329 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
1874.] 
Hereford. Cattle.— “ J. C. E.,” Milton, 
Ohio. Tlie Herefords are the next best beef cattle to the 
Shorthorns. They are probably superior to these in some 
districts. They are, however, at present unfashionable, 
but the time may not be far distant when these or some 
other race may overshadow the now favorite Shorthorns, 
just as the Shorthorns displaced the once favorite Long¬ 
horns. The Herefords are a pure breed of large bodied 
white-faced cattle, reddish-brown in color otherwise, 
which are excellent feeders, with good constitutions, and 
fine beef producers. They will doubtless be exhibited at 
your State Pair, and will be found worthy of examination. 
§:«fe lEnmsciilaiion.— “A. T. J.,’ ? South 
Bend. liul. If the cut in the scrotum is made low down, 
so that any pus that is formed can escape, the operation 
of castrating is made much safer than if the cut is made 
higher up. The great danger is from inflammation, the 
c'osing of the woun ' and the formation of pus, which 
can not escape and Is absorbed into the system, poison¬ 
ing the blood. If the wound is kept open until healed 
within, the only serious danger is prevented. 
Mow to IS ecog-iiize a Goose.—“ W.N.,” 
Lexington, Ky. It is difficult to distinguish a goose from 
a gander by external marks without close study. After 
long acquaintance with the flock, the recognition is very 
easy. The voice of the gander is harsher and more dis¬ 
cordant than that of the goose, the head is coarser, and 
the bill stouler and heavier, the neck is longer and 
thicker, and the breast less prominent. Generally the 
gander is the first aggressor in those demonstrations 
which a flock of geese delight to make upon strangers. 
Th ■ gander is always on the lookout, and if one in a 
flock is on the alert, while the rest are feeding, it is al¬ 
most certain to be a gander. 
Harvest Slomc CeleH»rati«n. — The 
Rantoul (Ill.) Association of Patrons of Husbandry held 
its first harvest home picnic on August 1st in a grove 
near that town. It was largely attended, and many 
members of other Granges and industrial associations 
joined the celebration. There were bands of music, a 
collation, and speeches, and the experiment was very 
successful. 
Tree Planting' in Nebraska.—The 
Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company has planted 
along its line of road in Nebraska, for a distance of 120 
miles, 560,000 trees. The smallest loss of trees was 
amongst the ash, of which 98% per cent lived ; of box 
elder and honey locust, 92 per cent lived ; of soft maple 
83 per cent.; European larch, 82% per cent ; Scotch and 
Norway pines, 80 per cent; and of several species of 
willows, 75 to 72 per cent lived. 
Small or Large Cobs.—“ J. W. J.,” 
Lewis Co., Ky. It is working the wrong way to attempt 
to reduce the size of the cob in field corn. If the cob 
could be reduced in size to one inch in diameter by selec¬ 
tion of seed for a series of years, the product of the crop 
must certainly be greatly reduced at the same time. A 
cob two inches in diameter has double the space to be 
filled with grain that one half that size has. The effort 
should be to enlarge the size of the cob in thickness and 
length, and to increase the length and number of the 
grains at the same time. There is no doubt that much 
may be done in this way by selecting for seed those ears 
which have the largest number of rows and the greatest 
length, and planting the seed remote from other corn. 
Grain Minders.—An automatic binding 
attachment to a reaper is a very desirable thing to possess. 
Hitherto the attempts that have been made to effect the 
binding of the sheaves by machinery attached to the 
reaper have net been successful. Final success, however, 
will be attained before long, if it has not already been 
secured. A binder made by W. A. Woods, of Hoosic 
Fulls, N. Y., was tried recently with success. The 
sheaves were well bound, without any failures. Another 
binder, made by N. B. Fassett, has been tried in Iowa. 
This machine also worked satisfactorily. 
liiilker Mixed*—A semi-weekly newspaper, 
with an agricultural department, published in a Western 
city, states that “land-plaster or guano is the production 
of a number of rocky islands in the south sea.” Also 
that “a species of land-plaster, which is a deposit of 
bone-phosphate, is found in South Carolina and Georgia.” 
Then a “Rural” paper, in correcting this statement in 
describing “ plaster,” says “ that it is not a fertilizer in 
itself, but absorbs fertilizing properties from the atmos¬ 
phere;” and further, that “years ago it used to be the 
practice to roast the rocks, in order to reduce them to 
powder more easily, and such may yet be the practice 
where facilities for grinding are not at hand, or where the 
rock is impure from hard strata contained in it.” How 
little then must be known about this simple substance, 
the uses of which for fertilizing purposes and for plaster¬ 
ing walls of houses are so mixed together. Burned gyp¬ 
sum is plaster, which, when mixed with water, sets as 
hard as a stone, and could not in any case be used as a 
fertilizer. And now a paper, which has “Farmer” for 
part of its title, recommends grass and turnips to be 
grown together, and thus raise a double crop. 
To Keep Plows Free from ISust. 
—“ A boy of fourteen,” or any other person, does wrong 
to allow his plows to become so rusty that great labor is 
required to scour them. There is no help for it in that 
case, but to scour with a piece of brick and sand and wa¬ 
ter, until the mould-board is bright. But if. when the 
plow is done with, the mould-board is covered with thick 
lime-wash, or a good coating of tallow, and put away in 
a dry place under cover, there will be no need to spend a 
whole day in scouring it when it is wanted for use again. 
Wli»t is a. Car ILoimI.—“R. A.,” Ripon, 
Wis. Generally a car load is ten tons. Specified arti¬ 
cles are taken on most railroads in the following quanti¬ 
ties as “car loads ” viz : salt or lime, 70 bids ; flour, 90 
bbls. or 200 sacks ; soft wood, 6 cords ; cattle, 18 to 20 
head ; hogs, 50 to 00 ; sheep, 80 to 100 ; lumber, 9,000 ft. 
dry, or 7,000 ft. of green ; 17,000 feet of dry siding ; 13,000 
feet of dry flooring, dressed ; 40,000 shingles; wheat 
340, com 300, oats 680, and of barley 400 bushels. Pota¬ 
toes, bran, feed, and other produce is taken by weight. 
Procuring- H.oaais. —“ R. Van D.,” Peoria, 
HI. Evils always remedy themselves in course of time. 
The facility of getting loans upon mortgage of Western 
farms from Eastern capitalists at 10 or 12 per cent, per an¬ 
num, has been an evil by which the Western farmer has 
suffered. It has led to loose expenditures and extra¬ 
vagance, and has fastened a load of debt upon the West, 
which is a dead weight upon its real prosperity. Now 
Eastern men fear that their debtors might strive to free 
themselves, by adverse legislation, making foreclosure 
of their farms difficult or impossible, from their en¬ 
cumbrances, and they have stopped loaning money. We 
do not know where you could borrow money in any East¬ 
ern city, nor would we advise yon to try to do it. Bor¬ 
rowing is a bad practice, and only puts off the evil day. 
The best plank in the Granges’ platform is “ pay as you 
go,” and your best plan is to become a Patron and hang 
on to this plank. 
Cattle iu tlie South.— “J. W. J.,” At¬ 
lanta, Ga. The safest plan to procure hardy improved 
cattle in the South, would probably be to introduce 
thoroughbred bulls, a year old, in October or November, 
from the North, and use them upon the best native cows. 
If the bull can not stand the change of climate, he will 
leave some half-bred calves, which might be bred to an¬ 
other young bull. In time a greatly improved stock of 
thoroughly acclimated cattle would be secured. But 
there is no reason why cattle from the North should not 
be acclimated gradually, if care is used. The hot sun in 
the day-time is not more hurtful than the heavy dews at 
night, and stock should be protected from both of these. 
The fall is the proper seasoft for bringing in stock, which 
then have a whole winter in which to get acclimated. 
Shelter, fresh feed, and good water, are the requisites 
for safety. 
Treatment of Parrots. — “ An old 
Subscriber,” informs the “ Indiana Correspondent,” that 
the proper treatment of parrots consists mainly in giving 
fresh water every day, proper food with regularity, and 
keeping the cage clean. Brass wire cages should be 
avoided. The floor of the cage should be cleaned out 
every day, and covered with fresh coarse sand and 
gravel. The perch should be cleaned at the same time. 
This should be thicker in the middle that at the ends, 
that the feet may be eased and rested at every change of 
position. This prevents diseased feet. A deep dish of 
tepid water should be given each day, to bathe in. 
Bread and milk should be staple food ; the bread should 
be stale and be soaked in warm water first, and then 
drained on a cloth, dipped into scalding milk and fed 
when cold ; the bread should not be mashed or soaked 
until soppy. It should never be given when sour, nor 
should the feed pan be allowed to become sour. Beech 
nuts, hickory nuts, walnuts, sweet almonds, crackers 
without caraway seed, boiled sweet corn, and pieces of 
sweet apple freed from the skin, are all good if given in 
moderate quantities. Flesh should never be given, as it 
engenders a vicious appetite, and causes them to pull 
and eat their own feathers. Parrots are natives of tropi¬ 
cal climates, and need warmth. But they should not be 
hung up in the foul heated air of a close room—warmed 
by a hot stove in the winter season—during the day, nor 
be left to freeze without fire during cold nights. It is 
better to place the cage upon a low stand, where the air 
is pure and moderately warm, in the day, and wrap a 
blanket around the cage at night. When sick a tea- 
spoonful of hemp seed with a pepper corn or two, should 
be given every day. Water cress when it can be pro¬ 
cured is a good alterative; but these l)ird6 are rarely 
sick, except when they are fed with sugar and other 
improper food, or when they are neglected. 
Sj«w IFreiglits on Grain.— The current 
freigh . on wheat from Chicago to New York is now on¬ 
ly 11% cents per bushei, made up as follows; from Chi¬ 
cago to Buffalo, by steamer. 2££c., elevating at Buffalo, 
%c., rail from Buffalo to New font, 8c. Tlie tolls on the 
Erie canal are now (3%c. a bushel) more than the whole 
freight from Chicago to Buffalo. The cost of hand¬ 
ling grain in New York is 3 cents, and the freight, to 
Liverpool is about 14 cents. The cost of carriage from 
Chicago to Liverpool is therefore less than 28% cents a 
bushel. That this is solely due to natural causes, and not 
in the least to the influence of any combination of farm¬ 
ers, shippers, or carriers, is one of those facts that prove 
what we have frequently stated, viz., that the prices of 
all commodities or services are regulated not by laws or 
combinations of any parties interested, but are the na¬ 
tural effects of supply and demand. Just now there are 
many unemployed ships upon the lakes, and business 
generally is dull, hence these unexampled low freights. 
It is, however, not a healthy condition of things, nor a 
desirable or profitable one for farmers themselves, when 
important industrial interests work without profit. And 
just now the farmer gains no benefit from these low 
rates, but it goes to those who consume the wheat and 
..our which he raises. It is fortunate that it does this, 
for at present there is no laborer so und rp .id, or who 
finds work with such difficulty, as the artizan In the work¬ 
shops, or the laborer about the streetsof towns and cities. 
“Walks and Talks” Correspondence. 
Selling the Farm.—A widow, with three children, 
who has a farm of 120 acres in Illinois, worth $75 per 
acre, writes me that she has carried on the farm for three 
years, since her husband’s death, and has made a fair liv¬ 
ing, but she and her children have to work very hard. 
Her friends advise her to sell and put the money on in¬ 
terest. I can give no opinion. It depends somewhat 
how old the children are, and whether she wishes to keep 
the farm for them. She gets many things from the farm 
that she would have to buy if she goes toavillage or city. 
And she now pays no house rent. It is not always easy 
to sell a farm when you wish. I would go on farming as 
though I intended to keep the farm, and yet, if an op¬ 
portunity occurred to sell at its full value, sell, and per¬ 
haps buy a smaller farm near a village, where manure 
and labor can be obtained. Then go into the raising of 
such crops as require more careful supervision and less 
hard labor. A woman probably can not compete with 
the men in raising corn. But she may beat them in 
raising thoroughbred stock, or in small fruits, or garden 
stuff. Much will depend on the boys. Every year they 
will be better able to help. 
Raising Corn.— F. K. Adams, Delafleld, Wis., writes 
me that he breaks up his sod land for corn 4 inches deep. 
After corn, oats. Then beans, and then spring wheat. 
The wheat being, I suppose, seeded down. For wheat 
he plows 8 inches deep. Four inch plowing for corn, 
and eight inches for wheat., he says, is “ not orthodox, 
but gives me the best results.” He cultivates his corn 
twice, going twice in a row, using a t wo-horse walking 
cultivator, and stirring the land six inches deep. As I 
understand the matter, he cultivates deeper than he 
plows. Prof. Roberts, of Cornell University, was on my 
farm a short time ago. He thought I ought to get a two- 
horse Western corn cultivator, and plow up the land be¬ 
tween the rows of corn five or six inches deep. I think 
one or two such plowings between the rows of corn, 
early in the season, before the roots have full possession 
of the soil, would be beneficial, but afterwards I should 
want to keep down the weeds, and mellow the surface 
with a shallower cultivator, and one which could be run 
close to the corn. I am willing to admit, however, that 
Western farmers can teach us how to raise corn. Mr. 
Adams says he finds that sod plowed in the fall, and ma¬ 
nured in the spring with well rotted manure,and worked 
in with the cultivator, is best for corn. 
Ditching. —“E. J.,” Iowa, asks me in regard to a 
ditching machine for draining sloughs. I think he will 
find a sharp spade and a man who knows how to handle 
it the cheapest and best machine. The tough sod on top 
may be removed by throwing out a couple of wide, deep 
furrows. The black mucky soil underneath ought to be 
easy digging. Get some narrow underdraining spades 
and a long handled scoop. Keep them ground Sharp 
