agriculture 
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FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1868 
MOOEE’S BUBAL NEW-YOEKEB, 
* AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
EFFECT UPON PRODUCT OP MILK. 
To the dairyman, this will he the great question. 
He keeps his cows for the profit of their product, 
and he, naturally, fears that feeding them in their 
stalls, through the warm months, will so change 
their habits as to reduce their yield of milk. But 
here facts reverse his theory. Oar experience is, 
that the cow will average one-tenth to one-fifth 
more, through the whole season, by soiling than 
pasturing. It is true that when pasture is fresh 
and full, and the cow can easily get all she wants, 
she will give as much milk; but soiling enables the 
feeder to give a full supply of food through the 
whole season, and therefore the quantity of milk 
will be more uniform. Some American farmers 
have estimated the increase of milk much greater 
than the above. Mr. R, L. Pell has stated, that in 
his experience, soiling has doubled the quantity of 
milk from the same cows. Mr. Qctncy says it has 
much increased the product of milk. 
But the most thorough experiment ever tried, of 
tlje comparative yield of milk, in soiling and pastur¬ 
ing, was given by Dr. Rhode Eldena of the Royal 
Academy of Agriculture of Prussia, an account of 
which was published last J ane in the Rural ; but 
its importance will warrant a Bhort re-statement. 
The experiment was conducted through seven years 
of pasturing and seven years of soiling; and the re¬ 
sult noted from each cow. From forty to seventy 
cows were pastured, and the annual average per cow 
for the whole seven years was 1,583 quarts; while in 
Boiling from twenty-nine to thirty-eight cows were 
kept and the anuual average per cow, for the seven 
years, was 3,443 quarts. But in soiling he kept only 
the best cows, and fed them high summer and win¬ 
ter, which would account for a part of this remark¬ 
able gain. He compares the yield of the same cow 
for different years. Ab a sample, take No. ‘20. She 
gave, in 1860,3,298 quarts; in 1863, 4,488 quarts, and 
in 1865, 4,800 quarts, And moBt of them show a like 
increase from year to year. This statement is also 
important, 86 showing the healthy condition of the 
ig. Many of these 
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Fifty years ago, or before cotton growing was 
prosecuted to any considerable extent in the United 
States, the cultivation of flax was common to most 
of the fanners in all sections of the Union. It was 
grown primarily for the lint, hut. the seed whs not 
forgotten or wasted, but went to the oil mills and 
helped to increase, somewhat, the returns of the 
crop, and pay for the use of the land on which it 
was grown. The introduction of the cotton gin, 
together with improved machinery for the manu¬ 
facture of cotton, tended to diminish the produc¬ 
tion of flax, until it ceased to be numbered among 
the paying products of most farms in the country. 
In 1850 the flax product of the whole United 
States was but 7,709,676 pounds, yet, diminutive as 
this amount was, compared with the territory and 
population of the country, ten years thereafter 
found the quantity diminished nearly one half, or 
to an aggregate of only 4,720,145 pounds. This was 
the condition of the flax interest at the commence¬ 
ment of the civil ■tfar in 1861. That event, by 
severing communication between the Northern or 
manufacturing States and the cotton growing ones, 
materially tended to bring flax growing into promi¬ 
nence again. It was deemed alike a question of 
patriotism and a matter of necessity to fall back on 
a substitute, and this could only be flax, A new 
impulse was given to the cultivation of this article; 
invention was stimulated to the production of ma¬ 
chinery competent to cottonize, spin and manufac¬ 
ture flax into fabrics suited to the demands of the 
market before supplied from the cotton fields of 
the South. Considerable progress was made in this 
direction, while farmers were prompt to adjust their 
business so as to respond to this renewed demand 
upon the capacity of their farms. But when the 
interest was well excited, and preparations made to 
meet expected demands for flax, the civil war came 
to au end, the cotton region was open again, con¬ 
siderable supplies of the article were obtained, and 
the prospect of increased production, in the imme¬ 
diate future, highly flattering. In consequence of 
these changed circumstances, the interest in flax 
culture materially declined, till it measurably ceased 
to occupy much of the publie attention. 
But, though less prominent in the list of farm 
products now than for several years past, it still 
holds a place among them, and will continue to do 
so despite of its rival, 
time of sowing, the flax stalks will begin to turn 
yellow and the seed balls to rattle on being moved. 
It is then time to pull the flax. Some cut it with a 
reaper, hut, when designed for home manufacture 
and but a limited quantity is raised, pulling by hand 
is the preferable process. A lazy man will pull and 
bind in small sheaves—as large as the two hands can 
clasp—a quarter of an acre in a day, and set it np. 
A good worker will about double this quantity. 
The sheaves are tic-nally put in stocks, and, when 
partially cured, transferred to a stable or loft in the 
barn and 6et on end, the butts or root ends down¬ 
ward. It is left to cure here till about the first' of 
October, when the seed is whipped off, a bundle at 
a time, on an inclined flat stone or piece of timber. 
It is then ready to be taken to the pool or meadow 
for rotting. 
If dew rotted—and this is the customary way 
with farmers — a smooth piece of low meadow 
ground is selected, and the flax, bundle by bundle, 
evenly and thinly spread, in straight lines, upon the 
grass. If the spreading is near a fence, space should 
be left ample for turning a row or swath should it 
be desirable to throw it in that direction. If the 
weather is moist, with alternate showers and sun¬ 
shine, the flax will do to turn in about one week 
from the time of spreading. This turning is rapid¬ 
ly executed by means of a long, smooth rod, like a 
fishing pole. If the extreme end of the rod is 
slightly raised from a direct line, all the better, as it 
will not catch into the ground or sod when thrust 
under the flax. When the under side has been ex¬ 
posed about as long as the reverse before turned, 
the rotting may be deemed accomplished. This is 
readily ascertained by talcing a handful of the 
haulm and breaking it. If the straw severs readily 
and drops from the lint, the rotting is amply done, 
and the flax ready to be gathered in large bundles, 
bound and taken to shelter till the leisure of winter 
shall afl'ord the owner time to prepare it for manu¬ 
facturing. 
back; the flank full and low; the loin full long, 
level and broad; the rumps level, and well shaped; 
the tail set symmetrically and level, small, and 
round in shape; the thighs broad, but not “but- 
tocky;” the twist (space between the thighs) full, 
and well let down; the gambrel joints straight, as 
in the horse, and the leg below fine and sinewy. 
The temper of the beast should he mild and gentle. 
These points constitute a finely shaped, vigorous 
and almost perfect animal. * 
As to the color, tastes d itter. Red, red and white, 
and the red roans are mostly preferred; but any color 
from red to clear white is a good Short • Horn color, 
if the animal be otherwise good. White is usually 
least preferred, simply, I think, as a matter of taste, 
for I have seen as good white cows and bulls as of 
any other color. In thorough-breds, that color is 
hardly so salable as the reds or roans; but for beef- 
breediDg, it is of little consequence what the color 
may be so that the animal itself is good. There are 
two other points, which I consider Lndispeusable in 
constituting a first-class hull. These are fineness of 
bone, and a soft, elastic touch. The first is readily 
known by the general smoothness of the carcass, in 
dicating a good feeder; the other, by a flue wavy 
growth of hair, and an elastic feel to the skin 
and flesh beneath it, like that of an lndia-rnbber 
ball. Fineness of bone and “ good handling, 7 ' as it is 
called, usually go together. A rough-boned, coarse 
animal, with hard handling, 1 would never select as 
a breeding bull. If rows possess these harder quali¬ 
ties, and are otTuTudse good, they may produce quite 
tolerable calves, when coupled with fine bulls, and 
thns the stock may be improved; but every coarse 
hull calf should be castrated, and nev er retained as a 
breeder. 
Our American Short-Homs have been much im¬ 
proved in their handling qualities within the last 
twenty years. Some of the earlier importations 
were coarser in style and harder to t he touch than we 
now have them. Our American standard of quality 
has much improved in these particulars, and when 
it is considered that coarse hone and hard handling 
are accompanied with a coarser quality of flesh, 
fineness of bone and “good handling’’ should al¬ 
ways govern the selection of a breeding bull. 
claimed that Mr. Goodrich selected this as the best 
winter potato out of all his seedlings, and if snch is 
the fact, I would like to learn something of its qual¬ 
ity, when cooked; is it white and mealy, or is it 
watery and heavy ?—what is its general appearance 
and habits; does it spread around in the hill, or 
does it grow in a close, compact form, and is it easy 
to dig; and lastly, what is its yield per acre, and has 
it a tendency to rot? 
I would also like to ask the opinion of potato 
growers whether potatoes of different kinds mix 
when planted side by side ? Some farmers here say 
they will, while some say they won’t. ’ 
Diversity in Farinlnii—Plan of Milk House, 
S. C. L,, writes from Loekport, N. Y.:—“I am 
one of those who are fully convinced that a ‘ diver¬ 
sity of crops’ pays much better than the ‘one 
thing’ system—depending wholly on grain, on fruit, 
on cows, or on sheep, one is apt very often to miss 
the figure. But when the thing is a little 1 mixed ’ 
one can hardly escape of being successful in some 
particular. There are many small farms here Isay 
about 100 acres,) with good springs of water, and 
capital farms for grain and fruit, as well as for dairy, 
considering the ‘cheese factory mania.’ I do not 
see why a butter dairy on such a farm as I describe 
will not pay In connection with the other branches 
of husbandry. Will some of your experienced 
readers furnish a convenient plan for a summer milk 
house with the modern improvements, suitable for 
a dairy of ten cows; spring water attainable?” 
cow after seven years of soiling 
were the same cows kept In the pasturing experi¬ 
ment. It is, no doubt, safe to say that soiling, 
rightly conducted, will produce one-third more 
milk than pasturing. One reason for this result is 
also furnished in the philosophy of digestion, which 
“never proceeds rapidly as long as the animal con¬ 
tinues eating. It is only when the stomach is suffi¬ 
ciently filled, that the circulation becomes accel¬ 
erated, the temperature of the body more elevated 
and digestion proceeds with the greatest activity.” 
Thns when cows forage sixteen hours a day over 
large ranges of pasture, slowly gathering a daily 
supply, digestion proceeds tardily i*d is performed 
less perfectly than when an abundant supply of green 
food is given, which is soon eaten and the digestive 
organs have full and natural action. The extra pro¬ 
duct is more than compensation for the extra labor 
of soiling. 
SAVING IN FENCES. 
The enormous expense of fences is more and more 
felt by the farmers as the country becomes cleared 
of its timber; and it will soon become impractica¬ 
ble to fence farms as at present. The burden of 
the National Debt to the farmers, is a trifle in com¬ 
parison. Let us see how this question stands on a 
farm capable of keeping fifty cows and a sufficient 
team, or other animals requiring as much food. One 
hundred and fifty acres must be devoted to pastur¬ 
age, and one hundred and fifty acres more to winter 
food, grain, woodland, ecc. As different parts of the 
farm are, alternately, pastured, or crossed and mowed, 
the whole must be fenced. We will suppose it to be 
in the most compact form, two hundred by two 
hundred and forty rods, and divided into fifteen 
twenty acre lots, 48 by rods. Crediting half of 
| the outside fences to the adjoining owners, we have 
seventeen hundred and twenty rods of fences, cost¬ 
ing, generally, $ 1, or more, per rod, making an out¬ 
lay of $1,720—the interest of which is $180.40. 
Counting the annual repairs at five per cent, and 
the decay at five per cent., we have $172, which ad¬ 
ded to the interest makes the annual expenditure 
for fences §292.40. Let us add the waste of land 
caused by fences, which, with rails, would be one- 
half rod wide, and with posts and boards six feet; 
making in the one ease 6% acres, and in the other 
nearly five. We will call the waste land six acres 
and worth $50 per acre, $300. Adding the interest 
of this, we have $323.40 charged annually to the 
fence account. What does the three hundred acre 
farmer think of the great national incubus of taxes, 
when compared to this annual outlay for fences? 
Soiling, generally practiced, would render fences 
useless, except to inclose a yard for the animals to 
exercise in. Besides, the fences are always in the 
way, and infested with foul weeds, which, by neg¬ 
lect, get distributed over the farm. Farmers will 
find it a great convenience to be able to plow with¬ 
out the obstruction of fences, to drive into and 
from the fields without letting down and pitting 
np bars, or opening and shutting gates, to run the 
mower and reaper without leaving the fence corners 
to he cut by hand, or, more likely, uncut, to scatter 
their seeds to the winds. 
After putting the six acres occupied by the fences, 
in good condition, it would soil twelve cows the 
whole season, or about one-fourth the whole num¬ 
ber kept on the farm. One man with the proper 
conveniences will soil this stock, and, after deduct¬ 
ing the expense of driving the cows to and from pas¬ 
ture, it will be found that the labor of soiling is not 
more than one-half the expense of fencing. We 
have taken only the large farm for an example, but 
Mixing Ashes, Plaster aid Hen Manure. 
L. T. H., Syracuse, N. Y., writes:—“In your pa¬ 
per of the lltli inst., you recommend the mixture 
of ashes, plaster and hen manure as a good special 
fertilizer for corn and clover. Ashes or lime, mixed 
with hen manure or guano, sets free or expels the 
ammonia, which is the chief value of the hen ma¬ 
nure or guano. I trust the mention of this fact is 
sufficient to have the error corrected.” 
When the mixed fertilizers are placed in the 
ground, or among clover plants, ammonia won’t be 
wasted from them. We have never advised the 
mixing of ashes, plaster and lime, with animal ma¬ 
nures, without plenty of absorbents, as muck, 
strawy manure, turf, &c., being added to retain the 
gases. Mix ashes, plaster, lime and hen manure, 
and apply them to the crops immediately and prop¬ 
erly, and no waste will take place. 
Formerly each farmer grew 
his flax, rotted, broke and scutched, or, as the Yan¬ 
kees say, dressed and manufactured a portiou, while 
the surplus went to another market. Now, the 
routine is changed, especially in the vicinity of flax 
mills. The commodity is taken to these, in the 
rough state,—that is, in the straw,—and sold by the 
ton, while the seed finds its way to the oil mills, 
and the cake resulting from it to dairy stables. 
Disposed of in this way, flax is believed to be a pay¬ 
ing product, quite as remunerative a6 most other 
farm crops. 
Soil, Preparation and Seeding .—What is denomi¬ 
nated bottom, or alluvial land, is not proper for the 
growing of flax, as the straws will fall down, de¬ 
stroying both the lint and the seed. Upland, suited 
to corn or oats, and free from stones, is best adapted 
to this product. It will grow among cobble stones, 
if the soil is suitable; but these take up so much 
of the space, and as flax does not tiller, a greatly 
diminished crop, both of lint and seed, on such 
land will be the result. Therefore, the surface 
SELECTION OF BULLS FOR BREEDING. 
The Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture 
for 1866 contains an essay on the “ Improvement of 
Native Cattle,” by Hon. Lewis F Allen, editor of 
the American Short-Horn Herd Book, in which 
“the proper selection of bulls for breeding” is dis¬ 
cussed Mr. A. gives the accompanying portrait of 
a Short-Horn Bull to illustrate the following de¬ 
scription of qualities necessary in an animal selected 
for breeding purposes: 
The bull’s head should be fine in all its parts, yet 
masculine, and denoting in a high degree the superi¬ 
ority of his sex in strength and form; the muzzle 
small; the nostril wide and open; the n06e cream 
color, orange, or drab, even a nut brown, but never 
smoky or black, the latter being an indication of 
inferior blood; the face and jaws should be lean of 
flesh; the forehead broad, and face slightly dishing 
or concave; the eyes prominent, bright, mild and 
lively; the ears small, and lively in action; the 
horn well set, flattish in shape, and wavy, not 
white in color, with no black, except at the very 
tips, inclining outwards, and not much upwards. 
The neck should be somewhat arching, as show¬ 
ing strength and masculine power, and setting back 
well on the shoulders, with a clean throat, and no 
dewlap, except a slight pendulous thread of skin at 
the brisket. 
The shoulders should he set wide, straight, and 
open at the top, smooth at the points, with a bull- 
neck rein, ending below with a full, thick brisket, 
-1. The knees should stand 
Destroying the Wild Pea Viue. 
“Vermonter” writes ns from Fond Du Lac, 
Wis., as follows :—“Seeing questions in the Rural 
respecting the wild pea vine, I will state that it is 
a weed which is very plenty in this part of Wiscon¬ 
sin and is killed by summer fallowing. Three or 
four times plowing are sure tu use np the weed. It 
is not a plant that has to drop seed on the ground 
every year, for it will grow from the root, the same 
as any of the grasses, and I do not know as any win¬ 
ter is severe enough to kill the wild pea. Seeding 
down to clover and mowing twice does not affect 
it here, for it grows in moist ground. When it is 
mowed, before it goes to seed, it seldom starts again 
until the next year. It will grow in any kind of 
sod, but it must be moist land to thrive, out here. 
Two years ago I had some spots in my wheat that 
seemed to be nearly all wild pea; when 1 thrashed 
it proved to be so. It has a small, black seed, very 
hard and bitter; pods dark and sharp at the end so 
that they annoy the binders very much. Tnepea. 
if fed to stock in much quality, will scour them 
for a while, when first fed. The roots of the pea 
grow here from 12 to 20 inches long, as they can be 
taken from behind the plow, and run near the sur¬ 
face like quack grass.” 
Vinenar from Toniaroes. 
J. D. T., Norfolk, Va., writes:—“I would like to 
ascertain the process of making vinegar from to¬ 
matoes. Being largely engaged in tomato raising- 
quantities of them are sometimes Unavoidably left 
in my packing houses. 1 would like to put them to 
some better use than feeding.” 
Perhaps some of our readers can write from ex¬ 
perience on this subject; if so, we would like to 
publish the results. If there is saccharine enough in 
tomatoes, the simple processor expressing the juice 
and allowing it to ferment in casks, would make 
vinegar; if there is not sugar enough it should be 
added in some 6hape, before fermentation. 
Sawdust iu Manui-e. 
“G W. B,,” Milford, Va., asks:—“Will you tell 
me in what way I can make sawdust available for 
manure?” Sawdust, unless it be from resinous 
woods, will speedily decay if placed in the soil, and 
make humus, or mold, for plants. But the beet 
method that we know of by which to convert it 
into manure is to litter stock with it, for which 
purpose it is very well adapted. If you have plenty, 
cover over the stock yards a foot deep; let sheep 
and cattle lie on it and eat from racks placed on it. 
It will absorb all the liquids and become very rich. 
Value of Old Gromnl Plaster. 
“ A Constant Reader ” asks if plaster that has 
been ground a year is as good as when it was first 
ground. If it has been kept dry, we think it is. 
projecting well forward, 
wide, and below them a firm, compact leg, ending 
in a clean, well-shaped hoof. The chine and back 
should be on a level from the shoulders to the tail; 
the ribs round, springing roundly in an arch from 
the back, and running down to give full room for 
the heart and lungs to play in a broad, deep chest, 
and running back well towards the hips, so as not 
to leave the belly looking paunchy. 
The hips should he wide, and on a level with the 
The llarisou Potato, 
J. W. K., Davenport, Iowa, writesWill some 
one of your many readers (who has no ax to grind,) 
inform me, through the Rural, of the merits of the 
Harison potato, which is so highly recommended in 
the advertisements and circulars of those who have 
them to sell, but of which I have heard very little 
said by those uninterested in their sale. It is 
