496 
T 
be if the same manure was used upon a whole acre. Some 
of my experiments have small paths dividing them. It is 
easy to see that the crop growing at the edge of the path 
is better than it is further in. Upon a half-acre experi¬ 
ment the difference is of no importance, but the smaller 
the plot the greater the error. In my wheat field we have 
no land left uncultivated between each experiment. The 
wheat is drilled and the outside row of one experiment is 
not more than one foot from the outside row of the next. 
In one or two instances there is evidence of the wheat 
having borrowed some food of its neighbor, in which case 
this row is not taken into the experiment. I hope by these 
remarks you will see how to draw the line between large 
and small plots. For my purpose I think square plots of 
one-quarter of an acre are the mo3t suitable, but when I 
began them we did not know what we do now. 
Rotbamsted, England. 
Live Stock Matters. 
Old English Polled Cattle. — The Red Polls and 
black Scotch breeds are not the only polled breeds of old 
English farming. An old breed, called English Polled, 
were pure white, with “colored ears, muzzles and eye 
rims.” These “ points ” are usually black, but sometimes 
dark red. This bread never excelled as milkers or for size 
and shape, and were not “ improved ” as other breeds have 
been. Consequently, the breed has not been kept up and 
only specimens here and there are to be found. Several 
Englishmen have, of late, formed herds of this polled 
breed, not for any profit in the enterprise, but with the 
desire to keep this old relic distinct. 
Unique Butter Exhibit.— At the Bath and West of 
England Live Stock Show, a striking display of butter 
products was arranged as follows: “ Two long tables, the 
whole length of the tent, were covered with earth a fort¬ 
night ago, and on them grass seed was sown. This has 
grown to the height of a couple of inches in that short 
time, and the butter is shown upon white tiles laid on the 
grass. The effect is most striking, and although the heat 
was so great during the day, the butter kept pretty firm 
upon its white slabs. The tent was kept cool by the aid 
of a stream of water thrown on the roof from a hose.” 
Farming in Jersey.— The recent dairy conference on 
the islands of Jersey and Guernsey served to teach the 
world some facts about the home of the Jersey cattle, that 
were not generally known. The chief business of the 
Islands is not dairying, but potato growing and glass 
gardening. The Jersey cattle found on the home island 
were not at all equal to the best specimens of the breed 
found in America or England, and the methods of butter¬ 
making were voted “behind the times.” Few of the 
modern dairy conveniences are to be found in Jersey. The 
milk is set in deep crocks, and skimmed by pouring the 
cream off the top. Old-fashioned churns are used, and 
salt is worked into the butter with the hands or long 
wooden spoons. It is quite a general practice in Guern¬ 
sey to either churn the milk whole or let the cream stay 
on it until both are sour, in the latter case the butter con¬ 
taining considerable casein. At this conference the Guern¬ 
sey cow seems to have received more praise than the 
Jersey. From a paper read by a native Guernsey breeder, 
the following extracts are made: 
The Guernsey cow is no mean animal; she weighs from 
900 to 1,200 pounds; she is an unpretentious, useful ani¬ 
mal, with a form to delight the eye of the practical dairy¬ 
man because it means milk. She is of the wedge form, 
high and broad in the hindquarters, narrowing towards 
the front; yet she is not thin in the chest, like many milch 
cows but has a thickness through the heart which indi¬ 
cates’ constitution. An unprejudiced person passing 
judgment on the two breeds from their appearance only, 
would say “ the Jersey ” belonged to the lawn and gentle¬ 
man’s park, while the Guernsey’s place was in the rank- 
and-file of the hard workers, where butter-making meant 
business. The head, horns, and neck of many are too 
heavy to look well, the udder and teats are often defi¬ 
cient, particularly the fore udder and front teats. The 
udder often appears to be cut away in front, which gives 
the teats a backward slant which is not elegant. When 
we come across a Short-horn or a Hereford, the first im¬ 
pression on our mind is, what a fine beef animal; when 
we see a Jersey, our first thought is, what a pretty little 
beast; but when we meet a Guernsey, the first and lasting 
impression on our mind is, what a splendid milch cow 1 
You see it in the broad, golden rim encircling her eyes, in 
her green and glossy horns and hoofs; you see it in the 
orange color of her skin, sometimes so full of yellow 
dandiuff as to appear as if the animal had been powdered 
with gold dust; you see it in a skin as soft as velvet, in 
her long head and neck, deep, wedge-shape shoulders, in 
her long, prominent milk veins; and, finally, you see it in 
that large, deep, well-filled silken bag, so yellow, and en¬ 
veloped by a skin so fine, so soft, and so thin as to almost 
appear transparent. 
Possibilities of Peanut Culture.— The Tennessee 
Station, (Knoxville) has just issued an interesting bulletin 
on peanut culture. The true value of the peanut as a farm 
crop has never been fully understood. We might say of 
the peanut what Emerson said about weeds: “ Plants 
whose full virtue have not been discovered!” If the 
peanut is good for man why is it not good for beast ? It 
is! An analysis of the kernel shows that it is just about as 
valuable as cotton-seed meal, having considerably more 
oil. The kernels contain nearly 45 per cent of a fine qual¬ 
ity of oil. The residue left after extracting this oil, makes 
a fine stock food. At present, cotton-seed oil is too cheap 
in this country to make peanut oil making profitable, but 
in France large quantities are extracted and used in adul¬ 
terating olive oil. The vines or straw of the peanut make 
excellent hay but slightly inferior to clover so far as chem¬ 
ical analysis goes. The hulls contain more protein than 
cotton-seed hulls, but also contain so much fiber that they 
are of little value as a food for animals. Good land pro¬ 
duces two tons of peanut hay and 60 to 70 bushels of pea¬ 
nuts. What other crop—clover not excepted—will pro¬ 
duce a greater amount of stock food ? The possibilities of 
the peanut as a stock food have never been fully developed. 
HE RURAL NEW-YORKE 
Many Southern farmers turn their hogs into the peanut 
fields to dig out the crop and eat it. Most of those who sell 
the nuts let the hogs follow the pickers to find any nuts 
that may have been left. The hay has been fed in many 
cases to milch cows with excellent results. The peanut is 
a leguminous plant and derives at least a portion of its 
nitrogen from “some unknown source.” For this reason 
the vines are useful as a green manure. It is entirely 
probable that the time will come when the peanut crop 
will be grown as a profitable stock food—the vines for hay 
and the nuts to be crushed or ground, shucks and all, and 
mixed with cheaper grains to make a balanced ration. 
Buttermilk for Sheep.— I have had no experience in 
feeding skimmed milk to lambs, but the question may 
be resolved into, 1, Can lamb* make a profitable growth on 
any by product of the dairy T 2. In what way would you 
feed it ? My answer to the first would be: yes, on butter¬ 
milk, and to the second; feed it to the ewes and let the 
lambs suckle it from them after it has been changed to 
suit their requirements. Some may say that sheep won’t 
drink buttermilk, but if some water and a little salt are 
added to it, and it is then given to them where they are 
accustomed to drink, it will be but a few days till they 
will take it without the addition of anything and in pref¬ 
erence to pure spring water. It should be given to the 
ewes during pregnancy and as long afterwards as possible 
even though the lambs no longer suckle. One who had 
not before tried it would be surprised at the embryonic 
development and ease of parturition where the dams 
have had plenty of buttermilk to drink. He would be 
none the less surprised at the growth of the lambs and the 
condition of the fleece and of the ewes. It is equally good 
for horses as for sheep, besides being a cooling, refreshing 
drink for work horses in hot weather. G. G. G. 
Blairstown, N. J. 
American Horses Abroad— It is a fact not generally 
known that a good many American carriage horses are 
shipped to foreign countries from this city. England and 
Cuba give the chief markets. In spite of the excellence of 
English breeding horses, we could sell 20 times as many as 
we now do for the London trade if we did not find better 
customers at home. That the English like American-bred 
carriage horses is proved by the fact that their agents here 
are constantly trying to secure the best animals that come 
to this market. English breeders cannot begin to supply 
the carriage and saddle horses called for by the large 
English cities. Germany, France and Belgium and, to 
some extent, Canada are all called upon to furnish good 
animals. The horses called for are good grades of coach- 
ers, Cleveland Bays and Hackneys. The fact that English 
agents bid highest for animals that are most wanted in 
New York shows that fashionable horses have a standard 
value both at home and abroad, and that they are very 
safe property to handle. Trotting horses are not so popu¬ 
lar abroad, and probably will not be for a good many 
years. StraDge to say, the best foreign market for fast 
horses is in Cuba and the southern republics, where the 
roads are poorest and the people most excitable. 
Draft-horse breeding is a legitimate and profitable busi¬ 
ness that cannot be changed to handling the lighter breeds 
without loss and trouble. For the beginner, or the present 
breeder of lighter horses, there is no better opening than 
that afforded by the lively market for good grades of the 
regular carriage breeds. The home demand is excellent, 
and the foreign demand will always absorb any surplus, 
while with proper selection of breeding mares the chances 
of producing “ misfit ” or unsalable colts are few as com¬ 
pared with the results in breeding trotters. 
Two Good Calves.— One is a beautiful heifer out of 
Clothilde 4th’8 Netherland and by Netherland Monk, a 
son of Netherland Prince and Albino 2nd. The dam of this 
calf is by Netherland Statesman, a son of Netherland 
Prince and Lady Fay, dam Clothilde 4th, a daughter of 
Netherland Prince and Clothilde. The calf was born 
about two weeks since, and last week the dam, having 
been fed no grain until her test commenced, and then but 
a very small amount, and having had no green feed of any 
kind this year, made 12 pounds 11 ounces of butter, which 
was salted an ounce to a pound, well worked, free from all 
casein, and proved of very fine quality. This was during 
one of the most unfavorable seasons of the year, the ther¬ 
mometer a portion of the time standing at 90 degrees in 
the shade. This heifer gave yesterday 45 pounds of milk, 
which, however, is no indication of her capacity, as she has 
had no green feed this season, and the inflammation is not 
yet out of her udder. This young calf is an animal of very 
unusual breeding. Counting the record of her dam, only 
two years old, we find that the 10 nearest female ancestors 
have butter records which average 21 pounds 11 ounces 
in a week. This is also counting two records made by 
three year-olds. The 13 nearest female ancestors, includ¬ 
ing all that have been imported in this country, average 
20 pounds 7 ounces of butter in a week. We also find that 
the 11 nearest, not counting the dam, which has not yet 
made a record, average 17,107 pounds 11 ounces of milk in 
a year. 
There was also born at Lakeside this week a beautiful 
heifer calf sired by Sir Netherland Clothilde, dam Lady 
Fay’s Netherland, by Netherland Monk, out of Lady Fay. 
The dam has not yet been tested, but is very promising 
in appearance. We find that the 14 nearest female ances¬ 
tors of this calf, excepting the dam, not yet tested, have 
made butter records which average for the whole number 
21 pounds 10% ounces in a week, and the 18 nearest have 
milk records which average a little over 16,139 pounds in a 
year. smiths & powell. 
Fewer Cows ; Better Fed.— With grain high or low It 
is wise to sell off the cows that do not pay for their keep, 
and about one-fourth of the common cows in the dairy do 
not do this. With the herd reduced to those that pay a 
dividend, it is well to give them good feed, either in an 
R. JULY 4 
abundant pasture or a small dally grain ration. There is 
no profit from cows that are allowed to dry off from want 
of food. My opinion is that grass alone is the cheapest 
food, and that it is wise to reduce t ie number of stock to 
the capacity of the pasture, for there is no profit in over¬ 
stocking a pasture. Fewer cows and better cows, better 
fed, pay better. C. M. winslow. 
Rutland County, Vt. 
A Good Shropshire.— Regarding the ram shown at Fig. 
183, Mr. Gao. E Breck writes as follows : 
The Willows No. 2. A. S. A., 22772, bred by Isabella 
Graham, Birmingham, England, is two years old, and 
sheared 16% pounds of wool, and weighs 300 pounds in 
fair condition. The sire was Wankaringa 3297, he 
by The Rector 1769, (the first prize winner at R. A. S. E.) 
dammed by Courier 1969, (also a winner at R. A. S. E. at 
Shrewsbury, England) a sheep for which Mr. Graham paid 
$600. This sheep was imported by The Willows Stock 
Farm, Paw Paw, Michigan, and has proved himself an 
excellent sire. I believe that the importation of a few 
sheep as good as this would do very much to promote the 
mutton sheep interest in this country, which, in the past, 
has not warranted the importation of the best sheep. It 
will be the aim of The Willows to import each year a few 
of the best sheep that the demands will warrant, and to 
offer for sale nothing but Imported sheep and their pro¬ 
geny. I believe this ram is the best Shropshire ever 
brought to America. I have never seen his equal. I 
seek trade with people who want something good. So 
many of our farmers and breeders have sold crossbred and 
grade sheep for full-bloods that they have hurt the breed. 
Farm Politics. 
Here it is proposed to discuss with freedom and fairness, ques¬ 
tions of National or State policy that particularly concern farm¬ 
ers. The editors disclaim responsibility for the opinions of cor¬ 
respondents. The object is to develop a true and fair basis for 
organization among farmers. Let us think out just what we want 
and then strive for it. 
THE LAND LOAN SCHEME NOT “CLASS LEGIS¬ 
LATION.” 
ALVA AGEE. 
“ Jerseyman,” on pages 344 and 449 of The Rural, seems 
interested in some of the financial schemes of the Alli¬ 
ance, and presses for an answer to his query why his spec¬ 
ulative farmer should receive government aid, while his 
“ paper-collar ” man is left to suffer the results of banking 
his all on fashion. 
Such a question seems to me to indicate a much nar¬ 
rower and more superficial view of Alliance demands on 
the part of “ Jerseyman ” than one ever finds in his inter¬ 
esting writings on practical farm matters. It is quite 
common to hear any of these propositions for a reduction 
of the rate of interest in the West to an amount more 
nearly proportionate to farm profits called “ class ” legis¬ 
lation demanded in the interest of one occupation at the 
expense of another. That this view is a false one should 
be evident to any one who cares to give the matter a few 
moments’ honest study. 
The advocates of hard money are pleased to say that 
every dollar issued by the government should represent 
actual value, and the implication is that our government 
is too trifling and shaky an affair to have any credit on 
which a paper currency could be safely based. 
To satisfy those men who seek an excuse to limit our 
currency to “ coin,” and then to eliminate silver from the 
category of available coin for many alleged reasons—all in 
order that dollars may be kept few and dear—the idea is 
that, if the hundreds of millions of fertile acres in this 
country were made most specifically the basis of our cur¬ 
rency, the objections of our safe-currency men world be 
met and the requirements filled. If an acre of ground that 
is capable of producing 60 bushels of corn is made the basis 
for a promise to pay $10, and that 10-dollar note is made 
legal tender for all debts, and the government agrees to 
collect that debt, if it should be necessary to do so, does 
any one suppose that there would be any hesitation on the 
part of any one to take that note at its full face value In 
the liquidation of indebtedness ? 
It would appear that the land furnishes a basis for the 
issuance of a currency that the interested gold advocate 
could not successfully attack. If this is so, then the only 
difficulty lies in the issuance of this paper currency in such 
a way as neither to wrong the actual holders of the land, 
nor to give them any undue advantage. Herein was the 
problem, and the solution seems to have been obtained in 
the present Alliance demand. Some people have taken 
such a superficial view of the question that they imagine 
that the men who own Western, or any other, land will 
borrow from the government at two per cent, and procetd 
to loan It at eight or ten per cent, thus making money at 
the expense of those who most unluckily own no land. Much 
has been said about the Western railway companies that 
are large holders of land being thus enabled to do a 
wholesale robbery. Cannot any one see how impossible 
and preposterous all this is ? Demand and supply govern 
prices, and nothing makes the present Western rate of in¬ 
terest eight or ten per cent but the inability to get hold of 
money at a lower rate. So soon as a legal tender note 
based on actual value in land, is issued at two per cent, 
just so soon, of necessity, does the demand for eight and 
ten per cent money cease. Such an issue of money would 
simply reduce the rate of interest in this country to some 
point between two and three per cent. It would be slightly 
over two, or else the holders of land would have no induce¬ 
ment to encumber their land, or any pay for the trouble 
of doing so, but it would not be much higher, as any par¬ 
ticular profit would lead to an increase 1 issue on tbe land 
of other holders. This currency would be founded on a 
rock that is fertile; it would be better than gold for some 
reasons, and its par value would be its current value. It 
