8am) Imsbantrrn. 
X. A. WILLARD, A. M., EDITOR, 
Ow Lim.* Fau.1, IUrkiuce Covstv, Nkw York. 
THE PACIFIC COAST—II. 
On the Point Reyes estate several of the 
dairy establishments, or farm buildingB, are 
located in the canyons or valleys; though 
where there ure large, level tracts of land 
and conveniences of running water, advant¬ 
age is taken of the situation to establish 
“headquarters” for the rancho. The ten¬ 
ants, or those managing the several ranches, 
are mostly from New England or New York. 
In some cases unmarried men with Chi¬ 
nese house-servants carry on the establish¬ 
ment; but usually married men with their 
families are located here. At one point we 
found a school for the education of the chil¬ 
dren, taught by a genuine New England 
“school mistress,’' who received $80 per 
month and board for services. During our 
trip we not tin frequently saw “ little lassies” 
going and returning from school mounted on 
mustang ponies. Regular water communi¬ 
cation is soon to be established between 
Point Reyes and San Francisco, which, of 
course, will render the estate less isolated. 
A few days before our arrival, n division 
of the estate had been made between the 
three partners, which gives each some 25,000 
acres of land. In the division, that portion 
lying upon Sir Francis Drake’s Bay falls to 
Mr. Howard. The point at the head of the 
bay is exceedingly lovely —the harbor is ex¬ 
cellent, and the level stretch of land back 
fr- >m the shore seems to be admirably adapt¬ 
ed to the location of a town or city. Indeed, 
the natural advantages for a town at this 
jxujit are so great. Llntl the time cannot be far 
distant wlieu this spot will be utilized for 
that purpose. 
Mr. Howard proposes at once to enter 
upon operations, and with a village at Sir 
Francis Drake’s Bay, the lands in the vicini¬ 
ty must be very much enhanced in value. 
But we were proposing to give some account 
of the individual dairies on Point Reyes 
Rancho, and we commence with that of 
llluilily Hollow. 
The buildings here are substantial and 
conveniently arranged. The dairy house or 
milk-room stands on one 9idc of the corral, 
and is twenty-four lect square. Racks are 
arranged along the sides of the room for set¬ 
ting the milk—the pans resting on slats in 
tiers, one above the other. The cows are 
milked in the corral or open yard, and as 
fast as each milker fills his pail he carries it 
to a platform on one end of the milk room, 
where it is emptied into a receiving con¬ 
ductor, provided with a strainer, from 
whence it flows into a large tin can in the 
milk-room. In this way the floor of the 
milk-room is not soiled by the feet, of the 
milkers, and slops and dirt arc avoided in 
straining the milk. The milk is drawn from 
the can through a faucet, each pan getting 
about half a gallon of milk, or a quantity 
sufficient to set in the pan from two and 
a-lialf to three inches deep. 
The climate here is so cool that the tem¬ 
perature of the milk-room does not. rise 
above (15°, and in summer it is often so cool 
that a little fire is necessary in the room to 
keep the milk at the desired temperature for 
the cream to rise. The milk usually stands 
about, forty-eight hours, and is allowed to 
get slightly acid before skimming. The 
pans arc then removed to a bench in the 
center of the room, the cream loosened on 
the edges of the pan by running a thin 
wooden blade around it, when the pan is 
canted up and the cream flows off into a 
large tin cream can. Tin* milk then goes 
into a slop reservoir on the bench, arranged 
with pipe at the bottom for conducting it 
off to vats away from the building, where it 
is lo used for the feeding of swine. Thu 
portion of conducting pipe in the milk 
room is arranged in a double curve, or V, 
so that In cleansing the water remaining in 
the curve prevents gases from passing 
through into the room from below. 
Churning Is done every day by borse 
power, a common lever power located out¬ 
side lliw building being employed here as 
well as at the other dairies. Mustangs are 
attached to the lever and put the machine 
in motion by traveling round and round in 
a circle. An oblong box churn is used. The 
ends are twenty-seven inches square and the 
length of the box is live feet. It hangs hori¬ 
zontally upon a frame supported by two iron 
gudgeons at the ends of the box and upon 
which it revolves. On one side of the. box 
there is a door, which opens to receive the 
cream, when it is closed and the churning 
accomplished by selling the power in motion 
and revolv ing the box. The temperature of 
the cream when it goes to the churn is about 
sixty-two degrees, and churning is usually 
perfected in from one-half to three-quarters 
of au hour. The butter, when it comes from 
the churn, is washed in soft water, worked 
and salted at the rate of one ounce salt to 
the pound of butter, when it is set aside until 
next duj’ anil then worked a second time 
and packed for market. It is manipulated 
but very little at the second working, just 
enough to get into shape. 
The butler worker at these establishments 
struck us as a very handy appliance. It 
consists of a heavy oak slab, in a perfect 
circle, about three and a-lialf feet in diam- 
I eter, set at an inclination, so as to allow the 
j buttermilk to pass off, and revolving on roll¬ 
ers arranged in a standard which supports it 
in the center. At the lower end of the ma¬ 
chine, just beyond the circular plank, there 
is au upright, at the top of which is fastened 
a metal socket for (he reception of the lever 
used in working the butler. This socket 
works on au universal joint, so as to be 
moved in any direction. A plank with groove 
near the outer edges, is arranged below the 
circular slab to catch the buttermilk and 
moisture flowing from the butter during the 
process of working, and it is also slightly in¬ 
clined, so that all slops pass off along the 
grooves and are deposited in a tub. By ibis 
arrangement, it will be seen the circular slab 
or bed of the butter worker can be moved 
backward or forward on the plane of its cir¬ 
cle, while the universal joint to which the 
lever is nil,ached, allows the lever to he 
bundled in any directum. These butter 
workers are the most convenient of any we 
have seen, and can be profitably introduced 
into some of our New York butter factories. 
I>lol<limr mid Packing, 
The butter is put up and soul lo market 
in t wo forms—in barrels, half barrels, and 
in two pound rolls placed in packages. The 
barrels are of oak, nicely made and strongly 
hooped. They hold about two hundred and 
twenty-eight pounds of butter. Tlie butter 
is packed solid, the cask headed and brine 
as strong us it, cun be made is poured in to 
fill up all the interstices. Butter going to 
market in this way brings from two to three 
cents less price per pound than that put up 
in rolls. The rolls are made three inches in 
diameter and nearly seven inches long. A 
mold is used for the purpose of forming 
the rolls, and it has two Iron handles cross¬ 
ing each other on a pivot and worked like 
a pair of nippers. The molds being opened 
a bit of butter is nipped up sufficient to fill 
the mold, and by pressing the two arms or 
handles together a powerful leverage is 
brought, to hear upon the butter mold, 
compressing the butter into a solid roll. 
Then with a thin wooden knife, or paddle, 
the ragged points of butter which have been 
forced out on either end of tbe mold, are 
cut off even with the mold and smoothed 
down, and the instrument opened, when out 
drops a neat roll of butter, weighing just 
two pounds. The whole mass having been 
rapidly molded in this way and the rolls 
dropped upon the table, the next process 
is to wrap each roll in cloth. Fine tliiu 
bleached cambric, cut in strips of tlie de¬ 
sired length to go round each roll, and wide 
enough to leave about half an inch projec¬ 
tion of cloth at each end of the roll, are 
moistened in strong brine and placed upon 
the table. Then one of the strips is spread 
out, the roll of butter laid on one edge and 
rapidlv rolled forward, the cloth adhering 
smoothly to the package. The cloth on the 
ends is now pressed clown in place, and you 
have a dainty little roll in neat, while muslin 
wrappers, with a little golden circle at the 
ends to show its texture and quality. Then 
the rolls are set on end iu an oblong box of 
cedar or red wood, the cover fastened down, 
and thus they go to market. 
The wholesale price for butter, put up in 
rolls, has ranged from thirty-three to thirty- 
five cents per pound when it arrives at San 
Francisco. 
The Block. 
in the Muddy Hollow dairy there were 
one hundred and sixty-six cows iu milk. 
We found the cows iu fine condition as to 
flesh, notwithstanding the feed upon the 
hills was brown, dry and crisp. Mr. Hager- 
ty, the manager, stated that in “flush of 
feed,’’ when cows were doing their best, the 
average yield of butter per day was one and 
one fourth pounds per cow. The cows have 
a large range, and it struck its its somewhat 
difficult to collect all the animals together 
in the corral, night and morning, since the 
numerous hills and valleys must lie looked 
over to find Inhering beasts; but we were 
assured that there was seldom any trouble 
from missing animals. At milking time two 
persons, mounted upon mustangs, are sent 
out to collect the herd together. Each of 
the drivers has his beat or range to look 
over, and the mustangs scour the hills and 
valleys, starting the cows into line; and as 
the drivers are responsible for missing cows, 
and are discharged for neglect in bringing 
them to the corral, they become exceedingly 
expert and sharp in looking over their range 
that no animals are left behind. 
Character of Butter. 
At this, as at other ranches, we tested 
nothing but fresh or newly made butler. 
The color was a light yellow, but much 
deeper than could have been expected from 
the dry and brown feed. The distinguishing 
characteristic of nil the butter we saw, was 
its solid, waxy texture. The flavor was fair, 
but lacking in that peculiar aroma which 
the liner fancy samples of New York butler 
possess. This may have been attributable 
to the condition of dry feed in part, and per¬ 
haps in part to the manner of manufacturing. 
We tested the milk and buttermilk in 
numerous instances and found it of excellent 
flavor, and in no instance could we detect a 
taint or anything objectionable fci flavor. 
We should say that such milk, in such a 
cool even climate, ought to make, if proper¬ 
ly manipulated, the finest quality of both 
butler and cheese. 
-♦♦» 
Horse Power for Cliurnimt. 
A correspondent at Rural Hill, N. Y., 
writes us that instead of a dog power he 
uses Oenning’r one-horse power made ex¬ 
pressly for farm purposes. He says“ I 
use it for churning, sawing wood, cutting 
feed, &c. It occupies but little room ; two 
men can easily move it.; it furnishes more 
power than any other I ever saw; there is 
nothing about it that is not strong aud dura¬ 
ble; it is made by reliable men. On a farm 
of <tne hundred to one hundred and fitly 
acres it will pay for itself in one year. It 
costs $55.” Mr. Gennings should adver¬ 
tise such a useful machine in the Rural 
New-Yorker. 
inm wtorxoxm. 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
Economy of Huy Ciipo. 
After ten years’ experience with hay 
caps, a correspondent of the Maine Farmer 
says no one is well equipped lor baying 
without them. Hay hut partially dried, put 
up and capped, may stand through a long 
storm and receive but slight damage. But 
be regards tbe borse pitch fork as something 
to be Jet “ severely alone.” 
Windmlllo in Holland. 
There are 12,000 windmills in constant 
use in Holland at the present day, for the 
simple purpose ot drainage. They are al¬ 
most of colossal size, each lifting from 10,- 
000,000 to 50,000,000 gallons ot water every 
twenty-four hours. The time is coming 
when windmills will be largely used in this 
country for tbe purposes of irrigation. And 
we took to see irrigation a prominent feature 
in American husbandry. 
Sheen Manure, 
M H. A. “ How and when to use 
well rotted sheep manure on tbe. garden? 
How does it compare with other manures ? 
Will it do to use about fruit trees and grape 
vines?” We should apply well rotted sheep 
manure to a garden immediately before 
planting—to the surface, and harrow or cul¬ 
tivate it in, mingling it thoroughly with the 
soil. So litr as practical experience goes, we 
know nothing of its merits compared with 
other manures; theoretically, we should re¬ 
gard It second only lo night soil, hog and 
hen manure. It will do to use it wherever 
manure is needed; but we should hesitate 
before applying it to grape vines. As a rule, 
grapes do not require animal manures. 
To Care Com I<cn.f Fodder. 
In the South, corn leaves arc extensively 
used as winter forage in place of hay. The 
leaves are stripped from the stalks as they 
stand on the field, Thu Arkansas farmer 
gives the following as the proper mode :— 
11 As soon as the shuck ripens, begin to strip 
the blades. Do not put the fodder on the 
ground, leaving it until evening to bind. 
The method of lying in small bundles as it 
is stripped, and hanging on the stalks to 
dry, is best. When about three-fourths 
cured, gather and throw in good-sized close 
heaps, late in the evening, and let it go 
through a heating process during the night, 
next day throw open the heaps—the heat 
will dissipate the remaining moisture, cure 
the fodder sooner, and give it, at the same 
time, a tenderness and flavor much relished 
by the stock. Spare no pains to cure it 
well—it moldy aud dusty, it may prove 
more than worthless.’’ 
About Siuclt» Leaning. 
J. W. SciruLL asks:—“ Which way will a 
lmy stack have a tendency to lean in settling 
—toward or from the side from which the 
hay was pitched on the stack? In other 
words, if the hay be pitched on one side only, 
and the stacker stands most upon the same 
side, the stack being perpendicular (with ref¬ 
erence. to bulk,) which way will it tend in 
settling ? Will not the side which is thrown 
up loose and not trodden upon, settle most, 
and thus throw the top out of the line of di¬ 
rection toward that side? If so, someof our 
farmers are ignorant of the philosophy of 
slack making." 1 would like to hear from’the 
Rural on this point.” 
The way in which the stack will lean will 
depend somewhat upon the shape of the 
stack. If it is egg-shaped, the greater weight 
of the side which receives the hay will cause 
it to settle most ou that side; if cone-slmped, 
largest at the base, the aide least packed will 
settle most. Such is our experience. But 
few wise farmers, however, will build a stack 
from one side. 
-♦♦♦-— 
Economical luqulrien.— F. D. P. asks, “ What 
are the best materials for a compost heap ? Will 
ashes cause too much ammonia to escape?” 
ntitralist. 
GRAPE VINE BEETLE. 
J. Sager, Naples, N. Y., recently for¬ 
warded us a letter from John Stark, 
Thomnsville, Ga. ( from which we make the 
following extract:—"Enclosed I send you 
an insect destructive to grape foliage. Last 
year tvas the first that I have noticed him. 
He entered the vineyard from the West and 
destroyed the leaves of about one-third of an 
acre in width and two acres in length. Some 
stragglers penetrated much farther, without, 
however, injuring the leaves seriously. The 
coming of the bug was very sudden; also 
his departure. 
This year, about the same time, being on 
the lookout for the enemy, I discovered a 
few single ones about the 22d ot May. Hav¬ 
ing seen recommended the dusting of the 
leaves with sulphur, and ns sulphur has other 
valuable effects on the grape leave, wo com¬ 
menced dusting them. On the 1st. ot June 
until the 14th I was absent trom home. On 
ray return I found the southern three acres 
(Delawares) completely swept ol every green 
leaf by the voracious hugs. Suphur had 
been of no avail; smoke, dusting with lime 
did no good. Wo tried to disturb them in 
the night to make them fly into the tire to 
no purpose. To test the endurance of the 
little creature 1 had a small furnace fire 
swinging in my hand under the vines, on 
which I cast sulphur by the handful, enough 
to strangle a large animal, but not one of the 
bugs dropped to the ground. They felt 
uneasy, went to the top of the vines in alarm; 
but on ceasing the fuming spread again over 
the vine. 
They are still (July 9) with me in consider¬ 
able numbers, without., however, doing the 
denuding process. On my first visit after my 
return home, in twelve days they had de¬ 
nuded the three acres with some fractions on 
other acres, but the line of denudation did 
not extend. They have eaten around the 
stem occasionally, which, of course, proved 
destructive to the fruit. The Bcuppernong, 
pear, apple aud some oaks suffered some 
from the same. Do you know this bug in 
your section, and is there any preventive 
against his depredations ?” 
We forwarded the specimen received from 
Mr. Sagku to Mr. Stauffer, who writes as 
follows: 
The small, yellow beetle, so destructive to 
the grape vines of Mr. Stark, Thompson? 
viHe, Ga., bus been examined, and 1 refer 
it to the species described by Thomas Say, 
as the Eumafpua fluwidm, (voL 1, p. 196.) 
Pale yellowish; elytra striate, witli double 
series of punctures, as also the two slightly 
elevated tubercles between the antenme, 
which are quite prominent under the lens. 
There is a variety having the interstitial 
spaces of the elytra black ; beneath, except¬ 
ing the feet, black. Leconte says it belongs 
tothe genus Cotaapia. Two species are found 
in Lancaster Co., Pa., the (\ prtrlrrta, and 
perhaps O. striata. Say describes thirteen 
species of fblaspis in bis second volume, ou 
pp, 211:15, and one species Eamolpm, (p. 215.) 
The two genera are so very closely related, 
and similar in habits, that one name would 
do for both. Say’s Calmpis ovata, Mel- 
shimer, iu his catalogue, calls Eamolpm 
otxdus, Knoch. Westwood has it among 
the Chryaomdida!, a family of beetles which 
are herbivorous in the larva and perfect 
states, and often ornamented with the most 
brilliant colors. The variation of color in 
the same species is often very great; their 
motions are rather slow, their broad tarsi 
giving them a firm hold on the leaves upon 
which they reside. The genus Eumotpus , 
which is defined thus:—“ Head vertical; an- 
tennse as long as the body, thickened at the 
Ups.” The Eumolpus vitia , a small insect, 
not exceeding a quarter of an inch in length, 
which inhabits the wine countries of Europe, 
and commits great devastation upon the 
vines. Its larvie appear in spring, and de¬ 
vour the young leaves and twigs, and gnaw 
around the stems which support the bunches 
of grapes, as soon as they have made their 
appearance, thus preventing the flowing of 
the sap aud maturing of the fruit. 
There is another Vine Beetle, Letkvus 
cephafoti *, Fabr., which has some similarity 
to the very common dorr or dung-beetle; 
these are among those that injure the vine, 
particularly iu the southern parts of Hun¬ 
gary, which gnaws off’ the young shoots of 
the viue, and drags them backward into its 
burrow, where it feeds upon them. There 
are other Beetles besides those already 
named, known to infest the vines. Rhyn- 
chites, Bacchus, Jlaltim , Oleraae, devour the 
young shoots, the foliage and the footstalks 
of the fruit. 
I am aware that a mere enumeration of 
names is of no value, only so far that if an 
insect is found that does not agree with cer¬ 
tain descriptions In the books, under the 
one genus it may be found among one or tbe 
other of the list, if not entirely undescribed. 
There are various lepidopterous larvae in¬ 
jurious to the grape. Such as Procris, Tar- 
trie, Pyrulis, PMerana. Also, the coccus 
vitis , &c. Most of those named are foreign; 
yet we have their representatives, who 
are. equally mischievous and destructive. 
Mr. 8 . says:—“The coming of the‘hug’ 
(beetle bugs are suctorial insects,) was very 
sudden; also their departure,” beaming to 
appear about the 22d of May. ft is sup¬ 
posed that the larva of Eumolpm coHaspis 
flam-ulus, 8ay, doe3 not infect the vine— only 
the perfect insect. Mr. 8 . says nothing 
about the larvae; but it would seem that the 
matured insects come in swarms, and after 
feeding and performing their nuptials de¬ 
part again to deposit their eggs for a fresh 
brood; all this is subject matter worthy of 
investigation l> 3 - those who suffer, as well 
as all others interested, so that the full his¬ 
tory could be had, and the brood nipped in 
the bud. The surest, remedy seems to be 
hand picking, and destroying them by lay¬ 
ing a sheet under the vines where you are 
picking to catch such as may drop, ami care¬ 
fully collecting them in a suitable vessel for 
boiling, burning, or destruction in any man¬ 
ner that would certainly diminish the brood. 
I am aware that this is tedious, and requires 
time and patience. But to have three acres 
of a vineyard wholly destroyed is a serious 
loss, and to prevent it, worthy some perse¬ 
verance and attention. 
As before intimated, they cling tenacious¬ 
ly to the vines, with their broad tarsi; yet 
being slow in their movements, they are not 
hard to pick, only that their small size re¬ 
quires a keen eye to detect them. 
These insects undergo their change in the 
ground so lar as known, but the large yel¬ 
low grape-vine beetle, with spots on the 
brass 3 r red elytra, known as the Pdidnota 
punctata, are found in their larvae state in 
rotten wood. 
I am not posted as regards the larva of 
the particular insect Iu question, iuul would 
recommend Mr. 8 . to observe closely, and if 
possible learn where they breed; such in¬ 
formation may lead to u means of destroy¬ 
ing them in the brood. J. Stauffer. 
---- 
NOTES FOR NATURALISTS. 
An Entomological CurioBify. 
The following we find in an exchange, 
credited ton Pittsburg, Pa., paper:—“Forthe 
past few days a queer sort of bug, found hy 
Mr. S. D Rothermel of Alleghany city, on 
some morning glory vines, has been a topic 
of discussion among some of the physicians 
of the city, and others who have had the op¬ 
portunity of looking at it through a magni¬ 
fying glass. M r. Rothkrmel was out brush¬ 
ing the caterpillars from bis vines, and no¬ 
ticed what lie thought, was a large piece of 
soot, aud attempted to brush it off,but found 
that what he supposed to be soot was alive, 
and a queer sort of bug. He brought it to 
this city, and it was placed under a tnagiti- 
f 3 ’ing glass, when it presented a remarkable 
appearance. It looked something like a tur¬ 
tle, having a turtle’s head, and the outline of 
a turtle’s figure. But the remarkable thing 
about it was its back or shell, which it has 
the power of opening and raising to a right 
angle with its body, and in this position it 
looks really beautiful. A multitude of little 
silvery legs come out from around the body, 
and tlie back lias a great variety of colors, 
which change and increase in brilliancy ;ts 
the bug feeds ou the greeu leaves. The 
lower part of the body is supplied with a 
multitude of small legs, and with these the 
bug holds on to a leaf or whatever it may lie 
placed on, with a remarkable tenacity. It 
also has the opportunity of thrusting its head 
out, and takes hold of any small object placed 
before it, such as a broom splint, very much 
after the manner of a snapping turtle. On 
Saturday the bug was placed in Dr. Mc¬ 
Cook’s office, and was examined by Dr. Mc¬ 
Cook, Dr. Reiter, Dr. Donnelly, W. D. 
Moore, and a large number of others, but 
none were able to classify it. Tbe general 
opinion was it would turn into a winged in¬ 
sect. of some kind. The bug appeared to de¬ 
stroy very rapidly, making small triangular 
holes. In the morning it is found ou the 
under side of the leaves, but later in the day 
it gets on the upper side.” 
Finli iu Glebes. 
Tell your correspondent from Otsego, 
Minn., that my little “ Seminary ” is fed upon 
small flies when he can have them. I catch 
them for him when they ore plenty ; and lie 
will take them from my fiuger, since he lias 
become so tame. When there are no flies 
I give liim bits of dried fresh meat, which I 
think he enjoys quite as well. The water 
should be changed every day when the 
weather is warm; twice a week will do in 
the winter time, and often a little snow may 
be thrown in after tlie. water becomes heated, 
from being in a warm room. I take out the 
stones from my globe aud wash them thor¬ 
oughly, then pour the water into a dish and 
clean the globe. I have never had any suc¬ 
cess in keeping more than one fish iu a globe 
at a time. When I have had several to¬ 
gether they have died after a few weeks; 
sometimes after a few days. —E. E. d. 
