284 
THE  BUBAL  MEW-YOBKEB. 
^arm  ^conomg. 
WILL  POTATOES  EUN  OUT? 
BY  l>n01'.  AV.  .1.  BEAI<,  mcniOAi;  A(J.  COLMiOK. 
Again,  aa  naual  wo  have  raised  many  A'arietiea 
of  iwtatoes— this  year  about  two  Lundred  and 
fifty.  Two  moderate  sized  tubers  of  eaob  Jiiud 
wore  used  as  seed  for  six  iiills.  'i'huy  were 
])lttntc'd  on  sod  groiuid  whiolj  bad  been  seeded 
for  several  years.  The  ground  was  in  good  con¬ 
dition  and  bad  yielded  two  cj'ops  a  year  of 
orchard  grass,  clover  and  lucern.  The  soil 
was  a  sandy  loam,  plowed  in  the  fall,  cultivated 
and  to|)-dre»Ked  with  line  manure  in  tbo  spring. 
In  ordinary  seasons  the  crop  would  have  been  a 
good  one,  but  this  yoai’  it  was  very  light.  The 
weather  was  very  favorable  till  sometime  in 
June  when  it  suddenly  changed  from  cool  and 
cloudy  to  hot  and  plenty  of  sun  light.  Potatoes 
almost  stopped  growing  on  account  of  the  sud¬ 
den  change. 
In  former  years  the  potatoes  in  small  quantity, 
here  noticed,  Averc  planted  on  old  garden  soil. 
1  moan  on  soil  Avhich  had  bccu  in  cultivation  for 
some  years  iu  Buccession.  They  iiavo  l)een 
manured  in  a  variety  of  ways,  not  very  heavily, 
but  generally  Avith  a  good  dressiug  of  fine 
manure  and  ashes.  The  potatoes  have  neA’cr 
been  planted  on  thr  same  [liece  of  ground  in  two 
Kuceessivo  sea-sons,  but  they  have  been  shifted 
about  on  similar  soil,  on  different  parts  of  about 
five  to  eight  aci'cs.  Tva'o  years  ago  the  number 
of  varieties  Avas  much  increased.  Previous  to 
that  time,  for  some  six  years,  there  had  been 
fifty  to  eighty  varieties  in  the  garden.  For 
some  years  the  yield  has  been  carefully  noted, 
usually  by  weighing  tlio  tuher.s  of  each  hill,  or 
each  set  of  hills.  Of  course  Ave  fhould  expect 
a  variation  iu  the  yield  for  different  hills  in  the 
samo  year  of  tho  same  sort,  even  if  avo  treated 
them  in  all  rospects  as  nearly  alilie  as  possible. 
Tue  chief  object  iu  jilauting  so  many  Uimls  in 
this  miinner,  is  to  Avatch  t  bo.  changes  from  year 
to  year  in  yield,  health,  quality,  etc.  We  all 
know  for  family  use,  that  avo  cannot  measure 
the  value  of  a  ci'oj)  of  ])otatoeR  by  tl.o  scales  or 
bushel-basket,  still  the  yield  is  of  great  impor¬ 
tance.  The  ideal  potato  must,  at  least,  bo  pro¬ 
ductive  of  oveu-sizod  tubers  close  together  iu 
the  hill,  with  few  or  no  small  ones.  It  must 
have  full  eyes  and  eveu  surface,  a  light  or  red 
color  or  spotted,  must  bo  of  good  quality  for  all 
seasons  of  tlie  year ;  aud  noAV  that  tho  beetles 
have  become  so  ti'oublcsome,  tho  model  potato 
should  ripcu  e.arly  in  tJio  season. 
It  AVOuld  require  needless  sp.aco  to  give  here 
the  Aveight  of  each  sort.  This  season,  the 
gioatest  yield  for  six  lulls  Avas  uincteeu  pounds 
and  seven  ounces;  last  year  21  pounds  and  1 
ounce  for  throe  hills.  Oii  no  two  ycar.s  lias  tho 
sauie  variety  headed  the  list  iu  prudiictivenoss. 
This  year  it  was  Long  Pond  ;  last  year,  Early 
White ;  the  yo.ar  before  it  was  Oliuiax.  In  com¬ 
paring  the  yield  for  the  jiast  tAvo  seasons,  I  find 
all  those  yielding  Aveli  this  year,  yielded  well  last 
year ;  and  that  those  yielding  lightest  last  year, 
hold  somewhere  near  Hha  same  rank  this  year. 
In  the  report  for  18G8,  before  I  came  to  the 
college,  the  comparative  yield  is  given  of  fifty- 
five  varietiei  of  ixitatoes.  WTlh  few  exceptions 
tho  tubers  of  tliese  have  been  used  on  tbo 
garden  over  since.  They  have  all  deorcasod  iu 
yield,  uotwithstandiug  tho  garden  is  now  much 
more  productiA'o  of  most  crops  Uum  it  Avas  eight 
years  ago.  In  18G8,  Casco  Avas  reported  as 
yielding,  at  the  rate  of  .‘HO  bushels  to  the  acre 
last  year  tlirco  hills  produced  about  half  an 
ounce,  although  it  Avas  a  remoi'kahly  good  year 
for  the  yield  of  potatoes  iu  our  locality. 
This  year  it  ran  out  entirely.  We  did  uot  get 
one  tuber,  not  even  a  small  one.  In  1808, 
Clolebrook  gave  at  the  rate  of  l.o5  bushels  to  tho 
acre;  I).vvis  Seedling,  270  hnsUols;  Prhice 
Albei’t,  202  bii.shols ;  Coppermine,  170  bushels. 
Last  year  they  yielded  respoctivedy,  lor  thiec 
hills  of  each  variety ;  Colchrook,  2  pounds  9 
ouuooa;  Davis  Hoedling,  5  poiuids  fi  ounces; 
Prinoe  Albert,  1  pound  11  oiuiccs  ;  Coppenuuio, 
4  I>ouuds  9  ounocs.  This  ye.ar,  Oolebrook  yields 
for  six  hills,  (twice  as  many  hills  as  reiKirted 
last  year)  not  one  tuber,  largo  or  small ;  Davis 
Seedling,  not  ojio  tuber;  Prince  Albert,  one- 
fourtb  of  an  ounce— .1  few  very  small  tubers ; 
CoppormiuQ,  Its'  ounce.  Other  examples  could 
be  added  of  a  similar  nature.  | 
The  «iuoHtiou  as  to  Avhether  varieties  AA'e.ar  out  j 
has  long  been  discussed.  Hr.  Knight,  the 
famous  English  iiorucuhurUt,  maintained  that 
they  did.  and  gave  what  he  supposed  Avere  good 
illustratioua  to  pnjve  it.  Others,  since  his  time,  1 
as  woU  as  his  cotemiioraries,  believed  otherwise. 
I  have  Been  Indian  corn  Avhich  had  been  kept  for 
teu  or  more  years  on  the  same  farm.  Altliough 
the  fann  Avas  a  good  one  and  tho  land  svell 
managed,  the  ears  of  oorn  grew  shorter,  the 
keimels  shorter  and  rounder  at  the  ends.  The 
corn  mentioned  was  the  Wiite  Dent,  in  the  lati¬ 
tude  of  Lansing,  Michigan.  I  should  be  glad  to 
hear  from  others  who  have  kept  the  seed  oontin- 
uously  oil  the  same  farm  for  many  years.  It  is  a 
common  notion  that  sheep  do  better  when 
changi.il  occasionally  from  one  farm  to  another 
or  from  one  neighborhood  to  another,  even  where 
they  AAere  under  tho  care  of  a  good  master 
before  changing. 
It  would  be  interesting  'to  know  Avbethcr  any 
of  these  varieties  of  potatoes  which  have  been 
kept  hero  for  some  years  Avould  revive,  if  their 
seed  AA'ere  sent  to  distant  portions  of  our  country 
and  Avell  treated.  To  test  this  point,  last  spring, 
I  scut  tubers  from  our  garden  to  Kansas  Agri¬ 
cultural  College  and  another  set  to  Ohio  Agri¬ 
cultural  College,  at  Columbus.  ITie  Ihofessors 
of  agriculture  in  each  tho  same  as  we  have 
treated  them  of  those  Iato  institutions 
agreed  to  timt  them  and  report  tho  result  this 
fall  for  comparison.  It  may  be  said  that  tho 
potatoes  in  the  casos  noticed  above,  tau  out  be¬ 
cause  they  wore  not  fairly  treated,  tliat  they  Avere 
not  properly  fertilized  or  cultivated,  yet  I  do  uot 
think  this  tbo  only  cause.  Of  the  newer  sorts  of 
potatoes,  as  lately  of  Early  Vermont,  Compton's 
Surprise,  Drownell's  Beauty,  etc.,  planted  ou 
similar  ground  with  similar  treatment,  Ave  have 
raised  exeel  lent  crops  nearly  every  year.  In 
this  connection,  I  may  meution  a  fact,  though 
some  will  doubtless  find  other  explanations  than 
the  ilcgeneratiug  of  varieties.  In  many  parts  of 
Soutlieru  Michigan  tho  Avheat  crop  is  lighter 
than  it  used  to  lie.  The  usual  explanation  given 
is  t.hat  Avheat  has  been  too  often  raised  on  the 
same  ground.  But,  in  many  instauces  which 
have  been  noticed  by  our  most  observing  farm¬ 
ers,  a  ncAAly-clcared  piece  of  tinihered  land  for 
its  first  crop  does  nut  produce  neaily  so  well  as 
in  early  times,  say  thii'ty  years  ago  when  the 
country  contained  much  land  cleared  every  year. 
- - - 
INSECTS  OR  BIRDS,  WHICH  T 
It  is  often  very  difficult  to  detei-miuc  Avhicb 
are  tho  most  destructive  to  faim  aud  garden 
crops,  the.  insect-eating  birds  or  the  insects 
themselves.  It  souiotimes  happens  that  the 
birds  in  searching  for  insects  destroy  the  infested 
plants  at  tiiu  same  Lime,  aud  thou  the  question 
arises,  Which  ot  them  are  the  more  injurious? 
A  Avriter  in  a  late  number  of  tho  Mark  Lane 
Express,  iu  describing  the  ravages  of  certain 
insects  upon  the  turnips  iu  England,  gives  an 
illu-sttatiou  of  the  d.Tmago  iusectivorous  birds 
may  do  l-i  crops  when  so-irohiug  for  their  natural 
food.  Tlie  grubs  found  in  the  roots  of  turnij>s 
are  much  sought  for  by  the  rooks  and  other 
birds,  hut  singularly  enough,  however  A-aliiablo 
their  senices  may  bo  at  other  limes  in  devouring 
the  larvie  of  noxious  insects,  they  cannot  at  this 
particular  time  ho  permitted  to  alight  among  tho 
plauts,  as  their  doing  so  would  iirovo  certain 
destruction  to  the  portion  of  the  field  on  Avhich 
they  remained  hut  for  a  very  short  time,  and  if 
allowed  to  come  and  go,  AviUioul  icstnction,  in  ev. 
treme  cafios,  they  would  not  leave  a  single  plant. 
In  searching  for  food  CA’ery  plant  at  all  mjured 
by  the  grub  or  AA’orm  is  hrokoii  off,  and  those 
lierfectly  sound  aud  ns  yet  free  from  attack  are 
pulled  up  by  tho  root,  every  ijlaut  being  taken  in 
sucoesaion,  and  the  inevitable  conseqnouco  of 
lieniiitting  them  to  roiuaiu  is  a  broad  space  of 
red  earth  utterly  destitute  of  vcgotalioii.  Nor 
are  tho  rooks  tho  only  birds,  usually  tho  fanner's 
best  friends,  that  AvilJ  perpetrato  iiicrodihlo  mis- 
cliief  at  sucli  a  critical  time,  as  tho  missel-thrush 
is  ei]ually  fond  of  haunting  tho  turnip  fields, 
partieulai-ly  dm'Lug  the  earlier  stages  of  groAvth, 
Avhen  tho  plants  have  attaiued  the  rough  loaf, 
and  they  can  be  caught  hold  of  fii'mly  j  aud 
again  when  newly  thinned  and  only  beginning 
to  recover. 
At  these  periods,  a  flock  of  missel-thrushes, 
numbering  not  more  tliaii  from  twenty  to  thirty 
birds,  Avill  iu  Iavo  hours  from  daybreak,  clear  a 
quarter  of  an  acre  as  effectually  as  if  a  turnip 
had  never  been  sowu  there,  »o  iodefatigably  do 
they  work  iu  their  destructive  operations.  On 
examination  it  Avould  almost  appear  as  if  each 
bird  took  a  line  for  itself,  and  made  a  point  of 
examining  every  plant  us  it  went  along  ;  this  too 
minute  examination  of  course  resulting  iu  the 
total  loss  of  tho  crop. 
From  the  above  view  of  this  very  important 
inattei',  it  will  be  soeu  tK.at  by  protecting 
the  fields  from  birds  at  tho  very  time  the 
grubs  are  committing  tlio  damage,  there  is  some 
chance  of  a  part  of  the  cropi  being  left  ou  the 
ground,  Avheroas,  if  tliey  are  permitted  to  alight 
aud  remain  undisturbed,  the  united  action  of 
both  will  bo  apt  to  destroy  all.  If  rooks,  particu- 
lai'ly,  got  the  habit  of  remaining  ou  a  field  ou 
AA’hich  grubs  are  preseut,  AVithout  danger  of  dis¬ 
turbance,  it  is  in  vaiu  to  resOAv  tho  i*atche8  w  hich 
have  been  cleared,  or  plant  swedc.s,  eahbages,  or 
any  other  available  esculent,  as  every  thing  will 
be  pulled  up  before  it  has  time  to  get  hold  of 
the  soil,  and  tho  labor  and  cost  mu.st  go  for 
nothing. 
It  is  quite  as  reasonable  to  expect  that  there 
will  be  a  stage  iu  the  groAVlh  of  root  crops,  Avhou 
it  will  be  dangerous  to  permit  such  strong  and 
active  birds  to  approach  them,  aud  necessary  to 
ward  them  off  accordingly,  as  it  is  to  assume  that 
the  most  higlily-eetceinod  songsters,  Avhose  melo¬ 
dious  strains  are  tlie  delight  of  every  dweller  iu  the 
Country,  will  for  a  few  weeks  during  tho  fruit 
season  become  a  source  of  very  severe  loss  to 
the  horticulturist,  aud  must  he  kept  away  by 
protecting  the  trees  Avith  nets,  or  if  very  exten¬ 
sive,  as  in  a  cherry  orchard,  by  tho  use  of  the  gun 
almost  continuously, 
Notwithstaudiug  that  the  services  of  birds  are 
inadmissible  in  clearing  tho  soil  of  grubs  and 
worms,  while  tho  plants  which  they  are  destroy¬ 
ing  remain  youug  aud  delicate,  the  farmer  may 
do  a  great  deal  in  self-protection  by  hand-picking 
— a  process  whiiJi  can  he  much  more  easily 
carried  out  than  might  appear  likely  at  first  sight. 
Tho  first  break  in  the  cuticle  of  tho  incipient 
bulb  is  inatantly  followed  by  a  curl  ou  the 
exlretne  jioint  of  the  foliage,  caused  by  the  sap 
being  chocked  iu  its  upward  course  by  the  cutting 
of  tho  vascular  tissues,  this  slight  change  in  the 
sfijicaraiice  of  tlio  plant  infallibly  betraying  the 
whereabout  of  the  destroyer. 
Taking  this  change  as  their  clue,  a  couple  of 
smart  lads,  provided  Avilh  a  short  piece  of 
pointcxl  stick,  aud  a  tin  or  other  light  vessel  in 
which  to  deposit  aud  carry  away  the  grubs,  Asill 
save  a  vast  number  of  plauts  in  one  day,  tho 
value  of  the  food  thus  saved  from  total  destnic- 
tion  beiug  far  and  away  out  of  all  proportion  to 
tho  Blight  expense  incurred  by  this  simple  pro¬ 
cess.  Tho  grubs  arc  got  without  the  slightest 
trouble — tho  removal  of  a  small  portion  of  earth 
round  Uio  root  at  once  exposing  them,  a  minute 
being  scarcely  occuiiied  by  each  opei'ation.  The 
young  jtlaut  has  a  wonderful  power  of  recupora- 
liou,  as  even  although  it  has  been  pretty  decjily 
cut,  tlio  wouud  hcconies  at  cuco  cicatrized,  the 
leaves  again  sympathise,  become  erect,  and 
recover  tiicir  bloom;  and  iu  about  a  week  tlie 
entire  plant  has  recov'cred  tlio  huo  of  health, 
and  grows  vigorously. 
Various  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  tbo 
presence  of  grubs  in  such  imnieuso  numbers, 
but  all  more  or  less  local  in  their  character,  as 
for  instance,  over-rich  mamu-e,  largo  a)-'plica- 
tioiis  of  bone  dust,  the  decaying  turf  of  very  old 
grass-laud  recently  broken  up ;  hut  as  they  have 
apiicai’ed  this  season  under  every  possible  con¬ 
dition  aud  charaiiter  of  soil,  manured  and  uii- 
mauured  alike,  on  land  several  years  broken  up, 
as  ou  that  from  which  only  ono  crop  has  as  yet 
been  taken,  after  lying  in  grass  for  twenty  years, 
the  whole  quostioii  as  to  how  they  cau  appear  in 
such  myriads,  and  be  so  universally  diffused 
over  au  immense  extent  of  siu'face,  must  bo 
referred  to  the  eiitoiiiologist,  who  makes  such 
abstruse  subjects  his  life-study. 
- -*-*-■* - - 
FARM  MATTERS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 
RinGKWAY,  Warren  Co.,  N,  C.,  Oct.  ifl,  '76. 
The  number  of  years  that  I  have  been  a  sub¬ 
scriber  aud  reader  of  the  Huk.al  is  sufficient  evi¬ 
dence  of  tho  appreciation  which  myself  and 
family  feel  for  it,  and  a-s  a  partial  romuneratioii 
for  the  benefits  received,  perhaps  a  few  lines 
from  this  section  may  he  interesting  to  some  of 
your  readers. 
'This  county  was,  before  the  war.  famed  for  its 
fine  crops  of  wheat  aud  tobacco,  those  two  being 
tho  ]jriucipal  market  crops.  Since  tlie  ww  tho 
lauds  havo  been  niosily  cultivated  by  tho  freed- 
mon,  the  landlord  iKawiug  onc-foiu-th  tlio  crop 
as  rent.  Tho  rokUkm  is  corn  ono  year,  corn  the 
next  year,  corn  the  third  year  and  so  ou  to  tlio 
fifleenth,  unless  the  poor  over-worked  soil  re¬ 
fuses  to  produce  "  nubbins,”  when  it  is  turned 
over  to  tho  blackberry  hushes  &c.  for  rest. 
There  are  thousauds  of  acres  of  cheap  lauds  here 
for  sale,  pleniy  under  cultivation  aud  in  tracts  of 
from  twenty-livo  aeros  up  to  thousands.  We 
want  men  with  capital  aud  good,  sound,  oommon- 
sense  ideas  of  fai-miug.  Men  who  understand 
tlio  breeding  aud  cwo  of  cattle,  sheep  aud  swine, 
and  the  making  and  preserving  and  application 
of  manure,  can  make  moucyhere,  provided  they 
/wire  tho  capital  and  judgment  to  start  aright,  and 
the  energy  aud  persevorauco  to  carry  it  thi'oiigU. 
^Yu  buy  too  much  oomwercial  manure,  tho  as  hole 
crop  of  cotton,  in  some  instances,  being  required 
to  pay  for  it,  throwing  away  labor  entiiely. 
Wheat  this  year  is  a  good  crop,  from  10  to  25 
bushels  per  acre.  Cotton  light,  now  selling  for 
2%  to  3  cts.  per  pound  in  the  seed.  Tobacco 
short,  from  scarcity  of  plauts  and  drought  at 
planting  time.  Dairy  products  bring  good  prices, 
and  the  business  might  be  made  profitable  by 
managing  it  ou  northern  principlos.  The  com- 
nioii  COW'S  are  very  inferior  for  both  milk  and 
beef.  For  the  information  of  Mr.  Wii.t..vRD,  if 
he  has  never  been  through  the  South,  I  find  the 
people  here  saj'  aud  believe  that  a  cow  yielding 
from  six  to  eight  quarts  of  milk  per  day  “gives 
a  heap ''  and  of  that  the  calf  or  •'  starter,'’  which 
is  often  a  year  old  or  more,  gets  one-half.  It 
seems  surprising  to  many  that  the  milker  can  get 
any  milk  at  all  unless  the  calf  draws  its  share  at 
the  same  time. 
Oiu- State  Fair  ocems  this  week.  Perhaps  I 
can  send  you  some  notes  thereon,  if  you  have  no 
one  there  more  competent.  M.  B.  Prince. 
^trlismau. 
GOAT  BREEDING  AND  REARING  IN  NOR¬ 
WAY. 
Goats  may  not  be  very  profitable  animals  for 
America,  still  there  are  countries  where  they 
furnish  a  large  amount  of  valuable  food  for  the 
inhabitants,  and  considerable  for  export.  Any 
one  who  ha.s  eaten  a  good  goat’s  milk  cheese,  will 
probably  agree  with  us  in  saying  that  there  is 
none  better,  and  little  as  good.  In  speaking  of 
Goat-Breeding  in  Norway,  the  London  Field 
says : 
“  Side  by  side  with  the  sheep  and  cow,  the  goat 
is  Btill  exhmsively  raised  in  many  parts  of  Nor¬ 
way.  eai>ecially  on  those  farms  containing  a  con¬ 
siderable  area  of  mountain  pasturage  and  wootl. 
With  a  view  to  render  its  fleece  more  valuable,  a 
cross  with  the  Angora  has  hero  and  there  been 
tried;  hut  the  common  un'miproved  breed  of 
the  country,  of  someAvhat  angular  appearance 
and  hardy  constitution,  is  the  one  still  generally 
met  Avith.  In  tlioso  instances  in  Avhich  milk  is 
Hie  most  imiiortaut  pnaluct,  tho  goats  are  not 
unfrequcntly  kept  along  with  tho  shcei),  sharing 
in  Avinter  the  samo  shod  or  stall,  and  being 
treated  mncli  iu  tho  same  vi-ay.  When,  however, 
tho  flock  is  Bulliciontly  numerous  t«  render  it 
AA’orlh  \>  bile  to  separate  them  from  tl»e  rest  of 
tbo  live  stock  and  put  up  accommodation  better 
suited  to  their  wants,  the  building  in  wliich  they 
arc  housed  is  both  larger  and  loftier.  The  goat 
iifods  a  good  deal  of  air,  and,  provided  it  is  dry, 
it  can  stand  oold  well.  What  docs  uot  suit  it  at 
all  is  a  moist  and  vitiated  atmosphere.  Now  and 
thou  tlio  practice  is  followed  of  lying  up  tho 
animal,  and  occasionally  tho  stable  is  divided 
into  a  number  of  stalls. 
Ill  selecting  tho  goats  for  stock  purjiGses,  the 
preference  is  given  to  the  biggest  framed  and 
finest  specimena,  Avitli  large,  Avell-formed  bonis, 
aud,  if  iKissible,  tlio  breeding  season  is  so  ar¬ 
ranged  that  all  tho  kids  are  born  as  near  as  may 
be  about  tho  same  tune. 
As  a  rule,  tho  kids  are  alloAved  to  suclc  their 
dams  for  a  monlli  or  six  w'coks  ;  but  during  that 
time  tho  herdsman  uoav  and  then  milks  tho 
latter— more  particularly  tho  young  mothers— in 
order  to  accustom  them  to  bo  handled  by  him, 
and  (by  draAving  out  the  last  drops  in  tho  udder) 
to  promote  aai  increased  lact<fal  secretion.  Ho 
can  gcuerally  maiiage  to  attract  tlieui  by  offering 
a  small  quantity  of  salt,  and  after  a  lime,  AA’heii 
tho  wcaiiing  is  over,  tlicy  come  to  tho  milking 
place  regularly  of  tfieir  own  accord.  The  oper¬ 
ation  of  milking  is  porformed  by  the  goat-lierd 
placing  himself  astride  and  backwards  Avay  on 
the  animars  hack,  and  bending  goavu  so  as  to 
reach  the  udder. 
Kids  desUuod  for  the  butcher  remain  Avith 
their  mothers  somewhat  longer  than  those  uot 
intended  to  be  sold  early  ;  but  where  this  can  be 
doue  Avithout  detriment  to  them,  tho  farmer 
endeavors  to  AA’cau  all  his  young  stock  before  tbe 
period  arrives  for  the  flock  to  be  thiA'eu  to  the 
distant  pastures.  The  herbage  of  tho  latter  is 
much  sweeter  and  richer  than  tliat  of  the  grass 
lands  in  tho  more  immediate  neighborhood  of 
the  homestead,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  tliat  it  is 
desired,  if  possible,  to  arrange  for  the  goats  to 
bo  on  thorn  during  tho  time  they  are  milked  for 
tho  dairy.  The  kids  Avhich  havo  uot  been 
weaned  Avhen  the  flock  loaves  its  Aviuter  quarters 
follOAV  their  mothers  to  tbe  lower  slopes  or 
“almon,”  aud  very  soon  begin  nibbling  the 
herbage  and  green  foliage  of  the  trees.  It  is  an 
old  rule  not  to  have  recourse  to  the  “  mouth¬ 
piece" — a  piece  of  Avood  fixed  in  tlie  kid's  mouth 
to  prcA'eut  sucking — until  the  trees  aud  bushes 
have  put  on  their  spring  mantle  of  green. 
The  roaming  habits  of  the  goat  render  the 
shepherd’s  (or  rather  goatherd's)  task  ou  the 
almen  no  easy  one,  and  he  is  anything  but  the 
idyllic  piiio-playiug  being  known  to  us  ou  can¬ 
vas.  At  night  he  has  to  drive  the  flock  into  an 
inclosurc,  aud  during  the  day  to  milk  tho  goats 
twice,  the  first  time  before  turning  them  out  in 
the  morning. 
The  quantity  and,  of  course,  also  quality  of 
the  milk  yielded  varies  Aiith  the  mode  of  treat¬ 
ment,  cliaractcr  of  the  pasture,  and  milking 
properties  of  tho  individual  animal ;  from  1  to  2 
kilogrammes  (2}.i  Ih.  to  4)'^  lb.)  per  diem,  the 
goats  romaiiiiug  in  milk  five  to  six  months.  A 
goat  furnishing  less  than  2}%  pounds,  or  its 
equivalent  liiiuid  measure  (Mr.  Theseii,  our 
NorAvegian  authority  for  tiie  facts  in  this  com¬ 
munication,  only  gives  the  quantity  iu  kilos.), 
would  uot  he  considered  worth  keeping. 
As  to  the  peculiar  smell  and  flavor  of  goat’s 
milk,  AA-hich  is  doubtless  due  to  the  presence  of 
oapric  acid,  this  is  stronger  iu  the  case  of  some 
animals  than  in  others,  and  depends,  to  a  great 
extent,  on  their  food.  It  is  most  marked  Ai’heu 
tbe  latter  consists  chiefly  of  the  young  shoots 
aud  foliage  of  trees,  and  much  more  observable 
iu  cream  and  whole  milk  than  iu  skimmed  ditto. 
In  spite  of  the  comparatively  large  proportion  of 
cream  in  goat’s  milk,  and  the  facility  with  which 
