* 
- 
notismm. 
0r5cma:n* 
LAMPAS IN HORSES 
localities within fifteen feet of the surface, 
averaging about forty feet in depth. Good 
indications of salt are also found in various 
-other localities, especially in the western 
part of the State. In Calcasieu Parish, are 
soda springs; also the great sulphur deposit, 
more recently discovered, which is the more 
interesting from the fact of its being the first 
instance of an inexhaustible supply of pure 
crystalized sulphur, within easy mining dis¬ 
tance of the earth’s surface. It has been 
tested, and proved to be one hundred feet in 
thickness, underlying a varied formation of 
clay, sand and gray rock, about four hundred 
feet beneath the surface. As nearly all the 
sulphur of commerce is produced from py¬ 
rites, containing ordinarily less than thirty 
per cent, of sulphur, and mined at still great¬ 
er depths, Imported at great expense, with 
an annual increasing demand, the value of 
this discovery is not easily estimated. 
axm (tentttftnji, 
NEEDED IMPLEMENTS. 
The necessity for the improvement of old 
implements and machines, and for the in¬ 
vention and manufacture of new ones, is 
discovered by the intelligent, thoughtful 
culturist, by observing the inefficiency of 
those he has in use. The march of improve¬ 
ment in this direction in this country, has 
been very great; so great, that the farmer of 
twenty live years ago, if he were placed in 
one of the best agricultural implement ware¬ 
houses of the present day, would not know 
tiie name nor the use of one In fifty of the 
articles that he would there find. Every 
year, and almost every mouth, something 
new is added to the list, and yet there is 
need of more. 
The introduction of a useful machine 
often creates a necessity for Others ; for ex¬ 
ample, the invaluable and indispensable 
mowing machine leaves the inown grass 
quite evenly spread. Yet it requires to be 
respread and aired, in order to cure it in due 
time, and to spread it by the old, hand pro¬ 
cess, with the scarcity and «xpensiveness of 
manual labor of late, is impracticable,hence 
a necessity which called into use the horse 
tedder, which is really one of tbc most eco¬ 
nomical machines in the whole catalogue. 
Then the mower in its best form, to be 
economically used, requires the surface of 
the land to be even and smooth, and tree 
from stones. Hitherto the means used to 
effect this, as far as it has been done, baR 
been by liio use of the harrow and roller, 
and by removing the larger stones and 
stumps, such as the roller would not crush 
into the soil, to a level with its surface. With 
the best harrow and roller in use, the pre¬ 
paration of the surface for the use of the 
mower, on most soils, can only be very im¬ 
perfectly executed. The harrow is not 
adapted to the purpose of removing slight 
elevations, and filling corresponding depres¬ 
sions in the surface, though it tends to a 
limited extent to effect this very necessary 
condition. Unless this condition of the sur¬ 
face is secured, the mower, iu passing over 
abrupt elevations, will cut tbc grass plants 
on them below the crown, and destroy them; 
and the machine is unnecessarily worn and 
injured, and the cutting apparatus rendered 
unfit for use, notwithstanding its use is 
generally continued, the work imperfectly 
done, and the labor of the team is in many 
instances, more than doubled. 
But these are the bad effects resulting 
from the elevations in tbc surface only; the 
loss consequent upon the depressions, into 
which the indexible cutter bar Cannot, ad¬ 
just. itself, is also very great, as the grass in 
these depressions is not unfrequently cut five 
to seven inches above (lie surface, of the 
ground, by which a large portion of it is 
lost. Then the small stones crushed into 
the surface of the land by the roller, are 
more or less thrown up by frost, are inverted 
by the cutter bar of the mower, and by the 
hay rake, and are to be gathered from the 
land al last, or l lie mower is to be set in fu¬ 
ture so that it will cut over them, in which 
case the value of the grass left uncut would 
probably pay for the cost of removing the 
stones, and leave generally a margin, of 
profit. 
The loss arising from such defects in the 
surface of mowing lands, is very much 
greater than faamers generally suppose; 
but with the facilities they possess for eco¬ 
nomically removing them, even were they 
fully cognizant of the extent of the loss, 
they would be obliged to suffer it, until re¬ 
lief is supplied by the inventor and manu¬ 
facturer of implements, in giving them ap¬ 
pliances more effective than the harrow and 
roller, with which to prepare meadow land. 
A machine for cheaply grading and smooth¬ 
ing the surface, by casting the elevations 
into the depressions, crushing the lumps, 
and of gathering all the small stones into 
rows, at. any distance apart desired, is al¬ 
ready invented, and the writer lias used it 
about twenty yearn. It is iho grading ma¬ 
chine and rut-scraper, illustrated and describ¬ 
ed in the Report of the Hon. Commissioner 
of Agriculture for 1868. 
By the alternate use of this machine and 
the harrow with which to bring all the small 
stones to the surface, they may he gathered 
in rows with great rapidity, and t rifling cost. 
Having accomplished this, we then want a 
self-loading vehicle, which may be driven 
with the wheels astride of the rows of stones, 
or one on either side of the row, and when 
loaded, may he turned to the right or left, 
and made to convey them to a final resting 
place, and then dump them with the least 
possible manual labor. This machiue I 
believe we shall have in less than twelve 
months. 
We have a number of Howes among our 
inventors of Agricultural machinery, who 
will ere long show us how this can be done, 
as easily os to pare a peach, pit a cherry, or 
shuck an ear of corn by maebinary. 
We also require a more perfect seeding 
harrow, with which to cover grass seed. The 
form of the improved Geddes harrow is 
excellent, but the weight of a harrow for this 
purpose should not be more than one-third 
of that of the ordinary harrow. The teeth 
should be of round steel, and five-eighths of an 
inch in diameter is large enough, and three 
inches in length below the frame of the har¬ 
row, is belter than longer. The teeth should 
be so set that the lines described by them 
will not be more than one inch from center. 
The frame, if made of good oak, need not he 
more than two inches by two inches in cross 
section. I find that a quarter inch wood 
screw inserted in the harrow frame, one on 
either side of a tooth, more effectually pre¬ 
vents the timbers from spiffing, Ilian rivets 
or bands, and are less expensive. 
The length of t he screw and the cross sec¬ 
tion of the frame should bo the same. Round 
teeth are much superior to square ones, and 
they should not be upset at the bead, but 
should be uniform in size above the point, 
taper. The hole in the timber and the size 
of the tooth Should correspond, so that a 
tooth may be driven through the timber 
with a light., wooden mallet. 
The tooth should be secured in place by 
inserting a tarred cord or a narrow thong of 
leather by the side of it when set, so placed 
that the pressure on the cord will be in the 
direction of the length of the wood. Teeth 
thus set do not work loose, and arc easily 
adjusted to a uniform line and depth, which 
is impracticable with the upset, square teeth. 
There is no tendency to split the timbers, 
as tlxjre is in the use of the upset, square 
tooth, and by using a set on the point of the 
tooth it may be drawn without injuring the 
point. When the teeth become worn on the 
front side of the point they should he drawn 
and turned half-way around, and as they be¬ 
come dull they may be turned three times, 
and thus be well self-sharpened three times, 
without going to the smith. 
The removal of small stones from the sur¬ 
face of land by band picking has cost the 
full value of the cleared land, iu some in¬ 
stances; the labor ip very irksome and unin¬ 
teresting, and if long followed by a boy is 
sure to result in an incurable distaste for the 
work of the farm; hence the great necessity 
for machinery and implements for the pur¬ 
poses designated. 
Irrespective of all other considerations, it 
is highly important that all the labor of the 
farm should be made as easy and interesting 
as possible, that farmers’ sons may not be¬ 
come disgusted with its monotony and 
drudgery, and be induced to abandon it and 
seek a more genial vocation. 
J. Wilkinson. 
-- 
Hen Manure, Ashes, Plnster, unit Salt. 
A valuable fertilizer, and one in reach 
of every farmer, especially adapted to gar¬ 
den culture as well as for fop-dressing and 
field culture, is hen manure, ashes, plaster, 
and salt mixed in equal quantities, except¬ 
ing the salt, of which one-fourth will be suf¬ 
ficient. Mix intimately, and apply either in 
lull, at the surface, or broadcast. It gives 
good results upon all soils, and crops. I 
keep usually about twenty-five lions; these 
roost at a certain place the year round. Be¬ 
neath the roosts is a light plank floor. The 
annual produce of droppings is six barrels of 
the pure thing. This, mixed with the same 
of ashes and plaster, gives eighteen barrels; 
1,1 1 fi sail brings it up to twenty barrels of 
choice fertilizing compost, equal to much of 
the superphosphates of commercial manure 
firms, and worth far more than the manure 
from two cows— John Jones. 
Plotvlnp Bottom I.nml*. 
A correspondent at Plymouth, Pa., asks 
us the best way to plow bottom land, the 
soil of which is sandy loam, two to four feet 
in depth, bordering a river, — whether to 
subsoil or trench plow. If the soil is of the 
same character and texture, two to four feet 
deep, we should prefer subsoiling. 
Cnrpcnter’s Kenner and Hinder, 
D. A. Bhtnkekhopf asks for further in¬ 
formation concerning CARPENTER’S Auto¬ 
matic reaper and binder, hitherto noticed in 
the Rural New-Yorker. He says:—“ If 
a machine of the sort can he had that will 
do the work well, it is much needed.” We 
know nothing more of the machine than 
we have given our readers. 
NOTES FOR SPORTSMEN. 
Catching Cntfisli in the Missouri River. 
Tiie interesting article on eels in a late 
Rural New-Yorker, by Jim Decker of 
Lancaster Co., Pa., induces me to give you 
the mode of taking the above-named fish 
here. A strong line, or rather a cord, is tied 
with one end to a stake at the shore, while 
to the other end is attached a heavy stone us 
an anchor, which is stretched across tiie 
stream as far as may suit the operator. To 
this are tied the “ snoods,” about twenty 
inches long, with hooks that would astonish 
an ordinary fish. These hooks are baited 
with almost anything, from a big angle worm 
up to a half-grown rabbit. A lump of dough 
or a chunk of old bacon will also do. 
The size of these fish, thus caught, vary 
from one to two hundred and fifty pounds. 
A few days ago a neighbor of mine here was 
overhauling his line, when lie found some¬ 
thing heavy, and supposed there was a, log 
fast to one oflds hooks, but it proved to be 
an enormous catfish, and before ho had 
time to strike him with the gaff hook, the 
beast opened its mouth .and disappeared, 
leaving a catfish of less caliber on the book. 
This latter weighed twelve pounds, and had 
first taken the bait, when the monster came 
along and swallowed him. The size of the 
escaped one may be imagined from the one 
he bad gobbled. It. also shows that catfish 
will eat their own kind. 
No doubt Rome will call this a fish story. 
So it is; but it is a t rue one; and only one 
instance out of many known to fishermen 
here of one fish being caught and when 
opened another found inside of it and which 
had the baited book in its month. 
Another mode of catching them, called 
jugging, may be described hereafter, which 
no doubt would interest many of your read¬ 
ers. This is already much more than was 
intended when the article was begun, 
Tiie SnoppliiK Turtle 
can be taken by using three very small 
hooks wrapped together tightly with fine 
wire so that the hooks stand out like a tri¬ 
angle. Slip the bait down over the points a 
very little. With rod and line, a good plan 
is to have these three hooks as above named, 
but of good size, unbaited, while another 
book, with the bail, is attached to the line 
about three to six inches above these. As 
soon as you perceive a bite, give a quick, 
vigorous jerk; awl he is pretty sure to be 
hooked. When ouce fast, you can take it 
slowly, but be sure to keep your fingers 
away from his mouth, or he will prove to 
you that his name is correct.—S. M., Bluff- 
ton, Mo, _ 
A Trap for Skuiik», Ratio, Mink, *Scc. 
The best trap for farmers to catch rats, 
mink, weasels and skunks that ever was set, 
is:—Take boards half an inch thick, and 
make a box the two sides and top twelve 
inches long, with one end closed; the size 
of the box inside being four inches square. 
I give you a rough sketch of the trap as set. 
[From the sketch given, we have made the 
following engravings, which we believe are 
correct.— Eds. Rural New-Yorker.] 
has omitted details which will interest every 
tyro in the art. of catching woodchucks.— 
Eds. Rural New- Yorker.] After skin¬ 
ning them, I stretch them on a board as 
near square as possible; sprinkle on ft little 
salt, and let the skin dry. When I get ready 
to tan it, I take it off the hoard and dtp it in 
the following solution: — Three quarts of 
rain water, one-half pint of salt, and one 
ounce of the oil of vitriol. Dissolve the 
salt well before adding the vitriol. Let 
the woodchuck skin remain in this solution 
about thirty minutes. The moths will not 
eat skins tanned in this way. When the 
skin i first taken out, it must tie handled 
carefully, as the fur will be loose a trifle 
until it gets dry, when it will be perfectly 
firm. The proportions above given are 
enough for about six skins.— Frank. 
trlb (!;roj)S. 
Fig. 1.—The Trap Set, 
A steel spring is fastened on the closed 
end of the box, to which is fastened a square 
ring at its extremity, through which the 
game thrusts its head to reach the bait at 
one end of a catch, which bolds the ring de¬ 
pressed, and held by a wire running from 
the front end of the trap to the catch on the 
upper extremity of the bait hook. 
Fio. S—The Trap Sprung. 
This is the best trap for skunks in the 
world, I believe. I have used many differ¬ 
ent kinds, but none work so well as this. 
You can set it at a hole in a wall or fence. 
It is sure fire.—H. Miles, Pine Valley, N. Y. 
Catch) dr Wootlchlicks. 
The way I catch woodchucks is thus:—I 
take my dog, a spade, a knife, and some 
matches; then I am prepared fox 1 one 
whether lie is in the ground or a tree. [But 
what does our correspondent do to catch 
them, whether in tiie ground or tree ? He 
FIELD NOTES. 
The Pecrleas Potato. 
I received two potatoes of this variety 
weighing scarcely one pound. I cut them 
to single eyes, and planted the pieces, twen¬ 
ty-four iu all, one foot apart in a drill, with 
a very small quantity of hen manure between 
the seis. No other manure was applied. 
Their growth was most luxuriant,, the vines 
surpassing anything I bad ever seen in that, 
line. The tubers began to form early, and 
at all stages of their growth were larger than 
the Early Rose growing beside them; and if 
their quality had been as good, a point which 
I failed to test at that time, they would have 
even surpassed that variety as an early pota¬ 
to. They were ripe when the Peach Blow 
was about two-thirds grown. The product 
consisted almost, entirely of large potatoes, 
and measured three bushels. I weighed 
three of them together, their weight being 
six and one half pounds. The general ap¬ 
pearance of the potato is promising, and its 
quality very good.— Wilbur A. Christy, 
Kinsman, Ohio. 
I received from the Rural New-York¬ 
er office two small bags of potatoes—one 
labelled “ Early Rose” and the other “ Bre- 
see’s Peerless,” both of them very fine. The 
Early Rose was splendid for early use; but 
the Peerless heat anything I ever saw. They 
were large, sinooih and handsome. From 
a half bushel planted we dug twenty-five 
bushels of potatoes, and two hands dug them 
in two hours. They are also of good quality. 
—G. L. Bhagdon, Port Ontario, N. Y. 
Common Norway Oats. 
I send you iiiy experience in raising Nor¬ 
way oats. A neighbor offered to furnish 
me seed if I would give him all they yielded 
per acre more than the common onts, and 
as a test I was to sow one acre of the same 
field to the latter. I accepted the offer, had 
good ground, and prepared it well. Now 
for the result:—I had just eight acres to 
sow; got seven bushels of seed, as I was to 
sow but one bushel per acre; gauged my 
drill for sowing the least possible amount, 
which proved to be the seven bushels upon 
six and a-half acres; upon the one and a- 
half acres remaining I sowed three bushels 
of common oats. 
Of the Norways I harvested twenty-two 
bushels per acre, and of tiie common oats 
forty-five bushels per acre. — H. Cumins, 
West Bethany , N. Y., 1870. 
A Minnesota Wlient Crop. 
1 see in a late Rural New-Yorker an 
article headed “A Large Crop of Wheat,” 
which states that N. W. Hill of Ingham 
Co., Mich., had a field of twenty acres ol 
wheat, the total yield of which was three 
hundred and seventy-eight bushels. I had a 
field here in Minnesota, of less than eighteen 
acres, the total yield of which was five hun¬ 
dred mid forty-six bushels. We did not think 
it very extra at the t ime of harvesting either. 
The variety was the White Michigan, or, as 
some call it, the Soules. About five acres 
had been broken from tbc natural prairie 
eight years, and a crop of wheat raised on it 
every year since, till last year a crop of 
barley. The most of the balance was broken 
eighteen years ago, cropped four years, 
seeded, mowed seven years, then broken up, 
and has been cropped every year since.— 
D. B. E. 
A I.arire Potato. 
M. Y. B. Austin, Herkimer Co., N. Y., 
writes us he dug, October 6th, a potato 
which weighed three and a-half pounds. 
He does not tell us what variety', nor how 
he cultivates potatoes, nor what kind he 
finds best, nor a score of other things our 
readers would be glad to know. If our 
readers raise large crops of potatoes, we are 
glad to know it, and it is interesting to 
know how they do it; but a single large po¬ 
tato may lie only a freak, aud meau nothing 
of value to the agriculturist. 
The Brnnelii ner Corn. 
I would like to know Mr. Judson’s 
method of culture, and the variety of seed 
experimented upon. Is the kind mentioned 
—“ The Golden Drop”—suited to the cli¬ 
mates of Maine or Northern New York.—j. j. 
Joseph Murdock writes the Rural 
New-Yorker: —“ Please give me a cure for 
Lam pas. I have tried cutting without 
favorable results. Burning has been recom¬ 
mended, but it is so severe that I dislike to 
resort to it.” 
Burning is barbarous, and should never 
be resorted to. The best veterinarians wo 
know do not consider lampas a disease—aro 
not the cause of ill health, nor do they pre¬ 
vent. the animal from masticating his food. 
Dodd saysThe most we ever do in cases 
of lampas is to wash the mouth wit h a weak 
solution of alum, or infusion of bay berry 
bark; but it often happens that subjects 
with lampas are brought to us for examina¬ 
tion, and in a majority of cases we find them 
laboring under some derangement of the di¬ 
gestive function, tiie restoration of which 
allays the owner’s apprehensions about 
lampas. 
Percitall says, concerning the practice 
of burning the palates of horses affected with 
lampas: — “ Equally consistent would it he, 
and, were it consistent, more requisite, to 
cauterize the palates of children who arc 
teething; for the truth is, the palate bus no 
more to do with the existing disease (if dis¬ 
ease it can he called) than the tail has. Lam- 
pas is neither more nor less than a turgidity 
of the vessels of the palate, consequent upon 
that inflammatory condition of the gums 
which now and then attends the teething 
process. 
“ Teething in children is now and then a 
season attended with restlessness and pain, 
and was one, before surgeons were in the 
habit, of using the gum lancet, of anxiety 
and danger; but it is not so with horses; 
they never have any feverish irritation cre¬ 
ated in the system, though they may have 
some tenderness of the gums aud palate, and 
though 60 tne few, in consequence of this 
tenderness, cud their food, or refuse to eat 
any lint what is soft and unirritatlng. In 
such case, if anything requires to be done, 
we ought, to lance the gums, not the palate. 
* # Tumefaction of the mouth, arising 
from whatever cause it may, indicates cool¬ 
ing and astringent washes. A weak solution 
of almn will probably answer every purpose, 
with which the mouth may he sponged two 
or three times daily; an infusion of witch- 
hazel or bayberry bark will answer t lie same 
purpose- A hot, tends® or inflamed mouth, 
unattended by disease, may be relieved in 
the same manner.” . 
— » --— 
NOTES FOR HORSEMEN. 
Soft Witter fur Horses. 
James R. Gibson writes:—“ Which is best 
for horses, hard or soft water? I have some 
reason to believe that the condition anil 
thrift of horses is largely dependent upon 
tho kind of water given them, even though 
it be equally pure. For iustauee, 1 have no¬ 
ticed that my horses, when kept In a field 
where there is an abundance of soft spring 
water, look smooth, sleek, and seem to thrive 
better on the same feed than wiien kept in 
another field which is supplied with hard 
water from a well by the agency of a wind¬ 
mill. I should like the experience of others 
in this matter.” 
We have noticed similar results also. Wo 
never knew a change from soft to hard 
water to result otherwise than in a speedy 
change of tbe condition of the skin and ap¬ 
pearance of the hair—a glossy coat becom¬ 
ing dry and harsh. But we have made no 
experiments tending to establish this as a 
rule, or fix the water as an unmistalceablo 
cause of the change of appearance. If any 
one has, let him give his experience. 
Worms in Horses. 
E. P. Grey writes the Rural New- 
Yorker : — “I have never found a remedy 
for worms in horses yet adequate to remove 
them and recover the animal from their ef¬ 
fects. Can you give one?” The following 
lias been recommended by an eminent 
Veterinary surgeon:—“ Give every morning, 
one hour before ieeding, three drachms sul¬ 
phate of iron and two drachms asafoelida; 
and every night, for a week, throw up au 
injection of one ounce oil of turpentine and 
ten ounces linseed oil. Green food is to be 
preferred." 
ilax She Iiice, or What? 
I wish to ask about an old mare I have, 
seventeen years old, which acts to me as if 
she had lice on her. When turned out in 
the field, she rubs'on the fences or a tree, as 
if to scratch, and has worn nearly half of 
her mane off. I can’t find any lice. Will 
some one who lias had experience tell mo 
what will kill the lice, if it is lice; or, if it is 
any disease, to please inform me. as she is a 
good beast. Will it he well to give, saltpeter 
or sulphur, if you think it to be a humor in 
the blood? — Subscriber, Stanley Corners, 
Ont. Co., N. Y. 
