JUNE SO 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
and a horse being yoked to it, the millstone was 
caused to describe a circular course. The course 
was paved, and the whins laid upon it were 
bruised by the millstone passing Over them. Or 
they may bo bruised by a spiked roller working 
against rows of spikes fixed in a frame, or, by 
passing them through one of the disintegrating 
machines now becoming common, as Carter’s 
disintegrator, or by cutting them up along with 
a little straw by means of a common straw-cut¬ 
ter. The last mode of preparation reduces them 
sufficiently for horses, especially if passed twice 
through the straw-entter, but is not so suitable 
for cows or other cattle. Walsh’s machine is a 
very efficient one for reducing whins to a Boft 
and eatftblo condition. It consists of a pair or 
two pairs of axles, of which thoso forming one 
pair are caused to revolve in opposite directions. 
On each axle are fixed a row of saw-toothed 
discs, and the axles of each pair are placed at 
such a distance that the discs work into each 
other, and so tear up and crush the whins. 
Whins do not thrive on good land, but on poor, 
open, gravelly soils, on which It is difficult to 
grow remunerative crops, they will grow luxuri¬ 
antly, and produce annually an amount of green 
food averaging perhapB about ton tons per acre, 
and worth not loss, under any circumstances, 
than five dollars per acre. It is, therefore, sur¬ 
prising that they are not cultivated to a much 
greater ex tout than at present ou tho soils for 
which they are adapted. Thoy are protected 
against drought by the depth to which their 
roots descend. Their roots are also able to draw 
supplies of food from a lower stratum of tho Boil 
or subsoil than other plants, and thus avail them- 
selveB of resources which otherwise are inacces¬ 
sible. 
Whin seed may bo sown broadcast at the rate 
of twenty or thirty pounds per acre, with a 
grain crop following a green crop. When once 
established, whins will yield a full crop annually 
for a good many years, and as tho ouly expense, 
in addition to rent, is that of cutting and pre¬ 
paring them, they yield, on suitable soils, a 
larger profit than any other crop. 
Furze or whin is a small, slcuder-branohed 
evergreen shrub, belonging to the lAguminoscE 
or pea-family of plants. The loaves uro small 
and somewhat spiny; the flowers are also small 
and butterfly-shaped and yellow. It is not hardy 
in tho Northern States, the stems lulling down 
in winter, hut the roots usually survive and 
throw up vigorous shoots in spring. The dwarf 
furze ( VUx nanus) succeeds best ou high, dry 
grounds, and would probably be valuable for the 
Middle and Houthern .States, and doubtless would 
be valuable ou the high, dry Western plains, 
especially in Southern Colorado, New Mexico 
and California. We have cultivated the differ¬ 
ent species of furze aw oruamental plants, hat 
have never tosted it for feeding stock. 
■-♦ ♦ » - ' ■ 
BEST KIND OF CORN. 
I notick by the agricultural journals that a 
much larger area of corn is planted iu the New 
England States this spring than iu many pre¬ 
vious years. Now, I think this is a step in tho 
right direction. In my opinion, Eastern farmers 
can raise them own corn cheaper thau they can 
get it from the West. It is worth trying, at any 
rate. With improved culture and proper selec¬ 
tion of seed, the crop oau he doubled; therefore, 
it stands the farmer iu hand to be very careful 
in the selection of seed, and to plant tho variety 
best adapted to his looaHty. I am much inter¬ 
ested in this question, and would like tho views 
of some of the readers, as well as tho Editor of 
this paper in regard to the best variety for the 
hill farmors, in Bleuben and Chemung comities, 
to plant. Corn that grows on the river flats does 
not succeed well on the hills, as the season is not 
long enough. Still, some plant it and sometimes 
get a good crop. Clifton. 
,J-arm <5nnionu). 
AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, AND MANU- 
FACTURE. 
The first ought to be most important, for 
from earth we came and to earth wo must re¬ 
turn ; yet the best educated and tho cloarest 
minds are almost certain to engage in commerce, 
manufacture, or in professional life. Still, men 
are fond of tho country, and when any of the 
brightest intellects have, by exercise of skill or 
scientific knowledge, gained wherowith to gratify 
their inclination, they almost invariably procure 
a country seat, and turn their attention to mod¬ 
ern systems of agriculture. 
A visit, to a very large manufactory in Brook¬ 
lyn, has set thoughts afloat as to whether the 
same extraordinary skill, oombined with patience 
and perseverance, would not produce from a 
farm marketable commodities which would com¬ 
mand a very remunerative price, and meet with 
no immediate competition. A progressive man¬ 
ufacturer or a professional man, would not be 
ruled by any views entertained by such men as 
they intend to give the go-by to, nor would they 
deal in or purchase the same kind of stock which 
haH been paying next to nothing for raising all 
through the county. 
Proceeding on a system similar to tbe purely 
commercial one, a decidedly superior article must 
be introduced, and nothing at ftU common be 
used excepting common sense. This would at 
once suggest the propriety of growing such crops 
and breeding such stock as would be sought as a 
rarity on account of its coming into market so 
early as to meet with nothing to prevent the ob¬ 
taining of a price to pay handsomely for tho tact 
employed in getting ahead of all opposition. 
Rest assured that brain work will do far more 
than drudging hard labor, and as the ©ducated, 
thinking director of any enterprise, outside of 
agriculture, never depends on the sweat of his 
brow, so may the fanners of the next generation 
laugh to scorn the idea of a master-mind des¬ 
cending so low as not to be able to take hold of 
a farm and conduct the business in the same 
gentlemanly, leisurely manner as any of the mer¬ 
chants in New York. These do not toil and take 
off their coats, saying, “come along, boys,” or 
declare that he who by bis store would tlirive, 
must take a stick and work or drive. 
George Gardener. 
- . -»•»» - 
EARLY HAYING. 
We have always advocated cutting grass for 
hay early for reasons heretofore given in these 
columns, hence we fully endorse tho following, 
from the National Live Stock Journal, on tbe 
subject: 
It is condensed, as it would appear, from a 
Vermont agricultural report, in which there is 
given an account of the practice of Mr. Amaro 
Scott, a merchant of Craftsbury, in that State, 
who, for several years, has been in tho habit of 
having his grass cut and in the barn before any 
heads appear; his theory being “that if the 
grasB is cut before the seed-stalk commences to 
Bhoot upward, tho same Btalk that iB cut off will 
continue to grow, instead of starting a new 
shoot from the root, as is the case where the 
cutting is delayed until tho Heed-stalk is partially 
or fully developed, lie thus secures an earlier 
growth for tho succeeding crop.” His small 
farm is in tbe bighOHt condition, and produces in 
favorable seasons three crops. Scales are kopt 
on tho place, and in conducting his experiments 
he weighs bis crops, etc. 
In favorable seasons bo has out as high as five 
tons per acre at tho three cuttings, 25 pounds of 
which, by actual experiment, was the amount 
per day required to keep a largo cow in tho 
highost condition, and 30 pounds per day, fod to 
a pair of yearling steers, without any other food, 
produced an average growth of over three 
pounds per day during, the entire winter. In 
the production of milk and butter, Mr. Scott's 
experiments, hero detailed, Hhow this early-out 
grass to be greatly superior to ordinary, as it is 
also in feeding young steers for the market. A 
pair of steers, sold at the age of 24 months, 
weighed 2,610 pounds, and diossed 1,51)0 pounds. 
Another pair, half Short-Horn blood, at 28 
months old, weighed 2,740 pounds, and had 
made a gain during tho preceding 12 months of 
no less thau 100 pounds per month, and an 
average growth from birth of 110 poimdB per 
month. All these cattle were raised on skim 
milk, with hay-tea and dried grass ; no grain of 
any kind or roots were fed to any of them, ex¬ 
cept the last pah for a while before they were 
sold. The feeder, being short of the dried grasB, 
was compelled to feed common hay, and, to keep 
his cattle from growing poor, was obliged to 
feed potatoes and meal, but he says that during 
this very period his cattle made the slowest 
growth. 
Those experiments and the deductions of Mr. 
Scott are certainly worth tho attention of intelli¬ 
gent farmers. Two facts having au immediate 
bearing upon the subject, and strongly corrobo¬ 
rative of these deductions, must ho regarded as 
unquestionable, to wit:—First, that green grass 
will fatten stock and make tho best of beef and 
mutton ; while the best of hay, as generally cut 
and cured, does not, as a general rule, when fed 
in the most liberal quantities, keep stock from 
running down in condition during the winter. 
Tho other fact is, that while, aB a general thing, 
our meadows show a diminished production 
from year to year, even on good lands, on the 
same lands tbe pastures, under proper manage¬ 
ment, are found to improve with age. The first 
fact tends to prove that our bay is not cut early 
euough to preserve the highest nutritive value 
of the grass; and tho second fact tends to prove 
that allowing tho grass to mature before cutting 
injuriously affects the future ’life of the plant. 
It seems to us that curing grass cat so early may 
he attended with difficulty; but, Mr. Scott says, 
he generally gets it into cook the first day, and 
into tho bai n tbe second, with favorable weather. 
At all events, we regard these experiments as 
worthy of being repeated by our farmers ; and 
whatever may be the final conclusion, we are 
satisfied that it will be found that we must cut 
earlier. 
■-- 
FENCES. 
I have often been surprised, while looking 
over farms in the Middle and New England 
States, to see the amount of fences which are 
built on them and have to he kept in repair. It 
is an expensive and, in my estimation, a useless 
job to keep so much fence in good order, to say 
nothing of the great cost of building it. More¬ 
over, there is another matter to be taken into 
consideration. Where a farm is cut up into 
small lots, a great deal of time is wasted in 
turning about with a mowing-machine or rake, 
and also in plowing and harrowing, and time at 
the seasons when these labors are needed is very 
valuable. Again, they occupy ft great deal of 
land and provide a shelter for injurious insects, 
animals, and weeds. 
It is said that in Massachusetts alone the 
fences and stone walls cost twenty-five millions 
of dollars, and the annual repairs four more. 
Now, at least cne-half of this amount is a waste, 
and should be devoted to a bettor use. And 
what is true of Massachusetts is also true of tbe 
other States. We are not obliged to fence the 
highway (unless it is beside our pastures), then 
why do it ? Fields look a great deal hotter when 
cultivated to the road, with no clumsy fence and 
a lot of brush between. When you cut the 
grass, you mow clear to the road, aud thus no 
weeds grow to spread over your farm and thoHe 
of your neighbors. 
I say, away with so much dividing and road 
fences, and keep your pastures only well fenced, 
and devote the time now used in repairing use¬ 
less fences to improving your fields, buildings, 
front yard, and your mind byroading and study. 
Corning, Steuben Co., N. Y. Clifton. 
ABUNDANT WATER FOR COWS- 
As tho torrid days of summer are oppressively 
upon us, it is very essential that stock should 
have an abundanoe of good, fresh water. The 
importance of providing an ample sufficiency of 
this for cows, cannot well be over-estimated. 
Willard’s Practical Dairy Husbandry says forci¬ 
bly on this subject, that every practical dairy¬ 
man must have observed bow rapidly cows shrink 
of their milk in hot, dry weather, when water is 
scarce and the animals do not get their usual 
supply. But although in such cases the cause 
of milk falling off is tracod to its true Bouroe, 
many forget to take a hint from such observa¬ 
tion in their managamont of milch stock during 
tho summer and fall. Cows, of course, will live 
where the daily supply of water is limited, and 
by yielding a less quantity of milk, they adapt 
themselves to the circumstancos under which 
thoy are placed. And if water is not abundant, 
or is situated in out-of-the-way places, where it 
is not easy of access, tho animals soon educate 
themselves to get along with a much less quan¬ 
tity thau they would were it placed before them 
in abundance. Up to a certain point, tho animal 
will accommodate herself without complaint to 
the conditions, and it often happens that be¬ 
cause cows show no very marked uneasiness or 
falling off in flesh, it is supposed they got all the 
water thoy require, when, in point of fact, they 
are taking only a limited supply. Herds thus 
situated do not yield largo returns. The fault is 
not In tho cows, but iu their management. Now, 
milch cows should rather be induced to take all 
the water they will, aud at no time should they 
be allowed to Buffer from thirst. A oow that 
gives a large quantity of milk, must of ueceBsity 
require more water, other things being equal, 
than the cow that gives only a small quantity 
of milk ; for wo must remember that of the con¬ 
stituents of milk, eighty-seven parts or there¬ 
about are water. 
To what extent tho quantity of milk can he 
increased and at the same time a good quality be 
secured, by induciug the animal to take an abun¬ 
dant quantity of liquid, is still a question unde¬ 
termined, but that milk of good quality can in 
thismanuer be increased and without injury to 
the animal, there is not the BlighteBt doubt. 
Upon this point we have some interesting ex¬ 
periments by M. Dancel, as communicated to 
the French Academy of Sciences. He found that 
by inciting cows to drink large quantities of 
water, the quantity of milk yielded by them can 
be increased several quarts per day without ma¬ 
terially injuring its quality. The amount of 
milk obtained, he says, is approximately pro¬ 
portionated to the quantity of water drank. 
Cows which, when stall-fed with dry fodder, 
gave only from nine to twelve quarts of milk 
per day, at once produced from twelve to four¬ 
teen quarts daily, wheu their food was moistened 
by mixing with it from eighteen to twenty-three 
quarts of water per day. Besides this water 
taken with the food, the animals were allowed to 
drink at the same intervals as before, and their 
thirst was excited by adding to their fodder a 
small quantity of salt. The milk produced un¬ 
der the water regimen, after having been care¬ 
fully analyzed as to its chemioal and physical 
properties, was adjudged to he of good quality, 
and excellent butter was obtained from it. 
Tho precise proportion of water which can 
thus be given to cows with advantage, ho says, 
is a point not readily determinable, Binee the 
appetite for drink differs very considerably in 
different animals. But by observing the degree 
of the appetite for drink in a number of cows, 
by taking note of the quantity of water habitu¬ 
ally consumed by each of the animals in the 
course of twenty-four hours, and contrasting 
this quantity with that of the milk produced, 
M. Dancel asserts that any one can see that the 
yield of milk is directly proportionate to the 
quantity of water absorbed. He asserts, more¬ 
over, that a cow that does not habitually drink 
as much as twenty-seven quarts of water per 
day—and he has met with such—is actually and 
necessarily a poor milker. She will give only 
from five and a half to sevou quarts of milk por 
day. But all the cows he has seen which drank 
as much as fifty quarts of water daily, were ex¬ 
cellent milkers, yielding from nineteen to twen- 
three quarts of milk. In his opinion the quan¬ 
tity of drink consumed by a cow is a valuable 
test of her worth as a milk producer. 
Now, whether tho inferences drawn by Dancel 
from his experiments be strictly true in any par¬ 
ticular or applicable in all cases, need not bo 
discussed for the present, but they illustrate in 
some degree, at least, facts familiar to practical 
men. The most common observer must have 
taken note that in the human family tbe mother 
suckling her infant reqnires and consumes more 
liquids than she did before or after her period 
of nnrsing. And the practical dairyman must 
have been dull indeed if ho has not observed tho 
difference in the appetite of cowb for water be- 
foro and after they have begun to give milk. 
Tho lesson which practical dairymen should 
learn from these facts is that cows, to yield the 
best returns, must bo provided with an abun¬ 
dance of pure water, so located that it is oasy of 
access at &U times. In fine, that inducements 
hold out in this way for cows to driuk, are a 
paying investment to dairymen. But while 
milch cows can bo made to yield larger roturns 
by a judicious use of liquids, wo cannot recom¬ 
mend pushing tho point to that excess which 
may affect tho health of stock or reduce the 
quality of milk to a low standard. 
-♦♦♦- 
CURING CHEESE AND IMPROVING THE 
P RODUCT . 
A very interesting nddress was made by N. 
A. Willard of Little Falls, N. Y., at the last 
session of the Vermont Dairymen’s Association, 
on the philosophy of curing and improving 
choose. He said that American cheese will not 
be likely to reach its highest excellence until 
more attention is given to tbe construction of 
curing houses. Tho more important points iu it 
may he gained by this summary : 
1. That but little advance can be made in the 
quality of our best fancy cheese without special 
care in curing. 
2. That by proper attention in curing it is pos¬ 
sible to reach the highest excellence in the cheese 
product. That by this means immense losses 
now annually sustained may be avoided, while 
consumption will be promoted. 
3. That the proper temperature for curing 
cheese, to get the best result in quality, has been 
determined by experiment to be from 70 to 75 3 
Fah. 
4. That the temperature above named must 
be uniform, and that uuoven temperatures, by 
alternately checking and unduly increasing fer¬ 
mentation, cause bitterness aud other objection¬ 
able taints in cheese. 
5. That moisture is an important element in 
cheese ; that it should be properly distributed 
through the solids and so assimilated as to form 
one homogeneous mass, mellow and plastic, giv¬ 
ing the cheese the appearance of great richness. 
6. That at least from thirty to thirty-three per 
cent, of moisture should be retained in curing 
cheese; that, as we decrease the percentage of 
moisture from this point, the percentage of but¬ 
ter must be increased to obtain mellowness of 
texture; that the cheese is not improved in taste 
by this substitution, which is often a serious loss, 
aud this loss may always he estimated to be in 
proportion between the cost of water and fat. 
7. That by proper temperature and attention 
in retaining a right proportion of moisture, tho 
cheeso is not only of better flavor and quality, 
but a saving in weight of from three to four per 
cent, is made to the producer over the ordinary 
methods of curing. 
8. That by the use of refrigerator rooms a 
cheese may be kept at any desirable point of 
flavor, and thus by holding when the markets 
are dull or the weather unsuitable for shipping, 
tho intervening space of time may bo bridged 
over by the factories without detriment to the 
flavor or quality of the cheese. 
