FEB. 26 
THE 
P3EW-70BKER. 
337 412 pounds of wool. It has been sup¬ 
posed by some, owing to the great com¬ 
petition England now meets with on the 
Continent of E irope, in the manufacture of 
woolen good?, that this consumption of wool 
was diminishing with her; but the largely in¬ 
creased importation 6hown above In 1880, 
speuks to the contrary, just the same as it has 
for a few years past iu the ITuited States. This 
holds out great encouragement for us to aug¬ 
ment our flocks as rapidly as possible, and the 
more so, as the consumption of mutton is con¬ 
stantly increasing with our people. 
Cai.ves SncKTNQ each Other.— As this is an 
injurious practice, we shall be obliged if any 
readers of the Rural can point out a preven¬ 
tive. By sucking the ears of each other, or 
the neck, or any parts of the body, they some¬ 
times pull out hair and swallow it. This forms 
a ball in the 6toniach in process of time, and i6 
very injurious to the calf occasionally caus¬ 
ing death. 
We have thought it possible by salting their 
milk or other food a lit tie, that this might obvi¬ 
ate the desire of sucking, the same as it does 
that of poultry picking at the combs and 
heads of each other. There is a natural craving 
of all animals for salt, and it ought to be grati¬ 
fied without injuring them. 
Sale of American Horses in England.— 
Thirty horses were sent over last December, 
and having a very rough voyage, arrived in 
England in bad condition. They were sold at 
Tatteraall’s auction, January 13, and brought 
an average of .£73 17s. (about §355) each. The 
highest price was 165 guineas—(say $1,776). 
We cannot say whether these figures obtained 
resulted in a profit or loss to the American 
consigner; but this we know, if he wishes to 
have future horses croes the Atlantic with any 
kind of comfort aud safety, and arrive at their 
port of destination in good condition, let him 
ship them in milder aud pleasanter months, 
say from April to October— neither earlier 
nor later. 81iug aud pad horses iu their stalls 
in the best possible manner, still, in rough 
weather, they suffer badly, as they can neither 
be well-fed, nor especially well-watered, so 
essential is the latter to them; and moreover, 
the rolling and pitching of the ship, and the 
unusual noise and clatter on board frightens 
and seriously affects their nervous sensibility. 
Goats’Hair Imforted into England.— It 
is only a few years since thiB article began to 
be imported to any appreciable extent. It 
amounted in 1830 to £1,196,909, (say about $5,- 
750.000). No wonder the people of England 
wish to encourage the breeding of goats of an 
improved kind, when they have such a valu¬ 
able home market for their fleeces: to say 
nothiug of a still greater value of their milk, 
when hied also for a superior quality and 
quantity of this, as well as for the hair. Goats 
can be kept and thrive on the poorest kmd of 
land, and the most humble cottager can keep 
them as well as the wealthiest farmer,—that 
is, in numbers according to his means. 
A. A. 
Satrj) installing. 
THE DAISY COW—NO. 26. 
HENRY STEWART 
Cheese Making, 
Cheese making depends upon the existence 
in milk of a peculiar substance known as 
caseine. This pubstanee may be procured in a 
pure state by the following process. A certain 
quantity of milk is deprived of the cream in 
the usual manner and then coagulated by the 
addition of a small quantity of vinegar or dilute 
acid and moderate heating. The milk will 
form a stiff, jelly-like substance which consists 
of the caseine intimately mingled with the 
whey. Iu course of a short time these separate, 
when the whey may be poured off and tire curd 
left. If this be washed and kneaded with pure 
water, repeatedly poured off and renewed, the 
caseine may bo procured nearly pure. For its 
perfect purification it may be dissolved in a 
weak solution of carbonate of soda and left to 
stand for 13 hoars when any cream that may 
arise may be poured off. The caseine may 
then be precipitated by the addition of vinegar 
aud washed aud boiled in pure water. By repeti¬ 
tion of this process it may be procured free 
from fat and the milk salts. When thus pre¬ 
pared it is acid, as may be shown by its red¬ 
dening of litmus paper or any vegetable blues. 
It is only slightly soluble in water ; one pound 
requiring 400 pounds for its solution of carbo¬ 
nate of soda or potash. These solutions may 
be coagulated by the addition of an acid which 
neutralizes the alkali and the cuid may be 
agaiu thrown down by heat; if, however, the 
acid be used in large quantities the caseine will 
be rediesolved. 
This curious behavior is of great interest 
and of very wide pertinence to the dairyman, 
and its application may be made valuable in a 
great variety of emergencies that are always 
occurring to dairymen. For instance, from a 
knowledge of this behavior under the circum 
stances mentioned, may be indicated the ac 
lion of an acid condition of the blood in earn¬ 
ing the coagulation of the milk In the udder 
and rniJk ducts and the nature of the remedy 
to be applied, viz : the nee of solution of car¬ 
bonate of soda injected into the udder to dis 
Bolve the curded milk or the use oi alkaline 
salts medicinally as an alterative for the con 
ditiou of the blood. Also it explains some of 
those mysterious troubles which are always 
happening in dairies that are not ski lfully 
managed and those accidents which may hap¬ 
pen even In the best regulated dairies. Com¬ 
mon sense and a little consideration will help 
to apply the knowledge of the character of this 
important constituent of milk to the remedy 
of many of the troubles of the dairyman which 
are too numerous to mention here, but which 
will be taken up as they tony occur. Milk 
caseine is identical in composition with the 
fibrin of wheat; the legmnine of the bean and 
pea aud the albumen of egg or vegetable sub¬ 
stances. It is declared by some chemists that 
they arc convertible into each other In the ani¬ 
mal system. It is known that they are physi¬ 
ologically isomeric, that is, they contain the 
same elements in the same atomic proportions 
although the nltimate combined atom or mol¬ 
ecule may differ in each substance. The cbern 
ical composition is as follows: In 100 parts there 
are carbon 53 5; hydrogen 7; oxygen 32; sul¬ 
phur 1 0; phosphorus 0 4 and nitrogen 15 5. 
The acid used in curdling milk may be of 
any kind ; muriatic or bydro-ehloric or chlo- 
ro-hydrlc as it is variously called, is used in 
the making of Edam and Gouda cbceEe in Hol¬ 
land; in other countries common viuegar, 
tartaric acid, lemon juice (citric acid) cream 
of tartar and salt of sorrel (oxalic acid) are 
occasionally need and in the renowned “ Scbab 
zieger” cheese of Switzerland, lactic acid, and 
caseine itself, in the shupe of sour milk are used 
for procuring coagulation. The action of heat 
operates on the curd by causing it to shrink 
and become solid, and so expresses the w’bey 
from among the particles, aud not only ha?- 
tene the action of the acid in causing coagula¬ 
tion, but also the separation of the curd from 
the whey. The heat should be gentle, else the 
enrd is so much solidified and toughened as to 
become unfit for the manufacture of cheese; 
indeed by the use of excessive heat, curd of 
miJk has been made the basis of an artificial 
ivory and with a mixture of some other sub¬ 
stances may be made of great hardness and 
elasticity. The agent generally used for pro¬ 
curing coagulation is rennet. Although this 
is a well-known substance yet it is very little 
understood and deserves some special consid¬ 
eration which however must be leftfor another 
article. 
BREEDING SOWS. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
Much loss often occurs with breeding sows. 
This is generally the result of bad management. 
Sowb are kept in small pens during the Winter 
when they cannot obtain any exercise, which 
has a tendency to make the young pigs weak 
and feeble at birth. It is natural for pigs to 
root and work for food. When confined in 
cramped quarters with plenty of food they get 
too fat which inclines them to stirabout but 
little. They abould always have a roomy pen 
or, what Is b-tter, two apartments, one for a 
bed and the other for a feeding room. This 
will make it neeessai y for them to move about 
more and will also aid in keeping them clean. 
Too liltle attention is often paid to their 
cleanliness. A dirly hog besides being disgust¬ 
ing to look at cannot possibly be healthy. A 
coat of filth on the body shuts up the. pores 
and the orifices on the inside of the legs, 
through which, It is said, a pig perspires, and 
which should never be closed, as they are apt 
to be when a pig is compelled to wallow and 
lie in a dirty pen. Filth is liable to make the 
udders and especially the nipples sore. When 
this is the case the mother will uot allow the 
young pigs to suck and is often made ferocious 
by their attempts to the extent tnat she will 
turn upon them and destroy them, as she Im¬ 
agines that they are the cause of her pain, 
whereas, the primary cause arises from the 
fact of neglect on the part of her owner. This 
trouble, which is quite common, may be known 
by the sow jumping up as soon as the pigs be¬ 
gin to suck. She often treads upon the young 
ones, when thus excited and Injures them in 
this way. It is an excellent and safe plan to 
examine the udders aud nipples before the 
birth of the pigs and wash them with soapsuds 
and grease them if they are found inflamed or 
cracked. If a hog gels dirly it should be 
washed, and, if the skin is ecabby, it should 
be smeared with kerosene oil and lard mixed 
and well rubbed on. We know of nothing so 
good to cleanse and heal the skin as this. 
After a clean, roomy pen is provided the next 
important consideration is the food. Fatal 
mistakes are made in this respect. Stimulat¬ 
ing and heating food should be given if at all 
in 6mall quantities especially when the mother 
approaches the period of parturition. The 
bowels should never be allowed to become con¬ 
stipated which may be discovered by the hqrd 
and dry condition of the excrement. If the 
young are born when the sow is in this condi¬ 
tion which is productive of fever and inf) Ani¬ 
mation, she will very likely be an unnatural 
mother and destroy her young. The remedy 
lies in preventives. When proper precautions 
are taken in their food, trouble, of this kind 
which is veiy common, may be avoided. 
Vegetable food is the healthiest and safest. 
We have always had the best success with pigs 
when nothing but this kind of food was given 
to the mothers. If roots aro not to bo had 
then we ehould recommend wheat bran or 
shorts as preferable to any other feeding of 
grain. The most objectionable of all is corn 
or corn meal. 
Breeding sows are generally kept too fat. 
They will not bear when m this condition either 
so large or healthy pigs, and they are also 
more liable (o a wrong presentation which is 
alike dangerous to both mother and young. 
A breeding sow should never be fed so liberally 
that she will attain her lull growth. This is a 
condition for a porker and not for a breeding 
animal. A condition of half fat or thrift is 
the right one, There is a large loss In making 
unnecessary growth with breeding sows in 
food which is thus wasted and in causing the 
sow to be too large and unwieldy which makes 
her more liable to^lie upon her pigs and crush 
them. Such sows will be slow to move 
whereas, if they were lighter and consequently 
more active, they would get up quicker when 
they heard the cry of a little one. 
Sows should be fed lightly for a few days 
after the pigs are bom or else there muy te 
a surfeit of milk which will eause the pigs to 
scour, taking more than they can digest aud 
also causing caking of the udders and fever 
which will check 1 lie flow ol milk and make 
it dry up. We have known instances of such 
excessive swelling of the udder, or caking by 
so much feed that the milk would not flow at 
a 1. When this is the case they should be 
thoroughly bathed with water, or vinegar ( 
which is bettor, as hot as it can be applied. 
Thorough rubbing is also beneficial. Some¬ 
times the mother's milk will not flow for a 
number of hours after the pigs are born. This 
condition may be known by the pigs appear¬ 
ing hungry and unsatisfied ftBd not lying 
qnietly in the nest after Buckling. It cun 
be easily made certain by squeezing the udder. 
When ihe milk does not flow the pigs should 
be fed cows’ rnllk from a spoon. When this 
is done they should be taken from the nest and 
then quietly returned to the mother. They will 
require at least a halt dozen teaspoonfulsof milk 
at a time and ehould be fed every three or four 
hours. The effort of the pigs at suckling will 
help to cause the milk to come. Whenever 
a nipple is found to be cracked or sore the 
pig6 may bo kept away from it by smearing It 
frequently with coal tar, but, if the trouble 
continues, it Is better to cut the nipple off 
rather than jeopardise the whole litter. We 
have done both successfully. 
Before the birth of the pigs care should be 
had to have a small bed or at least one in 
which the young pigs will not get entangled. 
A fender of plank should be constructed on 
the sides of the pen about ten ioches above 
the floor against which the back of the bow 
may rest and under which the pigs may be 
protected as this will prevent the mother from 
crushing them. 
When a sow is kept in a close pen and does 
not have access to the ground or grass it is 
an excellent plan to give her frequently 
cinders of coal ashes, which Ehe will eat 
greedily, charcoal, sulphur und salt which all 
help to promote digestion and keep her stomach 
in healthy condition. Warm drinks should be 
given for twenty-four hours after parturition. 
A breeding sow should be made tame when 
youug so that she may be handled. Sows 
will breed well for a number of years and old 
ones are much preferable to young ones as the 
pigs will be larger and grow faster. It will 
pay to take considerable trouble to make 
them docile. 
Jftfll) Crop, 
THOROUGHBRED CORN.-No. 2. 
B F. JOHNSON. 
What weight are we to allow to the thor¬ 
oughbred idea in the case of seed corn, and 
the claimed prepotency and fertility of some 
varieties over others. If a given variety of 
seed corn is grown separate and so far apart 
from all others that there can be no fertiliza¬ 
tion from abroad, I am ready to admit that 
like will produce its like more nearly than 
where the common and average circumstances 
of corn growing prevail. But I fail to see why 
the most prepotent seed will not be cross-fer¬ 
tilized from abroad, where corn is the domi¬ 
nant crop of the country, and where it is 
quite impossible to prevent the transfer of 
pollen from one field to another, by winds, by 
birds, by insects and in many other ways and 
means of communication. And in the matter 
of fertility of a given variety, is there one 
which will produce an ear on each stalk, when 
they stand as close as they do, in case of hav¬ 
ing been broadcasted for a forage crop? It is 
probable indeed, that a variety of corn, which 
had been grown on a dry, a thin, or an arid 
soil, might In a long course of years, develop 
a large and strongly absorptive, or feeding 
radicle system, and that when transferred to 
richer soilp, it would ear better than these 
kinds, natives and to the manor born, but 
still the fact remains to be proved. And then, 
in opposition to this assumption, we have the 
fact that when com, the product of the poor 
and worn soils of the east, is taken to the 
richer soils of the west, the yield is lessened in 
almost every ease. 
I am strongly of the opinion that the barren 
or non-fertile stalks one meets with in the aver¬ 
age corn field, and they are seldom barren as to 
the production of pollen, Is due to too thick 
seeding or perhaps to the lack of the right 
kind of food in tho eoil to perfect de¬ 
velopment. ' In no variety of corn common to 
the country, have I ever fouud barren stalks, 
except those I thought to have been mode so 
by over seeding or by asking of the soil to pro¬ 
duce more grain than there was plant food 
iu it to make grain out of. In fact the 
over seeding of the corn crop is a comraou 
vice of the countiy. Wo plant three or four 
kernels in the hill where we should put but 
two, and we crowd both the rows and the hills 
altogether too much, and in doing bo, get from 
10 to 35 percent, barren Btalks where we ought 
to have none and the ears on the fruitful stalks 
are lessened accordingly. On this point I find 
many thoughtful farmers to agree with me 
among whom I quote Mr. E S. Lawrence, late 
head-farmer of the Illinois Industrial Univer¬ 
sity, whose opinion is to be found in the Re¬ 
port of that Institution for the year 1879. 
But there Is something very curious in the 
fact, that given two soils of equal productive 
capacity, so far as we can judge, the one, say 
under latitude 42 deg., the other 36 or 37 deg- 
—the distance apart in the seeding, must be 
widely different, in order to procure a full 
crop from both. 
If tho best average under latitude 42 deg. 
requires that corn shall bo plautcd three feet 
each way, with three or four kernels in the hill 
In order to produce the largest crop, under 
latitude 37 deg , the distance niu6t be increased 
. to four feet with two stalks in the hill, or the 
plants will refuse to ear, and this, too, on such 
rich soils as the Mississippi River bottoms 
above Cairo and below latitude 37 deg. As we 
go farther south, and the soil gets thinner, the 
seeding is reduced to one stalk in the hill, and 
the distance ranges in the hill, from three feet 
to four. 
These things are very clearly seen on the 
trip from Chicago in latitude 43 deg., to Cairo, 
in latitude 37 deg., and further demonstrated 
as one moves along a north and south line to 
New Orleaus, something near latitude 29 deg. 
In the case of the eorn crop, it sceniB natur¬ 
al and reasonable to think, that the richer the 
soil and the warmer the climate, the nearer 
the plants should stand together, in order to 
get the greatest yields; but practice and ex¬ 
perience teaches us just the contrary in this, as 
in mauy other things. And in this may be the 
explanation of the many failures complained 
of in the Cuzro Corn, widely disseminated 
last year. It grew in every case when plant¬ 
ed, bnt in many, refused to ear because it was 
crowded together like the common corn of 
the north ; whereas, helng a tropical variety, it 
wa9 used to be planted, a single stalk in a hill 
four or five febt apart and on a soil which is 
nothing if it is not of the richest, in every 
element of plant food. If the Cuzco Corn had 
been treated to a bushel of half fresh wood 
ashes and half old stable manure to the hill of a 
single kernel when planting, and thereafter 
each stalk made to stand four or five feet 
apart, the result would have been different 
indeed. 
What answer then have wc to make to the 
question, “ Wbat weight are wc to attach to 
the thoroughbred idea In the case of seed corn, 
and the claimed prepotency and iertilily of 
some varieties over others?” First, that no 
variety is so thoroughbred that it will not cross 
with others, which dominate the country, 
and finally absorb and perhaps obliterate them 
—and, second, no variety is so fertile as to be 
able to overcome close planting and fertility 
of the soil, and, thirdly, probably the whole 
matter of fertility, depends on just the right 
measure of, and neither too thick nor too 
thin, seeding. 
-- 
TOBACCO CULTURE IN CHEMUNG CO. 
N. Y.-No 1. 
It* IlUlory up to tliu 1'reneiit Time. 
Amdng the tobacco-growing sections of the 
north, famous for producing superior cigar- 
