MOORE'S BUBAL N£W-¥©BiRER. 
fixed bo that I hey will not empty t hemselves. 
9. Never ventilate except by pipes* inlets 
and outlets being equal. 10. Never use 
glazed earthenware pipes for upward flues. 
11. Never allow chandeliers to be Ihe ex¬ 
clusive light merely because it has been cus¬ 
tomary. 
-- 
CEMENT MORTAR FOE BKICK DWELL¬ 
INGS. 
Walls laid with mortar made of loam 
and lime, in the outer courses of walls, wash 
with every rain and compel housekeepers 
to wash their windows, for a remedy the 
following i* recommended >—lay the outer 
courses of bricks in cement mortar made of 
clean sand, good lime, and Roscndalc ce¬ 
ment. Where it has been the practice to 
use one bushel of good lime, let half that 
quantity be employed with a half-bushel of 
cement. For example, let three bushels of 
clean sand, not loam, be mingled with half 
a bushel of good lime and half a bushel of 
cement. Such a proportion of materials 
will make a mortar for laying bricks that 
will endure for more than fifty years. If 
such mortar is prepared as it should be, 
only as fast as the masons use it, the mate¬ 
rial between the bricks will soou become 
about as hard as limestone; and driving 
storms will wash out no more sand and lime 
than can be dislodged from good bricks. 
’ —--- - 
NOTES FOB BUILDEBS. 
Concerning Shingles.—Rived shingles 
of clear pine are the best, not only because 
of the durability of tile stuff in and of itself, 
but because tho smooth cut of the drawing 
knife leaves the least possible roughness 
upon the surface for decay to take hold of. 
Next to these come rived spruce and h'"n_ 
lock, which being far from.as durable, ina , re¬ 
placed near the peak of the roof, while tho 
pine shingles are placed lower down, where 
the greater quantity of water passing over 
requires greater resistance to wear. Sawed 
shingles have a rough surface, which holds 
water aud causes rot; but if these were 
planed by machinery and treated with some 
antiseptic substance, their durability might 
be doubled. Shingles made from steamed 
oak blocks, cut by a power machine, have 
au excellent shape at first, and last woll, 
the albumen of the wood being coagulated 
by the steam, but soon curl up when ex¬ 
posed to the suu ou a roof, and are both un¬ 
sightly aud leaky. The durability of even 
poor shingles can be much increased by cov¬ 
ering with whitewash tinted gray by tho 
addition of ashes.— J. a. tv. 
Stakes In the Bedell Mansion.—Thou¬ 
sands of your readers have doubtless ob¬ 
served that the beautiful residence of F. 8. 
BEEELLof Crown Point, Indiana, displayed 
in your issue of June 15, “ lacks one tiling ” 
—that is, stakes. We see no nursery or 
children's room. The house is roomy, con¬ 
venient, grand, but it lacks the “stake in 
the community,’’ a room full of children, if 
not “to the manor buru," next of kin or 
other kind. Inside t he semicircle near the 
house I 6hould put two stakes, several 
bridges aud oue arch , such as pertain to 
to croquet, crioket or base ball; such stakes 
as these are not only interesting and at¬ 
tractive, but they serve, with the help of 
neighbors, to dispel the solemn stillness 
which mast pervade a splendid residence in 
which a baby’s cry would be a luxury. 
Thousands of the Lortj’9 poor, of good 
blood and brains, are suffering for just such 
homes. What a grand place to rear a Pres¬ 
ident, Senator or Governor for 1910, in op¬ 
position, it may he, to the young, gold- 
spooued, silver - cupped Colfax! Who 
knows!—R. C., Burlington Co., N. J. 
To Remove Paint from Stone— Nolan 
Josephs is informed, common washing 
soda, dissolved in boiling water and applied 
hot, is recommended. We have never used 
it, but oue who has recommends it from 
experience, asserting that three pounds of 
soda to a gallon of water, laid on the paint 
wfitli a common paint brush softened the 
paint in a short time so that it was easily 
removed with a stiff scrubbing-brush; 
afterward, on adding a few ounces of pot¬ 
ash to the solution, he found the paint 
softened more readily than with soda only. 
Architectural Inquiries.— R. T. Mjl- 
ler, Bureau Co., Ill., wants to build aeorn- 
crih. that will hold 13,000 bushels of corn, 
and asks some corn-grower of experience to 
furnish a plan and elevation through our 
columns. 
kep gufibniulrw. 
KANSAS SHEEP HUSBANDBY. 
The Rural Nkw-Yorker being standard 
authority among wool growers, I am in¬ 
duced to send a few items concerning the 
pursuit in this region, which seems especial¬ 
ly well adapted to the habits of sheep. 
The sheep business. Is below par in eastern 
Kansas. Zealous to get rich quickly, inex¬ 
perienced men have bought cheap, and 
oftentimes diseased flocks, in Michigan, Illi¬ 
nois and other States east of Kansas, and 
huddled them through in over-crowded 
cars, or driven them, with unnatural speed, 
overland to Kansas. They have sought the 
most luxuriant growth of grass for a pas¬ 
ture field, and have commenced putting up 
prairie hay in August or September, and 
have continued to cut hay until after the 
grass was spoiled by frost. Flocks have en¬ 
tered upon the winter in poor condition, 
resulting from the change of feed and from 
being exposed to dampness by the dewR and 
rains which are held in the rank grass of 
their new pasture fields. The prairie hay is 
something to which they are quite unac¬ 
customed aud, when fed alone to sheep, It 
almost invariably induces constipation of 
the bowels. The sheep begin to fall away, 
the flock diminishes, and as spring ap¬ 
proaches tho excited owner begins to feed 
corn freely. This over-feed completes the 
work; and Kansas, in consequence, is unan¬ 
imously voted a humbug on the sheep 
business. 
There are profitable flocks of sheep in 
Kansas, but they are treated in something 
like the following manner:—1. Diseased 
sheep are sold, or separated from the flock, 
and treated for the disease. 2. Instead of 
being permitted to range at will, feeding 
upon the coarse herbage and rank grass, 
they are close herded or confined in limited 
pastures, so that t hey will feed the grass 
close, keeping fresh feed constantly under 
foot. Their range thus dries out quickly 
after a rain or heavy dews, and they are 
muoh less liable to foot rot and other dis¬ 
eases. 3. Their winter feed consists of early 
Cut hay, varied with well cured corn fodder, 
oats In the sheaf, shelled corn, and an oc¬ 
casional nibble at Winter rye, bluo grass, 
timothy or root crops. The ewes and feeble 
ones of tho flock are protected from Fall and 
Winter rains by cheap sheds, and the flock 
is constantly under the eye of a watchful 
and interested mau. That sheep husbandry 
can be made very successful in tho vicinity 
of Hutchinson does uot admit of a doubt. 
Our altitude is so great—fifteen hundred 
feet above the ocean—that the atmosphere 
is dry and peculiarly adapted to the consti¬ 
tution of the sheep. Tho soil is also of that 
character which retains sufDcient moisture 
for successful cultivation, and yet is never 
muddy. Our constant running and gravel- 
bottom streams afford a ready supply of 
pure water. The grass of large tracts of 
laud in this vicinity, especially south of the 
Arkansas River, is almost entirely of that 
nutritious variety known as buffalo grass. 
It cures on the ground, and in mid-winter 
is preferred instead of hay, by stock of all 
kinds, in Colorado and New Mexico sheep 
of all kinds are successfully raised upon 
this grass, never using any other feed. 
It is not necessary to purchase land here 
(although it is well to take a homestead), 
but any sheep owner who is now losing 
money by keeping sheep ou land worth from 
$80 to $100 per acre, cun bring his flock here 
and produce wool almost without expense, 
except the attention of a herdsman. 
A corral, or yard, should be built in 
which to keep the liocks at night. A small 
amount of feed, say equivalent to one hun¬ 
dred pounds of good hay per head, should 
be provided for the few stormy days when 
stock ought not to be required to forage 
for themselves. Some sort of a windbreak, 
such as a sheltering bluff or the south side 
of a high fence, will be desirable for the en¬ 
tire flock, and a cheap shelter for the ew T es 
will complete the outfit for a first - class 
Southwestern Kansas sheep farm. 
Clinton C. Hutchinson. 
Hutchinson, Reno Co., Kan. 
-:-- 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Pennsylvania Fleeces,—A correspon- 
ent sends us the weights of fleeces from 
pure bred Spanish Merino sheep, shorn 
May 28 to 81, 1872, inclusive. These sheep 
were the property of John S. Goe, near 
Brownsville, Pa., and were shorn and 
weighed in the presence of Lewis Cope, 
Gibson Bins, Robert Elliott, of Red 
Lion, Pa., and of Wm. Forsyth and Jacob 
Woolf, Brownsville, Pa. Tho weights as 
furnished are as follows: Ram No. 459, 30 
lbs. 6 oz., unwashed; rain No. 458, 21 lbs. 
8 oz., unwashed; ram No. 459, lSIhs.,9 oz., 
unwashed; ram No. 400, 21 lbs., 10 oz., un¬ 
washed; ram No. 394, 15 lbs., 14 oz.. 
washed ; ram No. 420,15 lbs., 9 oz., washed; 
one ewe, 23 lbs., 6 oz.. unwashed; one ewe, 
20 lbs., 3 oz., unwashed; .3 ewes, 19 lbs., 
1 oz., to 19 lbs., 4 oz., inclusive; 5 ewes, 
18 lbs. to 18 lbs., 9 oz., inclusive; 0 ewes. 
19 lbs. to 19 llis., 12 oz., inclusive; 4 ewes, 
10 lbs. to 16 lbs., 12 oz., inclusive; 5 ewes, 
15 lbs., 1 oz., to 15 lbs., 13 oz., inclusive; 18 
ewes, 14 lbs. to 14 lbs., 10 oz., inclusive; 18 
aweR, 13 lbs., 1 oz., to 13 lbs., 15 oz., in¬ 
clusive; 20 ewes, 12 lbs. to 12 lbs., 15 oz., in¬ 
clusive; 30 ewes, 11 lbs., 1 oz., to 11 lbs., 
13 oz., inclusive; 18ewes, 10 lbs. to 10 lbs., 
15 oz., inclusive. 
Slieep for Tennessee.—“ What kind of 
a ram ought I to get to cross ou my native 
ewes, where the sheep have to travel over 
a large extent of territory to get their liv¬ 
ing, subject to ticks and flies in warm 
weather?” So we are asked. A noted 
sheep farmer near Frankfort, Ky., has made 
a profitable and liardy sheep for that region 
by crossing middle woolcd and Leicester* 
with the hardy natives. We have seen 
Merino sheep doing excellently well in Ten¬ 
nessee and Georgia; but in all improved 
sheep husbandry in the South, there must 
be the vital pre-requisite of cultivated 
grasses for pasturage. No civilized sheep 
can live on sedge and red-brush. 
TO PREVENT SOWS FROM DEVOURING 
THEIR YOUNG. 
The Monthly Report of the Department 
of Agriculture contains the following: — It 
is well known that, sows not unfrequentiy 
attack and devour their own young; or if 
prevented from this, will not letdown their 
milk, so that the young pigs necessarily die 
for want of nourishment. When this state 
of things is not caused by a diseased condi¬ 
tion of the uterus, it is said that tho sow can 
be brought to terms by pouring a mixture 
of ten to twenty grains of spirits of cam¬ 
phor with one to three of tincture of opium, 
into tho ear. The sow will immediately lie 
down on the side of the ear to which t he 
application was made, and remain quiet for 
several hours in this position without inter¬ 
fering wit li her pigs; and on recovery from 
the stupor will have lost her irritability in 
regard to them. The experiment has been 
tried in Germany hundreds of times, ac¬ 
cording to one of the agricultural journals, 
without any injurious effects. It is also 
said that the eat ing of pigs by the parent 
sow can be readily prevented by rubbing 
them all over with brandy, and making the 
same applicat ion about the nose of the sow 
herself. 
--• 
PIG-PEN PAPERS. 
Clover for Hogs.—An Ohio hog raiser 
advocates the system of pasturing on clover 
during the summer. He presents, as the 
advantage of this plan, the statement that 
au acre of ground in clover will pasture five 
hogs four months, and that it will take the 
corn from half an acre to feed them the 
same time. The cultivation of the corn lie 
counts equal to the rest of the other half 
acre. He further claims that hogs pastured 
on clover are in far better condition than 
if fed on corn, as they are bettor framed, 
healthier, and eat better, and also states 
that the land is enriched by the clover past¬ 
uring. 
Protrusion of the Rectum. — I have 
several young pigs whose rectums protrude 
badly. What can I do as a remedy? They 
have diarrhea badly.—P, R. Strsitn*. 
Wash the part with warm water, rub on 
a little laudanum, and gently press the part 
back, pushing up the finger a short distance. 
Throb to five drops of laudanum may be 
given a sucking pig. 
When to Wean Pigs.—A “Young Agri¬ 
culturist" asks the best time to wean pigs. 
When from seven to twelve weeks old. It 
depeuds somewhat on the condition of the 
sow (and the pigs also) whether the wean¬ 
ing should occur at an earlier or later date. 
We have taken pigs from sows when six 
weeks old. 
AU)©, 3 
(Jiflit djjrujjs. 
GUANO AND FIELD CROPS. 
The New England States have, for the 
past two years, suffered so severely from 
drouth that during the Winter of 71 and 72 
hay, in many places, could not be had at 
any price. Cattle were sold off in large 
numbers at low prices, and the country is 
now alike short of stock aud provender. 
The hay crop in some localit ies is certainly 
much better than the two preceding years, 
yet far from what it bus been or should lie. 
In many places the farmers are awaiting 
the coming in again (as they term it) of 
grass without the application of seed. This, 
to me, seems a new idea—that old aud worn 
out meadows will again re-stock themselves 
merely by the application of a little surface 
dressing; and it is very little they get, as a 
load of manure is made to cover a large 
space, and quite thinly. 
The fact is, farmers are not making 
enough manure to enrich their farms, and 
those who are disposed to put their fields 
in condition, even to raise grass, must re¬ 
sort to fertilizers of some kind, among 
which none is so good as Peruvian guano 
when Incorporated with the soil by thor¬ 
ough harrowing, and immediately preced¬ 
ing the sowing of the seed. This is the only 
thing to give ns a good start; but as our 
lands are usually billy and stony, it takes 
much time after plowing up a field to get it 
in condition for the mowingmaohine, with¬ 
out some new patent is brought out that 
will adjust itself to run over them. 
In top dressing my experience has taught 
me that much of the valuable properties of 
manures or fertilizers are lost by evapora¬ 
tion, as the surface is generally so hard that 
they cannot penetrate. In a field Of corn, 
sown for fodder in 1871,1 realized their value 
and could scarce credit its rapid growth; 
when cutting it sixty days after sowiag I 
found it from eight to ten feet in hight. 
The field was at once sown to rye. and the 
effects of the guano were readily discovered 
in that also, being remarkably tall and well 
filled and ready to cut many days in ad¬ 
vance of other fields sown earlier. 
On the 12th of June, 1872, I prepared two 
acres, putting on one ton of guano, giving a 
thorough harrowing and sowing Western 
corn at the rate of three bushels to tho 
acre broadcast, and harrowing both ways 
to cover the seed. The result is very 
gratifying, tho corn now being from four to 
six feet in bight, and growing rapidly. 
Little is written or said about guano by 
parties who have used it, and it would be 
well if those experimenting with it would 
report results. 1 made diligent inquiry 
last year for some work that, would give 
information how it could be used, and I 
could not find in your city anything that 
referred to it at length. In my opinion, 
guano, as I have applied it, is one of the 
cheapest and most valuable of fertilizers; 
but as a surface dressing I consider it 
hazardous, if not dangerous, unless applied 
in a liquid form; and then it must be well 
diluted. A trial on my lawn has convinced 
me of this fact. Peter Birkey. 
Litchfield Co., Conn., July ’JO. 
--■ 
FIELD NOTES AND QUERIES. 
IV hen to Cut Grass, — Mr. Timothy 
Anglin, Lexington, Ky., says:—Grass cut 
a little before blossoming will produce more 
milk than when in blossom, and the cows 
prefer it. And in this stage I think it con¬ 
tains more sugar, which is an essential ele¬ 
ment in the formation of good milk. For 
the stock, 1 jirefer it a little harder—say, 
two-thirds in blossom, as there is a great 
shrinkage when so green; when it gets too 
hard, it becomes woody and fibrous, and is 
more difficult to digest, and takes more time 
to masticate and extract its nutritions qual¬ 
ities. The animal has more labor to per¬ 
form, consequently. 
Manure for Oats on Sandy Soil.—J. 
A. K., New Orleans, La., asks what kind of 
manure is best for oats on sandy land. The 
oats are to be sown this fall to be turned 
under next Spriug. Any coarse barn-yard 
or stable manure, or muck, or vegetable 
mold. Spread it on the surface and plow 
in (not deep) just before sowing. Perhaps 
nothing is better than swamp muck where 
the object is strong growth for plowing 
under. _ 
Cultivation of Potatoes.—Will “G. It. 
B. , Schodaek, N. Y.,“ (page 10, vol. 27. of 
Rural,) please give a statement of work, 
both team and bund, on any certain number 
of acres of potatoes grown by his process of 
culture, * and oblige—A POTATO GROWER, ^ 
Belle Isle, N, Y. A 
