THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
methods of training are resorted to. Some of 
these methods, however, may interest our 
amateur readers, and hence it is that, from 
time to time, we present them ns they appear 
in foreign journals. Pig. 504 shows arches of 
pear trees, taken from a photograph. Fig. 
505 shows the method of training pears hori 
zontallv on walls. The one on the left 
is a Passe Colmar pear, an early winter 
variety for early winter use, of excellent 
quality when well ripened on trees not per¬ 
mitted to overbear. The second, or middle one. 
is a Glout Morccau, also an early winter pear 
of good quality, though variable in different 
localities. It succeeds beat on the quiuce. The 
third pear is the Diehl also ripening in early 
Winter. This succeeds quite well on quince. 
The flesh is a trifle coarse, but juicy, sweet 
and buttery. Fig. 500 represents a Clairgeau 
trained on the horizontal espalier plan. It is 
on quince stock, and four years old. The 
Clairgeau is in this country very variable. 
It is sometimes of beautiful appearance, hav¬ 
ing a crimson cheek upon a yellow skin, and 
in quality rich and buttery. When thus 
grown, it brings the highest price in our 
November and December markets. It is, 
however, often granular and poor. However 
well it may succeed in England upon quince 
stock, we know of no case in which the quince 
stock is preferable here. 
The practice of dishorning grown cattle is J humanity should induce us to perform it at 
practiced quite extensively in some parts of the age when the least pain will be given, 
the West. The horn is cut or sawed off close to | The practice is common in some European 
the skull, and those who practice the system 
claim that it gives much less pain than one 
countries, especially in Ireland; but it ha3 
always been reprobated by humane people. 
PEAR ARCHES. Fig. 504. 
Soft Butter.— Major Henry E. Alvord. 
writing to the New England Homestead, says 
that soft butter is a very common thing ev 
ery where in wbat we know as dog-day weath¬ 
er, and by no mea^s uncommon under cer¬ 
tain circumstances at any season of the year. 
He means butter which comes soft from the 
churn, and refuses from that time on to take 
any shape or drmuess. It is lacking in grain, 
and always more like warm lard or poor 
grease than batter. Soft and uucomfortnble 
weather, which affects the cow and her food, 
as well as the milk after heing drawn, is un 
doubtedly the most common cause of soft but 
ter, but there are conditions, which itisdiffi 
cult to describe, belonging to certain pastures 
throughout the growing season, which also 
contribute to the same result, A more im¬ 
portant cause lies in the characteristics of the 
cow herself. There are some cows and famil 
ies of cowswbicb never will make firm but 
ter except it be held in form by unnatural 
cold On the other band, says the Major, 
there are families and breeds of cows, notably 
the Jerseys and the Guernseys, wherein it is 
an exception to find an animal whose butter 
is not firm at all seasons of the year, if the 
milk is properly treated. Butter from Chan¬ 
nel Island cows not only has this excellent 
quality of good texture and firmness, but re 
sists a higher degree of temperature before 
breaking down than that from any other 
breed known in America. 
Hoard’s Dairtm an says of Mrs. H. Lamb, 
of Alma City, Minn., whom it calls the 
“brightest dairy woman of that State,” that 
she made 5,715 pounds of butter in ju;t one 
year from twenty-three cows, eight of which 
were only two-year-old heifers—an average 
of 284 pounds per head, which was sold to 
private families in St. Paul and Mineapolts, 
at an average of twenty-six cents per pound, 
thus coiniug f 1485.90. The value of the 
grain food bought aud consumed was $8 08 
per cow. How does she get the yield? Sim¬ 
ply through generous feeding, winter dairy¬ 
ing, and milking improved stock, which con¬ 
sists of grade Jerseys and Short-horns, and— 
it need not be overlooked—her experience has 
taught her something, aud, so she says she is 
getting the Jersey blood to predominate as 
fast as she can. 
Dishorntno Cattle.— Dr. P. B. Clarke, 
speaking of the practice of dishorning cattle, 
says that in the genus Bos, the born proper is 
a hollow appendage of the skin, and in the 
young calf this is merely the matrix of the 
future born. At the age of 10 to 15 days, this 
matrix is but a small, movable promiuence, 
which may be removed by one sweep of a 
strong pocket knife. This operation causes 
but little pain, and soreness for only a day or 
so. The calf is not injured or stunted, and the 
wound heals more quickly than those caused 
by castrating. It is prolmble that this plan 
will bo quite as painless as the more common 
process of searing the young horn with a hot 
iron. In either case, there is apt to be a small 
bunch or horn at the side of the head. Where 
this practice is continued for several genera¬ 
tions, the horn often entirely disappears, and, 
1 n many irstaices, polled calves are produced. 
would suppose. We do not see how, with old 
cattle, the operation can be other than an ex 
ceedingly painful one. Where cattle are be¬ 
ing fed for beef, there must be a serious 
loss from such an outrage upon the system. 
A Remedy for Abortion.—D r. Grange 
of Lansing, Michigan, recommends Black 
Haw, (Viburnum pninifolium.) as a specific for 
abortion in animals. Many experiments made 
on a stock farm have given most satisfactory 
HORIZONTAL TRAINING. Fig. 505. 
We have known cattle to suffer a serious loss 
in flesh when one of the horns had been, by 
accident, broken away. It is far more danger¬ 
ous and painful to castrate a full grown bull 
than to perform the same operation on a calf. 
results. Out of 22 affected cows and one mare, 
ODly two failed to recover. The remedy was 
given in two ounce doses two or three times 
daily as soon as the auitnal showed any signs 
of the trouble. The treatment was continued 
CLAIRGEAU ESPALIER. Fig. 506. 
It seems reasonable to suppose that there is for about a week, after which the animals 
the same difference in dishorning a calf and a generally recovered. In the case of one cow, 
grown steer. If the operation produces the the tendency to abort was so persistent, that 
good results claimed for it, and is necessary, the treatment was continued until seven 
pounds of the powder had been given when 
she recovered. This remedy has been 
in use at the South for many years. It was 
first brought into prominent notice by Dr. D. 
L Pbares of Mississippi. It has certainly 
given excellent results, though it may not be a 
specific. 
aren’t these calumnies? 
Among many reasons why some farmers do 
not succeed, given by the Prince Edward 
Island Agriculturist, are the following: 
They are not active aud industrious. 
They do not keep up with improvements. 
They are wedded to old methods. 
They give no attention to details. 
They think small things not important. 
They take no pleasure in their work. 
They regard labor as a misfortune. 
They are wasteful and improvident. 
They let their gates sag and fall down. 
They will not make compost. 
They sell hav, grain and straw off the farm, 
instead of turning them into meat, cheese and 
butter, and increasing theirsupply of manure. 
They let their fowls roost in trees. 
They have no shelter for stock. 
They do not curry their horses. 
They leave their plows in the field. 
They hang the harness in the dust. 
They put off greasing the wagon. 
They don't know, that the best is the cheap¬ 
est. 
They have no method or system. 
They don’t seek the experience of others. 
They read politics instead of agriculture. 
They see no good in a new thing. 
They never nse paint on the farm. 
They have no time to do things well. 
They think two dollars are better invested in, 
wbiskv and tobacco, than in a good, weekly, 
agricultural paper. 
Early Cabbage and Lettuce.— From a 
circular received from Peter Henderson & 
Co., we take the following practical hints. 
The old system of wintering cabbage plants 
in cold frames is to a great extent abandoned. 
The following system is found to be cheaper 
8nd better. At New York the first sowing is 
made on Fehrnary 1st. Green houses are 
used where the temperature will average 
about 70 dpgrees; 60 at night, ai.d 80 during 
the day. It is found that a bot-bed, made 
with manure two feet deep, will answer the 
purpose. Sow the seed in shallow boxes, or¬ 
dinary soap boxes cut into three pieces are 
good. Anv light, rich soil will do. Enough 
seed should be used to produce 1.000 to 1.500 
plants in each box. Plants sown February 1st 
will be fit to transplant in about three or four 
weeks. For this purpose the same shallow 
boxes are used. At the bottom of each is 
placed an inch of well-rotted manure, cov¬ 
ered with an inch of any ordinary rich, light 
soil smoothed so as to be level. In a box about 
14x20 inches, about 150 plants are placed. The 
boxes are then placed in the ordinary cold- 
frames. which, however, have been protected 
with manure. Frost is kept out of these cold- 
frames by putting on three or four inches of 
dry leaves or manure before the soil freezes 
up, and by placing the sash on the frames two 
or three weeks before they are to be used. 
Place the boxes as closely together as possible. 
Tn a bright sun the plants should be shaded 
for a few davs until they take root. Most 
important of all Is to cover the sashes with 
straw mats at uiebt so securely that no frost 
will reach the plants in the cold-frames. 
Plauts grown in this way will be in fine con¬ 
dition for transplanting in the open air by 
April 1st These dates refer particularly to 
this locality. In other districts they may be 
changed. The greatest care must be taken to 
keep the frost away from the plants and to 
preserve the proper ventilation and tempera¬ 
ture. 
BY THE SHORT WAY. 
A FEW years ago. says the Canadian Breed¬ 
er. a hornless cow was looked upon by cattle 
men about as a pacing horse was regarded by 
horsemen. Neither was considered quite up 
to the mark. Subsequent events have demon¬ 
strated the fact that polled cattle are distinct 
and highly valued breeds. They have a dis¬ 
tinct purpose to accomplish in farm economy. 
The D. S Dairyman says that in these days 
of low prices.it pays to have every cheese 
gilt edged. The "geueral purpose farmer” 
will continue to work cheaply by making the 
bulk of his production when it is worth the 
least. It is a great pity some of our great 
strapping men cannot go to school to some of 
our dairy woroeu and learn the business. Feed 
the cow a generous ration of appetizing food 
every dav, and she will not shrink in her milk- 
flow till the proper time comes. 
Prof. Henry, of Wisconsin, from tests es¬ 
timates corn-stalks as worth one third as much 
as the same weight of mixed hay for feeding. 
