55G 
AMERICANS AGRICULTURIST. 
[ December, 
The Crimson or Carnation Clover. 
Mr. J. W. M. Appleton, Salt Sulphur Springs,W. 
Va., has found a very showy clover upon his place 
which none of the neighboring farmers recognize, 
and he sends us a specimen for a name. The 
plant is the “ Crimson ” or “ Carnation ” clover, 
sometimes called in Europe “Italian Clover.” 
This (Trifolium incarnatum ) is, uulike our common 
clover, an annual. It is a native of Southern Eu¬ 
rope, and in rich soils reaches the hight of two 
feet; its numerous flower heads are oblong, about 
two inches long, aud of a very bright crimson. The 
plant is so showy that it is sometimes cultivated in 
gardens as an ornamental annual. Its seeds fre¬ 
quently get mixed with those of other clovers, and 
the plants, as in the case of our correspondent, ap¬ 
pear, to surprise and attract the attention of the 
farmers. This clover, though it was introduced into 
this country as long ago as 1818, has never found 
a place in our agriculture. In the southern coun¬ 
ties of England it is valued for its quick returns. 
The seed is drilled in upon wheat stubble, in drills 
eight to twelve inches apart; the plants get strong 
enough to endure the winter, and by the next June 
are large enough to cut for hay, leaving the land 
clear in time to put in a turnip crop. This clover 
may be fed green or made into hay, its feeding 
qualities being by some regarded equal to those of 
the common red clover, though if allowed to stand 
too long the stem becomes woody, and its nutri¬ 
tive value diminished. Still, as a “ catch crop,” it 
seems to deserve more attention than our farmers 
have given it. We shall be glad to learn the expe¬ 
rience of all persons who have made a trial of the 
Crimson or Carnation Clover as a farm crop in this 
country. As an annual plant in the flower garden, 
it well deserves a place, on account of the pe¬ 
culiarly brilliant color of its long flower-heads. 
Improving Farm Homes and Grounds. 
BT ELIAS A. LONG, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, BUFFALO, N.Y. 
The immediate surroundings of farmers’ homes 
generally are far from being as attractive in appear¬ 
ance as they can easily be made. Indeed the rural 
front yards are, as a rule, much less beautiful and 
interesting than those of people in the same gen¬ 
eral circumstances in towns and cities. In the 
latter, lawns are well cared for, and choice orna¬ 
mental trees, shrubs, and flowers, are much ofteuer 
met with than about country homes. There is uo 
valid reason for this. Such embellishments are 
not more easily acquired in the city, but just the 
reverse. The farmer has teams, implements aud 
manures for putting the house grounds in the best 
condition for ornamental treatment; labor is quite 
as cheap as in town, while sodding a lawn costs 
far less in the country. Trees and plants arc 
as cheap to the farmer as to any one, while in 
many places some of the best kinds for ornament 
can be had from the woods for the digging. 
There may be points in which life on the farm 
lacks the attractions common to town life, but in 
charming home grounds the farmer is certainly to 
blame if the city dweller excels him. It is often 
wondered why country life has not charms suffi¬ 
cient to hold the boys to the farm, and that they 
grow up longing for the city. If more attention 
were given to making their home surroundings 
more cheerful and attractive for the sons and 
others of the family, there would be less heard of 
this trouble. And in all such work every proper 
effort is sure to be seconded by the wife; while 
nothing is more natural than for the children to 
be enthusiastic helpers in this work. Such im¬ 
provements of course require some outlay, but 
this can hardly prove otherwise than a good in¬ 
vestment. Every dollar judiciously spent in this 
way will soon be returned many fold in the in¬ 
creased valuation of any place, should it be de¬ 
sirable to sell, to say nothing of the greater happi¬ 
ness and love of home that will thus be inspired. 
Now that long evenings are at hand, this subject 
should receive due consideration. Plans may be 
drawn up for an improved arrangement of walks, 
drives, flower beds, shrubbery, borders, and other 
matters. Every detail of these can be decided 
upon, and entered upon a map, long before winter 
is over, so that when spring opens the work 
can go on intelligently and to the best advantage. 
Movable Fences for Swine in Pasture. 
BT FROF. S. R. THOMPSON, NEBRASKA. 
In response to inquiries concerning the movable 
fence alluded to in speaking of green food for 
swine in October (page 450), we answer briefly: The 
fence, with certain slight modifications, was built 
from a description in the American Agriculturist 
for 1880 (page 500). The fence there figured was 
intended for cattle, while the following few 
changes better fit it for pigs: (1) Make the 
notch in the cross piece on the under side instead 
of the upper, to prevent pigs raising the panels out. 
(2) At the top, where the two boards cross, instead 
of a rectangular notch, cut away the wood, as 
shown in the engraving, so as to let two panels 
rest side by side. Take care to have the distance 
between the upper side (the deepest part of the 
lower notch) of the triangular piece at a uniform 
distance from the bottom of the upper notch, and 
to have the top of the lower board in the panel and 
the bottom of the board which rests on the upper 
notch at exactly the same distance apart, so that 
when the triangular frame shown above is slipped 
on the panel, the latter is held firmly in its place. 
We also find it necessary, on the open prairie, to 
stake down some of the frames to prevent their 
blowing over. This is quickly done by sharpening 
pieces of inch-boards, twelve inches long and one 
inch wide, and driving one beside the foot of the 
triangle where it rests on the ground, and putting 
a six-penny nail through both. We have also 
fastened them down by driving two such small 
stakes, one on each side of the triangular support 
and slanted over the toe ; but we like the first- 
mentioned method the best of all. 
A good way to make the triangular frames alike, 
is to cut the pieces by a uniform pattern. Then 
make one frame of the size and form desired, and 
at each of the three places where they are nailed 
together, fasten a plate of iron thick enough to 
prevent the penetration of a common wrought nail 
driven against it. Now lay this pattern frame on 
the floor, with the iron plates upmost. Then lay- 
three pieces on this in exactly the right position, 
drive wrought nails through the two pieces and 
against the iron plate, which will clinch the nails 
firmly as fast as you drive them. This will enable a 
man to nail the frames together quite rapidly. 
For a hog fence we use four boards six inches 
wide, but for large hogs three would do very well. 
The panels may be of any desired length, or all of 
different lengths, for that matter. We have made 
most of ours from ordinary fence boards with 
damaged ends, and not long enough to go on 
fences with posts the usual distance apart. 
Cows Milk for Colts — A pleasant note from 
the Secretary of the Ayrshire Breeders’ Association, 
says that Col. J. E. Russell tried to supplement the 
milk of the darn of certain of his colts with that of 
Jersey cows, but found that it did not agree with 
them generally. He found they thrived splendidly 
upon Ayrshire milk. One of the colts so reared by 
him is the famous Parole, whose astonishing per¬ 
formances do credit to both the theory and practice. 
A Successful Horse Show. 
The first exhibition of the “National Horse 
Show Association,” in Madison Square Garden, held 
late in October, was a success most gratifying to the 
projectors. In spite of bad weather most of the 
time, the attendance was large, while the animals, 
in number and character, made the exhibition a 
notable one. If there is one point upon which all 
persons agree, it is in admiring a fine horse, and at 
the show, where the best specimens of the leading 
breeds were present in large numbers, it is not sur¬ 
prising that crowds flocked to see them. Among 
the animals were those with a world-wide reputa¬ 
tion for the records they have made, apd others 
noted as getters of celebrated progeny. For many 
years the popularity of trotting stock has induced 
breeders to give special attention to these animals, 
to the neglect of others equally useful. A good 
feature of the exhibition was the liberal prizes of¬ 
fered for roadsters, carriage and draft horses and 
Others. The numerous representatives of these 
indicated that breeders are not giving their atten¬ 
tion exclusively to trotters. Numerous prizes 
were offered for ponies, mules, donkeys, etc., and 
each of these exceptional classes contained inter¬ 
esting examples. The expressive, intelligent faces 
of the pure Arabians and the thoroughbreds and 
their cleanly moulded limbs found many admirers, 
while the carriage and draught horses aud road¬ 
sters presented an array of solid utility gratifying 
to those who do not regard speed as the most im¬ 
portant quality in a horse. There were notably 
fine specimens of Percherons on exhibition. Large 
numbers of this breed have been imported within 
a few years ; they are of special interest to farmers, 
as they unite great strength with docility and in¬ 
telligence. They are likely to lay the foundation 
of a most important class of work horses, and their 
breeding is receiving much attention in some of the 
Western States. Besides the horses, there was an 
interesting collection of jacks and mules, some of 
the former being imported. There were two pairs 
of mules which for size it would be difficult to ex¬ 
cel. They were, as mules go, perfect beauties, 
with work, and a great deal of it, indicated in 
every line of their symmetrical forms. Aside from 
its merely practical aspect, the exhibition was most 
instructive in another view. Naturalists regard 
all the breeds of horses as having descended from 
a single species. Such an exhibition allows us to 
see at a glance the wonderful variety that has been 
produced both by natural surroundings and by the 
agency of man. It is well known that horses liv¬ 
ing upon islands for many generations, in time as¬ 
sume certain peculiarities, whether in warm or cold 
latitudes. If an island is rugged andmountainous, 
with a bleak climate and scanty herbage, the horses 
will become much lvduccd in size, while their har¬ 
diness will be increased. In some instances, as in 
the Shetland Islands, the dwarfing influences have 
produced a well marked breed. A number of Shet¬ 
land ponies were showed, and, when contrasted 
with the almost elephantine Percherons, afforded a 
striking illustration of the great variation possible 
in a single animal. Other illustrations were seen 
in the fleet racer, with every muscle formed for 
speed, forming a strong contrast to the high- 
stepping, showy carriage horse. An exhibition of 
this kind gives the visitor an excellent idea of The 
possibilities of the breeder’s art. 
In the engraving upon page 557, our artist repre¬ 
sents the best specimens of the leading breeds on 
exhibition. Numbers 1 and 2, are the Thorough¬ 
bred and Hunter; number 3, the Carriage horse. 
Leaping over hurdles aud other obstacles, as well as 
across a body of water, by English lady riders, 
formed an attractive feature of the exhibition. The 
leaping is given in figure 4. Number 5 and 6 are 
Russian and American trotters. The remarkable 
training of the fire engine horses (number 7), 
which, at the sound of the fire bell, take their 
places and almost harness themselves, formed a 
novel attraction. Number 8 is the Mounted Police. 
Number 9, the Cob. Number 10, the Percheron. 
Number 11, English Draught Horse. Number 
12, Clydesdala. Number 13, the Shetland Pony. 
