30* 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
MAY 7 
would add so much to health, comfort and en¬ 
joyment? Jn planting, the farmer should not 
lull into the too common error of usiug small 
beds or plats here and tture scattered about, 
but let the rows run the whole length, aud bo 
place them that the main cultivation can be 
done with a horse. This will save much hard 
work and valuable time in hoeing. Another 
fact he should remember: **Tke easiest culti¬ 
vation is thorough cultivation no half-way 
business. It is much easier to keep the land 
entirely clean than to keep it half overrun with 
grass and weeds. He should remember this 
acre is worth two in corn or potatoes and give 
it good cure, allowing nothing but fruit to 
grow. Of kinds, it should contain at least 
strawberries, raspberries (red and black), cur- 
rantB, blackberries and grapes. 
In selecting varieties of each kind he should 
remember that the first requisite in the family 
is quantity. They would much prefer a quart 
of WilBon Strawberries to a half-dozen btrries 
of any of the most exouisitely flavored that 
“ ever graced the vine.” He should not run 
after every novelty he sees advertised, but first 
content himself with those known to be fairly 
good and that wiil give plenty of fruit every 
time. On the other hand. Le should not plant 
a frait, however much it may bear, that, like 
the Champion Grape, is only ‘‘good to look 
at,” and that even the birds will not eat. Let 
quantity be a first and qnulity a second consid¬ 
eration in selecting sons. With a proper se¬ 
lection of varieties and division in quantity, and 
with good care, the acre should give him bush¬ 
els and bnsbels of the best and most health- 
giving food the good God ever created for 
man's U6e, and if the capacity of his family 
should ever outgrow the ability of the acre to 
supply it, he should be only too glad to devote 
more land to this use, and when he is rejoicing 
in the abundance he will not regret the small 
amount of labor required, and should not for¬ 
get to be thankful lor the great blessing, or to 
share a portion with bis le6s lortnnate neigh¬ 
bor, and t’ms perchance he may induce him to 
“ go and do likewise.” 
---- 1~*~4 - 
Thought* on reading In “ The Garden.’' 
More than fifty years ago 1 read an old 
book, " Harvey’s Meditations among the 
Tombs and among the Flowers.” I was too 
youug to admire the first part, but the second 
filled my miud with a first sense of the beauly 
and splendor of Nature, increasingly appre¬ 
ciated ever since. 1 used to take the Dook to 
the garden and read it there clinically. I re. 
member well that 1 could not (then) see the 
force of the author's objections to the gaudi¬ 
ness of 6ome of the brilliant flowers from 
warm climes. The old dispute over this goes 
on. The " Garden,” a beautiful London peri¬ 
odical, exponent of all garden charms and 
lore, a delight to every horticulturist, con¬ 
tinues to argue for the restoration of the Boft- 
toned and fragrant flowers of former genera¬ 
tions—the primroses, cowslips, violets, daffo¬ 
dils, daisies, forget-me-nots, etc., which have 
been pushed almost out ot sight by their more 
splendid bnt later sisters. Few of these have 
fragrance, save the heliotiope. The vernal 
flowers seem to say, "Love on and linger 
the glowing strangers say, " Worship and go.” 
And people do go, says the Gvrden. "The 
electric light is very beautiful hut for a con¬ 
tinuous object the softer light of the moon is 
preferable." A bit of glowing color here and 
there is very desirable, but there are so few 
who can deal with it in mass. " What a guy 
do some of these gaudy daubers make of Flora!” 
says a charming writer in the Garden.—8. K. 
H. No amount of beauty can stand a green 
bonnet with blue ribbons, a yellow body with 
a crimson skirt, black stockings and white 
shoes, mauve parasol and vermilion gloves! 
One is always safe wilh the old style of mixed 
border, or with a few good flowers in a corner. 
Nature sees to the harmonious arrangement 
and outline of her owu. The green carpet of 
clipped grass is the one-half of the best lawn 
or house-yard. New arrangements of its 
floral edging can be made every season, if 
notes are made when the desirableness of some 
change becomes apparent. " w.” 
-« « * - 
Hoaklng Aiparagui Seed. 
In reading the directions for treating the 
seeds of the Rural’s Free Seed Distribution, I 
notice that soaking the asparagus eeed is not 
mentioned; bnt my experience leads me to 
believe it to be of great advantage, whatever 
may be said of soaking seeds generally. As¬ 
paragus seed, on account of its hard, horny, 
outer coat, is very slow to germinate, and, as 
usually treated, often fails to germinate at all. 
It should be soaked in warm water for a week 
or ten days before sowing, or until the sprouts 
begin to show on the seeds. The dish contain¬ 
ing the seed should be placed where it will 
keep warm (the lop of the reservoir to a 
kitchen stove is a good place), and have the 
water changed several times. Treated thus, 
asparagus seed will " come up ” as quickly as 
corn, and not only save weeding but add a 
month to the length of the growing season, 
which will make quite a difference in the size 
of the plants the first year. L. W. Goodsll, 
provide as good and comfortable shelter as a 
dressed and painted pine board. 
A shed may be made by setting two rows of 
poles in the ground about 10 feet apart in the 
rows and the rows 16 feet apart. The front 
row may be eight feet high and the rear row 
five feet. A roof of poles and strips covered 
sheep is to suppose that these animals will I with thatch may be made and the ends and 
thrive without care or shelter. It is a common ' rear side filled in with coarse hay or straw, 
SHEEP 8HBD. — PIS. 284. 
error to believe that sheep do not need water; or even pine or hemlock brush, held between 
that in Summer they manage to get a supply light strips nailed on both sides of the up- 
frorn the. dew or rain on the grass, and that in right posts. For Western and Southern shep- 
the Winter they can lick the snow for drink. herds, this will make a serviceable shelter, 
So, wiih regard to eheiter, it is often supposrd and, being left open to the sont.h, will afford 
that with their woolen jackets they are proof protection against the prevalent storms. If 
against rains and storms and need only the lee the shed were continued on the east and west 
side of a fence or the side of a barn (the out- sides, as shown at Fig. 284, the shelter would 
SHEEP BARN.—BIG. 285. 
side) for shelter. This mistaken practice year- be perfect, and a fence in front would con- 
ly causes enormous loss, for which the sheep fine the sheep in a yard, in which they could 
are held responsible, and an idea becomes be fed in stormy weather. For a more pre- 
prevalent that these animals are weak and tentious sheep shed the same plan can be 
tender and that one always has bad luck with adopted, as shown in the illustration, Fig. 284, 
them. It iB most true, on the other hand, that which is intended to represent sheds for a 
sheep will repay, aB well as, if not better than, flock of 100 or more sheep. If it is desired, 
any other animal, all the reasonable care and room may be made above the shed for hay, 
SJ. A- K ~ 
GROUND PLAN OP BARN.—PIG. 236. 
attention that can be given to them, and that, and in that case the poles should be 10 or 12 
for the money invested in them, they will re- feet high; the hay floor being made about 
turn a larger profit than any other live stock. seven feet above the ground. The shed may 
Shelter is the principal thing, and it is not be 16 feet wide, with a full roof. A feed rack 
shelter from rain and storms alone that is re- should run around the whole shed and other 
quired by sheep; they need to be sheltered racks may be kepi in the yard, 
lrorn exposure to damp, from foul air and from A barn that has been found very convenient 
unwholesome sweating in confined, ill-venti- for Bheep is shown at Fig. 285. This is made 
SECTION OP BARN.—PIG. 237. DOOR.—PIG. 238. 
lated pens and stables. In short, they require 
all the sanitary precautions which every 
thoughtful man knows to be necessary to 
health, both as regards lodging as well as feed¬ 
ing. Luxury and costly provisions in the Bheds 
are not needed. The roughest hemlock board, 
a strip of bark, a wall wattled wilh straw or 
coarse hay or light poles—any of these will 
with the pens eight feet high ; the posts are 
eight feet apart aud swinging doors are fixed 
between each pair of posts. The doors are 
double, one hung above the other, so that the 
upper or lower oue, or both, can be closed 
when desired. The doors are hung upon pins 
fitted into the ends, as shown at Fig. 23g. Some 
of the pens may be Inclosed and kept for sep¬ 
SHEEP BARN AND SHED. 
A vert common mistake made by owners of 
arating ewes from the flock at lambing time. 
The upper part of the barn is kept for fodder 
and the interior arrangement is shown at Fig, 
237. aud tbe ground plan at Fig. 236. In the 
rear of the barn (at A, Fig. 237), is a root-cellar. 
At C, C, Fig. 236, is the feeding passage, over 
which are hay chutes to carry the hay into the 
rack D, Fig. 237, which opens into the stable 
by lathed bars placed up and down. The bars 
are not more thau three inches apart, to pre¬ 
vent the sheep from pushing their heads 
through and tearing the wool from the uecks. 
A feeding trough, E, Fig. 287, for grain or 
chopped roots, is under the hay rack and is 
opened or closed by a falling door or Bhutter, 
which when open, is hold by cords and hooks 
to the sloping bottom of the hay rack. A 
stair-case or steps B, Fig. 236. leads from the 
feeding passage to the hay floor and .the hay 
should be so arranged as to leave a pa sage-way 
above. The hay floor should be of matched 
boards to prevent dust and chaff from dropping 
on to the sheep and getting into the wool. 
Although abundant ventilation is provided 
for by the ample doors in frout of the shed, it 
will, nevertheless, be advisable to have at least 
two air-shafts from the stable to the roof. 
These should be about four by six feet, and 
made of matched boards some of which should 
be hung on binges and fastened by bolts that 
they may be used to pass hay dowu to the 
stable floor at times. These chutes should be 
two incues larger each way at the bottom than 
at the top, so that the hay will not lodge in 
them. The feed passage communicates with 
the root cellar by two or three doors, as may 
be convenient. With a cellar arranged as 
on this plan Ihe method of preserving corn 
fodder by ensilage may be very easily practiced 
if desired. 
©airjf Httstaitirrg. 
THE DAIRY COW. NO. 31. 
HENRY STEWART. 
Breeding Dairy Cow*. 
The dairy cow is an artificial production. 
As such she is Bnbject to coutinual improve¬ 
ment. We cannot tell within reasonable 
bounds what may be Ihe maximum product of 
a cow iu butter, although there are physiologi¬ 
cal bouuds within which the product of milk 
must always be confined. A cow can never 
produce more milk than the capacity of the 
ndder permits, and there is a limit to the Eize 
of the udder. It may perhaps, however, be 
justly considered that we have reached the ex¬ 
tent of all reasonable demands upon the cow’s 
power of producing butter, if we are to believe 
that this product may have reached the as¬ 
tounding quantiiy of nearly 800 pounds within 
a year and from one call to another, as has 
been claimed for more than one or two cows. 
If a cow can be made by the most careful 
breeding and feeding to produce half of this 
quantity, or an average product of one pound 
per day through the whole of a year, we may 
consider, perhaps, that we have reached the 
ultimate capacity of an ordinary cow. But it 
may very well be believed that this may be 
done by a continued course of judicious and 
Bkillful breeding. 
To do this the cow must be thoroughbred ; 
that is, each dairyman must for himself un¬ 
dertake a course of breeding in his herd, 
which must be rightly begun and rightly 
continued, aud wilh a right selection of 
materials. By continuing this course the 
dairyman will have, in lime, a thorough¬ 
bred herd, in which there will be a concentra¬ 
tion of the best blood aud the best qualities of 
the animals he has been able to secure for his 
use. Now one may start with but common¬ 
place materials, and by selection and the use 
of better blood from without, be may in a tew 
years have a herd of cows that will possess a 
similarity of character, being closely related 
both hi blood and milking quality. But it the 
dairyman cuu afford to begin with a selection 
of good cows aud introduce the blood of a 
superior kind of dairy stock, he can do in five 
years what he could only hope to do with 
poorer materials in tweniy. In this case time 
and money are equivalent and by the expend¬ 
iture of money, the labor of many years may 
be saved ; on the other hand, by this labor the 
mouey that would otherwise have to be ex¬ 
pended is saved. 
The duirytuau, then, who desires to set about 
Improving his stock of cows from within his 
own herd will select the best cows be can pro¬ 
cure aud will mate them with a bull of known 
pedigree and pure blood. This is the first 
essential. Without this there can be no suc¬ 
cess. It is the very corner-stone of improved 
breediug, and the ignoring of this requisite 
has led to the loss of yeais of labor, and to 
weary disappointment. The bull having been 
procured and the cows selected, it is well to 
have the animals mated in March, April and 
May if possible, for this will bring the calves 
at Buch a season that they will be weaned aud 
put on grass at the age when they oan have 
