sidered a healthful employment, although 
the grave-digger in Hamlet may not be con¬ 
sidered sufficient authority for behoving that 
a tanner’s body is preserved from decay a 
year longer than the average of mankind. 
Currying is not objectionable labor. Many 
parts of it «.< o pleasant. Skillful mechanics, 
as in almost every other department, arc well 
paid. 
Leather making, as a business, is particu¬ 
larly liable to suffer from fluctuations in the 
market. The stock is purchased in one con¬ 
dition of the market and sold in another. 
.Much time is necessary before capital can 
he turned. As in other enterprises, a man 
who i& not discouraged by occasional re¬ 
verses, who with energy and ability for a 
series of years conducts a tanning business, 
is almost certain of success. 
by itself, or at least fully exposed to the rays 
of the sun and the hot air that always more 
or less circulates, and sec that every part 
gets the full benefit of the exposure, and 
how long will it take to dry it? A few 
hours will do it—a half a day unfailingly. 
And the hay tedder will be the spreading 
of the “lock” for you. There will bo a 
constant and rapid exposure and stirring, 
and almost, all the surface is thus constantly 
exposed. This is drying bay. To let it lie, 
heavy and damp below, is not drying it. 
The hay tedder is under-estimated, high 
as it is held. By-and-by if. will be found 
that it is one of the principal agents in agri¬ 
culture, one of the best paying for the in¬ 
vestment, and indispensable in curing green, 
early-cut hay. F- 
mild that cattle are not usually taken from 
grazing much before January. This spirit, 
of enterprise, which sought the best and 
most economical mode of feeding iu that 
new region, whore tho Introduction of ma- 
cltiwevy is so expensive, and where farmers, 
genera/iy,. would give it little* countenance, 
pleased mi', and the best straw cutter, for 
cutting one toft per jiotir, was forwarded to 
him across the Isthmus, with such instruc- 
fhnw as enabled him to get his steaming 
apparatus in operation in January. lie used 
a six-horse engine for cutting, steaming, &c. 
Hu writes me under date of April 18: “ I 
have fed sixty head ot cuttle this season, 
and having everything to learn and nothing 
as convenient, as it should be, it run mo very 
hard for a while, but 1 get along much easier 
now, with tin; assistance of your advice. I 
have been feeding this winter wheat and oat 
straw and bay, with bran and oil meal. 
“ I consider my cooking experiment to be a 
success, ultlKHigli I have led this seuson un¬ 
der great disadvantages. My cattle had 
fallen away badly before I commenced feed¬ 
ing them. 1 did not get them out «f lhe 
pasture till 1 ho 1 lth of January. They have 
Improved very finely, and 1 have sold to the 
butcher forty head, to be delivered this 
week, at eight cents per pound. The season 
has been bad. Wo have bad a perpetual 
spring ever since the first bard rains of early 
winter. If 1 could have got them in a 
month earlier it would have been worth five 
huudred dollars to me. Kill I have beaten 
my own expectations and that of all who 
saw the cattle when put up. I feel quite 
encouraged, and expect to continue. I have 
^runtific unit Wistful 
C0n0mn 
LEATHER MAKING. 
COOKING FOOD FOR STOCK, 
I3Y h. IX BERDICK 
vised in the setting up of much new appa¬ 
ratus for this purpose, we have felt great in¬ 
terest in observing tlw result of the trials. 
They arc all more favorable than could be 
reasonably expected from the i , ’Al 6f a new 
process by those unacquainted with it. 
Mr. B. A. AvElfv of Syracuse, sends mo 
bis second year’s experience in cooking food 
for sixty cows, from the 1st of December to 
April 15,1859. He is even more enthusias¬ 
tic than after the first year’s experience, 
which was reported in the Rural ol June 
13,1868. He fed cut hay and cornstalks, 
with 53J<f pounds of pea liiCfll, one pound of 
bran and six and a half quarts of brewers 
grains to each cow per day, and aid tfiJeamed 
together. Ho sells $307.2(5 worth of hay, 
and has more left, than usual, with the same 
stock and the same quantity of hay to begin 
with. After deducting the amount of hay 
sold and comparing the outlay for feed with 
the expense of brewer’s grains in the years 
when he did not cook, he says:—“ 1 his, you 
eee, gives mo a clear profit ol $537.20 on 
four and a half months’ feed, saying nothing 
about the labor of drawing brewer’s grains 
all summer that I may have them in winter. 
* * * AH the waste from t his lot of cows 
is greedily picked from among the manure 
by a lot of colts that are as fat now as when 
they left the pasture last fall—a thing 1 have 
not had happen before—horses cleaning up 
after cows. In fact, I should us soon think 
of giving up tile mowing machine and horse 
rake and cutting the hay for this lot of stock 
by band, as of wintering them on uncooked 
food." Here, it will bo observed, that bis 
saving in wintering bis stock cannot be less 
than ten dollars per cow. 
Dewey & Stewart of Owasso, Mich., 
fitted up for steaming food last fall. They 
use an engine of six or eight, horsepower 
to cut the hay, straw, stalks, Ac., and steam 
the feed. They write me:—“ Wo have fed 
FANCY GATES 
Dust Composition. —Microscopic investi¬ 
gations by Mr. J. B. Dancer, on the dust 
floating in the air, prove that the larger part 
of the dust in thoroughfares, which reaches 
the height of live feet—that of the passen¬ 
ger’s mouth—is composed of the vegetable 
matter which has passed through tho 
stomachs of horses or has suffered partial de¬ 
composition in some way. This not very 
agreeable piece of information shows tho 
necessity, in a sanitary point of view, of 
keeping the streets well watered, so that 
germs of diseases may not be taken into thu 
system. 
-+++- 
Potato Poison. — Sprouts of the potato 
contain an alkaloid, termed by chemists, so- 
kntinr ., which is very poisonous if taken into 
the system. This does not exist in the tubers, 
unless they are exposed to the light and air, 
which sometimes occurs from the accidental 
removal of tho earth in cultivation. A po¬ 
tato that shows a blackisli-green lint on one 
side should never be cooked for the table or 
fed to stock.— Artisan. 
A correspondent recently called for 
plans of fancy gates. We have received 
several which we shall give from time to 
time. J. B., East Variek, Seneca Co., N. Y., 
sends us the accompanying sketch of an 
soon outstrip some oi uer oiuer sisters. u 
will be noted that this testimony from vari¬ 
ous States, and tried under various circum¬ 
stances, shows that cooking the food of ani¬ 
mals will pay under them all. The best 
recommendation ol’ any system is its success 
in practice. 
But a learned Doctor of the New York 
Farmers’ Club says, “It is undignified for 
man to spend liis time in cooking food for 
animals!” Well, after having been driven 
from every point in the controversy, he 
ought to be allowed the consolation of saving 
his “ dignity," and making a stand behind 
it; but if it is ‘‘undignified’’ to spend the 
precious time of the human in cooking food 
for the animal, then what shall be said of 
his “ dignity ” in tilling and garnering grain 
and grass and feeding to animals, and the 
st ill greater degradation of tho man in draw¬ 
ing milk from the vulgar cow ? Alas! alas! 
that the “ lords of creation ’’ should be sunk 
so low ! But as long as man deems animal 
products necessary t.o his own development 
and well-being, it is difficult to see how his 
“dignity” can be saved from studying and 
practicing t he best method of breeding and 
feeding animals. 
An Ikon Gate. 
iron gate, which he says is cheap consider¬ 
ing its durability. The frame is made of 
horse-shoe bar iron and the balance of light 
inch-wide band iron, and painted. He lias 
one fourteen years old as good as new. Any 
good blacksmith can make one. 
NOTES FROM CORRESPONDENTS 
XfndUon, Ga„ .lime 7. Will you plOftSOCOrtCCt 
an error la my last letter, concerning tho pro¬ 
ductive capacity of tho soil. Your types made 
mo say “/oraft land," which should have read 
** poorest land." Some are disposed lo doubt the 
truth of my statement as regards tho amount of 
corn raised by Dr. Parker of Columbia, 8. C., 
upon a single acre of land, after seeing my state¬ 
ment. in the same letter, that the forest lava— 
which is, in reality, tho best land, we have in this 
section — would only produce ten bushels per 
acre. I send here with Dr. PARKER'S statement 
of culture. Estimating tho cost of culture and 
manuring, wo have the following, viz: 
Dr. 
To 50 loads stable manure, say $1 per load. $50 
“ 20 bushels lime, bay 40c. per bush. 8 
“ 1 sack salt, say. 2 
“ 200 lbs. guano, say 3c. per lb. 6 
“ 300 lbs. gypsum, say 1c. per lb. 3 
“ Plowing and cultivating, say. 31 
Total cost of manuring and cult! vatiug..$100 
Cr. 
By 200?, bush, oorn, at $1 per bush.$20G 30 
“ Fodder, Buy . 10 00 
Total proceeds. 210 38 
Bcveuty shcx:p. We bad tho straw burn 
fifty-live acres, bay from fifty acres, corn 
stalks from eighteen acres. Wo used two 
pounds of bran to the bushel of straw, which 
made it better than bay. We have plenty 
of bay to carry our teams through the spring 
work and have sold a few tons. From as 
accurate estimate as we can make, we think 
we have saved one-third of the expense in 
wintering this stock —they nra nil healthy 
and thriving, and re Fished this cooked food 
very much. Wo fed the fattening cattle 
from two to ciulit quarts of meal per day, 
according to circumstances, and llie result 
has been quite satisfactory. We have learned 
by Ibis winter’s experience so wo can work 
to better advantage next. We shall make a 
tub to beat water in by steam, and use just 
meal enough to make a thin gruel to be 
given to the fattening cattle for drink—we 
have tried this enough to know it is right. 
"We can confidently recommend cooking- 
food to every stock feeder." 
Mr. T. 0. Eastman, a cattle broker of 
New York, who has a farm in Duchess Co., 
and frequently feeds a large number of cattle, 
has practiced this system, and writes me: 
“ There is no doubt as to the advantage of 
steaming food for cows that are milking and 
for fattening any kind of stock — horses bit¬ 
ten very quick on it and are healthy.” He 
has lately practiced cooking by boating 
A Frame Gate. 
We also give a design for a cheap, strong 
and durable wood gate, which any carpen¬ 
ter will understand and can make. It. is 
suitable for square picket fence. 
Cheap and Durable Fences. —The quostion of 
permanent inclosurcs lo Iho farms and other 
landed properties of <>ur country, is assuming 
an appalling' magnitude in their expense, as well 
as in their temporary endurance. Tho annual 
tax on our farmers in keeping up their fences 
and gates, la greater tban those for all other ob¬ 
jects combi nod. Millions of dollars art every 
your thus expended, and mostly for purposes 
merely temporary. In regions ouee. heavily 
timbered, wood is now scarce, and yearly grow- 
iug less, while in the wide prairie distric ts of Our 
newer State®, wooden post fences uro enor¬ 
mously expensive. Stone tor walls is compara¬ 
tively scarce, and hedges as yet scarce if not a 
doubtful experiment. 
We refer our renders to an advertisement in 
this paper of a newly invented Fence and Gate 
for Farm, and other purposes. From the limited 
observation wo liavo had of tho fence in ques- 
ECONOMY OF HAY TEDDERS 
Net profit.$110 33 
A Mr. Bancroft of Athens, Ga., mndo last 
year on five acres,fifteen Mies of cotton, which wero 
worth, on an average, $100 per bale. Now, can 
our Northern farmer beat that on common field 
crops?—B, 11. True. 
Dorchester County, Mil. —Referring to a com¬ 
munication from this county ui the Rural of 
May 22, a subscriber ia Cambridge, Md., writes 
us substantially as follows:—“Those looking 
South for homes, if they want, good land, at fail- 
prices, need go no *Tinher than this county. 
Here in this vicinity of Cambridge, tho County 
Town, good farms, with fair buildings, can be 
bought at from twenty-live to sixty dollars per 
aero. Tho fund is naturally good,—will grow all 
kinds of grain, fruits, vegetables, Ac.; and almost 
every farm has the means within its own limits 
to enrich it. The county is watered by live 
navigable rivers, many farmers never having to 
haul their produce from their own premises to 
ship it. Weurosix hours from Baltimore, hav¬ 
ing daily comm i ml cation by steamers, arrange¬ 
ment being such that fruits, vegetables, Ac., 
shipped late in the evening, reach Baltimore at 
four o'clock tho next morning, ready for mar¬ 
ket. Wc arc ulso not, very far from Philadelphia 
and New York. The Dorchester and Delaware 
Railroad lacks only seven miles of being com¬ 
pleted to Cambridge, and that will bo finished In 
,Tuiy next, when we wi II bo but a few hou rs from 
either city—thus having three markets all with¬ 
in u day’s ride. Many Northern farmers have 
bought land and settled among us. We would 
welcome more such muscle ami brain." 
Hole Co., Ain. —This is usually called thcGar- 
flen Spot of Alabama. The cotton ln.lt lands arc 
very cheap —can be bought for from one dollur 
and twenty-live o-tits to fifteen dollars per acre, 
currency. Tho best lands commanded, before 
the war, fifty to sixty dollars per aero, gold. Wo 
need skilled agricultural and mechanical labor, 
and would gladly welcome such among us. Tho 
country is now quiet, and lawand order prevai ?. 
Since tho election for President, a wonderful 
change lias taken place, and is still going on. 
Railroads nro being projected, lauds aro rising 
in value rapidly. At,—-c. w. h. 
Oak does make good shingles. Many arc used 
here. The block is sawed the right length, split 
and tho shingles shaved — tho shingle being 
tlireo-eighihs of an inch thick at tlio lower 
edge. Holes aro bored in the thick part one 
and a half inches from the end and an inch 
from the side for nails, else tbey would split; 
five, or six inches aro exposed to the weather. 
Black and white oak are used.- a. w. H. 
fware t rows. —Dr. Adams, Bridgeport, N. J., 
asks the Farmers’ Club wbat is the most effective 
scare-crow, aside from a man with a gun. Just 
say to him, for me, that a crow is the hex!. Shoot, 
one of the scoundrels, and just spread him out 
on the ground, with a stone upon tho point of 
each wing to keep him in place. One crow will 
watch an acre. and. hi most eases, two, if In ono 
field. Their friends will have a “ wake " over 
him, and then climb and let the corn alone. 
—N. R. L. 
Alphnrcltn.fiu.—This would bo a good location 
for a Northern community to make a settle¬ 
ment. Lund is five to twelve dollars per nin e, 
according to quality and Improvements. I ex¬ 
pect to can peaches and put up blackb^rics. 
Peaches can be contracted for at fifty cents and 
blackberries at one dollar per bushel— e. J. cv 
