478 
AMERICAN AG-RICULT URIST, 
[December, 
tuber, but unfortunately for this view, the potatoes in 
South America growing wild, are also afflicted by the rot.; 
and in both England and in this country the disease 
appears in limestone districts; and it is not found that 
lime applied to the land, or the use of any other fertili¬ 
zer, Ins any marked influence in preventing the disease. 
Its occurrence is, however, largely governed by condi¬ 
tions of the weather. 
“Walks and Talks” Correspondence. 
Crossing Cotswolds witii Merino Sheep.—J. F. 
Longley, of Maine, writes: “ Have I done right in pur¬ 
chasing grade and full blood Merino ewes to cross with a 
thoroughbred Cotswold buck ? Why I ask the question 
is because some breeders in this vicinity, who claim to 
know, say that the cross should be made with a Merino 
buck and Cotswold ewes, as the Merino ewes cannot 
give birth to the large Cotswold lambs with safety, also 
that they do not give milk enough to support the lambs.” 
— Ans. I have made this cross, and my ewes have not 
experienced the slightest difficulty at lambing time. I 
know there is a general impression that the Cotswolds 
are too large to cross with Merino ewes, but I have never 
known or heard of a well authenticated case in which 
there was any serious trouble. In regard to the supply 
of milk, I do not feel so confident. My own Merino and 
grade Merino ewes suckle their lambs well. But doubt¬ 
less much depends on the food—not merely at the time, 
but previously. My Merino ewes run with the flock of 
thoroughbred Cotswolds, and hat e better food than most 
farmers give common sheep. Perhaps this is the reason 
why I have had such “good luck ” with the lambs. Then 
again, w a feed the lambs as soon as they will eat. This 
they will do at two or three weeks old. And this makes 
the iambs less dependent on the mother’s milk, ’in re¬ 
gard to using Merino rams on Cotswold ewes, if our ob¬ 
ject was to get smaller sheep, that took longer to mature 
with shorter and finer wool, and if Cotswolds and their 
grades were the common sheep of the country, then the 
plan, recommended by the breeders you have alluded to, 
would be a good one ; but if, on the other hand, large, 
long-wool ewes arc scarce, and Merino grades are abund¬ 
ant and cheap, and if we desire larger sheep, that will 
grow rapidly and fatten easily, and produce longer wool, 
or if we want large, early lambs for the butcher, then the 
true plan is to use a thoroughbred long-wool ram on the 
best and cheapest ewes you can find. 
Feeding Potatoes. —P. II. Mertz, White Co., Ind., 
writes: “ Does it pay to feed potatoes raw to cattle ? I 
have about 700 bushels, and 30 head of two-year old 
steers. Will it pay to put the potatoes through my 
steers? I have a large frost-proof cellar.”— Ans. I think 
I should let the potatoes stay in the cellar until spring, 
say March, April, and May, and then feed them moderate¬ 
ly to all my stock. Potatoes can be fed to better advan¬ 
tage in the spring than during the cold weather in win¬ 
ter_“I know that you say boil potatoes; but why not 
feed them raw, same as other roots ? ”—Potatoes are not 
roots. They differ very essentially from beets, turnips, 
parsnips, carrots, etc. Both theory and practice seem 
to show that there is more advantage in cooking potatoes 
than there is in cooking roots. 
Fkesh Muck fop. Cohn.— Mr. M. further asks : “ Is it 
a good plan to haul muck direct from the pit on to a field 
intended for corn next spring? ”— Ans. I think not. It 
is better to compost it with manure, lime, or ashes. 
If used raw, I would draw it on to grass land that was 
not, to be plowed until next autumn, or the spring follow¬ 
ing, and spread it on the land. The exposure to the at¬ 
mosphere will “ sweeten ” it, and render it less reluctant 
to give up its valuable plant-food.—“ I know,” says Mr. 
M., “you will tell me to haul it to the barn and compost 
it, but it is very convenient to the field and not so to the 
barn. Labor is high and grain is cheap; land is poor, 
and farmer ditto; every dollar must count a hundred 
cents when applied to labor, or both ends won't meet. 
But it is encouraging to read W T alks and Talks. Long 
may he live! ”—Thanks. I have felt the need of en¬ 
couragement myself so much, and so often, and so long, 
that I am very glad if anything I say or do, or leave un¬ 
done, affords the slightest encouragement to others. But 
in regard to the muck, it is not necessary to draw it to 
the barn. You can draw the manure or the lime and 
ashes to the field when you are drawing the muck, and 
make a heap in some convenient spot. I do not feel sure 
that it will pay you to use the muck. But if it is easily 
obtained, it is certainly well worthy of trial. 
Fine-Boned Pigs. —“ B. L. Y.,” of Kentucky, wrote 
to the Amencan Agriculturist as follows: “I wish to get 
some fiue-boned pigs of a pure breed. Which would you 
recommend as most desirable — Berkshire, English 
Chester, or Essex, or is there some better breed ? I do 
not think I have ever seen the Essex.”—The editorof the 
American Agriculturist advised him to get the Essex. Ho 
cannot do better, unless he wants a white breed, and in 
that case I should select the Suffolk or small Yorkshire. 
I do not know of any English Chesters. The Chesters, 
or Chester Whites, are an American breed, originating in 
Chester Co., Pa. They arc not “fine-boned”—less so 
than Berkshire, small Yorkshire, Suffolk, or Essex. 
Fattening Steers.— T. Bacon, Lake Co., Ill., asks: 
“ How much ought good thrifty native steers, two and 
three years old, with warm stable and good care, to gain 
in feeding five months, and what is it worth per lb. of 
increased weight with corn-meal at §20 per ton, bran §15; 
shorts $20@$23 per ton ; potatoes 25 cents per bushel; 
wild hay §7, and herds’ grass and clover §10 per ton ? ”— 
This is a very difficult question to answer. On a rough 
estimate I should say that thrifty native steers, weighing 
1,000 lbs. live weight, would each eat in the five months 
about 3,500 lbs. of hay and 1,500 lbs. of corn-meal, and 
would gain 375 lbs. At the prices named, the hay would 
cost §17.50, and the corn-meal $15. Total cost of food in 
five months $32.50. This food gives a gain of 375 lbs., 
and consequently the increase costs a little over cents 
per lb. I take corn-meal and hay, because these are 
cheaper for food at the figures given than bran, shorts, 
or potatoes. It should be remembered that this increase 
is real meat and fat. Each pound of such increase is 
worth to the consumer two or three times as much as a 
pound of the average live weight of a thin steer. And 
the butchers and consumers are beginning to understand 
this. They will pay more for a well fed, ripe steer than 
for a thin one. I presume Mr. Bacon can buy good thrifty 
native steers for 3J£ cents per lb. And after feeding them 
five months, he can sell them for 0 cents. The account 
will then stand: 
Dec. 1st, 1875—one steer, 1,000 lbs., @ 3Jfc.... §37.50 
Feed, 5 months. 32.50 
§70.00 
May 1st, 1S70—one steer, 1,375 lbs., @ 6c., $S2.50 
Making Hogs Fat.— II. L. Leonard, Dallas Co., Iowa, 
writes: “I have an idea that it costs more for the first 
100 lbs. on a ling than for any other hundred lbs. that is 
put on. Many sell their hogs when they are about 300 
lbs. weight, but I think that I can put on 100 lbs. cheaper 
after they weigh 300 lbs. than before. What is your 
opinion ? ”—I think the last 100 lbs. requires more food to 
produce it than the first 100 lbs. Still, I think farmers 
often sell their hogs before they are fat enough. This 
year, especially, I think farmers will do well to make 
their hogs fat before selling them. 
Top-Dressing for Meadow.— “ W. C. M.” proposes 
to use all the manure that he makes this winter as a top¬ 
dressing for a meadow, and he asks if he had better draw 
it out fresh from the yard and stables and spread it on the 
meadow, or “ pile it up in the barn-yard until March, and 
haul and spread it then ? ”—I should prefer to pile it and 
let it ferment. If more convenient, you can draw it to 
the field and make it into a pile there, instead of in the 
barn-yard. Or, better still, make it into a pile in the 
yard, as described last month, and sometime during the 
winter draw it to the field and make it into a pile there. 
This is the same thing as “ turning ” the pile. 
Making Hat into Grass.— In reply to “ M. P. S.,” I 
would say that grass contains about 75 lbs. in the 100 lbs. 
of water. We make it into hay by evaporating about 70 
lbs. of the water. This leaves us 30 lbs. of hay. To 
convert it back into grass, we should take 30 lbs. of hay, 
cut it into chaff', and add 70 lbs. of water. But it is not 
necessary to add so much for winter feed. A bushel of 
cut hay weighs about 8 lbs. If to this you add 5 quarts 
of boiling water, tflat will bo enough. Let it steep 12 
hours, and cover it up to keep in the heat. The more 
cows you keep and the larger the quantity mixed at a 
time, the longer it will keep warm. I have adopted this 
plan to a considerable extent, and think it is nearly as 
good as steaming. In fact, unless we add the same 
quantity of water to moisten the hay before steaming, I 
think this steeping in boiling water is the better plan. 
-- IF« a O Ba—--. 
A Syenite Upon :i —“W. W.,” 
Washington Terr. A plan of making a fence upon a 
bank or dike, was given in the American Agriculturist 
for June, 1875. Such a fence should be of posts and 
rails, and two or three rails would be sufficient. Wire 
would be still better where there are heavy winds. 
IT3 51 lew steal IPoisonotis to tnoulM.— 
The California papers speak of a herd of 2,009 Angora 
goats, taken to stock a ranch in Arizona, which, on their 
way through the Mohave country, took to eating milk¬ 
weeds, with such fatal effect, that a quarter of the flock 
died at once, and there was danger that the whole num¬ 
ber would perish. There are two or three largo and 
downy milkweeds in that region, which have probably 
done the damage—though it is a new thing for milkweeds 
to poison animals. We are sorry for the owner, and for 
the goats. But sheep arc so hard on the botany of Cali¬ 
fornia, and goats will be worse—that there is a fitness of 
things in the plants taking their revenge. Very likely 
these goats came from the colony on Guadalupe Island, 
where Dr. Palmer lately went to botanize. Of the many 
new plants he found there, he writes that, while they evi¬ 
dently had formerly been abundant, specimens could now 
be obtained only with great difficulty Dy clambering, and 
the use of a hook on the end of a long pole. 
A 7 . A. State Bairj ineiis’ Associa¬ 
tion.—The fifth annual convention of the New York 
State Dairymens’ Association, will be held at the Court 
House at Norwich, N. Y., on Wednesday and Thursday, 
December 8th and 9th, 1S75. Several papers wih be read 
and addresses made; an exhibition of butter, cheese, and 
dairy utensils also will be held, in which dairymen are 
invited to compete. 
$9iiiblk —“ H. H. W.,” Otego, N. Y. 
The Suffolk pigs are a small white breed, taking the 
jalace amongst white pigs which the Essex holds amongst 
the black breeds, li is a race of small boned, rapidly 
maturing pigs, well adapted for market or family use. 
A SoMtlieria Fail* will be held in New Or¬ 
leans, beginning Feb. 26tb, 1876. and continuing 10 days. 
It will be called the Southern States Agricultural and In- 
dustria'i Exposition, and be held under the auspices of 
the Mechanics and Agricultural Fair Association of La., 
aided by a Special Commissioner in each southern state. 
Manufacturers and producers everywhere are invited to 
exhibit. For particulars apply to the Gen’l Superinten¬ 
dent, Samuel Mullen, 80 Camp st., New Orleans. 
Ifliomas' Fruit Culturist. —The Amer¬ 
ican 'Fruit Culturist, by John J. Thomas, has often re¬ 
ceived our commendation as one of the very best works 
of its kind. The publishers, Wm. Wood & Co. have re¬ 
cently issued a new edition upon large and fine paper, 
and embellished it with a remarkably handsome colored 
frontispiece, and tasteful binding; this edition is intend¬ 
ed to be sold by canvassers only, and is not in the regu¬ 
lar trade at all. 
Sheep IIusI»aiii«lry iu Georgia.— 
The advantages offered by Georgia for the successful 
growth of wool are well set forth in a small but valuable 
pamphlet recently issued by the Commissioner of Ag¬ 
riculture of that state, Thomas P. Janes, Esq. Atlanta. 
The pamphlet contains the experience of a large number 
of the most, prominent sheep owners of the state, (one 
of whom has a flock of 3,500), given in reply to an ex¬ 
haustive series of pertinent questions. The result shows 
that sheep culture returns an average profit of 63 percent 
per annum ; that the only drawback is the 99,415 dogs 
which annua ly destroy 15 per cent of the sheep; that the 
ignorantly dreaded “wire” and “Bermuda “ grasses 
will feed 5 sheep to an acre for 9 months in the year, and 
that fodder crops, easily grown, will support 20 to 30 
sheep per acre for the rest of the year, and that 100 
sheep folded on 8 acres of ground, will so fertilize it, that 
the crops are immediately doubled. Land suitable for 
such management as this can be purchased for §1.50 to 
§10 an acre, and the climate permits of out-door pastur¬ 
ing without shelter during the whole year. For the cul¬ 
ture of fine wool sheep, few localities could offer greater 
facilities, and as for the dogs, no energetic shepherd 
need fear them; although in general estimation they may 
be considered more highly than the sheep. Ordinary 
precautions against them will be sufficient protection in 
the majority of cases. 
Sales ofSliorl-liorns in Kentucky. 
—At the series of public sales of Short-horn cattle re¬ 
cently held in Kentucky, there were 1,132 head disposed 
of for the aggregate sum of §400,5S7, or an average of 
more than §100. Some of these cattle were of the fash¬ 
ionable sorts, and brought high prices; many of them as 
much as §2,000 each, and over; the highest price paid 
was §17,500 for a 3-months old calf, the 22nd Duchess of 
Airdrie ; the lowest prices were for some of the unfash¬ 
ionable stock known as the “ Sevcnteens,” or the de¬ 
scendants of the importations of 1S17. These cattle sold 
for an average of about §50 per head ; calves of this sort 
selling for only §20. The difference between §20 and 
§17,500 for a calf, represents the difference in the estimat¬ 
ed value of fashion, or of what is known as pedigree. 
This is putting this point rather strongly, nevertheless 
there are many breeders of beef cattle who would as soon 
choose a “Seventeen” as a Duchess for his purposes. 
Fortunately no harm is done by these fancy prices, ex¬ 
cepting so far as an undeserved and invidious compari¬ 
son may be made against intrinsically valuable stock, but 
which is not of the fashionable blood, and their market 
value be depressed in consequence. This comparison has 
palpably operated in reducing the prices of good Short¬ 
horns at these sales; but although the sellers have suffer¬ 
ed, the buyers have gained by it, and hundreds of excel- 
