248 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May 
A Sure Catcher for Swine. 
A cheap and practicable swine catcher is 
made by first setting a post in the ground, 
2 feet from one corner of the hog lot, another 
16 feet back and 14 feet from the fence, a 
third in the center and in a line with the 
first two. Nail to the post four or five fence 
boards, forming a narrow lane, two feet wide 
at one end, and four feet at the other. Hang 
a gate at the widest end, so as to secure the 
hogs after they are driven in. Take two 
pieces of scantling 2 by 4, 2 feet long, and 
spike or bolt them across the bottom one on 
each side of the posts, opposite to each other; 
next, bolt two more pieces, of the same size 
and length, at the top of the posts, one on 
each side, as at the bottom. Take a 2 by 4 
scantling, long enough to make a lever, 
reaching from the bottom cross-pieces up one 
foot above the top cross-pieces. Bore a hole 
through both of the bottom cross-pieces, and 
the lever, 3 inches from the end. Pass the 
lever between the two top cross-pieces, and 
fasten the lower end between the lower cross¬ 
pieces with a bolt. The top cross-pieces form 
a slide for the lever to work in back and 
forth. Bore three or four holes in the top 
cross-pieces, to receive an iron pin to hold 
the lever in place. Fill out the space be¬ 
tween the posts, not occupied by the levers, 
with short boards nailed across the posts, so 
the hog will have no other means of exit than 
throu’gli the trap. It will require two persons 
to operate the catcher, one to drive the hog 
through, while the other stands at the lever. 
When the hog’s head is through, the man at 
the lever moves it forward, until it binds the 
neck firmly enough to prevent the animal 
backing out. Make it secure by passing the 
iron pin through the holes in the top cross¬ 
pieces. With the use of this trap, the work 
of ringing and marking is easily done. 
F. L. Simpson. 
A Weeding Tool. 
Mr. “A. M. S.,” Ashton, D. T., sends us a 
description of an implement for weeding 
plants sown in drills. He calls it a “ weed¬ 
ing hook.” Take a piece of band-iron J / 2 - 
A WEEDING TOOL. 
inch wide and 1 foot long, and bend it so as 
to form a loop about 2 inches long ; wrap 
the rest with cloth or twine so as to make it 
easy for the hands. This is convenient to 
cut out the weeds that can not be reached 
with hand cultivator or hoe. See engraving. 
Important Points in £iilk Culture. 
—Virion des Lauriers writes us: In commencing silk 
culture, the most important points are: first, the Mul¬ 
berry tree; and second, the silk-worm’s eggs, or 
“seed,” as it is called by the breeders. Only a few 
varieties of the White Mulberry (Alorus clba) are fit for 
feeding silkworms. The varieties which are fast grow¬ 
ers, adapted to various climates, and with leaves excel¬ 
lent for the food of silk worms, are: The ilorus Ja- 
ponica, the M. rosea, the M. elata, or “Moretti,” and 
the M. alba proper. These varieties produce large, soft 
leaves, which, being easily and rapidly gathered, save 
labor and time. It takes from one-third to one-half less 
of the leaves of these varieties to make a pound of co¬ 
coons than it does of other varieties, or substitutes, most 
of which yield small leaves, difficult, to pick, and produce 
but little silk, of inferior quality. The eggs, or “ seed,” 
are not less important in sericulture; if a good quantity 
of the leaves to nourish the worm and supply it with the 
silky fluid is indispensable; the healthier and the hardier 
the worms are, the better the returns will be. The races 
knowm as Japanese or Chinese are not at all adapted to 
our climate, as it has been proven by numerous experi¬ 
ments, although they produce a fair silk, but in small 
quantity. The Caucasian and Persian, though hardier, 
produce a coarse silk, while the Turkish, French, and 
Italian, which produce fine large cocoons, are the most 
sought after. Our consuls in the silk-raising districts 
of Europe, in their Reports to the Department of State, 
insist upon the necessity of securing sound and healthy 
eggs, of superior breeds, because the defects found in 
American cocoons are due entirely to the use of inferior 
“ seed ” by those who have untertaken to raise silk. 
Woes a Marc Ever Give Kirtli lo 
Twins 1 —Thus asks a correspondent, to which we an¬ 
swer yes, occasionally, but not nearly as often as the cow; 
and it is fortunate that it is so, for, except in rare in¬ 
stances, she lacks sufficient nourishment to bring up two 
foals properly. In order to accomplish this, one must be 
taken away from the mare and nursed on cow’s milk, 
which, although not so rich, is made to answer an ex¬ 
cellent purpose by sweetening it with a little sugar when 
found necessary. There are instances where the colt, 
taken from the dam and put on cow’s milk, has thriven 
even better than the one left with the mare. The late 
Lord Bentinck. of England, possessed a mare which 
gave birth to twins iu three successive seasons. One of 
this pair he named oddly enough, “ Tweedle-dum,” the 
other, “ Tweedle-dee.” But they did not make good 
the distich of Hudibras: 
“ Strange that such difference there should be 
’Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee,” 
for these colts were so near alike, it was difficult to dis¬ 
tinguish the one from the other. 
Activity iu Syria.— An English clergy¬ 
man, desiring a small homestead in Syria, near Damas¬ 
cus, applied to the chief authority, the Vali, for permis¬ 
sion to purchase laud. The Vali magnanimously offered 
to give him the land, but the offer was declined. At 
length, a Commission of six officials was appointed to 
determine the value of the property. The price first 
asked was $200 in our money. The price first offered 
was $2. After much haggling and many appeals to 
Allah, the land was sold for $4. The clergyman began 
to build his house, and was harassed in the most extra¬ 
ordinary manner, alike by the authorities and the peo¬ 
ple, and all because he had failed to distribute the 
accustomed “backsheesh.” or gratuities, among the 
officials. lie never was able to procure his title deeds 
to the property. This rendered his buildings so worth¬ 
less that ho was able to sell the place only at a great loss. 
Laud is cheap in Syria, but “mighty uncertain.” Horace 
Greeley, referring to the laziness of the Syrians, said he 
only saw one man in that land doing anything, and “ he 
was falling off a house.” 
4>loa.t Farming. — Some three or four years 
since, a society was formed in England for the purpose 
of improving the breed of goats. This was officered 
chiefly by distinguished noblemen, gentlemen, and 
ladie6 of England, in order to more rapidly popularize 
the movement. Any one possessing the pasturage of an 
acre or two of poor land, with a small patch of garden, 
could keep a she goat, which, if properly bred, would 
supply a moderate-sized family with milk. Up to the 
year 1870, few nannies could be found in England that 
gave over one quart of milk per day. Now, through the 
improving efforts of the Goat Society, the yield of the 
best is from 3 to 4 quarts per day. Goats’ milk is rich and 
nutritious, and it is supposed to possess curative prop¬ 
erties in several diseases. A goat farm, stocked with a 
considerable number of animals, is now in successful 
operation, not far from London. The milk produced 
there costs, delivered in sealed bottles in the city, about 
24 cents per quart. This sells for 36 cents, thus leaving 
a handsome profit on the milk. Whenever the Goat So¬ 
ciety hears of large-milking nannies, they import them 
for the purpose of more rapidly improving their present 
6tock. Some of the best of these have been drawn from 
the Island of Malta. We trust the time will come when 
the poor, sandy plains, and the rough, billy, and moun¬ 
tainous districts of America, will be pastured by deep- 
milking goats; for they thrive and yield fairly, even 
where a sheep cannot; and they escape destruction 
by d-^gs, which is another great advantage to them. The 
flesh of kids is as delicate and palatable as that of lambs. 
Another Caual in Egypt.— The plan 
of a sweet water canal from Alexaudria to Cairo, 118 
miles, and thence to Suez, 122 miles further, is revived. 
This canal was a scheme of the former Khedive. Its 
commercial and strategic value not only commended 
this work to him, but the further fact that such a canal 
would provide the means of irrigating millions of acres 
of tillable land in lower Egypt, was an important ele¬ 
ment in the calculations of that intelligent but rather 
expensive ruler. There is an immense amount of un¬ 
productive land in Lower Egypt, which can be brought 
under cultivation by an extension of the system of irri¬ 
gation, and the Nile Land may again become a granary 
for other nations. 
Waste Frcvented.—A pig-pen should be 
made in two divisions, one under roof, and one without 
a roof. The first should contain the trough and bed¬ 
ding, and to the second the pigs can go to sun them¬ 
selves at leisure, and there the manure should be made. 
Under these outside pens should be kept plenty of 
straxv, as an absorbent. The straw should be changed 
once every month, and the pens should be cleaned every 
day or every other day. The contents of the outside 
pens should be thrown on the manure heap, and the bed 
in the inside pen be mixed with the droppings of the 
pigs. By this process a farmer can make a load of the 
best manure a year, to every pig that is raised and fat¬ 
tened. Pigs kept in this way will thrive much better 
with the same food than otherwise, and the farmer 
himself will be much better satisfied. 
BI<‘iiip Seed IbrUiittleFeed. — Though 
considerably less nutritious for cattle than flax or cotton 
seed, a farmer of Poland recommends grinding hemp 
seed, and using it, as he has done for three years past, 
except in summer; giving 4 to 5 lbs. per head, daily, 
mixed with an equal quantity of rye bran, ne says bis 
cattle eat it greedily, and it increases the quantity of his 
cows’ milk. He finds it also good food for fattening 
bullocks. The analysis of Dr. Wolff, shows in 300 parts, 
albuminoids, 29.8; carbohydrates, 21.3; fat, 6.5; of 
which are digestible—albuminoids, 20.9; carbohydrates, 
17.4; fat, 5.2. The coarseness of the husk reduces the 
digestibility, making it considerably inferior in this re¬ 
spect to linseed. As there is a good deal of hemp raised 
in Kentucky, and parts of some others of the United 
States, we should like to know if the seed has ever been 
utilized for cattle feed there, and, if so, has it been found 
profitable and beneficial? 
Relief for ji Choking’ Animal. —Mr. 
L. J. Post, Kent Co., Mich., writes us: Take eight feet 
of wire, the size commonly used in fences. Double it 
in the center over a block of wood two inches thick and 
one foot wide. Twist the rest of the wire to the end, 
and attach a handle. This instrument can be passed 
down a cow’s throat until the loop is beyond the obstruc¬ 
tion, when it can be easily withdrawn. This is much 
better than forcing the article down the throat. 
Oranges Cheaper than Apples.— 
Sydney Smith bewailed the wretchedness of existence 
“ four miles from a lemon.” There are thousands of 
families in this country who are many more miles 
from a lemon than that, and who, neverlheless, manage 
to pass a comfortable existence. But they may not 
know that in the seaboard cities, lemons and oranges 
are so abundant as to be cheaper than apples. All the 
winter long, the huckster wagons have borne the legend 
“ lemons 25 for a quarter.” In some cases 30 and even 
40 have been sold for 25 cents. At one time Messina 
lemons brought only $1 for a box containing 360. 
Oranges are more variable, but the Mediterranean fruit, 
lias been sold all along at 15, 36, 20, 26 or 30 fora quarter. 
Floridas have sold for 30, 40 and 50 cents and more per 
dozen, and Havanas at similar rates, and also at “ 16 for a 
quarter.” While apples were quoted at from $3.00 to 
$6.00 per barrel, Mediterranean oranges were quoted at 
$1.75 to $2.50 per box, and Floridas from $2.50 to $4.50 a 
half barrel. Of course as a rule the highest, priced 
fruit is the largest and finest, but it is surprising how 
excellent the oranges are that the street venders sell. 
Another surprising fact is that whether the lemons are 
one cent each or five cents, lemonade remains the 
same price “all the year around,” summer and winter. 
