172 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mat, 
ing that if a bull it had been killed because it had 
white upon it. In not a single case did the farmer 
deny that such a course is dangerous to the 
future prospects of the breed, but—“ It is the 
color that selis them, and we must breed for our 
market.” 
How does this interest us ? Most vitally. 
We are very important customers of the Jersey 
farmers, and we have done much to foster 
the fallacy. Let us do what we can to induce 
a return to the juster standard—even of beauty 
—under which the reputation of tlio breed, for 
the lawn as well as for the dairy, was founded. 
If I owe an explanation for such endless harp¬ 
ing on the single string of “ color,” it is that the 
more I consider the subject, the more important 
does it seem. This may well be a secondary 
object in breeding, but the question of dairy 
quality should always be first regarded. 
Setting aside his errors in the matters of form 
and color, the Jersey farmer is a good farmer, 
and a good dairyman. And he has a good 
breed of cattle and no mistake. Good and beau¬ 
tiful, and lovable. Always tethered among the 
apple-trees, or in the little meadows, constantly 
handled, and talked to, and made much of, their 
dispositions have been sweetened and quieted 
through long generations of gentle care; and 
their mellow, mild eyes re¬ 
flect a serenity and peace 
of mind that betoken 
all their ancestral ease 
and comfort. Looking at 
them with Darwin’s “ sur¬ 
vival of the fittest” in 
mind, one would almost 
say that their beauty 
had grown by long culti- 
va' .on to suit the charm¬ 
ing lanes and hedges 
from and through which 
the traveler sees them. 
Curiously enough, I-was 
able to get few statistics. 
“ Rule of thumb " seems 
to be the rule in vogue. 
However, I saw cows 
milked, I saw milk skimmed, and I saw the 
butter that had been made from a certain num¬ 
ber of cows. With fair opportunity for observa¬ 
tion in various places and at various times, I 
concluded that the intense high farming and 
strougffeeding of Jersey, together with the almost 
perennial green bite out of doors, give results 
that we rarely attain where more than two or 
three cows are kept together. Yet I think that 
we have in America quite as good Jersey cows 
as they have in Jersey, and plenty of them. 
In Jersey, the larger herds range from 6 or 8 
to 25 or 30 milking animals. There are alto¬ 
gether over 12,000 head of horned cattle (all of 
the one breed), or about 1 to every 3 acres of the 
whole island, probably 1 to every 2 acres of the 
agricultural land. When it is further consid¬ 
ered that there are over half a million bushels 
of potatoes (and lots of other products) exported 
annually, we see evidences of a thorough¬ 
ness of cultivation which is worthy of our study. 
The cow plays a very large part in the economy 
of nearly every farm, and she aids very largely 
in securing to the Jersey farmer a degree of 
comfort and an independence that I have seen 
equaled nowhere else in Europe—nor is it equal¬ 
ed among farmers of the same class in America. 
A New Flood-Fence. 
When fences cross streams or bottom lauds 
that are.liable to be flooded during a rise in the 
river, it is desirable to have self-acting arrange¬ 
ments which will present but little obstacle to 
the passage of the increased body of water, and 
will not be demolished by drift-wood and other 
matters carried down by the flood. Several 
fences have been contrived for such situations, 
intended to present a sufficient barrier to ani¬ 
mals at low water, and so contrived that when 
(he stream was high portions or whole sections 
would float. A flood-fence invented and pat¬ 
ented by Mr. R. S. Gilcrest, of Ohio, differs 
from any other we have seen. The engraving 
shows its construction and manner of working. 
Posts are planted at the proper distances, as 
many on either' side of the stream as may be 
necessary. A strong wire cord passes through 
the ends of the posts at a point above high- 
water mark. The palings are suspended to 
this wire cord by means of cleats, which form 
the hinges, and also preserve the proper spaces 
between the palings. The palings vary in 
length to suit the inequalities of the surface of 
the ground. The lower ends of the palings 
enter openings in a string-board. These string- 
boards rest in notches formed on the posts, so 
that they are above the water at its ordinary 
stages, and the fence is firm and substantial. 
When the water rises, the string-board is floated 
out of its notches and carried clear of the pal¬ 
ings. The engraving shows one section of the 
fence adapting itself to a rise in the stream. 
Each of the palings is now free to move upon 
the wire without reference to the others, thus 
allowing drift-wood, ice, etc., to pass without 
hindrance. Each section opens itself as soon 
as the rising water floats the string-piece. The 
suspension wire shown in the engraving is only 
used when the span is of unusual length. The 
string-board is secured by a cord or chain, so 
that it may be recovered when the water sub¬ 
sides; it is replaced by hand. AVe are informed 
that this fence has been thoroughly tested, and 
that ils cost does not much exceed that of an 
ordinary fence. 
--- 
Parvin’s Steam-Motor. 
All who have given any thought to the sub¬ 
ject feel convinced that American ingenuity 
will yet devise some means by which steam can 
be profitably used in plowing. The successful 
steam-plows in England are drawn by station¬ 
ary engines, while the American attempts have 
been mainly directed to producing a locomotive 
power. As an indication of what is being 
done, we give an engraving of Parvin’s Steam- 
Motor with plows attached. It will be seen 
that the machine carries a movable track, and it 
has been thought that this will obviate the great 
difficulty heretofore experienced from the sink¬ 
ing of theyvheels in the soft soil. Trials of an 
imperfect machine yirere made near Chicago 
last fall, the success of which was recorded in 
the daily papers. AVe are informed that since 
then great improvements have been made, and 
that a company has been organized with suffi¬ 
cient capital, and that the manufacture of the 
improved machines has already commenced. 
Every agriculturist will wish that this attempt 
to introduce a simple aud practicable steam- 
motor for farm uses may be successful. 
GILCREST’S FLOOD-FENCE. 
parvin’s steam-motor. 
