interfere, picked out both eyes of 
the live lamb. Of course the lamb died, and Mr. M. has 
known of Ihe same thing occurring repeatedly since. 
Several farmers, to whom we have mentioned tliis, sub¬ 
stantiate it, from their own or their neighbors’ experience. 
Allsamy, New 'Work, and Mostom 
Eilve Stock ffliarltets,—“ Subscriber.” New York 
and Boston are terminal markets, so to speak. Albany, 
however, is not, and a large number of tlie animals 
offered there, or sold there perhaps, are reshipped to New 
York and Boston; in fact they do not leave the cars. 
Wool or Cjofcase.—“ We can’t r.aise wool 
for less than 75c. a lb.” So say the Ohio Wool Growers, 
in Convention assembled. Is it possible ? To lliis com¬ 
plexion have we come at last ? Where are tl>e “ Im¬ 
proved American Merinos?” Have llie manufacturers 
learned to “discriminate?” Won’t lliey pay as much 
for grease as fur wool ? There is sometliing wrong some¬ 
where. Were we not told that if we would pay a 
thousand or fifteen hundred dollars for an Infantado, we 
could raise wool for little more than the expense of 
shearing. It is not two years ago tliat, at one of tli.e 
pneetlngs for Discussion in tlie Evenings during tiie N. 
Y. State Fair at Rochester, Lewis F. Allen cautioned 
farmers against rusiiing tlioughtlessly into sheep specula¬ 
tion, saying that he liad known wool sold for 250. per lb., 
and probably it would not be many years before we should 
witness the same thing again. Whereupon up rose an 
Honorable gentleman from Iowa, and remarked “ Well, 
we can raise wool for twenty-five cents a pound.” Is he 
of the same opinion still, or does it cost more to pro¬ 
duce grease than he calculated? 
laying ®ii tlseii* S®igs.—It may be 
well at this season to again remind the readers of the 
Agriculturist, that all danger from sows lying on their 
young can be obviated by simply fastening poles on the 
sides of Ihe pen, say a foot from the sides, and a footfrom 
the floor. The sow rarely, if ever, lies on her young, she 
crushes them against the sides of the pen. The poles, by 
keeping the sow a foot or so from the sides, prevent all 
danger. It is a simple matter. Any one who can out 
down a pole in the woods, and knows how to use a saw 
and a liammer, can spike them together and to the sides 
of the pen, and the thing is done. It is exceedingly an¬ 
noying to lose two or three little pigs out of a nice litter, 
when lialf an hour’s work would have prevented it. It 
is not merely the loss now. Next fall they will be worth 
$20, $30, or perhaps $40 a piece, at little cost for keeping. 
Coiatrivamce to Mu-event “Inter¬ 
fering.’’—We have noticed in use upon the Third 
Avenue Railroad in this city the contrivance illustrated 
below to prevent horses interfering with their fore feet. 
It consists of a piece of 
oak board, % Inch thick, 
of about the shape in¬ 
dicated, bound w'ith an 
iron hoop, and with the 
center cut out for light¬ 
ness. This is of a width 
sufficient to go easily 
between the fore-legs; 
yet to touch both and be 
a perpetual hint to the 
horse to carry tiis feet 
farther apart. This piece 
of wood is suspended 
upon the martingale 
strap, as shown, and 
connected with the girth 
by two small straps, kept about two inches apart by a bit 
of hoop iron rivited to each. The martingale strap, or a 
broad strap connecting it with the collar, is attached to 
the opposite and forward end. In use, this is allowed to 
swing freely a few inches below the breast, and is said to 
be very effectual in preventing interfering. 
Aslies and Mlaster.—“G. H. L. H.” has 
12 acres upland grass land, from which he cut 25 tons of 
first quality Timothy last year. He wants to top-dress it 
with ashes and plaster, but neither knows how much nor 
in what proportions lo apply them. As to the proportion 
of the two, hardly two farmers will agree, or have the 
same reason for preferring any particular proportion, 
while all agree that such an application will add often 
half a ton to the acre. As to quantity, he can afford to pay 
as much for this manure as the additional value of the crop 
will amount to,—because iis effect will be seen for years. 
Nepa-ul (Naked) Barley.—Mr. Henry 
Fleming, of Canada West, sends us the following in- 
leresling collection of facts about naked barley; “In 
May, 1SG2, I obt;iined of the Agriculturist some of the 
‘Nepaul Barley.’ From that small amount of seed I 
have now, by repeated sowings, upwards of 200 bushels of 
most beautiful barley. Will you not state why it is not 
more cultivated. I find it weighs 61 pounds per bushel. If 
this be tlie ‘ naked barley,’ or ‘ wheat barley,’ described in 
‘Johnson’s Farmers’ Encyclopaedia,’ you will find he says ; 
‘ The six-rowed miked barley is cultivated in various 
parts of Europe, and is greatly esteemed for its feitility. 
In some parts of Germany it is regarded as the most 
valuable kind of barley, and by the French, on account 
of its supposed productiveness, it has been termed 
‘ celeslial barbey,’ or ‘ lieavenly barley.’—M. Mazuceo, 
in a French paper, earneslly recommends the more gen¬ 
eral cultivation of naked barley, as he slates that it 
weighs as much as the best wheat, and its quality 
resembles them so much that it may be used for the pur¬ 
pose of making good bread, and also for pearl barley. 
In mountainous countries its produce is twenty-four to 
one.— Warren Hastings s;iid, after twelve years’ ex¬ 
perience in the cultivation of naked barley, that it is of the 
greatest importance to promote the culture of this sort of 
grain. ‘ It is,’ he adds, ‘the corn that, next to rice, gives 
the greatest weight of flour per acre, an-l it may be eaten 
with no other preparation than that of boiling. It requires 
little or no dressing when sent to the mill, having no husk, 
and consequently produces no bran. . It is gathered into 
the barn, and may even be consumed, when the seasons 
are favorable, in about 80 or 90 days after being sown; 
and there is no species of grain better calculated for 
countries where the summer is short, provided the vege¬ 
tation be rapid.’ ‘Naked barley, or wheat barley, is so 
termed in consequence of the grain separating readily 
from the chaff when thrashed. It is a native of Ihe north, 
and will bear sowing early in the season ; it makes strong 
malt, and is excellent for the fattening of hogs and cattle.’ 
The above description corresponds very well with my 
‘ Nepanl Barley.’ It is very prolific and hardy, stands 
drouth well, and is not attacked by insects, smut, or 
other diseases. It makes good rnush, bread, etc.” 
WIseat CJlaafT Mackiug' Ice.— 
“S. L. P.,” of Gloucester Co., N. J.. writes: “I have 
seen at different times in various agricultural journals, 
materials recommended for keeping ice, such as saw¬ 
dust, turning shavings, tan, salt hay, etc., but among 
them all I have never seen, I believe, wheat chaff re¬ 
commended. I have tried that for the past Ihree years, 
and prefer it to any of them ; it is readily obtained, espe¬ 
cially by all farmers ; is light and easily handled, and not 
good for much else, excepting to throw in the barn-yard 
as an absorbent, which can be done with it after it has 
done its office in the ice-honse, so it is not lost in this 
respect. With a common dung fork the house is easily 
cleaned out much easier than where saw dust is used. 
Tliose who try it, will, I think, find it mticli more satisfac¬ 
tory than saw dust, shavings, or tan. My plan is, to cover 
the ice well with it early in the spring, and as the ice 
melts away from the walls of the house, I push down the 
chaff :iU around as solid as I can. Afler I have suc¬ 
ceeded in getting it down solid in this way, I find the ice 
wastes quite slowly by melting, even in the warmest 
weather. I prefer the chaff of bold while wheat, as it 
has no beards on it, but the other will answer admirably. 
Moles Eating’ ofi* Young Trees. (?) 
—H. R. A., Steinsburg, Pa., writes ; “ I have a nice lot of 
young apple trees, two years old, and moles attack them 
and eat them entirely off below the surface. Please give 
hints for destroying them.” It is not moles, but probably 
borers that eat the stems, and the moles, if in the soil 
near the trees, are there to eat some of the insects, 
which may be living on the roots of the trees, or which 
are ready to ascend when the warm season comes, 
A Cellar akore 45s-©Mnd.—Mr. Pfeffer, 
of Shelby Co., low'a, asks how he can build a good, cheap 
cellar on the flat prairie. We presume he cannot get 
good drainage and so his cellar must be aboveground 
for the most part. If one can dig two feet and .slill .se¬ 
cure a dry bottom, it is easy to use the earth for walls, 
and making them some 3 feet tliick (2 at the top and 4 at 
tlie bottom), have a cellar 6 or 7 feet in the clear—cool in 
summer and warm in 'winter. We saw in Richmond 
Co. (Staten Island) last summer, on a low part of the 
island, an ice house and milk house together, almost 
altogether above ground, the whole of which was covered 
with several feet of earth, beautifully sodded, and look¬ 
ing very much like the bomb-proof of a fort. 
Building Stone Fences.— In a recent 
conversation with the Hon. John McLean, of Wheatland, 
one of the most experienced farmers in the St;ite, he re¬ 
marked that he formerly had trouble with liis stone 
fences being thrown down by the frost, but since he had 
adopted the plan of building them on a ridge thrown up 
a foot or eighteen inches high, they had stood very well. 
The plan has a double advantage • The soil thrown out 
from the side of the wall lowers the ground, while at the 
same time it raises the fence, and thus saves stones and 
expense in building. Knowing the importance of details 
in all such operations, we should be glad if he would be 
kind enough to write them out for the Agriculturist. And 
at the same time, we should like to liear from others. 
^i-aiu Brill or BroaiS-Cast SoTrer. 
J. C. S., Fond du Lac Co., Wis. We certainly recom¬ 
mend to you to buy the drill rather than the broadcast 
sower. Excepton very rough or stony land, our common 
grains are belter drilled ttian sown broadcast. The dis¬ 
tribution is more uniform: the depth is accurately gauged; 
the amount of seed required is less, the stand is more 
even, and the yield better. 
To tlra’W a rusted Wail or Spike.— 
First di’ive it in a little which breaks the hold, and then 
it may be drawn out much easier. 
Claloridc of “ Cayuga Co. School¬ 
girl.” This term as used to express the Bleaching powder 
is in common use and correct enough, but in a chemical 
nomenclature is incorrect. If your text book employs 
it thuSs so much the worse for the text book. 
