858 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
is now and then turned over and trodden down. 
Let the hogs have access to the heap. 
Plainly, much more can be said in favor of the 
use of sawdust, than against it. For those who 
have not an abundance of straw, peat, or other 
absorbents, this article may be used to very good 
advantage. * 
--a—---- 
How much Manure to the Cow ? 
Mr. Quincy, of Massachusetts, who is an ear¬ 
nest advocate of the soiling system, stated at a 
meeting of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, 
that a cow’s manure was of equal value with her 
milk. He showed from his own experiments, 
which have been conducted over a long series of 
years, that a cow voids about 3£ cords of solid 
fasces and as mu ;h more in value of liquid, mak¬ 
ing seven cords This he composts with twice 
its bulk of mu tc, making twenty-one cords. This 
would be wr th from fifty, to one hundred and 
fifty dollars, according to the price of manure in 
different m .rkets. He keeps muck in the trench¬ 
es behind the cows, and when saturated, it is 
thrown 'ato a barn cellar. 
But without endorsing Mr. Quincy’s valuation 
by one-half, there is no doubt that in our older, 
and ;ndeed in many new regions of country, the 
manure from a single cow, the liquid as well as 
the solid, will if properly preserved be worth 
many dollars—often quite as much as the milk 
products will sell for. There are now before us 
about six months of foddering, and if cattle are 
stabled, a very large amount of manure may be 
made. Every farmer can try the experiment for 
himself. With abundance of muck for bedding 
and composting, twenty loads of good manure 
may be made from every cow, ox, or horse, kept 
in the stable between December 1st and June 1st. 
This will not only pay for the labor of getting 
muck, but for a considerable part of the hay and 
grain consumed. If this experiment were tried, 
it would begin a new era with many farmers. 
They want manure, more manure, most manure. 
It is a superlative want of all poor farms, and this 
manure we can make ourselves. 
—-■ - 
The best Kind of Hay. 
There is probably as much difference in the 
nutritive properties of the grasses, as there is in 
grains or fruits. Analysis shows this, and the in¬ 
stinct of cattle indicates quite as much. Analysis 
may not always agree with instinct, but, in the 
main, the animal taste verifies the decisions of the 
laboratory. Thus, herd’s-grass stands among 
the best varieties of grass according to the 
chemists, and cattle show a decided preference 
for it, when it is put in competition with other 
kinds. 
Some farmers seed all their land, both meadow 
and pasture, with herd’s-grass. They say that all 
cattle are not only more fond of it, but they fatten 
mote rapidly than upon any other grass. In con¬ 
firmation of this, the writer noticed this Fall, in 
turning in heifers to eat up the after-feed upon a 
meadow seeded with several grasses, that 
the herd’s-grass patches were the favorite feed¬ 
ing ground. Some of the second growth of this 
grass had gone to seed, and though past its prime, 
it was grazed more closely than any other part of 
the field. As the cattle have the grass and hay 
to eat, it is but fair that their appetites should be 
suited with the best. 
Mice in the Treadmill.—A foreign journal 
says . An ingenious Scotchman has trained a 
paii of mice to turn a small reel for twisting 
twine. They run about ten miles per day, and 
reel 108 to 120 threads. A half-penny’s worth of 
oatmeal lasts a mouse five weeks, and the clear, 
annual profit of each animal is computed at six 
shillings sterling ($H).” This story looks well 
on paper, and we are not going to deny its truth. 
It is another illustration of what we firmly believe, 
viz., that nothing is made in vain. If mice pay 
a profit of $1.50 per year, they must be worth at 
least $10 per head. We will engage to have a 
few millions collected at a much less price. 
Simple Implement for Breaking Down 
Corn Stalks. 
It is frequently desirable to break down corn 
stalks, or the stumps of stalks remaining in a field, 
to prepare the ground for plowing. R. H. Hodg¬ 
son, of Chester County, Pa , sends to the Agri¬ 
culturist a description of a simple and effective 
implement he uses for the above purpose. A 
heavy scantling, say 4 by 6 inches, and 18 feet 
long, is fitted with two staples driven into one of 
the narrow sides, say four feet from either end, 
or five feet on each side of the center. Two log- 
chains are fastened to the staples and brought to¬ 
gether forward of the center, and a span of horses 
attached. This implement driven rapidly over the 
field when the ground is frozen hard, will effectu¬ 
ally break down the stalks and leave them ready 
to be plowed under in the Spring. 
Putting Corn to Bed. 
It is a little out of season, just now, we know, 
to think of cultivating Indian corn ; but a fact has 
just come to our knowledge which we beg to 
mention before it is forgotten. It is this: A 
farmer in Massachusetts, feeling quite certain, 
from the sharpness of the air one afternoon in 
May, that his corn would be nipped with frost 
that night, called all his hands together, and cov¬ 
ered about an acre of young blades with dirt, by 
simply hoeing a little soil over each hill. The 
frost came, and the next day was so cold that he 
left the corn covered. Next day, on removing 
the dirt, the blades looked, he said, “ as if they 
had lain in bed two nights with their clothes on,” 
but in a day or two they recovered, and grew 
again as if they had not been touched. The re¬ 
mainder of his field and his neighbors’ fields were 
cut to the ground. 
Wintering Cabbages. 
One way is the Indian method of burying the 
heads and leaving the heels in the air. An im¬ 
provement on this is to dig a trench, lay scant¬ 
ling or narrow strips of board on the bottom, and 
set the heads on them, gather straw around the 
stumps, and cover the whole with soil enough to 
exclude hard frosts. Small holes for ventilation 
should be left at the end of each row of cabbages. 
Adopting such a method for a part of the stock, 
another mode may be used for the remainder. 
Just before the setting in of Winter, take half the 
number of your cauliflowers and cabbages into 
the cellar, and stack them up loosely between the 
outer and inner doors. They will doubtless be 
frozen occasionally in very severe weather, but 
being in the dark, and thawing out quite gradu¬ 
ally, it will do them no harm. We have kept a 
good Winter’s supply in this way with perfect 
success. It is no light recommendation of this 
plan over most others, that the cabbages are so 
accessible to the cook’s hands every day of the 
Winter. Instead of being obliged to wade through 
the snow, and dig out your vegetables with numb 
fingers, all you have to do, is to open your cellar 
door from the inside, and take your pick. ___ 
A Good Parmer in a Neighborhood. 
In looking over some recent remarks by Hon. 
Z. Pratt, on taking the chair at the formation of 
the Prattsville Farmer’s Club, we find the follow¬ 
ing suggestive paragraph : “.A good farm¬ 
er in a neighborhood is a great blessing ; and let 
him go to what Mill or Meeting he likes, his 
mode of farming and his improvements will be 
adopted.” This is very true, and it is en¬ 
couraging to every one who is trying to bring 
about a better husbandry on his own farm and 
among those who are, and are to be, his neigh¬ 
bors and companions. Whatever may be a man’s 
political opinions or his personal preferences, 
if his example be good, if he show on his own 
farm better tillage, better crops, better animals, 
and better profits, his methods will be looked into 
by those who know him, and will be imitated ; 
and thus improvement will go on. 
■- - - tiff ^ -t ttttiO O IF* 1- 71 " * P fffu 
Horse-Racing at Fairs. 
It is reported in several journals that the Grand 
Jury of Chittenden county, Vermont, have indict¬ 
ed the State Agricultural Society as a nuisance, 
for violating the State law against horse-racing. 
We know nothing of the particulars in this case, 
but if the racing on the occasion in question was 
carried to the extent that we have seen it done 
at some fairs elsewhere, the indictment of the 
jury was as proper as if directed against the 
same racing when not under the auspices of a 
professedly agricultural society. We are unable 
to see what difference it makes, whether the 
owners of a regular race course offer a prize of 
$1000 for the fastest horse brought upon their 
grounds, for the purpose of making money from 
those who come to see the trotting or running, or 
whether the managers of an agricultural society 
do the same thing with a similar object in view. 
The latter seems to be the more reprehensible of 
the two ; for while the already demoralized class 
will constitute the principal attendants to the reg¬ 
ular race course, a different class will naturally 
gather at the Fair grounds, and a taste will be 
developed for fast horses, among those who would 
otherwise be uncontaminated. 
- r . — ---- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
What Shall be Done with the Boys ? 
They are growing rapidly, some of them have 
already the deep voice of their hastening man¬ 
hood ; a decision as to their future calling should 
soon be made. This is too serious a matter to 
leave to mere chance. Too many boys have been 
put to a particular trade or business merely be¬ 
cause when old enough to do something for them¬ 
selves, a vacancy occurred in that business, and 
nothing else offering at the time, the place was 
taken. Too often they have been like stones 
thrown into a wall without being fitted to a place ; 
they have rested uneasily, “ rolled ” frequently, 
and gathered very little “ moss.” Rather let the 
boy’s disposition be studied, see for what he is 
best adapted, and let that be his calling. 
But few have deliberately chosen to make 
farmers of their boys, especially if they showed, 
or were supposed to show more than average 
talent. Nor can this be wondered at. So long as 
farming was chiefly mere manual labor, however 
favorable it might be, it could never take rank 
with those professions that called out the powers 
of the mind, and there is consequently a surplus 
engaged in professional callings. 
Agriculture is now taking rank as a science. 
Improved implements take off the burden of la¬ 
bor, and brains are doing what brawn formerly 
accomplished. There need therefore be no lies!- 
