1874 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
9 
Slow to Make a Harrow.—“ W. B. 
S.," New Britain, Ct. To make a square harrow in two 
parts hinged together in the center, take four pieces of 
4X4 oak or maple scantling six feet long, and eight 
pieces three feet long. Mortice the shorter pieces into 
the longer ones twenty inches apart and six inches from 
each end, thus making two frames or gates six feet long, 
three feet wide, and with four cross-bars each. Hinge 
the two gates together by means of three pairs of eye- 
bolts with a long rod passing through each pair. Put 
live teeth 12 inches long and % inch thick of square iron 
rod into each cross bar, and three teeth into each main 
bar between the cross bars. There will then be 52 teeth. 
This harrow Bhould be drawn from one corner. 
Slow to Burn Oyster-Shells. — 
“J. L. D.,” Columbia Co., Pa. Oyster-shells may be 
burned in a pit similar to that in which charcoal is 
burned. The shells should be piled in a heap with layers 
of wood chips, brushwood, and small cordwood inter¬ 
mingled. A layer of dry wood split line should be placed 
at the bottom of the heap, arranged so that a draft is 
made to the center of the heap, in which are a few sticks 
of wood placed on end to form a chimney. The 
heap should be covered with sods or coarse litter and 
then with earth, leaving a lew holes for air until it is 
well kindled. Then the holes should be closed up almost 
entirely. t 
Plants Named.— “H. N. P.,” Illinois. 
We can not undertake to determine plants sent without 
flowers. You do not say whether it is a native or not. 
If persons sending us plants will only take a little pains 
to send specimens in flower together with the leaves we 
will name them. _“A. N. G.,” Madison, Kan. Your 
plant is Callirrho :: pedata. It has no common name. It 
docs well in cultivation, and is often found in gardens 
at the East. 
Too Heavy Aftermath.— “ H. J. B. C.,” 
New Bern, N. C. It is not economy to permit too heavy 
a growth of grass or clover to remain upon the land in 
the fall. An aftermath that will interfere with the early 
mowing of the grass in the spring is excessive. To pre¬ 
vent it we would pasture the meadow somewhat to re¬ 
duce the quantity, or mow it a second time, and expend 
the value of the hay so made in fertilizers for top-dress¬ 
ing. In the present case it is probable that a good 
raking with a steel-tooth hay-rake, in the spring, would 
gather a large quantity of the rubbish, which might be 
used in the stables as litter and returned to the meadows 
at some future time. 
The Northern Limit of the E>a.n- 
delion.—The northernmost limit at which any flower¬ 
ing plant has been found is lat. S2° N. Dr. Bessel, of 
the Polaris expedition, found at that high latitude a form 
of the common Dandelion, a Mouse-ear duckweed (Ce- 
rastium alpina), Draba alpina, and a grass (Poa Jlexuosa.) 
Hard Crop and Vertigo in Poul¬ 
try.— “ A Subscriber,” Adams Co., Ohio. The cause of 
hard crop in chickens is indigestion, which is also the 
cause of vertigo or dizziness. We would suggest a 
change in the feed, a reduction in the amount, and a 
stimulant in the shape of two pills of equal quantities of 
ground cayenne pepper, ginger, and copperas, as large as 
a pea, given daily for a few days. Poultry need a fre¬ 
quent change of food to keep them in health, and a sup¬ 
ply of coarse gravel is also absolutely necessary for them. 
Pollen in tlie Atmosphere. — An 
English physician, Dr. Blackly, has satisfied himself that 
that annoying disease the “ Hay Fever” is caused by the 
pollen of grasses. He experimented upon the amount 
present in the air by exposing at different heights plates 
of glass covered with some adhesive liquid. At 4 ft. 9 in. 
from the ground tl\e highest number of pollen grains ob¬ 
tained in twenty-four hours was 880 on a square centi¬ 
meter (about two-fifths of an inch). By means of a kite 
he experimented upon the quantity present at higher 
levels, and found that at a hight of 1,000 feet there were 
many times more than the average found near the earth, 
besides great numbers of the spores of grain fungus 
or smut were obtained 
Percheron and Norman Horses.— 
M. Simons, of Orne (France), connected with the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture and Commerce in that country, in a 
letter written to Mr. J. J. Parker, of West Chester, Pa., 
states that the true Percheron horse is now very scarce; 
that those who raise horses for sale as Percherons in the 
neighborhood of Chartres—the center of tu- Percheron 
horse trade—purchase foals in Belgium, Flanders, and 
other places, and after feeding them until old enough sell 
them as Percherons. It has now come to pass that all 
heavy gray horses are classed as Percherons. But these 
are far from being the true race. This is but an enlarged 
Arab, with all the good qualities, the soundness, au^ en¬ 
durance of the original race from which he springs. His 
color is a gray white or a silver gray. He must be kept 
under nearly the same condition of climate as in the 
Perche to do well. Being gentle, he must have gentle 
treatment. He must be well fed. His rations are 17 lbs. 
of straw, 22 lbs. of hay, and 20 quarts of oats.—Those 
remarks, which we know to be well founded, are worthy 
of notice by those who are purchasing heavy, coarse¬ 
boned, large-footed, lymphatic, and necessarily unsound 
dark gray horses, which are called Normans or Percher¬ 
ons, at high prices, with the certainty of future disap¬ 
pointment. Not long ago we saw an importation of 
several so-called Percherons, of which only two could 
justly claim the title, and the difference between the true 
and false Percherons was abundantly clear. For the im¬ 
provement of bur native races we must have animals of 
pure breeds, or wc make a failure. 
SBaeep vs. Goats.—' 11 J. W.,” Lynchburg, 
Ya. We would not advise you to change your sheep for 
goats. Sheep’s wool is a staple article of ready sale, 
while goat’s hair is not. Goats are equally liable to bo 
destroyed by dogs as sheep are. The best plan is to put 
the Bheep every night into a pen, with a high board fence 
around it, and during the day keep a gun loaded with 
buckshot handy. A dog upon your premises without the 
owner is a trespasser, and if engaged in hunting sheep 
should be shot upon sight. 
Muck on Saiudy Soils.—“ W. A. S.,” 
Sunsbury, Ct. A dressing of one or two hundred loads 
of swamp muck per acre upon sandy lands with the addi¬ 
tion of twenty or thirty bushels of lime per acre, would 
be of great benefit. We have found no immediate good 
effects from the application of raw muck to such soil, but 
when we have filled the barn-yard with it to a foot in 
depth in the fall, and allowed the cattle and hogs to run 
over it and work it up along with the drainings from the 
stables, we have found it excellent for grass and clover 
when spread early in spring." The best plan now would 
be to haul it out and spread it in the barn-yard as soon 
as it is dry. 
Cotton-seed and Flax-seed. Meals. 
—“E. K. II. T.,” Indianapolis.—Cotton-seed meal from 
hulled seed at $25 per ton is a cheaper feed for milk cows 
than flax-seed meal at $30 per ton. There is a greater 
production of cream from the cotton-seed, and the butter 
has a better color. Caution should be exercised in feed¬ 
ing either of these meals, lest too much be given ; four 
pounds a day will be sufficient with other feed. Crushed 
oats is better to feed with them than corn-meal. For 
fattening stock six pounds a day of either may be fed. 
Orchard IPlamtiing’ and Vinegar.— 
“J. J. II.” As you do not state whether you live in 
Canada or Florida we can not advise-'you about an 
orchard. Vinegar can be made in less than one year 
from cider by keeping the room always at the tempera¬ 
ture of 70 deg. ; or by the use of an apparatus made in 
Ohio, and advertised some time ago in our columns, it 
can be made in a few days without the use of “ drugs.” 
Fo«iltry Houses. —“W. B. C.,” West¬ 
chester Co.. N. Y. There is frequently very unnecessary 
outlay in building poultry houses. A cheaply constructed 
house may be as warm and as convenient as the most ex¬ 
pensive one. The plans given in the Agriculturist are 
adapted to both styles of building, and those who do not 
desire a costly one may construct a cheap house upon the 
same plan by varying the style and material. It is un¬ 
necessary to follow the plan exactly in any case. 
Sulky Plows. —“ C. D. B.,” North Hatfield. 
We can not give you the address of a manufacturer of 
sulky plows; bnt there are several in Chicago, St. Louis, 
and other Westera cities, and almost any dealer in plows 
can procure them. 
Irrigation by Flooding;. — “R. A. 
F.,” Franklin Co., Mass. Mere covering a grass field 
with water in the spring of the year does not necessarily 
add to the fertility of the field unless the water brings 
with it some fertilizing matter in suspension or in solu¬ 
tion. It is the suspended matter brought down by rivers 
which makes the annual spring floods so productive of 
grass npon the meadows of river bottoms; but the 
mere flowing of spring water upon grass would be noth¬ 
ing more than a watering, and not fertilizing, in the 
sense of manuring. 
Bronze Turkeys. — Mrs. “B. J. C.,” 
Mankato, Minn. Bronze turkeys are a variety supposed 
to be descended from the' wild turkey crossed upon thsj 
domesticated bird. They take their name from a pe¬ 
culiar brilliant bronze reflection from their plumage, 
and grow to a large size, birds of 36 to 40 lbs. being not 
uncommon. Mr. Win. Clift, of Mystic Bridge, Ct., 
is an expert in regard to these birds, and we believe can 
supply them or the eggs. 
Hone Mill.— “ Englishman,” Lynchburg, Ya. 
The best bone mill is the Bogardus Mill, which costs 
$500. It requires at least four horse power to run effect¬ 
ively. Crushed bone can be purchased in this city for 
$35 per ton. 
Grass for Pasture. —“ T. G,,” Klt- 
trells, N. C. The best grasses for a pasture are timothy, 
orchard grass, blue grass, red top, with red and white 
clover. Which grass to choose depends much upon the 
soil. Upon rich limestone lands timothy, orchard 
grass, blue grass, and red clover may be sown; the 
quantity of seed would be six quarts of timothy, one 
bushel each of orchard grass and blue grass, and six 
quarts of clover. The blue grass, if it succeeds, will 
not show much until the others begin to run out, which 
will be in three years. Upon moist soils red top and 
timothy should be chosen. Twelve quarts of timothy 
and one bushel of red top would be proper quantities. 
How to Feed !£ye.—“W. S. L.,” Au- 
sonville, N. C. We have fed rye to horses and cows as 
green fodder, cut when just coming into ear, in which 
state it is very excellent feed. To feed rye that has been 
cut ripe, we would thrash it, grind the grain along with 
corn or oats, cut the straw in a fodder-cutter, moisten It 
with water, sprinkle a handful of salt and three quarts of 
the ground feed upon a large pailful of the moist cut 
straw. This makes a very good feed for an ordinary 
sized horse when working moderately. 
To Proserve Eggs.—“K. H. S.” says 
that he has kept eggs for a whole year as good as fresh 
by packing them in plaster. 
EMg’lasIi Cheese. —G. C. Hawk, Cleveland, 
Tenn. The best English cheese is the Stilton, and next 
to that is the Cheddar. The Stilton is a very rich cheese, 
and has a portion of cream mixed with the milk before 
the curd is made. It sells in this country for about 60 
cents a pound. The Cheddar sells for 40 cents a pound. 
It would seem as though we should bo able to make such 
cheeses here, having a great variety of pasture and other 
circumstances favorable for it; but the skill is wanting.. 
In the Agriculturist of April, 1867, there is an article de¬ 
scribing the manufacture of Cheddar cIiccbo (with illus¬ 
trations), in a dairy in Otsego Co., N. Y., by which it 
will be seen that the manufacture of fancy cheese is 
already introduced in that locality; but we have not heard 
of its introduction elsewhere. The price of such cheese 
should be a great inducement for experiment. 
Ssltf Muck 4©r Gs-ass. — “F. G.,” 
May’s Landing, N. J. Salt meadow muck alone is not 
sufficient to produce grass npon uplands. It is a very 
fair basis on which to build up a good fertilizer, but it 
lacks lime and nitrogen. These may be supplied either 
by the admixture of burnt shells or stone lime and am- 
moniacal substances, of which dried blood or flesh in 
powder is probably the best and Cheapest. We would 
suggest a compost of lime and muck in proportion of 
five bushels of lime to one cord of muck, of which 
20 loads per acre should be spread in the spring, followed 
by 259 lbs. of the dried blood or Peruvian guano. 
The Patrons of Husbandry. 
HOW THE ” GRANGERS ” APPEAR TO ONE WHO LIVES 
AMONG THEM. 
[The remarkable increase of the Order of Patrons of 
Husbandry has been before alluded to, and we find the 
number of Granges swelling rapidly. Within a short 
time State Granges have been organized in New York 
and Massachusetts States, in which the order had hereto¬ 
fore made comparatively slow progress, while the form¬ 
ing of Subordinate Granges is a matter of daily occur¬ 
rence. We are indebted to one of the chief officers of the 
order for information in regard to its progress. The last 
Bulletin received (late in November) gives the number of 
Subordinate Granges up to that date at 8,262, with a re¬ 
ported membership of 619,650. During the mouth of 
October last 1,050 were organized, a number in marked 
contrast with that for the same month of the preceding 
year, when only 91 were reported. The following article 
is by a resident of that portion of Illinois where 
Granges are numerous, and may be regarded as an 
impartial view of one not identified with the order.—E d.} 
