MORE ABOUT GRAIN DRILLS, 
by others, which we can turn immediately to 
our advantage. Such volumes, embracing the 
Views of many different cultivators, running 
through a series of years, are, to practical refloct- 
intr farmers, what a well tilled index rerun! Is to 
u systematic and thorough student. No more 
profitable library of agricultural reading can he 
collected by a farmer, than the annul volumes of 
some of the leading journals of this character, 
preserved from year to year and properly bound 
in hook form. Begin the practice of favlng all 
ye who have hitherto read such periodicals and 
afterwards scattered or destroyed them. 
Dane Co,, Wi#,, 1865, B. F. Adams. 
have only a light pair of shoes. This will allow 
the hoofs to come In close contact, with the soft 
earth, and will prevent contraction. Win re 
homes can not enjoy pasturage, they should 
have fresh cut grass us often as convenient, 
and should lmve their stall floors covered with 
tan bark, or better, have the planks taken up and 
clay floors laid.— Am. Agriculturist. 
In answer to 8. W. Arnold on this subject, 
(Rural, April 39,) I would say that I have used 
a drill for the last three years, and would not go 
without one for twice its value if 1 could not, 
get another. In the first place grain will grow 
more thrifty ancl more stockOy, if drilled, than 
it will sown broadcast.. 2d. It, will not be 
smutty, or at least I have not known it, to be. 
3d. The ebinch bugs will not work a quarter us 
bad on drilled grain. One of my neighbors had 
twentyaeresof wheat, last year, llcsowed sixteen 
acres with the drill, the balance by hand. That 
sown by hand was not worth cutting, w hile that 
put in with, the drill yielded fourteen bushels 
per acre, all on account of the drill, as I be¬ 
lieve. The bug did not work at it. My wheat 
yielded from 10 to 12 bushels per acre, while that 
of my neighbors who did not use t he drill, yielded 
from two to tive bushels per acre. 
On 40 acres of wheat the drill will pay for itself 
every year. As lor its clogging I never knew it 
to be of any account. It will not unless the pipes 
are too long; they have no business to touch the 
ground at all. As for sowing even, if you clean 
your grain as it should be It w ill scatter it as even, 
yes, evener, than yon could do it by band, one 
row at a time; and If you drive us you should 
it will sow evener than you can possibly do by 
hand. 
As for dragging, if it is spring plowing, you 
can make a bush by boring holes through a pole 
and drag over 40 acres a day, or you can take a 
roller and go over it, and if fall plowed, once 
going over It with the drag Is enough, (and no 
good farmer will sow bis grain on fall plowed 
land without leveling his ground with the drag 
first.) So you see it does not require ball' as 
much dragging with the drill as it does sown by 
hand, as it does not need dragging after It is 
drilled. I think it pays to roll the ground 
before or after the grain coutes up. 
If I wanted a new drill 1 should get the 
Mu SuEKtcii Drill, made at Tiffin, Ohio, though 
I am no agent for it or for any other drill. The 
only interest I have Is for the farmers generally, 
and for the welfare of mankind. 
I have put in wheat where the wheels to the 
drill would cut In from four to 6tx inches deep, 
so you sec 1 have tested It. on all kinds of ground, 
My drill is one of Smith & Barnes’ patent, 
made at Tiffin, Ohio. It is a good drill. 
Paul M. Green. 
West Milton, Rock Co., Wis., 18C5. 
Raising Turkeys. 
I set my turkeys in my barn as early as I can, 
and with not over fifteen eggs apiece. When 
they hatch 1 put them under a crate and feed 
them on cracked corn and milk curds, anil if I 
have milk curds enough I feed them ou it alto¬ 
gether, ami I hardly ever lose a young oi e. 
When they are four weeks old 1 let them out, to 
sbltt. for themselves. The old ones sometimes 
hatch a second brood. Four of mine have t ills 
year. If they lay more than tlltcen eggs I set 
the balance under liens, and so 1 raised from tox¬ 
oid hens ninety young ones, worth now, ut 
market price, oue hundred and fifty dollars.— 
Dollar Newspa/wr. 
Ten Rules for Making Good Butter. 
Tub Maryland Farmer gives the following 
rules for making good butter:—In making good 
butter there are several nice operations to begone 
through with, which require an eye to cleanli¬ 
ness, forethought, and some little experience. 
1. On milking clean, fast, yet gently, regularly 
t w ice a day, depends the success of the dairyman. 
Bad milkers should not be tolerated In a herd ; 
better pay double the price for good ones. 
2. Straining is quite simple, but it should be 
borne in mind that two pans about half lull each 
will produce a greater amount, of cream than the 
same milk in one pan; the reason of thin is the 
greater surface. 
3. 8caldingis quite an important feature in the 
way or making butter in cool weather; the 
cream rises much quicker, the milk keeps much 
longer, the butter is of a better color, aud eliurna 
in one-half the time. 
4. Skimming should always be done before the 
milk betO U'8 lojp red; otherwise much of the 
cream turns into whey and is lost. 
6. Churning, whether by hand or otherwise, 
should occupy forty or fifty minutes. 
6. Washing in cold, soft water, is one of the 
preserving qualities, and should be continued 
until It shows no color of milk by the use of the 
ladle. Very hard water is highly charged with 
lime, and must, In a measure, impart to it alka¬ 
line properties. 
7. Salting Is necessarily done with the best 
kind of ground salt; the. quantities vary accord¬ 
ing to the state it is taken from the churn—if 
soft, more; if hard, less; always taking the 
taste for the surest guide. 
8. First working after about twenty-four hours, 
is for the purpose of giviug it greater compact¬ 
ness. 
9. Second working takes place at time of pack¬ 
ing, when the butter has dissolved the salt, that 
the brine may be worked out. 
10. Packing la done with the hands or butter 
mull; and when butter Is put into woodeu ves¬ 
sels they should be 6oakcd two or three days in 
strong brine before using. After each packing 
cover the butter with a wet cloth and put a layer 
of salt upon It. In this way salt can easily be 
removed at any time by simply taking hold of 
the edges of the cloth. 
Butter made in this way will keep any length 
of time. 
Rural Notes mb (SHuerits 
MR. o. cutting’s ewe NUGGET 
The Wheat and Grass Crops are very promising. 
Bo far as we are advised from both near and distant 
suctions their-appearance is most encouraging. Th« 
Spring lias been very favorable for these crops-cool 
and damp - and yet the temperature lias not ma¬ 
terially retarded the fruit and other crops, albeit the 
cool, wet weather which has prevailed for most of the 
month past has prevented out-door operations to a 
great extent, and interfered with plowing, seeding, 
&c. Our reports from other regions-West, East and 
South—are generally favorable, and we anticipate au 
average yield at the “ Harvest Home.” From the 
West wo have encouraging letters in regard !o the 
season aud crop prospects, while we have no croaking 
reports from other latitudes. About the grass crop in 
New England the Mass. Plowman of the 90th lost, re¬ 
marks :—“The present prospect of the gTass and lwy 
crop is, remarkably good, both about here, and so lar 
us wo can learn from our exchanges, In all parts of 
New England. The snow lay on so well through the 
winter Hint none of tlio grass was winter-killed while 
the mild and moist spring has brought It forward wiih 
wonderful luxuriance, if we have occasional showers 
till the middle of June, the hay crop must be unprece¬ 
dented. Better begin haying early.” 
Washno Siikkp.—A friendly correspondent at Benl- 
ville, Washington Go., Pa., sends ns n description of 
an elaborate arrangement, for the washing of sheep. 
We cannot make out the details from the description, 
and do not think our readers could do so. 
ewe of their breeding got by a ram sold by 
them at a year old, aud which died soon after¬ 
wards. At two years old, Addison Chief yielded 
17 pounds, and at three years old, 2114 pounds. 
It was accidentally omitted to state in the pre¬ 
ceding account, that- the Messrs. Cutting used 
the Old Robinson ram* more or lees for several 
years after his stock obtained celebrity; and 
they have since, one or both of them, on var ions 
occasions sent to Mr. Hammond’s Sweepstakes, 
and to his other eelebraled rams. 
The ewe Nugget, dropped in 1859, was got 
by Voting Saxton, dam by first Atwood ram. 
Young Saxton was got, by the Saxton ram above 
mentioned, dam a ewe bred by Chauncey At¬ 
wood. 
We have cuts of a ram and three ewe tegs of 
David Cutting’s flock, which will appear next 
week. 
♦For his pedigree, see Practical Shepherd, p. 417. 
Communications, dftc 
PROXIMITY OF HOG PENS AND 
GRANARIES.” 
CHEAP STOCK LANDS IN IOWA 
Sheet-Siibakixu Festival. — The fourth annual 
Sheep- Shearing Festival of Riga was held on the 
premises of Lorenzo Babcock, May 4th, Instant. A 
large number of persons assembled to witness the 
exhibition and shearing of flue wool sheep. Below 
we give a list of the principal ones sheared hoping to 
stimulate others engaged In wool growing and the 
improvement of sheep: 
Wt. of Fleece. Nett Wt. 
Age. lbs. oza. of Shcop. Owner. 
Buck, 3 yrs. S3 136 I. J. Whitney. 
“ 4 “ 19 12 153# I- Bowers. 
“ l “ 13 12 122 I. Bowers. 
“ a “ 1| 9 122# D. Bevens, 
“ 2 “ 19 131 II. <iulvcy. 
“ 1 “ 10 14 83 T, Terrell. 
“ l “ 14 8 99# L. Babcock. 
" 1 “ 14 8 84 H. Quivey. 
Ewe, 1 “ It 8 OS# I. J. Wbiiney. 
Buck, 5 “ 13 8 137 D. King. 
Kwe, 4 “ 9 79# T. Terrell. 
Hijplr A 11 It jniV/ •!. IHcrco. 
i “ 13 8 90 L. Babcock. 
Ewe, 1 “ 11 11 75 
M. W. Tcckeb was present and did up the wool 
with one of J. 0. Ball’s Improved wool presses.—H. 
N. Saoe, See'*/. 
Hon. H. S. Randali,— Dm?- Sir; My article 
in the Rural of Dec. 10th, 1864, “Iowa vs. Min¬ 
nesota for Sheep-raising,’’ has been the means 
of bringing me scores of letters of inquiry from 
ail parts of the country. The following will 
furnish answers to many of the questions asked: 
I have no lands in this State for sale. My sole 
object in writing the article wils to induce peo¬ 
ple seeking homes in a new country, not to go 
to a colder place, away from “civilization,” and 
pay about as much for land as it can be bought 
for in the vicinity of railroads, villages, schools, 
churches, mills, factories, &c. 
Our prairies are very large—from ten to 
.twenty-five miles across—and generally well 
w> \tered with creeks. Timber along the streams, 
(wh'-ich are clear,) from $15 to $75 per acre, ac¬ 
cord! Mg to quality and location. Coal abounds 
ir mail 'X but U is run <u Hrsr.-niW 1 quality. 
F st ci '«*> prairie lands can now be bad, from 
five to ten' mlles of tow ' 11 ' atto P cr acro ~ 
and from tc fifteen miles off, at $3 to $5 per 
acre Waterloo is 92)£ miles due west of Du¬ 
buque by rail, and about 300 from Chicago. It 
is on the Cedar river, where is one of the best 
water-powers in the State. The Junct ion of the 
Dubuque and Sion’* '“id Cedar Valley railroads 
is at this place, amt it will be one of the best 
.railroad centers hi th» State. It now has 3,000 
inhabitants, and is ^creasing very rapidly. 
There is no better section in the entire State 
than the Cedar Valley. 
Parties ehould bear in mi.’ffi that. I recommend 
the country for stock-raising,'' only. For graiu 
growing I certainly would no\ vr cross the. Mis¬ 
sissippi river. My reasons are fully set forth in 
the following paragraph which recently appeared 
in the Chicago Evening Journal: 
“A farmer in Blue Earth county, .Minnesota, 
communicates some facts showing the unprofit¬ 
ableness of farming in the interior, without rail¬ 
road communication to navigable waters. His 
wheat crop cost, him $347.50, and he received 
for his crop $305.20—losing $42.30. Ilis oats' 
cost him 8176, and he received $102.50-losing 
$13.50, In his estimate of expenses he counted 
his own labor at what hired help would cost. 
His corn crop coat him $58.75, and he received 
for it $135, clearing $76.25. HIb corn paid be¬ 
cause he fed it to 6tock aud drove the stock to 
market.” 
Such facts speak emphatically. Lands near 
railroads and markets are far cheaper at a good 
round price than those very remote are if given 
to yon. 
Very respectfully, 
THE GRAIN DRILL, ONCE MORE 
thing of the operation of JLnachinc by seeinw 
as operation in tne uanus uMtliers, as well as to 
use it himself, and the opinion of an intelligent 
farmer, as to Us U9C, is about equal to personal 
experience. 
The practice here U to plow for small grain 
in the fall, and sow as soon as the frost leaves 
the ground in the spring, and at that time it is 
generally muddy. I consider it just as well, If 
the seed is well covered, to have It covered with 
mud as dust. Now, I know from actual observa¬ 
tion on my own farm, and on other farms this 
last spring, that, the drill will not cover the grain 
well. The hand Bower sows seven paces at a 
bout, 21 feet; the drill sows 13 feet, and one 
moves about us fust us the other—that is just 
the actual difference. While the hand sower 
counts one man, the drill, team and driver count 
two and a half. Our practice is to sow on the 
furrows and drag and cross drag once each way, 
cutting the full width of the drag, and it is quite 
necessary to do that much when the grain la 
drilled. 
If wc could always have the ground mellow, 
os if Just plowed, and always just in the right 
condition to work well—neither too wet nor too 
dry —there might be some utility in the drill, 
but even then 1 am somewhat disposed to doubt 
its ntility. I should like to read the opinions of 
otbciu on both sides of the question. There are 
ten acres of wheat put In with a drill, and t wenty 
acres sown broadcast on my farm this year, and 
I shall have some opportunity to know which is 
the best In the harvest. S. W. Arnold. 
Cortland, III., 1805. 
Agricultural Implements. 
We arc sorry to learn that the sale of agricul¬ 
tural implements Is rather slower than usual, this 
spring. One large firm bas on hand a thousand 
mowing machines which aro hardly called for, 
though lust year at this lime all the bunds they 
could muster could not make them fast enough 
to supply the demand. It Is not only the home 
trade that has fallen off, but the foreign trade 
also. The demand from Australiu, formerly 
very large, has been very limited. One reason 
fur it is, probably, the general feeling that labor 
is to be more abundant, and consequently cheaper 
on account of the favorable aspect of public 
affairs. Another is the high prices which manu¬ 
facturers have been compelled to charge, on ac¬ 
count of the high cost of labor aud material. We 
hope the trade will brighten up as ihe spriug 
advances, and that this most important branch 
of industry will continue to prosper.— Matt. 
Plowman. 
The Am. Agriculturist on the same subject, 
thus “ hits the nail ou the head —“ It strikes 
us that the prices of farm implements aro very 
high when we first hear them, aud in fact they 
arc when counted in dollars; but we urge farm¬ 
ers not to refrain from purchasing, with the 
expectation that they will be lower. Let us con¬ 
sider, rather, the prices we have, as a class, been 
getting for what wo have had to sell, and how 
easily we have earned the greenbacks which we 
must now pay out. Compare the prices of all 
these things, and of books and agricultural pa 
pers too, with the prices which corn, wheat, 
beef, butter, poultry, etc., have been selling for 
all winter, aud the prices which are likely to 
prevail, at least If the hopes of the farmers are 
realized. No man now-u-daya ean afford to use 
poor implements. It is unfair to apply a meas¬ 
ure to others’ prices, with which we will not 
measure our gains. 
Wheat Crop Prospects in Canada. —The reports 
iu regard to the crop ol winter wheat In Canada West 
arc favorable. A Simcoe Co. correspondent writes 
the Ciiuoda Farmer, May 3, as follows:— “ The fall 
wheat looks well, although killed In some places; and 
if nothing extraordinary happens, it promises tube 
one of the best crops wc have had for years. The 
almost total absence of hard frosts since the snow left, 
loaves it, at present, of u healthy, green color-which 
Is very encouraging to the farmer. The high winds 
duriug the past winter threw up heavy snow hanks on 
the ke side of the fences, and In these places the wheat 
is nearly destroyed.” 
Cost op Boos IN THE U. 9.—The Working Farmer 
debits Ihe dog tribe, In the l ulled Stales, as follows: 
“Suppose dog rations be computed ut less than a cent 
per meal, and the general average throughout the laud 
at $10 per year; then the keeping of three millions of 
dogs or the loyal States would be $3t),000,ixs). The 
loss of sheep by dogs is estimated at $1,670,187; while 
un equal. If not a larger item may be reckoned for sun¬ 
dry damages, such as cost of litigation occchHloued, 
cattlo bitten, hogs worried, fowls killed, eggs eaten 
and gardens injured. Hence the entire cost of dogs to 
the loyal States may be safely put down at $33,000,- 
000." Why not have and enforce a stringent dog-luw 
In every State ? 
Speaking op Bums. The Mass. Plowman, a sensi¬ 
ble paper, talks thus sensibly and seasonably:—“ We 
know of nothing more cruel and heartless than Ihe 
wholesale slaughter of the small birds, so common in 
many of our town*. The farmer owes more to birds 
than ho Is apt to admit. They destroy Innumerable 
insect* which would prey upon his fruits and injure 
his crops. If the robin, the cherry-bird, the catbird, 
or any other, Is disposed to make a dive ut the straw¬ 
berry bed or the cherry tree, there are modes of pre¬ 
venting them from taking nil. If they want a few, 
better let them havo them than to kill them." 
PRESERVING FILES OF AG. PAPERS, 
Every man who takes a good agricultural 
journal may derive great advantage by keeping 
a file of the same. The amouut of practical 
information that may thus be secured in conve¬ 
nient form for reference, will amply repay a 
hundred fold the cost or attention thereby in¬ 
curred, 
L. II. Doyle. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE, ITEMS, &c 
Cuor Prospects in England.— The Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press, of April 17, gives a favorable account of the 
weather and crops. The spring though unusually late, 
cold, and hack wurd, had given place, to weather utmost 
warm enough for summer; the face of the country 
had wondorfhlly changed for the better; the wheat 
plant Was looking well; and unless night frosts pre¬ 
vented, there was a prospect of " a good bite of grass 
before May Day.” 
Samples or Delaine Wool. — 8. N. Franklin, 
King’s Ferry, N. Y., sends us a number of samples of 
wool of 10# months growth from ewes suckling 
lambs, lie states that the samples exhibit about the 
average length of wool of ttafc flock, and that the 
weight of the fleeces from which they were taken was 
9 Urn. per head of washed wool. These samples even 
now average about, 3 inches In length, Severn I of them 
being 8,'„ inches. The quality and style are good, and 
the staple strong, and of good luster. Considering 
the extraordinary weight of fleece, With the length 
and other characteristics of their staple, these must 
be regarded as Delaine Merinos of the first class, and 
of great value. We merely know ot their blood that 
they are descendants of the tlouk of Matthias IIutuh- 
iNson, now retired, but formerly well known a» a 
Merino sheep breeder of high -binding in Central 
New York.* We believe that Mr. Franklin has, by 
various crosses ut his own, esseiainUy changed the 
original type of the sheep, and inasmuch as he attained 
such very valuable results-, we trust that he will furnish 
us a history of hie flock to be given to the public. 
* Mr. IlDTOniNSON acted on tlir. Fine Merino and one 
other Committee, at. the late State Sheep Fair, and tew 
persons were more cordially w elcomed tliuru by a wide 
circle of friend*. 
Suppose, reader, you have now in your 
possession ten volumes of one or more leading 
agricultural periodicals of the day, (hut numbers 
its subscribers by tens of thousands and con¬ 
tributors scattered through many States; you 
desire to plant fruit trees adapted to your soil 
and climate, but are in doubt as to whut kinds 
to purchase. Hook at the Index alphabetically 
arranged, and find apples, pears, and plums, or 
any other kind of fruit, and then turn to the 
mimnroua articles relating to the same and note 
carefully what is said—trace the same subject 
through the other volumes—compare the views 
noted, and mark the concurrent testimony In 
favor of this or that variety, and yon ean decide 
generally on the right sort for your locality. 
Any other subject relating to field crops or 
horticulture, may be traced through In the same 
way with profit. 
This course by no means teuds to stop our 
own thinking, but simply serves to give us in¬ 
formation obtained, perhaps, by years of trial 
HorseB at Pasture. 
Every horse In the country ought, if possi¬ 
ble, to have at least a few weeks run in the pas¬ 
ture. It will do for him what no kind of medi¬ 
cine ar nursing can do as well. It will improve 
his hoots, his lialr aud slriu, his wiud, digestion 
and blood, will take out stiffness and lameness, 
and put on flesh, and infuse new life generally. 
Before turning horses out, it is well to accus¬ 
tom them gradually to that kind ot food, by 
cutting a little gross for them each day or allowing 
them to “bait” for an hour or bo daily iu the 
back yard. And whan let out, they should uot 
have “ flush” feed at first, as they will be likely 
to over-cat, and Injure themselves both iu their 
looks aud their wind. The best grass for a horse 
pasture is a mixture of Timothy, Blue grass, 
and Red Top. Horses relish this feed better 
when It, is moderably short. When they are to 
be turned out for any length of time, and not to 
be used much iu the meanwhile, they Bhould 
Uakrau's National Farm Gate.—T lio claims of 
this gate are set forth iu our advertising department. 
Dammars from their testimonials that a number of 
people who have It in turn suppose they havo obtained 
tlm long sought desideratum iu the lino of a farm gate. 
If the gate is each an one a* represented it i» worthy 
the attention of farmers and others, and the Rural 
gladly atd» in promulgating its merits for the benefit 
of the public. 
--—— 
The Kktciium Mowers.—F armers owning Ketch 
utu Mowers m ule some years ago will see by reference 
to au advertisement In this paper that thoy can have 
their machlue* changed and improved on application 
to the manufacturer, Gen. R. 1.. Howard, Buffalo. 
Turn to the advertisement; It Is timely, and probably 
important to many of our readers. 
