MOOSE'S RURAL WEW-YORKEB. 
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f 422 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
Sawing Down Timber.—In the Rural 
New-Yorker of June 1st I noticed an arti¬ 
cle from “S. U.” on sawing down timber. 
As I have had a little experience in that 
business, I will furnish it for the benefit of 
those who have not. In doing so, I do not 
propose to say how it can be done success¬ 
fully, but would warn novices that t here Is 
danger and expense attending this way of 
doing business, unless it is thoroughly un¬ 
derstood. When 1 commenced, my direc¬ 
tions were very similar to those of which I 
speak. Accordingly, the notch was cut, 
saw applied, and wedges vigorously driven. 
The result was that whoa the tree was cut 
about two-thirds oil, it went over, splitting 
nearly sixteen feet, and leaving the uncut 
portion standing on the stump. In falliug. 
the tree “gigged back,” and came very near 
catching myself and man under it. Several 
others were sawed down with the same suc¬ 
cess. This splitting was of no particular ad- 
vuntr r o while cutting saw logs; but when I 
went t cutting cord wood, I found it quite 
a help, and used the saw altogether, for 1 
never was able to get a tree to the ground 
without splitting it. from ten to twenty-five 
feet. 1 was working exclusively on White 
Oak timber. If some one who knows would 
inform us how to saw down trees without 
injuring them, 1 would consider it a kind 
favor.— Frank Batchelor, Allegan Co., 
Mich. 
Manures for Clover,—Sulphates of soda 
and magnesia (glauber and epsom salts) have 
boeu found peculiarly efficacious as manures 
for clovor, this being a crop that responds 
much more readily to mineral than to ui- 
trogenlzed manures. The reason of this is 
believed to be that the plant draws its am¬ 
monia more from the air than from the soil. 
On land that, without such fertilizers, gave 
about three and one-half tons of clover hay, 
the crop was increased to four and one-half 
tons per acre by manuring with the salts 
named. Combined with superphosphates, 
these substauoes would be likely to show 
still better results, and a fertilizer thus con¬ 
stituted is welt worthy of extended trial on 
our clover fields. The value of clover, es¬ 
pecially when pastured with sheep, is fully 
recognized by our farmers; hut its system¬ 
atic growth preparatory to wheat, as is 
practiced in English tillage, is too much 
neglected, inasmuch as, from the small 
amount of ammonia taken by it from the 
soil, it allows nearly a whole year's accu¬ 
mulation to be stored up for the use of the 
succeeding cereal crop, to which nitrogen- 
ized plant food is absolutely essential.— 
j. A. w. 
Effect of Plaster on Land. —John 
Gotham is informed that plaster will uot 
add to the permanent fertility of his sandy 
soil, except as it may aid the growth of 
clover, which may ho plowed uuder, and 
thus furnish food for plants. Its chief 
use is supposed to be the absorption of am¬ 
monia from the atmosphere. The amount 
per acre need never be increased to produce 
the same results. Nor is it any more nec¬ 
essary to continue to use it after one appli¬ 
cation than it is to use barn-yard or other 
manures, because they have been once ap¬ 
plied; but to all soils whereon plaster bene¬ 
fits the crop once, it pays to apply it as a 
top-dressing annually on corn, potatoes, 
clover, grain, etc Such is onr experience 
during a long series of years on sandy, light 
loam, and well-drained, stiff loam lands. 
Barn-Yard Manure and Ashes.— A 
correspndont asks “ whether barn-yard ma¬ 
nure and ashes can be used together on 
land? ” Both can be profitably used on the 
same land, but they should not be mixed 
before application. The barn-yard manure 
should be applied to and incorporated wit h 
the soil, and the ashes applied separately as 
atop-dressing. “Can the two be used al¬ 
ternately, at different seasons, on the same 
land? Yes. “How much ashes can be 
used, per acre, on moderately good land 
with safety ? ” Any amount from one bush¬ 
el to five hundred bushels. 
Resolving Not to Buy Implements.— 
Wo notice some of the Patrons of Husband¬ 
ry in the West are resolving uot to buy 
reapers and mowers the preseut year. That 
is right, if they do not need them. But we 
have seen no resolution to take proper care 
of such as they have got. In several of the 
Western (and Eastern) States suoh a resolu- 
tlon is more needed. 
CURIOUS NOTIONS ABOUT CHEESE. 
The Utica Herald in along and labored 
article, purporting to comment upon an ar¬ 
ticle of ours in the Rural New-Yorker, 
April 20, page 262, accuses us of trying to 
increase the price of cheese above tin; rates 
of laBt year, and then endeavors to prove 
that the English consumer cannot pay, and 
should uot be asked to pay, a higher price 
for American cheese than he did last year. 
Waiving the point that the Herald does 
not allude in its remarks to the main topic 
which we had under discussion, viz.: wheth¬ 
er American dairymen cannot realise more 
profit in exporting butter than cheese at 
last year’s prices, it quotes from us in 
regard to the manner in which the foreign 
trade is managed— in which it seems to ful¬ 
ly agree us to the facts therein stated—and 
then goes on to say: 
“A moments reflection will show any 
•one that the English laborer cannot afford 
to pay higher prices than he did last year. 
If we could reduce the price one-half we 
believe it would double consumption at 
homo and abroad. The retailors here 
charge the consumer from 15 cents to 20 
cents a pound for cheese, and in conse¬ 
quence few families use it except ns a relish. 
Put ohoeseat Scents to 10 cents aud it would 
always bo found on the table, and be eaten 
as freely as meat, potatoes and bread—pro¬ 
vided a palatable art icle could be had. The 
price of cheese is dearer to the English than 
to the American consumer, although the 
American can afford to pay higher prices 
because better rewarded for bis labor.” 
This is not very encouraging to American 
industry. “Put cheese at 8o. to 10c.,” and 
instead of consumption being doubled, pro¬ 
duction would decline so that the business 
of cheese dairying would be soon broken 
up. Take out the cost of manufacturing 
and furnishing from the price of cheese at 
8 o. to 10c.. and the nett receipt to farmers 
would be from Cc. to 8c. per pound. Every 
practical dairyman knows that cheese can¬ 
not bo produced at these figures except at a 
heavy loss. In our trade with England the 
question is not what the English laborer 
can afford to pay, but what the well-to-do 
English people urn able to pay. Wo grant 
that the poor English laborer in the mines, 
in the cotton mills and upon the farm can¬ 
not afford to pay a high price for cheese. 
Ho is not able to indulge in any animal 
food, -except at long intervals, lie must 
live upon the cheapost food, and little at 
that. The idea of American dairymen re¬ 
ducing prices sufficiently low to put. cheese 
within the easy means of the pauper class 
of England may be very philanthropic, but 
we do not think our dairymen are called 
upon to make themselves poor in their ef¬ 
forts to serve the paupers of England. A 
more satisfactory and just arrangement, it 
seems to us, would be for the English em¬ 
ployer to Increase the wages of his laborers 
so that these latter may bo able to obtain a 
full supply of wholesome food at such rates 
as it can be decently afforded. A few years 
ago, when our cheese was not so well made 
as it Is now, the cheese dairymen of Eng¬ 
land were accustomed to say, in rather a 
boastful spirit, that they were quite willing 
America should furnish cheese for their 
poor, but, as for themselves it, was their aim 
to supply cheese for the “better classes. ’ 
Tho drift of the Herald’s argument needs 
no further comment. 
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RESULT OF EXPERIMENTS IN WINTER 
BUTTER MAKING. 
In Rural New-Yorker of March 2d, 
page 150, there appeared an article entitled 
“Goad Winter Butter,” signed "G.” I 
wish to say that, with tho exception of 
keeping tho cream thirty-six hours, instead 
of forty-eight—which could not have made 
the difference in the result—wo followed the 
directions of that article, and the result was 
butter as white as snow, and having a pecu¬ 
liar flavor, which prevented its being used 
at all. 1 wish to ask you, or some of your 
numerous readers, whether such results as 
the article in question asserts can be ob¬ 
tained in that way, and if so, in what re¬ 
spect did we fail, or whether said article is 
one of those written by ignorant or mali¬ 
cious persons which parade the papers now- 
a-days to suoh an extent that people are be¬ 
coming afraid to try any thing; thereby de- 
stoylng thu value of newspaper directions— 
at least to a great extent ? 
Also, will you, or some oue of vour corre¬ 
spondents who knows, tell me what Is meant 
by a tablespoonful or a teaspoonful of any 
thing. Does it mean level full or heaping 
full ? Also, what Is the size of a cup used in 
measuring a cupful of anything ? Why will 
not persons who write receipts either give 
standard measures, or the weights of the 
ingredients used, no matter how unimpor¬ 
tant any particular ingredient may seem to 
them ? M. A. D. 
A BUTTER-AND-CHEESE FACTORY. 
At Streetsboro’, in the county of Portage, 
State of Ohio, I found a well-managed but- 
ter-and-chee8e factory, in the hands of N. 
B. Jenkins & Son. In t he first place there 
is a flowing spring of pure water, which is 
conducted around the milk vats wherever 
it is desired. Then they have a well filled 
Ice-house, to make the milk, cream and but¬ 
ter, just as cold as they desire. They buy 
tbo milk of some four hundred and fifty 
cows, daily, night and morning. The night’s 
milk is set in tho vats and cooled; it is 
skimmed early in the morning, cooled to 55' 
and churued; so they have sweet cream and 
sweet buttermilk. The but termilk is put In 
the vats with tho morning’s milk and set for 
cheese — sw'eet buttermilk is better for 
cheese than new milk. 
The butter house is a neat building of two 
rooms, In a bank of the hill, attached to the 
ice-house. The Inner room is a perfect re¬ 
frigerator, kept at. a temperature of 65*; hero 
tho butter is worked upon a table with a 
heavy conical lever roller (as described on 
pa go 511 of “ Willard’s Practical Dairy Hus¬ 
bandly"). 11 is salted with best factory filled, 
at the rate of two-and-three-fourths pounds 
to one hundred gallons of milk; then the 
blitter is packed in pails for market. This 
butter is sold In New York alongside of 
Orange County, and in Philadelphia along 
side of Chester, at same prices.—s. i>. n. 
(£ntomoloc|ii’aI. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. 
Cabbage Pests. — If Mr. A. S. Nash. 
Westport, Conn., has the same kind of 
“small bugs” or “spiders” that infested 
my plants last year (and from his descrip¬ 
tion or them and their ravages 1 should 
think they were alike; if not, they are 
similar), 1 would advise him to procure 
some of the Grafton mineral fertilizer—seo 
advertisement in previous numbers of the 
Rural— and apply it, with a dredge box or 
the hand, to the leaves when wet. A single 
application of the mineral completely rid 
my plants of t he aphides. A keen eye and 
lively Angers will be the most certain means 
of destroying tho worms. This mineral is 
valuable as an exterminator of cucumber 
beetles and squash bugs, when applied ill 
the same manner as recommended for the 
aphides on cabbages. The trite saying that 
“ an ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure” is nowhere better applicable than 
to your conduct towards the squash and 
cucumber bugs. Hence it is better to keep 
the leaves dusted witli gypsum or the Graf¬ 
ton mineral than to do it. after t hey ounce 
get “ moved in.” C'unBtantly search for tho 
eggs of the squash bug on the under side of 
the leaves, and when the bugs become 
plenty, should you bo so unfortunate, place 
two shingles about one-fourth of an inch 
apart, near your vines, and in the middle 
of the day, If it be a sonny one, go around 
and press and move the shingles one upon 
the other, and set them up as before. By 
this plan you can destroy large numbers of 
the pests.—o. n. d. 
Kill ing Currant Worms and Colorado 
Potato Beetles.—I think a better way to 
apply Paris Green for the Colorado Beetle 
and whit e Hellebore for tho Currant Worm, 
is as follows:—Take one part of the poison, 
and from three to twenty parts fiour, and 
thoroughly mix. With this mixture partly 
till a thin cotton bag (I use a small table- 
salt bag), and tie on the end of a stick about 
four feet long. By applying when the foli¬ 
age is damp with dew. and keeping to wind¬ 
ward, uo bad effect need be experienced 
The amount of material used is nmoh less 
than with the dredging box. The larger tho 
quantity of flour (or whatever other sub¬ 
stance mixed with tho poison) used, the 
more liberal should be the application to 
the plants. I think one pound of Hellebore 
is sufficient for 200 currant bushes for one 
season—applied three times.— E. Meeker, 
Cayuga Co., N. Y. 
Noxious Insects in Illinois.—Dr. Le 
Baron, State Entomologist of Illinois, ac¬ 
cording to the statement of Dr. IIULLat the 
meeting of the Alton Horticultural Society, 
says there are but t welve noxious insects in 
that State, and Dr. Hull thinks none of 
these are eaten by birds; and that the in¬ 
sectivorous birds devour harmless insects 
exclusively. 
JANE 28 
it he Ijoii'iemim. 
HOW TO KNOW THE AGE OF A HORSE. 
We find the following in tho Southern 
Cultivator, credited to “ Exchange” :—Tho 
colt is born with twelve grinders, when four 
front teeth have made their appearance, 
the colt is twelve days old; and when tho 
next four come forth it is four months old. 
When the corner teeth appear tho colt is 
eight months old; when the latter have at¬ 
tained the liight. of the front teeth It Is one 
year old. The two-year old colt has tho 
kernel, (a dark substance) in the middle 
front teeth, and when three years old they 
are substituted by the horse teeth. Tho 
next four teeth are shifted in tho fourth 
year, and the corner teeth in tho fifth. — 
At six years the kernel is worn out of tho 
lower middle front teeth, and the bridlo 
teeth have now attained to their full 
growth. At seven years a hook has been 
formed in the corner teeth of the upper 
jaw. the kernel of tho teeth next to the 
middle front s is worn out, and tho bridlo 
teeth begin to wear off. At eight years of 
ago the kernel is worn out of all tho lower 
front teeth, and begins to decrease in the 
middle upper front. In the nint h year tho 
kernel has wholly disappeared from tho 
upper front teeth, the hook on the corner 
teeth has increased in size, and the bridlo 
teeth logo their points. In the tent h year, 
tho kernel is worn out of next to tho mid¬ 
dle front of the upper jaw; and in the elev¬ 
enth year the kernel has nearly vanished 
from t he corner teeth of tho same jaw. At 
twelve years old the crown of all tho front 
teeth in the lower jaw has become t riangu¬ 
lar, and tbo bridlo teeth arn much worn 
down. As the horse advances in ago tho 
gums shrink away from the teeth, which 
consequently, acquire a long, narrow ap¬ 
pearance, and their kernels have become 
metamorphosed into a darkish point, gray 
hairs increase in the forehead, over the 
eyes, and the chin assumes tho form of an 
angle. 
if Iff f)oultl[!|-§)tl[(l. 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Experience with White Brahma 
Fowls.—I wintered twenty-four fowls, as 
follows, viz.:— Fifteen White Brahmas; 
three White Brahma corks; three White 
Dorking liens; two White Dorking cocks; 
one White Vulturc-llocked ben (have never 
named her); and since last September have 
lost only one. They commenced laying tho 
8 th of .January. 1 have collected since then 
?68 eggs. Have bad hatched out since then 
83 chicks; lost 12, and now have some largo 
enough for tho table. 1 think the White 
Bralunas the boat and most gentle mothers 
of any that 1 have. At the end of six 
months T will give the cost Of keeping, value 
of eggs for each month, and the value of 
chicks I have on hand at that time. 1 know 
there is profit In keeping f owls, even in a 
private family.—C. 8. S. T., Plymouth, 
1ml., May 19. 
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Poultry Yard Ethics. — The Poultry 
World very properly says:—“To call a bird 
“premium” because its very great grand¬ 
father won a cup, is like advertising a sticlc- 
in-tlie mud horse as fast trotting because 
someone of his ancestors excelled in speed.” 
.(The 
BEE NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Inquiries for W. E. Ladd to Answer. 
—Judging by Mr, W, E. Ladd’s comments 
upon the article in the Rural New- 
Yorker, by “ Daily Rural Life ” (page 117), 
in regard to bees, lie seems to be just tho 
man we want to hear from, to tell us bow 
to carry on the bee business successfully. 1 
am troubled in the same way in getting my 
bees to build their combs straight in tho 
frames, and true enough, so that they can 
be removed without injury to tho comb and 
bees; and I have seen many others in tho 
same fix—men who have bandied bees for 
years. Now, if Mr. Ladij, who, it seems, 
must know how to do it, will do so, be will 
confer a very great favor upon many of tho 
bee-keeping leaders of the Rural New- 
Yorker. .... 
I would also like to know what kind of a 
hive ho uses, how to make it, and how to 
use it; whether it is patented, and if it is, 
what patent; and if constructed sothattuo 
bees will not attach the frames to the sides 
and ends of tho hive by comb, etc. ? 
This has been a hard Winter for bees m 
this section, and many have been lost; but 
what are left are doing well now.— Browne, 
Sandwich, N. 11. 
