4=32 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
liealtli—but this is hardly probable, for it has 
long been the practice of bee-keepers to save 
empty or partly tilled combs with scrupulous 
care, and give tliein to the bees. And no bad 
results have ever been noticed. 
-«»» — o— ■ ■- 
Cotton Culture—Costs and Eisks. 
BV K. HINKLEY, M. D., EUTAW, QltEENE CO., ALABAMA. 
“Timothy Bunker, Esq.,” (p. 316, Sept.) has 
gone into big figures in his estimate for a cotton 
place, and his figures may be considerably re¬ 
duced. His estimate of yield takes for granted 
a crop is certain. But cotton is one of tlie most 
precarious crops grown, and has numerous ene¬ 
mies. A man in Sumter, ten mites from here, 
who planted GOO acres cotton, will make one bale 
to 50 acres; cause of failure, rust and worms. 
His loss will be over $30,000. This is but one 
case in many this s'ear. I planted 300 acres, 
expecting to make 100 bales cotton. Rain, rust, 
boll worm, and caterpillar, will cut the yield off 
so I shall be glad to get 20 bales. Others are 
better or worse, as the case ma}' be. Tim Bunk¬ 
er puts down GO hands for a 500 acre place. 
Forty hands are plenUg and 30 is all I want. 
I cultivate this year 300 acres corn, and 300 
cotton, with 18 hands ; will make G or 8 bush¬ 
els corn, and had it not been for causes above 
mentioned, would have made 100 bales cotton. 
I have 10 mules, run eight double plows, part 
time, and part time six. I worked corn and 
cotton with Snlkey cultivators. Wages $10 
per month, and doctor’s bills. Rations 31 lbs. 
bacon and one peck meal per Aveek. Tliree 
thousand bushels corn do the plantation one 
year. Mr. Bunker only enumerates Avages for 
10 months; it takes the Avhole 12 on a cotton 
place, and sometimes 13 could be used up. There 
is no lest or intermission in Avork for cotton. 
Land is scare that yields fine bale to the acre; 
the majority of cotton land yields only half a 
bale—much laud one bale to three acres; a bale 
is 500 lbs. Land can bo rented at less than $10 
per acre—for all except the veiy best. Five 
hundred acres land Avorked in cotton, could be 
stocked and Avorked for $15,000 per annum for 
first j'ear, by any Avhite man Avith brains, very 
easily, afier first year; cost of stock and imple¬ 
ments to be deducted, and seed also.—Half a 
bale to the acre Avould yield 250 bales of 500 
lbs., at 30c. per lb., Avorth ...$37,500.00 
Deduct $30 per bale for rope, bagging, 
hauling, Avharfage, insurance, tax, 
commission,etc.,etc. $7,500.00 
Leaves.$30,000.00 
Less expenses of plantation.. 15,000.00 
Leaving a profit of $15,000 for lirst year, pro¬ 
vided nothing happened to injure the crop, etc. 
White men Avho improve their own land, 
AVork improved maclunery, and Avork better 
than negroes, may do better even. 
There is no need of rushing at the thing so 
largely. Why not be satisfied Avith one or two 
hundred acres? The cotton fever is likely to 
kill some, some never i-ecovcr, and some are 
not injured by it. This year it Avill kill a good 
many. A New York General has thrown up a 
large plantation in disgust, and gone back to 
New York; others are weathering the storm. 
The Slaughter of Animals for Food. 
There are certiiin facts concerning the killing 
of tile animals which form so large a portion of 
our food, that should be known by every meat 
buyer, if not meat eater, because they effect the 
condition of the meat, its healthfulness and keep¬ 
ing qualities. Our own attention has been par¬ 
ticularly directed to the subject by the opening 
of an immense slaughter-house near the City of 
New York, by capitalists and butchers of 
Chicago. The new Abattoir is in fact a regular 
Chicago slaugliter-houseforali kinds of animals, 
on a larger scale tlian anything existing there. 
The old fashioned Avay of killing beeves, Avas 
to knock them in the head Aviih a pole-ax, then 
cut their throats, and Avhile bleeding commence 
skinning and slinging them up by the hind leg.s. 
Our butchers Avere sIoav to learn of the Jews,. 
who practice tlirowing and slinging the animal 
and then cutting its throat, and in this Avay 
securing the most perfect possible bleeding, and 
folloAving the Mosaic command, “the blood 
tliereof, which is the life thereof, shalt thou not 
eat.” Our butchers are now following a very 
similar practice, modifying it by hitting the 
beasts a merciful rap now and then on the head 
to destroy consciousness. In this way the beef 
bleeds better, as all the blood of the hind quar¬ 
ters at least tends to the throat. 
There is a serious objection to knocking 
beeves in the head. Tlie shock to the nervous 
system is such as to cause tremor and great 
rigidity in the muscles, although it is the part 
of humanity to put the poor beasts as soon as 
possible in a condition of unconsciousness. But 
this is a serious hinderance to free bleeding. 
European butchers have long practiced Avhat is 
termed “ pricking down,” and this has also been 
to some extent done, or rather tried in this 
country. It consists in driving a narrow knife 
blade by an instantaneous motion in between 
the head and the first vertebra, piercing the 
spinal marrow. This destroys all sense, and 
paralizes all the muscles of the body, leaving 
them soft and flexible. When an animal is in 
this condition, it must be slung up by the hind 
legs and bled at once, Avhen the blood Avill floAV 
quite as freely, as if the animal Avere conscious. 
This method therefore combines the excellence 
of the Hebrew Avay, and the humanity of the i 
old knocking doAvn process 
When an animal is kilied during, or soon after 
a fright or great heat and exhaustion, it rarely 
bleeds Avell, but the meat is left bloody^ and 
feverish, it soon spoils, and is besides unhealthy. 
! Whether the pai-o.xj^sm of fear, Avliich occurs 
i Avdien tlie animal is suddenly in full conscious¬ 
ness slung up by one or both hind legs, and j 
I Avhich lasts until it dies, has any bad effect on the | 
I meat, physicians must determine. Tiie supe- 1 
riority of the pricking down process is so evident, | 
that Ave think it ought always to be followed.— ; 
It Avas not practised at the neAV Abattoir— 
though the killing there Avas done very ex- 
I O O •} 
peditiously and the beef looked exceedingly Avell. 
Horse-breaking and Horse-sense. 
A horse’s sense is good common sense. Many 
a man does not knoAv half so much about some i 
things as a horse, and there is a gretil difference ^ 
in horses. The horse is not ntiturally suspicious, 
but he is timid Avhen young. He learns very 
soon Avhat his Aveapons are—teeth and heels— 
and in Avhat his security lies—-flight. His liold- ‘ 
ness and “ the glory of his nostrils ” come Avhen j 
“he rejoiceth in his strength.” With his age 
comes the knoAvledge of his poAvers, tind if he 
hits never been mastered—never made to yield 
to any Avill but his oavii —if he is to be made 
useful, the struggle must come sooner or hiter, 
and maii’s-Avill or horse-Avill must triumph. We 
think it is best to begin quite young Avith colls 
to coutroll them. So advise to halter a colt 
AA bile it runs Avilh the mare, and to do it after 
feeding it carrots and sugar, untii it thinks it 
Avill get only caressing from mankind, and has 
no fear of any man. The colt submits easily, 
because it is the easiest and pleasantest thing he 
can do, jirovided he is not frightened, andAvould 
as lief be led as to run loose if the curtailment of 
his freedom is made up by SAveels or carrots. 
Tiie sense of smell in horses is A'ery acute, and 
if they are suspicious of anjUhing, they ahvays 
approach it caittiously and smell of it. They 
should be indulged in this, and harness, saddle, 
etc., should all be investigated by the nose as 
Avell as by the eye, before a more intimate ac¬ 
quaintance is forced upon the horse. A horse¬ 
ring of 40 to 50 feet diameter is one of the 
greatest aids a horse trainer can haA’e. In this 
a horse too restive and spirited to take a lesson 
may be tired out, so as to be very docile, and a 
tired horse is much more susceptible to both 
favors and instruction, than one full of vim, and 
fire and play. Tliere are a feAv very simple 
common sense rules Avliich, if folloAved, will 
commend themselves to the horse as Avell as to 
the trainer, viz.; 
1st.—AhvaA’s/ecZkindly toward a horse, no 
matter Avhat he does to you, and consequently 
never sIioav “ temper.” Remember the horse 
knoAVS instinctively hoAV you feel. 
2d.—Never go near a horse if you are afraid 
of him, the horse Avill know it and take advan¬ 
tage of it, before y'ou acknoAvledge it yourself. 
3d.—Never undertake anything Avith a horse 
that j’ou do not know you can carry out. 
4lh.—“ Make haste sloioli/," leaching the ani¬ 
mal Avhat you Avant of him, as a child learns its 
A-B-C-s, one letter at a time, being sure that he 
knoAvs each simple thing before you attempt to 
teach another; and repeat lessons often. 
5th.—Reward each effort to do as jmu Avish, 
Avhether he means it or does it accidentall3\ 
6th.—Be sure that it is your will and not his 
that conquers every time. 
Follqjving these rules, you may make a horse 
do almost any thing, if he has not been 
spoiled before you get him. 
Good Farming at the West. 
[Another Western bo}', of Lasalle Co., Ill., 
who selects the rather trite nom de plume of 
“ Sucker,” takes an evening in harvest time to 
tell the readers of the Agriculturist Iioav a New 
Enghind farmer has adhered to Netv England 
notions about manure, etc., and the success 
Avhich Inis folloAved. There is no reason Avhy 
Western farmers should not maintain the pristine 
excellence of their Avonderfully fertile soil, and 
may even improve it for certain crops. —Eds.] 
“ My father is a native Yankee, but I suppose 
by this time considers himself a full-blooded 
“ Sucker.” But his having been in Illinois thir¬ 
ty-five j'cars, can not gel him out of the notion 
of good fixrming and high manuring. 
“We consider that ordinary barnyard ma¬ 
nure, Avilhout composting, or anything of the 
kind, Avill pay on an average one dollar per ton 
on the first crop, to say nothing of the benefit 
to crops aftei'Avards. We have cultivated our 
farm for lAventy-eight year.s, and it is as good as 
ncAV land. AVhilc (whatever “ Western Boys ” 
may tell you) in this section, ncAvly broken prai¬ 
rie always rents much better than old, and pro¬ 
duces larger and earlier crops, except the old 
land has been manured. 
“ We expect to haul from 500 to 1000 loads of 
Avhat our neighbors consider their valueless 
