1875.] 
AM Eli I CAN AGRICULTURIST, 
279 ‘ 
Nixing Earth witlt Manure.—“J. 
R. L.,” Schuylkill Co., Pa. By mixing earth with manure, 
it will certainly be kept from over-heating or dry-rotting. 
But the same effect may be procured by turning the 
manure over when i$ becomes hot two or three times. 
This is not so much labor as carting earth to the heap 
and then carting it back with the manure to the field. 
How to Feed Breeding Sows. — 
“ Mr. F. B.,” Gallipolis, O., writes: “I have a fine two- 
year-old imported sow. She is in pig by an imported 
boar. I paid $90 for her, and wish to raise good pigs. 
The sow is as “ thin as a rail,” and I want to ask your 
opinion, whether it will hurt her to make her pretty fat. 
If she is as poor when she farrows, as she is now, there 
will be nothing to suck.”—Our own rule is to keep breed¬ 
ing sows in good, thrifty condition, but not too fat. 
When in pig the sows should have as much exercise as 
possible, and nearly or quite as much food as they will 
eat. If the sow is fat, give her a stomach full of food 
once a day, but let the food be of a bulky and innutritions 
kind, such as turnips, grass, bran, brewers’ grains, and 
slops from the house. A sow not so fat might be fed the 
same food twice a day. If the sows are not in good, 
thrifty condition, give fine middlings instead of bran—all 
they will eat. If very thin, feed still richer food, such as 
skim-milk, fine middlings, and say half a pint of corn 
meal or oil-cake meal per day. Cook and feed in the 
form of warm slops, two or three times a day. As a 
general rule, well-bred sows have a tendency to store up 
fat, rather than to produce milk. We do not think starv¬ 
ing them will make them any more likely to give milk. 
A highly refined, thoroughbred, sow can not stand as 
great a tax on her strength and constitution, as a coarser 
and less refined sow. Her strength, or force, has been 
diverted from the natural tendency to propagate the 
species, to the rapid accumulation of flesh and fat. If 
such a sow is as thin as the one described by F. B., it is 
probable that she was allowed to breed too early, or too 
rapidly. It would be well, in such a case, to let her have 
a litter only once a year. Feed her moderately well, and 
let her husband her strength. 
Corn f’oi* Soiling'.—“ L. S. A.,” Decatur, 
Ill. Corn stalks will not sprout from the roots if cut 
when they are mature, but if late planted corn is cut when 
partly grown, it will sprout or sucker. Sprouts are not 
worth depending on for a soiling crop, as there are sever¬ 
al things that may be brought in at that season. Corn 
fodder ought to be cut when it is in tassel or blossom, 
and as near the ground as possible. Other crops, 
such as rye sown early and pastured, for instance, should 
be ready to follow the corn, or a succession of corn 
plantings which will last until frost arrives, when turnips 
or beets ought to be ready. 
Xo Make a Compost Heap.-“H. 
B.,” Chicago, Ill. There is no need to dig a trench or 
plank up a space for a compost heap, nor to cover it with 
a roof. Such a heap needs all the rain that falls upon it, 
to provide sufficient moisture for its decomposition. 
Cemented barn cellars for manure, are useful under some 
circumstances, but there are many objections to them. 
I>ry Climates. — “ J. H. E.,” Toronto, 
Canada. The dryest climates of the United States are 
found in Colorado, Utah, and California. Of these places 
probably the most preferable is Colorado. There are 
several successful colonies, established originally on the 
cooperative plan, but now self-dependent, which offer op¬ 
portunities for new-comers. The industries followed are 
mainly farming, gardening, and stock-raising. Greeley 
and Fort Collins are two of these established enterprises, 
where persons, seeking a dry climate for their health, 
would find cheap homes and congenial associations. The 
cultivation of the soil there is wholly by irrigation. 
Xlie Cheapest Fence. — “F. A. 8.,” 
Montgomery, Ala. The cheapest fence is the most per¬ 
manent one. A post and board fence, or post and rails, 
mortised together, made of chestnut or cedar posts, and 
chestnnt rails or boards, will last 40 years. We know of 
several fences, now good, that are as old as that. But 
the posts should be charred at the bottom, well seasoned, 
and the post-holes should be filled with stones, instead 
of earth. The fence also should be capped with a board 
laid sloping, to shed rain. 
Windmills for Irrigation.— We are 
asked the following questions: “ How much power is a 
19-foot windmill supposed to have in an ordinary wind 1 ” 
( Am. About one horse-power). “ How much power 
would be required to force water through a 1*4 inch pipe, 
into a reservoir fifty feet from the windmill, and twenty- 
five feet above ’he water in the well ? ” (Ans. Consider¬ 
able water would doubtless be forced by a 6-fooi mill; 
an 8-foot mill would supply 50 head of cattle ; a 10 or 12- 
foct mill would furnish a very large amount). “ In water¬ 
ing strawberries, etc., with a reservoir and pipes, what 
size of hose is generally used ? ” (Ans. Three-quarter 
inch or 1-inch). “ How much land can a man water in 
ten hours, and give the ground a good soaking—say X 
inch of water all over it?” This last question is not 
easy to answer with accuracy. To cover an acre of land 
half an inch deep, would require about 12,500 gallons. 
With a cylinder 3 inches in diameter, and a stroke of 6 
inches, the pump making 60 strokes per minute, there 
would be delivered about 11 gallons per minute, or about 
15,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. It would be fair to 
suppose that such a pump, driven by a 12-foot mill, in a 
reasonably well exposed situation, would average twelve 
hours per day in work, giving 7,500 gallons, or enough 
for rather more than half an acre of land. If the irriga¬ 
tion is to be carried on 60 extensively as this, that is, 
with such a considerable flow of water, it would be 
cheaper and better to adopt a regular system of grades, 
allowing the water to overflow the land from ditches, as 
is done in all regular irrigation works. It would, in this 
case, be necessary only to have a large storage capacity 
for water, and this need not be elevated above the highest 
point of the land to be flowed. 
“ Egg ©ats.” —“ E. H. M.,” Danbury, Conn. 
The oats in which eggs are packed, are generally dam¬ 
aged by rotten eggs, broken in the barrel, or are light, 
inferior oats, chosen for this purpose. They are not 
proper feed for horses, and are generally used for poultry 
or pigs. On account of their inferiority they are sold at 
a low price. 
Xo decompose Tasnicrs’ Waste.— 
“ A. R.,” Warren Co., Pa. Hair and fleshings from a 
tannery should not be spread upon a meadow when fresh. 
They dry up without decaying, and will be raked up with 
the hay. The hair is difficult to rot in any way. If the 
waste is mixed with stable manure and the heap turned 
over occasionally, all but the hair will be decomposed in 
a few months, but that will remain a great while. We 
have found the best method of using this waste, to spread 
it upon the sod to be plowed for corn, or upon the oat- 
stubble to be plowed for wheat. We have seen it spread 
upon a meadow in the fall, and after exposure to the 
rains for half a year, there was scarcely any of it to be 
seen on the ground. 
Xo Decompose Siraxv.—“ J. 8. H.” If 
a bushel or two of quicklime is put into a straw stack, it 
may, as soon as it gets wet, set fire to and destroy the 
stack. This is probably not the sort of decomposition 
you want. To reduce the straw to manure by means of 
lime, it should be scattered until thoroughly wetted, and 
then heaped up with about ten bushels of dry slacked 
lime to the ton of straw, well intermixed. The heap 
should be exposed to the rain, as moisture is needed to 
assist the rotting, and considerable heat is evolved. 
Xrealirag a Fistula.—“L. H. T.,” Buck- 
land, Mass. A fistula canuot be cured by medicine given 
internally. It requires mechanical treatment. The 
"pipe” must be destroyed by injections of mineral 
acids, and the sore then carefully healed from the bot¬ 
tom. It would be best to apply to a veterinary surgeon, 
and not use a hot iron, which might do mischief. To 
breed a mare at two years of age is too early—she should 
be fully grown. 
Uniform S. S. Eessons—Origin.— 
A series of Sunday School Lessons is nowin use through¬ 
out this whole country, and largely in Europe, each de¬ 
nomination giving its own accompanying notes and ex¬ 
planations. It is a beautiful idea that on every Sunday 
millions of children are all studying the same Bible les¬ 
son. The N. Y. Independent quotes with endorsement 
this from the Presbyterian: “....Without doubt this 
Uniform Lesson movement has done more to stimulate 
Bible study in school and at home than any one event in 
the history of the Sunday School or perhaps in the his¬ 
tory of the church.”_In 1849 Mr. Orange Judd pre¬ 
pared a series of Sunday School Lessons, and placed them 
against the church wall near the pulpit, so that the 
people would all have the lesson for each Sabbath promi¬ 
nently before them. This led to more careful study of 
the lessons at home. Following up the idea, in 1859-60 
he had prepared a series of 52 lessons, entitled “ Lessons 
for every Sunday in the Year ,” embracing connectedly the 
leading events in the Four Gospels and Acts. These 
were first printed in the American Agriculturist 14 years 
ago (1861). They were widely adopted ; hundreds of 
thousands of cards containing them were printed for 
distribution, and many religious journals copied them. 
This was the beginning of the use of Uniform Lessons. 
Three other series, of 52 lessons each, were afterward 
prepared by Mr. Judd, and in 1862 a Lesson and Question 
Book on the first series of Lessons was issued, in which 
Mr. Judd was largely assisted by Dr. James Strong 
S. T. D., and Mrs. Dr. Olin. The copy-right was present¬ 
ed to a Sunday School Publishing House, and nearly a 
million copies were scattered through the country. The 
first school adopting them was that of Dr. Alexander, 
N. Y., Presbyterian ; the second that of Dr. Porter, 
Brooklyn, Reform Dutch, and then they went almost 
equally into the schools of various denominations. As an 
indication of the religious but unsectarian character of 
these books, Mr. Judd received many letters from Baptist, 
Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian clergymen 
and teachers, all supposing him to be a member of their 
individual organizations. Three other books, each en¬ 
titled “ Lessons for Every Sunday in the Year,” and the 
four embracing the whole Bible, were subsequently is¬ 
sued. March 14,1963, Dr. Hart, LL.D., editor of the Sunday 
School Times, Philadelphia, wrote, “ We have just been 
examining a little book, prepared by Orange Judd, New 
York, called ‘ Lessons for Every Sunday in the Year,' and 
have risen from the examination with a feeling of thank¬ 
fulness that such a book lias been made. We have never 
seen a Question Book containing so many conveniences 
and advantages, as this, so many excellencies, both posi¬ 
tive and negative. Mr. Judd is a life-long Sabbath School 
man, and this book is the fruit of the experience of him¬ 
self and some of his friends, in trying to meet the prac¬ 
tical wants of the Sabbath School. Like all good text 
books , it has grown out of the actual necessities and expe¬ 
rience ; it is a growth rather than a work. We advise every 
Superintendent to send at once for a copy.”_After the 
general attention thus awakened, various new books 
sprung up on the same plan, and the original works have 
been somewhat overlooked, though they are still much 
used. What is said above shows that, like many other 
good enterprises, this “Uniform Lesson” movement 
originated in and through the American AgricuUuiist. 
VaJiie ofDVood As-lios. — “Old Subscri¬ 
ber.’^ Wood ashes made at lime-kilns and brick-yards 
are generally mixed with a quantity of rubbish, which 
reduces their value proportionately. As the fuel is 
burned with great heat, these ashes are less valuable 
than those burned at a lower temperature. Unleached 
ashes are worth considerably more than leached ashes, 
because the latter contain no readily soluble potash, in 
which the chief value of wood ashes consists. But 
leached ashes contain some potash, which becomes solu¬ 
ble in the soil after a lapse of time, and are thus of somt 
value. They also contain some phosphoric acid. Gen¬ 
erally leached ashes from the soap factories are wort! 
one-fourth the value of unleached ashes: those from do¬ 
mestic leach-tubs are worth more than that, possibly in 
some cases, one half the value of unleached ashes. 
When ashes can not be procured for less than 25 cents a 
bushel, it will be more economical toouythe German 
potash salts, (Kianit.) 
An Impui'e Well.—“fl M. F.,” North- 
ford, Ct. The fact that the water in a well changes its 
character, becomes impure fora time, and then improves, 
is sufficient evidence that organic matter finds its way 
into the well. A similar thing occurs when river water, 
containing impurities, is put into large casks for use 
upon ships on long voyages. For a few weeks this water 
undergoes a change, known amongst sailors as “ sweeten¬ 
ing,” in which a very fetid odor is given off, the impuri¬ 
ties, after the fermentation is over, are precipitated, and 
the water becomes sweet and pure, and remains so with¬ 
out furt.ier change. This alteration is probably due to 
the oxidation of the orj-unic matter contained in the 
water. In your case, we should suspect a leak from a 
cesspool near by, or the admission of surface water 
without its having been purified by filtration through 
clean soil. There should bear least 30 feet between a 
well and any possible cause ol mpw>y. such as a barn¬ 
yard, cesspool, or kitchen sii.k. 
ScaI»S>y Xogsin I’ouitry. W. B.,” 
East Saginaw, Mich. The cause of scabby legs in poul¬ 
try, is a parasitic insect, similar to the scab acarus of 
the sheep. The remedy is similar to that for seab. 
Wash the legs with a solution of potash, until the scabs 
are softened and peeled off, then dress them with an 
ointment of lard and sulphur, or wash them with carbolic 
soap suds. 
Remedy For Quarter-Crack. —“ W. 
C.,” Schultzville, Pa. To cure a quarter crack, pare 
down the edges of the crack up to the sound horn above, 
if there is any, making a a shaped cut into the horn over 
the termination of the crack. Rasp the horn over the 
cut and keep the crack dressed with clean tow dipped 
in glycerine. The hoof should be bound up in a leather 
shoe tightly laced, to prevent the crack from spreading, 
or an India rubber shoe used. As the horn grows 
downward, the crack will grow down also, if care is used 
and all goes well. If there is no sound horn above the 
crack, but it reaches to the coronet, it is a very difficult 
tiling to cure, -.nd a surgeon bad better be employed. 
