TERMS, $3.00 PER YEAR.] 
PROCRESS AND IMPROVEMENT 
[SINGLE NO. TEN CENTS 
ESTABLISHED IN 1850. 
another very important one is that the grass is 
also invigorated and starts early and strong the 
next spring, fnrnishisg either early feed for 
sheep and young cattle, or, better still, an in¬ 
creased amount of vegetable substance to plow 
into the Roll. There is, probably, no better 
way of heading off the destructive cut worm, 
than to manure in the fall, allow the grass to 
grow large in the spring and plow it under as 
| quickly preceding planting as possible. The 
worms will feed on the grass and let the corn 
alone until it gets large enongb to successfully 
withstand their attacks. 
It may be urged that manure wastes by long 
exposure to the weather when thus spread in an 
undecomposed state. This is not the case large¬ 
ly, at least during the late fall, winter, and early 
spring months, when the weather Is cool and 
rain and snow plentiful. Nor is it probable that 
manure losei its valuatde elements to the extent 
which is popularly believed, even ut any season, 
by exposure on the surface of the ground if it is 
spread out thin so as to avoid undue fermenta¬ 
tion ; its effects as a mulch are compensatory. 
I think farmers should be careful in feeding or 
allowing their stock to eat this; the best use for 
it is to bed with.” 
Build nn Ice House. 
If you can get a supply of good Ice within five 
miles of your premises build an )ce house and 
fill it this winter. Sometimes it is convenient 
to make one in the cellar if the walls are high 
and room is plenty. A room twelve feet square 
will be large enough for ordinary farm purposes, 
and that much space ie required to bulk enough 
ice together for it to keep well In u cellar the 
most important points are ventilation and drain¬ 
age ; the former should always be from the out¬ 
side, und the latter must ho free and perfect. 
The usual layer of tunbark, sawdust or charcoal 
must be put around the walls. But the most 
satisfactory ice houses are above ground. 
AN 0ET8INAL WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors 
Hox. HENRY 8. RAND ALL, LL. D., Editor of tbe De¬ 
partment of Bbeep Husbandry. 
Hon. T. C. PETERS, late President N. Y. state ak’ 1 
Society, Southern Corresponding Editor. b 
GLEZEN F. WILCOX, Associate Editor. 
In answer to inquiries about Stock Barns, we 
refer all seeking information to back volumes of 
the Rural, in which several excellent plans will 
be found. To meet the wants of many thousand 
new subscribers, however, we will here re-pub- 
liBh illustrations and a condensed description of 
the bam and sheds ereettd by Bon. Lewis F. 
Allen, on his Grand Island Farm : 
The body of the main bam is 100 feet long by 
50 feet wide, the posts 18 feet high above the 
sill, making 9 bents. The beams are 14 feet 
above the sills, which Is the height of the inner 
THISTLES FOB FODDER. post*. The position of the floor and bays is 
- readily understood from the plan. The floor, 
A communication appeared in a late number for a toarn I* 14 fast wide, but may be 
of the N, E. Farmer in defense of Canada thistles contracted to I'd feet for one exclusively for 
as a farm crop. The writer says“ I am in favor hay. The area in front of the bays is occupied 
of the thistle. I never had too many of them wltil a stationary horsepower and with machln- 
on my tillage land. They make good fodder for er 7 l° r various farm operations, such as thrash¬ 
ing, shelling corn, cutting straw, crushing grain, 
&c., all of which Is driven by bands from drums 
on the horizontal shaft overhead, which runs 
tLOin tk* l.on t /, tv-jrro-pi/ n*_ 4k« 
other side; this shaft Lelag driven by a cog 
wheel on the pemendicular shaft round which 
the horses travel. 
The sheds, which extend on the three sides 
of the barn, and touch it at the rear end, are 
ou a level with the stables. An inclined plane , 
from the main floor through the middle of the 
back shed, forms a rear egress for wngonB and 
earls, descending three feet from the floor. The 
two rooms, one on each side of this rear pas¬ 
sage, 10 by 84 feet, muy be need for housing sick 
animals, cows about to calve, or nuy other pur¬ 
pose required. The stables at the front ends of 
the sheds are convenient for horses or oxen, or 
they may be fitted for wagon houses, tool houses, 
or other purposes. The rooms, 16 feet square,’ 
at the inner corners of the sheds, may be used 
for weak ewes, lambs, or for u ball stable. 
Racks or mangers may be fitted up in the 
open sheds for feeding sheep or young cattle, 
and yards may be built adjoining, on the rear’ 
six or eight In number, into which they may 
run and be kept separate. Barred partitions 
may separate the different flocks. Bars may 
also inclose, the opening in front, or they may, 
ie Btep la(ldl . r ’ 
are placed at convenient intervals for aacendioe- 
the shed lofts. 
A granary over the machine 
other Subject* connected with the business of those 
whose Interests it tealotwly advocate. As a Family 
Journal It Is eminently Instructive and Entertaining— 
being so conducted that B can be safely taken to the 
Homes or people ollnieUlgrencc, tas te and discrimination. 
It embraces more AjrrtcnHnral, Horticultural, Scientific, 
Educational, Literary and New* Matter, Interspersed 
with appropriate engravings, than any other Journal,— 
rendering it by lar the most complete Asrutultcral, 
Literary and Family Nrwsj-aprr in America. 
IS~ Foe Terms and other particulars see last page. 
MANURING CORN GROUND IN AUTUMN. 
We suppose that by far the largest part of the 
com 
any kind of stock. They want as much drying 
aa hay and no more.” If this be true one-half 
of the primal curse is changed to a blessing. 
When the penalty attached to th« tra*u:g*oo,siun. 
In the garden was announced, thistles were evi¬ 
dently regarded as among those thloge which 
would prove detrimental to the husbandman, 
and not a desirable commodity or a source of 
profit. Bat this aside. This apologist for this¬ 
tles says, in substance, that if people are de¬ 
termined to destroy the thistle, the right time 
to mow them is late in the season, as the eialk6 
will then be hollow, and getting full of water 
regions 
on sod 
It in also a very prevalent custom to 
manure this Bod land before it is plowed, gen¬ 
erally with barnyard manure in ite long or un- 
fermented condition, and the most common 
practice is to draw it from the yards in the 
spring, spread it, and Immediately plow it 
Now the planting of com on sod is a 
HcJf• Sinking Cows- Preventive* 
J. A. Bikchard, Windham, Ohio, writes us 
that “ the best way to prevent a cow from suck¬ 
ing herself is to confine her in the stanchions 
take her tongue in the left hand, and drive a 
sharp, narrow bladed knife with your right 
through the center of the tongue about one inch 
back from the end. Then with a down and out¬ 
ward stroke draw out the knife so as to split the 
tongue. I have tried this method, and It is a 
sure preventive of the bad habit of self-milki™ >* 
room is entered 
ISPABE BOOM 
EPAR£ BOOH 
ISHE.ES 
5HEU5- 
on 
naspjiAL 
HOSPITAL 
under. 
very good practice, and it may he questioned 
whether any rotation of crops for this region 
will rot and kill out the roots 
can be adopted, better than tbe one which makes 
com follow grass; bnt the method of manuring 
the sod in the spring is not well fortified either 
by theory or facts against attack. 
A writer in the Rural some years since, stated 
os his belief that a heavy coat of ]ODg manure 
RURAL FARMERS' CLUB 
Hens 
Setting and Cross Breeding:. 
West Rupert, VL, writes “Much 
has been raid and written about hens setting, 
and the means used to prevent them. In the 
Rural of November 2d, J notice an article on 
that subject, in which the * Ohio man ’ recom¬ 
mends tying them up. 1 have been through the 
antidote* recommended to cure the heDS setting, 
and up to date I have not tried one that I beUeve 
to be a sure cure in all cases. A few weeks since 
I was told ‘ Aunt NabbyV method, which she 
avers is a clincher, and no mistake. She says, 
1 P nt olu ® pail of water in a tub, or cover the 
bottom about two inches deep, put in Miss Bid- 
die and cover it; let her remain twenty-four 
hours, and the setting fever U cured. It may be 
worth trying.’ 
My advice to those wishing to produce egg6 
only is to get pure Black Spanish stock and 
keep them till four or five years old, and they 
will not he troubled with hens setting, and if 
properly fed and cared for, will have plenty 
of large, nice eggs from the amount kept. I 
have tried ajvariety, and have never found their 
equal. 1 have taken some pains to inform mv. 
MCR5F 
no benefit to tbe crops planted on 5t but a posj- 
tive injury, in cate the season following was very 
dry. His argument to maintain this position 
was that in a drouth the sources of moisture for 
the plant to draw from were a deep, well-worked 
soil, which admitted the roots to moist layers 
underneath the surface, and the atmosphere 
which conveyed &ome moisture into loose earth. 
A thick coat of loDg, strawy manure plowed 
under with the sod lute in the spring wquld not 
decay immediately in case a drouth prevailed, 
and its position, in conjunction with the sod 
and the air space around them, would arrest 
the rising of moisture from below, and render 
the depth of soli which the plow inverted much 
dryer than it would be if it had good connection 
with the earth below. This state of the soil 
would retard the growth of the young corn 
until sufficient rain fell and render the crop 
much later in its period of ripening. This 
theory every farmer has, doubtless, seen sub¬ 
stantiated by facts, to the extent at least 
that thick sod Las proved injurious when early 
drouths occurred. On the contrary, in seasons 
sufficiently wet, the sod and manure prove high¬ 
ly stimulating and beneficial to the corn, and 
heavier yields result than would from stubble 
or followed ground. In ease the corn crop does 
not appropriate all the nutriment contained in 
the sod and manure, it is not lust to the straw 
crop which usually follows in the succeeding 
year, bnt it seems apparent that circumstances 
may combine to render long manure put on a 
thick 6od in the spring and plowed under lor 
corn, really a detriment instead uf a benefit to 
that particular crop. 
In no case, we think, can the resciltB from ma¬ 
nuring sod ground in the spring for corn equal 
those of manuring in the autumn. In the lat¬ 
ter instance the manure is in a more decompos¬ 
ed state and its elements are more immediately 
available, bnt the greatest benefit comes from 
the effect which the moisture has on the fertil¬ 
izer and the goil—that of extracting the soluble 
matter and imparting it to the ground where it 
is in exactly the right condition to nourish the 
plant as soon as its roots begin to demand sus¬ 
tenance. This is the result which comeB from 
spreading manure on sod ground in the fall, and 
GROUND FLAN. 
A passage four feet wide extends between the 
bays ami the stables, which occupy the two wings. 
This extends op to the top of the bays down 
which the hay Is thrown for feeding, which ren- 
I'.v a flight of stairs. Poles extending from bay 
to bay, over the floor, will udmit the storage of 
much additional hay or grain. As straw cannot 
be well kept when exposed to the weather, and is 
at the same time becoming more valuable as its 
uses are better understood, we would suggest 
that the space on these cross poles be reserved 
lor its deposit from the elevator from thrashing 
grain, or until Bpace is made for it in one of 
the bays. 
A one sided rooi Is given to the sheds, (instead 
of a double-sided,) to throw all the water on the 
A outside, in order to keep the interior of the yards 
•t. diy. Eave-troughs take the water from the 
, 1 s roofs to cisterns. 'The cisterns, if connected by 
pe «n underground pipe, may be all drawn from by 
:li a single pump if necessary, 
to An important advantage of placing the stables 
5, in tbe wings of the bam is, that it obviates the 
in me omen time Menhaden fish, ycleped moss 
bunkers In New York, were seined at the New¬ 
port beaches. T well remember how animating 
it was to me to see the fish swim in the long, 
extended wave just as it whb toppling over into 
a white wreath of foam. Bnt all that Is changed 
now, boats take out the seines into deep water 
and surround the running school of fish, closing 
In their united seines until they havc;tho men¬ 
haden, dog fish and all, with sometimes a 8mall 
shark, Into a cul dc sac. The boats are then 
loaded with the finny spoils, which are taken on 
shore io the trying works. After the oil, which 
is of economlal but no manurial value, is taken 
olf, the flesh and bones arc boiled down to 
guano, which 6ells readily at $20 the ton. It is 
I said to be much cheaper than Peruvian guano, 
and no wonder, for it Is of the same animal ori¬ 
gin, rich in nitrogen, and the multitude of its 
flue bone are nearly pure phosphate of lime. 
But the farmers and gardeners of the Island say 
that fish alone are not a permanent soil amend¬ 
ment; they must have some stable manure, sea 
weed, orother carbonaceous manure to continue 
the soil’s fertility. This is perhaps owing to the 
mechanical effect of the manure, as well as to 
its superior richness in potash and sorln. 
tough, rich, thick sward o' June grass and 
white clover to cover the knol, which, with the 
aid of one or two more endings, caused the 
thistles to disappear. I am convinced that a 
heavy, rich sod aud a little ‘ top manuring ’ 
will kill Canadas, and it is perhaps the easiest 
way of any.” 
Rats In Corn Cribs. 
A correspondent asks fora specific to keep 
rats away from com cribs. 'Here is none prob¬ 
ably within easy reach of the majority of farmers; 
something may he done to cfldct the object in 
the way of poisoning and trapping, or if a weasel 
could be induced to make his abode in or near 
the cribs the rats would seedily leave the 
ground or be destroyed. Th > best way is to 
make the corn crib rat proof, which may be 
done by elevating it about three feet from the 
ground on posts capped with Urge tin pans. If 
nothing is inadvertently left leaning against the 
cribs whereby the vermin can enter, then the 
grain will not suffer from their depredations. 
The Rural has frequently given illustrations 
Mich a style of building. Granaries for start 
shelled grain can readily be made rat and mou 
proof, and every farmer should possess such, 
don’t pay to feed vermin. 
Feeding Rusty Straw. 
Says a correspondent from Wyoming Co., 
N. Y. “ Tell your Club readers to beware of 
feeding rusty straw to their stock. I had some 
experience in this line last winter with three 
colts, which had free access to a stack of rusty j 
Hpring wheat 6traw. They came near dying; 
their coats were rough and staring, swellings 
filled with thin pus or water appeared on their 
limbs and 60 tne parts of their bodies, and they 
also seemed to have a difficulty In the head and 
nostrils. Change of feed and good care alone- 
got them through to grass, but they were much 
injured, I have also seen cattle do very poorly 
when feeding on rusty straw, though they were 
stabled and fed hay, <fcc., nights and mornings. 
