1872 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
T3 
lie in frozen heaps about the premises. Our own 
heap is fermenting nicely, even with the thermo¬ 
meter below zero. After the first fermentation 
slackens, turn oyer the heap, being careful to break 
i:p all the lumps and shake out the tangled corn¬ 
stalks, etc. It will facilitate the operation of turn¬ 
ing to cut the heap with a hay-knife into sections 
three or four feet wide. If a large quantity of straw 
has been used, fermentation may be promoted and 
the quality of the manure greatly improved by scat¬ 
tering 25 lbs. of dry blood or 100 lbs. of bone-dust to 
each cord of manure as it is turned over. If this 
work is performed now, the manure will be in ex¬ 
cellent condition for use in spring. 
Milch- Cows. —Farrow cows that are being milked 
and fattened at the same time, must have an abun¬ 
dance of rich food—say four or five quarts of corn- 
meal per day, with cut stalks or hay. Beef is now 
low, but so arc milch-cows, and it will probably be 
better to dispose of farrow cows that are fat than 
to keep them another season. If liberally fed we 
have known them milked up to the time they were 
sold to the butcher, and still prove very fat inside. 
As a rule, however, the butchers will pay a little 
more if they have been dry a few weeks. 
Cows that come in before the first of April will 
now, in ordinary dairies, be allowed to go dry. In 
the majority of cases they cease to give milk of 
their own accord. With warm stables and liberal 
food, some cows will continue to give milk nearly 
or quite up to calving. A cow with great digestive 
powers, that will keep in high condition, nourish 
her calf, and give milk, maybe allowed to do so. In 
fact, it is probably better to keej) on milking her. 
There will be less danger of milk-fever after 
calving. But such cases, in our experience, are 
rare. It requires liberal food and the best of treat¬ 
ment to keep such a cow in vigorous health. As a 
rule, the average good dairy cow requires and will 
well repay a few weeks’ rest at this season. And 
we need seldom be afraid to feed liberally. Any fat 
accumulated before calving will in the case of a 
good milker find its way to the butter-tub. 
For ten days or two weeks before calving, it is 
well to give laxative food, such as bran-mash and 
linseed tea, or, if this is not sufficient, give a pound 
of Glauber salts, or half-pound of Epsom salts, and 
a table-spoonful of ginger. In case of very fat cows, 
it is well to give this dose once a week for three 
weeks or a month before calving, as a preventive 
of milk-fever. 
Carding the Cows regularly aud thoroughly is a 
point of great importance, especially where liberal 
feeding in warm stables is adopted. A dirty cow is a 
disgrace to a farmer and a direct pecuniary loss. 
We hope no reader of the Agriculturist will say 
carding is unnatural. Such a remark, though not 
uncommon, is simply silly. Furnishing .shelter, 
providing hay, pumping water, giving the cows 
salt, and milking them, are just as unnatural. 
Lice have never yet troubled any of our cows, 
horses, or pigs. Liberal feeding, carding, and clean 
stables aud pens, are the best preventives. For a 
cure we should resort, first, to thoroughly cleans¬ 
ing the premises, and sprinkling crude carbolic 
acid in every nook and corner. Then mix an ounce 
of carbolic acid with a quart of crude petroleum, 
and rub it over the animal. It will kill every insect 
that it touches, and will not hurt the animal unless 
applied in excessive quantity. Care should be taken 
to mix the acid with the oil by thorough shaking. 
Should it not be well mixed, the carbolic acid would 
blister the skin and injure the animal. In such a 
case apply warm water freely, or rub on oil, or 
grease of any kind. If crude petroleum can not be 
obtained, use carbolic acid and water, an ounce of 
the acid to'a quart of water. Tobacco water will 
destroy the lice, but the above remedies are less 
trouble and more effective. 
Horses running in the barn • yard and fed on 
straw ought to have a comfortable shed to sleep in. 
A few ears of eorn in severe weather will not be 
thrown away, and as spring approaches the qual¬ 
ity of the feed should be gradually improved. 
This is particularly true of old horses, and of young 
horses that have not attained their growth. 
Horses kept in the stables and not doing much work 
should be regularly cleaned and fed. Some farmers 
seem to think that unless a horse is to be taken out 
to work he does not need cleaning. Such a man, 
to be consistent, ought not to wash himself unless 
he is going to town! We teed our horses one 
bushel of chopped straw (say 8 lbs.), moistened 
with water and mixed with two quarts of corn 
meal, to each team, three times a day. They are 
allowed straw in their racks; but it is a good plan 
to take it out of the racks at say eight o’clock in 
the morning, aud let them have no food before them 
until noon. Then feed them and remove all that 
is left in the rack at two o’clock, and feed again at 
night, letting them have all the straw they will eat 
until morning. In this way, horses that are stand¬ 
ing in the stable will eat much more heartily than 
if the food is before them all the time. If they are 
worked feed a little more grain or hay. A few ruta¬ 
bagas or carrots may be fed to the horses with great 
advantage, say half a bushel per day to each team. 
As spring approaches feed more liberally. 
Fattening Sheep should be allowed from a pound 
to a pound and a half of grain per day, according to 
their size, and it is well to give them one foddering 
of hay per day and all the straw they will eat. 
Wool is in demand, and most farmers will desire to 
keep their sheep and clip them before selling. On 
this account it is not improbable that those who 
sell their fat 6heep the latter part of February or 
first of March, may realize more profit than by 
keeping them later. 
Early Lambs for the butcher must have W'arm, 
dry quarters, and the ewes must be well fed. Noth¬ 
ing is better than clover hay and bran, with say half 
a pound of grain per day. Roots, of course, would 
be a great help. Water regularly. The lambs 
should have a place, into which they can run 
through a small opening, separate from the ewes, 
and be fed in a small trough all the corn-meal and 
bran they will eat. 
Yearling Sheep should be kept in a flock by them¬ 
selves and be fed more liberally than the older store 
sheep. If fed principally on straw they should 
have from half to three quarters pound of grain 
per day, and if of the long-woolcd or South Down 
breed, a pound per day will be none too much. 
Store Sheep, and ewes not expected to lamb 
until April or May, can be wintered very well on 
straw or stalks, with half a pound of corn or other 
grain per day. It is a great mistake to winter them 
on straw alone. Separate old or feeble sheep from 
the rest of the flock and feed more liberally. 
Salt all animals at least once a week. Get rock 
salt, and let them have access to it at all times. 
Pigs should have warm, dry, well - ventilated 
pens. Where straw is abundant let them have 
enough to bury themselves in, and chauge it fre¬ 
quently. Clean out the pens everyday. It is little 
trouble if done regularly. Let the young, growing 
pigs have all the food they can eat. Feed three 
times a day. If they leave any in the troughs, re¬ 
move it and fei^d it to the old hogs, and do not let 
it remain to freeze. See that they do not suffer 
from want of water. There is no cheaper food for 
pigs than corn-meal and mangold wurzel—aud 
nothing that will push them forward more rapidly. 
If they get fatter than you wish, lessen the corn- 
meal and replace it with bran. 
--—« r> —--•-»-- 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
This month everything ought to be made ready 
for active work, as out-door operations will be com¬ 
menced next month, and no time should be con¬ 
sumed then in doing such things as can be done 
now. Send orders for trees, seeds, tools, etc., to 
the dealers at once, so that no delay may occur in 
waiting for them when they are needed. An enter¬ 
prising horticulturist will make a trial of some of 
the new sorts of flowers, vegetables, etc., each sea¬ 
son, but for the main crops it i6 safer to rely upon 
old sorts which are known to be good. It is well 
I to test all seeds before planting, so that no failures 
may happen from sowing poor seeds. Market-gar¬ 
deners can not be too careful in purchasing seeds 
of reliable dealers only, even if at a higher price 
than that asked for seeds sold at the country stores. 
Orchard and Knrsery. 
Cions may be cut now aud packed in sawdust or 
earth and preserved in a cool place where the buds 
will not start. 
Scraping. —This is a good time to remove all dead 
bark from trees in the orchard. Trees which have 
been neglected for several years are soon covered 
with mosses aud lichens, and are thus rendered un¬ 
sightly. The best wash that can be applied to trees 
is one of strong, home-made soft-soap, thinned 
with water so as to be easily applied with a brush. 
Planting .—The time for planting will vary in dif¬ 
ferent localities. In the Southern States trees may 
be set this month, while in Northern localities the 
ground will not be in condition for several weeks. 
Varieties. —In planting an orchard regard should 
be had to the proper selection of varieties from the 
earliest to the latest. It is well, however, not to 
plant too many varieties, but have the larger portion 
of late-keeping sorts. Kinds known to succeed 
well in the neighborhood should be selected. 
Young Trees are the best for orchard planting, 
many orchardists preferring those of only one year 
from the bud or graft, as these are more likely to 
be healthy aud vigorous than older ones which 
have been crowded in nursery rows. 
Injured Trees that have had their branches broken 
by winds or storms, should have the wounded sur¬ 
face smoothly pared and then covered with a coat¬ 
ing of shellac varnish or melted grafting wax, to 
prevent the water penetrating and causing decay. 
Insects.— Now is the time to prevent canker- 
worms from ascending, the trees, the warm days 
which often occur this mouth being favorable for 
their movements. Their ascent can be partially 
prevented by placing around the trunks bands of 
paper which are to be kept coated with tar, taking 
care to renew the coating every few days, or as 
often as it hardens. Other methods, such as a gut¬ 
ter of tin or lead surrounding the trees, have been 
used, but the success of all of these contrivances 
depends upon constant inspection and care. A great 
many Tent-caterpillar’s eggs can be destroyed by 
.carefully searching the trees before they commence 
to develop their leaves ; the eggs are' attached in 
rings to the branches near their extremities. 
Nui'sery Trees which arc received early in the sea¬ 
son will sometimes be found frozen or dried; if 
frozen put the packages in a cool place and allow 
to thaw gradually; if shriveled by drying, they 
will recover if buried in the ground for a few days. 
Manure. —Cart to the orchard whenever conve¬ 
nient and place in small heaps, but not in piles 
around the trunks of the trees, as it does no good 
there, and often serves as a harbor for mice, espe¬ 
cially if it is coarse and littery. 
Fruit CSardeja. 
Trees in the fruit garden proper should only be 
those grafted upon dwarfing stocks, and those that 
are trained upon walls or trellises. Many of the 
directions given in the “Orchard and Nursery,” 
under Washing, Insects, etc., apply equally here. 
Crape- Vines.— Prune when not frozen, if it has 
pot already been done. Go over the vines pruned 
last fall and remove the extra buds which were left 
as a precaution against the severity of the winter. 
Blackberries and Raspberries. —Set as soon as the 
ground will admit of being worked, as when left 
until late, the under-ground shoots, which form 
the canes of next season, start very early and are 
liable to be injured if left until late. 
Straicberries.— Make new plantings as soon as the 
weather will permit. 
Trellises will be needed for training grape-vines 
and trees, aud the timber should be got ready now, 
so that it may be at hand when wanted. Posts of 
chestnut, cedar, or locust are the most durable. 
