MOV SO 
placenta should not be interfered with, as it 
supplies just the kind of food which nature re¬ 
quires to replenish the system. When this is 
eaten a sow will remain quiet and is more do¬ 
cile than when she is deprived of it. I have 
known sows to kill and eat a live pig because 
of a ravenous desire for animal food, and 
when they have eaten the placenta they would 
not touch a dead pig which they had accident¬ 
ally killed by lying upon it. After a sow has 
gratified her instincts by this kind of food she 
will remain quiet in her nest for hours, per¬ 
haps for a whole day and meanwhile the udders 
are not inflamed by au excessive flow of milk 
caused by extra food. A great many pigs are 
injured by being compelled to take milk from 
feverish udders; the milk itself in turn inflam¬ 
ing their little stomachs and making them 
sick. Such pigs show the bad effects of their 
food by rough coats aud a general delicate and 
sickly appearance. Less care and less food than 
are usually bestowed on the breeding sow will 
cause less abortion and better success. 
When a sow aborts from au accidental 
bruise or blow on the womb she will usually 
breed agaiu all right. When abortion pro¬ 
ceeds from congestion and acute inflammation 
caused by cold or fever, the risks are more. 
Sometimes a blow or bruise or strain will kill 
one pig in the womb, and a long time after¬ 
wards the balance ol' the litter may he born 
all right. Sometimes an iujured pig will de¬ 
cay in the womb and cause abortion, or if the 
time of pigging is near at hand some of the 
pigs may be bona alive and do well. Sows 
should never be kept in close aud slippery 
pens. They will do best on the ground, with a 
dry, warm bed to go to. Sows in pig should 
be kept alone as much as possible, and in no 
more than good, thrifty order. 
POULTRY FOR EGGS IN WINTER. 
HENRY HALES. 
To those who intend making poultry keep¬ 
ing for winter eggs a specialty the month of 
November is one of activity. The plans and 
arrangements necessary for the success of the 
business must be fully completed before cold 
weather sets in. To the first place, all houses 
that have previously been used must be thor¬ 
oughly cleansed, whitewashed and fumigated, 
that all tendency to disease may be entirely 
removed by disinfection. Runs or yards 
should be dug or plowed, and where they are 
large enough to allow grass to thrive, grass 
seed should be liberally sowed. Broken win¬ 
dows should be all raglazed, and all ci’aeks or 
holes in the wood-work should be promptly 
stopped. With all this shutting out of outside 
drafts, provision must be made to admit 
plenty of air and afford good ventilation 
whenever the weather is moderate enough to 
allow it, and ventilators near the ceilmgs 
should never he closed except iu extremely cold 
weather, and then only for as short a time as 
possible, aud this in houses without artificial 
heat. Where there is auy heating apparatus, 
never close the ventilators entirely. Too much 
stress cannot be laid on this matter of cleanli¬ 
ness aud ventilation; for, no matter what 
fowls are kept, no good results cau be expected 
with carelessness in these matters. 
Pullets hatched early iu Spring are much 
better for winter laying than hens, as they 
wull commence in October or November, and 
keep on laying; while hens do not commence 
so early; some, indeod, do not lay till Febru¬ 
ary, when eggs are getting cheaper. Internal 
arrangements for making the birds comfort¬ 
able aul satisfied are of much more impor¬ 
tance tbau many people think. Some persons 
imagine thar, because they are liens they must 
lay eggs; but a great deal can lie done by 
coaxing. Change a hen from one house to 
another aud it will be found that she always 
stops laying till she gets settled down in her 
new quarters. This shows that her good-will 
aud comfort must, be consulted, Good, clean 
nests in quiet places are appreciated. Avoid 
over-crowding. More profit can be made 
from a small flock well kept than from a 
large one crowded too closely together, no 
matter bow well they may be fed. If one has 
room euough, the number of hens aud of 
houses aud yards may he increased indefi¬ 
nitely. 
It must be borne in mind that only liberal 
feeding will produce au ample number of egg 
food. Ileus must have the material for mak¬ 
ing a plentiful supply of eggs, and herein lies 
one of the secrets of making hens lay in the 
Winter. During the .Spring, Nature supplies 
ranch of the foo l that is conducive to egg 
production, in the form of worms, bugs, flies 
and tender vegetation, and when we try to 
produce eggs two or three mouths before Na¬ 
ture is ready with her natural food, WO must 
supply the deficiency. Avoid all kinds of 
nostrums claiming to be egg-producing pow¬ 
ders or foods, and feed good sweet grain—no 
damaged stuffs. A morning's meal should be 
of boiled potatoes mashed up with wheat mid¬ 
dlings and corn meal, or varied with oatmeal 
at times for a change Feed in troughs, so 
that the stock eanuot get into aud soil the 
feed. Give them all they will eat up clean, 
and no more—at noon a little meat, such as 
haslets, “graves” from the packmg-house.ete. 
The “ gra ves” come pressed iuto hard cakes. 
These should be broken to pieces with an old 
axe and soaked in cold water till they fall to 
pieces. Then the stuff can lie chopped up fine; 
but never give it to them iu the house in such 
large pieces that they can drabble it through 
the dirt, as that is one of the easiest ways to 
make fowls sick The evening meal should 
be grain—wheat Is best—with some corn 
mixed with it. A little oats or buckwheat is 
very good for a change; but do uot rely on 
them alone. Cabbages should be fed when 
there is no grass; in face, almost any vegetable 
is relished, such as turnips, onions, or carrots. 
Many people recommend throwiug corn 
amoug cut hay or straw to make fowls scratch 
for the sake of exercise. This would be a good 
thing to do outside when the birds can get 
out, but iu the house there Is danger of their 
eating dirt with it. All such feeding, how¬ 
ever good, must be scrupulously clean. When 
cabbages are given, they should be hung up 
by the stalk within easy reach. 
fie ill Crops. 
_ t _ 
experiment C round s’ ot the |Umit 
IJew-fJorker. 
A NEW .WAY TO MULCH POTATOES. 
Valley Mulching.— The old Rural meth¬ 
od of mulching potatoes is sometimes very 
successful and at other times useless or harm¬ 
ful. The effect depends upon the soil and sea¬ 
son. Wheu the early Spring is backward and 
wet, the mulch keeps the soil cold; the seed 
pieces are delayed in sprouting and an imper¬ 
fect stand is the result. What is wanted is a 
mulch that '' ill conserve moisture aud yet not 
intercept the warming rays of the sun. The 
“valley” system accomplishes this. Whether 
it is practicable or profitable each must judge 
for himself. Following is an account of cur 
COMPARATIVE TESTS. 
The soil (a much impoverished, sandy loam) 
was plowed, raked, and leveled the same as 
if grass seed were to be sown, as shown by 
the line a, Fig. 430. The seed pieces (two eyes) 
Fig. 430. 
were then placed on the soil one foot apart in 
rows three feet apart, as shown at b. These 
pieces were then lightly covered with soil hoed 
from between the rows (1, 3. 3,) aud at the rate 
of 1,000 pouuds per acre of Baker’s potato fer¬ 
tilizer strewn evenly over it. Then more soil 
was hoed over the fertilizer until continuous 
hills five iuches high were formed, as shown at 
c, forming the valleys, as shown at 4, 5, 0. 
The valleys were then filled with a mulch of 
coarse straw and hay t hat, had been raked up 
into cocks from a part of the field whore it 
had lain all Winter, thus, filling the valleys, as 
shown at the dotted line. The design is that 
such plots are not to bo cultivated during the 
entire season. It' the mulching material is old, 
few seeds will sprout in the mulch, while those 
that sprout beneath it will be smothered. The 
weeds that grow ou top of the hills may be 
pulled up. But the vines very soon cover the 
hills, forming a shade not favorable to their 
growth. The yield of potatoes was 45 pounds, 
which was at, the rate of 353 bushels to the 
acre, fill per cent, of which were marketable as 
to size. 
If it were desirable to try this system on a 
large scale, a small plow run both ways, or a 
shovel plow would serve to turn furrows over 
the pieces, leaving the valleys to be mulched. 
In the 
Second experiment, which is by no means 
new, the pieces were placed on the top of the 
leveled soil as before, and the same kind of 
mulch spread over them five inches high di¬ 
rectly over the pieces and sloping gradually 
towards the other rows. Upon this mulch the 
same quuutity of the same fertilizer was sown. 
The yield was at the rate of 330 bushels to the 
acre. Iu this trial there were 810 tubers 
(45 pounds), ot which 163 were of marketable 
size. Many, however, were injured by grubs 
of the May Beetle and wire-worm. The next 
test was the Rural’s trench-mulch system, 
well known to our readers, using the same 
quantity of the same fertilizer. The yield 
was 816 potatoes (31 % pounds), of which 156 
were marketable. This was at the rate of 
276.83 bushels to the acre. 
Another trench without mulch, and fertil¬ 
ized with the same manure, at the rate of 
1,200 pounds to the acre, yielded at the rate of 
278.66 bushels to the acre, there being 314 
tubers (38 pounds), 146 marketable. 
The fertility of the soil is shown by the 
yield of two trenches that were uot fertilized. 
The first yielded 163 potatoes (12 1 4 pounds), of 
which 54 were of marketable size, though very 
scabby. This is at the rate of but 01.66 bush¬ 
els to the acre. The second unfertilized trench 
yielded 156 tubers (15).V pounds), of which 60 
were marketable as to size, aud also much in¬ 
jured by scab. This is at the rate of 113,66 
bushels to the acre. 
The average yield of the uumamired trenches 
was 102.66 bushels per acre. The trench (not 
mulched) which received 1,200 pounds of fer¬ 
tilizer yielded at the rate of 278.66. an increase 
over the unfertilized trenches of 176 bushels. 
The trench which was mulched (old Rural 
trench-mulch plan) and given 1,000 pounds of 
fertilizer, gave an increase over the umuauurcd 
plots of 174.18 bushels; the surface mulching 
an increase of 228.66 bushels, und the “Valley” 
mulching au increase of 250.60 bushels to the 
acre. 
We shall try the Valley method again next 
year on a larger scale. The philosophy of the 
method seems sensible enough. About a foot 
of soil iu width directly over the pieces is with¬ 
out any mulch, aud the mellow, loose soil re¬ 
ceives the air, the sun’s rays and the raiu, 
while the mulch iu the valleys must assist in 
retaiuiug the moisture so received for the 
benefit of the roots until the growth of the tops 
covers all. 
* * * 
SOUTH AMERICAN WILD POTATO. 
Our first specimens of this variety were re¬ 
ceived from Charles E. Brown of Yarmouth, 
Nova Scotia, who had raised it for two years 
without much improvement. We planted 
three hills, using a whole tuber for each, April 
12. The vines were dead August 14. 
The yield was 00 potatoes which weighed 
1 % pound or at the rate of 141 bushels to the 
acre. The engraving, Fig. 481, shows the av- 
Fig. 431. 
erage size. All were of the same shape. There 
were two decayed tubers. The skin is reddish- 
purple, the flesh, wheu cooked, pinkish, the 
quality sweet and good. The vines were much 
the same as those of other potatoes. Crossing 
this potato with cultivated kinds might, pro¬ 
duce carious results. It did not bear any 
fruit. This potato is quite different from auy 
of the other wild species we have seen, aud we 
have raised the several kinds found by Mr. 
Lemmon in the Rockies. 
japan CLOVER. 
The following note is published for the 
benefit of several who have asked where Ja¬ 
pan Clover seeds cau be purchased since it 
is not offered in seedsmen's catalogues: 
“Japan Clover made its appearauce on my farm 
about nine years ago. Its introduction in this 
section of the South still remains a mystery; 
but for grazing wo have uothiug that will 
compare with it. It comes early iu the 
Spring and remains till lute in tie* Fall. The 
proper time to sow is the Fall aud Winter; 
then it comes up early in the Spring. We do 
not sow it here, as it comes up spontaneously 
all over the Holds that are uot cultivated. 
Should auy of your subscribers wish to make 
a trial, I can furnish small quantities of seed. 
e. dashiell. 
Williston, Fayette Co., Tenu.” 
fUnkullitnil 
THE WINDOW GARDEN. 
WILLIAM FALCONER. 
Attend to the wants of the plants so far as 
watering, eleauiug and ventilating are con¬ 
cerned. Keep geraniums, oxalises, nastur¬ 
tiums, petunias and other gay plants in sun¬ 
ny places to prolong their blooming season. 
If your Roman hyacinths are well rooted,bring 
in a pot or two to a moderately waim room 
to get them into bloom for Christmas; but if 
they are not well rooted don’t try to force 
them, else they will be very poor flowe”s. Keep 
apotor two of musk growing; also some len.on- 
scented verbena. Most old folks love them 
both. 
Palms are capital house plants providing 
you save them from furnace heat and gas, and 
even these they will stand for some weeks 
without showing much injury. The Living- 
stonas aud Kentins are, 1 think, about the 
most desirable, .They dou’t want sunshiue, 
but they do like warmth and moisture. Sea- 
forthias grow too quickly, and the commoner 
Chamserops lack beauty or elegance. 
Drac-ENAS. —The “eolored”-lcaved kinds 
are pretty useful for a time, but alter a while 
they lose their lower leaves and look “leggy.” 
Wheu this is the case I make a notch nearly all 
the way around the stem and close up under 
the leaves, and around the incision tie some 
swamp moss mixed with sund, and moisten it 
two or three times daily. In a few weeks 
.young roots will appear all through tbe moss, 
then remove the top, and its new roots pot and 
treat as new plants. Dracaena fragrans is a 
large, green-leaved kind, aud one of the very 
best plants 1 know of for continuing a long 
time iu good condition inside a dwelling room. 
Good Green-Leaved Plants.— The com¬ 
mon or vanegated-leaved aspidistra lasts 
longer in healthy condition inside a dwelling 
room than any other decorative plant I know 
of, and if need be we cau safely winter it in a 
cold-pit or cold-l'rame. Then we have the 
English ivy, which is a hardy vine; the rub¬ 
ber plant, large-leaved begonias, sweet bay, 
aud palms, screw pines aud lerus. 
Ferns. —No matter whether the ferns are in 
vigorous growth or at rest, m a warm or a 
cool room, the soil in which they are growing 
should always be moderately moist. Of 
course, those that are iu the most vigorous 
growth should got the most water, and those 
that are at rest the least. Aspidium falcatum 
has thick, glossy leaves, und is the best of all 
for room decoration. But we cau have 
maiden hair, onycbiuiu, nephrolepis, stag¬ 
horn, silver-leaved pteris, and some others in 
very good condition. Where room is limited 
and many ferns cannot be accommodated, 
you iuaj r cut over your common maiden hair 
aud onycbiuiu ferns and set them aside in 
your cellar over Winter, but be careful that 
neither frost nor drought.reaches them there. 
Fern Cases are usually set iu the hall way 
or iuside sunless wmdows, and arc filled with 
ferns, elub mosses, cyperuds, rex begonias, aud 
red or white nerved Uttouias. Don’t keep 
them soukiug wot. They should be thor¬ 
oughly well drained by means of a layer of 
rubble in the bottom and a faucet at oue 
lower corner to lead off the water. The at¬ 
mosphere should be kept moist and the plants 
be sprinkled gently from nil atomizer, syringe 
or finely bored water-pot rose every day or 
two, but not euough water should be given to 
wot the soil much. The three chief points to 
observe iu fern-case gardening arc,uot to over¬ 
wot the plants or soil; to ventilate continu¬ 
ously by tilting up the lid a little, and to wipe 
dry the glass casing inside daily. 
Chrysanthemums. —Those that have been 
blooming out-ol doors may be cut over, and a 
thick mulching of leaves or litter placed over 
the roots. Or it will be safer to lift and bring 
them into a cool cellar till Spring; but the 
roots must be kept moist during Winter. 
Those in pots may also be wintered in a cool 
cellar. 
Flower Roots. —I winter cannas, dahlias, 
four-o’eloeks, Caladium esculentum and Ma¬ 
deira Vines on wide, airy shelves iu a warm 
cellar. Gladiolus and tigridia bulbs 1 keep on 
shelves or iu boxes m a dry, moderately cool 
room, Imt where frost never outers. Gloxi¬ 
nias, fancy-leaved ealadiums and gesuerias 
may be left iu the pots iu which they had been 
grown, und kept iu a room, cellar, or elsewhere 
where the temperature never falls below 50 
degrees. Tuberoses like warm, dry winter- 
quarters. Tuberous begonias and montbre- 
tias like a cool, but frost-proof place. 
Cold-frames. —Have them well banked 
around with coal ashes, dry leaves or other 
warm material, and afford ready means for 
water to pass away from about them. While 
a few degrees of frost may not visibly hurt 
