AM K RICAN AG-RICURTURIST 
4r9 
-■^lurK M. M. s.,” Xushua, 
X. n., 11‘, thl-i; Tt) i’ai-h coni of drj* muck add 1 bush¬ 
el live ash. sand I (luart-of silt, and mix well, and pile 
to shed T. S.," Westchester Co., X. Y., 
pnH'e. ds as follows : Slake lime with as much stronaf 
brine tan old meat or fish brine preferred, or brine made 
from the refiisr salt of a packin;' house!, as it will take 
up and not become wet. This is scattered over layers of 
nflick dried by a f.-w weeks exposure to the air, u.sin^ 
about i bushel to the cubic yard."—This i.sa larje propor¬ 
tion ; it is usual to recommend the lime and salt mixture 
at the rat. of 1 or 2 bushels to the cord (.I'iS cubic feet). 
Sir|»|»iy or <; 1 I 2 I 1 IO. —A correspondent of 
the N. ^ . Times .says: Durinit tlic month of November, 
isiw;, 33 vessels of .TK^.U tons loaded fptano at the Chin- 
ch.a-, princiiially 4»^ur»pe. It is estimated that there are 
about aiO.OOO toii'iwokguano on the Gttunnappe Islands, 
which the IVniviiihs have commenced to work. The 
islands ire within seven miles of the main laud. The guano 
at theif linchas vvill be e:;4iausted in about two years. 
lion .'Vlaiiiiro. —‘MV. 11. S., of Bitfralo,” W. 
Va.. Inquire^ about the use of this article. It is one of the 
b< t kinds of manun:. better then muck that is sold under 
f di tmeof i^^uano. It is -ootl spread and plowed-in in 
n >‘fl or tranlen. It is more commonly u.sed as a fertilizer 
lath - hill for all kinds of farm and trarden crops. It is 
q.rte too stroinr to usfl_ by itself, and should either be 
Uilx 'd with four or flvo flmes its bulk of muck or loam, 
p?ib^ mixt d with earth In the hill at the time of planting, 
rn.'iluti d it will destroy mo.-t seeds that it comes in con- 
la- t w ith. 
Spi'i ii" licut on — A. A. 
< . d;,.j’f \V -t Virginia, has some land grubbed an 
r- ar ! *'v . win' r, and asks what is the best variety of 
HlJiiiig wheat to - iw. time of sowing, quantity per acre, 
.•ti'. :S:;w the b St kind that can be obtained in the 
l; -ighborhoiHl, and as early as the land is in fit condition 
to work -a bu.'hel and a lialf to two bushels per acre. 
SpriiiK’ Wlirnt in Wisoonsin. — A 
Far:;; -r's t-’lub in Fond du I-ic Co., Wisconsin, passed an 
unanimous vote that the /’</< w.as the best and most 
profitable variety of spring wheat to sow in that County. 
We mention th • fact, not for the pnrjiose of creating a 
demand for seed of this well known and excellent variety, 
but rather to commend the action of the club. If farmers 
li! dltTen nt parts of the country, when they meet together, 
w' ii>l take a Ic -on from our horticulfural friends, and 
bike a vote a.s to what are the be-t varieties of seeds, etc., 
they would -oon be in p..-session of much useful infor- 
ro-itlon. I.<d the vote be intelligently and honestly taken. 
SowinsT Wintfi* Wheat in !«*i>rin". 
_.lo ill t.ihuan. of .Minne-ota, writes us, th.at the crop of 
pn-iiig wheat in ISiW) was very heavy and badly ItMlged, 
aiid in luirvef.ing, several bushels per acre were shelled 
out and sprouted, and grew on the ground. There was a 
henvy fall of snow which remained all winter and until 
the first of A; -:1. The spring wheat whi. U came up the 
Cii: po vious. did not winter-kill, and many farmers left a 
f \T sen - to see what it would come to. Mr. G. says, his 
wheat was cut with a “header,” b-aving a very high 
stubble, which he burnt, then harrowed the ground once 
and lea ten acri s to grow to wheat, lie had 1*1 bushels 
of tincommonly fine wheat. He ask.-- thi: opinion of the 
Aiiiyriran whether it will Iks safe to use this 
whe.T. for seed the coming spring? We should be afniid 
to risk too much of it. Spring wheat can be obtained by 
sowing winter wheat in the spring, and continuing to do 
so :intn the de.slred habit is c: mblished. Rut until this 
h.abit is fonned, there is danger that a good portion of the 
wheat would not mature. Mow far this spring variety 
1ms iM-en changed into a winter wheat, by once sowing in 
the fall, is uncertain, and we would not like to risk sow- 
lu ' a large area. Sow a few acres, as early ai pone/ble, and 
if'the -.ason is favorable, the [iroliabilities arc, that you 
will g.-t wheat of better quality than the proper sjiring 
varieties will yield. 
niMl lEaniiro Sowor. 
- Mr .1 I? Grinnell, York Co., I’a., wants to know where 
he can "et a gcMHl coni planter that drops two rows at a 
time ■ind soivs guano, plaster, etc., at the same time. We 
do not know of one that we can recommend. There may 
be one; certainly, such a planter is much needial. On 
urnry soils it is very beneficial to drop a little plaster or 
supeniimsphate with the seed, to give the plants an early 
start. This is imiiorbint on all crops, but especially so 
with (■■>rn. A strong, vigorous growing young plant is 
almo-l invariably followed, on good land, liy a large yield. 
I'eruvian -.ruano, however, should not be dropped with 
the see.i, «s a gooil article will certainly injure it. (^r- 
dinarv superphosphate will not hurt any ^ 
.re some superphosphaf.-. which an. impregnated with 
tile liquid from gas-works to fimiish ammonia, which will 
destroy seed, and should be used with great care. 
Wheat in Ittaiuo.—A[. II. Allen, of York 
Co., ^Ic., wishes “ to raise wheat enough the coming sea¬ 
son for home consumption,” but says, he “is ignorant of 
the rigid way to proceed.” Soil, a sandy loam. Proposes 
to use bone-dust or superphosphate. A mixture of super¬ 
phosphate and Peruvian guano, half and half, would be 
better—s.ay 100 lbs. of each per acre. If fine bone-dust, 
GOO lbs. per acre. Sow these manures broadcast and har¬ 
row them in before putting in the wheat. Break up the 
manures fine, and run them through a sieve to take out all 
the lumps. If mixed with equal parts of sifted coal 
aslies (not wiMid ashes), or with fine sand, it w'ill enable 
you to distribute the manures more evenly. Make the 
ground as mellow- as psssible. Spring wheat differs from 
winter wheat, we think, in requiring a looser and mel¬ 
lower soil. Sow as soon as the snow goes off and the 
land can be got ready, or else do not sow until rather late. 
Where the midge is troulilesome, late sown wheat some¬ 
times escapes, while tliat which is sown moderately early, 
is destroyed. We slioiUd prefer, liowever, to sow early, 
as late sown frequently gives only a liglit, yield. Make 
the land rich, mellow and dry-; sow early and rather 
thick—say 2‘i to .3 bushels per acre. Thick seeding, we 
think, favors early ripening. 
€■0041 Ibr Hpiypl I—“Zero,” writing from 
South Pass, in Southern Illinois, says, that seeing a notice 
a year or two since in the old Genesee Farmer of a 
turnip measuring about 8 or 0 inches across, ho meas¬ 
ured some of his that beat Father Harris ” by 1 inch ; 
but ho “ thought it would be too bad to brag over the old 
gentleman about one inch,” so he let it go. “ But,” he 
adds, “the story I have now I can't hold. Ezra Pierce 
raised a crop of Strapleaf turnips, a great many among 
which w-eighed 10 to 11 lbs. each, and one, 13 lbs. cleansed 
weight, ‘no grease nor dust.’ This one measured 31 
inches around. Will not ‘Egypt’ beat the world for 
large turnips ? We have a kind of sweet potatoes, called 
‘ Bermudas,’ which weigh 8 to 12 lbs. If you have state¬ 
ments of any big things, please publish them, so as to 
give us a chance to get ahead another year.” 
with common shingle nails. The pan holds about 250 
gallons. The furnace is built of brick, and made wide 
enough so that the wooden sides of the pan will come 
just outside of the wall. The fiue is made 2, bricks by 3, 
that is 2 feet by 10 inches, and about 10 foot high, with 
furnace door and grate. That part of the flue or chimney 
which is exposed to the weather, should be built with lime 
mortar, but the furnace will last twice as long if laid up 
nith common clay. The door and space under the pan 
should be made large so as to take in brush, com stalks, or 
any light material for fuel. A quick, blazing fire is better 
for boiling than one made of solid wood. A large scoop 
holding about 2 gallons, is very convenient for emptying 
the pan.-In making mush, have an old broom cut off 
to within six inches of the handle, and stir briskly with 
this to keep the material from burning. Put out the fire 
as soon as the mush is cooked. It will take but little 
wood, and not over 45 minutes to cook six barrels of 
mush.-^In boiling potatoes, it would pay to have a 
cover to the pan.” 
Carrots for Spring Feed.—“M. H. 
S.,” says: Four quarts of oats, with 6 or 8 good-sized 
CaiTOts, will go farther in feeding a horse than eight 
quarts of oats without the Carrots. Alone, the roots are 
excellent feed for cows in the spring before grass comes. 
Also chopped fine, and mixed with ground oats, they 
make the best of feed for sheep ha^-ing early lambs. 
Worlcinjf Cows in tlie Yoke.—Clias. 
W. Treadwell, of Rockingham County, N. H., has sent 
us a beautiful card photograph of a floral car drawn by a 
pair of cows, which figured at the late County Pair. He 
says they use the cows for all kinds of light work, plow¬ 
ing old land, harrowing, hauling wood, etc., and find 
them serviceable and uninjured in their milk. They are 
5 years old, well broken, give 14 quarts of milk each a 
day. Moderate labor will cause a cow to eat more, digest 
it better, and probably improve her health were she to be 
kept in a stable. In the pasture she gets an equivalent 
amount of exercise, and with it the better health and ap¬ 
petite. Much labor immediately reduces the yield of 
milk, and impairs the quality of that which is obtained. 
■^Varts oa Cows’ 'Feats.—J. E. Blake, 
wants to know how these may be removed. If the warts 
arc drawn out, and a waxed linen or silk thread is tied 
close down to the roots, they dry up and drop off after a 
while—generally without making a sore. If suppuration 
takes place, it may be treated like any cut or wound. 
Appli cation for Cliappccl Ilanils 
and Cair-bitten Teats.—Dr. “Hoosicr,” of Rush 
Co.,Ind., sends us the following sensible note : “ It is about 
this time of the year that the young folks, and often old 
ones, arc complaining of chapped-hands and lips. Now, 
this state of the human economy is quite annoying, espec¬ 
ially to the ladies ; consequently, almost everybody is 
hunting after hcal-all ointments, and soothing lotions. 
I have used a simple mixture for many years, with great 
success. It is made as follows; Take 1 oz. Glycerine, 
add 15 grains of Tannin, shake thoroughly, and it will 
soon dissolve. Apply this preparation to the chapped 
surface, once or twice a day. A few applications will 
sufllce to cure. This mixture is valuable, also, for the 
cbajiped and calf-bitten teats of cows. Rub the teats 
just before milking. It is readily washed off.” 
to Flow. W. F. 
Brown says: “At the West, we always use the single 
line on the near or left-hand horse, and couple the other 
by a jockey stick, about four feet long, fastened to the 
hames’ ring of the line horse, and to the bit of the oft’ 
horse. The jockey stick has a chain about six inches 
Ion-- at each end, with a '1' or cross piece attached to slip 
through the rings. Any patient man can teach a horse in 
one or two days to go better than with double lines. A 
imll on the line means haw, and a jerk, gee. The horse 
soon catches your idea by these signals, and obeys as 
readily as by the bit, in the ordinary way. Ihc line is 
buckled into a ring on a rein buckled to the bit, and 
iias-cs between the hames, and is kept to its place by the 
rein that you check the horse’s head up with, that being 
put over it. 'The rein is held by a loop over the left hand. 
This method of driving remedies the difficulty complained 
of by our friend who “ walks and talks” on the farm. 
[Will he please take notice, and will Mr. Brown please 
try again.— Eds.] 
fins F<>o4l lor Stock.— W. F. 
' Ohio, recommends the Sorghum pan as the 
■1 out for this purpose. lie says: “ My jam is 
and about 3 wide at the bottom. The sides, 
2dneh stiff') are sloped at an angle of 45 degrees, 
t iron bottirm (No. 18 iron, I believe,) is heavy 
cted together, aiff then nailed on to the wood 
Fat Figs—Ilow to Make Tlseia.— 
Mr. Allen, of Missouri, wants to know how it is possible 
to make pigs weigh from 260 to 300 lbs. dressed, in nine 
months from birth. This is rather more than the average 
performance of Yankee pigs, but it is by no means unu¬ 
sual, even with the mongrel stock found in their yards. 
The pigs are dropped about the first of March from a large 
thrifty sow. The mother has a plenty of straw for her 
bed, and a nice waim sty, with a’ small yard attached. 
After she is nicely over the birth of her litter, she is well 
fed with skim milk, boiled potatoes, and a provender 
made of Indian corn and oats ground together. This is' 
cooked and is fed warm three times a day, and with great 
punctuality and as much as she will eat up clean. She 
never has a chance to waste an ounce of flesh in squealing 
for her meals. ■This is a matter of great importance. 
The pigs fed on such a mother should not be more than six, 
if to get the best results. The pigs have all the milk the 
mother affords, and as soon as they begin to feed from the 
trough, they share her messes, which are increased in 
quantity as the pigs grow. The rule is to give just as 
much of the swill as they will eat up clean. On dairy 
farms they have all the skim milk, and where they can 
drink in addition to the provender. The pigs are kept 
growing every hour from birth until they are slaughtered. 
They sometimes have clover, grass, weeds, or green com 
stalks thrown into the pen for a little change of diet, but 
the staple is the provender and plenty of it The last 
few weeks the potatoes are dropped, and they are fed al¬ 
most wholly on corn meal or raw corn. Pork, thus made, 
is of splendid quality, and it is by no means uncommon 
to have pigs so treated weigh from 200 to 300 lbs. dressed, 
at nine months old. 
Raising Calves ky Ilancl.-A Cali- 
niia correspondent says: “I have taken calves from 
ic to two days old to as many weeks, and taught them 
St to drink milk warm from the cow. When they are 
;cd to this, add a handful of corn meal, (or better stiU , 
1 meal), and stir well while they are 
ilk may be withheld at perhaps three weeks old by giv- 
more tea and meal; barley or whgat meal will do pei- 
rps better than corn. Tea is the best substitute for 
ilk and should be made from good sweet hay, and not 
eeped too long. If the calves are troubled with scouies, 
op the meal a day or two, and give a little new milk, 
they arc constipated, give a little more oil meal or rye 
eal.” _ 
iT'iiii' I>evoii Steers.—A correspondent at 
,rt iyron has a pair that weighed 1540 Ibs^ at one year 
d ami 2534 at twenty-one months old. Ihis speak* 
3 ll for the stock, and for the care taken of them. 
