the pipe. Even this would not stop the water 
from spurting out of the relief pipe, and a 
tank was put iu the building and the end of 
Then, whenever the 
is’mueh more than doubtful. Whatever ad¬ 
vantage there might be in the cross for beef 
purposes, it is more than likely there would 
be a falling off in milk, as the Hereford eow 
is a poor milker at the best, and a Hereford bull 
should not be used on dairy cows unless one 
intends to change from milk , butter or cheese 
to beef production. It is hardly likely that a 
Hereford-Short-horn cross would mature a 
year earlier than a pure-bred Short-horn with 
the same feed and i are,] 
I should adopt the same plan with a flock of 
small-boned sheep, taking care, of course, not 
to make too great a departure at once, gradu¬ 
ally breeding up until I had a good mutton 
sheep that would cotoe to an early maturity, 
the ewes raising at least two lambs apiece. 
[R. N.-Y.—It has taken years and a great 
deal of study, intelligence and experience, to 
produce our present breeds of mutton sheep, 
and it is hardly likely that our fripud could 
produce a better kind by the course he thinks 
he would follow. The ewes of none of our pres¬ 
ent excellent breeds average ‘ l at least two 
lambs apiece”—that is. in one season-1 
So with the. swine. The small kinds ripen 
early; but are not so profitable ns those of me¬ 
dium size. But the largest require too long 
a time to bring them to maturing; consequent¬ 
ly should be abandoned as unprofitable. 
Rrift Co . Pfl, A. C. RHODES. 
A BARREL CUCUMBER PATCH. 
Last year I raised from one hill 1,200 cu¬ 
cumbers. and had it not crowded on to a grass 
plot, the yield must have been more, for. as it 
was, fully two-thirds grew on one-half the hill. 
To do this I take a cheap barrel with one good 
head, fill it two-thirds or more with manure, 
bore holes around above the middle, sink it a 
little into the ground, throw dirt up around it 
nearly to the top—say six niches above the 
holes! so that it will not settle below them. I 
sow the seed freely and leave about 12 ol the 
best plant®. The vines will grow 10 to 12 feet. 
Into the barrel I run a pipe from the sink, but 
fixed so that a surplus of water runs into an¬ 
other hill. The cucumbers sometimes were 
very small when picked. I think the seeds 
were marked Boston Cluster. G. w. s. 
Addison, N. Y. 
ually for two or three months, the springs will 
not give more than half the amount they us¬ 
ually do. When the supply to run a ram falls 
short, and the air enters the feed pipe, the 
ram stops and will not start again even when 
the supply becomes as great as at first. It is 
then necessary for some person to start it. To 
avoid this trouble the regulator may be used, 
aud, when the supply runs low, it stops the 
ram by closing the upper end of the feed pipe 
until the water accumulates at the supply 
box; it then starts it again. 
Figs. 184 and 185 represent the double ram. 
the pipe turned into it, 
stop at the bottom was opened aud suddenly 
closed, a little water would run into the tank. 
A Mr. Whitehurst, a watchmaker of Bristol, 
used an arrangement like this with au air- 
chamber on it, and patented it in 1772, calling 
it the “Whitehurst ram.” This "was not 
automatic, and was not of much value. About 
this time, Joseph Moutgolfier was experiment¬ 
ing iu hydraulics and invented an automatic 
ram which he claimed he had conceived be¬ 
fore he had heard of the Whitehurst ram. 
This ram was patented in Euglnud, Dec. 13th, 
1797, by Mr. Boulton, of the celebrated firm 
of Boulton & Watt. The adaptability of this 
invention to a practical use was lost sight of 
until within the last 50 years. As far as is 
kuown, the ram was first used in this country 
in Chester Co., Penn., in 1843, aud since that 
time the construction of such devices has boon 
very much improved. At the present time 
there are several thousands iu use, aud there 
is no doubt that it' the principle and usefulness 
of the contrivance were better kuown, the 
number would be greatly increased. 
The principle of the single and double ram 
may be compared with the blow of a hammer. 
It is not merely the weight of the hammer 
that drives the nail, but it is the momentum 
it acquires in falling. In the ram, it is the 
momentum obtained by suddenly stopping 
the flow of water in the feed pipe, which 
raises the water. It is necessary, therefore, 
in order to obtain the greatest, momentum, 
that the feed pipe should be, first, smooth in¬ 
side; second, laid straight, with a gradual fall 
from the spring to the ram; aud. third.of such 
a length as to keep the force from being ex¬ 
panded through the upper end of the feed 
pipe and yet not so long as to increase the 
friction unnecessarily. 
There are at present several manufactures 
of rams, hut all are essentially of the same 
principle, the only difference being in the con¬ 
struction. Fig. 182 represents a single ram, 
any is correct.] 
PASTURE FOR COWS. 
“First a feast aud then a famine” doesn’t 
work well with stock, and especially with cows. 
On this account many dairymen open the 
whole summer range into one, aud let the cows 
graze ou it all. 1 doubt if this is best. It 
saves fixing up interior fences and the trouble 
of looking after things; but “looking after 
things” is a good business. It is better to have 
the range divided into at least three separate 
postures, and then to change the cows as often 
as the bite gets short or begins to do so. The 
field which has the most coarse gl ass should 
be used first, and, when this has been well eaten 
over, the cows should go into the next, and 
so ou, passing a week in each. This would 
mve a nice start to the field fed off first, and 
Fig. 177. (See preceding page.) 
vines might wither and not break in re-hand¬ 
ling. Then we separated the branches which 
bore the finest tomatoes, tied them in hunches 
and hung them up in a spare room, ojaming 
the door so that the sun would shine in on 
pretty days. From that time we gathered 
from these vines more and nicer tomatoes than 
we ever got before, and our table was well 
supplied with ripe tomatoes, raw, cooked and 
it soup, every day till well into the present 
y >ar. T - J - s - 
Fort Worth, Texas. 
With this, impure “run” water may be used 
to raise spring water without the two being 
mixed or being brought in contact. The prin¬ 
ciple is the same as iu the single ram. A is 
the inlet for the “run” water; B the outlet 
valve; Ca solid rubber diaphragm; /) the in¬ 
let valve for spring water; G the air-chamber 
valve; H the outlet for the raising pipe to the 
house!; K the air-chamber. When the outlet 
valve, B, rises and stops the flow of the water 
in the feed pipe, A , the diaphragm is forced 
upward, and it thus trausmits the force to the 
spring water. The pipe from the spring is 
turned into the stand pipe, /‘V but is uot con¬ 
nected tightly, so that the spring water uot 
used may overflow. The double rams may be 
used wherever there is enough fall, water, 
etc., for the single ram. 
Fig. 186 shows the manner in which a ram 
should lie set. There is uo cheaper or simpler 
way for raising water than by the hydraulic 
ram, nor is there any machine which requires 
less attention. The first cost and also the 
cost of maintenance are less than in any other 
arrangement. There are very few working 
parts, and hence very little eause for repairs. 
There are thou- 
tainly wifi eat with more avidity in a fresh 
pasture. Changing from one to another dur¬ 
ing the day is a bad plan, as it keeps the stock 
uneasy and they will lose time waiting to go 
out. Sometimes it is necessary to allow them 
a large range on account of water, as this may 
uot be available except iu one field. Old far¬ 
mers often have said that they had rather 
have poor pasture and plenty of water, than 
plenty of pasture aud ft seauty supply of water. 
In Summer stock will drink a great deal, es¬ 
pecially cows, and they will not do well with¬ 
out a full supply. 
FEED FOR BETTER AND CHEESE, 
gif you want cheese, give the cow foodwhich 
wifi make the most cheese: if butter, food 
which makes the most butter. This is what 
Mr. Fuller did when he made the last test of 
the Jersey cow Mary Anne of St. Lambert. 
This cow had been fed up to the time of the 
beginning of the test—in five to seven feedings 
daily—20 imperial quarts of ground oats, 10 of 
pea rneal, three quarts of ground oil-cake, and 
two quarts of wheat bran. At the beginning 
of the test this was increased up to 50 quarts. 
She also had a small quantity of roots, cab¬ 
bages aud apples each day. She ran in a 
small lot of withered grass. Most farmers ex¬ 
pect a few corn-stalks, or poor hay wifi make 
the butter for their cows, and if they are 
dissappointed, they blame the cow. 
Saratoga Co., N. Y. f. d. cdrtis. 
For Fighting the Squash Bug, take 
f nir pieces of board six inches wide, and 
from two to three feet long, according to 
the size of the hills. Hail them together in the 
shape of a box. Cover this with fly netting— 
t fro thicknesses will not be too many. Set the 
box over the hill, aud be sure it fits close to the 
ground. I have tried this, leaving the box on 
till the plants have reached the netting: after 
that the bugs do not, seem to trouble them. 
This protection will also keep off a light frost. 
Those thus protected alone lived last year, the 
others having been killed by frost. 
Ipswich, Dak. h. t. d. 
so made that it can be taken apart with a 
hammer. The outlet valve on the left is mere¬ 
ly au automatic arrangement for alternately 
opening and closing the lower end of the feed 
pipe. It is necessary to have at least four 
feet fall from the spring to the rain, and 2] 7 
gallons of water per minute, to rut) a small 
ram. The larger sizes require more water, 
but three-quarter-inch pipe is the smallest 
feed used, and it is much better to use a larger 
size. The amount of water a ram wifi raise 
depends, first, on the 
fall; second, ou the 
SyflL amount of water used 
per minute; third, on 
yiy p the elevation; and, 
J F fourth, on the distance 
I J which the water is to 
/ / be forced. The eleva- 
tion is seldom over 200 
/ Fig- 183 represents a 
regulator which is in- 
F' T 183 tended to be screwed on 
the upper end of the 
feed pipe. In many springs, the flow of water 
A. SPRING. 
D. FEED BOX. 
E. FEED PIPE. F 
F. RAM HOUSE. f TTTSs 
G. T. C PIPE- ,fL- — 
H. RUN. // ' “ 1 N 
J, RAISING PIPE. j [ . - 
<TI)e ijfr'Dsmun 
It does not even require oil, 
sands of people who can testify to the efficiency 
and durability of the hydraulic ram. c.s.G. 
CROSS-BREEDING, 
That crossing in animal life has proved 
beneficial in many cases, is no doubt an incon¬ 
trovertible fact, and yet the chances are rather 
with a pure-breed than a cross. If I had a 
dairy of Short-horn cows. I would at once 
buy a Hereford bull and introduce him to mj* 
cows, expecting to improve my stock. But I 
should not do this calculating my mixed stock 
would be equal by any means to full-bred 
Herefords. That this cross will improve the 
Durhams is a well established fact, aud why 
it is not more extensively practised is passing, 
strange. The- progeny of the Short-boni cow 
bred to a pure Hereford bull can no doubt be 
put on the beef market at three years old as 
ripe, and with as great weight as a four-year- 
old Short-horu. This saving of 12 months in 
the care and feed ol’ u bullock would give a 
reasonable profit where a loss would be in¬ 
curred w ith a pure-bred Short-horn. 
fR. N.-Y.—That a cross of the Hereford and 
Short-horn often produces excellent results 
for beef, is shown by the number of prize¬ 
winners containing Hereford and Shoitehorw 
blood iu the “Class for Grades and Crosses,” 
at the Chicago and Kansas City Fat Stock 
Shows in this country, as well as at the great 
Southfield Show jn England: but that a dairy 
herd of pure-bred Short-horns of a milking 
strain (and no other should be kept for dairy 
purposes; can be improved for the dairy by 
an admixture of Hereford blood in the progeny 
FODDER CUTTERS, 
MUCH has been said in the Rural, and other 
journals about cutting feed for stock. 1 be¬ 
lieve in it, and my experience has taught me 
it is the best and cheapest method that can 
lie adopted. One Winter I kept one horse aud 
two cows when corn meal w'as *1 per 100 
CR0UND PLAN 
HYDRAULIC RAMS, 
TnK principle of the hydraulic ram was 
discovered in 1771 by some plumbers working 
at a hospital iu Bristol, England. The water 
for the hospital was conveyed iu a pipe from 
a tank on a hill at a little distance. This pipe 
would burst when the water was suddenly 
turned off by a stop at the lower end, and to 
relieve it, they ran a pipe up the side of the 
hospital until it was as high as the tank on the 
hill. After this was done, they found that the 
water would run out of this whenever the 
water was used and suddenly turned off be¬ 
low, and the pipe was lengthened until it was 
twice as high as the tank above the outlet of 
ELEVATION 
