1883.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
327 
while, in very small quantities, it may do no 
harm, it is sure, if largely fed, to injure the 
quality of the butter, making it more greasy, 
giving it a flat taste, and knocking the flavor 
out.” Assuming this to be correct, it is only 
a caveat against the excessive use of cotton¬ 
seed meal. We have used this article years 
ago, and are now using it, and know of noth¬ 
ing so good at the same cost to increase the 
flow of milk. There is probably no other 
feed in common use that makes such valuable 
manure. The daily rations of a Jersey cow 
are one quart of cotton-seed meal, in the 
morning, one quart at noon, and a half bushel 
of sliced beets, with three feeds daily of all 
the good hay she will eat. Fed at the rate 
of six quarts a day, with only hay rations, 
we presume the record of the creamery is 
correct. The butter is hard, and of good 
color, and excellent flavor. 
Again :—“ Ensilage is a risky feed, not yet 
sufficiently tested to be safely used by cream¬ 
ery patrons.” This may serve to abate the 
zeal of our ensilage enthusiasts, and cause 
them to wait a little before they add to their 
silos. “ Rye bran is to be severely let alone.” 
Again, “ Corn meal stands at the head of 
grain feeds, though it should be fed carefully, 
unless mixed with wheat feed, middlings or 
shorts, which are given the next place.” 
Four bushels of corn and one of oats, ground 
together, were recommended by one of the 
most experienced dairymen present. This, 
we think, will commend itself to the good 
sense of all farmers who have ever fed much 
meal to their cows, and should be a strong 
argument with them to enlarge the acreage 
of their com crop this year. Corn can be 
raised at a profit in New England, notwith¬ 
standing the competition of the prairie States, 
and the cheap freights. “ Green corn fodder, 
to secure the best results, should be wilted 
twenty-four hours before feeding.” 
These results, reached unanimously by a 
company of thrifty farmers, wise enough 
to unite their forces in sustaining a “ cream¬ 
ery,” and whose pecuniary interests compel 
careful observation, should have great weight 
with all our dairymen. Too many of our 
farmers rely altogether upon old pasture 
for the support of their cows in summer. 
It might pay much better to supplement the 
grass with cotton-seed meal, or corn meal 
and middlings, to feed higher in winter, 
and to keep cows that you could milk ten 
months in the year. “ Prove all things ; hold 
fast that which is good.” 
A Substantial Hog Trough. 
A hog trough does not last long if not well 
protected, and fastened securely in place. I 
consider from four to five feet a convenient 
length. For a substantial, durable trough, 
A CHEAP AND STRONG TROUGH 
I use well-seasoned two-inch pine plank. 
Some employ oak, which is unnecessary when 
the trough has its edges shod or rimmed 
with iron, as they always should be, to pre¬ 
vent the hogs from destroying them. The 
ends must be securely nailed in place, and to 
make an extra strong trough, run iron rods, 
with threads and burrs, through the ends, 
outside of the trough proper. When the 
trough begins to leak, the burrs can be tight¬ 
ened. Cross-pieces should be nailed on, to 
prevent the hogs from interfering with each 
other while eating. Oak strips can be used, 
or better still, iron cross-pieces screwed to 
the edges of the trough. D. Z. E. 
A Sand Sifter. 
To sift sand for building chimneys, making 
walks, etc., sink a tight box (4 by 6 feet, and 
3 feet deep), into the ground about 6 inches. 
Set a 4 by 6-inch post, 6 feet long, 2 feet from 
A SIFTING POLE. 
the side of the box, and another post, the same 
size, 6 feet from the first. Nail a narrow plank 
firmly on the top of the farther post, and let 
it extend over the box. Bore a hole in the 
plank and fasten it to the top of the nearest 
post, with a rod or a large nail. Fasten the 
sieve to the end of the plank, letting it hang 
down about a foot into the box. Fill the box 
with water to within a foot of the top. Shovel 
the sand into the sieve, and shake the plank 
slightly and the clean sand will settle in the 
water. The sieve will need cleaning out 
occasionally. Remove the sand as it fills the 
box. Two boys can with this contrivance 
easily sift one hundred bushels of sand per 
day. W. T. W., Gibsonville, N. C. 
Farm Mortgages. 
BY H. A. HAIGH. 
A mortgage of real estate is, according to 
the common law, a conveyance of land, for 
the purpose of securing the payment of a 
debt, or the performance of some other act, 
upon the condition that if the debt is paid, 
or the other act performed, the conveyance 
shall become void. It affects a transfer of 
the legal title to the land, which becomes 
absolute on failure of the condition. For¬ 
merly it consisted often of two instruments 
—a deed or absolute conveyance of the land, 
and a defeasance or agreement to deed the 
land back again when the condition is per¬ 
formed. This definition of a mortgage is 
practically correct as applied to mortgages 
in America at the present time, except that 
in about one-lialf the States—including New 
York and others, mostly in the West—a 
mortgage does not now affect a transfer of 
the legal title from the mortgagor, but is re¬ 
garded only as a pledge or security, and gives 
to the mortgagee only an interest, in the na¬ 
ture of a lien, upon the land.* 
* In the following States a mortgage affects a transfer 
of the legal title: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Il¬ 
linois. Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Neiv 
Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsyl¬ 
vania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and 
West Virginia. In the last mentioned State, trust deeds 
are used instead of mortgages. In Delaware, Missis¬ 
sippi, and Missouri, the mortgagor is the legal owner 
until a breach of the condition, and possession is taken. 
In the following States a mortgage does not convey the 
legal title, but is merely a pledge or security for the 
payment of money: California, Colorado, Dakota, 
Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska. Nevada, New York, 
Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. 
In old times, in England, the mortgagee took 
possession of the land, and had the profits of 
it for the use of the money which he loaned 
on it. At a later date, it became customary 
for the mortgagor to remain in possession, 
but the mortgagee could enter, and have full 
title the moment the condition was broken, 
even though the amount loaned was grossly 
inadequate to the value of the land. At a 
still later date, the Courts of Equity began 
to give relief in such cases, by allowing the 
mortgagor to redeem his property on paying 
the debt, with interest and costs. This re¬ 
lief was called the equity of redemption, and 
it was afterwards so frequently given, that 
it finally became an established right, and 
is now universally recognized. At the pres¬ 
ent time, it is not generally possible for the 
mortgagee to get title to the land without 
making use of a legal procedure, called fore¬ 
closure, by which this equity of redemption, 
after due notice, is barred or cut off, and the 
land is sold at public sale (to the mortgagee, 
if he chooses to bid highest), and from the 
proceeds the debt is paid, and the overplus, 
if any, given to the mortgagor. Here is a 
fine illustration of the universal principle of 
development which is ever operating to bring 
the law to a higher standard of justice. 
In form, a mortgage is very similar to a 
deed, with the addition of a provision, called 
the defeasance clause, that if a certain con¬ 
dition is fulfilled, the instrument shall be¬ 
come void. A power of sale is often added, 
which enables the mortgagee, in case of de¬ 
fault, to obtain relief without the expense 
and delay of a bill in Chancery. The same 
formalities of executing and recording are 
essential with mortgages as with deeds. The 
wife should join in a mortgage of her hus¬ 
band’s lands, otherwise it will not affect her 
dower interest. In a mortgage given for the 
purchase money of land, it is not generally 
necessary for the wife to join. This is made 
so by express enactment in some States ; in 
others a vendor’s lien for the purchase price 
obtains on a sale of land, and prevents the 
dower interest from attaching. The condi¬ 
tion which, when performed, wall render the 
mortgage void, is usually the payment of 
money with interest. It may, with equal 
validity, be any other lawful act. If no rate 
of interest is mentioned, the legal one may 
be charged. This varies in the different. 
States, from six to ten per cent per annum. 
In New York and the East generally, it is six 
per cent. In the West, it is from seven to 
ten per cent. If no time of paying the in¬ 
terest is mentioned, it cannot be collected 
until the mortgage is due. If no time of 
paying the principal is mentioned, it is pay¬ 
able on demand. Where interest is due in 
instalments, as annually or semi-annually, 
etc., it is in some States provided that if such 
instalments are not paid when due, interest 
may be charged upon them at the rate the 
principal bears. This amounts to about the 
same as compound interest, and counts up 
pretty fast. A note or bond usually accom¬ 
panies a mortgage, but this is not essential. 
The effect of it is to make the mortgagor 
personally liable for the debt, so that, if on 
foreclosure, the property should not sell for 
as much as the debt, the mortgagee could 
have recourse against the mortgagor person¬ 
ally for the balance. Stipulations of various 
kinds are common in mortgages—as that the 
mortgagor shall keep the property insured 
for the benefit of the mortgagee; that he 
