gas-tube, with a rod inside, could be pushed 
through the grain to the bottom of the bin, 
then the rod could be removed, and the liquid 
poured in, and the tube quickly pulled out. 
The vupor would fill the spaces about the 
grain, auil deal out death to the little pests. 
There is only oue objection to the use of this 
substance in this way—it is as explosive as it 
is volatile, aud, in careless hands, might result 
in a serious blow-up. Of course, in a close 
room or biu a lighted match or a lamp would 
be very dangerous if the vapor was also pre¬ 
sent. But the odor is very peuetrating, and 
there would be no danger if a modicum of 
caution were used, Veutilation quickly dis¬ 
pels the vapor, and no one could fail to scent 
the explosive if it were present. We have 
only to withhold lights or any llame till the 
odor is gone. 
Fig. 2 represents Tinea granella both nat¬ 
ural size and enlarged, with wings spread. 
The larva is shown at a, of its actual size and 
magnified; b is the pupa; c grains of wheat 
held together with a web. 
first to publish photographs of living Ameri¬ 
can animals and has found no reason to regret 
the change from hand-drawing, however 
nearly the attempt to picture the animal on 
paper may have succeeded. The engravings 
referred to, of a ram aud a group of shear¬ 
lings of the Leicester breed, fully justify the 
preference given to photographs over draw¬ 
ings. The sheep here illustrated are wonder¬ 
fully life-like and show the fine points of this 
magnificent breed to perfection. 
The Leicester is not considered as one of the 
even for his flock unless he knows how, and 
is willing to give his flock, especially the ram, 
the very best care and attention ; and this 
includes high feeding and the use of roots for 
tins purpose. 
to the value of land, its greater or less fer¬ 
tility, cost of labor and mildness or severity 
of climate. The price of mutton and wool 
would likewise vary considerably at- different 
times, which would also have to be taken in¬ 
to consideration, In fact, in order to fully 
settle such a matter, the experiments should 
be continued for a series of years; perhaps 
10 would be as few as necessary to accomplish 
this properly. 
The Agricultural Gazette states that the 
flocks of sheep in England have been reduced 
of late years 0,000,000 in number. This is an 
enormous falling off, and probably the losses in 
Scotland and Ireland have been proportion¬ 
ately as large, owing to the long disastrous 
weather preva ling, and the diseases arising 
from it in the United Kingdom. 
Mutton is now quoted at Is. to Is. 6d. per 
stone of eight pounds dearer than beef. This 
would be three to 4).j cents per pound of our 
money. Down mutton is rapidly displac¬ 
ing that of the long-wooled breeds, it is so 
superior in quality, and it is not only more 
palatable but more economical, which facts 
assist also in showing that the carcass may 
pay much better than the fleece and further 
encourage us in rearing this sort of sheep. A. 
MUTTON VERSUS WOOL IN ENGLAND 
In the Rural of December 17, “ Stock- 
man ” says, “ A correspondent stated recently 
that, in regard to sheep in England, mutton 
was considered first and wool last. This is 
In the Fall of 1880 I saw the Russian Black- 
bearded Wheat iu a seed store in Philadelphia, 
Pa., both thrashed and iu the straw. I pur¬ 
chased oue peck and twelve heads. After ex¬ 
hibiting them at two fairs I shelled out the 
twelve heads aud put the grain with the peck 
aud sowed all. It grew very well; there was 
nothing remarkable about it till ripe, when, 
behold, it was the whitest straw, chaff and 
beards 1 ever beheld. Not one head could 
be found that showed the least resemblauce to 
the twelve heads iu color, but iu all other re¬ 
spects it was all a perfect fac-sirnile. It grew 
on a high, dry, rich, new laud, which had nev¬ 
er been cultivated except for one crop of Early 
Rose potatoes. In the Fall of 1879 I cleared it 
off, burnt an immeuse amount of brush, logs, 
stumps, leaves, etc., aud plowed It very deep, 
harrowed and marked it out very deep, aud 
planted it to potatoes in November. I 
covered the potatoes with horse stable 
manure aud obtained an extra crop of 
tubers. I then plowed it in October, 1880, 
and sowed my Russian Black-bearded Wheat. 
The grain is uot as white as that of 
Clawson; it might be called amber. On 
account of its great beauty and whiteness, 
I exhibited one bushel aud two sheaves tins 
Fall at several State fairs. The best potatoes 
1 have ever raised were planted iu October, 
November and December. In regal'd to my 
Prussian Black-bearded, I supposed I had been 
deceived; 1 supposed the peck was not Russian 
Black-bearded, and not oue grain of the twelve 
heads I mixed with the peck grow, hence I had 
not one head with a black beard. W fiat think 
you i John L. Mustard. 
Washington Co., Pa. 
Remarks. —We presume our friend has ref¬ 
erence to what has been called the Black- 
bearded Centennial—though this is not a Rus¬ 
sian wheat. Soils and climates uuquestiona- 
bly affect the color of straw, chuff, beards 
and kernels. We have had a number of heads 
of Black-bearded Centennial ('‘Golden Grains") 
sent to us with white beards. A considerable 
proportion of the crop grown at the Rural 
Farm bore white beards. It may be worthy 
of note that the black beards were more 
twisted—more spiral—than the white beards. 
Eds. 
LEICESTER RAM.—(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH)—FIG. 3. 
old-established pure races of English sheep, i not correct, althoug 
because it dates back only to about 1750, or portant considerate 
130 years ago. There was then a Leicester ing sheep.” To pro 
breed, but it was no more like the modem from a “ prominent 
improved Leicester than a Texan steer is like sume an extra-caref 
a high-class Short-horn or Hereford. The Dora, 
facts are that Mr. Bakewell, the great and I have no doubt it 
successful breeder of Long horn cattle and of may be correct, for 
these sheep, was the founder of the present L perhaps not quite 
race of Leicesters ; and that he was a breeder to that of the Soutl 
who carried out his ideas of what was re- superior, because bei 
quired to make a porfecc animal, without re- ing, it usually brinj 
gard to conventionalisms, axioms, rules, or shorter South Down 
beliefs of other breeders, He did just what a broad instead of £ 
he had a mind to, even to the employing of a When iu England 
black ram, of tno finest form, however, to repeated excursions 
improve the whitest of the white-wool sheep. for the purpose of e: 
A flue Leicester is a beautiful animal, square ttnd studying the 
all over as it were, both on the side aud the breeding and rea 
back, deep in flank and brisket, wide over the many of these in 
shoulders aud the rump, aud full and round they universally if 
in the loin. It has no top-knot, but a broad, wu3 their d iief pvoji 
bare torehead, With large, prominent, lustrous co „ dd e ration The 
eyes, a hue roman nose ; thin, sometimes a of sh there ou th 
little drooping, ears, a thin, soft elastic skiu iu spite o£ the hefit 
through which the rich blood shows iu a geu- wool would get shtv 
eral pinky tint and prominent blue veins. was a dead loss to 
The skin is covered with the softest, silky aware that a fesv 
wool of remarkably flue fiber and seven or high-priced Downs b 
more inches iu length. This beautiful, high- closeness, evenness, 
L)i ed sheep, uniottunately, is not the farmer's but these may be se 
«b«p for it requires the greatest rare aud the In th8 Loudo „' 
^ T a' December 5, I liu 
till lit ,011! its great value, to use the words , , , ., ' . ., . 
of the Agricultural Gazette, is in regard to < * U0 e , a T |' S ' ' '. ° 
the way in which it has improved other V T Recko f 
breeds. It is, in fact, among sheep, what the ° ° lU T U! ' ' 
Duchess family is among Short-horns. Wher- ,* 0 v ' l) ° 
ever its blood is mingled with that of inferior . L 7,". ' , n"*'^ 
breeds it stamps its conspicuous mark upon , S ^ 
them, but this is, for all practical purposes, the ° _ a ’ e luo 
end and purpose of a high-bred race of ani- P° uuc t01 ' tlie mutt 
PIG NOTES AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD, 
COLONEL F. D. CURTIS, 
Instinct is a good teacher, and by observ¬ 
ing it we may unwittingly learn valuable les¬ 
sons. When our pigs rau in the pasture, we 
often noticed them rooting over the coal 
ashes which were thrown into that field, and 
we found that they picked out and ate all the 
charred bits of coal. Since that discovery the 
coal ashes have been kept dry in Whiter and 
have been thrown into the pens where the pigs, 
following the same instincts, have eaten all of 
the cinders. The ashes, being dry, help to 
absorb the juices aud are thrown cut into the 
iuauure heap aud add to its volume. This is 
the most economical way to dispose of coal 
ashes which are often left to accumulate 
arouud the back door, making an unsightly 
pile, or are thrown into the street, which is 
equally objectionable. Where pigs r un out 
into a yard, the ashes could be thrown into it, 
where they could likewise be accessible to the 
pigs. When allowed au opportunity to exer¬ 
cise its instincts, a pig becomes its own phy¬ 
sician and mingles these cinders with its food, 
thereby neutralizing the acidity of the stom¬ 
ach and promoting digestion. The charred 
pieces of coal counteract the fermentation of 
the food and help to keep up the appetite by 
strengthening the tone of the stomach. Pigs 
when strongly fed are always more or less 
troubled with dyspepsia. Charcoal is un¬ 
doubtedly better as a corrective and absorb¬ 
ent than the cinders of coal, but it is not so 
easily obtained. We are careful to give our 
pigs charcoal also, which they eat greedily, 
aud it would be well to sift all wood ashes to 
get as much charcoal as possible for the pigs. 
Both of these antidotes for fermentation in 
the stomach are especially beneficial and im¬ 
portant while pigs are being fattened, as at 
this time their digestion is more liable to be 
overtaxed. A healthful digestion makes a 
healthful and rapid growth, while there is 
very little gain when the stomach is flatulent 
and feverish, as such a stomach will not digest 
and assimilate food. It will receive it, but 
this function is not enough. 
A close observation by farmers would teach 
them that less corn and a greater variety in 
food would produce just as much growth. 
When clear corn is fed, pigs will eat more than 
they can digest, and 
i - ■ - - i ^ _ the undigested por- 
tion k voided w ith- 
• . jii,, •t'QW.O, outdoing them any 
s ° od ’ but rather 
harm, as it is a law 
of physiology that 
an Over - crowded 
stomach deranges 
the whole system; 
'aL* }W . hence there should 
iPilyv a ^ang© t°od 
daily. It is an old 
$477 ♦ rule and a good one, 
that pigs 8hould 56 
\ 7 - 1 777^* fed a little at a time 
—- "vvin and often, 
Ihk accompauying engravings are copies 
from the London Agricultural Gazette. This 
exemplary journal enjoys the credit of being 
the first iu Euglaud 
to uiako engravings __ _■ ■ 
from photographs of v--.'-■->»■ 
Jiving animals, and 
by its persistence in 
educated for a time 
to realize the exact 
truth as shown by -L. 
a photograph, but it 
is equally true that it 
needs training and educating to appreciate the 
poiuts of the living animal itself. The truth 
must exist in a photograph, and if the ob¬ 
server can bring his eye into the position of 
the lens of the camera as regards the object 
the truth will be perceived. The Rural New- 
- W'o- > v>- 
.-.*r 
Pigs are 
ouniiverous animals, 
hence to confine 
them to one article 
of food is unnatural. We tested this the 
other day by putting into the peus a few 
sugar beets while the pigs were eating their 
dinner of com meal and wheat middlings, 
and every one of them left it for the beets, 
which they ate up before they returned to 
the other food. This experiment has led us 
SILEARLING LEICESTER RAMS. 
Cotswold may be considered ahead of the 
Leicester by many who are used to it, but 
the latter—the Bakewell breed, as it is fre¬ 
quently called here—has all the good poiuts of 
the former for producing grades, aud some 
that are superior. Still we should hesitate to 
advise auy farmer to select a Leicester ram 
(FROM A PHOTOGRAl’H.)—FIG. 4. 
cultural colleges ought to take hold of the 
matter, and make repeated experiments with 
the various breeds of sheep. We could then 
better tell which pays best for the care be¬ 
stowed and cost of food consumed to produce 
both wool aud mutton. This would vary 
considerably in the United States, according 
\ 
